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

[emily_in_nc]

Hi y'all! :-)

I've been away from the forum for awhile, thanks to flaky, slow, and sometimes non-existent internet access in the campgrounds we've been staying in for the past month. We've been in national forests, mostly, so cell signals are often pretty weak. I have revived our blog lately, though, and documented a few recent rides, so if you are interested, it's here:

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com.

We are currently in Arkansas and are looking forward to our first bike ride here tomorrow. There aren't a lot of roads where we are, but we're hoping that on a Sunday morning, traffic on the (small, single-lane) highways won't be too bad. Weather is supposed to be nice, so that's a plus!

[Crankin]

Welcome back, Emily. It is always good to hear about your adventures.
We did a 40 mile hilly ride, to Berlin, MA and back. All but the part in Berlin, where we stopped to eat was familiar, but the combination of roads was hilly right from the start. It was cloudy, a few spritzes of rain, but about 75. After lunch, we rode up a hill, by an orchard, that felt so rural, it was like i was in Vermont. Then, in about 2 miles, we were back on familiar roads, not far from the school I taught at. I really was feeling the pain from yesterday's ride, but, with the aid of Shot Blocks, I actually finished with a better average than I thought I would. I was suffering in parts, feeling great in others, and happy to get home. I rode a lot this week, in terms of mileage, so tomorrow, when the weather is iffy, I may actually take a rest day.

[azfiddle]

Hi all

I've been riding the Surly for over a week because they are still sorting out the ridiculous tapping noise on the Ruby. In the meantime, I've been trying out a Brooks saddle on it.... the jury is still out, but I've only gone for four rides (between 10 and 24 miles each)- total of about 70 miles.

So that included a commute ride, a moonlight ride at Saguaro NP and two shorter rides that finished at the grocery store. (Hey, as long as I have the panniers on, I might as well fill them up.

[ny biker]

Ok so there is warmer weather in Massachusetts than in DC. Oy. And we're going to shoot from 50s/60s to above 80 in a few days. No chance to acclimate.

I had a nice bike ride last night after work. It was sunny and in the 70s during the day, and still in the low 70s-high 60s for most of the ride. And I was able to get by with just a blinking headlight for about half of it thanks to the later sunsets. It was uneventful, which was good. I rode just over 17 miles.

I was feeling optimistic on Friday while the sun was shining so I posted a club ride for tomorrow. At the time they were predicting a break in the rain tomorrow morning. But now it looks like possible rain all day and probably in the 50s all day. Honestly I'm not sure why I haven't cancelled the ride already. But I will wait until the morning, just in case it turns out that there's a good chance for a few dry hours. I need the exercise.

[Crankin]

I also am looking at those temperatures with trepidation. It's a bad combination for me, with no gradual ramp up. It was cloudy yesterday, and even felt cool when we were in the shade. But Friday's ride was sunny and hot, at the same temperature. I always say that 23 years living in hot climates where you are always inside, in AC, did me in for heat acclimation.
It was supposed to rain today, but it is mostly staying south of here. I need to rest, but a short walk/hike on the trail might be in order. A bit nervous about Thursday, when it is forecasted to be 85 and we lead a ride that starts at 6 PM. Obviously, the sun is going down by this time, but ugh! And, I hope Wednesday's group ride is in a shady spot, as I am planning to go.

[north woods gal]

We've also been hit by that temperature surge, but nowhere near as bad as you folks seem to be getting it. It's staying in the 70s, here, after a long spell of 40sand 50s, so I am not complaining, at all. Doing my usual daily 20 mile ride on our beautiful rural country roads, with some commuting into town (5 miles), just for an excuse to do some more riding. Our little town of 8000, though, has horrible streets for bike riding as far as the pavement. Lots of construction underway to fix that and that's good, but right now, I'm almost tempted to use my fat bike for town runs. Ouch!

[rebeccaC]

My friend Alexandra spent the weekend at my place. After a great dinner, some clubs, good music and dancing last night we did one of my favorite rides into the Santa Monica Mountains today. Rode the beach bike path to its end then PCH to Las Flores Canyon Rd to Piuma Rd to Malibu Canyon Rd and back down to PCH and then the last miles again on the beach bike path to home. The bike path keeps us away from some of the busier PCH traffic coming into Santa Monica. Ended with 54 miles, high 60’s most of the ride with some clouding towards the top of the Las Flores climb and part of Piuma.

Las Flores is one solid hard climb. The beginning is a 8+% climb and there is a one mile 13% section. The last 2.5 miles averages 11+% with a couple 20% sections that we were down to a barely moving mph on and had Alex questioning our sanity. Most of Piuma was a descent but the first section was a 7+% climb that seemed flat after Las Flores. Piuma has some incredible views towards the eastern part of the mountains, which makes it a beautiful descent. May wildflower blooms also made for a delicate counterpoint to the mountain landscape. Good climbing, great views and good company made for a great ride/day.

….…and more importantly on the way home after the great descent on PCH from Pepperdine University was a stop at the Sunday Malibu farmers market for peach green tea boba and chocolate croissants made with unicorn butter and rainbows and whatever's closest to the purist form of happiness one can find….when we got back and showered we spent time relaxing in the Jacuzzi on my buildings pool deck. Alex didn’t want to leave and I didn’t want her to.

I’ve known Alex for 8 months now (I’m not a u-haul type girl…for those who know what that is) and we have so much in common and what isn’t still compliments/improves our relationship….thinking I’ve fallen in love







The view from our stretching/fluid/nutrient break.