Quote Originally Posted by Selkie View Post
Where are (did) you riding (ride), NY?

I rode 43 miles before dawn this morning. It was in the high 80s and I was drenched more today than yesterday. Saw a young buck (deer not human), a bunch of rabbits, a fox, and a couple 'stealth' cyclists (no lights, no helmets).

Simply too hot to walk the goldens. A cold front is coming in today, storms predicted, and we will return to our normal high temps (90ish).

As miserable as it's been, I'll take this over all that snow we had in the winter.
We did the "Train to Chesapeake" ride that PPTC/OHBC did over Memorial Day weekend. I was unable to join them then but got the cue sheet online. It starts at Harwood H.S., not far down Davidsonville Rd/Old Solomons Rd from Rt 50 in Maryland, and is a counter-clockwise loop that runs along the bay.

I was with a friend who is in town on vacation, and we were going to do the 61-mile version but the sun was so hot by 9 am (we started around 8:30) that we switched to the 47-mile route when we stopped for a break at North Beach. The heat seemed bearable for most of the ride but with about 8-10 miles to go I started to feel like crap. With only 2-3 miles left I simply had to stop, so we sat under a big shady tree for about 1/2 hour until I felt normal again -- taking the helmet off and alternating between drinking water and pouring it over my head made all the difference. It wasn't the first time that a good long break under a big tree has made such a difference on a hot day.

When we got back to the high school, the thermometer in my car read 102 degrees. We got lunch at a big new gas station/convenience store/Subway next to the school and then drove back to Virginia. Just as we got off the Beltway in Fairfax, we saw the ominous dark sky, and the storm hit as we turned into the neighborhood where my friend's parents live. I'm just glad I did not have to do much driving in it. I waited it out at her house and when I got back in my car afterwards, the temp was 75! When I got home the front door of my building was wet, and since there is a front porch protecting the door, the rain had to literally be horizontal in order to get the door wet like that.

Anyway it's nice outside now. I hope this weekend is nice because I have to do a 70-mile training ride.