Sunday, July 19th Rides

[Ana]

It's chilly here but I finally got out on a longer ride (9 miles) on my new bike! I will post pictures once I can get some (I don't own a digital camera)! It rides like a dream! It's like having an extra layer of smooth pavement between me and the road.

I may go out later too if it doesn't rain

[HappyTexasMom]

Sounds wonderful, Ana! I can't wait until I have a new ride.

Took Rocky out for a 24 mile ride up the greenbelt. Managed to leave early enough to make it back before the temps broke 100. Being out earlier also meant the shadows were longer, which means more shade. Yay!

This was my longest ride yet It felt nice, but now my lower neck is *really* achy.

[mudmucker]

Today I rode 24 miles with speed intervals along level stretches. I wasn’t going to but I ended up doing hill intervals too. Well, because they were there. Several quarter mile sprint hills, half-mile, mixed in with a couple of 2-3 mile hills. I also came back with my best time ever on this route, even with the wind. You know, I really love vacation. I so have had the luxury of time to have been able to focus on my riding and make it a priority in these last two weeks - I try to make it a priority when I'm working but it doesn't always happen because I don't have the kind of job where I can shut the light out after I'm done. I’ve ridden just about every day, mixing it up, with a couple of recovery days. The fun thing is, with this focus I’ve really seen a noticeable improvement in my condition from day one of vacation to now, a couple of weeks later. I really do envy you folks who by the nature of your situation, have this kind of time or at least flexible time as a matter of fact. But alas, vacations end. I will have one more week in August I hope, but after that it usually goes downhill as I certainly don't have the opportunity to ride as much and the days get shorter. I truly lucked out with extremely good weather comparitably, during these 2 weeks. As soon as vacation started, so did the big window of sun here in MA. Had I taken it at any point in June I would have been very sad.

I love riding. Did I say I love vacation? I want more.

[pfunk12]

I did the shop group ride that 7rider does. By the way, where were you?!!
It was a tough ride for me. I did 83 miles yesterday. It was the same ride that I did 2 weeks ago - the regular Saturday N2 ride but I added on and did Sugarloaf Mountain with one other guy. It was only my second time going that distance and we both agreed that yesterday was harder than the previous ride. It was windy and since there were only 2 of us, we had to work much harder. The mountain seemed much higher yesterday! My calves started to cramp up about 10 miles from the end. I was exhausted when I got home. Then last night, I was a bike escort at a local 8k road race. Very cool experience for me since it's organized by my running club and when I used to compete, I did this race every year. It's highly competitive because there is prize money. You get the top local athletes and also some incredible Ethiopians, Russians, Kenyans, etc. I got the task of leading the top woman runner. I have to say that it was much more fun being on a bike leading the top woman than running the race and chasing her for 8k! So with that, I did a total of 93 miles yesterday and then the shop ride this morning. I was toast today. I was off the back of the paceline. Way off the back...and that has never happened to me. But then a guy crashed so 6 of us stopped and waited to make sure he was okay. Once I knew he was okay, I thanked him for crashing so I could catch up. The 7 of us split up after that and 4 of us went to do a very tough hill. Since it was such a small group and not much testosterone (2 men and 2 women), the pace was manageable after that. At the end of the ride, one of the guys pulled me aside to show me how to sprint. We kept going up a hilll and down the hill....up...down. I still have so much to learn about cycling. My excuse is that I am a runner who has a bike. All in all, good weekend of cycling for me.

[7rider]

I did the shop group ride that 7rider does. By the way, where were you?!!

All in all, good weekend of cycling for me.

I'll say!! So...you did Sugarloaf on Saturday, and ...was it Mountaingate today? Geez. You are a machine!!!

Me....I was home in bed, sick. I had been teetering on the brink of a head cold all day on Saturday. Took a Sudafed before hopping into bed, and stared at the ceiling, wide awake, until 3 a.m. Dozed. Woke up at 5:30 with my head about to explode. Felt chasing you guys around for 30+ miles might not be such a good idea!

Glad you had an awesome weekend. We'll be calling you National Champ too, one of these days!

[pfunk12]

Yes, Sugarloaf and Mountaingate. Ouch!

It's funny. Everyone keeps asking me if I race or when I will start racing. Even though I was a successful competitive runner, I respect the sport of cycling too much to just jump into the racing scene. It is so, so technical and I'm still learning so much. With running, I just put my shoes on, trained hard and ran fast. And at this point, I am really, really enjoying the group rides. Maybe...maybe...someday I'll do a race. Then again, every Sunday I feel as if I am racing

Sorry to hear that you were not feeling well. Hope you are over it by now and you'll be back on the bike tomorrow.

By the way, did Tom tell you what he said to me? When I think about it, I can't stop laughing. We talked early on during the ride. Then Stan crashed and 6 of us stayed with him. As I said in my previous post, the group of 7 split up into 2 groups - Mountaingate and not Mountaingate! We got swallowed up by the A group and part of the B group crossing Wisconsin. Because Tom hadn't seen me after the paceline, he said, "Did you do the A ride today??" I should have lied and said, "Why yes, I did!!!" (In my wildest dreams!)

I'll say!! So...you did Sugarloaf on Saturday, and ...was it Mountaingate today? Geez. You are a machine!!!

Me....I was home in bed, sick. I had been teetering on the brink of a head cold all day on Saturday. Took a Sudafed before hopping into bed, and stared at the ceiling, wide awake, until 3 a.m. Dozed. Woke up at 5:30 with my head about to explode. Felt chasing you guys around for 30+ miles might not be such a good idea!

Glad you had an awesome weekend. We'll be calling you National Champ too, one of these days!

[Fredwina]

Did my usual ride to church, but afterwards did some exploring:


It's an old segment of Rt 66 that was bypassed for a railroad bridge:

[Biciclista]

14 miles around town; and a ride on the light rail
see photos here:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=32473

a glorious day in the neighborhood

[Crankin]

We did a 44 mile "north shore ramble" with friends. We started in Topsfield and then did a loop around Ipswich Neck, with beach views, harbor views, and some rolling hills. Then we doubled back to Ipswich center (which was very crowded with some sort of festival). Stopped to get more drinks and then went to a park for a picnic. It was a gorgeous day- 80-85, no humidity. But, the direct sun did get to me. I drank 3.5 20 oz. bottles, 1 Accelerade.. 2 with Powerade, and half a bottle of water with Nuun. The route we did is a popular route in many books and for club rides. There were tons of cyclists, but also a lot of traffic, which I just didn't care for. Ipswich center had a scary intersection, which my DH got out in the middle of and blocked so I could get across.
When we left lunch, we got onto some nice back roads until the one real hill appeared, with no shade and cars speeding by. I fell back from DH and my friend's DH as I really thought I might keel over here, so I went super slowly. I really was wishing I had eaten more for lunch, but it is hard for me to eat when I am riding hard. Thankfully, we turned right after the hill and got onto some wonderful, shady, neighborhood streets and country roads. We used GPS directions for the last 14 miles, instead of the cue sheet, which had some scary cautions about certain roads. This worked out well.
After getting back to the car, we headed to an ice cream stand and had chocolate covered yogurt... mmmmm.
I am exhausted, even though this was mostly a flat ride.

[Jiffer]

I'm camping 16 miles south of Idyllwild. Dh and I both packed our bikes and planned to ride up the highway together, yet Dh had to go home sick after the first night. (I'm here with daughter and other camping friends.) I wasn't going to, but ended up riding ALL BY MYSELF up an unfamiliar road (other than having driven it yesterday). This is a first for me to do something like this alone and I'm so proud of myself that I conquered it. Got up at 5:30 (before the stupid 100+ heat) and rode a total of 36 miles with 4,000 feet of climbing.

I'M PROUD OF ME!!! And all my camping buddies are SO impressed. When driving this route yesterday, my friend told me if I actually rode my bike to Idyllwild, she'd give me a dollar! When I got to Idyllwild I texted her and told her she better get her dollar ready. And she did!

[Aggie_Ama]

Went camping for the weekend at Huntsville SP, you can almost forget it is 95 when tucked in the forest! DH and spent the last two days riding the trails there and testing out my new bike. The trails have just enough climbing, rooty descents and sand pits to keep you on your toes. It was a great time and my bike already has about 20 miles on her!

[arielmoon]

I had a lovely solo ride of 24 miles. I felt stiff when I started out and decided to just take it easy and not worry about speed. I started loosening up and started to feel really good but still didnt push very hard. Low and behold, when I got home I had ridden much faster than the same route the day before. Go figure.

There were two buffalo snoozing up on a berm by the road and it would have been a great pic if I had had a camera with me.

[leathela]

I started my day with a 60-minute spin class (which was insanely hot and sweaty, being that our spin studio is about 120 degrees in the summer), and later took a moderate, 23-mile ride with my boyfriend. A few challenging climbs, but mostly level surfaces with very nice views of the water. Perfect way to spend the day!

[tulip]

I went out riding with my brother, who is an excellent rider and much faster than I am. I kept up with him for the first half, but then fell back. Even so, I pushed myself more than usual. He got to loop around and get in some extra miles. I did 19 miles in 1:08, which for me is pretty darned quick. It got me out of my comfort zone, which I rarely do while riding alone or with my regular riding partner. It's good to do from time to time.

[denda]

I did 28.5 miles Sunday afternoon. Temps in the 90's with strong winds.
I averaged 14mph. I am trying to get ready for the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls, Tx on Aug. 29th.