Weekend Rides

[indysteel]

Yesterday, DH and I finished the last leg of our Katy Trail tour. I'd give the trip a B- as a whole. The trail is very nice if more than a little monotonous over six days. The towns we stayed in were hit and miss. If you don't hit them on the right day, you're lucky to find something to eat for dinner. Twice, we ate at 5 because the one and only place open was set to close at 6. Don't get me wrong; I understand the economics of these small towns, and the amount of blight along the trail is very sad. Our inconvenience pales in comparison as problems go. In contrast, we stayed at some nice B&B along the way, and the people we met along the way couldn't have been friendlier. The weather was a mixed bag. We had one day of rain, 2 1/2 days of sun, and another 2 1/2 days of chilly and cloudy. We spent another sunny day today walking around St. Charles, which is a very charming area.

[owlice]

Two rides today, as I was pressed for time in the morning. I rode 19+ miles in the AM, and late in the afternoon, rode almost 12; I wanted to get in 30 miles today, and was glad the weather, though not the best (overcast much of the day, humid, and warm), at least it didn't rain very much/very often!

The second ride was a lot slower than the first; it also had better food, because I rode the 5 miles to Atlanta Bread Company, had a very good sandwich, and then took a slightly longer way home.

I'm hoping to do another 30 tomorrow. Oh... I'd better go do some laundry, then, as I'm out of clean bike shorts.

[Roadtrip]

Got out for a short trail ride on my hybrid. Just trying to shake some of the dust off as I'd been off the bike several weeks. Did eight miles or so and felt ok... Not steller.. But wasn't expecting to after the time off. Toward the end of the ride I got passed by a surly guy on a roadie and knew we were close to the end and was determined to show this guy he wasn't king of the trail and easily accelerated and matched his pace. Matched his acceleration until we met some traffic and he realized I was still there about 15 feet behind him, then I let off the gas and cruised back to the car.

Shannon

[goride]

A couple of friends and I had signed up for the 63 mile route of a benefit ride scheduled for today. The weather forecast last night looked "iffy" but we woke up this morning to beautiful blue skies and temps of 48 with a predicted high of 57. While we were enjoying a few snacks at the mile 38 rest stop (which was the far northwest corner of the route and as far from start as possible) it started to rain. We got to the 51 mile rest stop and the ride director was there suggesting a bit of a short cut just to get people off the roads and out of the rain. We ended up riding 59 miles instead of the full 63. By the time the ride was over, we looked like we took a shower with our clothes on.

After the ride, we took advantage of the post-race meal and dripped all over the floor of the bike shop which acted as the start and end point of the ride. When I got home, I hosed off my bike before bringing it in, but it still needs a good wiping down and lubing. Bike stuff is laying out drying all over the house. So glad I put my cell phone and drivers license in a plastic bag before the ride.

At mile 24 I had a flat, but it was a front tire and still sunny out. So now I have experience changing a flat roadside in addition to in the comfort of my living room. My friends pitched in too, and we had it taken care of in no time. Just as we finished, the SAG came by One of the roads had recently been resurfaced with something that seemed to be made of ground up glass, rubber and wire (maybe ground up tires?). We did find a piece of glass in the tire.

One of my friends had recently been on a well-attended, two-day charity ride, and they had encountered similarly surfaced roads. The SAGS on that ride provided and replaced 328 tubes before they ran out, and in addition many riders replaced their tubes with tubes they carried. Some suffered multiple flats. Quite a few riders were unable to finish that ride.

Considering the weather and the flat, we still had a good time. At this time of year, the opportunities to ride are limited, and a day on the road is to be cherished. Leaves are starting to turn, cornstalks turning brown, geese flying, cranes in the fields, it was just pretty.