Say do you remember...cycling in September

[emily_in_nc]

I gotta hand it to Emily--I'll take hills over wind any day. The only hill that I walked part of in Italy was going up Passo Fedaia on a super windy day. After a couple gusts that blew me crosswise across the road, I was more than a little freaked out, and walked much of the rest of the climb.

I've had my eye on this Italy trip for a while, but a couple years ago it was with the thought "that's amazing, but I'd never be able to do that..." So it was really special to do the trip, above and beyond how great the trip was in itself.

Thanks, but the hills you climbed were massive, khg! I can't imagine doing rides with the amount of elevation gain you posted on your blog above. Wow! I'm duly impressed. But yeah, I do hate wind (when riding) a LOT.

What gearing did you have to do those climbs? I just can't climb super steep hills on my Trek. I have a 30t granny in front, and my lowest in back is 25t. Pretty standard for a road bike but not low enough for me! My Bike Friday has mountain gearing, so I can do a lot bigger hills on that one, but it's heavier, so a bit of a trade-off.

[shootingstar]

I've been doing utility bike rides for last few days since returning home from vacation. After all, I need to fill a bare refrigerator and great excuse for farmers' market load-up on bike. Besides, our city had a freak snowfall 4 days ago and it became suddenly quite cold ..over a -25 degree C drop from summer shorts weather.

Prior I was cycling in Toronto daily for nearly 2 wks. All within town...the city has changed a lot: Waaaaay more cyclists compared to 12 yrs. ago when I relocated from the city. To a point where, it truly is now difficult to find a bike rack downtown during the day, that doesn't already have another bike or 2 locked up already. I seriously walked over 1 block in the financial/glitzy shopping downtown area before I could find a bike rack clear enough to lock up mine.

I rode around marvelling over the city's green tree canopy in the downtown core, in its park system, and on residential streets...how I'm so starved for trees after living in prairie city.

[Crankin]

Emily, I think you might find that a 25 on the rear is not so standard anymore. I've gone from a 25 to 27, then a 28 on my triple. My other bike has a compact, with a 34 small ring and an 11-34 on the back. It's a mountain rear derailleur, but it's already 3 years old and there's newer technology. My friend just got a Trek Project One bike with a road derailleur and a compact set up that has a 32 on the back. As we all age, there's just a bigger demand for these types of set ups.

[khg]

Thanks, but the hills you climbed were massive, khg! I can't imagine doing rides with the amount of elevation gain you posted on your blog above. Wow! I'm duly impressed. But yeah, I do hate wind (when riding) a LOT.

What gearing did you have to do those climbs? I just can't climb super steep hills on my Trek. I have a 30t granny in front, and my lowest in back is 25t. Pretty standard for a road bike but not low enough for me! My Bike Friday has mountain gearing, so I can do a lot bigger hills on that one, but it's heavier, so a bit of a trade-off.

I have a compact (50-34) in front, and had a 29 for my lowest in back. I rode all summer with a 27 as the lowest in back, and then swapped out cassettes a couple days before we left. It was great to gain the 29, though there were definitely times that I was trying the gear lever to see if maybe I had one more gear to shift into... (And then a few minutes later, trying again--"maybe now there's an extra gear!")

Since I still haven't reassembled my bike from the trip, I hopped on my single speed to commute yesterday, for my first ride since getting home. I've got a cold, and can't really breathe great, but it still felt really nice to be out on a bike again!

[Crankin]

So, today, I did the same ride to Bolton Farms with my friends, that I did right before I went to California a month ago. I did not bring my bike with the super low gears, because I am trying to ride only the bike with similar gearing to what I will have in Portugal. I was fine last month and was dying today. My average was 1.5 mph slower today. My knee hurt, my back hurt, and I just felt slow, like I just couldn't find the right gear. I even stopped once to see if my brake was rubbing! But, it was clear and sunny, and a bit windy. Same temperature as yesterday, and I did dress the same even though yesterday was cloudy, but I took my arm warmers off at one point today. The sun didn't make that much of a difference; it was 65 and it felt like 55, like October. A bit worried that I felt so off today, after 2 40 mile rides in a row. I am going to have to ride 7 days in a row in Portugal, one rest day, then one more day. There's one day (day 5) with a longer and steep climb and the rest just normal climbs. I probably will cut back all of my stuff the week before, so I have one more week of heavier riding to get through. Then, just little recovery rides.
Today was 39 miles with 2,445 feet of climbing.

[Helene2013]

Last Sunday I did a 60km ride which was my best ever ride. Got speed up to 35km/h (I still cannot keep it for long yet but at least I can do it). Long flat slopes are my problem and I know and will work on it with personal trainer when outdoor bike season is off.

Today did the same ride. 9c (brrrr), cloudy and very windy (but seen worst in a June ride but rode less then). We wanted to do a 100km but conditions were not so great.

But I rode in training. Hubby coached me. I did intervals and sprints. My weakness remains hills and I'm working and improving a lot. But still a lot of work to be done. Not out of the woods.

But the best improvements I have seen since I got my Amira is that I can drink while riding, I can scratch my back, I can unzip my coat and I can go over 30km/h for short stretches. My average on normal road (flats) is bout 25-26km/h. Better than the 18km/h of last year same time. All things I would never been able to achieve with my Kuota. I truly found the bike that suits me. I'm proud of my season so far, even if I cannot go out but for weekends. Not time or other obligations weekdays in the summer.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for the feedback on gearing, Crankin and khg. I used to have a road bike with a compact set up -- 34 in front and the lowest cog in back was 29t. Another difference was that the wheels were 650c, making the lowest gear even lower. I could get up anything with that bike, at least then (pre-accident in 2005). I keep thinking about changing for a 12-27t cassette in back, which is about the biggest I could use without a change in derailleur, I believe. Even that one extra gear would help, I think. I'm definitely not as young as I used to be!

Sorry you had a dud ride, Crankin. I've had a few of those lately, where I just felt weak and off, and I really do think in my case it is from riding day after day longish rides (40+ miles) with very little recovery time. My DH can do it (with even longer rides), but I don't do so well. Saturday we just did our normal market utility ride (just over 10 miles), and as a result, I felt MUCH better today, noticeably better, and was faster as well. Finished strong also, and we did a metric century. It helped that we had a tailwind for most of the second half of the ride, but even before that, I just felt better on the bike than I have for awhile. Rest definitely helps. If I ride more than 3-4 days in a row without a day off or a very light day, it really starts affecting my performance and thus, my attitude.

Hope you won't have problems on your tour, Crankin. When we toured upstate NY in 2004 fully loaded, we did nine days straight w/o a rest day, averaging 62 miles a day. I kept getting weaker each day and DH had to carry more and more of my stuff. We finally realized that we should have built in a rest day half way through at a minimum.

[ny biker]

So, today, I did the same ride to Bolton Farms with my friends, that I did right before I went to California a month ago. I did not bring my bike with the super low gears, because I am trying to ride only the bike with similar gearing to what I will have in Portugal. I was fine last month and was dying today. My average was 1.5 mph slower today. My knee hurt, my back hurt, and I just felt slow, like I just couldn't find the right gear. I even stopped once to see if my brake was rubbing! But, it was clear and sunny, and a bit windy. Same temperature as yesterday, and I did dress the same even though yesterday was cloudy, but I took my arm warmers off at one point today. The sun didn't make that much of a difference; it was 65 and it felt like 55, like October. A bit worried that I felt so off today, after 2 40 mile rides in a row. I am going to have to ride 7 days in a row in Portugal, one rest day, then one more day. There's one day (day 5) with a longer and steep climb and the rest just normal climbs. I probably will cut back all of my stuff the week before, so I have one more week of heavier riding to get through. Then, just little recovery rides.
Today was 39 miles with 2,445 feet of climbing.

Fwiw, it's harder to ride in colder air. Georgena Terry explains. http://www.womenscycling.ca/blog/geo.../cycling-wind/

[Owlie]

Thanks, but the hills you climbed were massive, khg! I can't imagine doing rides with the amount of elevation gain you posted on your blog above. Wow! I'm duly impressed. But yeah, I do hate wind (when riding) a LOT.

What gearing did you have to do those climbs? I just can't climb super steep hills on my Trek. I have a 30t granny in front, and my lowest in back is 25t. Pretty standard for a road bike but not low enough for me! My Bike Friday has mountain gearing, so I can do a lot bigger hills on that one, but it's heavier, so a bit of a trade-off.

Do you have a triple? I can't remember. I think the industry has gone from a 25-tooth large cog to a 28, especially with the rise of the compact double. My road bike (triple, 8-speed) has a 26-tooth cog; cross bike (which is really more like a road bike, in the back) is 28.

[Crankin]

I know it's harder to ride in the cold, but yesterday was not really *cold.* However, it was kind of a quick switch, from summer to fall; the temperature is about 10-15 degrees below normal. I always give myself permission to ride more slowly once October comes.
Emily, thankfully, this is a supported tour. My concern is with slightly less lower gears I am going to be more tired to begin with. I am sitting here debating whether to ride to work. I already went to boot camp. Tomorrow is going to rain, so I can't commute and I need a rest day. I have a 40 mile ride Wednesday, Thursday boot camp. I need to be at work early Friday, so I may just do a little ride in the afternoon. Trying to reach 2K miles... I should have been there 2 weeks ago. Grrr.

[MarieV]

On Saturday DH and I did the New Snoqualmie River Run (68.5 miles). It was a nice easy ride through a lot of farmland with only a few busy roads and highways. The climb up Duthie Hill Road near the end was not fun, especially since it was getting too hot, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.



On Sunday a friend and I did the all-women Cycle the Wave (Middle Sister 45 mile) ride. What a great ride and atmosphere! Cheerleaders and volunteers cheering everyone on at the start and finish, at the food stops, and even some intersections. There were even firefighters handing out Hot Tamales at the Tibbets Valley Park food stop. The extra climb up the Newcastle Loop was totally worth it for the rollers and long descents down Lake Washington Blvd SE. So much fun!

[salsabike]

Marie, you just did two of my favorite rides! We've done the New Snoqualmie River Run a bunch of times due to my addiction to seeing horses, especially foals. And I also did the Cycle the Wave Middle Sister yesterday--I've done that ride every year since it started. The firefighters handing out boxes of Hot Tamales are a hoot.


Here are two more pictures from the New Snoqualmie 100k (May 2013, with new filly, and May 2014, the filly one year later)--

[rebeccaC]

taking a few days to relax in the napa valley...been riding on silverado rd and side rd's off of it from yountville to calistoga. beautiful views and great weather......

[MarieV]

OMG, Rebecca, your photos are so beautiful! The light makes the colors so vibrant, they look surreal. I always think we're so spoiled with our scenery in the PNW, but the Napa Valley really is gorgeous.

Deena (salsabike), I actually thought about PMing you to see if you were doing the Cycle the WAVE ride, so we could actually meet. Darn! I thought the New Snoqualmie River Run was nice and easy with some beautiful views of farmlands and ranches, but I definitely liked the scenery, rolling hills, and mostly quiet roads on the Maltby-Granite Falls ride better.

[Helene2013]

My best riding month so far as weather was generally cooler, but for this weekend which was pretty hot.

My rides are generally between 50-60km and on weekends only due to lack of time or obligations I have during week nights. This weekend we were camping and I did 2 rides of 50km but they were hilly and for today lots of winds. This bike is my best sport purchase ever. I love it a lot and becoming a better dare devil. Lol no fear...well with reasonable risks. If I could I would ride it more often but it is what it is for now. Better than a lot of people doing nothing.