Weekend Rides?

[amb]

I got out for the first time in nearly 4 weeks yesterday. I could definitely tell I lost some bike fitness. I only got 17 miles in. It was chilly or maybe I am wimpy but it was in the low 40's and my ears, face and toes were a little chilly. It was nice to reunite with my bike though!

[Fredwina]

got out for about 20 miles on the Mohawk Hudson. Allergens punished me for doing that.
Cohoes, NY

Turn around at Niskayuna Depot:

Ice on the Mohawk:

and on the trail:

still mid winter

[Reesha]

got out for about 20 miles on the Mohawk Hudson. Allergens punished me for doing that.
Cohoes, NY

Turn around at Niskayuna Depot:

Ice on the Mohawk:

and on the trail:

still mid winter

Aw I lived in Schenectady for four years... I miss the Mohawk (was a Geology student while I was there-- lots of time spent at Vischer Ferry and other lovely places around there).

I had Friday off so I got a 40 mile ride in. I rode easily out to one of the parks in St. Louis the long way (10 miles or so) and then met up with four of the kids on my cycling team. All my trainer time has really paid off-- we did 30 minutes of low-intensity riding, then 30 minutes of medium-high intensity riding and I'm SOOOOO pleased to discover that I can keep up with the 17 year old boys! In fact we dropped Mason, one of the girls on the team. This is a good thing-- I was worried that as a coach I'd be constantly getting dropped by the boys. Then I rode him real easy 7 miles or so.

I decided to wear my tri shorts for some reason-- they'd always been comfortable before, but for the first time ever I was getting saddle sore on one side. This was only about 35 miles into my riding though. It's weird-- apparently I rode a saddle that was narrower than my sit bones for 5 years and not a once got chafing or a saddle sore. I did tend to squash on my tailbone and soft tissues though. Now I'm sitting directly on my sit bones, but saddle sore! Grrr. The Arione Donna is a good saddle for crit racing, but I'm thinking it's going to have to be a Brooks for my x-country bike trip this summer.

[nscrbug]

Nippy but sunny with a decent wind off the lake, here in Chicagoland. Got in 33 miles on Saturday, and 38 miles today. Today was my maiden ride on my new custom Ti Seven Axiom SL with Ui2 electronic shifting! It was a very smooth ride. The Ti really soaks up the road "clatter" that I was used to hearing/feeling on my full carbon Cannondale. So far, I'm loving the Ui2...just need to learn how to get a good feel for it when wearing my thicker cold-weather gloves. I can hardly wait for the warmer temps, so I can shed my thick gloves for my fingerless ones to really get comfortable with the electronic shifting.

Linda

[Owlie]

Nippy but sunny with a decent wind off the lake, here in Chicagoland. Got in 33 miles on Saturday, and 38 miles today. Today was my maiden ride on my new custom Ti Seven Axiom SL with Ui2 electronic shifting! It was a very smooth ride. The Ti really soaks up the road "clatter" that I was used to hearing/feeling on my full carbon Cannondale. So far, I'm loving the Ui2...just need to learn how to get a good feel for it when wearing my thicker cold-weather gloves. I can hardly wait for the warmer temps, so I can shed my thick gloves for my fingerless ones to really get comfortable with the electronic shifting.

Linda

Oooh! Pictures?

[azfiddle]

I didn't expect to ride today- the forecast was for very a windy day, but the morning was calmer than expected. By the time I convinced my DH to go with me the wind was rising, but we drove up to Saguaro NP and did the 8 mile loop and out to the picnic ground.

[luv2climb]

Here's yesterday's ride. No crashes this time, but plenty of climbing to make me live up to my username!

This is the South Fork American River Trail (SFART). The trailhead is right across the road from the Salmon Falls trailhead. It starts off with quite a bit of climbing on technical singletrack with tight switchbacks. Good stuff!

There's not nearly as much technical stuff as on Salmon Falls though. There's lots of smooth singletrack and doubletrack.

It ended up being almost a 24 mile round trip ride with 3,442' of climbing.

South Fork American River Trail by freighttraininguphill at Garmin Connect - Details

Here's the video. As always, this is 100% natural sound. This means plenty of heavy breathing on the climbs, so be forewarned!

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

Nice switchback where I waited for some climbing cyclists before descending.

switchback on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

Abandoned structures at the Cronan Ranch trailhead

abandoned buildings on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

abandoned buildings on SFART 2 by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

abandoned house on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

I'm used to seeing "connector", like the trail near Auburn. There were several of these signs along the trail.

'connecter trail' sign on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

View of the American River on the way back towards Salmon Falls Road

view of American River from SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

A trail that definitely lived up to its name, and made me live up to my username!

'down and up trail' sign on SFART by freighttraininguphill, on Flickr

[ivorygorgon]

Rode the Saturday morning club ride. We had a timed hill climb in the middle. My average was fast for me, but I can't come anywhere near to keeping up with this club. They were doing at least 20 on some of the hills!!

DH and I are going to do some kind of ride today, we haven't decided what yet.

[azfiddle]

I rode 43 miles yesterday, mostly solo, though I shared my national park card with some visiting cyclists from New York at Saguaro NP. They dropped me on the big hill, but that's okay- I'm used to it I ventured on to enjoy some of the roads on Tucson's far east side, including one of the steeper hills in the area, to the end of the pavement on Reddington Pass road. I thought of you , luv2climb) - gets over 12% but only half a mile long. It was my first ride since last Sunday's century, and today is supposed to be windy so I probably will stay home. I have 4 days off next week and the weather should be pretty nice.

[Crankin]

Just came back from a short (11 mile) ride before going to brunch in Boston. It's gorgeous out; sunny and clear, about 35 when I started and 39 at the end. Wore my AmFib gloves for the first time and didn't kill myself shifting . Felt a little stronger with the gearing on my Guru, the jury is still out if I am going to get the cassette with the 16... lose my lowest gear.

[missjean]

The thermometer on the porch said 40* but my bike computer said 35* - I’m believing the bike computer – it was chilly! And I never did quite warm up. But, it was nice and sunny and there was hardly any traffic on the roads. I think I did about 20 miles (the computer is not registering mph or miles for some reason).
The photo shows the difference in how the roads are cared for between Pepperell and Dunstable. I much prefer riding in Dunstable.

[Norse]

First ride outside of the year! Actually, first outside ride ever in February in MN. Unfortunately I had a flat the first 5 minutes into the ride - luckily it was the front instead of the rear, for a change, but that cut into my planned time for a more ambitious loop so I just rode to the river and back. 19 miles. Nice to be off the trainer for a change!