Last Day of July rides

[Owlie]

This wasn't today, but a friend and I rented bikes (mine's at the shop) on Wednesday and took them out on a local bike trail. The bikes in question were Giant Sedonas. 8-10 (don't know exactly) very odd miles. Not enough high gears for a very flat trail, and I had to make sure I wasn't leaving my friend behind. I'd stop every so often and grab a drink to let her catch up. We won't even talk about that saddle...

[azfiddle]

The summer rainy season brought some very welcome cooler temps to the desert- high 70's during entire 6-9 am ride! So the conditions, though humid, were remarkably pleasant. There was a fairly heavy rain last night and we had to be attentive to avoid patches of sand, mud, puddles, debris and finally negotiate a flowing wash (fortunately not deep). A nice change from last Saturday's group ride that left me overheated by the end . Total distance was 33.6 miles and about 14.7 mph, slowed a little by the unintended post-storm obstacle course.

[7rider]

I just spent the past 5 days in San Francisco for work - and although the hotel had a wonderful fitness center and a great lap pool (both of which I made full use), I didn't get any riding in.
But since I made use of the fitness center - both running on the treadmill and pushing lead plates around - my legs were kind of toast for today's ride. Today's ride was a solo mid-afternoon jaunt, having spent the better part of the morning sleeping off jet lag. Thankfully, it wasn't too hot today and humidity was low. I got 41 miles in thru Howard County. Saw a few others out there...not many (DH did the morning N2 ride with his buds), and I must have been dehydrated from the flight back, as 2 water bottles was not enough for 30 miles. I got a bottle of Gatorade at a gas station with 8 miles to go, and I drained that fully by the time I got back to the house. And then downed 2 full glasses of water while standing in the kitchen.

So, in San Francisco, I spent a fair bit of time observing San Francisco riders - who were plentiful - and comparing them to riders I've observed in Honolulu and D.C. (I spent two weeks in Honolulu in June). So, I thought I'd toss out my observations....

Riders in SF ride MUCH cooler bikes than riders in Honolulu. Although I was looking at a much smaller segment of the city, Honolulu riders tended to be on Walmart bikes, and rode a lot of the sidewalks! SF riders had much better on road facilities, and used them regularly. And...it was amazing to see SF riders line up at red lights. And obey them. Perhaps it is true - D.C. riders are maniacs and scofflaws. What's up with D.C. riders who view red lights as mere blips on their radar to ignore?? MY hypothesis: It has to do with the prevalence of on road facilities that makes city riding much more seamlessly integrated with the flow of traffic in SF vs. D.C., where every ride is a battle for space. With integration, acceptance, and common use, perhaps D.C. riders would earn the respect they need. Just my $0.02.

[schnitzle]

My girlfriend got a bike today so we took a First Bike, Last Day of July ride
Just a short 5 mile ride, but for some reason it took a lot out of me. She did great though!

[LilBolt]

Finally got the nerve to learn to ride the velodrome. Had a great time in class and no mishaps. Not sure if I'm ready to race, but the track is fun! No cars, no dogs, no potholes, no brakes which means the riders ahead are fairly predictable. Looks like I'll be bike shopping soon.

[jdubble]

Did the Chris King Gourmet (metric) Century with my husband on our tandem. Hadn't been out on that in quite some time - the last time we did that kind of mileage on it was 8 years ago, before we had kids! It was a beautiful ride, met lots of great people, ate delicious food! A perfect day

[schnitzle]

Did the Chris King Gourmet (metric) Century with my husband on our tandem. Hadn't been out on that in quite some time - the last time we did that kind of mileage on it was 8 years ago, before we had kids! It was a beautiful ride, met lots of great people, ate delicious food! A perfect day

Wow that sounds like an amazing event!!