Sunday July 27 Rides

[bmccasland]

Did my first MS training ride, 43 miles, flat, average 17 mph, hot muggy morning. Then five miles from the end was an ambulance in the middle of the road. One of my office teammates apparently was knocked down by a stray dog. The dog was lurking in the ditch, then running out and chasing the bikers. Owner was in the yard doing absolutely nothing about it.

So Joey has a broken hip, the owner was cited, and the dog is off to doggie jail. Not quite certain about that last detail, but the final riders in said that Animal Control was in the area looking for a dog. Lets just say the sheriff's deputy was NOT amused that an older gentelman gets knocked off his bike and was lieing in the middle of the road not wanting anyone to touch or move him until the ambulance arrived. Fortunately Joey is fit, (he's retired, but has been occupying his new spare time riding daily) so maybe his recovery will go better than most older people who fall and break their hips. Should I mention that 2 or 3 years ago he broke his pelivs trying to not hit an alligator that was sunning himself on the river levee.

I got the impression from the neighbors who witnessed the accident, that the dog has been a problem. Or more correctly, the owner does nothing to control his dog. Amazing the dog hasn't been killed if he likes to run down anything that moves on the road.

So that was my day.
Next rider? Have more fun, and get back to the car unscathed?

[Kano]

Short-ish today -- about 15 1/2 miles, down into town for a quart jar of water (really -- that's what the coffee shop served it in!) and a half a muffin. Yummy thing, covered in seeds of various sorts, and blueberries, and who knows what all else in it.

I feel pretty pleased: had a flat front tire on my Roubaix this morning, so grabbed the ol' Trek hybrid commuter toy, and had a 12.6mph average, which is an "all time high score" on that bike! Still working the kinks out of the poor old bike --- had to loosen up the rear brake today, and raise the saddle a bit. She's kinda wobbly up front in the steering area, but all in all, a good ride!

Considering the nasty mood yet another flat on the road bike put me in right off the bat this morning, and the calories that must have been in that muffin, the Trek was a pretty decent choice!

(we won't tell DH I'm considering putting some money into that old bike -- shifters are iffy, and it would be cool to have some ultra low gearing for hauling that trailer up hill from Costco!)

Karen in Boise

[makbike]

I joined the club for yet another century today. My legs were quite tired and heavy from the hundred miles we rode yesterday but hey I have to make the most of my last week of vacation.

The route today started in Henryville, IN and took us to Bethlehem, IN. It was a beautiful route but even the smallest of hills made me rethink my decision today. However, after lunch (44 mile mark) I did feel a lot stronger and my legs had quite complaining. I will admit the last 15 miles or so were tough not because of the terrain but simply because my tank was on empty. We had one big climb early in the ride (6.6% for just under a mile) and it really kicked my butt today.

Today we rode 99.07 miles and I averaged 15.4 mph - not a blazing speed but hey not too bad for back to back centuries if I do say so myself.

[LBTC]

49.4 km. I was slower than when we did the same ride earlier this week. Probably because of staying up late dancing and drinking....and partly because of the wind! Head wind sux! Still big ringing rides like this, which is cool. DH and his riding buddy were way ahead of me a lot of the time, but DH is so nice and would stay back with me lots of the time. It was good.
But the mileage some of you do is still really amazing to me! You rock!!

Beth, sending butterflies to your ride buddy for a quick recovery.

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[han-grrl]

We had a mock race today. One of my husbands team mates did a road race, but ended up riding alone, so the rest of the gang decided to organize a "redo" in her honour. We did the Gatineau Park road loop (22 km) twice. I was dropped (expected) in the first minute.

I averaged about 24.2 km/hr which is pretty good for me. I was nervous on the descent the first time through, but i was able to pick it up on my second loop.

On a side note, i picked up some narrower less steep handlebars, and hubby just did a little "mod" to shim the break levers, so maybe that will help my freak out on the descents...

here is the course
http://www.ottawabicycleclub.ca/file...es/circuit.gif

[denda]

We did 16miles this evening in a very strong headwind. I hate wind!

[BabyBlueNTulsa]

bmc - that dog thing nearly happened to me yesterday! I feel really badly for that older gentleman... OMG.. Hope he recovers quickly (as possible).