weekend rides - the fable of the turtle and the hare

[mariacycle]

(((Biciclista))) I loved reading the story of your ride and feel so inspired Congratulations on your fourth such ride and I can't wait to hear about #5-#12!! By the way, DH sounds like a great riding partner

[Crankin]

Yesterday I did 16 miles around Hanscom AFB and back, in the same winds everyone else is having. At one point, on the way back we got behind a very large couple who were going slower than us and we used them as a wind shield until we got near Concord center. But, overall, the ride was good and speed was good for those conditions.
Today I felt I had to do a long ride. I thought it would be less windy, but it felt worse, maybe because we were riding right into it for about 20 miles and the we had some nice gusts, even when we were riding in a tailwind. The goal was to ride to our favorite hill in Harvard, sort of a benchmark for me at various parts of the season. Too bad DH decided to take a somewhat circuitous route, which involved some nasty hills before we actually got to the hill we set out to do. It's not the worst hill in Harvard, and that was fine, as I went up it like a snail, compared to usual. But, right before we went up the hill, I had to pee really badly, and there's no place to stop, so I went into the woods, and I discovered I had no tissue, so I had to get creative... by this time I wanted to turn around and go home, but we soldiered on.
It was really sunny and warm (55 F), but I was not feeling it today; probably because I rode 36.5 miles with 1724 feet of climbing and my longest previous ride so far was only 25.5. So much for building up gradually. But, I got that out of the way.

[Biciclista]

I rode 31.5 miles yesterday with my DH. My daughter drove out to meet me at the farmer's market. My husband is still dealing with the after effects of his car-assisted bike incident and is riding his mountain bike to put less stress on his arm but I'm sure it was too much, too soon Normally, I am the tortoise, and he is the hare- no matter what he's riding- road bike, folding bike, or mountain bike, so I knew that he really had over exerted himself it when I repeatedly dropped him....and waited for him to catch up.

When we rode the 8 mile loop road through Saguaro National Park, we met a group of 30 cyclists from Quebec- they certainly got a warm welcome as it was headed for an unseasonably high temp in the 90's

This morning I just did a solo ride of 19 miles.

ah poor guy. At least he's trying.

[azfiddle]

Yeah- I think the thing he was most bummed about was losing his attempt to get the perfect commute year with the bike journal commuters. He was riding to work again 3 weeks after the accident and long before he got an okay from the doctor. (but then, you probably know about that obsession at your house, too....

[Biciclista]

uh yeah, I most certainly do. I'm used to it, but I think when my DH talks to other people they think he's nuts..

[nscrbug]

WOW...that trail in your pic looks absolutely WONDERFUL!! I could only WISH for such a lovely trail like that around here. Great report!

Linda

[kfergos]

Had an excellent vigorous ride yesterday. We rode to Snoqualmie Falls, and then on the way back got lost because of having to avoid flooded roads near Carnation.

I ended up with 73.8 miles and about 4800 feet of climbing. Averaged about 16.4 mph, but the last five or so miles the leaders picked up the pace and we were zipping along somewhere around 22 to 24 mph -- pretty speedy for me!

It was overcast the whole time and we got drizzled on a bit, but mostly we all just got totally filthy from the wet roads because nobody brought fenders (forecast was for partly sunny). Overall a fun ride.

[Biciclista]

Nice photo of you, what's up with the white ribbon?
and what do you mean no one "brought" fenders?? (LOL, mine live on my bike)
I was wondering how cyclists were faring with all the flooding up there. glad you finished with a smile!

I know what you mean about the grime, I cleaned my bike yesterday because it looked disgusting and discovered not only grime, but a slow leaking tire which might have been why the last 1/3 of my ride on Saturday was so tough. (Ya think?)

[kfergos]

Nice photo of you, what's up with the white ribbon?
and what do you mean no one "brought" fenders?? (LOL, mine live on my bike)
I was wondering how cyclists were faring with all the flooding up there. glad you finished with a smile!

I know what you mean about the grime, I cleaned my bike yesterday because it looked disgusting and discovered not only grime, but a slow leaking tire which might have been why the last 1/3 of my ride on Saturday was so tough. (Ya think?)

The white ribbon is reflective. I wear it for four reasons:
1. To identify me to motorists. If you're a driver, all bicyclists look pretty much the same. But if you see me with my ribbons once, and then see me again later, you'll know it's me. My theory is that connection -- "Oh, it's the same person I saw earlier!" -- changes me from Just Another Darn Bicyclist Slowing Me Down to a human being.
2. To be eye-catching and reflective when I ride in the dark.
3. To be pretty.
4. To be a wind sock so I always know which way the wind is coming from.

"Brought fenders" - This group is a fast-paced group that tends to have those race blade fenders you can snap on and off real quick. They only put those fenders on when the roads are wet. If it's really rainy, we'll all bring our rain bikes that have permanent fenders with buddy flaps. I have permanent fenders on my commuting bike, but on Lucy (the Fast Bike shown in this picture), I just use a rear race blade. Except yesterday I didn't.

We rode through a fair bit of water up there. I was unaware of the flooding until we got to a sign that said "Road closed due to flooding." We rode through anyway and some places the water was low enough to ride through; other places, we had to reroute. I can't imagine what's happening up there today with more rain!

[Biciclista]

The white ribbon is reflective. I wear it for four reasons:
1. To identify me to motorists. If you're a driver, all bicyclists look pretty much the same. But if you see me with my ribbons once, and then see me again later, you'll know it's me. My theory is that connection -- "Oh, it's the same person I saw earlier!" -- changes me from Just Another Darn Bicyclist Slowing Me Down to a human being.
2. To be eye-catching and reflective when I ride in the dark.
3. To be pretty.
4. To be a wind sock so I always know which way the wind is coming from.

what a great idea!! I'll be looking for you.

[Biciclista]

btw; On our Saturday ride we were on the B-G trail and there was a sign that said "ROAD CLOSED" and like true cyclists everywhere, we ignored the sign and rode on until we came to a mudslide.. I guess they meant it.

[Velocivixen]

Mimi, I loved reading this, and it gives me such inspiration! Especially as a "neighbor" just south of you I feel sort of a rain based kinship. I admire your use of strategy to beat some of your faster competitors! Nicely done. I am in my "infancy" of riding, so your story gives me hope!
Happy riding.

[lph]

Kfergos, I like the ribbon! And it is pretty

[Blueberry]

Went for a ride yesterday - it's crazy-windy here again now (with strong thunderstorms coming later - ugh!). Trying to get some climbing in since I'm 11 weeks from a major climbing event. Set a new max heart rate (I thought I knew my max - apparently it's not my max - don't know if what I hit yesterday was or not). Beautiful day, though - but riding now means cleaning the bikes of pollen....

[Blueberry]

@kfergos - Love the ribbon! Where did you find it? Lovely bike too