Magnificent or Mundane May Rides!

[Jolt]

It's always the owners. Even the best dogs can be spooked by a bike or have a herding instinct and lunge after a bike if they aren't used to being around them. 99% of the dog owners on the trails are excellent and very respectful, which I love. I love dogs so I am happy to see people out enjoying their animals. I also have a very well-behaved dog with pretty perfect recall. We've never once had an issue. However, I would never bring him out there without a leash on. Most importantly because it's the law and secondly because I don't want to put him in a position to fail with all that traffic. It's a shame some dogs have owners that either don't care or don't want to pay attention. I really don't relish kicking a dog but if it's my life and safety in question, I will do it. And the dog was fine when he left. He was more startled by it than anything, which was the point. A 50 lb dog vs. my limited range of motion while standing over my top tube stood a good chance.

+1...I love dogs but hate it when owners are irresponsible like the incident you describe (if the owner had been paying attention, you wouldn't have been put in the rotten position of having to kick the dog--hope she realizes that). Getting back on the subject of rides, I tried out a different group ride this evening. We only went 15 miles (often they do 20 and I'd be happy to do more) but I definitely fit into this group better than the other one in terms of speed so will probably try to go semi-regularly even though it's a bit of a haul from where I live. It's nice being able to ride with a group and keep up...I even felt like I could have gone faster at certain points during the ride (mostly because there were times people were coasting when I would normally have kept pedaling). I also found out about another supposedly beginner/intermediate ride that is closer and happens on Wednesdays, so may check that one out. Next ride will be Sunday's 50 miler at the Bicycle Coalition of Maine women's ride; hopefully that goes well despite my not having gotten in as much mileage beforehand as I would have liked (weather has often been uncooperative).

[Crankin]

Got in a 19 mile ride with Hirakukibou this afternoon. Rain is supposed to start at 4:00, thunder/lightening, too. There were dark clouds hanging over us as we set out, and we adjusted our route shorter and shorter as we went. I did not want to be caught in a thunderstorm. When we got close to my turn off point, we decided to both go back to Concord center, for coffee. It started sprinkling as we were sitting outside, so we both took off. Of course, the sprinkles stopped, and we probably would have been OK with the original plan, but I am fine with some miles rather than no miles!

[colorisnt]

Crankin, yeah, I know the feeling. It's better to get some mileage in than none always!

[Crankin]

15 of some the most torturous miles I've done. The last couple times I've ridden my Kuota, it seemed like the brakes got stuck after I put it away, or in the process, I banged something. DH checked, fixed something, but today I didn't spin the wheel before we left. I really thought I had lost all power, on every little climb. I could maintain a pretty good speed on the flats, but no flat roads until the second half of the loop. We sat on the porch at Ferns so I could rest. Seriously, I was ready to throw in the towel on this ride and even if I feel like this in the beginning of a ride, by the middle of this loop, I'm usually fine. There was a headwind, too. So, I got home and checked, and sure enough, brakes rubbing. Not totally stuck, but enough that I notice. On this loop, I know exactly how fast I usually go on good days, bad days, and in between, so I am not going crazy. We figured out this has happened since we replaced the brake/shifters and cables about a month ago. DH tightened something again, but said this should not be happening every time I ride. Will go to the bike shop if necessary, but this is rarely necessary in this house.

[Catrin]

Glad you figured it out Crankin, and hope the two of you can figure out why it is happening again.

[Fredwina]

I had a nice big blister, so I took a few days off riding. I did 42 miles today.
The American Queen in port:

Tom Lee (http://www.tomleeamemphishero.webs.com/history.htm ) Park:


Looking Upriver:

[Jolt]

No ride for me today...getting ready for tomorrow's big (for me) ride...50 miles. Will be sure to post a ride report!