May Rides

[Crankin]

That sounds like fun, Oak.
Just got back from 41.6 miles doing some of my favorite hills in Harvard, MA. I've been out on my bike for 6 weeks and have avoided these hills like the plague, but with my trip to Provence in 6 weeks, I gotta get my azz in gear. Was feeling very anxious about this, and it bugged me until we actually got done with the first climb (Westcott Rd.). My strategy was to maintain a steady slower speed and high cadence all the way up the hill, even when it flattened out. After that, the anxiety was gone, but there were more hills to climb! We ate lunch at the Harvard General Store, and after being 80 degrees and sunny when we arrived, the clouds came. I was thankful, because riding in hot weather, with no transition (it was 70, clear, cool-ish yesterday) gets to me. However, I knew rain was forecast for later in the afternoon, so we headed out, stiff and tired. The first thing was an annoying climb on a busy road, to get to a long downhill. When ever I do this, it reminds me of when your mom tells you not to go swimming after eating! My legs were dead. But, the downhill is nice, and after that, we rode through our old neighborhood, and saw people in our old house, sitting on "our" porch furniture. Creepy.
Anyway, made a couple of "rest" stops between there and home. Ended up with about 1,850 feet of climbing. Need to do a lot more before June 17.

[rebeccaC]

Rode into the Santa Monica mountains on a canyon road I’ve only used a couple of times cuz memories of it’s really long steep climb with no road shoulder a lot of the way immediately come to mind when I think about riding it again. 76 miles with temps in the high 60’s.....and a wonderful tail wind coming off the ocean helped push me home. I needed a good challenge and this ride gave it to me!

[smittykitty]

23 on Sat. With a quick stop at DQ! 58 on Sunday. A few good hills, no pictures, sore butt, sore quads. Boy am I out of shape!
Good weather and enjoyed riding with DH as usual.

[Crankin]

Great ride today with a new group. See the off topic thread for details.

[Jolt]

Short 12-mile ride today with a couple of good climbs in the first half. Would have liked to do a longer ride but had limited time, and figured a short ride is better than none! I have a 4-day tour coming up in about a week so am working on getting ready for that, I've figured out pretty much how everything needs to be packed and maybe my next ride will be with the full load to make sure no tweaking is needed. I am still not entirely happy with the Selle An-Atomica and just ordered a Brooks Cambium C17 from wallbike.com...debating whether to put it on before the trip (and get a couple shorter rides in on it at least) or wait until after.

[Crankin]

Did an 8.6 mile recovery ride today. I felt incredibly good after my long ride yesterday, in terms of nothing is hurting. However, as soon as I got on the bike, I adjusted my plans. My quads were tight, and unfortunately, a short ride for me involves around 600 feet of climbing. But, I am glad I did it. It was about 84 when I went out, and it's so dry, I had the "oven" feeling, reminding me of AZ. Not sure about tomorrow; I definitely will go to boot camp, so I might bag commuting. I will be leading a 20 mile ride Saturday and plan a longer ride after Mother's Day breakfast.

[Crankin]

Our New Member's ride went extremely well. We changed the route to a different area, with less traffic and less cyclists. Only had one guy with a mechanical within the first 2 minutes. He was riding a borrowed bike and the derailleur snapped off. Back he went. About 5 women started with my group and quickly decided to stop and wait for the slower group. As the sweep, I gently help them make this decision. Then there was the guy who kept telling me he was out of shape, had cramps, but wouldn't listen to me try to help him climb better, by actually gearing down. When he fell back and I stayed with him he said, "You're still here???" Like he was mad a girl could go faster. I was so nice and really tried to help in a non-condescending way. Finally after 6 miles or so, I asked if he wanted to stop and wait for the other group and he said no, he would just ride on his own, for me to go ahead. Thing is, he came in after some of the riders in the second group. Oh well. We had lots of compliments on the route, great weather, and no real problems. Afterwards, about 10 of us went out for lunch.
A fun 20 miles.