July 22 Weekend Rides

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Thought I'd start the thread this time, didn't see one started yet. Fridays count, right?

Was very humid (95%) and it feels really hot, but it was only in the mid-70s to low 80s on the ride this morning. Amazing how humidity is a joy-killer, those temps should have been fantastic.

Rode 52 miles, 2,500+ feet of incline. Started out with a good bit of fog which was kind of fun, like riding in a cooling mist. Once it burned off though, we were in trouble! Had a stretch in the sun and it wore me and today's riding partner OUT. We were both very ready for this ride to be over! However, it was an excellent route, the climbs were challenging (and toward the end, I was really sagging out and wishing I had a compact double - legs. just. don't... have.... anything. else. to.... give!) but all roads had very little traffic, lots of fields and remote areas. The rest stop was in the perfect spot, just over halfway through the ride. I had only downed one water bottle at that point so I didn't refill - MISTAKE. From now on, I'll always top off. Running out or running low and needing to ration it is not cool.

Was so hungry post-ride I ate a 12-inch sub at Subway. Never managed more than the 6 inch before. Don't think I'll be riding tomorrow, if I do it'll be an easy 8 mile loop.

[Becky]

DH and I were determined to ride today but, with a forecasted high of 101 and a heat index of 115+, it wasn't going to happen during the day. So we did the next best thing: did it at night!

We mounted our big LED headlights for commuting onto our road bikes, added a couple tailights each, and headed out at 4:15 am. It was 80 degrees and humid as all heck, but certainly nicer than our daytime temps have been! Best of all, there was no sun and no sunscreen!

We saw maybe a dozen cars up until we turned back into town, when the rest of the world was up and moving. The scariest part were the deer, some of whom were quite close to the road. I kept my speed down because of them.

I like riding at night, and I think this might have to become a regular thing

[TrekTheKaty]

When I get adventurous, watch out! Today's ride turned into a scavenger hunt. Two mistakes:
1) Heading out on a route that we found on mapmyride, on roads we are not familiar with (last time we did that, we carried our bikes across a creek and I was nipped by a dog)
2). "I drove the first part the other day and it was mostly rolling."

So instead of riding from our house, down to the Rail trail, then hopping off onto a flat country road so my husband could climb two big hills -- we headed out on a new route. Then next thing I knew, my easy Sat ride (because we've got a long ride tomorrow), turned into:

My husband passing me up a hill, yelling "I've got 21% on my gps!". Not info that is helping at this point in time. Then, Dh says, I know where we are. I follow him. We end up back at a highway we already crossed. "oops (look at wife for help)". I get out my iphone map. After several more missed turns we come out on Pittman Road--one of my husband's fav hills. "the road is closed, but we rode on it the other day." Suddenly, I'm off-roading on my new, clean baby. And shouldn't it be all downhill from here? Back onto the rail trail (this is what I kept my other bike for!), up a monster hill from the trail head and home on the road.

I finally cut my DH loose to sprint home ("I can't ride this slow forever!"). I arrive home, walk through the front door, and DH walks in the garage door. "what are you doing?". He took a different route, and sat at a busy stoplight for 10 min

We laughed afterward, but not very clever when you're racing the 100 degree temps and DH forgot his water bottles, so we're sharing (Thank God for Camelbaks!)

[blue_angel]

I haven't been riding much since I did the century on July 9 (and went out of town for a few days). But today I drove up to a nearby town to ride through one of the city parks that has a nice scenic drive with wide shoulders (and a 6 mile section that's completely closed to car traffic on Saturdays). I have ridden this route 3 or 4 times this season, but usually only when I'm doing a long ride, because I don't like to drive to my ride and it's a minimum of 50 miles roundtrip just to get there. But anyway, I have "stats" for my performance on this road and today I blew them all out of the water! I did the whole 32 mile there-and-back in 1:50, which is an overall average pace of 17 mph. Already this is almost a full mile per hour faster than my usual pace. But the first hour was even better: I did it in 18.25 mph! It was phenomenal and really tiring (hence the pretty significant drop-off for the remainder of the ride). I actually managed to stay in my Zone 5 heart rate for 30 minutes, which is not typical for me. Guess taking time off after the century to recover, switching my cycling up with some trail walking/running, and waiting for a cooler/less humid day really makes a difference. Mostly I'm just encouraged that I can[ get faster.

[azfiddle]

Humid for the desert (50-60%) but overcast and high 70's, low 80's, so I did 23 miles to Saguaro NP and the loop road inside the park. The summer rains have turned the desert green and all the birds that enjoy the insect feast also produced by the rain are nesting (or nesting again), so there were lots of birds singing.

It's a rare pleasure to be able to ride home at 9:30 am in the summer and not be overheating

Tomorrow, we're going to ride partway up Mt. Lemmon.

[Crankin]

Yesterday, at 5:30 AM, did 17 miles. It got up to 102 here, with humidity, so that was good.
Today, well we got up and were ready at 5:30, but dilly dallied a bit. Left at 6:30, well knowing rain was on the way. Got to the top of Strawberry Hill, heard thunder. Rode past the point where we could have turned off to make an 8 mile ride, and then it started raining on our way back, on Lowell Rd. We didn't stop and take shelter under some tents set up on the Middlesex School field... it was pouring, lightning, and thundering. DH got ahead of me, as I am scared of riding in the rain, mostly because of the braking situation. It let up when I got into my neighborhood, and just when I was about to go downhill, it started pouring again. I took my bike up my neighbor's driveway and hoofed through a little path in the woods, because I had had it. DH wasn't happy with me for getting my bike dirty, but we washed the bikes, and came inside and laughed. Not worth it for an 11 mile ride.
Tomorrow we have a 23 mile charity ride for domestic violence funding. We are going to ride to the start and back, so it will be between 40 and 50 miles when it is done.