April 5 Rides

[7rider]

No snow here, either. Flowers are in full bloom and most on the group ride got by with arm warmers and knee warmers today.

One of the local racers (and new dad), A, took on my friend Erica and me as his day's "project" for the ride. He convinced us we should go up Massachusetts Ave - which is the separation point for the B and C rides. The C ride goes straight, the B ride goes up the hill of Mass Ave. So, we did, and he spend most of the ride with us, barking out instructions of when to push and when to ease up....how to climb better...close the gap, etc. He wanted us to ride smarter, not just ride harder. We also did a bit of "cheating"...we took a short cut (a commonly known and used one) and we rode to the front of the pack when the group was stopped at a red light. That also allowed us to set the pace of the group until we hit the hill or some other place where we knew we'd get dropped.

He pointed out 2 bad habits I have that I really need to correct (I know about them already...they are MY habits, after all! ) - that is riding head down, and riding with my shoulders scrunched up. He would ride beside me...."Lift up your head....breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. You can't breathe with your head down! Drop your shoulders!"

So...staying relaxed and pushing in all the right places, I managed to hang with the B's today...much to the amazement of everyone...including my DH. I told A that he only got away with it BECAUSE I'm not married to him! He knows...his wife gets all angry when he tries to coach her (as I do when my DH tries to coach me!).

So...34 miles at an 18.2 mph average. Not bad for early April. And Jiffer...like you, I had fresh legs today (I didn't ride at all, yesterday), which was, I think, a large part of why I was able to hang with the group.

MDHillSlug....I am feeling better about Iron Girl already!

[sundial]

Had a whopper of a front blow in and my knee was very unhappy so had to cancel my ride.

BikeDutchess, I like that jacket.

[tctrek]

Didn't ride today, but we did about 30 very hilly miles yesterday. It was absolutely gorgeous weather and I inadvertently got my first sunburn of the season. We rode a route that usually has some bad bike-chasing dogs but thankfully they weren't out yesterday and we just had a beautiful ride. Was feeling it some today so just went to the gym and did some weight training as my recovery.

[redrhodie]

I had a great couple of hours on my white bike, which I haven't been on in maybe 2 weeks (been mostly commuting on my red bike, Puddin'). It was windy, but I felt really strong (thanks to Puddin's extra weight). Beautiful clear blue above, and dry pavement below. I won't even complain about the wind.

[pfunk12]

7Rider,

Do you do the 8:30 Bicycle Place ride?

[OakLeaf]

For some reason a whole bunch of out-of-towners showed up for our regular Sunday ride, and someone forgot to tell them it was supposed to be a 19-23 mph pace. Then halfway through we met up with the "A" group from the next town, and they decided to join us. So it turned into a hammer-fest, but happily they were content to let us lesser mortals suck wheel. We were rolling along at 27 mph for a while there. It was almost like motorpacing.

Honestly my legs have been more fried with the regular group when it's been smaller and we keep the rotation going, but this was a whole different kind of workout. 54 miles, counting to and from the start.

[7rider]

7Rider,

Do you do the 8:30 Bicycle Place ride?

I do.

Were you there?

[pfunk12]

I do.

Were you there?

I live up the street - a one minute walk away from the shop. Just bought my new bike there. But I haven't joined the Sunday ride yet. I'll be away next weekend but might join you the following Sunday. Would be nice to meet another TE member

[NbyNW]

Finally some nice weather in Seattle!

My lungs are still clearing out from the winter cold, so I was thankful for the balmy weather today. I think it got almost up to 70. Winter did a number on me, I'm in terrible shape.

Got DH to do a ride with me (finally), since I had a new drivetrain put on his bike last fall. A nice easy 7.5 miles each way from Log Boom Park to Red Hood Brewery and back. It was good to have a couple of pints at the midpoint of the ride!

I'm trying to get DH to do longer & longer rides with me . . . if I have to use beer as an incentive, so be it!

[7rider]

I live up the street - a one minute walk away from the shop. Just bought my new bike there. But I haven't joined the Sunday ride yet. I'll be away next weekend but might join you the following Sunday. Would be nice to meet another TE member

Excellent!!!! Welcome aboard and I'll look forward to seeing you there!