riding into the heat of july

[emily_in_nc]

You are definitely a good soul, NY! I think I would have been majorly annoyed at someone showing up to a 65-mile summer ride with no water bottles. WTF! We do all have brain farts, myself included, but I am still sure I would not have been happy to have to share my water with someone who was obviously not ready to do that ride for many reasons. Good on you.

We did another grocery ride today. We overbought, and I still can't believe we actually got it all into DH's two panniers and rear basket, my Rackpacker and small backpack. As we started out with this load, we realized that both our rear tires were low, and with all that weight, that was not a good thing. So, we stopped and DH pumped them up. We made it back to our motorhome without incident, and this ride put me over 1500 miles for the year (by .9!) Yay! A very pretty day with highs in the low 80s, sunshine, low humidity, and light wind.

We're due for some very hot and humid weather in the next few days, which we've mostly avoided until now, but it is mid-July, so I truly can't complain!

[north woods gal]

NY, absolutely you did right. The guy was in way over his head to attempt that long a ride being so out of shape and so unprepared. Sounds like that was only part of the problem, too. Without your help, things may have ended very badly for him. You were true blue to the bikers code of always offering a helping hand. I salute you.

[north woods gal]

Emily, we're forecast to have our typical once a summer heat wave later in the week, too. Usually once a summer, we hit 90 or at least close to it for a couple of days.

Today was just gorgeous, though. Been getting reports of a good wild blueberry crop, this year, so headed back on the MTB trails, again, to see what I could find. Good excuse, anyway, as I have been very much in a MTB mood for awhile. Just something so darn beautiful being way back in the woods on a bike, no traffic, no noise, just wild trails, deep woods and lakes to keep you company. No blueberries, but raspberries, galore, though most are still green. Saw a flock of Wild Turkey hens and a doe with twin fawns, too.

Been all enamored of the big wheel/wide tire trend in mountain bikes, of late and, yes, there are advantages. Took my old standard 26" Trek MTB out, today, and, have to say, though, there are still things the old standard 26ers can do better for me than the new bigger wheel/tire formats.

On the unforgiving, twisty and spooky up and down single track, did better with the 26" Trek than with any other bike, this week. A good old 26er still gives me the best control on the tricky stiff as long as things are firm, underneath. (When things get loose and sloppy, things do get a bit spooky. Also have to be careful with obstructions in the trail because there is lower clearance with a 26er.) Managed to get up some climbs with the 26er that had me stalling out with the bigger wheel and tire MTBs, this week (the fat bike was really hard to push up the steeps.) Also, didn't overrun turns the way I sometimes do with the bigger wheel bikes, again, that fat bike being notoriously slow get turned for me.

Anyway, I still think that for us gals, the old reliable 26er is still a practical choice for our strength levels, compared to bikes with the bigger, fatter and heavier wheels and tires as far as control, at least when it comes to hitting the steep stuff as well as the very precise twisty stuff (though I have yet to try the new 27.5 bikes). The old 26er is still a very useful bike for me. Just an observation.

[emily_in_nc]

Anyway, I still think that for us gals, the old reliable 26er is still a practical choice for our strength levels, compared to bikes with the bigger, fatter and heavier wheels and tires as far as control, at least when it comes to hitting the steep stuff as well as the very precise twisty stuff (though I have yet to try the new 27.5 bikes). The old 26er is still a very useful bike for me. Just an observation.

Glad to hear you think that since you have a lot of experience with different types of MTB/gravel bikes, and since a 26"-er is the only one I have, I'm really glad to hear it. I'm only 5'1.5" tall and a lightweight besides, so I've always felt like bikes with larger wheelsizes would just be too much bike, too much weight, and possibly too tall for me as well. My 700c road bike feels HUGE after riding my 20" wheeled Bike Friday and my 26" MTB.

We've been lucky so far and have not had the intense heat yet. Yesterday was still very nice in the 80s and not too humid, then this morning we had a lot of rain, so this was my day to take off the bike. Tomorrow and Thurs. are supposed to be our hot days, with highs in the 90s. Not looking forward to that, but being used to summers in NC, only two days of 90+ in a long while are nothing to complain about!

[Crankin]

I commuted today, the big 5.3 mile round trip. We are having 2 days of normal 70-80 degree summer weather, and then of course starting Thursday 4 days of temperatures reaching pretty close to 95+. The same 4 days we are doing our annual cycling trip to the Berkshires. It will be just 1-3 degrees cooler there. Other than asking the owner of the B and B if she can give us breakfast earlier, so we can start earlier, there's not much we can do. I may actually take my Camelbak, to use in addition to my bottles filled with lots of Skratch.
Today was beautiful and tomorrow I am doing a 35 mile group ride, that is local and ends in a party at one of the member's home.

[north woods gal]

Be careful with that heat, girls, though I'm sure all of your are. Our forecasted few days of 90 degree weather has been backed off to the upper 80s, so still very doable for me, though, of course, I will also be careful.

Been getting beat up with the mountain biking. It's either spilling from hitting a turn too late or side swiping a rock or stump or getting smacked by vegetation as I pass and so on. Have the bruises to show for it. Whew! I'm anything but a daredevil, too.

In my defense, though, the area I bike has no "easy" loops, just one section labeled as "easier" on the map. Meanest single track I've tried and I have ridden singletrack in a lot of areas. In 8 miles, there is only about a mile that is fairly level with only mild corners. All the rest is constant and severe up and down, no rests in between, quick turns, one after another, roots and rocks galore. You can't relax for a second. Love the challenge, but the best I'll ever be on this stuff is somewhere around an intermediate skill level, if even that. I do worry, too, about taking a really bad spill and injuring myself being back there, all by myself. I'm no spring chicken, either. Not smart.

[emily_in_nc]

NWG, when I started MTBing and went with friends to a park rated "easy to intermediate" single track, I couldn't believe what they considered "easy". It was hard to me and still had roots, rocks, climbs/descents, and switchbacks. Sheesh. Then of course the "easy" trails hooked into intermediate ones, so you could easily end up on a more difficult trail without realizing it unless you turned around and went back the way you came in. I fell quite a few times, had bruises and scrapes, and I also bailed out frequently and walked as I got so terrified. I always said that there was a fine line between exiliaration and terror while MTBing!

My worst fall was when the end of my handlebar clipped a tree (just not paying good enough attention as it was on an easy, straight section of the trail). The handlebar whipped around so fast, and I fell hard on my side and hit my head HARD. Had bad whiplash on the side of my neck that lasted a long time. After that was when I stopped going to that park and moved over to a different trail that was double-track and not technical, just challenging aerobically with a lot of climbing. Felt a lot more comfortable there!

Be super careful out there -- it would indeed be terrible to take a bad fall when by yourself, especially if there's no cell signal. In fact, I wouldn't do it alone if there were no cell signal.

[north woods gal]

Yeah, Emily, I do know what you are saying. Fortunately, I can get a cell signal out there since it isn't too far from town, but it is very hilly, so maybe I better check to make sure how much coverage I get, next time out.

One of my weirdest MTB injuries actually occurred on a single track down in Illinois, while I was living in Chicago. Back then, I loved all kinds of hoop earrings and, well, you guessed it, I was heading downhill and snagged the loop in one ear on a low hanging branch. Ripped open my ear lobe into two halves. Hardly fatal and I had a surgeon repair it, but ouch!

My injury, this week, was with the fat bike. Now, a fat bike is as stable as it gets, but they are just too slow to turn on really technical single track. Great where you don't need to twist and turn, but not so great when the trail looks like a can of worms. Anyway, went just a tiny bit wide on a sharp turn and my pedal snagged on a stump. Pulled the bike right out from under me. Went down, but just a few scratches.

The problem is when I do this easiest trail, the whole trail, perfectly, I get such a sense of accomplishment that I want to go back for more. Really is my own fault for getting bruises.

[north woods gal]

Speaking of mountain bikes, went online, last night, just to see what was out there in 26" wheel mountain bikes, thinking it might be nice to get a full suspension model for the trails I have been riding. Yikes! Looks like the bike people are dropping the 26ers from their lines and going to the next wheel size up in the 650B/27.5. Not sure how this would work for me. I can do all my technical climbing on the trail with my current 26er, but even though I am supposedly tall enough for a 29er to be a proper fit, I just can't climb as well with it. And to think I almost sold off my 26er for a new bike. I'm keeping it, now. Thought I would share this if anyone is shopping for an MTB.