Riding weather! Temps in the 50s today made me ride...

[DeniseGoldberg]

What an awesome gift in mid-January - a day with temperatures in the 50s (Fahrenheit, that is!).

My plans are to take tomorrow off in exchange for working January 2nd, and as long as this weather sticks around I still plan to do that. But today? Well, I just couldn't resist. So I worked from 7:15 until 2, then headed home. I need to get another couple of hours of work in, but I wanted to share my escape with you before I get back to working...

I got in a very nice ride, mostly dry pavement, sun, some wisps of clouds. It was 51 degrees when I headed out, and silly me - I can't remember how to dress for that temperature. Actually I did pretty well, since I wore a wind jacket with zip-off sleeves. I took the sleeves off about 3 miles down the road and then I was fine. There is still ice on ponds, and I rode by some wooded areas that are still sporting snow cover. But it felt so good to ride in warmer temperatures. I only managed 18 miles given that I wanted to be home before the darkness came - but that 18 miles felt mighty good!

Anyone else manage a ride today?

[Crankin]

I did! After totally deflating a tire, since it's been so long since I used the pump, I went out on my first solo ride since moving to Concord. I did a 15.2 mile loop that will probably be one of my short mainstays as it gets lighter out. I got home early enough (2:15), but the tire thing took 15 extra minutes, so I was getting worried about it getting dark, by the time I changed, etc. The roads for this loop are well traveled (Denise you've been on both), so there wasn't any sand or too much debris. I stayed off of the side streets as some looked like beaches. I need to do some exploring of other streets in Concord, too. It would be quite easy for me to do some of my old loops, but even though it's only about 4 miles to get to some of them, it involves crossing RT 2A, which is dicy even for cars at rush hour. Oh yes, and there's my street (14% grade) and my driveway (20% at one point). It's really something to look forward to at the end of every ride! If I stay above 5 mph on the driveway, I feel happy.
I might ride tomorrow PM, but I don't think I will have enough light.

[cyclechick314]

I rode too.....couldn't believe the 62 degree weather.
I did overdress....got too hot, and didnt have the kind of clothes I could zip and unzip as needed...I will learn how to do this better.
I also got a flat.....grrrrrr. I think the CO2 cartridges are one of the best things invented. I don't have the hand strength to pump those stiff pumps.
It still takes me quite a while to get them fixed..but I did and then went on my merry way. It was a great ride, on a sunny winter morning.....felt good.

[TrekJeni]

Here in Ohio we have been having unseasonably warm weather. Today's high was 61. Tomorrow though it looks like we're supposed to get a few inches of the white stuff.

I headed over to my girlfriend's house (6 miles away) and then we kicked butt on some major hills. Got another 25 in with her. Went back to her house where her hubby had dinner on the table and my bf handed me a beer. Good day was had by all!

Jeni

[annie]

It was a heat wave in Iowa, too, yesterday! We hit a record high of 51. And you bet I rode! The roads were in good shape. The sun was out. I wish I could have gone longer and farther! But 20 miles was better than none, and then work called. I actually got to ride on Wed, too, so TWO days in a row, outside on the bike, in January. Amazing! Makes me feel like ME again. And today, its snowing as I write this. Typical IA weather. Changes from one day to the next.

annie

[SpinSis]

I didn't get out yesterday--to much to do at work--but I did ride into work today and I plan to do the 16 mile trek out to BF in Bedford around 3pm! Can't wait. Hopefullly, I won't encounter too much traffic then since the ride is largely on well-traveled routes (since the bike path is not a likely option). Ordered a bunch of cold weather riding gear, but it sure wasn't needed this morning!

Robyn: have you see the laminated pocket route maps for rides that depart from the end of the Minuteman trail? They might give you ideas for rides in Concord/Carlisle too.

Enjoy the warmth!
S

[DeniseGoldberg]

Annie -

I'm afraid that your weather is heading our way too. It was in the 50s again today, with rain predicted for tomorrow and cold temps (20s!) predicted for Sunday. Glad to here that you managed 2 rides this week though.

SpinSis -

I hope that your ride out to Bedford was a good one.

As for me? I did it again! Well actually, I suspect that I overdid it since I absolutely ignored those guidelines about how much mileage you should increase your ride by when you're not in in-season biking shape. I feel great right now, but I have to admit I won't be surprised if I have some complaining muscles tomorrow! I took the day off to cycle, and cycle I did! I headed out on one of my summer loops and managed a 50 mile ride today. I waited until the temperatures warmed up to the high 40s before I left home so I could decrease my clothing layers - and I actually got the layers right today. The temperature was 54 by the time I arrived home again, but it was late afternoon and I could feel the cool air coming in with the light wind. Another fabulous ride! I actually saw a few robins today too. I wonder if some of them hang out here for the winter?

What a nice respite in the middle of winter...

--- Denise

[SpinSis]

SpinSis -

I hope that your ride out to Bedford was a good one.

Yup, I had a great ride to Bedford--well, the latter half anyway in Lexington. The first half is just trying to get out of the city and not get doored! I was bit overdressed but it was managable. And I can relate to "too much, too soon" though. I haven't been a good gym girl yet this winter, so between that and minimal lunch, I nearly bonked on the final wall..I mean hill But the downhill ride was a sweet reward! So, at least I can say I logged 21 miles today (5 to work, 16 to Bedford)! And somehow I managed to get to Bedford within 15 minutes of dusk!

Hope others had good rides! And I hope we get some more dry/mild days soon.

Happy weekend,
s

[wavedancer]

Oh yes, today was a gift! I took a comp day for the MLK holiday (I usually have Mondays off) and got out for a 19-mile ride on the Cape. I am riding my mtb with some Kenda Cross tires that are semi-slick in the center and have some lugs on the sides. Perfect for the road-to-packed-sand-roads that we have so often here. No ice anywhere! Looks like this could be the last outdoor-riding day for awhile, so it was great to be able to be out there.

My Spinervals DVDs arrived today, so it'll be me and Coach Troy...I hope he can keep me on the trainer...I have never been one to be able to stay on stationary equipment for long, but I would like to maintain some level of bike-related fitness this winter.

How's the XC skiing shaping up in the north?

Linda

[Crankin]

Not too much skiing so far... we went to Jackson over the New year's weekend. The first day they were bussing people to a higher location for x-country, so we went snow shoeing. That was fun. The second day, we went out on a short beginner loop on skis at a place called Bear Hill. It was OK, but we were told it was better on the blue trails. My husband and I were a little leery of big hills on skinny skis our first time out this year, so our friends went off and we snow shoed the blue trails. It was awesome! I felt bad I hadn't tried the skiing, but it was probably a good idea, since i was very sore from the 10k snow shoe the day before and the hour skiing that day. We are going to Lake Placid in February and i am hoping to get some practice in before then. It's hard to improve in a sport you hardly ever get to do. I was just starting to get good at the end of last winter.

[SpinSis]

So it's 9am and almost 45 degrees here in Bedford. Thinking of hitting the road later this morning to test the legs and lungs--supposed to reach 59 degrees! Hopefully the sand has moved inside the white line. And hopefully the slash in the tire from last spring will continue to hold!

Are others going to be out there?

And as an aside, or I guess slightly off-topic (OT) as we say on threads: I added myself to bikejournal.com with a goal of at least doubling last year's milleage, which would be 1600 miles! Only 1579 to go!

Happy spinning,
s

[DeniseGoldberg]

So it's 9am and almost 45 degrees here in Bedford. Thinking of hitting the road later this morning to test the legs and lungs--supposed to reach 59 degrees! ...
Are others going to be out there?
s

Me too, me too!

I had to work from home yesterday because the town I live in decided that to replace our water meters and I needed to be home to let them in. Luckly they showed up at 9am. So - with working from home, I was able to ride yesterday too. I worked from 7am to 2pm, then went out for a 26 mile ride, then worked for a couple more hours. No guilt, and I had a fabulous ride. The roads were totally dry, the temps were in the upper 50s, but yes, I did have to dodge piles of sand too. My bike and I are definitely heading out today too. I'm sitting here thinking of waiting until it warms up a little more, but hey - I think I'm going to head out soon!

Happy riding to all!

--- Denise

[newfsmith]

I actually have been commuting on Ruby, my Col de Madeleine, since last Friday. What a pleasant change from my winter commuter. I did give Wednesday's rain and highwinds a pass though. Thursday was still nice when I headed home in the dark so I was able to get some hill reps in. Once the sunset reaches 4:45 I will be able to start taking the longer routes home. That can happen any time now. Meantime, I'll take every warm, dry day I can get.

[SpinSis]

Wow. Got back around 12:30 from my 20-ish mile loop, and I think all of Eastern Massachusetts is out on their bicycles today! I felt like I was going the wrong way on the loop though, which always makes me feel like I missed some message somewhere. The roads were dry and relatively debris free. And aside from some occasional headwinds, the conditions were great. I may have pushed myself a bit much, but I've never been good and regulating pace. Oh well! Hope others had good rides.

Maybe again tomorrow?
s

[DeniseGoldberg]

Ah, another good ride. I managed 42 miles, but of course headed out in the direction that meant the wind was in my face on the way home.

And that wind did kick up while I was out.. just checked the weather service website, and the forecast for this afternoon in my area "West wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph". Oh well, that's part of the joy of riding, isn't it?

I find it truly amazing that at this time of the year I think that temps in the high 40s to mid 50s is very warm - but if you gave me the same temperatures in early September I'd think it was cold! The forecast is for cooler weather tomorrow, but it still sounds rideable...

We are definitely having an unusual January though. When I watched the weather forecast last night, the forecaster did say that winter will be back... And just out of curiosity, I looked back over my exercise logs for the past 5 years. I try to ride year round, but in a normal winter I'm lucky to get a few short rides in. The last year that I was able to ride the types of distances I am pulling off this year was 2002. So it's been a while since we had a mild January. No complaints here, although from Robyn's post last week I suspect she would like some snow for cross-country skiing & snowshoeing!

--- Denise