July Rides

[kajero]

Woo! Woo! I rode 19 miles today and didn't get lost once. And it was a new route for me. It is the second time this year I rode a 19 mile route and didn't get lost.

I seem to have a problem getting lost when I ride over 16 miles. Yes, I have maps, but I am not good at the reading them. I don't have a smartphone or an expensive Garmin so those to options are not available to me.

OK, I know 19 miles is as much as most of you ride, but it is more than my friends who stay home and watch TV ride!

[khg]

I rode Hurricane Ridge yesterday--and if you're in the PNW, I highly recommend it! Even better, next weekend is the Ride the Hurricane event, where for the morning, the road is closed to cars. http://business.portangeles.org/even...hurricane-2773

Anyway, it was a hard ride, but so beautiful that it made the effort joyous. It also is much more do-able than I had anticipated, as there are no seriously steep bits, just constant climbing, usually around 6%. If you have low enough gears, don't care about setting a land speed record, and can just keep pedaling, it's an eminently attainable big impressive ride! I blathered on a lot about it here, with photos: http://mebikedolomitesoneday.wordpre...ridge-by-bike/

FYI, there are three short-but-unlit tunnels in quick succession--for these you want a taillight (I had mine on the whole ride) and a headlight that is good enough to see the road by, not just a be-seen blinky type of headlight. The road surface seems pretty good in there, the lanes are wide and there's even a bit of a sidewalk if you want to walk your bike through, so the tunnels feel pretty safe, but the transition from daylight to the tunnel is pretty intense. I brought my decent headlight, not my awesome headlight, and next time I will bring the awesome one...

The temperature at the bottom was in the 60's, and it was around 50 at the top. I had on a short-sleeved wool jersey, and my Rapha 3/4 winter bib knickers (probably my favorite piece of bike wear ever. I picked them up on sale, and look forward to weather cool enough to wear them. They are fleecy-soft warm happiness--I call them my Rapha pajamas--and I'm seriously tempted to buy another pair, even at full price... Ouch.) and I would have been fine with less clothing on the way up. But on the way down, even though I felt warm in the sun at the top, I bundled up, and am sure glad that I did. I had a wool cap, arm warmers, a windbreaker jacket, and full-finger wool gloves, and I wouldn't have minded a bit more clothing... So if you do the ride, bring warm things!

A little taste of the day:

[emily_in_nc]

khg, absolutely gorgeous photos and lovely blog post. Congratulations on your huge accomplishment! And here I thought riding up Spearfish Canyon (13 miles at a lower grade) was something to brag about...sheesh -- you ROCK!

[Crankin]

Today was interesting. I led a ride in Mystic, CT, as after 8-10 miles, the other leader had one of his spokes break and his wheel was totally untrued. He sat on the side of the road to figure out a way to get back, after we all tried to get it fixed enough for him to ride, but couldn't. So... on I went. It was humid a partly cloudy down there. There were only 5 people on the ride, a mix of typical AMC geeks and one person from CT who is a super runner, young, and trying to improve her cycling to do an Oly. There was only one mildly annoying guy who was riding up on my azz, but kept falling back on the climbs. Finally I told him to go ahead if he wanted, which he did not; I dropped him on a long hill instead. Meh. Why do some guys do this?
It was fun, no issues, but it did start raining, just sprinkles as we did the area by the water in W. Mystic and Groton. There is a lot of climbing in the last 6-7 miles and I was tired, but not like 2 weeks ago, because the sun was not beating down on me. This ride has country roads, water views, the Mystic River and harbor, beaches, vineyards, mansions, and a downtown. It's really pretty and the part by the beach is not crowded at all, like in NH or the Cape. No honky tonk.
I drove down with another woman from Concord, so it was nice to not have to drive back after leading. It was a little hairy when we went down a hill, coming into the downtown, with tons of traffic and tourists. I actually got off my bike and walked a bit, as we were being squeezed off the road, but since we had to go over a drawbridge, it was fine, as we had already decided to walk over the grated bridge. But stuff like that makes me super vigilant, and it tires me out, because I feel responsible for the people. 42 miles.
Going out for bad food and beer .

[khg]

khg, absolutely gorgeous photos and lovely blog post. Congratulations on your huge accomplishment! And here I thought riding up Spearfish Canyon (13 miles at a lower grade) was something to brag about...sheesh -- you ROCK!

Thanks, Emily! You made me curious, so I found your June post about Spearfish Canyon, and right back at you about the photos and blog post. Now I want to go to Spearfish Canyon! What an amazing day that must have been, and *definitely* something to brag about

I'm really getting hooked on these sorts of rides--if a place is scenic enough to drive to and through, then it'll be even better by bike. You miss so much whizzing by in a car, and with anything mountainous, the view is that much sweeter for having earned it. (And given my impending bike trip to the Alps and Dolomites, I guess it's a good thing that I'm coming to love this sort of thing...)

That said, I was ok with *not* riding up a mountain today!

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks, Emily! You made me curious, so I found your June post about Spearfish Canyon, and right back at you about the photos and blog post. Now I want to go to Spearfish Canyon! What an amazing day that must have been, and *definitely* something to brag about

Oh thanks! It wasn't really that difficult, just a long climb for me, especially since we've been riding mostly flat paved rail-trails for months. The views and scenery made every second worth it.

Enjoy Europe -- that will be amazing! And yeah, I don't blame you for not wanting to climb a mountain today.

All we did today was a little utility ride to the recycling drop-off, farmer's market, and grocery outlet, around 9 miles total on the Bike Fridays. Tomorrow will be a longer ride!

[rebeccaC]

Did a bike trip last week that has to always be in the top three of my life. I was in Oslo for a couple days for a conference and then I spent 5 days of cycling, hiking and kayaking on Norway’s northern coast. Eye orgasms everywhere every day, friendly people, beautiful islands, mountains, fjords, small old fishing villages and good weather too. More bicycle tourists than I expected, this is the best weather time of the year to be traveling the coast or the islands though….on the second morning I met an Italian women who was doing the same route and I shared a great 4 days with her. We will definitely see each other again.

There are so many great adventures just waiting for us and our bicycles………

[marni]

because I work out with a trainer 2x 2hr each week, I find it works better if I ride only three times a week. My normal training routes are between 40 and 50 miles and I ride with other people at least one of the three days which keeps me pushing. But honestly every few weeks the two rest days don't seem ebnough so I will take a light week and only train 2 x and ride 2 times and take three good solid do nothing other than short utility rides if that. You have to learn to listen to your body and be willing to admit that quality over quantity is a better choice every time. Unless you are training for an event and then you need to be really disciplined.

Having said all that I will admit that these days with the feels like temperatures in the triple digits and the humidity hanging close to 100%, that third day of riding is awfully hard to do.

Today's 45 were enlivened by several happy sights. A family of wild boars crossing the road in front of me ( mind you this was at 6:30 AM), a C 47 flying back and forth over my head a couple of times, a hot air balloon and a family of five ( mom, dad, baby in tag along and two kids ages 8 and 10 all riding along the road and not the sidewalk, all of them wearing firmly fastened helmets and all on properly fitted and sized bikes. On the street, all in helmets and fitted bikes are rarities around here.

[khg]

Did a bike trip last week that has to always be in the top three of my life. I was in Oslo for a couple days for a conference and then I spent 5 days of cycling, hiking and kayaking on Norway’s northern coast. Eye orgasms everywhere every day, friendly people, beautiful islands, mountains, fjords, small old fishing villages and good weather too. More bicycle tourists than I expected, this is the best weather time of the year to be traveling the coast or the islands though….on the second morning I met an Italian women who was doing the same route and I shared a great 4 days with her. We will definitely see each other again.

There are so many great adventures just waiting for us and our bicycles………

Wow! I want to go to Norway some day (my dad's side of the family is from there) but somehow I never connected it in my brain with cycling. I can only imagine how divine it must have been to be on a bike there--many thanks for the inspiration!