March cycling: In like the Lion of Flanders, out like...?

[khg]

Thanks rebeccaC!

Lauraelmore, though I don't have allergies, even I have had a few days where I'm thinking "stupid #*^%ing flowers and growing things!"--especially when I'm wearing my contacts and an entire tree's worth of pollen flies into my eyes... Matthew Inman, who does The Oatmeal comic (and lives in the PNW), put it best with his comic captioned "Winter is when an ocean of miserable water gushes out of the sky. Spring is when an ocean of miserable water gushes out of my face."

[zoom-zoom]

Here in MI we just exited our coldest Feb. ever -- average temp for the month was a whopping 13. And the snow banks are still as tall as our mailbox with a good 2' cover on our lawn. Still too cold to ride without wearing an unreasonable amount of gear...but next week we're supposed to have a few days in the low 40s, so we're going to hopefully manage our first trek out. Hoping some of the gravel roads will not be too icy, since we have a really brutal gravel road race in ~3 weeks and haven't been on our tandem in a whole lotta months. My training has taken a back burner to weight loss and DH has only recently been cleared to ride again after a lengthy bunionectomy surgery recovery.

[lauraelmore1033]

Khg, I love The Oatmeal. I've seen the comic you mentioned and totally relate!

[azfiddle]

Getting in some of the nicest cycling weather in Arizona- did 41 miles on Saturday with my women's cycling club and Sunday I rode up Mt. Lemmon almost to milepost 16. I started from home and it's 5 miles to the base - so I had nearly 50 for the day, but met my husband for lunch at one of the regular cycling hangouts in Tucson - "Le Buzz" cafe. I enjoyed a slice of quiche and a light mocha and part of a cookie afterward.

It was my first serious climbing day in a while. The two brevets I've done had over 4000 feet of climbing but it was spread over 200k. Mt. Lemmon is just up, up, up and I had about 4500 feet of ascending, mostly in about 16 miles. My two friends went to the top, but I was feeling a little chilly after we got over 6000 feet with the clouds and breeze- and I had other plans for later in the day, so I headed down.

[rebeccaC]

Getting in some of the nicest cycling weather in Arizona-

same here....no climbing for me this weekend though.

Rode into downtown L.A. for a day of riding and photography. The Ballona Creek and the Expo Line bike paths take me the 17 miles from the beach to the USC campus downtown and then just a couple of miles of city roads into the arts district and then the industrial area. Sundays are a good day to be biking in those areas of downtown as there is very little traffic in the industrial areas and few cars parked in the arts district, which makes it easier to photograph some of the street art there.
Met a friend, who lives downtown, at the Urth Caffe in the arts district for lunch (a hummus and tabouli salad for me). I had a great time just riding and looking for images. I rode home in time to see the last early sunset at the beach as daylight savings time changes it. 57 miles total in perfect weather.

[buffybike]

We had gorgeous weather in North Georgia all weekend, sunny with highs in the 60s. I rode 38 miles on Saturday (my longest since I broke my wrist in December) and 16 on Sunday. I was in heaven.

[Jolt]

First (short) ride of the season yesterday...rode to the bike co-op to volunteer for the afternoon, then back home. Not even a 6-mile round trip but it was a nice sunny 45-degree day and the roads going there had enough of the snowbanks melted that it felt OK to ride (the potholes on one street on the other hand...UGH). I brought home a lot of sand though...next time should rinse the bike off a little before bringing it in the house. It was also the first ride with the Power Grips that I finally got around to installing. Not sure I am going to like them (especially around town, since getting in and out complicates starting and stopping) but will do some adjusting and give it a chance. I felt like they were keeping my feet turned in a little which didn't feel right, so will loosen them a little and see if that helps.