Sunday April 19 rides

[Crankin]

Did a 32 mile, 2,500 ft. climbing ride today and I am hurting! It was much nicer out than I expected, almost 60 and very sunny. But, oh those winds. Coming straight out of the east, so the whole second half of the ride was into a strong headwind, of course, after my legs were tired from climbing.
Did my second climb of Oak Hill, going at my usual speed of 8-10 for the 4.5 miles. There were lots of people training there today. One young woman and guy, sped ahead of us, when I came upon them, on the side of the road, with him lying prone in the grass . I was pretty nervous, approaching this scene, but when I asked if they needed help, she said, "Oh no, we're doing intervals." I didn't say anything in return, but I guess I didn't know that intervals include feeling so bad, you have to lie on the side of the road! Very strange.
We headed into Bolton, from Harvard center and then took a flatter route back, coming out of farm country, onto Rt. 117, which is busy. My DH and friend's DH got a bit ahead of me, because by this time the wind was vicious and my back was killing me, when I came upon them, by the side of the road. My DH had a flat on the day when he had no tools or tubes; yesterday he had his big bag on the bike for when we lead a ride and then he took it off, but left the little one in the car. So our friend went ahead, I gave DH the tools and a tube/CO2 and off we went. I got a little second wind, since by now we were riding on familiar roads I like. With about 2-3 miles left to go to our friend's house, where our car was, another young couple pulled out of a parking lot and tried to catch us. My friend saw them (she was a bit behind us) and said they were really trying, but despite their youth, couldn't do it. I just wanted to get back! At one point, when going over a highway overpass, my legs were cramping like crazy, but we made it.
Tomorrow I am marching in the Patriot's Day parade (3 miles) with the military family group and that will be my only exercise!

[msincredible]

Did a 63 mile, 7000' foot ride today. It was beautiful out! Although a bit hot on my second major climb, Page Mill, which is mostly unshaded.

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...Page-Mill-loop

Couple of pictures:

[jesvetmed]

Cool pics, mcincredible! What is that second one about?
TINA: Excellent for you! Way to keep going further and having fun!

As for me... SIGH....
I spent most of the day sitting at a booth begging for money for the Breast Cancer 3-Day (not a horrible day!), but finally got freed up to go for a ride.
At first, couldn't find my sunglasses (they were inside the lining of my purse where there is a hole they went thru ) Then, finally started out on my usual loop. Got chased by a dog that is NEVER there! it was ok, he respected me screaming at him. Continued to ride up the hill -- about 4 miles -- FLAT. Ugh. This same tire flatted on my last ride, and I had already changed out the tube and couldn't find any problems with the tire. I looked it over, and still couldn't find any problems, so I just pumped up the (new) tube and thought I'd ride back home. No more than 30 seconds later I was flat again.

Called hubby, and he came to get me.
FOUR MILES.... WOW. I can run longer than that now!

At home I inspected it further and found that the new tube actually had a fault in the seam right near the valve stem. Totally unrelated to the previous flat. I hope. I did also find a small piece of glass in a different area. Hopefully all is well now, and maybe TOMORROW I can get a ride in finally. That is AFTER I replace my tire at LBS.

Here's to tomorrow being a new day!

[msincredible]

Cool pics, mcincredible! What is that second one about?

It's right in front of a farmhouse, not sure what it is supposed to mean though.

Hope you get a nice ride in tomorrow!

[sundial]

Target practice? He's got a head full of bullet holes.

[txred9876]

Cool pics, mcincredible! What is that second one about?
TINA: Excellent for you! Way to keep going further and having fun!

As for me... SIGH....
I spent most of the day sitting at a booth begging for money for the Breast Cancer 3-Day (not a horrible day!), but finally got freed up to go for a ride.
At first, couldn't find my sunglasses (they were inside the lining of my purse where there is a hole they went thru ) Then, finally started out on my usual loop. Got chased by a dog that is NEVER there! it was ok, he respected me screaming at him. Continued to ride up the hill -- about 4 miles -- FLAT. Ugh. This same tire flatted on my last ride, and I had already changed out the tube and couldn't find any problems with the tire. I looked it over, and still couldn't find any problems, so I just pumped up the (new) tube and thought I'd ride back home. No more than 30 seconds later I was flat again.

Called hubby, and he came to get me.
FOUR MILES.... WOW. I can run longer than that now!

At home I inspected it further and found that the new tube actually had a fault in the seam right near the valve stem. Totally unrelated to the previous flat. I hope. I did also find a small piece of glass in a different area. Hopefully all is well now, and maybe TOMORROW I can get a ride in finally. That is AFTER I replace my tire at LBS.

Here's to tomorrow being a new day!

What city are you doing the 3 day walk? I am a big supporter of the Komen foundation.

hopefully all your tire troubles are finished now!!!

Tina

[Biciclista]

9 miles in the "sun" it was gorgeous out, 68 degrees, the smell of flowers in the air. We rode down to Seward Park and back, 9 miles and 700 feet of climbing.
At the park, it was like scenes from my childhood. People in convertibles, (including a 1953 cadillac), mom, dad and the kids running around, i even saw children in swim suits! (that lake is COLD, what were they thinking?)
People of all ages and sizes were walking, biking and driving. The icecream man was there! Then we rode back up the hill to home.

[ttaylor508]

Great ride yesterday with friends. There were 7 of us at varying riding levels. One was on his first ride with a new bike another came with his Cruiser and a heavy backpack and several others are training for their first century ride. We left from our house and headed out to Redmond. DH and I and one other guy would do sprints to get our heart rate up and then wait for the others to catch up. They all did great. We turned around after climbing Inglewood Hill. It was a little hairy on E. Lake Sammamish as they are doing road work and totally took out the shoulder. Stopped by Redhook Brewery on way home and did the brewery tour (fun tour if you ever have the opportunity to do it). 35 miles total.

[kathybiker]

25 miles on the Big Island, my cruiser, in light rain and drizzle, temperature felt like mid 40's. Hunting for a forest preserve trail that turned out to be mud and impassable.

Did lots of riding on city sidewalks because the streets had no room for me.

Passed middle class homes crowded close together and nicer homes in spacious yards. Passed hundreds of businesses, dozens of strip malls, one interstate highway and a couple of forest preserves.

Ramps on all the sidewalk curbs, there to accomodate handicapped vehicles, made my ride possible. Didn't see any wheelchairs or other handicapped vehicles -- just about never do. The ramps help bikers more.

In about four hours, encountered only a handful of pedestrians and always went in the street to avoid them. Saw one bicyclist, dressed like me in rain gear and a backpack, a grocery bag slung over one of his handlebars.

Probably passed over 5,000 cars, or I should say, they passed me.

I stopped at a Sicilian bakery and ate arancini, a rice ball with a fried breading exterior, spicy rice, ground beef, tomatoes and peas inside. Munched on some sprinkled and chocolate butter cookies for dessert. Bought apple slices and cannoli cake for later.

Stopped at a video store and bought a DVD for $3.99. Something about a teacher and how her students made her internationally famous.

A few hours later stopped at a Polish grocery store and bought Black Forest ham and rye bread.

Picked out a couple of soup packets that had Polish writing on them, asked another customer what they were. She leaned in close and told me one was broccoli soup, the other a cheese soup. I could smell cigarettes on her breath. I thanked her and bought the soups.

Also bought Coca Cola that was bottled in Mexico, and so made with sugar rather than the high fructose corn syrup American Coke has. Cokes with sugar taste better. This one is sitting on my refrigerator shelf waiting for the right time for that "pause that refreshes."

The Polish grocery also sold PC computer magazine, Forbes, Newsweek and National Geographic in Polish language versions, besides a bunch of other magazines probably popular in Poland.

This was a big ride for noticing smells. Early on I passed someone's ranch style bungalow where roasting meat and onions wafted on the air.

I thought about stopping and just breathing in that smell, and all the warmth and homeyness it conjured up. Probably there was a family gathering around a dining room table, eating mashed potatoes and gravy, hot buttered rolls, a little salad, the roast pork or whatever it was, coconut cake for dessert. Just my fantasy.

Ten miles or so later, the smell of barbecue sauce on an outdoor grill sent a tangy pleasant smell through the neighborhood. Might have been Open Pit. Might have been ho'made sauce.

Laundry detergent scents would float past houses, once smelling like Tide, mostly like cheap brands.

Once I smelled hairspray ( do they still make Just Wonderful hairspray?) for an entire block. How could that be?

Did it always smell that way there? Who had sprayed it? How could the people who lived there stand it?

Once, on the sidewalk of a busy commercial street, I was hit with the most disgusting odor of wet and dirty dog, which was strange because there were no dogs in sight.

I stopped and retraced the last 50 feet or so that I'd rode, past a dental implant office, and the smell disappeared, as if I'd never smelled it to begin with.

The rain got worse on the way home, soaking my shoes, socks, gloves and shirt sleeeves around the wrists. I grasped my rain poncho on the handlebars of my bike, draping it over my legs and feet, but eventually the rain won out.

I was grateful to reach home with the Big Island. Grateful to get inside my warm and cozy place.

Glad to take a hot shower and dress in sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt, another riding adventure over, a simple day with simple pleasures, so thankful to have these experiences.