July 4th Saturday RIDES

[HillSlugger]

30 fast miles on the tri bike. A bit windy but otherwise beautiful weather.

[Tri Girl]

30 fast miles on the tri bike. A bit windy but otherwise beautiful weather.

all miles feel fast on the tri bike (whether or not they actually are is subject to debate in my case, however).

[HillSlugger]

all miles feel fast on the tri bike (whether or not they actually are is subject to debate in my case, however).

I can't wait to race on her next Sunday

[7rider]

DH and I took our big aluminum canoe to Annapolis and went for a paddle on an arm of the South River. Sunny, breezy, and absolutely lovely. Saw a red tailed hawk, several osprey, martins, ducks, swallows, and a kingfisher.
Turned not a single pedal.
But I am waiting to see PFunk12 post a ride report. You on, P???? Yes, I saw something on Yahoo ....

[7rider]

I can't wait to race on her next Sunday

Are you doing that sprint tri, too? Good luck!!!

[PamNY]

Short ride today. The bike path was already crowded with people gathering to watch the fireworks. Sometimes it's amusing to watch the preparations for such things, but today was just annoying.

I didn't go see my hawk family. I am so worried that the crowds will upset them & possibly drive them into a busy street (the juveniles love to play on the ground). The closest fireworks barge is 2 miles so I think they will tolerate that. It's humans I'm worried about. I watched the hawks almost all day yesterday. One of the photographers got great photos yesterday:

http://palemale.com/

[HillSlugger]

Are you doing that sprint tri, too? Good luck!!!

You mean the one I talked Janice into doing? Yes!

[tzvia]

It's the last day of my vacation in Bend OR. Gotta leave tomorrow to go back to L.A. and I would rather stay here, frankly. Oh well. Been riding all around the Phil's trail network so today took a fun ride along Deschutes River Trail.



Happy Birthday U.S.A.!

[Reesha]

I'm finally on vacation. The past couple of days I've been parking 15-20 miles outside of town and have been biking to the Longsjo Classics a 4-stage road race held anually in Fitchburg, MA.

For those of you in the vicinity, there is still one last stage race tomorrow when the criterium races will run. For the most part, the weather finally broke (as in sun) and has held some during the races, but some start times had downpours.

Fifty-year old cycling legend Jeannie Longo is participating in the race this year.

I basically have been going in the morning when the women are racing. It's fun to watch and to provide encouragement and support to some of the local women as well. I have a friend racing as a Cat 3 so I have someone specific to cheer for. She's moving up to Cat 2 and will abrubtly lose her Cat 3/4 "comfort".

Tomorrow I may ride from the house to the back side of Fitchburg to watch the criterium, around 50 some odd miles or so. Don't know yet.

Speaking of weather, I finally also got out to mow the lawn. Because of schedule or work but mostly rain and more rain I haven't gotten a chance to mow it since May!

ooo I'm envious! I went to one day of Longsjo last year and I loved every minute. God to see the Women's pro race (or whatever cat it is... the main women's event!) And the final race of the men's pro. Team Colavita made things exciting last year!


As for my ride today I'm sad to say I had to cut it in half. I'm kind of wondering if my seat isn't getting old and squashy because after 40 miles yesterday and then 8 miles of 'hammering' today my frontal lady parts felt absolutely miserable. Burning in discomfort! I've got well over 2000 miles on this saddle, so maybe it's time replace it... I've never had this problem before this summer. The seat also doesn't have a cutaway... maybe I should consider getting one with a cut away? Those Selle SMP Lady models look appealing... aside from the hefty price tag.

[kfergos]

I'm finally on vacation. The past couple of days I've been parking 15-20 miles outside of town and have been biking to the Longsjo Classics a 4-stage road race held anually in Fitchburg, MA.

For those of you in the vicinity, there is still one last stage race tomorrow when the criterium races will run. For the most part, the weather finally broke (as in sun) and has held some during the races, but some start times had downpours.

Fifty-year old cycling legend Jeannie Longo is participating in the race this year.

I basically have been going in the morning when the women are racing. It's fun to watch and to provide encouragement and support to some of the local women as well. I have a friend racing as a Cat 3 so I have someone specific to cheer for. She's moving up to Cat 2 and will abrubtly lose her Cat 3/4 "comfort".

Ohmygoodness, I was there!! I rode Route 62 from Hudson to Princeton, and accidentally ended up riding on a very short bit of the Mt. Wachusett Road Race course -- that steep little hill into Princeton. People mistakenly cheered for me although it was pretty clear I wasn't a racer. I sat around in Princeton for a while and saw the leading Cat 3/4 women come through in their big group with one lap left. I can't imagine riding that loop MULTIPLE TIMES. Once on just a short stretch of it was plenty for me.

That was part of the 60-mile loop I did today on a rented bike. My normal one is making its way to Seattle for the STP, so I rented a Madone 5.2 from my LBS. It was my first time on a carbon fiber bike and I loved the feel. I didn't love the SRAM Rival components, the gearing, or the agonizing not-my-shape saddle, though, so it was a very mixed bag as far as cycling enjoyment went. However, the bike was clearly built for speed, and I averaged 19.3 mph on the 46 miles that my GPS worked -- and that was uphill into Princeton, alone, against a decent headwind. Normally I average about 15 mph on these rides, so it was really fun to blaze along at speeds normally way outside of my ability range. Plus it didn't rain and I didn't get lost, so I'd peg it as a pretty darn successful ride.

[divingbiker]

Met up with Kalidurga at the Kountry Kitchen (yes, spelled with a K ) for a late breakfast then out for about 25 miles.
It was windy.
It was warm.
It was hilly.
We rested, we walked, we took four hours to go
25 miles
I ran out of water, took a shortcut and tried to call Kalidurga to tell her but she did not have her phone with her.

Three lessons learned.
Wear your Camelbak, bring your phone, and start earlier when there's less wind.

I am cooked!

There you go. That's why I didn't ride with you and Kalidurga today. I was done with my 22 miles (from the Greenbelt Metro up to the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge and over to Bowie) by noon, before it got hot, with plenty of time to go out to the Indian buffet for lunch.

I can't wait to race on her next Sunday

I'll wave when you blow past me.

[pfunk12]

Yes, it's true...I did Sugarloaf!! This was my first group ride since my crash a month ago. I was planning on doing Poolsville (62 for me) but Phil convinced me to add on. He told me that if I got dropped, he would ride with me. There were 4 of us who did Sugarloaf and the one guy stayed at the mountain to meet up with his wife so only 3 of us did the full ride. Sugarloaf was just like you told me it would be - really not that bad. I love long, steady climbs so I had a blast and I was right behind Karim! At the base, Phil had given me instructions on climbing technique. But I am so clueless when it comes to cycling. I just ride...I have no idea what the heck I am doing! Since I was right behind Karim, I thought for sure that we had a really long way to go and then he said, "Okay...it's all downhill from here." And the descent? So, so scary! I would much rather climb up that mountain than be scared to death flying down! It was a great ride - beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, and great company. I ended up doing 82 miles - 20 miles more than my longest ride. I know - what was I thinking?! I have a good sore feeling in my legs and I've eaten enough food today to feed a family of 5.

DH and I took our big aluminum canoe to Annapolis and went for a paddle on an arm of the South River. Sunny, breezy, and absolutely lovely. Saw a red tailed hawk, several osprey, martins, ducks, swallows, and a kingfisher.
Turned not a single pedal.
But I am waiting to see PFunk12 post a ride report. You on, P???? Yes, I saw something on Yahoo ....

[Zen]

And the descent? So, so scary! I would much rather climb up that mountain than be scared to death flying down!

I'm right there with you, sister. I would like to do Sugarloaf, though. Guess I could always walk down.
(I've walked down hills before)

[pfunk12]

I rode the brakes the whole way! All those turns! If I had known about all those scary turns, I probably would have walked my bike down!

I'm right there with you, sister. I would like to do Sugarloaf, though. Guess I could always walk down.
(I've walked down hills before)

[TrekTheKaty]

Met up with Kalidurga at the Kountry Kitchen (yes, spelled with a K ) for a late breakfast then out for about 25 miles.

Kountry Kitchen! We had one in my college town--we ate there every Monday night after an evening class.