April Rides

[Blueberry]

Blueberry, that sounds awful. I am on the Luna Chix email list, too, but I have never gone to a ride because I suspected stuff like you described would happen.

I'm SO glad someone understands this! I sort of felt like I was being super cranky yesterday. The "official" Luna Chix ride here struck the right balance the one time I attended. It is all inclusive (there were people doing 20+ and people doing under 10, and a lot in between). I'll probably try one of those again just to see - but if this happens again, I'm back to happily riding on my own. Unlike most of the local cyclists here (and some of the ride leaders yesterday), I don't feel the need to ride in a group "for safety."

[lauraelmore1033]

Boy, there is nothing I find more irritating on a group ride than a leader who takes it upon himself/herself to "instruct" me on how to shift/pedal/climb! Someone saying "good job!" when I'm climbing comfortably comes a close second. People make such insulting assumptions.

[maillotpois]

(stepping out from the lurking shadow...)

The unnecessary instructing thing reminds me of a great story. There's a woman who sometimes shows up at certain club rides who is a super know it all. She drives me bat sh!t crazy. Anyway, during a 200k brevet last year, she took it upon herself to lecture a friend of mine about group riding, shifting, etc. She commented she thought my friend had great potential for distance riding and maybe she should consider doing a double century sometime. She didn't know that my friend is a multiple 1200 and 1000k finisher and was the first woman EVER to start RAAM (she DNF'ed because her support van was totaled.) My friend is also of course in the triple crown hall of fame (having finished at least 50 double centuries). My friend is an elementary school teacher so she sort of indulgently let the know it all go on...

Sorry about the knee issues Blueberry.

[rebeccaC]

Great day of riding….took a young girl (Gabriela), who’s been riding a neighbors hand me down bike which is too small with a non working rear derailleur, just a rear brake and mismatched rims/tires to REI and she picked out a novara children’s bike, a pink and purple helmet and a purple jellibell!! I also ended up buying her mother a mixte with a front basket and added a rear rack, a topeak rear basket for more groceries etc. and a good lock and cable. She commutes and does errands on a very old and beat up mountain bike so this will help make that commute and her errands easier. We all went for an fourteen mile ride on the beach path and had lunch. Gabriela knows how to keep a line and rode really well. When we got back to REI we loaded the bikes on top and in my car and I drove them home. Hugs and smiles all around when I left and they made me promise I’d stop to ride with them every now and then. They live just off a bike path I take to get downtown LA so I’m sure I will.

One of the best rides I’ve been on for awhile

[salsabike]

Great day of riding….took a young girl (Gabriela), who’s been riding a neighbors hand me down bike which is too small with a non working rear derailleur, just a rear brake and mismatched rims/tires to REI and she picked out a novara children’s bike, a pink and purple helmet and a purple jellibell!! I also ended up buying her mother a mixte with a front basket and added a rear rack, a topeak rear basket for more groceries etc. and a good lock and cable. She commutes and does errands on a very old and beat up mountain bike so this will help make that commute and her errands easier. We all went for an fourteen mile ride on the beach path and had lunch. Gabriela knows how to keep a line and rode really well. When we got back to REI we loaded the bikes on top and in my car and I drove them home. Hugs and smiles all around when I left and they made me promise I’d stop to ride with them every now and then. They live just off a bike path I take to get downtown LA so I’m sure I will.

One of the best rides I’ve been on for awhile

Great to hear this follow-up to your first meeting with Gabriela.

[MarieV]

Rebecca, that's wonderful! You're like the bike fairy godmother!

I finally did my April 100K (SIR Seattle Lakes and Trails around Lake Washington) last weekend. We've been really lucky with unusually warm and sunny weekends here in Seattle, and last Saturday was no exception. It's not quite the 75-85° weather we had when I was visiting family in San Diego over Spring Break, but we definitely hit 70° at the end of March when I rode around Lake Sammamish with a friend and fellow teacher to celebrate the end of Winter quarter and the maiden voyage of her new Pinarello Marvel. Afterwards, we had drinks at Malt and Vine's outdoor patio in Redmond, and it definitely felt like summer. Unfortunately, this weekend feels more like our usual PNW spring with intermittent rain and sun bursts and even hail.

[Owlie]

Great day of riding….took a young girl (Gabriela), who’s been riding a neighbors hand me down bike which is too small with a non working rear derailleur, just a rear brake and mismatched rims/tires to REI and she picked out a novara children’s bike, a pink and purple helmet and a purple jellibell!! I also ended up buying her mother a mixte with a front basket and added a rear rack, a topeak rear basket for more groceries etc. and a good lock and cable. She commutes and does errands on a very old and beat up mountain bike so this will help make that commute and her errands easier. We all went for an fourteen mile ride on the beach path and had lunch. Gabriela knows how to keep a line and rode really well. When we got back to REI we loaded the bikes on top and in my car and I drove them home. Hugs and smiles all around when I left and they made me promise I’d stop to ride with them every now and then. They live just off a bike path I take to get downtown LA so I’m sure I will.

One of the best rides I’ve been on for awhile

This warmed my frozen heart.

[Crankin]

I didn't ride yesterday, but we did do our annual presentation at the AMC Bike Workshop. I felt as wiped out as if I had gone on a 50 mile ride, after 4 one hour presentations, as well as schmoozing during lunch and the beginning of the day. It was a beautiful day, albeit windy, so it helped that we were in a room in a church basement, so I couldn't see outside. The crowd was polite and somewhat more inexperienced than years past, but they asked good questions. There were 2 people in the last session (one male, one female), who burst out in amazement when I told them you don't wear underwear with cycling shorts. It was funny; all of the other participants laughed and supported my statements.

[khg]

Great day of riding….took a young girl (Gabriela), who’s been riding a neighbors hand me down bike which is too small with a non working rear derailleur, just a rear brake and mismatched rims/tires to REI and she picked out a novara children’s bike, a pink and purple helmet and a purple jellibell!! I also ended up buying her mother a mixte with a front basket and added a rear rack, a topeak rear basket for more groceries etc. and a good lock and cable. She commutes and does errands on a very old and beat up mountain bike so this will help make that commute and her errands easier. We all went for an fourteen mile ride on the beach path and had lunch. Gabriela knows how to keep a line and rode really well. When we got back to REI we loaded the bikes on top and in my car and I drove them home. Hugs and smiles all around when I left and they made me promise I’d stop to ride with them every now and then. They live just off a bike path I take to get downtown LA so I’m sure I will.

One of the best rides I’ve been on for awhile

Hooray! That sounds like a wonderful and fun day for all concerned--and hopefully just the beginning of many more such days!

It's kind of nice out here right now, though windy, but I think I may have a completely lazy day rather than another weekend of big bike adventures. I'll admit, as great as it is to get on the bike, sometimes it can feel just as nice to not get on the bike... After an intense week at work, resting my tired legs on the couch is pretty delicious!

[salsabike]

We did our April 100k yesterday--starts in Fremont, goes to Maple Valley and back. It was a crazy-wind sort of day, 15-20 knots and direction changing all the time, but for some reason, I thought that was just a hoot! Maybe it was because I was so grateful that I wasn't on one of the many overnight flêche teams that got utterly rained on, at 40 degree temperatures, the entire preceding night. Our ride was fun even if head-windy and we dodged almost all the roaming squalls. Boy! This city is gorgeous in the spring. Flowering trees everywhere, and rhodies and azaleas are starting to bloom.

[Crankin]

Today was the first real warm day of the year. Rode in short sleeves with knickers and a vest. It was 69 when we finished, but there is a slight breeze. We rode into Sudbury, Lincoln, Wayland, to the border of Weston, and back, 37 miles. We went slowly on purpose, but kicked it up at the end. My average is still about 1-2 mph slower than it should be, but I am trying to be patient with myself. It was really nice out! Saw like hundreds of cyclists.
Going to commute tomorrow and maybe Tuesday if it's not rainy in the morning, and a 27 mile group ride on Wednesday, with lots of climbing. I want to do the 35 mile ride, but the hills are killers and I am not sure I can keep up with that group.