September riding

[north woods gal]

5 straight days of rain squalls, gloom, mist and temps in the 50s for a high. Don't mind the 50s, but, as a lot of up here in the north woods, do, I suffer from a bit of depression for lack of sunshine. Having lived all across the country, though, I've discovered that no place is perfect, so I can put up with a little gloom. Really am blessed to live in such a beautiful place as my north woods.

Have been riding the trails and a little on pavement, too, despite the rain. Riding in the rain is a luxury from having trails right outside my door and some excellent, very low traffic pavement riding, too, also right out my door. If things get really nasty, I can bail out, quick, and get back to the house. Rarely rode in the rain unless I had to when living in the city.

I'm thinking it will be an early color season for us, with some color already on the trees. Definitely see more leaves laying on the trails, each time I go out, too. I'll drag a rake behind me to tear off the worst of it before the snow falls. The trails really do disappear under the leaves. I could probably run a mower down the trails or use a leaf blower, but I HATE any powered stuff on my trails other than people power.

Given I have a choice of fat bikes and trail bikes to ride - and I do alternate them on a daily basis - I'm constantly amazed at the difference in feel between my aluminum trail/fat bikes and my steel trail/fat bikes. Oh, the aluminum bikes I have are truly excellent in all regards. They have very sophisticated and up to date geometry and handle like a dream, but there's still something about the classic steel that I love. Just hard for me to love an aluminum bike, the way I love steel, though. I could sell off my aluminum bikes and not lose any sleep over it, but the Surly Krampus and my beloved Surly Pugsley and my old pal, my Kona 26er, no way. When I really need one of those "make me smile" kind of rides, it's one of the Surlys.

[ny biker]

I am seeing color in leaves here too, but it's brown, like they're dying. Don't know if that means they're diseased or if it's too much/not enough rain. I am downright worried that we'll have an early and cold winter. With office consolidation going on at work I don't know if I'll be able to use my light box there like I did last year.

So you'd think I'd be outside right now getting some sun. But no, when the alarm went off this morning I turned it off and went back to sleep. I've just had too many nights lately with only 4-5 hours of sleep. So no club ride for me today. There's too much traffic for an afternoon ride so I will go out tonight. I'm trying to be productive and watch training videos for work but they are so dull. Not sure what I will do this afternoon. Maybe go through my winter bike clothes and get them ready since I will probably need toe covers and tights tonight and this weekend. In early September!

===

grrrrrr I decided to give up on the training videos and spend a quiet afternoon getting stuff done around the house before going out to ride tonight. But the stomping elephant upstairs neighbor came home very early [insert string of expletives in all caps here]. I had just downloaded the latest Foo Fighters song from their new album and am now playing it on repeat at a high volume. I can do this all day.... anyway, cycling related, I finally got around to ordering a new Road ID. I wanted to update the contact info and also tweak the medical info. My old one has a fabric "sport" band which is very dirty. The new one has the silicone band with the new pin tuck closure. In orange.

I'm kinda meh about the new Foos songs that I've heard so far. They don't grab me right away, but grow on me slowly. Apparently this album was produced by someone new. It sounds like it.

[azfiddle]

In addition to my near daily commutes, I rode the 66 mile "Willcox Flyer" ride Saturday. I'll post a few pictures:

Looking southeast toward the Chiracahua Mountains

Untitled by Sharon Goldwasser, on Flickr

[azfiddle]

Yucca plant

Untitled by Sharon Goldwasser, on Flickr

[azfiddle]

Roadside Turkey Vulture

Untitled by Sharon Goldwasser, on Flickr

[azfiddle]

One of the rest stops. They've really improved the options. The best was the watermelon slices (not in the picture).

Untitled by Sharon Goldwasser, on Flickr

[Crankin]

Wasn't the Wilcox Flyer the name of the train that went from Wilcox to near the Grand Canyon?

[rebeccaC]

The best was the watermelon slices (not in the picture).

ragbrai....very hot day....we bought whole cold watermelons and ate the hearts....perfect

luv those first three photos, especially the yucca, sharon. makes me want to go riding in the desert

[north woods gal]

Having spent most of my life out west, would love to see some yucca and cactus plants, again. Thanks for the beautiful pics, as always. I'm about a thousand miles away from that country, though. Growing up in those wide open spaces does shape a person. Love our deep and dark forests, but my heart still yearns for those open spaces. My hubby, on the other hand, never lived there and is much more comfortable back in the woods. He can't wrap is head around wanting to live in places where there are so few trees that people give them names.

Have spent much of my summer working on my trails, then following up with a good ride. Mostly been making connecting sections to the various loops. I can now ride every day for probably two years without riding exactly the same way twice. I have a set regimen of laps, though, and every lap includes a section of leg burner climbs. Once I've completed the laps, I work on my log hopping and rock climbs. Finally, my favorite part, is what I call noodling - just riding around with nothing specific in mind.

My logs show that I'm doing 40 to 50 miles a week on the trail riding and another 20-30 miles on the road. Wish I could translate that into all road miles for the sake of sharing with everyone, here, but I don't think there's a good formula for that. In terms of hours, though, I'm riding the same number of hours, now, as I was when doing 450 to 600 mile months when most of my riding was on the pavement. My backyard trail system, though, keeps me close to home and my hubby with his disabilities. We're both getting old enough that we need to keep an eye out for each other's health needs.

Yipeee! The sun is out for the first time, this week. Gotta go ride.

[ny biker]

Great pictures, AZ. And I agree with your husband re: trees, NWG. It seems strange to me just to see photos of a bike ride on a road in the middle of nothing except mountains in the distance.

Our club has started to serve pickles at rest stops, as in the photo. We usually cut up spears and put them out in small paper cups. We've learned not to put too many out at a time, otherwise the early riders take them all and there's nothing left for the slower riders who are out in a hotter part of the day.

So, I did go out for a ride last night. I was feeling cranky and my mood was not improved by the three(!!!) drivers who almost hit me because I stopped at stop signs in front of them. From the sounds of their engines I could tell they were not slowing down. This was all within the first few miles. Later in the ride I started to encounter drivers who stopped to let me cross at intersections where I had a stop sign but they did not. Some neighborhoods just have more hostile and impatient people, others have nice people.

I rode 18 miles in all. Had to wear lightweight tights, a vest and arm warmers on top of long sleeves. I was not cranky anymore at the end but feeling generally not happy -- there are too many things going on in the world right now, massive storms and wildfires and data breaches etc etc. and I really think I am going to need surgery for the torn ankle tendon.

Tomorrow is a big century ride in northern Maryland, always one of my favorites. I usually do the metric but this year due to the ankle I am doing 50 miles. It's more than a bike ride, though. The food is excellent, fresh local fruit and giant tomatoes on the tomato sandwiches and ice cream from a local dairy and a chance to visit with friends at the picnic. Last year it was dangerously hot, this year it will be about 40 degrees cooler. Too cold for my taste but the skies should be a great shade of blue so I will bring my good camera.

[rebeccaC]

emily...glad to hear you're back to your florida campground and hoping the bike paths are cleared soon!!

We rode the Angeles Crest Highway to the Mt Wilson Observatory today. 42 miles total with 4500+ ft of climbing and temps in the 70’s. Less difficult grades than the other rides we’ve done in the San Gabriel/ Santa Monica mountains but with a final 5 mile climb that was a challenge….but in a good training way and I was able to keep a rhythmic and controlled breathing pattern the whole of the days ascent. I was really sweaty when we reached the observatory but I felt mentally good and some yoga stretches helped with tightness and soreness. We split an olive hummus, heirloom tomato, cucumber, spinach and avocado sandwich we bought at the observatories Cosmic Café and with wonderful banana smoothies we ate overlooking a peaceful and beautiful view. Little traffic, nice smooth roads and a great ‘lots of grins per mile’ descent were big pluses.
Tired tonight but my first hard climb in 10 months felt good to get in. Well that….and the chocolate marshmallow fluff brownie ice cream we stopped to get on the drive home at salt and straw and we just ate was good too.

No photos cuz I felt the big need to be a weight weenie on this ride. It was just I, the bike and water cuz I let Alex carry all the needed essentials. She was happy to.
Thinking I’m going to sleep in tomorrow.

.....it was sad to see the police aftermath of a motorcyclist's death on the lower part of the descent going back to the car. It happened after we had gone by the area on the ascent

Hoping everyone had/has safe and satisfying rides this weekend!!!!

[emily_in_nc]

I am drooling over your food mentions, rebecca (all except the olive hummus; you can keep that). Salt & Straw...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Sounds like a great ride you had. I haven't ridden since our 50 miler due to our travel days, and then getting lots of stuff done re. settling in: lots of laundry, lots of groceries, and the bike trail is indeed closed (per DH, who rode today to check it out). Tomorrow I have an orthodontist appointment and more errands to run, so looks like Tuesday is going to be my next riding day. I did do some yoga/light weights today, and we've been walking, of course!

[Crankin]

And my recovery ride turned into a 4 mile walk (rt) to get ice cream! Was just about to get in my cycling clothes when DS called and told us he was coming earlier for a visit with my granddaughter. After going to an event at a local farm, it was about 1:30 when he left and we were choosing between an 18 mile round trip ride to an ice cream place we like, that is not open all year round, or the walk into town. Walking actually aggravates my back more than riding, but I was good with it.

[rebeccaC]

Salt & Straw...mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

It's first location was in Portland Or. When i did the Seattle-Portland ride with my Portland friends they got me hooked on it. Felt blessed when it came to the LA area and even more when a Venice location showed up on my work commute, which unfortunately makes it even more of a calorie hazard…..

We woke up late, we did bike to get massages and a late lunch but basically it’s a being lazy and content day/night

[north woods gal]

Just got back, late last night, from our San Diego visit, which included three days of biking for me. I managed to rent a bike from an outfit called Stay Classy. Pete, the owner, will deliver a bike to your hotel and pick it up when done. He will also come to the rescue if the bike breaks down or has a flat. Yup, I did have a flat on day two, thanks to the goats heads which are present in the area. He fixed it, no problem, though, and I was back to riding in no time. The bike was a typical 700x35 SE hybird with flat bars (I specified I wanted a flat bar), but he has other bikes to choose from. Don't expect a high end carbon road bike with Ultegra Di2, though. This is typical tourist stuff as far as the bikes go, but, me, I'm happy with very basic fare when it comes to bikes when doing the tourist thing.

The riding was a definite change of pace for me, being all pavement. Everything paved, including the bike paths. Oh, dropping off the bike path to ride the dry river beds was tempting, but wrong bike and the goatheads, too, not to mention wasn't sure about the legality.

Weather was super, with clouds off the ocean in the morning, burning off by mid-morning with highs every day in the 70s. Real treat to meet back up with Bill at the end of my ride, then head to the motel swimming pool for a nice swim.

Each day of riding included a trip to the many beaches in the area with lots of time watching birds along one of the wildlife sanctuaries. Loved the Ocean Beach area. Lots of coffee shops and neat shopping. The Sunset Cliffs city park was spectacular and had some great hills to climb, to boot. Real people watching place along the beaches with surfers and all the other California type activities. On Saturday, there were probably as many people on the beach as we have in our whole county, up here. Sadly, lots of homeless people on bikes along the bike trails, but that, too, is common for big cities.

Now, don't laugh, but only put about 60 some miles total for three days, but they were 60 fun miles with lots of stops along the way to chat with folks, stop for coffee and watch everything. It was a real change of pace from my daily MTB riding at home, for sure, and I appreciated the difference. Have to say, this was a very bike friendly area to ride with lots of bike lanes and bike trails. Having lived the urban/suburban living on a bike lifestyle, before, so I can safely say that I could manage it, nicely, in San Diego. I'm very much a country girl and backwoods girl, though, so I'll just stay put, but I had a fun time. As I've always said, the best way to get to know a new area is to grab a bike and go for a ride.