august rides

[ny biker]

I rode 79 miles today, my first >70 miler in years. It was a century ride put on by a local racing team, but I figured out a couple of short cuts because I didn't want to ride more than 80. I rode with several friends and had a (mostly) good ride.

Five miles from the end, I had another broken spoke. I was able to finish the ride; the wheel was out of true but I opened the brake as far as it would go and ignored the rubbing brake pad. I'm planning to start a separate thread to discuss broken spokes. In the meantime, I can't get to the LBS until Monday but have a big ride planned on Saturday. So I called the LBS from the parking lot of the ride start/finish location, they looked up the type of wheels currently on the bike, we discussed some options, and I ordered a new set of comparable wheels. They should be in by Tuesday, but if there's a delay the shop can lend me a wheel temporarily.

This is not an expense I would like to have right now, but I consider it an investment in my sanity.

Btw one of my companions today was asking about winter cycling clothes. The general discussion centered on layering, wool and shopping at TE.

[azfiddle]

I rode about 64 miles today on an organized event east of Tucson, from Willcox to the Chiracahua Mtns and back, with about 2500 feet of climbing. I did not go with my regular breakfast of oatmeal or a bagel, but threw together a piece of toast & peanut butter and mini-yogurt from the motel we stayed at. It warmed up quickly and was a little humid, and my stomach felt yucky as soon as we left the flats and started climbing. It basically felt yucky the whole ride, though I managed to drink a bottle of electrolytes, 3 or 4 more bottles of water, and ate half a banana, a cookie and a piece of my home made fruit-nut bar (pan forte).

I felt so crummy on the last uphill portion (about 15-16 miles before the end) I stopped and rested twice on the climbs. I considered just getting a ride back, but stopped at the last aid station and dumped a bottle on my head, sat in the shade and then got back on the bike for the descent and a 5-6 mile flat section. After all the riding I've been doing, I was a little depressed about my lack of progress and an overall moving speed of 13.5 mph.

I blamed it all on my eating, but then after I got off the bike, I realized that I was getting a headache and scratchy palate (actually ignored a little preview of the scratchy palate when I woke up this morning). So now I am thinking it was more that my body was just having to deal with too much: oncoming cold, sub-optimal breakfast, and a long bike ride with heat and hills.

It was still a beautiful route with almost no cars, grasslands green from the summer monsoons, soaring Swainson's and Red-tailed Hawks and the songs of the desert sparrows serenading me.

[emily_in_nc]

Been riding a lot but haven't been posting. Today's ride was just a little 13.5 mile market ride, but overall for the past week I've done several 50+ milers. I've been battling a bad saddle sore, but I think I finally turned the corner on that in the past few days. Thank the gods.

The wind has come back with a vengeance here, and the past few rides have been less than fun having to fight it. Looks like more of the same tomorrow. Other than the wind, the weather has been lovely, though!

[Crankin]

Today we did a CRW ride and then went to the Labor Day party at my friend's Jack, house, after. It started about 2 miles from his house, in a parking lot at the VA campus. Unlike AMC rides, it's a kind of "you're on your own," thing, so we took off about 20 minutes before the start. Rode some new roads and nice ones in Lexington (where i've never ridden, except on the bike path), and then we headed back to Concord, into west Concord, Acton, and up Nagog Hill. Now, this is in the area I live in, but I rarely do the whole hill... it's a series of 5-6 hills on one road. Today, we did them all, and more, because we took the road all the way to the end, which I have only done a few times. Then, we headed into Littleton and Westford, back onto a route that we often do. From there, we had about 12-15 miles left to get to Jack's house for the food! Need I say, that the weather is the absolute opposite of Saturday. It's 85 degrees with like 70% humidity. Thankfully, partly cloudy. We did stop to eat and take long drinks twice, but overall, we got to Jack's hosue with a decent average for a hilly ride. Sat and had pizza and beer, sat more, because then we had to ride 2 more miles back to the car. That 2 miles felt pretty painful, after sitting.
I'm really stiff and tired, need to go revive myself. This weekend I've ridden about 80 miles and hiked 8 miles.

[MarieV]

DH and I just finished the Seattle Int'l Randonneurs Maltby-Granite Falls 100 km ride: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3728236

The ride was just over 64 miles and started and ended at the Maltby Cafe. What a scenic route! It went through mostly quiet country roads, with lots of horse ranches and farmland. It was also mostly downhill with lots of long descents, a few miles of rollers, and only a few climbs, kind of like my favorite loops around the Kitsap Peninsula, even including some water views of Lake Roesiger.

Maltby's also a bit more convenient since it's only about 25 minutes away from downtown Seattle and doesn't require a ferry ride. It's great to start a long ride with a big hearty breakfast at the cafe. If I didn't have gluten sensitivity that makes my stomach blow up like a puffer fish, I would definitely have ended the ride with the cafe's signature gigantic cinnamon roll.

[salsabike]

DH and I just finished the Seattle Int'l Randonneurs Maltby-Granite Falls 100 km ride: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3728236

The ride was just over 64 miles and started and ended at the Maltby Cafe. What a scenic route! It went through mostly quiet country roads, with lots of horse ranches and farmland. It was also mostly downhill with lots of long descents, a few miles of rollers, and only a few climbs, kind of like my favorite loops around the Kitsap Peninsula, even including some water views of Lake Roesiger.

We've done that SIR Maltby 100k on our tandem! It's a great ride. And omelettes after at the Maltby Cafe.

Today we did a ride on our tandem that we made up and love, about 44 miles, that includes a bunch of hills, including riding up the ridge from Meydenbauer Bay in Bellevue, a 13-14% grade in parts. Beautiful day in the PNW today. 70 and mostly sunny. Typical sight on this ride: Mount Rainier from Medina City Hall.

[pll]

This summer I was training in part for Rebecca's Private Idaho, which was on Sunday. Let me pitch it to you ladies here: that area of Idaho has the most amazing landscapes. The only muscles that nearly cramped were those in my face because I had a silly grin most of the ride. It is a gravel ride and they offer two courses: the 'big potato' (93) miles and the 'small fry' (50-something miles). Each rest has wonderful volunteers -- they would fill your bottles or hand you one on the go, if you were racing the course-- and the tastiest roasted potatoes... It's a small ride, limited to 300 people, Rebecca Rusch is super nice. I can't say enough. I wish I had spent the entire week leading to the ride in Ketchum and hope to go back. Here are a couple of photos: