May Rides

[Helene2013]

Isn't it a great feeling Marni when you realize all the hard work done on trainer is a real payoff when we get our bikes out?

This weekend we were in the Burlington (VT) area for camping and picking up my Crux frame. So of course we brought our road bikes along.

It was the 2nd but 1st real ride since my husband crashed in his club. He's improving but still in physio. He says only the 1st 30 minutes are rougher on the saddle but after he's good.

So we left Colchester and headed to Burlington using the bike path. It was soooo much fun that we asked for a late checkout yesterday to redo a bit of spinning the wheels. BUT!!! yesterday was so windy and so hot and so humid. HATED that. We left the campground and did about .5km, on a hill to start. Not even warmed up. I was already sweating just dressing up...imagine cycling. haha Did I tell you I hate heat. I'm such a lost case with the sun and the heat. lol Anyway, after cycling about 5km I was warmed-up enough and did no longer feel the burning/stinging in my thighs (from the ride the day before). I'm not used to a lot of hills so this weekend was all that. And to top it off, yesterday winds were gusting at about 45km/h. That is a lot for me. But I was never scared (like it I would have been with my ex-Kuota). We ended doing 30km and it was just enough for a 2nd day in a row in harder conditions than I'm used to.

So very happy that I've worked hard at intervalls and simulate hills during my winter training. Although it was hard, I never felt like quitting or getting off my bike to finish that climb. Maybe it is also a combination of having lost 8 pounds that helped too. Oh...and my knees never once cried for mercy while pushing to get to the top of the hills. They were tired, but that's about it. So my synvisc is working for sure. I would not have done that last year without icing them and taking Aleve once in the car. Life is good!

My speed Sunday was excellent. Yesterday I was a bit slower due to "pain", winds pushing me back.

But it was one of my best cycling weekends ever.

[marni]

I got out again for a second ride today. Not as long or as fast, definitely had some better tail winds than I thought yesterday as I can't believe that I am actually showing some improvement. I always sya I could go fast like Lance on a steep downhill with a good tailwind.

25 miles at 14.8 which is more like my average speed.

As hot as and if possible more humid than yesterday. I obviously need to move a basket of beach towels out to the garage to mop up with and the sweat circles on the floor are now turning into major large wet areas. sigh......

[Crankin]

I went out alone around 10:00 AM, with the idea of doing about 20-25 miles, combining some local roads in a new way.
Good thing I didn't. I sneezed a bunch of times before I went, took an allergy pill and nasal rinse. My eyes were hurting, but off I went. It is nice and cool out, around 60 when I left. I got up Strawberry Hill, feeling a little off, and my speed was just a little lower than usual. Then, I had a nice flat/downhill. OK. The next road is about half a mile of 4% uphill. Gradual. All of a sudden, I felt like I was choking, and I wished I had my inhaler! After a bit, I stopped and drank half of my bottle and blew my nose. I slowed down and regulated my breathing, but I was in a cold sweat. At a certain point, maybe mile 9, I turned right instead of left and headed home. Just when I started going up my street, up the hill, a group of about 8 cyclists were coming down the hill. Iknew almost all of them, and was slightly embarrassed about my leisurely pace of say, oh, about 5.5 mph. But, I felt bad enough to not really care. Came home, showered all of the pollen off of me and took my contacts out. Still not feeling great and I am planning to ride early early AM. Hopefully, it's gone by then. A grand total of just under 14 miles.
Glad I didn't drive 45 miles to do a metric today!

[Crankin]

Had a great ride in cool temperatures, with bright sun. Starting off, it was really cool, almost fall -like, but I so prefer this to 80+ degrees. This was a major hill ride for me, over 3,000 ft. of climbing in 50 miles. Other than my GPS totally freezing and needing to be rebooted, it was fun, although the hills were hard. We went through Acton, Boxborough, Harvard, Bolton, Clinton, and Lancaster, and then back to Acton. Did one hill I haven't done in 5-6 years (Vaughn Hill) and Old Bay Rd., which I did not do last year. Both of these roads are in Bolton and have 10-13% grades. Needless to say, my average was low, but it felt like we were riding in Vermont, except going through Clinton, which is a pretty depressed looking town. We also went up or down some hills we usually do in the other direction.
Feeling pretty good and getting ready to go out to the Dudley Chateau, ("the Chat"), one of the oldest and truest pubs around here. It's a secret, hidden place I went to on a group ride.