Sunday 8/23 Rides

[Mr. Bloom]

A wonderful day in Southern Indiana. Other than the 15mph wind from the north, at 7AM, our ride was Sunny, 63 degrees, lush green fields and crisp green fields!

While Silver did the "second hill", I stopped to take pictures:



This is a hill overlooking a reclaimed open pit coal mine:


Silver coming back after the hill repeats:

[Crankin]

I only had time for a very short ride, about 13 miles, with 2 bigger climbs, one at the beginning and one at the end. My time was limited because my son rode out to our area on the minuteman Bike Path and we told him we would pick him up the terminus, which is 8 miles from our house. He rode a lot faster than we thought he would, because as we were climbing up the steep side of our street, he called to say he was in Bedford. So, we jumped in the car and got him, and then showed him the way to the house from the trail; he's thinking of doing the ride home from the house, which would be about 20-22 miles.
He is hooked! Has been riding a lot and is planning to commute until it gets cold. Now we are a 4 cyclist family.

[7rider]

I rode the bike leg of a triathalon today with MDHillSlug. DivingBiker was also there. It was my first ever timed event, and a whole lot of fun.
Check out my post in the tri forum: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=33215

[Miranda]

Went out with my regular ride buddy for a 35mi loop. Flatter route. Aerobic chatting pace. Nice ride. Except one dismount on my part for some unhappy loose farm dogs. But, they decided to let me pass on foot walking the bike without harm. Bonus.

[bmccasland]

Did an MS training ride this morning - 51 miles. The cold front that passed through yesterday mercifully lowered the temperature and dropped the humidity. It was 75 degrees and only 40% humidity! Not August weather for us!!!!

The ride took us through gentle rolling hills, and everyone was riding faster than normal. But the best, aside from the terrific riding weather, was that the rest stops were staffed by the Krewe of the Rolling Elvi and the Big Easy Roller Girls. The Elvi (one Elvis, two Elvi) are part of a Mardi Gras club ("crew"), and all dress as Elvis - so the rest stops had Elvis music blaring. One of the other rest stops was staffed by the Roller Girls - a roller derby team. Some of the Rolling Elvi ride in the MS tour, thus their support. They were having fun, and it was different than the usual volunteers or corporate sponsors.

51 miles, average speed 20! But on the Trace (Rails to Trails path) - on the way out - 21 mph, on the way back 14.5 mph. Yes, I was pooped!
I was able to sling-shot my way over some hills, and according to my computer, I got up to 37 - must have been going down hill, with a tailwind!!

[jobob]

I went from my home to Mission Coffee and back; about 25 miles with not a heck of a lot of climbing.

I'm so enjoying riding right now -- I'm not training or anything, just toodling around enjoying the experience.

I'm taking my dear sweet time getting back in the groove, and I'm seeing a little bit of improvement nearly every time I'm heading out.

Sooner or later I'll start training for real again (the Death Ride awaits ) but in the meantime I'm getting re-acquainted with my local routes, building back my stamina and base miles, and generally having lots of fun letting myself meander.

[denda]

After church went for a 24 mile ride. 94 degrees with 25 mph winds. Averaged 15mph. Getting ready for the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls, TX on Saturday.

[Owlie]

I have no idea how long a ride I went on, because my computer died in the middle and then started back up, so I have just under a mile on it, but my ride was longer than that. :/ On the upside, I've definitely improved my speed. Now, if only I could improve my confidence in traffic...and master the track stand... Beautiful evening, though. Mid-70s, sunny, nice breeze.

[Reesha]

Rode 25 miles of murderous hills with my student Holli... The weather was just beautiful! So pleased I didn't use my granny on any of those nutty hills.

[Becky]

DH and I did 46 miles with ~3000 feet of climbing. Around here, that's a lot. I envy you girls with real mountains to climb! We're doing the Civil War Century in a few weeks, so this was good practice. I was a hurtin' pup by the time we got home, but I'm chalking a lot of that up to heat, humidity, and a lack of any place to buy food or drinks. The dang Garmin kept dropping out in the wooded areas and in the valleys, which was kind of frustrating when trying to follow its turn-by-turn directions.

But, all in all, it was a good ride

[chicagogal]

This was a fantastic weekend of riding! This is my favorite time of the year - when I have pretty much reached my fitness goals and can go any ride I want with whoever I want, whenever I want to, in great weather.

On Saturday, I joined up with some guys from the club for a 60mi ride (half went further to make a century, but I had already committed to the club century for the next day and didn't want to overdo it).

Sunday was the club century. Very well supported with well-stocked rest stops. Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I got to meet some new people. Pace on the road was fast, as I stuck with some of the more competitive guys (who only got more competitive when they realized that they couldn't drop a girl if they tried). . . But really, it was all in good spirit, and we had a good time. There were probably too many rest stops making for a long day despite the fast pace on the road - but nobody went hungry!

Oh yeah, and if you include the ~20mi to get to and from the start of the ride. Sunday added up to 122mi! My longest ride ever!

Now the question is "to do or not to do the club training ride tonight?" . . . I'll see how I feel during the day.

[KathiCville]

I logged 35 miles yesterday on beautiful backroads near Harrisonburg, Virginia, where I'm housesitting for friends. I practiced standing to climb---a brand-new skill for me. Felt pretty darned good once I learned how to pick the right gear AND let the bike rock back and forth gently!

The most rewarding part of the ride was pushing hard the last two miles at about 26-28mph and having a carload of teenaged girls come up beside me and cheer me on with waves and thumbs-up!

[momtohanna]

wow!! You all are riding a LOT!!

I only took a short short ride yesterday. It was supposed to be my day off, but I ended up taking a quick 5 miler with my husband and daughter (in tow in the bike trailer). It was our first family ride and quite nice.

[kfergos]

My ride yesterday was so miserable I wrote it all in my blog (http://kf.rainydaycommunications.net/). The short story is that I was supposed to do an REI Outdoor School Intermediate Cycling class and I was really excited. I left on my bike at 8:00 and missed an 8:30 phone call from the instructor canceling the class. So I rode 25 miles into the heart of Boston, found out the class was canceled, and immediately was lost because I only had a GPS route IN, not OUT. Spent a while riding on hair-raising Boston streets. Lucked out and found a major road I recognized. Eventually found my way back to my original incoming route and retraced my steps home. Got sunburned, ran out of water (thankfully just before the end), had to pee the entire way, and still didn't get to do the class. Have sworn off riding by myself in Boston forever.

[papaver]

Had a beautiful ride yesterday. Discovered some beautiful villages nearby (I'm fairly new to the aria) and some magnificent scenery. Lots of hills (love them) some cobble stones (love them less ), a small medieval village, a classic car ralley (lots of old Fiat 500 ). Love those rides. Oh yes! And the weather was perfect!