April Rides

[ny biker]

Someone at work was telling me yesterday about his new mountain bike. He's a runner/crossfitter but is having fun on the bike. His parents live someplace cold and snowy and apparently they use a Snowdogg to make trails for fat biking on their property. Of course this made me thing of you, NWG!

As for me, I can't remember the last time I rode my bike. A month ago maybe? I was patient with the cold March weather but now am just really annoyed. It will be another week before we get a warm up. We have the occasional warm day but they are all days when I have to work or have other obligations (like going out of town for Easter).

Yesterday started warm, then got cold and very windy after it rained. There were ominous dark clouds with the rain, the kind you usually see for summer thunderstorms. I'm actually feeling nostalgic for summer thunderstorms, that's how annoyed I am with the cold! Anyway today is mid 40s, sunny and a bit breezy. It feels like a cold breeze on my face but I was comfortable walking out to my car without a coat. So I am going to layer up and attempt a bike ride tonight.

I am staying at an airbnb this week while my condo gets new floors. It's actually in a neighborhood that is on my traditional post-work hill route. I'd like to start the ride from the airbnb instead of my usual ride start (a community center that's farther west), but it's at the bottom of a big hill. I am in such bad shape right now, I need a flatter start. So it's back to the community center for me. I just hope I have all my gear -- it was so hectic packing stuff up before the floor installation began that I could have easily forgotten something. (Yes I brought my bike to the airbnb -- I had no place else to put it while the work is being done. The mountain bike can go out on the balcony but not the road bike.)

[north woods gal]

Hope you can get out and ride, N.Y. I think we're all feeling the blues with this late spring we're having. I expect late springs, up here, of course, but this winter has been so relentless, not giving an inch. We have more snow on the ground, now, than we had a month, ago, and that was a lot of snow, then.

This is a pic of one of the fat bikes alongside a typical section of my trail, taken this morning, April 5.


Yes, I'm still trying to keep my main trail sections clear, not so much for riding, now, but for the sake of being able to use them, sooner, when we do get some serious melting. Then, of course, we'll have some serious flooding if things melt too fast. In the meantime, I'm riding out on our roads which get plowed on a regular basis. This year was an experiment to see if I could keep riding trails, all winter, by using the snowblower and the shovel. I'm proud of what I've accomplished, but, honestly, I doubt I'll being doing it, again. Not worth it. Spent more time clearing trails than actually riding them. Next winter, I'll just ride out on our local roads and let the road crews have all the fun clearing snow.

[rebeccaC]

Someone brought homemade cookies and, even better, homemade bagels with cream cheese into work today. They are wonderful, and though it's a tough requirement, I will power through each type; I know my numbers will be perfect in the morning.

...

emily...West Coast!!!!!!....more accurately L.A. for awhile and then the northern ca and southern or coasts ftw!!!!!

ny...good to read you're doing the flooring and +1 on nwg ...any ride can be a good ride!!!

[Crankin]

After a day of snow showers and wind, followed by a night of rain, it was 34 this morning . But, the sun came out around noon. DH brought my car to get the snow tires removed, and then we went to the LBS to spend our $40.00 coupon that we have no idea why we got it. Ended up buying 2 pairs of lightly thermal full fingered gloves which were on sale, so we ended up paying 6.00 for both. Scary thing is, DH and I wore the same size! The fingers were just a teeny long on me, but I have discovered I have "man hands," for petite person.My hands don't look big, but my fingers are long for a small person. After that, we went home, ate lunch, and went for a 16 mile hilly ride. It was really windy and we were heading into it for 3/4 of the ride. But, the sun was out and it was 47-49 out. I feel better today, and at least my average was ok for this time of year.
I really want to ride longer tomorrow, and if DH gives me crap, I will let him go home if his back hurts. His first PT appt went well, so there's hope.

[north woods gal]

Nice to have company riding in the snow or, at least, after a snow.

I do hope all go well for the both of you, health-wise. By the way, my hands are also very much like that. I have very long fingers for the size of my palms. Mom said I should have been a piano player.

I did my best NOT to give in to temptation and remove snow from my trails, but I couldn't help-myself. Ran the snow-blower down the main sections, then rode my fat bike with the most aggressive tires. Still dicey riding, because a snow blower leaves a lot of snow, behind, on a rough and uneven trail surface. It's out of it's element on anything but pavement.

I made it, though, at least far enough (almost two miles, fishtailing, now and then) to say I went riding in, and on, some challenging snow cover. Yippee!

Of course, that wasn't enough, so just rode the fat bike, studded tires and all, for five miles out on the neighborhood paved roads. Definitely feeling the spring fever, I guess, even though it never got above freezing, today. Tame compared to the trail riding, but just felt so good to be out and moving, fast. Right, now, the local roads are 80% dry pavement and 20% snow/ice covered. Not enough snow or ice to even slow down the fat bike. Well, okay, slow and fast are in a different category with a fat bike, compared to other bikes. Had a blast and that's what counts.

I really, really can't wait for some warm weather, all the same. Someone, please, send some.

[Crankin]

That sounds like a lot of snow!
I didn't ride today, butI'm OK with that. The pollen count was through the roof. DH and I walked to town and had lunch, and by the time I walked back home, my eyes were totally burning.
So, I walked 4 miles, which is OK for me.
We are going to have a few days of 50s- 60s this week. DH will be in CA until Thurs night, so I will probably commute a couple days and take the longer way home, do the club ride on Wed., and then ride Friday afternoon, when it will be close to 70.

[north woods gal]

Rumor has it that we may get a few days in the 50s, not this week, but next week. The rest of this week is our usual 30s stuff. That's okay, as long as we don't get hit with another snowstorm. Have been doing daily rides out on the roads with my hubby joining me for part of the rides. Yeah, it's cold, but it's doable. Looks like mostly road riding for awhile.

Or not. After a long hard day of shoveling, my snow trails are back to being in shape to ride, so I rode them like crazy, today. I am such a trail riding addict. Can't help, myself. Did 7 miles of road work, though, just to round things, out.

Saw an otter running though the woods, down by the lake, the other day, sliding though the snow in places. Cool.

Heard and saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans flying overhead. They think it's spring anyway, even if it doesn't look like spring.

No signs of bears, yet and this is the time for them to be coming out of their winter sleep. We are having a very late spring, though. Not much for them to eat with all this heavy snow cover. That could be a problem if they hang around houses, more, to find something to eat.

[rebeccaC]

thanks all. I do indeed feel blessed to live where i do. Emily...happy belated birthday wishes!!!!!....and there are some really nice RV parks in that area too for your west coast trip
...and Sheila/nwg...you were both on my mind on parts of the ride so you were both kinda there too and...we do have a spacious guest en suite bedroom!!!!!

[rebeccaC]

Whoa…three posts in a row about improving weather…….glad to hear it.

NY…..maybe I missed it but how did the floors come out?

Emily….30A looks like our 26 mile beach path…ours may be less crowded because of its more isolated location right on the beach for the majority of its length but it can also be too busy going through parts of venice and santa monica during the day, especially weekends and summer times. A couple of miles on quiet side streets and alleys can get you through both areas, quicker and easier than riding the path, and then back to a much less crowded path for the final 8 miles north. Here is the part of the bike path that goes by the back of our building and then for 16 miles going south on the least populated part of the path. Most of the path has a separate walking path which does help some.



I run 26/1.5's on my urban bianchi commuter and luv them for city riding and not so well paved roads/alleys.
....just commutes for me….a nice rain this morning made it interesting

[Crankin]

It's sunny!
I just saw a FB post from Prospect Mountain, in southern Vt, the last place I went Nordic skiing. They are *still* completely open and had 4 inches of snow yesterday. The place is at elevation, 2,200 ft, but it's only 8 miles from Bennington, VT. To say that this is most unusual for a nordic ski center to be open on April 20 would be putting it mildly!
Boot camp was really hard today; she tried a new format, so I think I am going to skip riding to my lunch. Of course, if it's really nice when it's time to go, one never knows.

[north woods gal]

Love the post, Emily, about riding from town to town with all that shopping and things to see along the way. It's one thing we do NOT have in our rural area and one of the things I do miss from my years of bicycling and commuting in more urban areas. I'll always be a country girl at heart, but having bike paths and places to stop and shop made city life bearable for me. I miss it, sometimes. Thanks for the post.

[emily_in_nc]

Love the post, Emily, about riding from town to town with all that shopping and things to see along the way. It's one thing we do NOT have in our rural area and one of the things I do miss from my years of bicycling and commuting in more urban areas. I'll always be a country girl at heart, but having bike paths and places to stop and shop made city life bearable for me. I miss it, sometimes. Thanks for the post.

You're so welcome! I do enjoy this kind of a setting, but it's not the most ideal for real fitness, since there is more stop/start, slow riding, and of course those stops off for yummy things to eat! But, this is a vacation for us, only a week (minus one day since I have to get back for an orthodontist appointment), so it's not an everyday thing. We'll be back to our longer rides in Winter Garden soon enough!

The path does sound similar to yours, Rebecca (nice pic, btw), and here too, there are ways to bypass the busiest stretches in a couple places; we've discovered one already. We were able to detour off the path and ride through uncrowded neighborhood roads most of the way to a Publix 3 miles away, which was great.

Today has been super busy here as lots of long weekenders have arrived, or just people playing hooky from work for a day, since it's so beautiful out. We haven't ridden yet but are going to take a short ride (an hour or so) in a few minutes -- I'm waiting for DH to get ready. We did do an 8.5 mile beach walk this morning, with a couple of detours off the beach for a healthy lunch AND a donut, so we have gotten some exercise in, but we're missing the bikes too much to stay off them altogether, so a short ride just to enjoy the breeze and the sunshine is in order before wine-thirty and then dinner!

Here's our campsite:

I sure will miss this spot!

[Crankin]

We went out to ride with our friends, into Historic Deerfield, about 12 miles from their house in Western MA. Clear and sunny and it got up to 57. But, a vicious headwind, for the first half of the ride, I could barely get my speed above 11 at a few points. It was about 20 mph, wih sustained gusts. That, plus my hamstrings screaming from yesterday’s boot camp, was demoralizing. Went through a few places I haven’t seen and we did have tailwind for about 8 miles near the end. A 22 mile ride turned into 27.5. It was tough.
Afterwards, we went to the spring wine release event at the winery down the street from our friends house. It’s 8.15 and I am ready for bed.

[rebeccaC]

good to hear paisley is better!!!!

It’s been a while since I’ve ridden my fixie, so this week I’ve commuted everyday with it. The different technique and thinking came back quickly and i even pulled off an awesome backwards dismount off the saddle and the back of bike into holding the saddle and walking ……anyway it’s fun to switch it up now and then…and this getting later light ftw!!!!!

Rode the bike path south and back for 15 miles total to let the ocean clear my mind and do some good intervals…..

[Crankin]

I decided to keep the riding light today, as we are leading tomorrow. So, since I woke up at 4:30, I rode to my boot camp class at the gym and back home, a Total of 2.6 miles. The sky is now getting light in the east at 5:15, so beautiful.
I was going to ride to work, but, I decided to rest my legs. After work/lunch, going over to my son's to babysit, so he can go to "parents' night" at the Montessori School where my granddaughter is doing a Saturday class for toddlers. I feel old just saying my son is going to parents' night.