June rides, summer begins

[north woods gal]

Thanks for the reminder. Yes, Happy Solstice, everyone!

Sheila, I got the medium on the new Pugs. The new Pugs is a bit longer and taller than the original Pugs. A medium on the new Pugs is right between a medium and a large on the old Pugs. A large in the new Pugs is definitely larger than the large in the old Pugs.

My original Pugs is a large. Wouldn't have ordered it in that size, but I bought it used from a guy who had just gotten the bike and discovered he needed a medium. Got a great price on it and it was practically brand new. Couldn't pass it up. Anyway, I made the large work on the original Pugs by going to a shorter stem to get the correct reach, but my seat post is down about as far as it can go and the standover height is just doable on this original large Pugs. A large in the new Pugs would have been too large, in other words.

Fat bikes do make fabulous utility bikes, by the way. The ride is so stable and comfy, too. No such thing as a road you can't ride on a fattie. My husband discovered this, yesterday. His Specialized fat bike (which he rides every single day) started having issues with mis-shifts. Since I can't do any bending over to work on a bike, right now, we just loaded it up and took it into the bike shop for a complete tune. it needed it, anyway. That left him with his old 26" MTB with its skinny 2.2" tires to ride. He came back after half his usual ride and was not happy with it. Said it felt too twitchy and finicky about steering and not at all stable to ride. I'm going to set him up on my old Pugs to ride, today.

[Crankin]

I finally got to the Friday ride I sometimes help lead, meaning, I sweep. I really don't like to ride, other than utility riding, on a day I go to the gym and do boot camp, but it is so gorgeous out, I decided to just go. It was 72 when I got to the ride start, dry and clear blue skies. Of course, only, Jack, the other leader showed, and I knew this would work in my favor. Jack is a fast and strong rider, but is perfectly happy to ride at different speeds. So, off we went. I knew my legs were kind of dead, so as we approached a very hard and steep climb, I told him "no." We altered the route, so it was 25 miles, instead of 30, but there was enough climbing for me, even with this. We actually came back on the same road we went out on, and it is flat, with a bit of a false flat, near the last couple of miles, and we really pushed it, so my average was not that bad.
I am glad I went, but I am really tired. Somehow, I managed to get all my shopping done this afternoon, and am now awaiting the arrival of my granddaughter for the weekend. The weather is going to be kind of crappy, so I hope we get our hike in.

[ny biker]

Catching up... my parents were in town for a visit earlier this month, which meant I missed a ride that I had done every year since 2004 -- the Patuxent River Rural Legacy ride, which is a metric in southern Maryland with rest stops along the river. But I have gotten in a couple of good night rides after work in the past couple of weeks. There was a chance of rain for both of them, so I was prepared to take short cuts if needed. But I got lucky and was able to get in 20 miles last week and 19 miles last night.

Last weekend I did a bit of exploring. I joined a ride with a different club than the one I usually ride with, for a 30-mile ride around the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. I've ridden around that general area before but this particular route was new to me. I had really wanted to do a longer ride, especially since the ride start is quite far from my house, so I went up early and did a quick 13-mile loop on my own before the club ride began. Of course I was running late so I had to motor on my pre-ride to make sure I finished in time. It was the first time in a while that I really pushed myself on the bike. The weather was great, sunny and in the 80s but with reasonable humidity and no wind. Afterwards I drove around exploring some other roads that I will try to incorporate on future rides.

This weekend if the forecast holds I will ride on Sunday.

[Crankin]

We bought a Burley trailer for our granddaughter! We won't have it for a few days, but I think DH finally saw the light, in that if she is going to be here for the whole weekend, we want to be able to share some riding with her.
Taking her to the LBS today, for a cool helmet. Now, she just has to grow, so she can use the balance bike we have waiting. She tried to get on it last time, but, it's going to be a few months, or a year, she is so little.

[north woods gal]

Thank you all for posting about your rides. It does help. Gives me hope. Each passing day, now, brings me closer to the day when I can ride, again.

Yesterday, I set up the new Pugsley with all the add on stuff I wanted, namely, saddle, pedals, grips and then did all the fit adjustment stuff. It's ready to ride, even though I am not. I really, really wanted to take it for a short test ride up and down the driveway, but my husband let me know, in no uncertain terms, that just wasn't going to happen. Just sitting on then bike in the house, though, I can tell it will be a very comfy ride, as all Pugsleys are.

I am scheduled for a follow up X ray on July 12th. That will tell how the healing is going and if it's a good report, I may get cleared for some limited riding. If so, it will be all fat bikes for awhile, both for safety and comfort. I am 99% certain the accident wouldn't have happened if I had been riding one of my fat bikes.

[ny biker]

Thank you all for posting about your rides. It does help. Gives me hope. Each passing day, now, brings me closer to the day when I can ride, again.

Yesterday, I set up the new Pugsley with all the add on stuff I wanted, namely, saddle, pedals, grips and then did all the fit adjustment stuff. It's ready to ride, even though I am not. I really, really wanted to take it for a short test ride up and down the driveway, but my husband let me know, in no uncertain terms, that just wasn't going to happen. Just sitting on then bike in the house, though, I can tell it will be a very comfy ride, as all Pugsleys are.

I am scheduled for a follow up X ray on July 12th. That will tell how the healing is going and if it's a good report, I may get cleared for some limited riding. If so, it will be all fat bikes for awhile, both for safety and comfort. I am 99% certain the accident wouldn't have happened if I had been riding one of my fat bikes.

Listen to your husband. And your doctor. Doing too much too soon, or doing rehab wrong, can lead to more injuries.

[rebeccaC]

Listen to your husband. And your doctor. Doing too much too soon, or doing rehab wrong, can lead to more injuries.

+1 cuz I wish your riding to be in a healed and healthy body. Patience is a virtue!!!

Since Alex has been in her second trimester she’s doing more riding than in her first. I so appreciate even being able to do just safe bike path rides with her. We are doing a casual ride this afternoon going south on the beach path….and to get her some salted, malted fudge swirled cookie dough ice cream at Salt & Straw…her main craving at the moment.