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

[khg]

I rode ALL the way up Mt. Lemmon last Saturday- 65 miles round trip, over 7000 feet of climbing. A little chilly up at 8000 feet! I was glad I brought an extra layer and knee warmers. I rode solo- and it took 4 1/2 hours of riding time going up (more because of various stops) to get to Summerhaven at the top (skipped the last 2 steep miles to the ski lift). A little over an hour to go back down. I shaved off 5 miles and met my husband by the base instead of riding home.

By the way, nice ride! It only took me once to learn to bring *warm* things on a mountain climb, no matter how warm the weather at the bottom. It gets really cold up there, especially when that air starts rushing by you at 30+ mph!

[rebeccaC]

Hoping you’re having a great anniversary weekend khg!!!....and that was a good description of your rides. thanks

Azfiddle….you've been doing some good climbs!!!! I’ll second Flickr….easy to sign up, just getting a yahoo email address that you never have to use. I’ll also re-sign up getting a new email for just a days/event photos I want to share with certain people who may want to download an original file for a print, which you can’t do on my main flickr site because I have settings that won’t allow it. As khg explained it’s very easy to get the code to just copy and paste into a post for showing a photo the size you want. The santa monica photos kgh posted look like 800 pixel size and I post 1024 pixel one’s for more detail.


Doing some work in Portland so friends (my STP riding friends) set me up with a bike (a beautiful purple Sweetpea) and we went for a ride. Drove south to the Champoeg state park and then we did a round trip bike ride to the Ankeny wildlife refuge south of Independence Or. on the Willamette Valley scenic bikeway. The bikeway is a wonderfully scenic route that follows the Willamette river, is 135 miles long and ends just north of Eugene Or. I’d really like to do the whole route someday. Wonderful pastoral settings with farmland, hop fields, some vineyards, grazing alpacas, sheep, cows to moo to, covered bridges, a 250 year old black cottonwood, a Blue Heron at the wildlife refuge that unfolded its huge wings and flew away when we accidentally startled it and a quaint small ferry ride. We rode through a few small towns and the larger Salem. No real climbing, mostly rolling hills and some short climbs up river bluffs. Weather was in the high 50’s to middle 60’s with the occasional cross wind but mostly tail winds going south and slight headwinds by the time we headed back north….109 miles total. It was nice not worrying about where the route was as I just followed my friends who have done the whole route a few times. A farmer had put a large hand painted sign in his field close to the road that said ‘life is an adventure’…..indeed

Rewarded myself with some ice cream at Salt and Straw when we got back to Portland. They opened a store in LA around 6 months ago so I knew how good it is…..Chocolate gooey brownie ice cream ftw

[Crankin]

Unlike all of you doing big climbs and 50-100 mile rides, I am just getting back into the season. Even though 12 weeks is not a long time to be off the bike, and I certainly did enough x country skiing/snow shoeing/gym work to stay fit, every year it's the same for me. I have to go through a few weeks of suffering, even on short rides. It's mostly my legs, not my endurance.
Yesterday we had snow showers all day. Today is about 40 and bright sun. Waited until it hit 40 to go out, so a 16.5 mile ride that is sort of flat, except for the beginning and the end, about 800 feet of climbing. Monument St. in Concord is full of dangerous pot holes; the town just fixed these last year, and now it's worse. I am so glad we changed the location of a group ride we lead in early May, because I don't want to take a group of people I don't know down this hill.
Speed was better than Wednesday, but way off my average on this particular ride. I am going to ride to work Tuesday and do a group ride Wednesday.