December rides

[lauraelmore1033]

Had a good trail ride on the new n+1 (candy apple red tadpole trike) yesterday on the Sammamish River Trail. Was a little slower than I would like, but we'll get there. Today, I did the first half of the Stinky Spoke Ride as practice for the real event in January. It starts out with a climb up "heart attack hill" on the Tolt Pipeline Trail, which I practically crawled up on all fours (pushing a bike!) Oh my gosh, they are not just whistlin' Dixie, calling it that! I think it is 18 percent grade--and rough gravel. A few more "mild arrhythmia" hills and some scary descents, and I see I've got my work cut out for me, getting ready for the ride!

[salsabike]

Had a good trail ride on the new n+1 (candy apple red tadpole trike) yesterday on the Sammamish River Trail. Was a little slower than I would like, but we'll get there. Today, I did the first half of the Stinky Spoke Ride as practice for the real event in January. It starts out with a climb up "heart attack hill" on the Tolt Pipeline Trail, which I practically crawled up on all fours (pushing a bike!) Oh my gosh, they are not just whistlin' Dixie, calling it that! I think it is 18 percent grade--and rough gravel. A few more "mild arrhythmia" hills and some scary descents, and I see I've got my work cut out for me, getting ready for the ride!

Think I saw you out there, Laura! I rode yesterday too, 35 miles on and around the Samm Trail, and I saw a trike! Beautiful day for it.

[lauraelmore1033]

It really was a beautiful day. Probably was me--although I did see another trike out there...

[ny biker]

Well yesterday's weather was not as nice as expected -- they forecast sunshine but it was cloudy all day. Temps were a bit warmer than the day before so it was still okay, just not what we had hoped. I did the 37-mile club ride that was led by my friend. We had a nice time. It was the first time in a while that I rode so much in one weekend, so my legs were pretty tired well before the end.

[ny biker]

I was going to go for a ride last night after work. It was sunny and in the 50s during the day, and in the mid-40s in the evening. It would have been my last post-work ride of the year. I had everything ready to go.

Then during the afternoon I started to feel like I was coming down with a cold. My throat hurt, and I was tired and had that fuzzy-headed feeling. And I just did not feel like changing into my bike clothes and putting air in the tires. So I decided to skip the ride. At first I planned to go for a walk instead, but by the time I got home (fighting more traffic on the highway than usual -- this week has been really bad with traffic) I was too tired to do anything other than collapse on the couch. I couldn't even muster the energy to wrap the Christmas presents that I have to mail out this week.

If I hadn't done two rides last weekend, I probably would have been more inclined to ride last night. And if the storm they were forecasting for this coming weekend had not shown indications of staying far enough south to miss us, I would have forced myself to go. But the weather looks like it will be chilly but dry for most of the weekend, so I will try then for one more ride in 2014. After that I will be busy with holiday things.

On the positive side, I usually reach the can't-muster-the-energy-to-put-air-in-the-tires stage much earlier in the fall, sometimes as early as October. This year has had more than it's share of obstacles and stresses, but it's been good for cycling for me.

[ny biker]

So, I did ride yesterday, lead a club 29-mile club ride. Six people joined me. On the positive side, the route was nice and the company was excellent. On the negative side, I was cold for much of the ride, and my feet were very cold.

Temps were in the low 40s, the sun was out and there was no wind. But yesterday was the solstice, and sunshine this time of year just does not seem strong enough to me. I should have worn more layers even though the exact same outfit was sufficient under similar conditions a few weeks ago. So, note to self, dress for 10 degrees less than the actual air temp this time of year.

After the ride I ran errands, including a stop in REI to return a couple of things. Of course I checked the sale items in the cycling section, and found a pair of Gore Windstopper gloves for $20 off. Since they are lined and windproof, I think they will work for me, and I can fit my wool glove liners under them if needed.

Now I just need to figure out what's going on with my feet. I'm wearing the same socks and booties that worked for me last year and the AmFib tights are keeping my legs warm enough. I though the new insoles might be causing a problem since the arch is higher, but I went back to the old ones yesterday and that did not help. It might be time to break down and use chemical toe warmers.

[Crankin]

Had a pretty good 17 mile ride today, while everyone else is out celebrating the holiday. It's 50 degrees, but with winds gusting to 35-40. The sun was out when we left, but had gone back behind the clouds, just when I was heating up, which was good.
Did our "flat ride," which means the one that is about as flat as a ride you can get when you live on a big hill. The first 7 miles are rolling, with one small hill. We had a tailwind here, but the rollers felt a bit hard today. Once we got out on a main road, we saw a few other cyclists and the pace picked up. Of course, as we headed back, we had a stiff wind of about 15 mph, with those nasty gusts.
I hadn't ridden outside in almost 2 weeks, and I still am amazed at how much I love my new bike. I am going to keep the Oura saddle; my azz is getting used to it and to have no soft tissue pain after a ride is a treat. Going to be warm tomorrow and Saturday, too.