July 10 Steam Baths (Rides)

[Catrin]

Flybye, glad to hear that you did your recovery drink - that is very important when you ride the porch swing Sounds delightful!

I had a fantastic ride today - did 40.5 miles (my longest yet). Saw some quite unusual creatures for this part of the world and will post them in the adventure forum (what wildlife do you see on your rides) shortly.

Temps were a balmy 82 degrees, lots and lots of sunshine, lots of cyclists in the first part of my ride and - even better - my SI Diva Gel Flow saddle that I am testing worked just fine Earlier in the week I was worried that it wasn't for me - but apparently I just had to get used to it - and a little spot of lube in a very specific place seemed to help. Actually, as good as everything felt am unsure it was actually needed...

I paid more attention to nutrition today, paced myself, and finished feeling much stronger and better than the 34 miles I did last Saturday. I guess I need more on the bike than I wanted to accept - but there you go. AND my blood sugar stayed stable

[huffandpuff]

Hot and humid, riding with DH so pushing more than usual (I am a lazy rider). Have been having bad time in heat, getting all woozy, read Zen's comments on Nunn so gave them a try. Wow - I still hate hot and humid but I actually felt pretty decent before and after the ride. Trying hard not to cave in to drinking and eating a bunch of weird stuff (gels, etc) to ride but Nunn seems pretty basic salt and minerals. Found awesome recipe for homemade energy bars too if anyone's interested: http://www.nomeatathlete.com/homemade-energy-bars/
check out the vegan energy bars. Really stick with you but not in bad rock in your stomach way.

[emily_in_nc]

Nice little 11-mile ride to the farmer's market on bike paths and road, a bit of suburban, rural, and urban all mixed together, which I kind of enjoy (keeps me on my toes!). Hot and humid to be sure, but still a pleasant ride, especially coming home (almost all downhill...weeeeee!) Planning a longer ride for tomorrow. My mileage is really low this year due to moving, so I need to start increasing slowly to avoid injury.

[Blue_Fedora]

Not a distance ride today - just a short 20 miler with a group from a LBS. No "options", everyone rode the same route to the same place... The Rock Store and the mega hill climb up from there through Malibu Canyon. Once we got to The Rock Store, trust me, had there been a group heading back I would've joined them but after a short break everyone took off up the mountain... and so did I.

As bad as the climb was on the way up (and for me it was tough... someone said it was 2mi @ 8% but I haven't a clue) it was just as bad on the descent. I'm a big ol wussy-wuss fraidy-cat on descents! I feel like I can't brake hard enough if I stay on the hoods and my forearms cramp pretty badly. So I opted for riding in the drops where at least I felt better control of the brakes. One of the ladies told me I should have the LBS put wedges in for me so I could brake and pedal at the same time which would increase my stability and boost my confidence. Guess I have some research to do