November Rides

[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.

[emily_in_nc]

Happy birthday, Crankin! :-)

I know how you feel about stopping on hills at lights -- I have the same worries. Although I rarely have to do this lately, whenever I do, I feel like such a cycling novice, which I'm not even close to, and neither are you, of course. I think it's more about the novelty of that particular situation and not wanting to make a fool of myself in front of others!

Enjoy the eating and drinking and riding and everything else for your special day.

[north woods gal]

Yes, Happy BD,Crankin. Have a good rest after that ride. I know the feeling about starting on a hill. It's really bad on our steep trail sections with the MTBs/fat bikes and adding snow or ice makes it almost impossible in the winter. Usually you can't stand on the pedals to start with snow because that takes much needed weight and therefore traction. Rear tire just spins until you sit down. I'm very careful where I stop in the winter. Can even be tricky on the flats with snow on the trail. Snow changes a lot of things.

Speaking of snow (again, sorry), my snow is already melting. Wah! Back to riding dirt. Oh, well, it's only the beginning of our snow season and I actually managed to do my year's best of just over 20 miles of trail riding, today, what with playing with all the bikes, all day long and having so much fun in the new snow. Extra workout with pedaling though the snow, too. All my summer riding paid off.

[north woods gal]

Our early snow is gone, already, thanks to temps never getting down to freezing, overnight and some rain. Not talking about a heat wave, here. Temps still holding in the 30s and no sunshine, either.

Took advantage of the snow-free trails to ride the Surly Krampus 29er+ while I can. Almost collided with a big 6 point buck deer. Whew! We usually only see bucks during the rut and the rut is in full progress. See does, every day, but rarely bucks. Beautiful animal.

[Crankin]

No riding today. We skipped the crappy hotel breakfast and went to a lovely French café for brunch. Nice and simple, real French omelet. It was cloudy and slightly warmer this morning, after a very chilly evening, when we walked back from my birthday dinner. That was spectacular, in a restaurant that is in a rennovateed church. Portland has more cool restaurants every time I go there and the people are friendly. We drove home after brunch, so we could relax and read the paper, shop and do laundry at a leisurely pace. I have been having a usual sinus/aches, GI thing on and off for a couple of weeks. I got through the weekend, though and now I feel better. Now DH is saying he is feeling off, too.
Our weather roller coaster continues. Tomorrow is going to be 70, rain, and then increasingly descending temperatures. Next Saturday is our rescheduled 42 mile ride on the south coast of MA/RI. The predicted high is 38-40 . Now, I have the proper gear for these temps, but I wonder if any of the participants do. We have 6-7 people signed up. My friend, Lamar is doing the registration for this ride, so it's up to him to call it. We already cancelled due to rain in October, so I am sure he will want to ride. DH and I are fine with it, but I am not going to drive 75 miles if only 3 people show up!

[ny biker]

Be careful NWG! And happy birthday to Crankin. I've modified my weekly night ride several times to eliminate stop signs on hills, especially at intersections with main roads. There are enough things to pay attention to in those situations in order to remain safe, without having to worry about clipping in and out.

Speaking of clipping in and out, I bought new shoes today. They're a different brand (Shimano) which I'm told tends to have a wider toe box than the Bontragers that I'm replacing. But I think I also got them a size larger than the old ones. They might actually be men's shoes; I need to look at the box. They are "last year's style" so I got them at half price. I'm not thrilled with the color -- black -- because my super pale legs look ridiculous in shorts and dark shoes, and black will be hotter in the summer. But then again they won't look filthy like the old white shoes, so pros and cons. Anyway. Now I need to make a fit appointment to get the new cleats put on them, and to discuss the knee pain I've been having in case the old worn cleats were not causing it.

[north woods gal]

Will do, NY. I take collisions with animals while MTBing, seriously, given that I have had close calls with deer on some of my fast downhill runs and given that fact that bikers and other outdoor folks have been killed when colliding with wildlife. Recently, a guy in an ATV up here collided with a black bear on a back trail and died when he was thrown from the vehicle.

I do keep praying that you'll solve the pain thing. You're on the right track, though, with experimenting and testing different things. Always amazes me how even a tiny adjustment in all the fitting parameters can make such a big difference when we ride as to efficiency and comfort. Seems like I am forever adjusting something on my bikes as I ride the trails. For sure, just a change in shoes makes a difference in bike fit. The more I ride, the more picky I get about the right adjustments.