Weekend Rides?

[DolceVida]

We did 37 unexpectedly intense miles yesterday, after doing an hour of Trampoline Dodgeball earlier in the day. Then did 55 more today. I put in 10 miles on the trainer Friday night too. I am sore as HELL tonight!! I usually take Monday off, but I think if I want to be able to move tomorrow, I better at least spin easy on the trainer tomorrow morning too.

We rode all over the west side of Los Angeles. Went up some of the really steep hills in Palos Verdes for the first time today. Got my first real bike jerseys earlier this week from Primal Wear so I couldn't wait to get out there and look cute!

[Crankin]

Some pics from our ride on the Cape Cod Rail Trail and other assorted places

[Reesha]

Haha here's a shot of me grinning and bearing it during the Belleville Crit.

[carolync]

I did another organized ride, a poker run for the Lion's club. This weekend it was 37 miles, but with hills, well hills for this flatlander. Kicked my butt, but in a good way. Much more humbling a ride than the flat 50 miler I did the weekend prior.

[azfiddle]

We did a moonlight ride in Saguaro National Park last night. It was the night before the actual full moon. We arrived at 7 and rode out to the picnic area to have a snack. Even before it got dark it was unbelievably beautiful- a reddish cast was on the Rincon Mountains as we approached and the moon was already up.


We rode back from the picnic area and then on to the 8 mile loop drive through the park. If I had not been a little concerned about rattlesnakes coming out, I would not have used a light at all, because it was so bright out.
We didn't see any snakes after all.

We stopped frequently to just enjoy the night. The temperature was perfect, the moon was breathtaking and it was a memorable ride.

[Catrin]

Longest ride since my neck injury (26 miles) and I got to test my commuting route at the same time. It was still pretty dark when I left home so I got to test my Light and Sound Vis360 helmet lights, they worked well with my cheap Planet Bike light on the bar (flashing) and on the seat post.

I burned far more calories than expected - I always seem to do that when I am on unfamiliar routes. It isn't like it was hilly, outside of a couple of steepish bumps - I think that when it is a route I am unaccustomed to that I tend to work harder. I was also trying to use the big chain more frequently to become more efficient - faster on the flats at a lower cadence.There was also the unplanned sprint to get away from 2 pit bull mixes my first dog chase since one took a bite out of my calf last spring (and still isn't quite healed).

I had fun, the route is doable, and I felt far safer on the busy street in the 1-lane section than I thought I would. The lanes are quite wide so they can give me plenty of room without having to cross the line.

I made it too late to catch the opening of the Indpls 500 Mini-marathon but that's ok. I had a very nice morning. 65ish degrees, winds <7mph. I will take it

[Crankin]

Just got back from leading our club's annual new member ride, which is really just the first official ride of the season. We had lots of things going against us: it's electronic recycling day in Concord and the street we start off on as well as the parking was blocked off. It rained through last night and the roads were wet this morning. It was cloudy, though not too cold.
We figured how to lead the people out. Only about 20 people came, which was great, split into 2 groups of 10. DH and I led the "faster" group. There was a lot of traffic, an altercation with a Prius , who decided to go on the other side of the yellow line while our group was turning left, and a few other azzhole driver things. But, the ride was uneventful and pretty. We were all together, which as the sweep I appreciate, but in the second half, the one other woman fell behind and I had to stay with her. She was very nice, but I was getting antsy. The slower group had fun, too.
Afterwards, we went out to lunch with our cycling friends (she led the other group) and one other leader we know well. All in all, a good ride of 23 miles.

[Fredwina]

The Kitty Toll Booth. Some other riders paid for me, or I'd be in big trouble:

Construction from Irene:

Fultonville:


Beauty is where you find it:

[7rider]

Holy smokes.

Did my first N2 group ride with my club since - oh, maybe October.
Got dropped about a half dozen times. Thankfully we had some re-group spots.
I've been doing a fair bit of riding - but slow commutes or slow rides with one or two friends. This was my first hard effort in a group in a long time, and wow. My legs felt it. Ice bath when I got home felt great.

57 rolling miles at 17.1 mph. Totally spent.

[hebe]

21 miles for me this morning through the country lanes. I'm chuffed to bits as that's my longest ride so far. It was the first sunny (and dry!) day this week. I saw a hare racing me through a field, and a garden den flying a Skull and Crossbones. Navigation was off for the last few miles - one wrong turn, one long walk up half of a long steep hill, then my lovely Vita gamely managed an off-road path saving me a bit of time.

[deanywalker21]

My hubby and I biked to breakfast with our road bikes. I have been riding the Vita so much that I forgot how to shift the Ruby <g>. Our small town has a great place for a simple breakfast. A nice easy friendly ride with a not so easy headwind....hey but it was a tailwind on the way back. Logged a whole 13 miles.

[Kubla]

Got off to a late start due to finding a deceased raccoon in my corral that needed to be removed before letting my horse out for the day. I'm a little concerned as to how it got there but since it's Saturday, the PD said no one would have been able to pick it up until Monday. I buried it in the woods for lack of a better plan.

Anyway, once aboard the bike I hit three local yard sales-finding something useful at each one. I logged 10 miles and hope to get out again tomorrow or Monday.

[redrhodie]

We rode a pretty route up to Ninigret today and did some laps around the track. Well, I only did a lap, because I was hot by the time we got there, and stopped to remove a layer. It was one of those days where the temp rose 30° in a few hours.

My bike had maintenance on a squeaky pedal this week, and in the process of fixing the squeak, my wrench discovered my bottom bracket was shot. So, maybe that was part of my climbing issue, because I was up front on every hill today, and not once did I think (in Mark Cavendish's voice) "I'm not a climber." That guy's the little devil on my shoulder sometimes.

[sookiesue]

30 beautiful miles in the Oregon countryside. Fields of crimson clover, lots of cows, horses, llamas, sheep, goats, and even passed a house with a bunch of donkeys in the yard! At one point I rode past some type of hawk (wish I'd had the presence of mind to stop and take a photo so I could find out what kind) sitting on a fence post about 8 feet away from me. What an amazing way to start the morning.

I did the same route I did Thursday evening and I shaved 4 minutes off my time! I've been stuck at the same average MPH (14ish) forever. It seemed like no matter how hard or how easy I've been riding, I still end up with a 14mph average. So I'm trying to really push myself on flats and downhills, and also to stay in the middle ring on as many climbs as I can to try to regain strength for the summer.

Ahhhh...I love Oregon!

[indysteel]

I love Oregon, too, Sookiesue! Alas, my own home state isn't quite as pretty. DH and I did 44 miles today. Nice route in that there was little traffic and we didn't get chased by any dogs. This was our longest road ride of the year. I felt pretty good minus some neck and shoulder discomfort near the end.