Miscellaneous ramblings...

[Crankin]

It's soooo nice to have a bunch of gals to bike chat with! I just got off the phone with a friend who turned 40 earlier this week. She has a 2-year-old and a life much different from mine, in a state across the country from mine. Mention of my new bike went right over her head. Oh well. She doesn't get dogs either.

Dog + bikes = Life is Good![/QUOTE]

I agree! My friends who don't ride (in fact they are totally sedentary) think my husband and I are crazy. I could easily stop calling them, but it seems rather immature of me to do this, at age 51. We have become friends with another couple who rides and have many other similiar interests.

On the other subject, I just started mountain biking last fall. It is different and for me takes total concentration. In fact, it scares me to death, but afterward, I feel like I have really accomplished something. I need to get better, though and it looks like the trails around here won't be clear and semi-dry until late April. I wouldn't say I totally relax or zone out on the road, it's just a different feeling. I think it's good to do both. I don't think mountain biking will ever be the focus that road cycling is for me, but it teaches different skills and extends the season by at least a month because you can mountain bike up through December even here in New England.

[emily_in_nc]

I agree! My friends who don't ride (in fact they are totally sedentary) think my husband and I are crazy. I could easily stop calling them, but it seems rather immature of me to do this, at age 51. We have become friends with another couple who rides and have many other similiar interests.

Totally totally agree and understand! Many of our friends just don't get hubby and me either. We also just bought touring kayaks, which puts us even more "out there" among our longer-time friends. I wouldn't say our friends are sedentary, but they spend all their leisure time working on their yard and houses. They walk, but don't do any serious exercise. My husband I and lift, road ride (including organized centuries and events, club rides, etc), hike, bike tour, travel, and just recently got mountain bikes and kayaks. VERY different lifestyle! Fortunately, we've also made new friends through our bike club that totally get it.

On the other subject, I just started mountain biking last fall. It is different and for me takes total concentration. In fact, it scares me to death, but afterward, I feel like I have really accomplished something. I need to get better, though and it looks like the trails around here won't be clear and semi-dry until late April. I wouldn't say I totally relax or zone out on the road, it's just a different feeling. I think it's good to do both. I don't think mountain biking will ever be the focus that road cycling is for me, but it teaches different skills and extends the season by at least a month because you can mountain bike up through December even here in New England.

Once again, I agree totally! I find mountain biking very tough and a bit scary - definitely an adrenaline rush. I can't do it for long, but I do feel that it is great for fitness (upper body as well as lower), balance, and bike handling skills. We live on 11 acres of woods, into which my husband has put in over a mile of trails, so we can mtb right out from our door, where it takes awhile to get out to the road (just the opposite of most people!) since we live down a long gravel road we can't ride our road bikes on. It's nice to have a close place for a workout when one has less than an hour to ride (say, after work). I also like it because I can do it when it's too chilly or windy to ride the road. I get so hot mountain biking that I can manage it at much cooler temps.

Emily

[Dirt Girl]

We live on 11 acres of woods, into which my husband has put in over a mile of trails, so we can mtb right out from our door, where it takes awhile to get out to the road (just the opposite of most people!) since we live down a long gravel road we can't ride our road bikes on. It's nice to have a close place for a workout when one has less than an hour to ride (say, after work). I also like it because I can do it when it's too chilly or windy to ride the road. I get so hot mountain biking that I can manage it at much cooler temps.
Emily

WOW! Your very own singletrack. Lucky you!! We have a 6-mile loop with the trailhead one mile up the road from us, but it's not something I want to do all the time. It's tons of climbing and very technical in some sections. I've never done the entire loop alone as the consequences of getting hurt are too great. The views are awesome, though. (See pic.) I'd love to see pictures of your singletrack if you have some.

I, too, am liking the option of road vs. mtb depending on the weather. I had planned on road last Friday and ended up on the mtb since the weather took a turn. Glad I went as it's been raining for the past two days! And I overdressed as usual and had to strip a layer at the top of a climb. Ride time was 1.5 hours but with all the climbing involved, I only covered 9 miles. You're right--it's much easier to get in the miles on a road bike!

[emily_in_nc]

WOW! Your very own singletrack. Lucky you!! We have a 6-mile loop with the trailhead one mile up the road from us, but it's not something I want to do all the time. It's tons of climbing and very technical in some sections. I've never done the entire loop alone as the consequences of getting hurt are too great. The views are awesome, though. (See pic.) I'd love to see pictures of your singletrack if you have some.

Hi Dirt Girl ~ Yep, I feel very lucky! However, pictures would not be very impressive, I don't think (especially now, before the leaves are on the trees here in NC) - just lots of brown tree trunks and brown leaves on the ground and a little trail running along. It's nothing like that gorgeous view you posted. It's all hardwood forest, tons of trees, no real views at all. It's going to look very different once the leaves are out and there is green everywhere!

Emily

[Dirt Girl]

Hi Dirt Girl ~ Yep, I feel very lucky! However, pictures would not be very impressive, I don't think (especially now, before the leaves are on the trees here in NC) - just lots of brown tree trunks and brown leaves on the ground and a little trail running along. It's nothing like that gorgeous view you posted. It's all hardwood forest, tons of trees, no real views at all. It's going to look very different once the leaves are out and there is green everywhere!

Emily,I used to think "just lots of brown tree trunks and brown leaves on the ground" wasn't very impressive either. A long-ago art class instructor opened my eyes to the beauty and design in all seasons. Instead of thinking "plain old branches" try to see the design Mother Nature has created with them before they get covered up with leaves! Ummmm, hardwood forest and tons of trees. Sounds like heaven to me. I grew up in Cincinnati and miss the deciduous trees and forests. Especially in the autumn. Not enough to trade it in for my current low humidity, few mosquitoes and mountains, though. Brown or green, I'd love to see it both ways. Singletrack is good no matter how you slice it!

[LBTC]

Good one, dirt girl! I was thinking the same thing....both nature's design....and the design of the singletrack winding through those brown trunks and branches - both sound stunning to me!! please take a picture for us Emily?? please!!


Namaste,
~T~

[CorsairMac]

Just my .03 worth - read a journal someone wrote after following Lance Armstrong on a training ride and the two things that stuck the most with me were: Lance spends time every ride riding with no hands (is that the right term), and he rides on every type of surface including dirt/gravel. When he was asked about both quirks his answer was - anything he could do to improve his bike handling skills and his balance made him a better rider when in a race situation. (think Lance riding across the plowed field during that horrible crash in the TdF few years back)
While not a racer - it made me realize that that was an excellent premise to ride by, that way a clutch situation becomes "just another type of ride". So why not ride your road bike on the dirt road.......it could just improve your handling skills if your road bike ever ends up in dirt during a "situation".
As for buying a house to suit your riding?.....why not - it's as much an important part of your life as anything else you're using for your house buying criteria!

[Pedal Wench]

since we live down a long gravel road we can't ride our road bikes on.

Emily

Emily, my BF and I are looking at some houses on dirt roads - but we're thinking that we need to rule them out because we can't ride our bikes. I never really thought about it, but is it insane to rule out ideal houses because we want to ride out from our front door? Does anyone else have any ideas on dirt roads and long driveways?

(I actually thought about building a little shed at the end of the road. We ride out on our MTB's to the shed, where we switch to our road bikes, ride on the roads, come back, put the road bikes in the shed and ride the MTB's home. Great, but the thought of leaving my precious baby road bike out all alone in a shed ruled out that idea!)

[LBTC]

Audio-A...I think the shed idea is great. A rider on your house insurance is pretty affordable to insure your bikes for what they are really worth, with no or a small deductible. Hey, I know it would still be a pain in the heart if something happened to it, but it's a bit of reassurance...and if the house is great....I mean, there is more to life than biking
hahahahaha That was sarcasm!

Namaste,
~T~

[alison_in_oh]

Emily, my BF and I are looking at some houses on dirt roads - but we're thinking that we need to rule them out because we can't ride our bikes. I never really thought about it, but is it insane to rule out ideal houses because we want to ride out from our front door? Does anyone else have any ideas on dirt roads and long driveways?

I've never had a problem riding my road bike on dirt or gravel. You have to go pretty slow and watch out for really bad obstacles/huge rocks, but otherwise no sweat. We lived on a gravel road for two years and my in-laws live at the back of a long dirt road with a long dirt driveway...hasn't yet stopped my DH from taking daily rides when we visit them, and even I have taken a little spin or two while there.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, my BF and I are looking at some houses on dirt roads - but we're thinking that we need to rule them out because we can't ride our bikes. I never really thought about it, but is it insane to rule out ideal houses because we want to ride out from our front door? Does anyone else have any ideas on dirt roads and long driveways?

I don't think it's insane AT ALL. In fact, if we had been riding a lot when we built our current house (we weren't - I had a hybrid and hadn't ridden in ages), we would never have built it where we did. Our property is gorgeous (woods, very secluded), we have nice neighbors, it's quiet, so it's certainly not worth moving now (especially since we have the single track on our property now!) ~ but....if I were to look for a new house today, I would insist on it being on a paved road (and pave my driveway too, if it wasn't.) In exchange for putting up with gravel, we have a gorgeous rural area to ride our road bikes in; it's just getting to it that's an issue! We either walk our bikes down to the main road or drive and park down there if time is very short.

The shed idea is interesting, but I couldn't build one at the end of the road since I don't own property there. At the end of my driveway, maybe, but I too would be worried about security, and since the road isn't paved either, it wouldn't buy me anything. Good luck!

Emily

[Biking Chick]

I agree! My friends who don't ride (in fact they are totally sedentary) think my husband and I are crazy. I could easily stop calling them, but it seems rather immature of me to do this, at age 51. We have become friends with another couple who rides and have many other similiar interests.

I can relate! There are friends of ours who don't understand our passion for cycling and quickly change the subject if we share either an new route we've ridden or our newest cycling purchase. Especially the friends who don't understand biking AT ALL - they really think we're nuts and cannot fathom the 'need' for owning more than one bike! For the most part the people that we love to spend time with have come to really embrace our passion for cycling and being outdoors.

This thread brought to mind a couple of my favorites 'quotes' from friends ....

So you and Al are still into biking?

You actually LIKE getting all sweaty?

I couldn't do that (bike) - I would never be able to figure out that shifting bit.

Aren't you afraid you'll get lost?

I thought you said you took your cell phone with you on your bike rides. I tried to call you but all I got was your voice mail - don't you leave your phone on when you ride?

I'd love to ride with you if you promise to only go for a couple of miles or How long will it take us to bike two miles?

Don't those biking shorts make your butt look bigger?

A message on my answering machine: Hi Cindy - I just looked at my outside thermometer and see that it's above 35 degrees. You are probably out on your bike. Give me a call when you get home and thaw out.