April Rides

[Crankin]

I *need* those t shirts. What brand are they?
Ha, my average was lower, but I have deduced I just am tired. DH is away and I stayed up reading way too late last night. I hate it that I need so much more rest now.
I keep DH honest with how often we ride, but he keeps me honest with the speed. Today was an example; I rarely ride more than 15 miles alone anymore, mostly only early AM rides, so it was an accomplishment to me.
We have a busy weekend coming up and no totally free weekends until May 12. All good stuff, though. Let's just pray to the weather gods.

[north woods gal]

... Let's just pray to the weather gods.

Sounds good to me. Add mine to the total.

As for those seats, Crankin, not to worry. I have so many layers of leggings/long underwear/bike shorts when I ride in the winter that I have plenty of padding.

Can you believe it? Temp hit 50 degrees, today. I swear, I could actually see the snow melting. Okay, maybe not, but a lot of my trails are now mud where they were ice and snow, yesterday. rain, tonight, so maybe more melting. Then it's snow and more snow for the weekend. Oh, well.

Worked on my 2008 year Trek 8000 26" MTB, this morning. Got it tuned up and took it out for a spin on the pavement. Almost forgot what a completely different animal those skinny 26x2" tire MTBs are than the fat bikes. Lots of fun to be able to accelerate so rapidly and turn on a dime. Really enjoyed the ride. I've come close to selling this bike, several times, but I am so glad I didn't. It has lots of sentimental value for me, not to mention I did a lot of upgrades on it. I really do think it's a shame so many brands are no longer carrying 26" wheel MTBs.

Trek 8000 with Norco fat bike for comparison.

[emily_in_nc]

I *need* those t shirts. What brand are they?

Next Level Apparel. I bet you can find them online, The pink one was half price because only Smalls were left. They do run quite small, though. I had to get a Medium in the purple one with the round neck, to fit my shoulders. I normally wear an XS or 2P in most tops, so just be advised. I was able to get by with a Small in the pink one as the v-neck widened the shoulders a bit.

[Crankin]

Thanks!

[rebeccaC]

some spring riding for all still having bad weather...

Alex was traveling for a conference so I decided to do some solo rides on Santa Ynez valley roads and Figueroa mountain road last weekend. It’s just a 90+ min drive to Los Olivos and a wonderful small hotel which has a great spa too. Spent last Sat. riding Figueroa which still has some winter road damage and that made for only two cars on the ride. There were a number of other riders though which led to some good interactions…met an interesting woman who lives in the area. She liked my homemade energy bars and we had a good talk where we stopped at the top. I was stopping for photography so we said goodbye on the descent. It was slower climbs and especially descents because of road conditions but the views were worth it, especially in contemplative meditation value.










she’s ‘cloud hidden whereabouts unknown’….



and one of the most beautiful descents I’ve done




Then on Sunday Foxen Canyon road for a relaxing ride on the valley floor through farm country. The area is becoming more popular with cyclists because of the beauty and the variation of the kinds of rides you can do on less traveled roads.

[emily_in_nc]

Wow, what gorgeous terrain, but so mountainous -- I would die. Love the valley rides, though. How lovely to see empty roads from down here in crowded central Florida. Thanks for posting these beautiful images, Rebecca!

[north woods gal]

Makes me want to pack up and come out there for a ride, Rebecca. You are truly fortunate to live in such a beautiful area and, as always, your photography is stunning. That-you, so much. I will carry those images with me for the next few days. Really helps.

Emily, come on up for a visit, this summer, if you want to avoid crowds. Hundreds of miles of paved roads though beautiful north woods with very little traffic. Mostly rolling hills, but nothing extreme. Our hottest days are in the 80s. You'll more likely see deer than another bicyclist, maybe even a bear.

As for us, one more day of riding, today, but then the big storm, now called Winter Storm Xanto, hits, though no certainty, at this point, how much snow we'll get, though it could be over a foot.