January 6th ride

[Fredwina]

Well, I'm going to add to the bad vibes, too.
We were going to go and do Sunset loop in Redlands(on of the stages from The Races there), but the weather forecast was calling for Santa Ana winds. I was going to be charge of the longest option(70 miles), but no showed except for a Tandem couple who was going to do a shorter option. I asked I could hitch a ride with them back. The winds weren't bad in the Morning, but were supposed to pick up, and lot of the riding was through some very gang-infested neighborhoods(I Think they would still be sleeping in the morning), just As I was getting ready to take off, I heard some one call my name. Another rider from the club had showed up. We called the tandem couple and told that we would be going west instead of east(they told the wind was "very bad").
Things went fine until we got to the midpoint of the Ride (Bonelli Park in San Dimas), The other rider had pulled ahead on a hill. I was descending and saw him standing in the middle of the road with his bike . The Rear Derailleur had broken . We tried to make an emergency Single Speed, since we were about two miles from a shop, but had no luck. He eventually called his DW to rescue him and I went on my way. I discovered that chain breaker of my minitool was missing a piece, so I went and got a replacement. Had a flat, Stopped by REI and got a rack trunk, and went home (not wishing to press my luck) wound with 53 miles

[Geonz]

I rode out to the bike shop and traded my big red commuter for my fast blue Trek (it stays out there 'cause there are group trainer rides on Tues and Thurs) then rode with our little group then back out to trade back for my commuter bike, where more people were dropping in with condolences - still kind of wrapping around the idea that Fritz will not be there (he unexpectedly died in his sleep Mon/TUes at 61). He and Peter have been out there for many moons. He will be missed.
Rode home via grocery store and enough loops to get a metric century 'cause I said I'd do a dozen of them this year at bikejournal. (It also put me back AHEAD OF HOWARD )
Okay, we *did* have a flat on the ride... but JOhn admitted it was self-imposed. THe very same man who chastised *me* for riding a tire until it fell apart needed a boot and a ride home
Some of you might hafve thought it was cold but it was at least 40 for most of it, and 10-15 mph winds... well, they're typical around here...

[Popoki_Nui]

Yet another wind and torrential rainstorm overnight and this morning. More trees down, so navigating local roads and trails was next to impossible.
Decided to do a little caching instead (am I the only one on the planet who didn't know what geocaching was until recently?? ) Snagged two or three caches this afternoon while there was a break in the awful weather, and headed home for a hot bath.

[Meaux]

Our ride started out badly. Last night at 10 pm we found a really bad cut in DH's tire and we thought we wouldn't be able to ride at all, however my father-in-law knows one of the LBS's owners really well and we were able to get a tire early this morning. We drove an hour northeast of Houston to Coldspring, but when we got there, it was very foggy, and we didn't want to ride in the fog. We had planned a 40-50 mile ride today, however, we had to wait in an odd little cafe (it had a mannequin in an old-fashioned dress standing right near the door, creepy...), so we were unable to do a full ride. So, we went out to a state park and 17 miles on the park roads. (It wasn't foggy there, oddly enough.) Even though we weren't doing the ride we wanted, it was the first time we had actually ridden together as a team, it was great fun. My father-in-law fell once, and I was coming in (sprinting at 23 mph, I might add), I fell over. I was slowed down, of course. It was one of those falls you get when you're going too slow. I'm probably going to have a bump on my arm, but it wasn't bad at all. I laughed.

[GLC1968]

I can't believe that we rode in short sleeve jerseys in January!! I recorded a high of 73 degrees today!

Rode 56.4 miles with DH today. First 35 miles were awesome...fast, warm and a lot of fun. Last 20 miles back to the car sucked. Nasty headwind on open farmland made for a slow pace and some difficult miles. Avg speed overall was 16.1 mph and that amazes me considering how slow the last 20 were.

All in all, a really nice ride...especially for winter!

[Bad JuJu]

Decided to do a little caching instead (am I the only one on the planet who didn't know what geocaching was until recently?? ) Snagged two or three caches this afternoon while there was a break in the awful weather, and headed home for a hot bath.

I've known about geocaching for quite a while, and it sounds intriguing and fun; but I barely have time for cycling and a little kayaking, never mind adding another outdoor sport. Maybe when I retire....

[KayTee]

DH, a.k.a. BikeBoy, finally got around to modifying and installing the new stem and bar we got for Barbie, my winter bike. Because of lower back pain & sciatica, I had to be set up higher in front. I took her out for a shakedown cruise this afternoon in bright sun and 71 degrees. BikeBoy and I rode a leisurely 50 miles from home around the county, just enjoying the day and being out in short sleeves in January. We'd had another 1 1/4" of rain last night, and with the water table so high from other recent inundations, several creeks overflowed onto some of the roads. Nevertheless we were able to get through without rerouting. Beautiful day!

[East Hill]

Well, after mulling my options (and sliding down the cul-de-sac because it was icy--no harm done), I originally planned not to exert myself. But I looked out the window around 10.30 am and decided it looked as if it had warmed up to the point where I could go. So, the usual up and back through Big Soos Creek. At least it was not covered with water as badly as I thought it would be. Today it is again raining buckets. I know I won't be doing BSC today!

I hope everyone has a better day today than yesterday.

East Hill

[Crankin]

Update on my bad day:

I did get an email from the leader, checking to see if we were OK. I don't think he was aware of what happened. Someone told him we were going off on our own. He said he didn't recognize us when we saw the group on our way back. I find that hard to believe (the others in the group did), since we have Kuota bikes that are pretty distinctive looking and not common around here.
I am very stiff on one side of my neck (not the side I fell on), but the bruises and other rash are really not bad at all. I feel better moving around and would like to ride today, but I think Steve wants to take a day off. His elbow hurts, but is less swollen.
If I had been leading this ride I would have turned around and gone back when I realized that 2 people were not with the group. In fact, we have done that when a man got heat exhaustion and we found him puking on the side of the road.
Well, just another story to tell!