May flowers... and bike rides

[ny biker]

Thanks North Woods. I'm just trying to roll with it, finding other ways to be productive or entertain myself (I am Groot! ) when I can't get out and ride my bike. It is what it is, just have to try to make the best of it.

[Crankin]

And now, I am sick... it's allergy based, but I couldn't ride today, if I had to. It's raining, though. Praying I wake up fine tomorrow, as this needs to be a training weekend.

[ny biker]

I have a plan for this weekend, having figured out a way to meet up and ride with a friend on part of the long ride he's doing. Hopefully others will also join us and the rain will hold off until we're done. The forecast for the whole weekend is very "maybe it will rain."

Last night I put the old saddle back on my bike. In doing so I noticed that it was slightly off center, which means the new one that has caused problems was also slight off center. This probably contributed to the problems, which were all on one side. I am very much hoping that the problems will not recur.

I hope you feel better, Crankin.

[Crankin]

So yesterday, I started feeling better around 10 am. Decided to err on the side of caution, so we walked into town for our exercise, ate a light lunch, and walked back, for 4 miles. Late in the afternoon, I began feeling somewhat yucky again, but that is kind of normal for me when I am getting better.
Wanted to do a long 40-50 mile ride today, but I woke up with a full head and not feeling great. I am still "better," in that my ear isn't hurting like hell and I am not about to lose my voice. But, because of the fullness in my head, I feel a bit out of it. My nose is running.
I am beyond upset. Normally, I'd chalk it up to a few days off, but I am seriously scared I am going to die on my cycling trip. Realistically, I know I can suffer my way through it, but I don't want to...

[emily_in_nc]

Normally, I'd chalk it up to a few days off, but I am seriously scared I am going to die on my cycling trip. Realistically, I know I can suffer my way through it, but I don't want to...

Bummer, Crankin! I am sorry you haven't been feeling well. When is your trip?

[Crankin]

We leave Jun 21, the cycling starts on the 23d or 24th, I can't remember.
So, I ended up riding 25.5 miles today. Not the bigger hills, almost 50 miles we had planned, but what started out as a slower local ride of 18 miles, turned into a faster and longer ride. We rode to Ferns to get lunch, under some pretty dark clouds. No rain on the radar, though. When we finished eating, I suggested we make it a little longer, instead of heading right back. When we had about 8-9 miles left, DH asked me if I had felt bumps on the road, and I hadn't. So, we stopped and he found his tire had actually become unseated in one spot. He really did not want to fix this on the road, so he let air out and we picked up the pace. Then, we got to an intersection with a 4 way stop/blinking light. There was a group of like 10 cyclists, with about 4 of them just standing in the road, talking. The rest were on the sidewalk. There was a car behind us wanting to turn right, but no other cars. We slowed, and as we rolled through, DH said something to them for blocking the road. One of them said, "well, you didn't stop." Yes, because if we had, we were afraid we'd get hit by the car and didn't know what the driver would do! This is a busy intersection, right near where we used to live. On we went. We made it home and DH fixed his tire.
Now, my head is full, I am sneezing, but my criteria for riding was it's not in my chest. That still is true. Hopefully, it should diminish tomorrow.

[north woods gal]

Go easy, Crankin. It's been my experience that any respiratory thing can get aggravated while biking. I used to have a heck of a time beating colds, back when the bike was my only means of transportation.

Good day for me, today. Road the pavement four miles out to a pretty challenging MTB trailhead that I hand't ridden since last summer. The trail was in rough shape with downed trees blocking the way, so lots of detouring. The Pugsley took it all in stride, though. Funny thing is that the technical sections weren't anywhere near as tricky as I remembered them. In fact, no big deal. Guess all my constant trail riding since then has improved my skills. Still plenty challenging, physically, what with lots of nasty steeps to climb. Nothing leisurely about this system.

Ended the day with 10 miles of pavement and about eight on the single track. No bears, seen.