Christmas Vacation week rides

[Aggie_Ama]

Red and Catrin - It was a child's toy, one of those semi-hard plastic ones. I saw it on the side of the road, it was a three-headed dragon. I tried to bring it home for my puppy Jens but it was too big to carry in a jersey pocket. So I left it to protect the road or amuse other riders.

[Catrin]

I had to smile when I saw your picture, it reminded me of some of the wonderful grade B science fiction movies I loved as a kid

I just got in from a 35 minute ride in 39 degree temps. It was windier than I expected, but that isn't why I cut it short. Shortly into the ride I started getting pain in the middle of my chest, when I breathed deeply. I was dressed for the temps and had a balaclava on, but I am a mouth-breather in the cold because of...ummm...sinus issues when it is cold. I also have asthma. Things did improve but my chest stayed a little tight so I just made one loop in the park I was riding in and came home. It seemed better to be safe than sorry...especially since I left my phone at home and the park was empty.

Beautiful ride though, pure sunshine and clear air. I rode about 7.5 miles in 35 minutes, so that wasn't too bad

[Crankin]

It was between 28-29, so we went for a hike. I really think 33-35 is the lowest I will go for a road ride, so I need to get my 37 miles in all tomorrow, when it will be near 40 and the roads will be clear for people like me who don't do Christmas!
Unfortunately, DH lost the GPS we use for hiking, skiing, snow shoeing. It's "old" in terms of technology; the attachment thing just broke, but he never felt it fall off. We were at Great Brook Farm, so no big deal, but for some reason I couldn't find the trail with the bigger climb and we ended up at a dead end. I had my trail map, but I think there are more trails open now than what are groomed for skiing, and I realized I have never been there without snow, except for my one horrible attempt at a group mountain bike ride.
We retraced our steps, but couldn't find it. It wasn't busy with people, but someone must have picked it up. We saw a couple of mountain bikers and a few runners/hikers. So, we are now looking for a new GPS that we can use for the trails. Thankfully, it was not the one he uses on his bike.
I think we hiked about 3.5 miles.

[azfiddle]

Aggie Ama, sure am glad you cleared that up! My DH and I puzzled over that picture for a while and gave up.

Speaking of my DH, it was our first ride together in quite a while today, so that was really nice. It has been pretty cool for Tucson, in the low 50's, and a little breezy- so it's sometimes hard to figure out what to wear. I settled on shorts, a short sleeved, arm warmers and a windbreaker. I ditched the windbreaker right away, then the arm warmers, as we rode uphill, but went back to the windbreaker on the way home. Even wished for an extra layer on my legs for a while.

Next week it's going to be warming up to the 70's!

[Fredwina]

Geez, sounds like I am missing everything, like MP.
A little too frosty here in Upstate NY, but tomorrow looks promising, provided my cold weather don't unravel anymore.
Should have better weather towards the end of week, but I'll be a 1000 miles away from my bikes, getting mom set up in Memphis. may rent a bike when I come back in April. May, as she lives next to Overton Park.

[OakLeaf]

I haven't had the road bike out since I've been south, for a number of reasons - hope to remedy that before the New Year - but I rode the commuter to midnight Mass last night.

Hope this isn't too much for TE - I'm really not religious, but the ritual carries a lot of meaning for me, and this year I was feeling the need. I'm only about a mile and a half from the church, but it's on a narrow main road that I'd never ridden at night before. I took an alternate route that kept me off the main road except for about 200 yards.

It was a beautiful night for a ride and I'm really glad I went. Happy holidays, all.

[redrhodie]

As I was planning, I rode the the lbs's pizza party yesterday. It was fun! I was the only one who came by bike, and I felt under-dressed, even though I wore my good tights and rode my fancy bike (and pictures were taken, and I'm in my helmet. I'm such a dork). It was colder than I thought, and I was considering taking one of the offered rides, but of course I didn't want to let on that I was anything but hardcore. Afterward, one of my friends rode back to the park and ride with me, where I left my car, and that was really nice. He carried one of my presents for me, but the cold must have numbed our brains, because I forgot to get it from him, so he ended up carrying it for nothing; but chivalry is not dead.

I wasn't planning on riding today, but it was too nice out not to. It was in the high 20s with sporadic flakes of snow falling, but not enough to stick. There was hardly any traffic, and the few people I saw appeared joyous. I saw an old guy I've ridden a few miles with here and there, but he was going the other way, so we just exchanged a Merry Christmas and a wave. I got my clothes just right, unlike yesterday when I was really cold even though it was a bit warmer. My regular 18 mile loop, but I'm so glad I went.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Catrin]

...
Hope this isn't too much for TE - I'm really not religious, but the ritual carries a lot of meaning for me, and this year I was feeling the need. I'm only about a mile and a half from the church, but it's on a narrow main road that I'd never ridden at night before. I took an alternate route that kept me off the main road except for about 200 yards.

It was a beautiful night for a ride and I'm really glad I went. Happy holidays, all.

Considering how much we share here, I hope it wouldn't be too much I am fighting the urge to ride today - sunshine fills the sky again but it is windier than yesterday...and I've friends expecting me at their house this afternoon and I don't know how they would take being ditched for the bike I've been looking forward to this all week, but it is amazing how strong the siren song of sunshine and >40 temps at the end of December is!