Holiday weekend rides

[Catrin]

Mountain bike parking lot and grass drills this morning for about an hour or so, plus another 30-40 minutes just roaming around on my lovely Jamis

[Orange utopia]

29 miles in terrible humidity with lots of never ending hills today. I am wiped out but I did get my average speed up to 13.5 which is surprising because I felt like I was going super slow.

[Crankin]

Quick 14 miles to W. Concord and back. I rarely ride on some of the streets we cruised on, so it was fun. Stopped and had a cold drink, back in Concord center. It was supposed to thunder and be quite rainy, but we got home just as it started sprinkling. I actually stretched when I got home, which is needed, because tomorrow, we are going on a hilly 40-50 mile ride.
My last 3 rides have been in an average zone which is making me happy. Nothing super fast, but approaching where I was 4 years ago, before my mystery illness. I don't expect that on a hilly long ride, but it's good to see it on the rides closer to home.

[solobiker]

Got in 30 miles this morning before the heat set in. I was on my bike by 630am. Such a beautiful morning. Not too many hills on my route today. My back usually does not like any more then 20-25 miles and it was telling me so today too. Oh well. No ride for me tomorrow..have to work and by the time I get out it is supposed to be in the upper 90s. I may ride my spin bike. Have a great day everyone.

[nscrbug]

Saturday's ride was 76 miles in horrid humidity and temps in the mid 90's. Despite how dreadful the air quality was, I ended up having a pretty good ride. Wish I could say the same about today's ride, which was 103 miles of misery. Humidity and temps weren't nearly as bad, but I was just having a terrible "pain" day. Everything that could possibly hurt me today...DID. My hands, my back, my butt, my girly bits, my neck...about the ONLY thing that did NOT hurt me were my feet! At one of the rest stops we made, I really felt like crying but I held it together for the sake of not embarrassing myself in front of my DH and another riding buddy of ours. I felt bad because DH and our riding buddy had to keep slowing up to wait for my slow @ss. I finally told the buddy to just go on without us (which he did)...DH stayed behind to ride with me. We left our house at 6am and didn't get home until almost 1:30! I don't care what anyone says...that is just too damn long to be on a bike.

Sorry for venting and ranting...I'm just havin' one of THOSE days.

Linda

[PinkBike]

nscrbug -- dont beat yourself up, i'm WAY impressed with your 2 days of riding. 100 miles in 7.5 hours is more than admirable. and after a 76 mile day. you rock.

saturday fat cyclist tweeted that he rode 96 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing. woh.

but i think i got him beat. 35 miles, No climbing, No wind, but 118 degrees. you have no idea.

THAT's what post-ride naps are for!! and cold showers.

[jessmarimba]

Rode 43ish miles from glenwood springs to aspen on a 30 pound bike + 12ish pounds of gear. I think the whole thing was a gradual uphill...looking forward to the ride back in the morning! (though I've learned that 45-pound bikes don't even coast down hills.)

Nice to escape the worst of the heat, though with the altitude and the dryness I think I had 5 bottles of water.

[Owlie]

but i think i got him beat. 35 miles, No climbing, No wind, but 118 degrees. you have no idea.

I don't think I could move if it were that hot.

[luv2climb]

The heat down here in the valley chased me up to the mountains today for my first high altitude ride of the summer. Since the road I planned on riding was littered with goat-head thorns when I climbed it last summer, I played it safe and rode my 32 lb Rockhopper with 26 x 1.95 Specialized Hemispheres. The thick tires do a much better job of resisting flats from those pesky thorns.

I climbed Ice House Road from US 50 in El Dorado County, then up Granite Springs Road to the top at 5,709' elevation. Since this was my first ride on this road, I kept going a little while after reaching the top just to make sure I really completed the climb.

I turned around and descended to Ice House Road, then completed that climb and rode a little further down the road, again to make sure I really did reach the top and not a false summit.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/96655663

Here's video of the ride up Ice House Road, plus the steeper sufferfest part of Granite Springs Road. Since Ice House Road didn't cause much suffering, there's not a lot of "suffer sounds" until Granite Springs Road. I'm glad, actually. It means I'm getting stronger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYrkt57xJ2w

On the way back down Ice House Road, I decided to see if my non-suspended mtb with 65 psi in the tires would make it up a steep, rocky trail by the side of the road. It did. Here's video proof:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk527z78-0I

Bottom of Ice House Road climb:



View from the top of Granite Springs Road:



Top of Ice House Road climb:



A closer look at the mountains from the above pic:



Dirt trail near Ice House Road:



View from top of trail:



About to descend Ice House Road: