June rides....hopefully a pleasant month of weather and rides for all

[azfiddle]

Nice ride up Mt. Lemmon this morning- almost 37 miles total, starting from home, 10 miles to the base and up to about mile 11.5 at Middle Bear Canyon (cool, shady, 5500 feet). I always need to make a few stops and let my heart rate come down- I think I stopped 5 times once we started up the mountain. That's the furthest I've gone this season- the climb tops out at over 8000 feet and there's no water available at all right now, so that means carrying a LOT of water.

[emily_in_nc]

We've been visiting relatives in NC and Ohio but did manage to get quite a bit of riding in, and I summarized the Ohio rides in a blog post -- the rides described therein were mostly done in late May into early June. We were lucky to get some wonderful weather and found some excellent roads for riding.

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...to-see-and-eat

Since leaving DH's parents' home in Dover, OH, we've been to Xenia, OH to ride part of the Little Miami Scenic Trail and to Richmond, IN to ride the Cardinal Greenway. In both cases I got my longest rides in of the year -- 71 and 75.8 miles. Blog posts on those will be coming soon!

[emily_in_nc]

Just got the Little Miami Scenic Trail blog post published. Definitely check out this great trail if you are in southwestern Ohio!

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...i-scenic-trail

[Crankin]

Led our bike club rally 30 mile ride today. It was hot! 80-85 degrees. We had the largest group, but we broke into 2 groups, with DH and I leading/sweeping the faster group. Unlike most AMC rides, we had some really fast people, and I spent my time at the back with 3-4 of them. I was pissed at DH for not slowing a bit, but after talking to the couple that were behind him, they kinda had an edge and I can see why he didn't. Everyone was happy, we had no mechanicals, but I had a couple of incidents where the group right in front of me just weren't taking the lane on some of the more difficult left turns. They were timid and i had to yell at them to get over. Near the end of the ride, they told me to get in front of them, and I did, leading them back to the start.
DH and I went home, showered, changed, and then went back to Verill Farm for happy hour, a speaker about the history of cycling in Boston, and dinner. Food was great, and the speaker was good. Afterwards, we went with our friends to get ice cream. A really nice day.
And a funny thing was we were talking to someone in the line for dinner, and he told me his name and that he was the president of another local bike club. I knew right away that he was the dad of one of my former students. This kid was 12 and had the same bike I did and always wrote in his journal about his average on rides! He ended up being a very successful scientist. It's always nice to hear this stuff, and it doesn't happen very often.

[SheFly]

I met Larry at the Harvard Road Race last week, and then again before and after the Pioneers Ride from Ride Studio Cafe yesterday. He is very entertaining, and quite nice to chat with!

My rides this week were eclectic! After being away on business with no bike from Mon through Weds, I was itching to get back out on Thurs, but the weather was miserable - rain, and cool temps. That didn't deter us from an MTB ride out the rail trail to Estabrook, despite the rain, and all of the mud it left in its wake. By the time we were done, the sun was shining, but I still had to stand in the shower with my bike clothes on to get the mud out BEFORE putting the kit in the laundry.

Friday I had planned to head out on the trails with local pro and friend, Mo Bruno Roy. What I neglected to take into account was the toll that 40 miles of MTB at a fairly fast pace was going to take on my legs. With my competitive side, I wasn't smart enough to go at an easier pace, plus I wanted to show Mo all of the good stuff. Lesson learned.

Yesterday was the launch of a new Ride Studio Cafe team - the Expedition team. This is a team of 6 women who will ride/ race together wherever the road/dirt takes us. Our kickoff ride was at the shop's Pioneer Ride, and was 111 miles with about 5700 feet of climbing on both paved and dirt roads. This normally wouldn't be an issue for me, but the two days of riding leading into it, the heat, and the frequent prolonged stops did me an, and had me suffering later in the ride. The route was spectacular, however, and the day ended up being a great amount of fun.

Today was about resting and recovery. My biggest accomplishment was vacuuming the house and walking to the supermarket for lemonade

SheFly

[Crankin]

Because we were busy all day yesterday, I spent the AM, grocery shopping and lounging around the house, while DH did yard work. We went for a shorter, 21 mile ride around Concord, mostly Carlisle, took pictures and enjoyed the day. It was humid, not quite as hot as yesterday, but still up there, around 80-82. There were clouds, so that saved me. However, I drank 2 bottles, which is odd for me, for a shorter ride.
I probably will ride to work tomorrow, after the gym, as Tuesday looks like a rain out, with thunder.

[emily_in_nc]

A beautiful day today after buckets of rain yesterday! We rode the Constitution Trail, plus some extra rural roads, in Bloomington-Normal, IL, as we continue our trek westward across the US. Got in 60 fun miles, mostly flat to slightly rolling. 70s with sunshine and a fairly stiff breeze from the north. Ate some amazing ice cream in downtown Normal...YUM!

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[Veronica]

We got a late start to our ride today - 8:30 AM and it was already 84 degrees. Thom and I split up on our ride today, since I didn't feel like doing the 25%+ grades to get to the ridge and was not feeling great in the heat. We rode to "Cow Corner" together and then he headed up to the ridge and I continued on to the Water Tower descent. I absolutely love descending this trail when there are no hikers on it. Initially it has sweeping turns with good sight lines, but right by the water tower it gets super steep with some switchbacks. It's a fire road, so the switchbacks aren't hard to navigate and you have to cut your speed as you head into it to be sure there aren't any hikers or equestrians that you couldn't see. Today it was totally open and I flew down it, hitting 28 mph! Once you can see into the second switchback, you can just let the bike go. That was enough to convince me that I had another lap in me despite the heat. On the second lap I did have a couple of hikers that I needed to slow for on the descent, but that's okay. There was plenty of room to pass them, but I think flying by is rude.

I also discovered that I can change my rear shock while riding. On the first lap Thom and I were talking about it. I routinely change the front one from climbing to cross county mode, occasionally put it into downhill, but not often. I had had difficulty finding the lever for the rear one. You really cant' see it, you have to go by feel. By following the top tube down to the shock, you just automatically hit the lever. Climbing mode is very stiff! When it is in climbing mode, it's easier to find it using your left hand to put it back into cross country. On some of the flattish sections I practiced just moving it back and forth. This is my first fully suspended bike, with a dropper saddle, so I'm still figuring out what I can do with it. It's a lot to coordinate sometimes as you start a descent - put the the bike in the middle ring. Change the shocks to descending mode, drop the saddle - all as the bike is moving and picking up speed.

It was 92 when we finished our ride at 9:45. Yeah, it was short, just 7.25 miles, but with 1050 feet of climbing.

Veronica