June 17 Ride Reports

[bikerz]

I guess I'll start this one out...

Just got back from a 15 mile hilly ride with Winddance - we did a slightly abbreviated version of the Pinehurst loop (for you Bay Area folks). Lots of cyclists out, it was pretty darn hot even as early as we started, but a beautiful day - views were very nice! No foxes or wild turkeys in the road this time. This was Lisa's first time on this route and she did great - I'll let her chime in.

I passed a guy like he was standing still (actually he was standing still, but I'll take what I can get ). I said something like that to him as I passed - I thought it was pretty funny (but maybe it was the heat and lack of oxygen on my part!), but then I felt dumb when he didn't respond . But then he passed me and then stopped and I passed him again, and I realized he kept stopping to fuss with his Ipod, and that's probably why he didn't respond.

[Duck on Wheels]

I did 35 miles in the Janesville Pie Ride. Good grief was it hot out there! And I am thoroughly disillusioned as to the flatness of the prairies, but not as to their windiness. Also, I'm feeling a bit dizzy right now. Could be because my hydration pack sprung a leak so I had to rely on my bottles. I went through 2 liters of water and half a pack of sport beans, but in this heat that may not have been enough. So now for more water, and ... a piece of cherry pie with a scoop of Babcock ice cream on top

p.s. 1) I got a late start, but caught up with a few family folks. On the way in I rode alongside one family group: Son (I'd guess somewhere between 10 and 12) charged ahead (after asking permission) once they got to the bike path, but followed all traffic rules while we were on the road. Daughter 1 (my guess about 8) was on her very first 35-miler on her own bike! She finished in good form, much better than I. Daughter 2 (maybe 6?) rode in front of Dad on a front-mounted recumbent tandem attachment -- I've never seen anything quite like it before. Mom on her own bike, possibly for the first time (since daughter 1 was now on _her_ own bike and didn't need somebody else as "main motor"). I was very impressed with the whole setup and with how Mom and Dad were coaching the kids on traffic rules as we encountered different situations.

p.s. 2) I was less impressed with another family group that took off around the same time as I and had about the same speed. The kids were great -- calling out when they passed and passing along "car back"s etc. But why ever would Dad go out on a family ride with only a baseball cap on his noggin and ear buds (mp3) in his ears? Such a bad example!!!

p.s. 3) Over the dizziness now; the pie, ice cream, and water have helped. Also over the foot numbness (I think my feet swoll up in the heat, since the numbness was both entire feet at once, not starting right at the clips) and back pain (note to self: do not slack off on that core work!). But could the blotchy red patches on my legs be heat rash, or am I having an allergic reaction to something? Probably heat rash; they start right at the cuff of my shorts and none on my tummy where my allergy rashes have always started).

p.s. 4) Though hilly, windy, and hot, the prairie was very pretty. Pretty enough to distract me, most of the way, from the discomfort of the hills, wind, and heat.

[Nanci]

I rode 30 miles with one other girl. I guess the rest of our usual group took the day off. Maybe Fathers Day has something to do with that. So we got to go faster than usual, which was nice.

We saw a cool flock of turkeys, with a couple hens and a ton of babies. 10 or 12? They all ran down the road, and scattered in the fields, and then took flight. I was surprised the babied would fly- they were so small- like chicken-sized.

I took my new shorts, the Sugoi RS Flex shorts, as personally recommended by TE Susan. I love them. They are perfect. They are even better than Trashy Cat. They are _long_ which is good if you have short fat legs. The fabric is thin and cool, but not fragile. The chamois (you can see a picture of it on the TE site) is perfect. Just the right amounts of padding in just the right places, and not the size of a dinner plate. And it didn't scrunch up or move ever. Interesting 10 panel construction, with cool kind of gray seams, with a perfect fit. No diaper butt. Nice leg grippers- that smooth clear elastic kind.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/products.asp?pID=17585

Hopefully Sugoi will stop with a perfect design and keep them the way they are for many years to come. But I bet not...

[makbike]

It's a beautiful day here in Kentucky and it appears summer has arrived for it is hot and humid (I love it). It was very windy today so I cut my ride short. I went out in search of a possible 25 mile route for a club ride I will be hosting next month and I think I found it (I did not like the one I rode yesterday). This one is mainly back rural roads with very little traffic and some beautiful scenery to take in as one makes their way from point A to point B. No ride tomorrow for I'm heading to Evansville, IN to spend the day with my little brother and my parents.

[SouthernBelle]

HI all,

My first ride report. Rode from Lebanon to Watertown, TN, going the direct route there, with the wind in my face, country roads back, with lots of big hills . 34 miles. Tried out my new camelbak. Good. Stopped at a little restaurant for ice and a blueberry scone. Very good.

[greenmachine]

It was a hilly 30 miles today. We started off at 8am to try and beat the heat. We headed over the hill (Palos Verdes) and dropped down the other side to some spectacular coastal views. We rode along the rolling hills of the coast line for about 10 miles, and we saw a peloton of about 50 riders. They were quiet except for the spinning freewheels! Music to my ears!

Some more climbing up around the back side of the hill and a stop at the local Starbucks for an iced Mocha (gotta get that chocolate ) and then the last 4 miles home.

It was a great ride! Since I'm also training for the Cool Breeze Century, I'm trying to get in one hilly ride per week. If anyone of you So Cal TE Gals want to join us on a Saturday, PM me for more info. I know it's a drive for most of you though, but you are all welcome!

Cheers,
Judy

[pooks]

My first ride report!

Remember, I only started riding last Sunday ...

I've simply stuck to the neighborhood loop I used to walk when I was still (hated it) walking for fitness.

I know it's a 2 mile loop so it was easy to keep up with my mileage, but it was kind of tough in spots for my newbie thighs since it had a couple of climbs that made me burn. Riding it this week, I have had to stop at least once and sometimes twice for water. Even though I'm a native, I've never handled Texas heat and mugginess, and I'm not a good enough rider yet to grab the bottle while I'm riding!

So one night this week my husband led the way, forged a new trail that was much flatter, and it ended up being 2.1 miles. (I drove it afterward to check!)

And today, because I didn't have to deal with the "hills*" -- I doubled the ride. 4.2 miles -- my longest to date. I only stopped once for a quick sip of water.

If I hadn't been so hot I could have probably gone one more loop.

Slowly but surely... I progress!

[Fredwina]

Had a really nice club ride. We rode out to the Campus of Cal Poly Pomona. We were just going to see the Arabian horses, but one of the members of the club is a Professor there, so he took us to see his experimental(Fertilizer) strawberry patch. We git to sample the fruits of his labors, so to speak. Very yummy! We did more more of CPP's farms, before heading back to "Rancho" for lunch at Mexican place. about 53 miles. I may do another ,as a LBS is having a Rider appreciation day. They have a short ride, followed Pizza and a Movie, shown as a bike drive in . They have a large cinder block wall on the back of the shop, and they are going to wait til dusk. I'll probably head for the movie anyway, but riding is going to depend on the temp(it 90F already).

[winddance]

I had a great ride this morning. I rode with bikerz, as she mentioned. This morning started off with a bit of a rocky start, as a big, nasty spider had moved into my car. That was a bit of a surprise. I drove around trying to find a gas station with a vacuum cleaner to no avail. Fortunately, Ann's Wildlife Removal Service came to my rescue after the ride, and the spider now has a new home.

There was a lot of climbing today, but some very peaceful descents. Descending is where I really lack confidence, so I was really focusing on downhill technique and not crashing. It was pretty toasty out already, and I really appreciated the shady descents. Nice and cool!

There were lots of cyclists out on this route, and I got into a few, panting conversations. I even learned how to order pizza in Japanese! Now that's a successful ride.

[RoadRaven]

....

I am thrilled with my ride of the 17th...

It was a club race and a new woman has joined my grade and she has beaten me every race - and my goal has become "to get her".

Add this to the fact that last Saturday was the day club-mate Vince crashed and subsequently died during surgery on Wednesday, and I wanted to win for him...

So off we go, a 21km circuitt race, 3 x round... three of us break away half-way through the first lap and work well together in a pace-line. My "riding nemesis" (in real life we actually work together and on very good terms) and I drop the third woman near the end of the second lap... and so just the two of us work together for the last lap... and in my first ever sprint finish, I manage to pull away and have more left in my legs than her and I win...!!!

(an average of over 31km/hour which is good for me when there are false flats and a little pinch of a climb)

A win for Vince... a goal achieved for me... yahoo!!!

And then I watch my my two sons come in... one in A grade (the top/fastest grade) and one in C (I ride in F at the moment - the beginners grade). Both my sons win their grades. Just thrilling - we have taken a hat-trick for Vincent. He would have been thrilled. He rode with both boys when they started in F, and had watched their progress through the club...

What a great day.

[tomgrrrl]

I had a nice ride this a.m. Since I was concerned about the heat (it was very hot in the Bay Area yesterday) I didn't want to do the Bears so I decided to go over to Marin. I parked near the Mill Valley Community Center, warmed up riding the bike path to Sausilito (along with tons of other cyclists), then doubled back to do the Paradise Loop through Tiburon. I was thinking I may run into the Lunachix group, but didn't....anyway, it was gorgeous and a nice breeze kept things cool. I stopped in Tiburon for a coffee and scone, then continued back to Mill Valley....I wanted a few more miles so rode the bike path again to Sausilito and back for a total of around 28......

[Dogmama]

Pooks - yahoo! You'll be talking to us about training for a century before you know it.

Nanci - thanks for the comment on the shorts. Like your new avatar too!

My report - Started at 5:30 - 40 frustrating miles. Roadwork hampered my plans - had to double back around at one point to avoid a completely torn up road. I've been really tired too - not sleeping well - so that didn't help.

Ah well, tomorrow is another day.

[AuntieK]

I got in a 35ish mile ride this morning, starting out at a chilly 5:30 a.m.
Last 5 or so miles there was a headwind, but otherwise the weather was pleasant.
Had a big scare (like life passing before my eyes) when a car coming in the opposite direction decided to pass another car going the same direction. He was coming straight at me, but managed to pull back into his own lane just before I practically dove off into the bushes on the side of the road!

[DebW]

I did 40 miles today from 2:30 to 5:30. Used a cycling road map and tried a new route on some nice roads, through an area of horse farms, past the Wayside Inn, etc.. Then I went off the edge of the map but still managed to not get lost. A short stop at Walden Pond to refill the water and eat a snack. I bet Thoreau would have enjoyed Walden Pond even more if he'd had a bike.

[ladyjai]

61 miles here. I rode to the bike club, was running a tad late. I arrived as the A Group was leaving, and went to join the other group. (Note the b group rides at 20-23mph, so I'm not sure how much of a B group they are, though they have long warmups with chatting)

However, I was a little confused to find the bikes still in everyone's trucks! With some confused sleuthing, I discovered they were driving up to a point about 1-1.5hrs north of us, and riding to Prescott!

They said they had room for my bike if I wanted to come. I said yes!

Once on location, we took some photos and headed out slowly into our first climb, which i suspect was only about a 3-4% grade. A couple more miles and the grade increased to ~6%. By the time we hit the downs, I'd let the 3 guys i was trailing go, and thus had the decents to my own speeds. I stopped only once to allow a car to pass so i could take the lane back. I'm still very leery of fast decents, and turns and falling, so I want ALL the lane at those speeds! not to mention, I LOVE my Take-A-Look mirror! it allowed me to see when i needed to worry about cars, and when not to.

We stopped at a Waffle place in prescott and headed out another road, with a 8% climb for a good 5 miles. I started to overheat, so i let the tire i was chasing move on. I don't need to draft on hills, but I use the tires as encouragement to keep my pace up. I don't find my speed changes.

We hit the top of the hill and the guy who was hanging on my wheel takes the lead. i let him fly down as I try not to panic on the decent. This is one of those decents that if you tuck in and close, 40-45mph easy. And there was some vicious crosswinds. I caged my speeds in at 35, and tried to talk myself into not letting fear turn me into road kill.

I slowed down and moved over for an annoying semitruck which honked at me as we neared the construction zone. they were repaving, and thus only allowed cars to pass in one direction and blocked the rest of us until it was our turn.

We collect most of the club before we're off again. Mr Beeps makes a nuisance of himself (and we're going only about 25-30 in a construction zone!) We're trying to be nice and stick on the shoulder, which is only about 3 ft wide. Mr Beeps passes me and his trailor almost takes me off the road. Mr. Beeps has a friend behind him. Jessica is mad! I signal and take the lane. Mr Beeps has 2 cyclists pacing him down and I'm a little further back, but I refuse to let this second truck knock me off the road. i'm flying down the hill (yes on fresh tarstuff, flying everywhere, sticking to the tires, going in my shoes, yuck!) and I tuck in low and tight and pedal my little heart out. and it almost goes out when we have a mini-hill which I maintain a high speed on. When we're stopping to let Mr. beeps move over to the other side of the road (he's carrying asphalt) I realize what i did. i went fast. i did it on purpose. on conditions that weren't so great. Why wasn't I freaked out? because I was mad.. but it turned out ok. i'm glad it happened. yes, I'm glad a truck almost ran me off the road. because I've made a huge step in my journey. I'm reclaiming my speed down hills! I noticed that when we encountered any more significant decents, they didn't phaze me. insert happy jessica here!

We stopped at a convenience shop in Skull Valley and I think just about everyone bought icecream. then we're off. The scent of stables fills the nostrils of 6 of the guys and 1 other gal. we race off, taking advantage of the slight decline and no headwind. I'm barely holding on, though. Every time I looked down it was 24-25, and 20 on the minor hills that popped up. I get dropped at one hill, get my breath back and attempt to catch up. i give up 30seconds later. then I notice the last guy looking back, then the last 2 guys drop off and slow down. I still have to struggle to catch up, but I can catch up! I do so, and slow down to fall in behind him, announce the car which doesn't quite know what to do with us, and he pulls me to the other guy, announces when we catch up and the 2 pull us off to the pack. We catch up with them as we arrive at the vehicles! but I genuinely appreciated what they did and made sure to thank them.

i had such a blast for my second ride with the club!