Winter Riding Thread (December-February) Outside and Inside

[ny biker]

Hmm, I just bought new Conti tires and I think they are the Grand Prix. I haven't put them on my wheels yet, am hoping to make it through the winter with the old tires since they're still in pretty good shape.

It is raining hard here today with flood warnings due to the significant recent snow melt. We were supposed to have warm air from the south, 60F or higher, but apparently some sort of weather "wedge" is keeping it in the mid-40s in my part of Virginia. Which is not great since I dressed for 60 today. Oh well, good thing I grabbed my thin-but-warm Pearl Izumi jacket to wear under my unlined rain coat before I left home. Rumor has it that the warm air did reach southern Maryland so at least my friends who live there are getting a taste of spring. And it bodes well for weekend cycling there since that much more snow will melt today.

[Crankin]

It's raining here, too. Getting heavier as the day goes on. Group ride was cancelled, and it kind of sucks because it's 50 out, so if it wasn't raining, it would be perfect.
I went to spin, where I used harder gears, but paid no attention to the instructor's suggested cadence. I know I am not weak, but on really hard climbs in real life (aka, the road), I use the easiest gear I can and my cadence is 50-60. I can "spin" on flatter ground, but my cadence could never be 70-80 on a big hill. When I don't pay attention to her, my cadence ends up being the exact same thing as it is on the road, I get a good workout, and I am sweaty, but not so exhausted I feel like crap. I know this is very personal, but since my cadence goes down, at least 10 points when i stand, I never do outside, except to strech my legs. I do a little in a class, but mostly I get in a hard gear and stay seated. I can always tell who the outdoor cyclists are, as they are doing the same thing.

[emily_in_nc]

We had the last nice day before rain tomorrow then a big cooldown, so of course we (and almost every other cyclist in the local area, we figure!) got out for a ride on the West Orange Trail again today. Temp in the upper 70s to low 80s, quite windy which made it challenging on the way back into the wind, but we were stoked on Baskin Robbins from the half-way turnaround point. 31 miles total.

[Aromig]

I like the current spinning class I've been taking. Its a spin-only studio, not connected with a gym. It's the first one I've ever done where the rides are in near dark - not to keep the temperature down but to keep the competition down :-) She repeatedly tells us that it is our own ride, it is up to us to make it what we need it to be, it doesn't matter what the person next to you is doing, ride your own ride. Most people follow her instructions (and we're out of the saddle a lot, but sometimes she'll keep us seated for a long time too) but enough people do their own thing that you don't feel pressured to follow the instructions if you don't want to.

[ny biker]

It's raining here, too. Getting heavier as the day goes on. Group ride was cancelled, and it kind of sucks because it's 50 out, so if it wasn't raining, it would be perfect.
I went to spin, where I used harder gears, but paid no attention to the instructor's suggested cadence. I know I am not weak, but on really hard climbs in real life (aka, the road), I use the easiest gear I can and my cadence is 50-60. I can "spin" on flatter ground, but my cadence could never be 70-80 on a big hill. When I don't pay attention to her, my cadence ends up being the exact same thing as it is on the road, I get a good workout, and I am sweaty, but not so exhausted I feel like crap. I know this is very personal, but since my cadence goes down, at least 10 points when i stand, I never do outside, except to strech my legs. I do a little in a class, but mostly I get in a hard gear and stay seated. I can always tell who the outdoor cyclists are, as they are doing the same thing.

I did the same thing in the few spinning classes I've taken, also choose my own gears with the Spinervals dvds at home. I also drop my cadence significantly on hills -- it's either that or an asthma attack, and I've got nothing to prove to anyone.

I rode in my living room for about 55 minutes last night. I used the Spinervals Tuscon dvd, the Gates Pass route, but with my own music which of course was a little too loud so I couldn't really hear Coach Troy. But I'm familiar enough with it to know generally where the hills are and the suggested gear is displayed on the screen so it wasn't a problem. Having my own music really helped me not get bored.

I'm planning my weekend ride now.

[rebeccaC]

A friend, Alex, who teaches at Azusa Pacific University wanted to ride into the San Gabriel mountains to Mt. Baldy yesterday so I rode with her. We rode into the San Gabriel’s from Azusa taking the western side route to Mt Baldy. Some very tough climbs, 7900 ft.+ gain, too many 10-16% grade sections and finally some great descents back to Azusa. 86 miles total. Very little traffic was a good bonus.

We are back to our normal sunny 70+ degree weather for a while now. It did get cooler the closer we got to the end of Mt Baldy road. The cooler temps helped in the torturous switchbacks too. The descent back to Mt Baldy village was hard on our rims and we stopped to let them cool down a bit from the braking and do some stretching. Made me wish I had disc brakes!!! Alex made some Allen Lim rice cakes and I brought some homemade energy bars. Both helped with keeping us fueled well but I have to say the salted french fries we had at the Mt Baldy Lodge were GREAT.

We went to see the Los Angeles Cathedral Choir perform on the APU campus last night….made for a blessed night following a great day of riding with some incredible views, some good challenges and the enjoyment of being with a good friend ……**plus**……Massage Envy in Azusa for a perfect massage and facial after a hard ride!!!!

[ny biker]

I have relatives who live just west of Azusa. The last time I visited them we went into the mountains (by car) to see the Mount Wilson observatory. It was very nice up there.

Yesterday I had planned to lead a 30-mile club ride, but I ended up cancelling it. There are very few people who ride at a similar pace to mine in the winter; I knew most of them had other plans yesterday and then the only one who I thought might have joined me decided to do a different ride closer to her house. So I expected no one to show up. Then when I woke up yesterday I was just so tired, so I decided to cancel the ride and go back to sleep. I slept for 3 more hours so it was a good choice. Later I found a message on my phone from someone I don't know who did not see the ride cancellation notice that I posted on the club website -- he was at the ride start waiting for me. I feel bad but I posted the cancellation more than 3 hours before the start time, so there's not much else I could have done.

The day ended up being cloudy and chilly and I could not muster the energy to get dressed for a ride outside after I woke up. So I ran some errands and then did an hour on the indoor trainer before dinner. I had Coach Troy on the TV riding Gates Pass and the McCain Loop near Tuscon, but I muted the sound and listened to my own music. At first I figured I would do intervals along with the songs I was listening to -- hard gear for one song, easy gear for the next, hard gear for the one after that, etc., with the dvd just providing some pictures of outdoor cycling so I'd have something to look at. But I ended up out of sync with the dvd so I was in an easy gear while Coach Troy was riding up a hill and in a harder gear while he was going downhill, which I decided I didn't like. So next time I will follow his gear suggestions more. Regardless, it makes a world of difference to have your own music playing during the dvd.

We're expecting a few inches of snow tomorrow followed by very cold (for us) weather through next weekend, so it's good that I've found a way to get good workouts with the indoor trainer.

[Aromig]

Our local group has a brunch ride on Sundays. We've not been doing it this winter, but last week we had nice weather so we met at 10 (normal meeting time is 9). There was no new facebook posting for this week, but given that last week's conversation mentioned we'd be starting at 10 for the next month or so I thought that meant we were back to our normal ride. Nope. I showed up yesterday and no one was there. I decided to ride by myself (it's a nice relaxed easy ride, mostly on a multi-use trail). When I got to the restaurant, I decided I didn't feel like eating by myself so I kept going. Bad decision since I'd not had anything for breakfast either. By the time I got home I was struggling. I'd forgotten shoe covers, so with high winds and temps in the low 40s, my feet were frozen. Without eating I hit the wall after about mile 20. I was thrilled to be home. In the summer I carry an extra energy bar or gu in my bike bag. I emptied it all out in the fall -- I need to put it back in! Still happy I managed to get outside.

[azfiddle]

NY biker- your training video of Gates Pass and McCain Loop is so close to home for me! This time of year it's perfect weather and the wildflowers are starting to come out. I expect to ride out there sometime in the next month. The last hill up to Gates Pass is very tough- I often need to get off of my bike and rest.

I am getting a little into commute mode. Yesterday my husband needed the car so he dropped me off and I rode home. Today I actually got up early and rode in to work via the newly completed bike path- it shaves 1-2 miles off of the routes I used to take, and has no cars for 7.5 of the 9.5 miles. It wasn't too cold, about 45 degrees and I was comfortable with leg and arm warmers and a wind breaker. I've ridden on it recreationally, but it's the first time I commuted on it. Looking forward to the ride home in perfect temperatures: the 70's!

[emily_in_nc]

Finally a lovely warm day after over a week of blustery winds and cool temps. It was still windy but temps were mild and warm, mid-60s to low 70s, and we had a tailwind on the way back, so that's always good! 34 miles, and I will take it.

[emily_in_nc]

A couple photos from our ride...along the shores of Lake Minneola in Lake County, Florida. This part along the lake is flat, of course, but overall there are some decent hills in Lake County; who knew? It is a beautiful part of Florida with Live Oaks, Spanish Moss, and some pretty homes -- along with many lakes. This may be "our spot" once we finally tire of traveling, who knows?

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[azfiddle]

Feeling very sorry for the folks in the frozen east - Tucson has had a heat wave and we took full advantage of it- 50 miles yesterday on the extensive Tucson "loop" paths, plus 3 extra miles getting groceries.

Today my husband and I took a leisurely ride to Saguaro NP and around the one-way road through the park. Beautiful weather, and 30 more miles by the end.

[kernowcyclist]

Hi all, it's been a while since i posted... I've been reading the forum though. I've been pretty envious of all you folks who are riding in warm sun. It seems that here in the UK we have been locked into dangerous gales and horrendous rain for months! There's a lot of standing water on the roads, the local streams are using the roads as a short cut! Some areas have been badly flooded.

So I've been forced to use the indoor trainer, it's better than nothing but soooo boring! I put the TV on to try and keep my brain going but a half an hour is more than enough. But today was sunny and dry and I needed to go and get some eggs from the farm up the hill, so I needed no urging. There was a headwind of course, isn't there always; and always a headwind whichever direction you cycle LOL! And the air temp was freezing but it was wonderful to be out in the fresh air again!

I'd been hit by an infection recently and boy my fitness had slumped; that was evident as soon as I started pedalling up the hill, but I made it to the farm ...only to find they had run out of eggs! Rats, I thought...oh well, lets make this ride count so I pedalled another 7 mile loop to get home. It was all narrow country lanes with fab views across to the coast and through the tin-mining world heritage area with it's ruined engine houses looking like crumbling castles. It's my favourite short route and even though I had to negotiate a couple of flooded sections I was so grateful to be out on my bike. Roll on the better weather!

[emily_in_nc]

DH and I rode the West Orange bike trail north and east today. We'd expected a pretty, warm day, but instead got an overcast, blustery one, and even though it was warmish (65-70), it felt cooler due to the lack o'sun and the wind. Since it's a US holiday, there were lots of other cyclists out on the trail for a Monday, and nearly all had cycling jackets on except for us, since ours are back in NC. Once we got warmed up, though, we were fine in shorts and bike jerseys.

DH's front brake cable frayed and nearly broke clear through, and he bought a replacement in town on the way back, but it doesn't fit (there's a little dongle on one end that doesn't match the one on his cable), so he's had to walk the 2 miles back to town to try to get one that will work. I felt so bad for him. He had already removed the bad cable so didn't dare ride his bike back, plus he'd already changed out of bike clothes.

The headwind on the way back made for a challenging ride, and my quads feel like we climbed quite a few hills because of it. 31.25 miles.

[rebeccaC]

part of my ride to the base of the eastern sierra nevada's….some perfect desert weather this time of year. got down to the H 50's to L 60's as i got closer to the mountains though. Lots of very lightly traveled side roads in the mojave which can create a quiet solitude feeling when riding especially with the landscape.. wildflowers coming up ftw……there is a 10+ occupant tortoise burrow close to where we are doing our work. We hiked over to it and the females are starting to come out. a one day el-nino storm came in today with some real gusts of wind. i had no thoughts of challenging weather gods and enjoyed listening to the storm as we worked. ellie and i are going to do a long ride in death valley this weekend so i'll have a couple of good rides on this trip.

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