november rides....outside and inside

[Crankin]

We had torrential rain forecasted for last night and into around mid morning. So, I signed up for spin class. Woke up, the rain was tapering off by 7:00. By 9, when I left, the sun was out! It was too late to cancel (you get charged a fee), so I went, in a bad mood the whole way. I mean, it's 60 degrees on November 20th! The class was good, but the roads were dry when I left the club. Did not think it was a good idea to ride outside after that, since I am planning to ride and go to tabatta tomorrow.
Going out for a little walk now, before a week of eating commences by dinner and theatre in Boston.

[Crankin]

Did a 16 mile ride today, one i haven't done in awhile. Nothing special, but it was nice out, albeit cool, but sunny, with a slight breeze at 45 degrees. There's one smaller hill in the middle of the ride, that goes through Hanscom AFB, and then, the climb back up to my house. I keep thinking my last ride of the year will be my last ride where I have to go up that fricking hill to get home... while moving has been delayed a bit, we'll be out of here by the end of the year.
Lots of riders out, and after an initial period of my legs hurting since i had already been to the gym, I felt really good when I got home. It's supposed to rain in the AM, so we signed up for spin. I won't complain though, if it's dry when we go, as the forecast is iffy for the whole day. I am trying to up my exercise over the next week, and I am feeling it!

[ny biker]

I've ridden more in the past couple of weeks than I have in a while, while also trying to get back to a normal gym routine, and I have definitely been feeling it. Though today I felt okay, probably because I was going kind of slow for much of it.

I did a 46 mile club ride in northern Maryland today, probably our last chance to ride in that area this year since they often get more snow and ice than we do closer to DC. The weather was pretty perfect. It was in the mid 40s when we started but felt warmer thanks to the sunshine and practically cloudless skies. And there was not much wind, which was an added bonus. The route was great, lots of familiar favorite roads with some exploration on a few that I haven't been on before. I will plan to ride it again at some point. The only problem was that we had hoped to stop at a nice cafe in Emmitsburg, but found it has closed and been replaced by a tattoo parlor. The people there were really friendly, so we'll miss them.

It was almost 4 pm by the time we finished and we could feel it getting colder as we rode the last few miles. For the next couple of months we'll be doing shorter rides.

[rebeccaC]

Came out to the desert yesterday to ride, do some photography and reflect this weekend. This morning I rode from Beatty Nv to the ghost town of Rhyolite which has been abandoned since 1920. Only 56 miles but with a very strong headwind going out. It felt good to be in the moment of a hard ride with the beauty of the desert surrounding me.

A side road out of Beatty as I started out this morning

[azfiddle]

Rebecca, as always, your photos are inspirational!

[ny biker]

Wow yes, what a beautiful photo.

[azfiddle]

I rode El Tour de Tucson today- 104 miles. 1852 out of 2450 riders (yup, I'm slow!) with moving speed of about 14.6, but only 13.8 mph with rest stops included. The national weather service had predicted a very breezy day- with headwinds for most of the first 31 miles, and very stiff headwinds on the last 24. I was trying to save energy to deal with the wind .... but the weather forecast turned out to be wrong and the winds were never as bad- and switched to a tailwind for the last 24 or so. So instead of a difficult two hours at 12 mph, my tired self truly appreciated being able to finish up most of that section going 15-20 mph! Cool at the start (mid-40's) but quickly warmed up and I think it may have topped 80 degrees.

As expected, my husband pulled ahead right away to ride at his own faster pace. My friend started with me but after about 10 miles she wanted to go faster. I made friends with a guy from Colorado who told me he really hadn't trained at all and was carrying some extra pounds. That's probably why he didn't pass me right away.... He rode with me for 25 miles until he was able to take advantage of momentum on the downhill stretch. However we met up again around mile 50 and rode together for about 15 or 20 more miles. It was nice to have company. One drawback to being slow-ish: when the riders on the 40 mile route joined in, it was mayhem. Lots of riders with not much experience - so their riding habits were sometimes a little scary. They were all over the road and didn't stay right if they were a little slower, so the faster riders had trouble getting past them. I had a close call on a corner when a teen rider who had been pretty oblivious cut so close I almost had an accident.

But it was a pretty good day- we finished with a late lunch/early dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Imagining I could probably eat anything I wanted today I ordered a big burrito, enchilada style but then only felt like eating 1/3 of it.

[Crankin]

Do not put yourself down for those numbers, AZ! There were about 600 people behind you and 14.5 is a very good average for a century, for G-d's sake. It sounds like you had a great day.
Now I am thinking about that burrito, enchilada style, which is truly an AZ thing.
Hope you rest today.

ETA: And, I never look at my speed with stops. A stop is a stop. Rolling average is the only thing I let my GPS calculate. I don't linger at stops, though, and it all evens out.

[Catrin]

I agree with Crankin, you did very well indeed! Glad you had a nice evening, enjoy your rest day today!