April Showers bring... riding

[Pax]

Well, I hardly live in an urban area. It's a suburb, with a lot of rural-type areas and farms. When we bought our condo, we specifically wanted to be close to one of the 2 "downtowns," and while I am not as close as I had wished, it's only 2.2 miles, very walkable and rideable. I also enjoy being close enough to riding on quiet country roads.

That is my favorite part of our Florida condo, we are.5 mile from the beachside restaurants and shopping, .9 mile from the ocean (our place is on the water, but it's the intracoastal), and 1 mile (on a MUP) to the downtown area. Now that I can ride my bike again, it means we can enjoy what the area has to offer without dealing with the insane traffic.

[north woods gal]

Sorry, my mistake. I meant urban in general terms, not as in living in a downtown metro area. That kind of urban is beyond my experience. Most of my "city" life has, in fact, been suburban or even small town. Where I live, now, would definitely be classified as rural, though, and even though we are relatively close to our local small town, we are surrounded by water and forests. Very few farms in the area (not to mention coffee shops. ).

Anyway, as I said, I do enjoy hearing about the commuting, shopping, sightseeing and eating out trips. Brings back good memories for me. Thanks, all.

[ny biker]

I did 40 minutes of easy (and boring) pedaling on the indoor trainer two nights ago. There was no pain from the problematic ankle tendon. My knee hurt a little, probably because my cycling muscles are pretty much gone from lack of riding. I tested clipping in and out, and that also did not cause any pain. I actually don't have to move my foot much at all in order to clip out, which is good.

This weekend, probably Sunday, I plan to ride outside. I want to do an easy flat ride. Logically a MUP would be best for that, but they will all be crowded with the warmer weather that we're having. So I'm not sure yet where I'll be going.

The inertia of not riding for a long time has set in. I feel like just getting all the gear together is a huge undertaking. I need to muster up some energy and push through this.

[Crankin]

Ha, ha, NY, for me, the inertia never goes away, no matter how much I am riding.
I rode to work yesterday, wearing my wool Terry cycling dress and my cycling commuter pants and jacket. Since I already had appropriate shoes at work, it was perfect and I felt like a cool urban rider. The stoplight was out on the cross street of Main St, and that was a "fun" experience, trying to get across the intersection.
Since I was at work to just do my group, I kept my bike in my office, instead of locked in the chart room. So, I got lots of comments, like "how much did that bike cost?"

[azfiddle]

Hi all- checking in after being distracted for a couple weeks. I've been riding to work daily- so getting in 95 miles a week just commuting. The weather has been decent- a little breezy (always a headwind) in the afternoons. Two "perfect commute weeks" in a row.... I'm up to 48 commute rides since the start of the year.

I did some short rides last weekend and am looking for the motivation to get out this morning... it will probably happen.

I'm still tracking the birds on my commutes. I rarely have time to stop in the mornings so it's a mental tick by calls as I roll past or catch a glimpse of something. On the way home I sometimes stop and try to roust out some of the lingering sparrows or check out something in the bushes. Yesterday near sunset I was rewarded with a kettle (circling group) of migrating Swainson's Hawks. I called my husband and he was able to drive down to meet me, but they had flown south. I rode and he drove a mile to the next parking area / bridge along the bike path and he was able to see them. That was pretty cool.

[azfiddle]

I forgot to mention that I had an unbearably cute moment on my commute home that almost made me forget about the rotten cheating incident with my classes and the last class of the day that couldn't follow instructions and had to stop doing the fun activity I had planned and got to read silently instead for 20 minutes.

The little guy is not a baby- he's a two year old miniature!


Untitled by Sharon Goldwasser, on Flickr


Untitled by Sharon Goldwasser, on Flickr

[emily_in_nc]

Oh how cute is he!?! Thanks for sharing those adorable photos, Sharon!

I had a nice ride yesterday, though it was very very breezy. Still, it was a gorgeous sunny day, low humidity, temps in the 60s. After the hot, humid weather just a few days ago, I didn't even mind wearing a long-sleeve jersey. The weather sure has been up and down here in Florida!

[Crankin]

I rode 21 miles today, with our riding friends who are in from Amherst for the weekend. Despite tapas and copious amounts of sangria last night, along with an excellent play, we got out around noon. It was about 47, partly cloudy, and windy. I think we got the wind that Emily had Friday. I had several moments of my back hurting on both sides, but I kept stretching while riding and while stopped, and by the end of the ride I was OK. It seems ike we had a cross breeze almost the whole time. At one point, I got blown into the middle of the road. Thankfully, no cars around. The ride was moderately hilly, mostly rollers, a few 8-10% grades that are short, but at the beginning of the season feel like torture. By the time we got to one of my favorite roads, I felt better. There's one kind of obnoxious small hill right before we turn to get within a mile of our house. It comes after a long down hill, but near the end of a ride, it can be a bit tough. I made it up at 10-11 mph, not much lower than my normal pace. Of course, I was behind DH, so a little drafting going on.
I was dressed too warmly, but glad I went. It was my friend's first ride of the year, so her DH stayed behind with her at the end. We got home and then prepared for our early celebration of Passover (I know, the lightening is going to strike), after which we had more wine as our recovery drink and some cheese, until my son and family arrived to start the Seder.
My back is still feeling pretty good; I have stretched like crazy, used the pulsating shower head, and stretched some more. Here's hoping it's OK, as the next few days are going to be warm.