June 24-26 rides

[Orange utopia]

I did a very short 5 miles in my hybrid yesterday then probably about 5 miles of testing different adjustments on my road bike throughout the day.

Today I did 33 miles on my road bike and did great. It was extremely hilly so I still only averaged just under 13mph but getting up the hills was much easier with the lighter bike and I was cruising on what few flats there were at 20+ mph. I was very comfortable up to about mile 20 when my shoulders got really tight and started to hurt. I think that was more a case of just not being used to the new position, not really a fit issue.

[Espresso]

Wanted to ride ~55 miles yesterday, but only managed 40. Normally I would be discouraged by this kind of failure, but somehow I'm not. I really don't care at all. Maybe because before this year, a "long ride" for me was maybe 10 miles? Maybe because on this ride, I found a lovely new road to bike on?

I felt great for about 30 miles, but then I just felt sore all over. I tried to do the "just 5 more miles" thing, but it only worked twice.

Anyway, hopefully I'll make my ~55 next week. Otherwise I might actually start getting discouraged.

[hulagirl]

Got in my last long ride in Seattle as we are going home to Oahu on Monday. Took out the Bike Friday and rode Alki Bike Trail to the Water Taxi. Took the boat over to Seattle, up the Elliot Bay trail to the Chittendam Locks, then back down to the WA State Ferry Pier. Then over to Bainbridge on the Ferry, tooled around the farmers market and main street. Then ferry back to Seattle and rode up to REI for my last visit to that store for the trip, then down to Pike Place Market, met the husband and then road the Alki Bike Route all the way from Pier 50 around back to Alki Beach.

Edge 800 reset itself mid ride so I calculated about a 25 mile total. Just fun stuff on the bike, out to explore and enjoy the bike-friendly world of Seattle!

Can't wait to return in August with the Bike Fridays!

[Becky]

DH and I did 48 miles today. A little bit windy (when is it ever not windy here?), a little bit hilly, but a lot of fun.

Apparently, fitness from other activities doesn't exactly translate to bike fitness, and endurance riding is not like live-or-die, sprint-yer-tail off commuting You would think that I would remember these things each year... It was still fun though.

[Crankin]

We did another 50 miler today; a ride that goes to Groton, Dunstable, and Littleton. We used to do this ride all of the time and it was one of the first rides we led for AMC. However, I've only done this as a 35 or 40 mile ride from our friend's house or a school in Acton, and not for at least 2 years. The "showcase" of this ride is a very hilly section, about 8-15 miles from the end of the ride (depending on the start).
So, I kind of forgot how "rolling" the rest of this ride was. Lots of little hills. We started out very slowly. We planned to eat at this really good Italian deli in Groton center, but... first there was some kind of festival going on, a traffic jam, and a young woman who decided to do a u turn and find a parking space in the midst of all of this, in front of me. As I yelled "signal azzhole," I realized a policeman was standing there; he kinda smiled. The deli was closed, but we shared a wrap at a pizza place and headed on to the shady part of the ride. Hillier than I remember. Before we started the really hilly section, I was wishing I had eaten a whole sandwich. I ate a shot block, which I don't like that much, drank and headed on. The climb was fine, besides the van that wouldn't pass me on a downhill that was full of potholes...
So, we took a different way back, to avoid some rough roads and a few hills nearer to home. Some of this was on a busy road (Rt. 2A/110), but it has a good shoulder. I rarely ride on these kinds of roads, but it was flat and we had about 10 miles left when I heard a loud metal noise. I knew I had run over something and about a mile later, my rear tire was flat. Time to put my lesson from Hirakukibou to use. I told DH to let me do it. As I was getting ready to put the tube in, DH discovered a small hole in my tire. So, I whipped out a dollar bill and we put it in. All good, i put the CO2 in the tire and now on to replacing the rear wheel, which has been an issue. I was having a lot of trouble, but I stayed calm, and eventually, I got it. A few small hills off of this road, a new short cut, and we got back on the same road for the last 5 miles. I was fading fast, so we stopped in a parking lot and i ate most of a Luna Bar. I hit a squirrel going down Strawberry Hill (at the bottom, thankfully, only going about 20) and I didn't stop to look. By then DH had taken off to get up our street. We were greeted by about 30 teens from one of the local high schools who do dry land training for x country skiing on our hill. They didn't move over as I was climbing, necessitating me to go faster than I wanted, to get around them. I was exhausted, but I hit 50 miles as i was turning into my driveway.
DH went to the LBS to get me a tire. I guess my story I told here on TE, about the frame that was too big, my having to research the short reach brifters and bars myself got back to him. He told DH that he "understands me much better now." Yea, and the fact that he knows I know a good deal of the cyclists in Acton, Boxborough, and Concord and I've told many not to go there is not helping .

[tulip]

... I was very comfortable up to about mile 20 when my shoulders got really tight and started to hurt. I think that was more a case of just not being used to the new position, not really a fit issue.

I would say that your discomfort definitely IS a fit issue, anong with a position and core strength issue. I really hope you get a professional fitting soon. It will make riding so much more pleasant.

[Biciclista]

Mazama Mama finally DOES Mazama

This is the 4th year I have been part of this annual ride we do over two mountain passes in our lovely state of washington.
The last two years, I've actually more or less run the ride with my DH's help. But this year I rode it.
We started Saturday morning, it was cold and wet, it had been raining, I slept poorly, all of the kinds of things that make you want to stay in bed.
We were on the tandem. Dh started to have issues, very much unlike him, he is almost always a hot dog, full of energy and bravado. This was not an easy ride, from right above sea level to about 5000 feet, and then dropping down into the Methow Valley a little above 2000 feet. We stay at the Mazama country inn over night, then we get up and ride back.
So we cut out 1/2 the climbing on Saturday (to "save" me for Sunday)
Sunday morning we got up and DH was feeling better, so we climbed right up that mountain. It t ook almost 3 1/2 hours to get to the top


The downhills were really scary to me, we topped out at about 45 mph. The tandem goes VERY fast downhill; in places I would go 25-30mph on my single bike, we were hovering right around 40mph

[radacrider]

Mazama Mama finally DOES Mazama

Looks like a wonderful 2nd day, nothing better than blue, sunny skies on ride to up the spirits.

I rode out to our 2nd Sunday Parkways in North Portland (18 miles roundtrip). The route itself was nice, first time doing the North Portland one, which was about 8 miles this year. Lot's of people! Fun day.

[Catrin]

Looks like a beautiful weekend and glad you had such a great time! 45 mph would be scary awesome!

I wound up with a 23 mile ride Saturday, and a 20 mile ride Sunday. The rides were perhaps not as long as I would have liked, Saturday I just had a narrow window in which to ride and Sunday my old over-use injury started twinging so I cut it short, and Friday I got 13 miles in for a total of 56 miles in three days.

[maggie's sister]

I rode Friday (16 miles), Saturday (42 miles) and Sunday (14 miles). Good rides, even Saturday when I got dropped by the boys. Seems silly to complain about averaging 16 mph in the western PA hills on cool Saturday morning.

[luv2climb]

I rode three new hills in the Auburn area: Newcastle Road, Hayes Drive (14% grade), and Crater Hill Road, as well as ones I've ridden once before: Chili Hill Road, Bald Hill Road, and Baxter Grade. Also ran into a member of another bike forum, so in this ride video you get to see me ride with him for about 1/2 mile before I get dropped.

Garmin Connect data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/95103145

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yzJFA6wsEg

Hayes Drive 14% grade:


Hayes Drive 14% grade by kittyz202, on Flickr

fi'zi:k logo spraypainted on the steep (and painful!) Chili Hill Road climb:


fi'zi:k logo on Chili Hill Road climb by kittyz202, on Flickr

Bottom of Rattlesnake Road climb (disappointingly easy climb, btw) at the north fork of the American River and Folsom Lake:



Crater Hill Road and Wise Road:



What I hope to become once all the excess weight's gone :