April Rides

[emily_in_nc]

Got in a couple of good rides over the past two days with DH. Yesterday was a 32 mile ride on the MTBs primarily on bike paths (though it's 5 miles there and back on roads). Today I did 42 hilly miles on the roadie with quite a bit of wind -- gusts in the 20s from the south, so every time we had to turn that way, it was rough. Fortunately, the last 12 miles or so were all north and east, so it was fun at the end! We rode on some roads we hadn't tried before, so that was fun, though we had to stop a lot and look at the map on the way back to figure it out. I am soooooo tired of wind, though. Seems like every time we have a warm, sunny day, like today, it's super windy. The gusts at times felt like they were going to blow me off the road. Ugh!

I went over 1700 miles YTD today, my best year since my accident in '05. Being retired helps a LOT, obviously!

[Catrin]

Sounds great Emily! I think you renamed my....errrrr....YOUR bike quite appropriately given the winds you've been dealing with!

[rebeccaC]

Been doing some hard climbing routes lately to get ready for todays ride on Little Tujunga Canyon road in the western part of the Angeles National Forest. The route has a very steep at times 6 mile climb and an even steeper 4 miler among shorter ones...a couple of great descents though on nicely banked switchbacks and all on a well-paved road with very little traffic. Perfect weather too. Started in the low 60’s and ended in the low 70’s. I rode a route in the eastern part of the Angeles last April that had some good climbs but Tujunga is steeper and gives a better sense of isolation with incredible views. It was only a 40 minute drive to our start point, which was nice too. There are a couple of other canyon roads on the western side of the Angeles that we are thinking about riding now.

The roadside memorial is for Sarah Alarid. She was 19 when her car went off the road and into a deep steep ravine at the site of the memorial. A park ranger who stopped for a moment told us she and her car weren’t found until spotted by a passing helicopter a few weeks after she went missing. I sat there for about 20 minutes looking at what has been left for her by friends and family and thinking of her being so young and the accident itself. That led me to a moment of crying. Those thoughts also made me thankful of just being alive in that moment and made me appreciate even more my ability to be enjoying a ride in such a beautiful and peaceful area. Sarah was with me the rest of the ride....

[BikeDutchess]

Salt Lake City Marathon Bike Tour today. 6 a.m. start (yawn!), luckily we only live about 2.5 miles from the start so we could ride there. They changed the course this year, it's no longer all downhill and goes more through the city. It's a much prettier route although some parts were a little iffy on bikes in the dark. I had to work harder to make it by the cut-off time but we had a blast. And the weather was so, so, so much better than last year! No ride photos, but this year's medal was pretty cool.


Salt Lake City Marathon Bike Tour by DutchRosie, on Flickr

ETA: rebeccaC, gorgeous photos! And yes, how great to be alive and able to ride.

[Crankin]

Did my first ride up Oak Hill for the year, and I am trashed. 24.5 miles, 1551 feet of climbing. We were going to do closer to 40, but none of us were feeling it. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, with hardly any traffic, thanks to those celebrating Easter. After the climb, there's still climbing, if you know what I mean. I rode my Guru today, for the first time in about 2 weeks, so it felt good.
Going to ride with a guy from my club tomorrow, since I am off for Patriot's Day. He rides everywhere, hardly ever drives, and just retired last summer. I told him I'm a bit tired, so hopefully, he'll have a little mercy on me. I debated on whether to ask someone fast to ride with me, or go out with my friend who is *very* slow. I want to push myself, but now I a questioning my judgment! It will be pleasant, as we'll be away from all of the hoopla going on in my town tomorrow for the holiday. I do feel a little guilty about not marching in the parade with the military families group, but since my son is not active duty anymore, I don't do mcuh with them.

[emily_in_nc]

Sounds great Emily! I think you renamed my....errrrr....YOUR bike quite appropriately given the winds you've been dealing with!

Yes, I kind of named the Jamis "Toto" in honor of Kansas, since that is where I took it on its maiden voyage (as my bike, that is) and continue to ride it, including today's ride, a nice jaunt on mostly bike paths up to Walmart for all the important groceries: dark chocolate, coffee, and wine.

[Crankin]

Emily, you and I have so much in common, it's not funny.
Those are the three things I could never, ever give up.

[Catrin]

Emily, I am certainly with two of those three! I've started to get a bit more brave where wine is concerned, I do like a nice red wine. Not so much the others.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, I am certainly with two of those three! I've started to get a bit more brave where wine is concerned, I do like a nice red wine. Not so much the others.

I am no wine snob. I prefer white wines, but I know reds are the healthier choice. I do enjoy some reds as well, especially with certain foods, including dark chocolate!

[Crankin]

Emily, there's been some recent research about white wine and how it, too, has some of those health benefits. We joined a wine club, so I have become a bit more knowledgable (not snobby).
Back to cycling.
My ride today was an epic fail, but also a major win. I made plans to meet a guy from my club who is a strong rider, but about 5 years older than me and slowing down just a teeny bit. We arranged to meet at Ferns, in Carlisle, where all cyclists meet. About 1/4 a mile from our rendezvous, my rear derailleur/shifter cable snapped, forcing my rear cassette into the the hardest gear. After a loud string of expletives, mostly beginning with f, I rolled in. He suggested we ride to his house, about 4 miles and he would fix it. It was mostly flat, with some rollers, where I switched to the granny. OK, in order to get off a busier road, we turned off toward his neighborhood before I normally would. Then he says, oh, there's a steep short hill, you can do it. Well, I almost didn't, but it had to be the hardest damn thing I've done. Right when I was trying to figure out if I could unclip, or do 2 more pedal strokes up, he yelled out, "you might want to walk." Too late, I would have rather died than crash in front of this man, and I made it. My quads were trashed! Long story short, he couldn't fix it, so on we rode to the LBS (the one SheFly races for). No big hills, but the little ones were getting to me. At least I got a tour of the Bedford VA hospital ground, as he kept us off of the main roads. We rolled into the shop, where the mechanic couldn't do a thing, I need a new shift lever and cable. He put it in an easier cog, so then my friend and I rode the 8 miles back to my house, me mostly in the big ring in the front and the 25 on the back. I was able to use my granny with the 25 and get up my hill, but I did not attempt the driveway, at a 15% grade.
Thus, I didn't get to do the fun ride he planned, but I got in 25 miles, rode up a steep hill in a hard gear, and ended up with an average very close to my fastest all season.

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, you and I have so much in common, it's not funny.
Those are the three things I could never, ever give up.

Heheh...it was funny since we didn't actually plan it to be a wine/chocolate/coffee run, but that just happened to be what was on the list. Normally we bike to Costco on Sundays since it's the one day when the traffic is not too high to ride downtown, but since Costco is closed on Easter, that changed our plans a bit. They are definitely three of the major food groups, right?!