riding through the days of August

[smittykitty]

Hills are such a mental thing! We went for a ride on local country roads yesterday. No big deal, except I finally felt ready for my "nemesis" hill. It's 8/10 of a mile, but turns out I've been riding much steeper hills all spring/summer long! Why does this hill do this to be every year? I don't think I ever even got up the nerve for it last year! No more, it's just a hill, get over it!

[Crankin]

We did a 28 mile ride on our last day in the Berkshires. Another wonderful, rural, beautiful ride, and this one had quite a few flat miles, too. One steeper hill the middle, and then a long slog up false flats and rollers for the last 10 miles. We had already checked out of the inn, but we were able to change, take a swim in the pool, and then get changed to drive home.
I am beat. The weather was perfect, and heat wasn't a factor, but this kind of riding does me in, on multiple days. I wish I wasn't such a wimp, and the fact that I am getting older means I do need more rest.
Took a walk this morning, couldn't face boot camp. On to work. I will probably rest tomorrow and do the club ride Wednesday.

[azfiddle]

Crankin your trip the Berkshires sounds lovely.

Yesterday I rode 38 miles with a friend. East of Tucson, one of the regular routes for cyclists is out to "Pistol Hill". It goes through some beautiful desert, though housing developments are everywhere, even so far away from any kind of services. The first half has a climb, a short descent and more climbing. The last half is mostly downhill or relatively flat. Total of 1500 feet of climbing. It was not super hot, but humid (for Tucson- 70% to start) and I was happy to stop and refill one of my bottles with ice for the last 5 miles.

[Helene2013]

If I want to nail some of the Natchez Trace on my upcoming trip, I have to get my thighs pumping hard. And cycling outdoor when too hot is just not me, although I try hard. So I did an hour of trainer in the basement with a concentration on working at a low cadence/highest resistence and working on my push/pull. My thighs are burning so they did work. Will try to keep at it for the next couple of weeks. That and back to muscle training.

We are getting rain and major storms as of tonight for the rest of the week. So trainer will be my best friend for now.

[Helene2013]

Day 2 on trainer. Same program. Easier today and hubby did the same since it is pouring out here. Feels like it's winter as we normally don't use indoor trainer in summer. But lately, it is either too hot and sticky or raining/stormy outside. So this is the best I can do to keep up with my training if I want to be able to keep a good steady pace outside.

[Crankin]

Today I did a farmstand ride, with the caveat that I went to a farmstand that is on one of my regular shorter loops. There is all kinds of road work going on in Concord center, so getting anywhere else I usually go for produce would have been a mess. Some interesting observations. I was riding my Guru, with the pannier, and also wearing what I'd call "city riding" clothes, my commuting capris that look like leggings and a sleeveless tunic with a pocket, made out of lycra that looks like a regular blouse. I had several roadies pass me so closely, without calling out a warning, I jumped just about every time it happened. Really, I don't mind being passed, especially when I was not trying to go fast, even before my pannier was full! I ride the Guru on regular road rides at times, so it's clearly a (very nice custom) road bike, with a rack. I think the difference was what I was wearing. It was like I was an invisible nuisance to these riders, and the women were worse that the men.
19 miles, and I also stopped at the bank to get cash. Glad I didn't go on the group ride, as I am sort of struggling with some of my usual auto-immune symptoms. This always happens after a hard riding trip, especially in the heat. It started when I got back from France and has been up and down. The riding I did last week in the Berkshires was really hard; I took a short walk Monday and rested yesterday. We are going down the Cape Friday-Sunday, so I may not even take my bike. The riding is horrible there, and you really can only safely go out very early in the AM.
I hate this, so hopefully, my body will settle down, as we are thinking of doing an AMC trip back in the Berkshires over Labor day weekend.