Weekend Rides?

[Catrin]

25 miles this morning, and I finally did the ride I've wanted to since moving to my current apartment. I rode to my LBS and home again - well - via downtown Zionsville The route I took has been intimidating to me but after two successful work commutes I put on my big girl panties and went for it. I didn't think there would be much traffic at 9am on a Saturday morning and I was right The route through Zionsville grew longer than planned as they pretty much shut down the main route that I needed for a huge farmers market - I wil remember that.

The route home was quite different, I wasn't about to take the same route home again. I found my leg was complaining a bit on the climbs so I just relaxed and shifted to easier gears. 25 miles in 2 hours riding time, I will take it!

[Crankin]

Yesterday afternoon I rode 30 miles with a friend. We set out to do "whatever" and when we had to make a decision point, I asked if she could handle mor than we usually do. It's just a perfect weekend, weather-wise. The ride yesterday was on all familiar roads in Acton, Stow, Boxboro, and a little in Littleton and Harvard. Near the end, we had a 2 mile climb that sort of sucks, but my friend soldiered on.
Today, we did a 40 mile ride in Tiverton and Little Compton, RI, Westport, MA. It's about a 90 minute drive to the start, but we missed doing this ride last year, due to weather. Drove down with our close friends and met another woman who is a leader for AMC. This ride always fools me. It is beautiful, by the ocean, salt marshes, farms, but most of it is slightly uphill. I think of it as flat, but the false flats, 2-5% grades and the wind (which was light today) always does me in. Afterwards, we changed clothes in the car and drove to the Sakonnet Winery, where it was so crowded, we tasted 3/6 we had paid for, and bought our wine and left. I guess that is what people do on a sunny day, instead of a 40 mile ride! We've been there before, so no big deal. I rode the Guru today and yesterday and I am pretty much at the same speeds as on my Kuota.
Got to shower and get ready for dinner out. I am not cooking; too tired.

[shootingstar]

Rode just abit over 40+ km. today. First to a large bike shop where I've never been where it was humming with customers and people interested in bikes. It's a shop with 3 levels of merchandise.

Then off to our favourite creme puff place. Hurry on home to cook up dinner. Then off to movie to see "The Best Marigold Hotel" (Julie Dench, Maggie Smith are some of the actresses in it...)

Not sure where the cyclists were since the roads and paths were quiet. Maybe people stick close to home or off to the Rocky Mtns. 100 km. north ..by car.

[Owlie]

I was going to do a 50-miler today, but woke up and really did not feel like riding. So I'm doing it tomorrow and used today to do errands and clean. I also should have been using it to study, but...

[Reesha]

I did a race this morning. I didn't come in last place! I'm going to wait until pics surface to post my race report though

[ZenBiker]

Had a great ride up a pretty canyon nearby. Moderate climbs, nothing all that steep, just 8 miles or so of going up then a fun run back down. Ran errands in town on the bike afterwards, for a total of about 32 miles. Nice way to spend a Saturday morning!

[Reesha]

I did a 'quick' 50 miles. I left close to six am to get out and back before it got really hot.

It was lovely to be out when the Riverfront Trail along the Mississippi was so quiet. I did have some issues on the ride though-- my handlebar tape is coming off on the right after about 1500 miles. That was annoying! My right foot has also been a little hot spotty. Not blistery, just hot and uncomfortable right where the pedal is. This tends to start by Mile 20. I thought it might be me tightening my shoes too much but that doesn't seem to do much. It's not unbearable... I'll have to test the same on a longer ride. Hopefully I'll have it sorted by the time I arrive in Seattle for the start of the Big Ride.

Some pics from this morning!

Empty, early Chain of Rocks Bridge (Old Route 66 bridge)


My new Sprintech Bar End Mirror! We are required to have a mirror on the big ride, I figured I'd get used to this one. It was $30 bucks at LBS and other than the biggest bumps this fully adjustable mirror stays put. I had to readjust it a few times when I accidentally knocked it out of wack with my hand and after some rail road tracks, but it's great!


Native MO plants at the Columbia Bottoms Conservation area