riding into June and the beginning of summer

[emily_in_nc]

Sub-zero weather riding....shiver! You are a beast, NWG!

Crankin, I agree that a ride like that in 95 degrees would be miserable. 75 degrees = cycling nirvana for me. My DH likes 80+. I prefer 65-80. But, we make do. Most days, one of us is a little happier than the other on our rides. Often they start out oat my ideal temp but rise to his by the end. Today was like that: somewhere in the 70s starting out and mid-80s by the end, but overcast, so it didn't feel too bad.

Today's rides: 16.53 miles total of utility rides on two different bikes (MTB and Bike Friday). One ride to a produce stand mostly on an unpaved trail, and the second ride into a grocery store in town. Two short rides but both hilly and fun. The reason for two rides is that we could only carry so much stuff at once. We're essentially living a car-free life since we refuse to take our motorhome out of a campground once it's parked, until we leave for the next place. As long as we have three bikes each, we're set!

[north woods gal]

Good for you, Emily. Why drive when you can ride?

[Crankin]

We are in Portland, Maine and I must say there are as many craft breweries, coffee shops, and restaurants as in the better known Portland. I haven't been here in 12 years. Yesterday, we got here at noon and basically ate, walked and shopped, had coffee, wine, and beer. Today we went on a guided bike tour of the islands in Casco Bay. It was just us and the owner of the company, as most people wanting day tours don't want to 25 miles. We met the guy at the ferry, which was a 4 minute ride from our hotel. We were on the ferry for about an hour and 15 minutes, very pleasant and historical. There are tons of islands. We arrived at our first destination and rode about 10 miles. Just beautiful, with almost no cars. But some of the roads he took is on were dirt; the first was fine, but the next 2 were progressively rutted, sandy, and rocky, and I said no more. Fine for a hybrid, but not for my 25s. Then we rode to the one inn where we had lunch, overlooking the bay. On to a short 20 minute ferry ride, to an island connected to the mainland by a causeway. This was really cool. Then we rode back to Portland, on a combo of rural, urban, and bike path roads. The rural was fine, as was the urban, but the path sucked. Tight turns, clueless walkers, and all the things I hate about paths. From there, we rode back to our hotel, a different way, avoiding some cobbles and then promptly rewarded ourselves with gelato.

[emily_in_nc]

Good for you, Emily. Why drive when you can ride?

PERZACTLY.

[emily_in_nc]

Not sure where my post disappeared to, but I will try again (thankfully it was a short one):

Crankin, that sounds like my kind of fun! My mother and step-dad talked for years about retiring to Portland (ME), but he had aging parents in NC in poor health, and after they both died, inertia had just set in, I think. Plus they had friends and lots to do in their community. So, the move to Maine never happened. I kinda wish they had done it as I would have loved to have visited them there!

[north woods gal]

Sounds lovely, Crankin. I do love my rural life and it really is me, but I do miss some of my urban cycling, now and then.

[north woods gal]

Interesting ride, today. Decided to do some exploring on roads I've never biked, so grabbed the map and made a route. When exploring new areas, I automatically opt for my Salsa Fargo. It's actually a drop bar mountain bike with MTB like gearing, but best of all, it runs on big 29er 2.2" tires. Believe it or not, it's only slightly slower than my standard road bikes in terms of average speed on pavement, but it's when we go off pavement that this bike just shines. Turns out, I needed it, today.


The maps I have don't distinguish between paved and unpaved roads, so I never know for sure what I will encounter. Got half way through my 30 mile loop and, sure enough, when I made it to the intersection, the road I needed to complete the loop was gravel, but how far? What kind of shape? Off I went.

Turns out it was 8 miles, sometimes gravel, but sometimes more sand and rather treacherous in spots. Even with the Fargo's big tires, I hit a lot of sand traps, causing me to fishtail like crazy. In some spots it was so bad, I walked the bike. The road was marked with ATB route signs and they meant it. Whew! To make things even more exciting, not a single home along the road for 8 miles. Just me and deep north woods on both sides. A fat bike would have been a better choice, but not too crazy about riding a fat bike 15 miles on pavement to get there.

Would I do it, again? Yup. Would feel safer having some company, though.

[emily_in_nc]

Would I do it, again? Yup. Would feel safer having some company, though.

Yes, being alone in a desolate area like that would be intimidating to me. Glad you had fun (basically!) and were safe. I do know what you mean about the fishtailing and gravel...been having some issues with that ourselves lately. Just published a blog about a rail-trail we rode (or attempted to ride) a couple of weeks ago that ended up being a mess with deep gravel in spots and practically non-existent in spots. The website makes it look like this is such a premiere trail, but I beg to differ:

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...-in-bolivar-mo

Today's ride was a hilly monster. We started out by riding about 10 miles on a nice valley road, flat, to warm up. Then we headed north and east into the hills, and it was just one roller after another. I have never shifted in the front so much on a ride, from the big chain, to the granny, to the middle, back to the big, and on and on. I spent more time in the granny ring than I think I've ever done, and I bottomed out my 30x25 gear (riding my Trek Pilot) many, many times. "Sit and spin" is what they say, but this was more like "sit and grind". I stood as often as I could, but I tired frequently so had to do most of the longer climbs seated.

I would have taken my Bike Friday with lower gears except that DH was doing maintenance on it, and the chain was not on it. I surely could have used those mountain gears because these hills sure felt like mountains to me!

Ended up with 34 miles and just felt beat up. DH said it was as hard as the Crater Lake circle ride, which he had trained extensively for. Neither of us were prepared for this many hills, but at least he is an excellent climber. Not me -- I had to stop and rest several times partway up climbs just so I could get my breath and continue on. Temp was in the 80s, sunny, and fairly humid, which didn't help matters any.

BUT, we did it. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?!?!?

Tomorrow we move on to Iowa, where I am happily anticipating some flatter terrain, though I expect the issue there will be the wind!

[north woods gal]

Sounds like a workout, but also a good day's work. Fortunately, I have several choices as to loops on local roads. One is mostly flat, but the others are rolling hills with a few flat stretches. I ride compact double chainrings on all my bikes, but I usually don't have to drop to the small ring except on the steepest hills, but those hills do bottom me out.

Iowa is a lovely state with nice folks. The northeast is actually quite hilly as is the country adjacent to some of he rivers. Having lived in neighboring Nebraska much of my life, oh yeah, wind is a big factor. I'm sure you'll love it, though.

[pinsonp2]

Read your blog on this trail. My mom lives in Springfield, Mo at the southern end of the Frisco Highline. I've always wanted to try it when we are visiting. Based on your info, I think I'll take a pass.

P2