August Riding

[pumpkinpony]

I got to go ride in Denver with my brother a couple weeks ago - nice 77 mile ride. :-)

[ny biker]

Catching up... yay to Emily and Rebecca for getting back out there. I absolutely love that photo, Rebecca. I know folks who really like the Di2 shifters, Crankin, and I hope they work out for you. I've never had anyone behind me on night rides -- I wonder if my rear light is too bright for anyone to follow closely? I have been told that it's very visible from a distance on rainy days.

I got in a few good rides earlier this month. One was a route that I planned and led for the bike club, a mix of favorite roads and a few new ones in rural northern Maryland. The weather was perfect, not at all hot, which is important in farmland where shady trees are few and far between. I also did a couple of night rides in which I experimented with a new route... in the dark, in an area with confusing street names (like 22nd St followed by 22nd Rd) and some missing road signs. So I was happy to only make a few wrong turns, and I knew the general area well enough to never truly get lost. Then we had the annual club picnic, which was fun and on a day with more perfect summer weather, but I think I started out too fast because the torn tendon in my ankle was hurting quite a bit. That was not cool.

Then I found out that I (and all of my co-workers) have been furloughed at work, required to take 2 weeks off between now and Sept 30 due to a funding cut at the end of our client's fiscal year. I was already planning a weekend trip to visit family in NY, so I made it a 6-day trip instead. I figured my ankle would appreciate a few days of rest from bike rides and walking around the office. It was a fun trip, and I was happy to watch the eclipse (~70% totality on Long Island with just a few light clouds) with my parents and nephew.

I will try the new night ride route again in a couple of days, and am planning a ride on Sunday that does not have too many hills. Hopefully my ankle will be okay as long as I ride a moderate pace.

[north woods gal]

Thanks for the info, Crankin. Encouraging.

No trail repair work, today. Pretty much decided to mothball that kind of work for this summer. Did a lot of trail riding, today, though. 13 plus miles of laps on my backyard trails with a section of leg burner climbs on every lap. Really good workout.

Windy, today, and noticed a lot of leaves falling, some of which had a little color. Is it that time of year, already? Actually, it's getting close for us. September is our color month. By the end of the month in a normal year, the leaves are mostly gone. My summer is almost over. Sigh!

[Crankin]

I've seen a few red maple leaves on the ground, but this always happens in August. Our peak color isn't until October.
I did a group ride today, which was a little weird. I rode 4.5 miles to the start; the ride itself was a little over 25 miles. It was a smaller group, so my friend, Jack, who was leading, decided we didn't need to use the human arrow system and we would all stay together. But, he went really, really slowly, which meant I had to keep my focus laser sharp, especially since I don't trust some of these riders and I am not quite as nimble on my Guru. I basically stayed behind him... we had a thunderstorm last night, which cleared out the 90 degree temps and humidity. It is still getting drier out, but it felt wonderful. We are in for a long stretch of dry, "fall like" weather, with highs in the 70s, and I cannot wait.
My total was 31.5 miles, but I am ready to throw my GPS against a wall. Whenever I download a course, particularly one that was not done by my DH, I don't get any written cues, just a map! Now, this doesn't matter when I actually know where I am, like today, but that is not always the case. Sometimes it will start working part way through the ride. So, DH reloaded all of the software, or something similar Sunday, as in addition, it only picked 6 of my 22 miles when following a course that day. It got all of my miles today, but it's not showing my elapsed milage or speed when I am on a course. It does show it when I just have it on. This part may have something to do with the sensor on my Guru, but the other thing (not giving written cues) has been going on since I got this one as a hand me down, 2 years ago. It's about 4-5 years old. Grrrr.
North woods, it might be hot (80s) in the afternon in San Diego, but if you are anywhere close to the ocean, it is significantly cooler. My family lives inland, about 10 miles, and it's always 10-20 degrees hotter.

[emily_in_nc]

NO riding for me this week...wahhhh!

Monday and Tuesday were taken up with orthodontic and dental appointments, and I woke up yesterday morning with the tell-tale scratchy through and congestion of a cold. So, I'm just taking it easy in hopes of getting well quickly and calling this week a total wash. Oh well, there will be many more rides ahead, and it's so blinking hot and humid anyway I'm not entirely upset about missing out on riding this week.