October rides: put a little color into it.

[Crankin]

Sigh, another ride thwarted, mainly by weather. At 7:30 we got an email from the leader giving the encouraging forecast, 61 at 10 am, with .1% chance of rain. It had rained all night, the roads were wet and it was 51 degrees at that time. I got ready, put air in my tires and loaded my bike in my car. The start was about 8-9 miles away. When I went outside at 8:15, I felt freezing. I had my knickers on, a LS regular jersey, and my vest. Wool socks. Came back in and put on a sleeveless base layer, as I am sick of feeling overheated on rides! Since we needed money to pay for the lunch ahead of time, I had to leave early. So, at 9, I went to my bank branch ATM, that is maybe 5 miles from my house. On the way over, I noticed my windshield getting wet, thinking it was road spray. Had to put my wipers on. Got out of my car and said "Oh sh!t." It was raining. Lightly, but raining, and 53 degrees. I got my $, hung out for about 5 minutes, and said that's it. I went home.
I think I made the right choice for me. It clearly was raining more west of my house, but it continued drizzling until about 11 am even here, and the ride started at 10. If I had had my rain jacket, I would have gone, but it felt raw and cold, and that, mixed with wet, is a recipe for hypothermia. Also did not have a head cover. Truthfully, I had a ton of work to do and felt relieved. I did my work, ate lunch, and went out for a very short 35 minute ride at 12:45. My legs felt dead from yesterday's spin, and my average was a good deal lower than my last rides. It was hilly, so despite being short, I felt like I worked hard. I went out and went food shopping afterwards, did a bunch of other chores, as we have a really busy weekend. I don't have work Monday (Columbus Day). Granddaughter coming Friday, sleeping over, and as soon as she get s picked up at 9 am, we head to our friends in western MA for 2 days of riding and maybe a hike. Monday, we are celebrating my son's 36th birthday, at dinner, so I have to make him a cake, but I will probably be able to do a longer ride in the morning. Weather is going to be summer-fall-summer for the next few days. I would prefer to keep the fall!

[north woods gal]

Drizzle or even light rain I can take - if i dress for it and if I'm in the mood. Of course, I have the luxury of staying close to home and doing all the biking I want, so I can deal with rain a bit easier than most. Today was a good example. Woke up to a light rain, mist and fog, but it stopped mid-morning, so hubby and I did our neighborhood ride, then I did a full 5 miles of laps on our wet trails, then followed that up with a couple hours of hard work on the trails, clearing roots and rocks off the trails that might be a safety issue when riding the standard tire MTBs. Grueling work, but I get a smoother and safer trail doing it.

With our wet trails the last couple days, I've been riding the Krampus with its "low fat" (3") tires. Have rekindled an appreciation for this bike, now that I've put those wider tires to good use on our wet trails (now covered with wet leaves in places). The Krampus is no race bike, but it is solid, stable and, especially, safe when conditions aren't the best. I did get the gearing right on this one, too, for my trails. It can be a little tricky matching the gear combo on a single speed to where you plan to ride the bike. All in all, the Krampus is a very useful single speed in my growing collection of single sped bikes.

Nasty storms with heavy rain and a lot of lightning moved in, this afternoon, just as I finished with the trail work. More to come, tonight and tomorrow, so the Krampus will probably be put to work, again. Could ride one of the regular fat bikes, too, but I'm kind of hooked on riding single speed.

[ny biker]

It's been summerlike all week and I love it.

I rode last night after work, about 18 miles. My speed was very slow and I'm not sure why. I was in a bad mood all day and had to stop several times because the chain was making a weird noise. I couldn't figure out why. I have had problems ever since the bike shop guy replaced it a few months ago. Anyway it seemed to shift okay last night, it just didn't sound right. There was more traffic than usual which did not help my mood, and one driver in particular was a total jerk, honking and passing close while I was making a left turn. Overall not the best ride.

I'm planning to lead a ride on Sunday. It's supposed to be sunny and in the 80s. No complaints from me!

[Crankin]

So beautiful out this morning, when I went to the gym. 57 degrees and dry/clear. Two days of this, and then some of the same (but cooler) warmth that NY is getting on Sunday.
So, last week I signed up to join a meet up group called Metrowest Active Retirees (or not). I am trying to branch out, in preparation for retirement, still a couple of years off. But, I haven't had a great track record of going on group rides with my Wednesday group this season (4, maybe) and I've only led 2 rides for AMC and gone on one other local one, and 3 AMC rides out in western MA, which of course, are led by my friends. Signed up for a ride on 10/17, in a very hilly ride west of here, only 19 miles. First, I was put on a wait list; I questioned the restriction on size, stating I was not familiar with Meet Up ways... one of the participants gave me her spot, saying she "had to practice going up inclines." She seemed to be a younger person, as the group is basically open to anyone who can do stuff during the week. We shall see. The stated average is right in my ballpark, but a few years ago, we had AMC leaders cross posting our big event rides on Meet Up, leading to people attending who just didn't have the skills or proper bikes for riding in a hilly area. I had a woman fall over and bleed profusely before my ride even started! We ended that practice. Anyway, I would rather be slowed down than dropped, and hopefully, I will find new people to play with.

[north woods gal]

If what we get, up here, is a taste of what you folks to the east and south will be getting, you better enjoy that nice weather while you can.

Had some really nasty storms, the night before last, but yesterday, the sun came out after a very cold night in the 30s and dried things up a bit. We had errands in town, so we didn't get around to doing our usual neighborhood ride till late afternoon. That's probably a good thing, though, since things had dried out a bit. I then grabbed the Log Lady and did a full 5 miles of laps on my trails. The leaves were dry enough, so no traction issues at all, and, of course, the Log Lady is a race bike and a really, really fun to ride trail bike. Maybe too fun, though, in that it might tempt me to ride it when trail conditions call for a fat or a plus bike to be safe.

More rain, last night and, again, very cold temps, though just warm enough to avoid having it turn to snow. Rain and cold, today, too, so it may turn out to be one of those indoor riding days for me. I hope not. Yuk!

Our trees are at about max color, now. Lots of leaves falling, too. Big job ahead clearing my trails.

[ny biker]

It's been summerlike all week and I love it.

I rode last night after work, about 18 miles. My speed was very slow and I'm not sure why. I was in a bad mood all day and had to stop several times because the chain was making a weird noise. I couldn't figure out why. I have had problems ever since the bike shop guy replaced it a few months ago. Anyway it seemed to shift okay last night, it just didn't sound right. There was more traffic than usual which did not help my mood, and one driver in particular was a total jerk, honking and passing close while I was making a left turn. Overall not the best ride.

I'm planning to lead a ride on Sunday. It's supposed to be sunny and in the 80s. No complaints from me!

I just cleaned the chain, and I think I know the cause of the weird noise. There are rough edges on numerous links, no doubt as a result of being jammed between the cassette and the spokes last Sunday. Most of the nicked up parts are on the outer edge, but some are on the other side which comes in contact with the cogs. So it looks like a(nother) new chain is in my future, even though this one is only a few months old. I was planning to go to the bike shop tomorrow anyway, to get a closer look at the Checkpoint gravel bike.

I have ordered the hybrid from the rewards company, and have been contacted by their supplier (a bike shop in Connecticut) about frame size. I told them I was planning to trade the bike in toward a different one, and they offered to handle the trade up for me. I appreciate the offer, but want to do it through my LBS for several reasons. I also sent an email to my bike club offering the hybrid for sale. I don't want to deal with Craig's list and don't think I'd have success trying to sell there based on the prices of bikes currently listed there. If no one from the bike club wants it I will do the trade-in at the LBS.

[north woods gal]

Good luck on your bike swap/trade, N.Y. and let us know how it works out. I get it about wanting to handle things through your local shop with folks you know and trust.

We are in one of our yucky weather patterns and probably will be for another week. Yup, cloudy, dark, cold with a little rain or drizzle, here and there. Anything but great riding weather, but, as usual, we ride, anyway. Did our usual neighborhood ride, yesterday, in drizzle and light rain. (Our neighbors must think we're nuts and they may be right. ) I finished with a good long hour workout on our wet and, slippery with leaves, trails. All riding was with my aluminum Norco fat bike for the sake of safety and also to avoid getting my steel bikes soaked.

Out on the road with the fat bike, I could just barely keep up with my hubby on his fat bike. Looks like I need to do more fat bike riding out on the roads, since I plan to get though our winter and all the snow by riding the fat bikes mostly on the roads. I'm really bummed out about this upcoming winter, though, now that I've developed an addiction to my much faster and lighter single speeds. Not sure how I will handle it all. Quite a change for me, because I'm usually optimistic or at least neutral about winter. For the first time in years, I'm wishing I lived in a place where I could ride regular bikes in the winter. This is depressing.

There's such an amazing difference with the faster and lighter bikes, though, and that's the problem. I can ride the Gunnar or the Log lady on our neighborhood rides and make my hubby look slow on his fat bike. I end up waiting for him at the top of every hill. About the only thing the Gunnar and the LL have in common with the fat bikes is that they both have wheels.

[ny biker]

Fat bikes might not be your preference, but put them next to the indoor trainer and they might look pretty good. Maybe once the weather really goes downhill the fat bikes will feel more fun to ride.

[north woods gal]

You're right, of course. Ride the fat bike outdoors, even in the snow, or ride the trainer indoors? The fat bike wins every time.

Another dreary day, weather wise, but the woods are so beautiful in all their color. Just a treat to be outdoors, no matter what the weather. Did 13 miles of pavement on the Gunnar, then finished up with another 4 on the trails, doing laps with the Log Lady. Found a couple of problem spots on the trail, so did do some repair work, afterwards.