Holiday weekend rides

[Roadtrip]

Got out this morning for what turned out an abbreviated eight miles. Was on the way out and checked the radar again and saw storms moving in. Got nearly back to the car before getting rained on, which wasn't too bad, but once we got back home the sky opened up and poured buckets. Glad I wasn't out in that!!!

Shannon

[Orange utopia]

Did 12 miles this morning with my husband who was pulling our 3 year old son in the trailer.

[indysteel]

Did 25 road miles Sunday with DH. Just one of our usual routes, but we had fun. Today, we did about 10 miles on the mountain bike trails at Brown County State Park. This was my fourth time MTBing, so I'm a newb. I'm pretty pleased with the progress I'm making. We sessioned an area on one of the trails I was having trouble with, and I finally got it. Yay! We did that trail twice and then moved onto a trail that's a bit more technical. I was really pleased with my first pass through it. The second pass went well, too, but I was starting to tire a bit. Mentally and physically, it's just a lot more taxing.

[goride]

Glad to see that so many were out riding this weekend.

Two good rides this weekend -

A nice early ride (5:30 a.m.) with a few friends on Saturday morning, 45 miles riding rolling country roads (and a few good climbs) around some of the inland lakes in the area. Since it was a holiday weekend we knew traffic around the lakes would be heavy by mid-morning, so we wanted to get out early. It was already hot and humid, and a few times the weather looked threatening, but it did not rain. We did something we do not normally take the time for when we ride together and stopped for about 20 minutes at a coffee shop on one of the lakes about half-way through our ride. Nice chance to chat without worrying about traffic.

On Sunday, did a 51 mile trail ride with a few of the same group. It's an interesting trail, in that it is not a "rail trail" so it's got some nice rollers. As it passes through some of the communities, you are routed through the towns on some lower traffic roads instead of trail. Although we did take a detour to Main Street in one of the communities to stop at a shop that makes their own chocolates. Since it was about 85 degrees, I only bought one piece of really scrumptious chocolate to be eaten on the spot, since I knew chocolate would not survive the rest of the trip in my jersey pocket. We had a chance to refill water while in town, also. It's a popular community for cycling, so the shop proprietors there are very accommodating.

Today I needed a recovery day, so no ride.

[Catrin]

Did 25 road miles Sunday with DH. Just one of our usual routes, but we had fun. Today, we did about 10 miles on the mountain bike trails at Brown County State Park. This was my fourth time MTBing, so I'm a newb. I'm pretty pleased with the progress I'm making. We sessioned an area on one of the trails I was having trouble with, and I finally got it. Yay! We did that trail twice and then moved onto a trail that's a bit more technical. I was really pleased with my first pass through it. The second pass went well, too, but I was starting to tire a bit. Mentally and physically, it's just a lot more taxing.

What trails, Pine and Limekiln? I hope to be there Saturday for my second time MTBing

[indysteel]

What trails, Pine and Limekiln? I hope to be there Saturday for my second time MTBing

Yep. I probably should try the North Tower Loop at some point (the other beginner trail). Maybe next time, but I'd prefer to spend some time on the more technical sections of Limekiln. There are some rocky sections and it's a good place to learn how to pick a good line. I was proud of myself for not braking over them this time around. No falls; no crashes! Woot!

[indysteel]

Great pics Luv2climb, and you really DO love to climb

I broke my 40 mile barrier this morning with a 42 mile ride While Saturday was hot and humid, a cool front came in this morning with drizzle, so the first 14 miles or so of my ride was in a cool drizzling rain. I do not intentionally ride in the rain normally, but it didn't look like it would get any worse so I headed out into the rain It remained overcast, and the high today is only supposed to reach 84 - I will take it!

I rode from my apartment to the SAG of a ride in the next county, then turned around and came home. It was just under 42 miles, though my computer and MapMyRide are disputing about the actual mileage. I believe my Sigma over MapMyRide.

Obviously I don't count the mountain bike drills in my mileage, so that gives me 75 miles between Saturday and today's rides. I am FINALLY starting to feel like my old self! Quads and hamstrings are quite happy, though my hip is complaining just a little bit, I will add more hip stretches to my after-ride routine. I will go for a slow walk shortly.

Good job! Hope the aches and pains work themselves out over the next 24 hours. Did you end up getting some Tiger Balm? It smells pretty funky, but you might massage some of on your legs and hips.

[DebW]

Did a 50 mile ride on Sunday out to Berlin with hirakukibou and her partner. Did some nice roads, and we got home at noon well before the rains.

[Catrin]

Yep. I probably should try the North Tower Loop at some point (the other beginner trail). Maybe next time, but I'd prefer to spend some time on the more technical sections of Limekiln. There are some rocky sections and it's a good place to learn how to pick a good line. I was proud of myself for not braking over them this time around. No falls; no crashes! Woot!

Woot indeed! I've walked Limekiln, that center section is certainly more technical than Pine Loop, though they are both beginner trails. I am going to page the mountain bikers on my FB page to find out if anyone is headed there next Saturday who might like to "warm up" by a slow trip around Pine Loop...then I can do further work on the trail solo. I would hate to tie up someone's day by sticking with me on Pine.

[indysteel]

Woot indeed! I've walked Limekiln, that center section is certainly more technical than Pine Loop, though they are both beginner trails. I am going to page the mountain bikers on my FB page to find out if anyone is headed there next Saturday who might like to "warm up" by a slow trip around Pine Loop...then I can do further work on the trail solo. I would hate to tie up someone's day by sticking with me on Pine.

We're headed to a "floatilla" at Sweetwater Lake next Saturday, so we won't be headed out there ourselves. Just be forewarned that it will be crowded by mid morning or so. You might try early morning or late afternoon. I, personally, find it difficult to get into any rhythm with experienced cyclists wanting to whiz by me in both directions. Thankfully, we had the trails almost to ourselves this afternoon (we started around 4 pm).

Good luck down there!

[Catrin]

We're headed to a "floatilla" at Sweetwater Lake next Saturday, so we won't be headed out there ourselves. Just be forewarned that it will be crowded by mid morning or so. You might try early morning or late afternoon. I, personally, find it difficult to get into any rhythm with experienced cyclists wanting to whiz by me in both directions. Thankfully, we had the trails almost to ourselves this afternoon (we started around 4 pm).

Good luck down there!

This is good to know. Considering my drive, I will likely go down early. I DO want others on the trail if I am going to ride solo, so I don't want it too deserted. Just in case something should happen...

Good job! Hope the aches and pains work themselves out over the next 24 hours. Did you end up getting some Tiger Balm? It smells pretty funky, but you might massage some of on your legs and hips.

I did get the Tiger Balm sold locally, and it is the white version. There is a red version that is supposed to be stronger, I will decide when I've used this little container if I want to try the stronger version. It smells better than Bengay!

The hip ache is quite minor, and I suspect is likely related more to not doing my lateral exercises once a week like I should lately than anything. I am only meeting with my trainer once every two weeks until September when we can start meeting more frequently again so am going to have to be focused on doing what I already know I need to do... Quads are a little sore tonight, but I've asked a lot of them the past three days. Tomorrow they will rest, I will still go to the gym but won't do much leg work until Friday. More drills Wed or Thursday, with a road ride on the day I don't drill - then rest from the bike Friday for Saturday

[Crankin]

DH decided he would document our ride today. There's a lot pictures with very stupid captions.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/6409720...57627118232240

[azfiddle]

Yesterday I did a 20 mile trip up toward the base of Mt. Lemmon. Very few cyclists out- not surprisingly, as the overnight low temp was 80 and my ride, between 6:30 and 8:00 am, was between 85 and 92, with higher humidity than usual (over 50%, which is high for Tucson). Still, of the 15 riders I saw (on route where I might usually see 100!) I ran into 2 friends.

Today we rode on a 28 mile ride organized by a local youth cycling organization (El Grupo). The group reaches out to area youth, especially but not only disadvantaged youth, and gets them involved in cycling. This ride benefits some kids attending a mountain bike camp in Flagstaff. We were at the very end of the group, since a lot of folks left earlier than the official start time. It was really a nice morning- with mostly overcast skies and cooler temperatures. They had aid stations with refreshing and delicious watermelon as well as water, electrolytes, cookies, chips etc. I stuck with the watermelon and water, and had my own electrolytes already. And it was nice to support the kids.

[jessmarimba]

I'm baaaaack!! ~85 miles roundtrip over two days. First half pretty much all uphill, second half pretty much all down (and a full hour shorter). That bike is certainly a tank with all of my stuff on it.

I started getting really nauseous about 2 miles from being back. I think it was a salt issue - I wasn't tired and was ok as long as I kept pedaling, but when I stopped to fish another water bottle out of my bag I thought I'd be sick. After 32 ounces of soda and some super-salty fries I felt MUCH better.

(After a shower, a beer, and some tortellini, I feel even BETTER...about to go get the ice cream!)

[chryss]

Only about 19 miles today of which 16 or thereabouts on the road, and a short 6 mile jaunt on the mountain bike trails last night. It's been raining every day for two weeks or so now, and we're getting a bit fed up with it.

When the sun came out in the afternoon, I jumped on the bike, rode up to the road (slowly, unpaved roads with big puddles and up a sharp incline) and turned left, which is the hilly side. I haven't ridden there in a while, though the club rides I am participating in have gotten a lot hillier, so I wanted to see if there was some improvements on "my" rolling hills. It goes like this: Down first, then one hill, after which there's the local school, then two more hills, after which there's the local inn, then a long hill with steep and more shallow section, after which the road drops into a small valley and stays there for 2-3 miles. Then it slowly creeps back up, with two stores coming up right at the start of the incline -- that's as far as I had gone. Roundtrip would be a little over 20 miles to there, but I wanted to go further, maybe 1h out and then turn around at a convenient spot.

But that was calculating without the weather. It was nice until I dropped into the little valley, where drops started to fall, and looking up, I saw a grey wall in front of me. I went on for a while with the rain in my face until I felt that rain was really quite painful, and looked closer to see little grains of hail or graupel. A lot of cars on the road, too, with trailers or camper vans -- it's the height of tourist season, and the road is the main access to a large state park and the only access to a hot springs resort. Anyhow, I turned around in the valley, thus the low mileage. It was a lot better with the rain coming at me from the back, too.

On the plus side, all the hilly rides with the group clearly improved my stamina, and while I'm not fast, "my" hills felt a lot easier (and a little faster) today. And I got a wonderful hot shower at home afterwards.