April 27-29 Weekend Rides

[Catrin]

Had a sweet 25 miles on my Gunnar yesterday Next to no winds - even across the naked corn fields and it was just sweet. I thought about riding further but want to ride today. Am ramping things up slower than I would like because the weather has prevented consistent riding.

Today is supposed to be 72 degrees and +19 mph winds. That translates to higher winds across the corn fields... I will ride in my favorite nature preserve park. It is something like a pretty treadmill, but the winds are really moderated there. I need to get around 30 miles today - which will be more of a chore in that park but I am up to the challenge

I could be riding now, when the winds are calmer, but would have to wear tights and I am SO over having to wear warm clothes on the bike

[hebe]

Your ride yesterday sounds perfect Catrin, I have some lovely pictures in my mind's eye of you and your beautiful purple Gunnar in "naked corn fields". I hope you get a lovely ride today and that the winds are lighter than forecast.

I had a lovely potter into town on my Marin today. I used my panniers for the first time and was therefore able to buy two big bags of catfood without having to take the car. Perfect.

[Crankin]

Did my first dark ride before work on Thursday. Well, at this time of year, even 5:30 AM isn't totally dark, but it was cloudy and I used my light for the first time in 2011. It was 62 at 5:30 with like 100% humidity, but a pleasant 10 miles around the town center. I love seeing the town wake up. Yesterday, I rode 20 miles in a very stiff breeze. I worked so hard dropping a guy who was wearing jeans, on a hybrid, that the wind really got to me during the second half of my ride. Today? Who knows? It's much cooler and cloudy-ish. I might have to wear my tights.

[Catrin]

Did my first dark ride before work on Thursday. Well, at this time of year, even 5:30 AM isn't totally dark, but it was cloudy and I used my light for the first time in 2011. .

You are SO lucky that it gets light so early! In Indiana, because we joined the Eastern time zone, the earliest it ever gets at the height of summer now is 6am...sigh

[redrhodie]

Yesterday was perfect commuting weather. I rode my Soma since the streets were still wet from rain overnight, but it was sunny and warm in the afternoon. First ride this year in short sleeves. I had on arm warmers, but didn't really need them, ended up rolling them down. 30 miles.

Today was an early spin just to meet my weekly mile goal. I rode my fastest time on my regular 18 mile loop. Have to give credit to the new wheels. They have made my bike noticeably faster. It really doesn't matter how fast I ride, but it is fun when it feels like flying.

[Crankin]

Catrin, that's because you are on the edge of the time zone. Our earliest sunrise, around the solstice is about 5 AM. I actually prefer the before work rides in the fall, though, because when I go out it is really dark and it feels so peaceful. I think more people (hence, drivers) are out and about early at this time of year, especially people who work outside. If I didn't do these little early AM rides, I might not be able to ride during the week. I have time to do 15 miles, but doing something shorter and different than my usual training loop (i.e. flatter) makes it more serene, which fits with the early time.
Sometimes I don't believe I taught a 5 AM fitness class for 5 years. I still feel a little a bit "weird" when I start my ride that early.

So, my ride today was 9.5 miles to Starbucks and back on the Jamis. First time I have been on that bike since last June or July. She's been very lonely. On the way back, we rode over the Old North Bridge, up the hard packed sand path to the street that leads to our neighborhood. So much fun and all of the tourists stopped to look at us.
Tomorrow will be a 35-40 mile hill ride.

[malkin]

We have more snow today.

Our ten days in Munich were gloriously sunny, highs in the 70s and 80s. I'll post a real thread when I get around to managing some pictures, but the highlights were that we had a wonderful time, rode every day but one, loved our hotel and hated our rented bikes.

[emily_in_nc]

Snow?! Poor you.

Today was gorgeous in NC. A cold front came through, so we waited until about 9:45 am to start our market ride. It was about 62 degrees then, perfectly sunny, with a bit of breeze. I wore shorts and a SS jersey with arm warmers. A bit chilly starting out, but quickly warmed up. We hit the farmer's market and food co-op, then back to the apt. to drop stuff off.

DH chose to stop for lunch then since he wanted to take his Trek out for a longer, faster ride this afternoon. I just grabbed a few cookies with Nutella spread on top, topped off my water bottle, and took off again for a neighborhood loop. Ended up with 28.5 miles total, and the temp was 74 when I got done. Gorgeous out! Didn't notice any pollen today either, a huge plus. LOTS of lovely roses and irises in the ritzy country club area I was riding through part of the time. Nice to look at other people's yards w/o having to do the work myself!

Tomorrow morning I'm riding with a friend, and the day promises to be a carbon copy of today, weather-wise. What a lovely weekend!

[Catrin]

I did a nice 20 miles today with Winding Road at a local park to try and beat the wind a bit - had a tight muscle in one leg that just didn't want to loosen up, so I wound up sitting out the last loop. Very nice ride though, I normally ride by myself and was glad to see that I had the wind for both riding AND talking I also got to show off my brand new pretty purple bike

Am considering heading south tomorrow to help out with trail building efforts at Brown County State Park, it will depend upon the weather. If'en I am looking forward to riding those trails, then I can provide a little labor

[owlice]

Took a nice 23-mile ride today on some of my usual trails. Was in the mid- upper 60s while I was riding, a lovely day but with lots of pollen in the air. I had to stop to wipe my face, it was so gritty. (I do this in a most ladylike fashion... I pour some water into one hand, pour a little from one hand to the other, splash the water on my face, then pull the neck of my [cotton] tee-shirt up over my face and wipe down. )

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

DH and I did a hilly 22 mile ride today, hit some headwinds too. I'm still trying to get slowly back in shape from a whole winter of no riding.
I did better than I thought I would, but man am I beat now! No way I'll be riding tomorrow again- think i'll garden tomorrow instead.

[Bike Writer]

Friday was nice enough for a commute but I was interviewing assessors and needed to dress in more than normal "business causal Friday's" so the commute was out but I made the most of it by a nice little ride yesterday after work, only 5 miles on a nearby path as a little warm up for a longer ride today where I more than doubled that mileage. Considering the calendar I figured I'd be on longer rides by now but the weather had not been cooperating earlier this spring. But I feel that I'll be catching up in no time.

Gosh it just felt glorious out today. Temps were not as nice because we had a lot of cloud cover (50's) but the wind was not howling like it had been so it was just great to be out. Particularly since I had just picked up my new bike today. I'm starting another thread about it.

[azfiddle]

I enjoyed a ride with my DH who is back on his road bike after 6 weeks recuperating from his accident. Yay! We did about 30 miles around the foothills of Tucson, back on a more urban route, with a stop at a French bakery. Getting back on the bikes to head home, I noticed the left side of his helmet was not pristine any more- apparently, he must have landed on it when he fell. How did he miss that? How did I miss that? He protested that it was fine, but I insisted! So we rerouted toward the bike shop to get a new helmet.

Then I ran over something metal. Funny clinky noises, and a flat tire. But not just a puncture- my tire had a deep gash. I fixed the flat but the tire is now bulging ....apparently trashed. So now I need a new tire. I put brand new gatorskins on the Fuji right before I bought the Ruby, plus we have a few other tires in the garage, so at least I don't need to buy one. I just won't have matching tires on my new bike anymore

[Savra]

I did my first group club ride yesterday. It was beautiful weather for once (it's raining again today). Lucky for me, the group only averaged 13.5 mph so I was able to keep up. We ended at 29 miles.

[azfiddle]

2nd ride of the weekend: a new destination, 50 miles round trip, to the Whipple Observatory located in the Santa Rita Mountains, south of Tucson. Beautiful ride- 18 miles nearly flat, with a 7 mile climb (about 1000'), with picnic tables and a rest room available. The wind came up just as we headed back, so the descent was a little was less fun, but we ran a rotating pace line on the flat section for a lot of the way back to the car, which helped. Temperatures were perfect- cool enough for a windbreaker at the start and on the descent and otherwise just jersey and shorts. Nice to have DH back on board for the rides