April Rides

[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.

[Crankin]

I commuted yesterday, first this year with the pannier, as I had pre-planned a couple of weeks ago and brought my clothes in early. I really hate this. It changes the whole balance of everything when I am starting off from a stop. Especially not fun in traffic. I think I might try putting the Arkel trunk bag on, but the issue with that is that taking it on/off to bring into the office with me is a bit complicated, for me, someone who can't remember anything that has steps involving eye hand coordination/spatial stuff. DH has shown me before, I guess I should practice. But, the up side is, climbing my hill with a packed pannier certainly does make me stronger! Not particularly fun at 6:30 PM, but intense.
Raining this morning, I am going to rest today.

[rebeccaC]

I travel to Oxnard often for work. Sometimes I take a bike to ride the agriculture and/or the older small industry areas for photography. Flat paved rural roads with an interesting mix of the occasional farm worker riding to/from the fields and the shorts/jersey wearing people doing exercise rides on rural roads. Lots of dirt field roads leading to old, rusted and discarded farm machinery, old worn buildings and views of season/crop changing fields. Yesterdays ride was just 12 miles but a nice way to end my day there before heading home.

[Crankin]

Rode 30 miles with my friend, Jack ,this morning. Not the club ride, but more miles and almost as much climbing without having to drive to the ride. I told him I am slow, so he was kind in the beginning, but then we went up 2 hills in Carlisle. One I rarely go up and the other, well, I am usually going down this one! I was exhausted after that, but we took a short stop and then did a few flat miles, where we picked up the pace. When we parted ways (he was going to the Council on Aging to play pool), I headed home, about 8 miles. I had to stop and take my vest off, and eat my bar.
Faster than my last ride, but not fast enough!
My legs hurt.