November Rides

[ny biker]

Welcome back Helene!

I was going to ride tonight but it there was a chance of light rain which is a no-go for me when temps are in the 50s or even lower. Okay honestly I avoid riding in rain all the time, but definitely when it's cold. And tomorrow should be a tad less cold anyway.

I also feel like I don't know what to wear now and will probably overdress again. I am still not doing as much walking as usual due to the torn ankle tendon, and therefore am not spending as much time outside at night like I usually do. And it's messing me up, not allowing me to remember which layers work and which are too much or too little.

[Crankin]

I did ride this morning, after watching the hourly forecast like a hawk last night. DH came with me, for a change. I did better with the dressing, erring on the side of being cool, but not cold. It was supposed to be 53, but, it was 49. Humid, though, so it feels warmer. All I wore was a regular long sleeved jersey, with my rain jacket over it. It's a bit heavier than my wind jacket, and there was a chance it would rain. I had a light head cover on, my ears were covered, light long fingered gloves and knickers, which are almost tights on me! I had on wool socks and toe covers, as I thought it would be weird to wear my winter shoes with knickers. My hands felt cool, as did my butt; I could have used the fleece of light weight tights, but, by the end of the ride I was a bit clammy from a climb/sweat, so I just need to remind myself to dress with less layers than I think I need.
DH pushed the pace for me on an early am ride, and I yelled at him several times. We went very slowly up the climb, though, and after that, it's downhill slightly or flat home. 10.6 miles, which for 5 AM is fine.
Probably will not ride to the office tomorrow, as we are leaving for Maine right when I get home at noon. We have a ride planned for Portland on Saturday.

[north woods gal]

Yes, welcome back, Helene.

Yeah, girls, its that time of year on the how to dress thing (woke up to two inches of wet, slushy snow on the ground this morning, but it's melting). Have found that the cool/cold weather how to dress issue is trickier for road work than trail work, since I'm out in the open on the roads and exposed to the wind, more and, of course, speeds are higher out on the road. For road work, my usual formula of feeling a bit cool for the first couple of miles usually works.

Don't know about anyone else, but I have some spots where I am especially sensitive when I ride in the cold (as in below freezing and way down from there). My face is one. I always take along a face mask or a scarf, since these are easy to stash if I don't need them. My hands and feet, of course, but if they overheat, no big deal, and that's rare, anyway. Usually they're not warm enough. I also find that my chest area above my breasts is especially cold sensitive when I ride. I find that a good vest works for this. Less likely to over-heat than if putting on another full layer and a vest is easy to put on top of other layers. Wish someone would invent a heated bra, though.

[emily_in_nc]

Not having to worry about winter dressing down here in Florida, since we've warmed up again after the two cold fronts. Today was short-sleeved jersey and shorts, and after about 15 minutes of slightly chilly into-the-wind, slight downhill at the beginning of today's ride, I warmed up and was just right for the rest of it.

A bit sore, though, due to two weeks off the bike while traveling, a fairly fast-paced 33 miles on Tuesday, and a home yoga-lates workout yesterday, plus lots of walking. My legs were pretty dead today, and I averaged .8 mph slower than Tuesday. Managed 35 miles, but it was not very pretty!

[Crankin]

It was 60 degrees when I went to the gym at 5:15 am... I didn't ride there, though. She really kicked our butts today and I feel kind of "off."
Of course, since we are going away this weekend. Will be doing a ride by the ocean tomorrow, in Portland, Maine. Probably be in the 40s.
This weather roller coaster is driving me nuts.

[ny biker]

Yeah, I thought last night would be slightly less cold than the night before, but not very different since the warm days lately have still had cool nights in between. But yesterday was really warm, well into the 70s with more humidity, and last night was great. It was in the low 60s the whole time. I rode 18 miles, was dressed just right. Did the standard of lightweight wool long sleeves under a short sleeved jersey since that combo is a good base for me. For the first few miles I had a vest all zipped up and arm warmers, but once I got warmed up I unzipped the vest and rolled the arm warmers down to my forearms. I also wore unlined tights. But regular gloves, no ear warmers or cap or anything covering my shoes. I wouldn't complain if it stayed like this for a while. But it won't -- the wind is now from the east i.e., the ocean, so clouds have rolled in and tomorrow will be 20 degrees colder and gray with spotty showers.

In addition to the good weather, last night's ride was quiet and uneventful. Except for my knee. The right leg was hurting again above the knee on the inside. I tried to focus on good form, keeping my knee over my foot, but it still got gradually worse as the ride went on.

So now, what to do about it? My saddle did feel too low or maybe too far forward. But it hasn't changed since a few weeks ago when things felt okay. My Speedplay X cleats are old and very worn. Could that cause problems?

I already have a new set of cleats. My plan has been to get new shoes rather than put the new cleats on the current shoes. In part this is because my shoes are also pretty worn out, but mostly because I switched to new insoles with a higher arch earlier this year (which were needed to address the ankle problems) and there really isn't enough room in the shoes for them -- I can barely fasten the velcro straps. So I want to look for something with a larger toe box, or maybe just go up a half size, to get more room for the arch support.

I also want to schedule a bike fit appointment, but will start by looking for shoes this weekend. In addition to having him look at the saddle position, I will need his help putting new cleats on new shoes, since I need them to be at a weird angle for my right foot (related to the ankle surgery I had years ago).

[north woods gal]

Three inches wet snow on our elevated deck, overnight, but about 2" down on the warmer ground. Soooo ... fat bike heaven!

Ran several of the fat bikes to test their various tires, but with a thin snow like this, any tire does great. Won't be till things get deeper and ice up that tire selection and tire psi gets more important. Anyway, first snow of the yer and the riding was great. This thin snow barely slowed the fat bikes at all. Could do all the same climbs and turns, same as when the trail is dry, though still have to be wary of getting a bit careless on the turns.

When you come to a fork in the trail ... take it.


My best pal, Star, along for the fun, as always.

[Crankin]

We got to Portland yesterday around 2 and proceeded to commence with the eating and drinking of my birthday weekend. Mashtun for beer and cheese, some walking, and some rest before dinner at a great small plates restaurant.
We did a 21.6 mile ride out to and around Cape Elizabeth and the lighthouses around 11:15. I was dressed mostly right, just seem to be sweating a lot. I changed from my fleece gloves to my light weight long fingered ones at the half way point. I pushed my head cover up over my ears, which helped, but felt cool. It was 50 with bright sun and little wind until we got to the lighthouses. The return was nearer the water, so more wind.
I freaked out on the beginning of the ride, riding through the city. It wasn’t the drivers or traffic, but having to stop at lights, on small hills.
I just suck at this and I am not sure why, as my legs are not weak! Now, it’s in my head. The return did not have any of this and riding over the Casco Bay Bridge both ways was fun. The ride had 1000 ft of climbing, lots of rollers, and it was harder than I had thought.
We got back at 1, changed and then had lunch and 2 mikes of walking.
On to cocktails and dinner.