riding through May....National Bike Month!!!

[Crankin]

Well, I am always the sweep when DH and I lead, and when I lead with my friend Jack on rides for members. However, this is a ride for other leaders. There is a 15 and a 25 mile ride, but Jack (he leads the 25 and his wife leads the 15) didn't post any average speeds, so it wasn't entirely her fault. The thing is, this woman has been leading a lot longer than me; I would ask! He didn't post speeds this year, either, so hence, I want a decent ride. I can be patient with people who are within the range for a group (this is why we screen people on weekend day rides and longer trips, but not for weekly series, which are at night and very well described in terms of average speed), but no joke, I think my average was <10 on this ride last year. Some of it was the constant stopping for her to take pictures... in the town I live in, I was not amused, since it's a very popular route and can't believe she needed to take a picture of a place she's probably been a million times. I actually like being the sweep with DH, because we have a good system going, but I guess my expectations were different for a group of peers. Our liability rules require we keep the group together, and if someone wants to go ahead, or fall behind the sweep, we have to tell them they are off the ride. It sucks, but it makes being the sweep easier and people tend to be more honest about their ability. The point is to have fun.

[Crankin]

So, the weather forecast kept the group smaller yesterday. Perhaps they were smart. I wore my rain jacket and brought my helmet cover. The above woman in question came, was going to do the shorter ride, but didn't "hear" the insructions that the leader would be starting a few minutes later, so she came with us. We stopped and regrouped at turns for much of the ride, but after awhile, a couple of the others stayed back with her. It was misty and lightly raining, no biggie for most of the ride. When we were about 2/3 done, the sky opened up. We stopped, I put the helmet cover on, and we went forward. The cloudburst did not last too long, but by then my legs were wet from it all. We had one more cloudburst, shortly thereafter, but were on the home stretch. Hey, some of the others had shorts or knickers on, short gloves, no rain jacket. Some of these people have interesting get ups, to begin with.... after all, they are AMC leaders. At the end, we picked up the speed, and all of a sudden, I felt horrible, bonky, etc. But, I sprinted back to Jack's house, and got inside to change. I have been feeling somewhat off the past few days, sinuses, stomach, so I think it was just that and the fact I was a little hungry. A good 27 miles, despite the rain.
We had a great party, food and drinks, so it was worth it. I think i need to rest today, though.

[azfiddle]

As always, I enjoy the ride reports from here and there.

No rides last week- I took some students camping last Saturday and came home with a cold that just knocked me out of commission until about Weds. Then it was hot (high 90's) and super windy (like 40 mph gusts) on Thursday and Friday. So finally, Saturday arrived with a cold front and much cooler temps (yesterday). I got out the door at 9 and it was still in the 60's! I rode about 30 miles and managed to meet up with the group that had left at 7 am!

Today I'm doing a mom's day breakfast ride with my son - up to Sabino Canyon and hopefully my husband (who ran 20 miles up and down mountains yesterday and refused to do anything active today) will be up to meet us afterward. He's still asleep...

[Crankin]

Commuted today, 3.1 miles there and 2.9 miles home. It was about 55 when I went in and 70 when I came home. Very nice, except my front light fell off the holder on the way there, and I had to stop to retrieve it. I use the same holder for both lights I have and there is never an issue with the bigger one.

[Crankin]

Today was one of those group rides where I wanted to kill someone! It's really nice out, so hence there were about 30 people for the 30 mile ride and another 30 for the 40 mile ride. Things went badly right from the start, with starts/stops, waiting, the sweep having a flat, and several people in the 30 mile group I was in pulling out in front of me and then stopping. Finally, we split the group in 2 and it calmed some, but even staying up front didn't help so much. I really like this route, so I just kept going, got good exercise and fresh air. My average was low with all of the stopping/starting, but I am good with that.
Now to get ready for a haircut with my 3d new hairdresser in 6 months.... the one i had for years left and now the other 3 have left, too.

[rebeccaC]

My favorite Oxnard climb is on a paved private road. It’s only a 4.6 mile climb from the ocean into the northern most part of the santa monica mountains but it’s a steady hard effort for 3 miles of it. Perfect for a ride before driving home and for refocusing my mind after a day of work. Today had a heavy overcast with temps in the mid 60’s which was perfect for some hard climbing. The road starts with a section of wild geraniums covering the side of the road and a lemon orchard. There are also some great high views of the Oxnard farming Plain on the climb












and back down to the pacific coast highway

[ny biker]

Ok so, the Tour de Cure. It was last Saturday. It didn't rain on us. Yay!! I was sufficiently prepared. Yay!! By the end we had sunshine and blue skies. Yay!!!!!

The website said that people riding the metric needed to average at least 11.5 mph and that the course closed at 3 pm. No problem, I have prepared for this.

It was a phased mass start. First the metric riders checked in and started, then the 30 milers, etc. The volunteer at check in hands me a cue sheet on blue paper and tells me to follow the orange arrows. I say what? The cue sheet is blue. She says they're all blue.

I started fast because it was 48F at that point so I needed to warm up. But riding 15-16 mph I was dropped by almost all of the other metric riders. I was actually okay with this, because the roads were wet from overnight rain and I was happy to avoid the spray from other people's rear wheels. It was very humid so I was more than ready to remove several layers by mile 10. There was still rain in the area so we had plenty of dark clouds but the precip stayed north of us.

I stopped at a rest stop at mile 19. Okay here is my first big gripe. They are celebrating 25 years of TdCs this year, so you'd think there would be a big book of How to Organize a Bike Ride that all the chapters can use. Apparently not. After 10 straight days of rain, they set up the registration table at the start so that the volunteers were on a paved sidewalk but all the riders had to walk and stand in mud. Wet, cold, squishy mud. In bike shoes WITH CLEATS. I am not a morning person, so I'm not good at dealing with annoyances at 6:30 am. To say I was peeved at having to walk through cold wet mud was an understatement. Fortunately as a person with freakishly cold feet I was wearing neoprene booties and had another pair of booties in my car, so after registration I changed into dry booties. Then tried very hard to turn my mood around (starting out fast was part of this -- pedal off the peevishness). So I reach the rest stop at mile 19 and find they have set up all the tables and the one portapotty in the mud. This was at a school with a large paved parking lot. But no, we had more walking through mud and standing in line in the mud. You know how hard it is to walk on your heels with your toes off the ground? It's even harder when your heels are sinking into mud.

Oh by the way. That volunteer at the start who told me to follow the orange arrows -- she was wrong. The metric was marked with blue arrows. Note that I checked in with the first group of the day and everyone checking in at that time was doing the blue arrow route. Who told that young lady to tell us to follow orange???

Okay so anyway put-it-behind-you-put-it-behind-you-put-it-behind-you-turn-that-frown-upside-down. I start riding again after the rest stop. And my leg muscles are aching -- that burning feeling in your quads when you've been riding too long or too fast and you're worn out. But I'm only at mile 20 out of 62!!! And the steepest hills are still in front of me!! I was worried. By now there were only a few riders anywhere near me on the road, so I tried to focus on pacing myself (I had long since slowed down from that fast start). Made to the next rest stop at mile 30 where once again EVERYTHING WAS SET UP IN THE MUD. Good lord what were these people thinking??? There is so much pavement around that could have been used. I got water and used the portapotty but skipped the food table because I'd had enough of sinking my heels into the mud.

Okay, back on the road. Legs still not feeling good. Trying to turn my mood around again. Think of a song, think of a song, think of a song. The rest stops were only 10 miles apart but it seemed like forever before I reached the next one. I was hungry. Happily we did not have to stand in the mud at this stop. Yay!! We were 40 miles into the ride and there were more volunteers than riders at this point. They had sandwiches that looked good but I didn't have one because the steepest hills were imminent and I didn't think my stomach would handle it well. So I stuck to simple high-carb snacks. I also filled my water bottle with iced tea and lemonade, which really hit the spot.

The last 23 miles actually went really well. The clouds were burning off, the steep hills were not that bad, my legs stopped hurting (which made me very happy but was perplexing -- I've never had that kind of burning tired feeling go away during a ride before). I was totally alone on the road so I could sing out loud on the downhills. We had one more rest stop -- again everything on pavement, yay!!! -- with very friendly volunteers. I was very happy as I finished the ride. Average speed was 13.2 mph, and it was a few minutes after 1:00 when I reached the finish. Two hours before the route closed and comfortably above the minimum speed.

But when I reached the finish line, with its big inflated red arch, I felt like I had missed the cutoff. Usually at this sort of charity ride they make a big deal when you ride under that arch. Often they have a photographer there and you're able to buy photos from them after the ride. But not this ride. No one noticed me as I crossed the line. Okay, that's anticlimactic.

They told us we would pick up our commemorative t-shirts after the ride. I find the tent, there's a table in the middle covered with t-shirts and a volunteer who is obviously tired. We're supposed to go through the piles and find our size. Seriously? I'm exhausted, I'm not thinking clearly, I just rode my bike for 5 hours. So the volunteer helps me find my size and it's way too big but they don't have anything smaller. I say never mind, keep it, I'll never wear it anyway. Moving on, I really need food. Have to pass in front of the DJ who is playing music way way way too loud on my way to the food tent. And I shouldn't have bothered. The tent is empty except for one volunteer who is cleaning up like the picnic is over. There are three long tables. One is empty except for a plate of sliced cheese. The second is empty except for a small pile of something -- potato chips maybe. The third is empty except for a bowl of lettuce ("salad") and a pile of things wrapped in foil labeled "veggie burgers." These are clearly the things that no one else wanted, so you know they're ice cold. The choices for drinks are water and pre-bottled sugar-free iced tea. I say to the volunteer, seriously, this is really all you have?? She looks surprised -- I really don't think she knew that people were still out on the course. She says she can get me more food. Well if there is more food then why are you hiding it?? I am way too tired and glycogen-depleated to deal with this. So I give up and go back to my car where I have an assortment of Clif bars and fig bars to eat. Then I clean off my bike, change my clothes, put the mud-covered booties into a plastic bag, pack up everything and drive to a convenience store up the road for more food. I bought a Klondike Bar and sat on the curb by my car and looked up at the blue sky while I enjoyed it.

I knew this would be an emotional day. I signed up for this ride because my friend had just died, in part due to complications from diabetes. But I also was remembering previous Tours de Cure that I rode years ago. I did the first one with my friend Lauren, who had led the first group ride I'd ever done. I did another with Reese and Scott. Scott could have ridden with a group of faster friends that day but he chose to stay with me and Reese to make sure we were okay. He even helped Reese with some saddle adjustments along the way. Both Lauren and Scott died a couple of years ago. So this year's ride was full of memories for me, and sadness. At the end I was glad that the cycling part had gone well.

I'm still just amazed at the lack of organization throughout the whole day, and am working on a list of lessons learned from it to share with people I know who organize cycling events every year. Mostly it's about communication, making sure volunteers know the things that the riders need to know and that the people at the rest stops and post-ride picnic know that just because the big crowd has gone home doesn't mean it's time to shut down. That the slow riders deserve as much respect as the fast ones. And for the love of all that's holy, don't set up the tables in the mud when you've got plenty of dry pavement available.

[Crankin]

Well, it sounds like the riding part went well and the weather held out.
The last 2 charity metrics I did had about 3-4K feet of climbing, so I started at least an hour before the start. These were local things, though. Assuming everyone is averaging over 15 is not nice after you have ridden 62 miles and there's no food left!
ETA: I hate hogging this thread, so just adding in I rode to work today. Decided to take the long (5.6 miles instead of 3 miles) way home and then cursed myself, as it involves a climb that I never like, but... after that I am approaching home from a different direction, and while it some involves traffic, it's downhill, and I don't have turn left across Main St into my street. The great thing about my new commute from the condo, is that even at the height of rush hour, there's nothing particularly challenging, in terms of traffic. My office is moving July 1, and it will involve riding through the village, which can be horrible if it coincides with the commuter rail stopping and the traffic backing up, because when the train stops, the gates go down near the station, as the train actually extends into the road. There is a go around, which would mean riding as I do now, and then cutting across on the street my office is on, from a point past the station. There is a light here, and it's a steep downhill, so I would not want to be stopped in the middle of this downhill, but I guess it's better than sitting in traffic.

[rebeccaC]

Had a late dinner and stayed with my friend Alexandra last night in Azusa. Today we rode to the Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino to spend the day wandering through the beauty of the gardens and doing photography. Nice ride through some interesting and expensive neighborhoods with wide bike lanes (easy riding side by side) the entire ride and no hard climbs to speak of. Overcast all day with temps in the high 60’s low 70’s. A relaxing day with 42 miles of pleasant riding and a day of sharing the sights of some wonderful gardens with a good friend.

[azfiddle]

Thanks for all the ride reports.

NYbiker- I hope you'll send some feedback to the Tour de Cure organizers. You worked hard and deserved to have your efforts celebrated.

This was a much more utilitarian riding week for me! 3 (count 'em 3!) commutes in one week. The commute route I'm on now is about 9.5 miles, mostly on a newly finished section of paved path, and goes along a wash and through some relatively natural desert. So it's great having 7 miles without any cars to worry about- just a few pedestrians and other cyclists. The afternoons are getting warm but it still hasn't broken 100 degrees. The local saying here is that is when the ice breaks on the Santa Cruz River. The Santa Cruz River hasn't flowed year round for over 100 years! But it feels good to get on the bike after buckling down to grade student projects for two hours- helps clear the brain.

Saturday I took a shortish (21 mile) ride up to Saguaro NP. I lost our annual park pass, which was still good for about 9 months and had to buy a new one. It's $80, but we get our money's worth because it's $5 to get in otherwise- and between my husband and myself, we probably get in at least 30 or 40 visits or more. And it's good for use in national forest sites and other national parks when we travel.

Sunday- About 8 miles on the Surly because the road bike is sitting in the shop now. I went to look for a rare bird (a Least Tern) at a park about 3 miles away and then back to the grocery store - filled the panniers and tried out my new Brooks Saddle.

[indiana_jane]

I have a 4-day tour at the end of the month which should be wonderful and post-worthy, but for now I'm just trying to get my miles in. Besides one really nice ride through Ft. Harrison State Park, my rides have all been relatively boring mid-distance rides up and down the rail trail (convenient because I can drop my son off at the YMCA child care and get right on the trail for an hour or so).

Of note, though, is the fact that I have, for the first time, averaged 14 mph on a ride of any distance. It was only 11 miles, but I'm still proud! This may seem like a small accomplishment, but I am a slow rider -- I always think of myself as a 12-mph-rider. Looking back at mapmyride, my *fastest* ride in May of last year was 12.5 mph. So, I guess I actually am getting faster!

[rebeccaC]

I see a lot more commuters out this year than last year during this national bike to work week…last year Bike to Work Day had a lot of people riding so it should be the same on Friday.

Had a conversation with friends last night over dinner about the many positive things about a city with a good bicycle culture. Our weather certainly helps!! When I first moved here CicLAvia had just started it’s Critical Mass rides here. Ellie used it as an example to my question during my job interview about the bike culture here. CicLAvia and Critical Mass are still strong here (we have the largest community rides in the U.S. now) and still opens LA streets every month to pedestrians and bicyclists, creating temporary linked public spaces for walking, biking, socializing and learning more about the cities neighborhoods. Just one of the many reasons I like this area’s bike culture and those working on the positivity of getting safer routes and creating larger areas to ride for all riders....weekend cyclists, families, messengers, those wanting exercise, novices, racers….and THIS week more bike commuters!....finding joy in urban riding....

....tour of california on nbc sports ftw

[rebeccaC]

Emily…you should be writing an article/book on the best places to stay in an RV for bicycling!!!!...with ride maps

Wow! Now that is some serious stretch of climbing. Makes what we call hills in northern Wisconsin look pretty tame. Thanks for the pics. Very nice.

I see it as the harder the climb the more nerve cells firing, helping my brain through the production of neurons and releasing neurotransmitters for better brain functioning in the dorsal region and a calming in the ventral region…. Any hard climb for a person whether it be a 3% gradient or 15% (I agree with Alex on the insanity of 20% ) will help in doing it.

So…..just ride….for a better functioning brain!!

[Crankin]

Hope you find some better roads, Emily.
I commuted yesterday. It was quite cloudy when I left the clinic at 5:45 PM, felt a drop or two of rain, but it was nice. Not looking forward to my office moving; it's actually just as close, but there's 2 places where traffic backs up, kind of merging back ups into each other. I have chosen an alternate, which might get my one way commute up to almost 3.5 miles!
Planned to ride at 5 AM, woke up to pouring rain. Bleh. I decided to go to spin class, since I was up and I live .99 mile from the gym. Worked up a good sweat, but I can barely stand to do spin at this time of year.
Doing a group ride along the north shore tomorrow. There's a 68 mile version at a moderate pace, but I am being good and only dong the 30 mile ride, since I need to be on point for leading on Thursday night.

[Helene2013]

Nice warm sunny long weekend for us here.

Hubby got the ok without restrictions from surgeon to ride as much as he wants. I'm ok to cycle, as long as I don't abuse the knees. So we did 2 - 44km rides (Saturday and Monday). Sunday we did campground loops as they have many roads, nice grass/rock trails, etc.

So it is a late start to our bike season but happy to find out we have not lost so much on our cardio/musle. yeah