Outside Riders - Your Mile Totals 01-03/07?

[DarcyInOregon]

Hi,

There is a small minority of us who biked outside all winter. Just wondering what everyone's totals are.

I finished at 995 miles. I did have stretches of time where there was snow or the wind was too strong, thus I could not ride. However, I had a lot of rides in inclement weather and I now enjoy riding in the wind and heavy rain.

The rewards are that I am stronger and fitter. I don't pay any attention to the wind anymore. The Spring headwinds feel more like a slight breeze to me.

Another positive result is I lost 2 1/2" from around my middle and more inches elsewhere, though the scale doesn't show a dramatic drop.

The oddest thing I saw was on a winter ride on a Saturday afternoon in the first part of February. The temperature on the bike computer said 38 degrees. It was raining hard, with lots of wind. I was wearing multiple layers of clothing, ending with a pair of rain pants, Gore-Tex jacket and winter gloves. I was going down a hill, but being cautious about my speed because I knew that up ahead there was a bridge over a creek and that where the road met the bridge was a three inch height difference in the pavement. If you are going too fast and the tire hits that ridge, you can get a blow-out. From behind me came a small pack of five riders, spinning fast, with an older man being in the rear. Here is what is odd. The riders were wearing only shorts and short-sleeve jerseys, and the older man was wearing one of those see-through super light rain jackets so that I could see he was wearing a short-sleeve jersey underneath. The cyclists were all soaking wet. I was under the impression that they were cycling a century perhaps, out from the city into my rural area in the valley. They whizzed by me, but managed to get over the bridge without a fatality. After the bridge I sped up and kept them in sight, until I turned off to get back to my car at the state park. I put the bike up on the rack, put my things away, and drove out of the park. On the outskirts of the little town outside of where I live, where I turn to go up the mountain, there was the pack of cyclists, just standing there in the heavy cold rain having a huge argument. My guess is they were all so non-Fred that none of them had any money or a cell phone on them, and they probably realized they were one step away from a hospital stay for pneumonia and did not have the strength to cycle back to the city. Their heads swiveled as I drove by, because my bike is pink and other cyclists can remember it. I could of stopped and offered them money or the use of my cell phone but I did not. I wasn't going to try to stuff five more bikes on my car and drive 5 cyclists back to Portland or Salem or whichever city they came from. So I drove on by.

Darcy

[kerrybelle]

Darcy, 995 miles for the year so far....that's GREAT!

My oustide miles to date are 162 and only 252 if I add my indoor miles. Our winter weather hasn't been too biker friendly. Luckily it's starting to warm up a bit and I will be out much more. I signed up for the 2500 mile challenge on Bike Journal, so I have some catching up to do.

Kerry

[Grog]

Great job Darcy!! That's a pretty impressive tally for the first three months of the year, in bad weather on top of that.

I'm just over 600.... kilometers so far. Almost 100 of these are "commutes" to my office, a 2km round trip!! I've been focusing on running all winter, I find it more pleasant when it's raining, I'm easier to clean than my bike! But now that the good weather is there I'll be upping the (bike) mileage to 100 km weeks, until my half-marathon the first week after which I'll stop running and sky will be the limit on the bike!! Woohoo!

Keep riding! And don't look at that scale, it doesn't tell much of the story!

[silver]

Excellent work, Darcy!

I didn't ride too much til the weather warmed up. I've got 862.5 for the year, with 658.5 of it in March. I usually don't input fractions of miles, (I don't round up, just input the whole number) so I don't know why I have that .5 in there. I'll have to ride a .5 ride so I can get rid of it!

[divingbiker]

570 miles, 515 of it commuting miles. I've commuted 36 times so far this year; for six weeks in February and early March, I was only able to commute two times a week. Still trying to develop a regular habit of riding on the weekends now that spring is here.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

409 miles.

[mimitabby]

out of 411 miles so far this year, 36 were indoors.

Somedays it was just too dark, cold, wet for me to want to go out.
Your mileage is amazing, ladies!

[Trekhawk]

890 but it was a very mild winter here this year unlike some of the places in the USA. It only snowed twice compared to heaps last year. It was nice for cycling but I did miss the snow.

[BikeMomma]

I hurt my L5 vertebre/disc on New Year's Day, so my mileage for Jan & early Feb was severely affected (as was pretty much my whole daily routine). But each month, I'm making progress, although I still have to be careful on and off the bike (no crazy stuff, no heavy lifting...even doing the dishes & laundry makes me sore because of the bending over part of it):

Jan 20 miles
Feb 213 miles
Mar 407 miles
Totl 640 miles

Good job on your 995 Darcy, especially with the weather you've been having up there! Sweet! Good job everyone else, too.

~BikeMomma

[pooks]

Thanks for starting this thread. I need to humiliate myself!

68.6 miles.

I have no freaking excuse for not doing a LOT more than that. This is the time of the year when I really do need to be putting in some miles, before it gets hot. I promised myself I would, and I haven't been, so maybe the shame and humiliation here will propel me forward.

Go ahead.

Shame me.

I need it! LOL!

[PinkBike]

1037 miles, but it's an unfair advantage. it's always riding weather here.
90 degrees today!!!! finally!

[jobob]

A little over 1500 miles, but like pinkbike, the weather where I am is rideable year-round.

[trekin']

....but I really miss riding in the winter. What do you all wear to stay warm? I hate it when my feet and hands get cold, which happens very easily?

Do you take out your road bikes, or do you ride something that can handle sand on the road?

[Crankin]

I have a whopping total of 213 miles since January. Two of those rides were in January, the rest in March. I don't mind riding in the low 40's or even high thirties, but that's my limit. I think I could probably go a bit lower in terms of comfort, since I have the gear, but my lungs don't like it.
Plus, in February, i got to x country ski and snow shoe; I like taking a break from cycling. It makes me look forward to March.
I don't count indoor miles. It doesn't seem the same to me. Sure, I work hard on my trainer or in spin class, but I want to know how far I have gone on the road. Inside is like a different category to me.
Since I managed to ride 3,000 miles last year, I am not concerned. My goal is 3500 this year and I am sure i will make it, since I won't be working in the fall.

[SadieKate]

I (no crazy stuff, no heavy lifting...even doing the dishes & laundry makes me sore because of the bending over part of it)

~BikeMomma

Doesn't crazy stuff = dishes and laundry?

1,120 myself cuz Jobob made me do it.