My Sunday Ride - August 24 rides

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

DH and I did a pretty hilly 30 mile ride this morning. About 1500 feet of climbing:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...m/197823777158
It was 85 F. and sunny, and our sunblock was melting like white icing down our faces and arms. yuk. Didn't burn though!

Hey Robyn- we started out with that 7 mile "gentle climb" up route 203 that you liked so much when you left my town the other day. Then the climbing continued.
One great treat were the descents at the end though.

My legs feel like rubber bands. Man that hot shower felt good afterwards.

[7rider]

Well, inspired by BleekerSt_Girl who yesterday rode her good ol' Rivvie, and motivated by my DH, who looked longingly at my Axiom in the utility room and exlaimed "That's such a pretty bike", I decided to try the Axiom on today's shop ride with my LBS. I haven't been on it, except maybe up and down the street, since I picked up my custom ID8 last August. So, we pumped up the tires, adjusted the saddle (I realized that the last one to really *ride* it was my friend Terry), and dusted it off.
Now, yesterday was a hard ride for me. I've been bike commuting 4 days a week and riding lots on the weekends. My legs are tired. My legs were tired at the start of the ride today. I marvelled at how differently I fit on the Axiom vs. the ID8....how differently it responds to my body (standing on hills was like stepping on a live wire...the bike squirted and darted and it took me a few hills to get used to its movement. The ID8 is so planted to the road, it's like it rides on rails).
But still I felt...."off."
The group split up - a crash at an intersection (not mine), a few red lights, a thrown chain (that one was mine...the Shimano crankset is SO much more forgiving of crappy shifting than the FSA). It was down to two of us. Bless Tamison for sticking with me. Or I would have been solo for 25 miles of a 30 mile ride. We stayed on MacArthur Blvd, I drafted behind my partner the whole way. She was fresh and was okay with it. I was toast. I got dropped on Old Angler's Hill and posted my worst numbers of the year for it. We hooked up with the group, but still, I got dropped, and ended up riding the last 10 miles back to the shop alone. Feeling rather pathetic and sad, I might add.
Dropped, dropped, dropped.
Back at the shop, DH and I are riding the bikes back to the truck. "What's making that noise?" he asked.
"I don't know. It's been making noise all day," I respond.
We dismount at the back of the truck. He lifts the front end of the Axiom and spins the wheel. "It's not the Polar pickup" he said.
"No. I think it's coming from the back." I said. I picked up the back end of the bike and spun the rear wheel. It moved maybe and inch and stopped dead. No spin. Not at all.
The rear brake was rubbing and holding the wheel tight!!!
Aaarrrrrrggghhhh!!!!!!!
I can't believe I just rode the ENTIRE SHOP RIDE with a rubbing back brake!!
What an IDIOT!
I think I'm taking tomorrow off the bike.

[arielmoon]

Great pics... I should remember my camera but I think they would be blurry cows and horses as I ride by.

Love the peaches- how awesome!

BF invited a friend along on our ride and he was even slower than BF I did a lot of slowing down and circling But all in all I was ecstatic to be on my bike for the first time in a week thanks to TS Fay.

[makbike]

Rode yet another century today. My legs were very tired from yesterday's century and let me know on a regular basis they did not care much for the hills today. This proved to be a very hilly ride - up, down, up, down and so the 100 miles went. We did travel through some beautiful countryside in Kentucky and rode some of the roads used in the Old Kentucky Home Tour. A small group formed early and the six of us stayed together the entire ride. Four in the group, including myself, had ridden the century yesterday so we were struggling to climb the many hills. No one was left behind and words of encouragement and gratitude were shared often. So despite the discomfort and the fatigue it proved to be a great day to ride.

[mimitabby]

Great pics... I should remember my camera but I think they would be blurry cows and horses as I ride by.

Love the peaches- how awesome!

BF invited a friend along on our ride and he was even slower than BF I did a lot of slowing down and circling But all in all I was ecstatic to be on my bike for the first time in a week thanks to TS Fay.

Ariel, i stop to take photos.

Crankin, i loved your group shot!!

[jsdilks]

We rode up to the Zoo on Saturday and took pictures of all the animals. The prairie dogs were out and being quite social, the pandas were sleeping with their paws over their faces, the tiger was pacing, the lion was sniffing the air. Fun pics (I'm at work, or I'd put some up). We rode over to visit the young lady who was hit by a car last week (she's fine - was back at work on Friday). I told her she needed to do a better job about calling me back when I leave messages on her phone because I'm a stewer and I need to hear her voice. She understands now Sunday was beautiful and we threw a picnic in our great picnic panniers that our daughter gave us and trotted on down the Mt. Vernon trail. We had our books and a blanket with us and just relaxed by the river for a couple hours. So, lots of riding for me and a bit tired this morning.

[Zen]

I can't believe I just rode the ENTIRE SHOP RIDE with a rubbing back brake!!

No wonder your legs are tired.
This trip should be fun

[jesvetmed]

Well -- Mimitabby.. you made it in time! I didn't. So, I got really lazy. We must have had 3 inches or more of rain up here! At any rate, I broke out the trainer tonight for the first time in months. BORING. Tried to watch a movie, which I also found boring. All in all, not a good bike day
Enjoyed reading about all of your rides and seeing the pics. Thanks... I'm living through you guys today!

[wildhawk]

We had a frustrating weekend - we had planned to go riding on Saturday, but thunderstorms kicked up all day, so on Sunday after we ate breakfast, we spent some time attaching our new Uni-grip bike carrier to the truck, finally got the bikes loaded and headed over to our favorite park trail. But storm clouds started building up again. We had only an hour and a half of daylight left but figured we could get in a short ride. We did, including some nice bridge climbing, but had to head back when the rain and thunder started. We had planned to go for 20 miles, but only ended up fitting in 7! Argh. Still felt good to just be out on the trail again, despite everything. I am in awe of some of you and your longer rides. The longest we have done so far is the 20 miles last Sunday. But we are gradually building up. So far this month we have logged a total of 67 miles.