Sunday 8/23 Rides

[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!