thanksgiving day ride Nov 27

[Biciclista]

eeek eek eek, the wind is blowing, nasty clouds are rushing in. but dear Raleighdon wants to ride to the store. Fine, I say, go ahead... So a little time passes and he says, you're not dressed. ME??? yes, that man wanted ME to go out in THAT. so i futzed around and slowly got dressed, expecting the clouds to open up (Red sky at morning,sailors take warning, and it WAS red at dawn). His pies were finally cooked so it was time to leave and he didn't say "oh honey, you don't have to go with me this morning, stay home and finish the stuff you're working on" so i finished getting dressed, putting on my raincoat at the last minute "sniff, i'm probably going to need this"
So we were off. 42 degrees with a sharp wind biting into my face. As the tears rolled down my face, Raleighdon says; "are you all right?" yes dear. grrr.
Instead of going down the hill to the supermarket we went around the hill, which meant down the hill, up the hill and then down again! I congratulated myself upon arriving at the store that all I had left was 1 more hill on our return trip. Oh, no, it couldn't be that simple. Once We climbed that supposedly last big hill, he said, let's go back the way we came! what?
so we went DOWN and UP again.
12 miles 900 feet of climbing. talk about making a molehill into a mountain.
Happy turkey day to all, and thanks for all the wonderful stuff we are filling our life with, including your comradeship and TEAM ESTROGEN!

[tulip]

Great story, Mimi! I rode my little Bike Friday on the American Tobacco Trail in Durham NC this morning (visiting the folks). It was beautiful--50s sunny, but the trail is shaded and cooler. There were a few folks out and about. Being a rails-to-trails trail, it's flat, but it was nice to get out for an hour before coming back to make my special mashed potatoes (with lots of butter! yum!)

[Blue_Wildflower]

Boyfriend and I rode the Washington & Old Dominion Trail to Leesburg. Supposedly the B&B we stayed at is off the 34.5 mile marker. Well, we missed it. Came upon the 35 mile marker and realized we went to far. Luckily, he had his IPhone with him and used the GPS application to get us to our location.

This was my first ride in the cold and I learned a valuable lesson. Actually 2. I need thicker gloves and I should not ride in this weather in summer tennis shoes. Wool socks were not enough. Luckily, I was smart enough to get fleece lined tights and wore three layers underneath my jacket and a scarf wrapped around my face & neck. I had an ear warmer headband and fleece lined beenie. The layers and tights made the ride enjoyable.

We started at 7:00am. It was 30 degrees. We reached our destination at 11:45. It was maybe 40. We had a few breaks along the way. And quite a few climbs. I almost had a very bad crash but managed to maintain my balance as I went down a very steep and narrow curve. He hauled our stuff (we are staying for 2 nights) and I made and carried the snacks. He was very thankful for the pb&j sandwiches, milk and banana for our post-rdie meal. We are going to a nearby lbs to get me winter shoes because I cannot ride home not being able to feel my toes.

I am pretty sure he had his doubts about me being able to handle the ride and the weather. He is already thinking about our next ride (the W & OD and C&O loop).

If anyone is looking for a nice B&B to stay at and get away from the madness inside the Beltway, I highly recommend The Norris Inn.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[7rider]

DH and I did a Special Edition 8:30 a.m. N2 ride (cuz we didn't want to ride in the early cold of the usual 7:30 ride! ). My friend who got the new Seven ID8 was going to join us - but found out in the parking lot that old style Look cleats don't fit Keo pedals! (Now, she says, she knows what they meant when they said "Come back for new cleats." ) Still puzzling over that whole thing.....
But before she left, she gave me presents for my bunnies - two bunches of carrots tied up with orange ribbon with a toy bunny bow! Very cute, but the buns will only be eating the carrot tops, as that much carrot isn't good for them (too much sugar). I think we'll be eating glazed carrots with dinner tonight!
Anyway.
We hooked up with one other guy who also didn't relish a 7:30 start, and we were on our way. We did a nice, casual pace - an aerobic workout, not anaerobic. I was amazed at the numbers of cyclists out on the roads - mostly small groups between 3 and 10 strong. Everyone was getting in their pre-Holiday workout. We stopped at a Starbuck's for a bit, and that corner of the plaza was just hoppin'! People all over the place - loads of bikes, too (including this drop-dead gorgeous Co-Motion road tandem with SS couplers and disc brakes).
Was a really nice ride (even saw a few deer). 40 miles.
Now...DH is snoozing on the couch and I'm about to get our holiday dinner started.
Happy Thanksgiving all.

[Eden]

The racing community here all gets together for a T-day ride. The person who "organizes" (I say that loosely, he announces where to meet and takes the donations) collects money for a local food bank and usually gets about 150 or more racers together for a big ride. We usually manage to collect $600 - $800, but this year a generous anonymous person stepped up to match whatever we all donated, so this year should be quite good indeed.
It's a pretty mellow spin - about 30 miles, with everyone chatting and catching up with the people on other teams that the barely get to talk to during the racing season. It's pretty fun to kind of take over the roads for a bit too... Drivers are usually pretty generous and nice and early on a holiday, pretty scarce too.

[Mr. Bloom]

Last Year I did 1,800 miles

This year's goal - 2,500 miles

I just surpassed 4,000 outdoor miles for 2008!

Silver and I rode from our house to downtown Evansville and back. 55 & sunny! I'm glad it was a beautiful day since I've not been riding well lately.

[tulip]

DH and I did a Special Edition 8:30 a.m. N2 ride (cuz we didn't want to ride in the early cold of the usual 7:30 ride! ). My friend who got the new Seven ID8 was going to join us - but found out in the parking lot that old style Look cleats don't fit Keo pedals! (Now, she says, she knows what they meant when they said "Come back for new cleats." ) Still puzzling over that whole thing.....

That's the second ride she's NOT gone on with you! Shame, such a nice bike!

[Aint Doody]

All I can say about my little 25 mile ride today is BRRRRRR!!!! Cold (upper 30's), gray, low lying fog. I'm thankful for my toe warmers and my blinky light on my helmet. I was surprised how many dark cars were on the road without their headlights on. Hard to see them--not so much a problem for me but for other drivers. I almost saw a crash between 2 cars due to that problem.

All in all it was good to be out. On to the turkey!!!!

Mr. Silver---WAY TO GO!!!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I didn't ride today on Thanksgiving Day, but my husband did save the day by riding to the store on his bike. Wouldn't you know it, I ran out of tin foil exactly when I was about to get the 2 chickens, sweet potatoes, and pies all ready to put in the oven. I NEEDED THAT FOIL!
DH jumped on his bike and went down to the big drugstore and came home with two rolls of it, and Thanksgiving dinner was saved from certain catastrophe.

[RolliePollie]

Gobble Gobble!

Lisa, I'm so relieved that your dinner was saved! Thank heavens for your DH's bicycle!!!

Just got in from a 29 mile ride. I rode through two completely different climates. My house: cloudy, dark, 45 degrees, a few sprinkles. 10 miles down the hill: sunny, blue sky, 58 degrees. It was a really nice pretty ride...not too many people out on the roads. I kept smelling turkey dinners and it made me hungry.

The downside of my ride today is that the shifting on my new bike is totally out of whack AGAIN so that was super frustrating. It's hard to climb hills when your chain won't latch onto the cogs in the back and it's skipping and clunking and clanging all over the place. So tomorrow, assuming my LBS is open, I'll be riding down there for yet ANOTHER adjustment. Heavy sigh

[redrhodie]

I woke up to no heat this morning, but luckily my landlord managed to get a plumber over, and it was fixed in time to go for a short little 18 mile spin, which I did on my cushy steel bike. I wore my new Eagle Eyes glasses, and noticed some new things along my route I hadn't seen before. They were very comfortable, and I quickly got used to the yellow tint. The whole thing (new glasses, steel bike, riding slow) felt kind of luxurious.

Managed to talk to all the family, then had a nice dinner with bf and brother. My favorite thing was the lentil and butternut squash pot pie I helped my friend make last night. My dear brother, in charge of dessert, bought 2 pies at Trader Joes on Monday. Oops. One moldy, the other stale. Ohhhhh Sadddnessss.

If I don't get some pumpkin pie but soon, I may wither away. There may be a trip to the Sweet Berry Farm in my near future!

[smilingcat]

finally got off my duff and went for a real easy relaxing ride. Weather was very nice, sunny, big puffy clouds in the distance. The ocean was pretty and from top of Palos Verdes well not quite, I could see Santa Monica Bay and all the way over to Malibou. And the color was so vibrant and so rich. Day after rain is always a good day to ride because everything is so clean and so too is the air. I couldn't see Mt. baldy (near Fredwina) because of the clouds.

It was a lovely ride and for bonus I saw two peacocks meandering on the road. I just need to download the pictures, crop them and post here.

Took it really easy and just enjoyed the beautiful scene. 16 miles and 1000ft of climb.

Hope everyone had a happy gobbler day.

[ASammy1]

I went to the Great Dismal Swamp Canal Trail this morning, but only rode 10 miles... My legs just didn't seem to want to go today. Maybe it was the 2 bottles of wine BF and I indulged in last night????

[arielmoon]

I am visiting my mother and I hooked up with the local bike club for their Holiday Group ride. The weather was gorgeous and I met some nice new people. I did 33 miles at a decent clip and I plan to ride with them again tomorrow and Saturday. I am really impressed with the participation here.

[Crankin]

I wish I had my bike here in San Diego, but we did find some hiking trails about half a mile from the hotel. We are staying at a Marriot Suites, which are always in a business park, but it seems like they built all of these buildings right on the edge of a canyon, with trails.
Unfortunately, the rain had turned the trails to mud. I mean, thick, pasty mud that clung to my trail runners. We got about 3/4 way down to the bottom, and turned around. The hike up was good and then we got out to the street, it started raining, so we actually ran the rest of the way back. I have no idea how far we went, but we were out about an hour. It took awhile to get the muck off of my shoes.
Just got back from Thanksgiving dinner and now to relax.