Weekend rides 8/2-8/4

[thekarens]

Saturday we went out for our usual ride with the club. I ride with the "No drop, one stop" group, which usually averages between 14-16 and we go various distances. This Saturday they decided to do the "Clay Walker ride" route which is 43 miles. I felt I did fairly well, I was somewhere in the middle and averaged 15.1 mph. Today my partner went mountain biking while I was a slacker and slept in. My partner is on the left on the red/white Madone and I'm on the ride on the blue Jamis.

[indysteel]

DH and I took Friday off and went mountain biking. It was only our second time out this year, but the ride went well. Today, we drove to a state forest and did a couple of loops that have some good climbs and descents. The main thing we note when we mtb is that our climbing has really suffered from all the flat road rides we do. Today's ride was an effort to get some climbs in.

[Catrin]

DH and I took Friday off and went mountain biking. It was only our second time out this year, but the ride went well. Today, we drove to a state forest and did a couple of loops that have some good climbs and descents. The main thing we note when we mtb is that our climbing has really suffered from all the flat road rides we do. Today's ride was an effort to get some climbs in.

Sounds nice Indy! Where do you go? I had planned on riding the Cultural Trail + Monon today, but I didn't have much left after my group workout this morning and decided that was enough exercise for one day.

[indysteel]

Morgan Monroe today (the loop is both in and outside the actual forest); BCSP on Friday.

[Catrin]

Morgan Monroe today (the loop is both in and outside the actual forest); BCSP on Friday.

I had wondered about Morgan Monroe when you mentioned it was a state forest, somehow I didn't know they have mtb trails there, sweet!

[thekarens]

Morgan Monroe today (the loop is both in and outside the actual forest); BCSP on Friday.

Sounds pretty!

[indysteel]

I had wondered about Morgan Monroe when you mentioned it was a state forest, somehow I didn't know they have mtb trails there, sweet!

Sorry, I wasn't clear. Today's ride was a road ride. Morgan Monroe doesn't have mtb trails.

[Crankin]

Yesterday we did a 20 mile "mystery" ride around town. Hit a few streets I've never been on. Despite the locality of the ride, it had 1,000 feet of climbing. There was a sidewalk sale in Concord center, so we stopped at the cheese shop on the way home, and walked through the booths. Had to leave pretty quickly, so the cheese wouldn't melt in DH's jersey pocket.
Today we finally did our "Fruit Loop" ride to Kimball's Fruit Farm in Pepperell, MA, on the border of Hollis, NH.Our friend changed the end of the ride, so we don't do some brutal hills at the end, but the ride is now longer... 51 miles instead of 47. Both DH and I had lower back issues (not from cycling), but we enjoyed the day. The climb up to the farm has 6 hills on one street. The weather was gorgeous, though I was scared it would rain, and we did have a couple of sprinkles on the way home. We ate our lunches on top of a hill by the farm, with a beautiful view of Mt. Wachusett.
I did not really like the new ending to the ride and would have rather done the hills. There were a couple of funky intersections that I would not take a group on and the landscape was not that gorgeous. I'm just spoiled!
Got home, took an ice bath, and had some good home made Mexican food for dinner.

[indysteel]

Minus the back pain and funky intersections, that sounds like an awesome weekend of riding!

[rebeccaC]

I have friends from New York and Quebec visiting for a few days. Maggie is a climber that I can only aspire to match strength and endurance with some day. So we borrowed a bike from a friend and I took her for a ride in the Santa Monica Mountains. We rode out to and up Los Flores Canyon road, coming back down to PCH on Malibu Canyon road and then home. 58 miles with some really good climbing.

When we got back we heard of a crazy persons rampage with a car on the Venice Beach boardwalk. One woman died and many people were struck with some in critical condition. I’ve said prayers for the people involved and their families and friends. How precious life is and how quickly it can be gone.

[Crankin]

Ha, Indy, I'm not comlaining, really. I decided not to go to boot camp this morning, to let my back rest until tomorrow. It's my fault; I have slacked off on my exercises.
As far as the intersections go, they are just country-suburban, weird New England type things. The first is a left while you are at the bottom of a hill and cars are coming down the other side, on sort of at a curve. That is actually the more dangerous one. The second one is right after that. It's just a stop sign at the top of a hill, which I dislike intensely. There were no cars yesterday, but when I am riding my Guru, I have to push up a lot to get myself onto the saddle and go. I'm not good at hill starts in any situation, but on my other bike, it's easier.

[indysteel]

My low back has been bothering me, too, Crankin. I overdid some exercises a few weeks ago. It's finally starting to feel a bit better.

There are some hill starts on the ride we do over Memorial Day every year, and I get anxious about them well in advance. The first is at the start of the ride, and I always feel so self conscious about it with all these other riders around me.

[Catrin]

Crankin, hill starts still scare me so I just won't do them. When I see it must happen I stop early so I don't get scared about tipping over and then walk the rest of the way. Of course that is all theoretical as I've not been in real traffic this year

Indy I hope your back continues to improve. I've wondered just how hilly your Memorial Day ride is given the location. I figuded there must be some steep/long climbs.

[indysteel]

Crankin, hill starts still scare me so I just won't do them. When I see it must happen I stop early so I don't get scared about tipping over and then walk the rest of the way. Of course that is all theoretical as I've not been in real traffic this year

Indy I hope your back continues to improve. I've wondered just how hilly your Memorial Day ride is given the location. I figuded there must be some steep/long climbs.

The Horsey Hundred is the Memorial Day weekend ride that we do every year. It's fairly hilly, but not crazy hilly. Saturday's routes change every year/two years. Some years have been harder than others; there have been a few memorable climbs over the years. Sunday's routes cover more rolling terrain, but of course if you rode on Saturday, your legs are somewhat fatigued. There are different route lengths from which to choose, so you can pick your poison. The Lexington area makes for fantastic riding, and the Bluegrass Cycling Club generally does a great job with the ride.

[Crankin]

Well, I've discovered that almost every intersection around where I live has at least a slight incline at stop signs! It's nothing you'd realize in a car. If I come to a a light/stop sign on a real hill, I slow down, unclip one foot, and pray the light will change before I get there. Since most of these are at places I do regularly (or at least a few times a year), I can time it. I do avoid these types of intersections, though, if possible. I am pretty strong, but I do find it very difficult to start at even a small incline. I am sure this is the same reason I find it hard to stand up while climbing. Of course, now, it's in my head and like Indy said, I anticipate trouble. I've been known to scoot across a street, which is just ridiculous.
I don't obsess on this, but when I plan a group ride, I work pretty hard to avoid all spots like this. Several of the participants on my rides have thanked me for this, so, I know I'm not the only one.