November 11 Rides

[im4smiley]

I went out at 6:45 am with a friend who likes to ride early. It was about 35 degrees out, so a little chilly. About 2 miles into the ride he got a flat, so we stopped and he fixed it and our we went on our way. I really didn't know where we were going, he said about 30 miles so I said ok. We headed north into Vermont, where I think it was a little colder. I had just bought some Techwick from EMS, I had on the medium weight sports tank, the medium weight crew shirt and my long sleeve cycling jersey/jacket. I was a little chilly to start but then I warmed right up. Oh yeah, I did have my shorts and tights on too! About 10 miles in my thumbs got cold and about 15 my toes got cold but by 20 I was all warmed up again...thanks to not riding in the shade anymore. We did some wicked hills, one hill I thought that if I sat up straight I would tip over backwards, but I made it up, although it was very slow climb. We got back after doing 40 miles. It was a cold but beautiful morning for a ride!!

[Geonz]

we were 35 degrees with 20mph winds and very, very grey. (Supposedly there were snow flurries.) Nobody came out to ride slowly & I was on the Xtracycle becuase the blue bike and I are having issues (I think it's got a mechanical problem). I did 18 miles in squares so I didn't have to go into the wind more than a mile at a time, went to the bank and went home.

Going to ride a littel more to wine tasting... and might take the long way home to keep ahead of my nemesis on BJ

[Triskeliongirl]

Nice day in the Texas Hil Country, albeit WINDY! Started out a club ride with lots of wind in the 60s but warmed up to the 70s by the ride end. Even got to take my arm and leg warmers off mid-ride. 43 very hilly miles. I thought I was gonna die going against the headwind going out, but even the hills felt great with the tailinwind coming in. Really nice scenery, colors as rich as they get for fall here, wished I had a camera with me!

[Crankin]

I did 2 rides today. First, I went to the bike shop at around 9, which is about 4.5 miles. It was 42 when I left and I was dressed on the edge of too much, but not too hot (fleece shirt and wind jacket, tights over shorts, toe warmers and my heavier wool socks. Oh, and my skullcap). I am continuing to have crotch pain, so I was basically going there to see what the heck I can do, after buying 2 saddles since buying my bike in June. He ended up putting a shim on my left shoe, under the cleat, since my left leg is shorter than the right. My "uneven" body has actually bent my Brooks saddle to the left. The lbs owner, who I really like was not particularly thrilled with the fact i had a Brooks saddle and he thinks I should go back and try the Terry one I bought. Well, I do feel better riding now and I'm not rocking so much because my legs are even on the pedals. The ride back was getting warm, so I tied my jacket around my waist and unzipped my shirt. Concord Center was overrun with people going to see the exhibit of "Eyes Wide Open," showing the empty boots of service people from New England killed in Iraq. I stopped to see it, and went home. Then, at about 1:30 I went on a 19 mile ride with my husband. I had changed into a regular long sleeved jersey, but that felt too cold, so i put my Craft base layer on under it. After about 6 miles, I was boiling, but there was not much I could do, except push up my sleeves. When we got home, the temperature had gone from 58 when we left to 62.7. It was a good ride, pretty hilly, so my average was only 14.8.

[Offthegrid]

I rode 30.8 miles, but on a bike path. Practiced some starting and stopping and didn't fall over, so that was good. My legs felt good at the time, but now they are killing me, so I definitely overdid it. Oh, well. What else can you do when it's November, sunny and 60 degrees?

[suzieqtwa]

I rode 27 miles this morning. It rained a bit but then cleared up. It was about 40 degrees out.

[kelownagirl]

Finally got out on a bike today - been off it for two weeks - ack! It was fairly chilly and I haven't quite figured out what to wear yet (5 degrees cel.) Found that my toes were very cold at the end of 40 km and my knees were a bit achey - wonder if that's from the cold? I wore cycling shorts under tights. Maybe I should wear my knee warmers under the tights too? Also, had a lot of trouble with breathing so I'd love to hear from anyone who has EI asthma and rides in the cold. I'm heading over the the health thread to post there... Anyway, it was GREAT to be out riding again. May be the last road bike trip this year though....

[Kalidurga]

Nice freak warm day in the mid-Atlantic, sunny in the a.m. then turning overcast in the afternoon as a prelude to the rain that we're supposed to get tonight. Perfect day for me to take advantage of having a 'cross bike by doing a mixed suface loop on the C&O Canal towpath (dirt, gravel, mud, roots & rocks) and the Western Maryland Rail-Trail (butter-smooth pavement)

Hopped onto the towpath in Hancock, MD, and headed upstream along the Potomac River. Since all the leaves have fallen, the river and West Virginia on the other shore are continuously visible next to the towpath, making for some great scenery. A few miles in I noticed that something was funky with my cadence sensor, because I kept glancing down and seeing my cadence go from 83 to 167 to 90... My high cadence for the day was 195rpm (Top that, Lance!)! After some fiddling I got it working correctly, but unfortunately I know that my average for today isn't as good as the computer says it is.

12 miles up, at Pearree, is where I cut over to the WMRT to head back on pavement. Considering how full the parking lots were in Hancock, I expected crowds on the rail-trail and I was certainly not disappointed in that In spite of everyone and all their kids, I was able to go for 2-3 mile stretches pretty much by myself, so I made the trip back to Hancock a series of intervals by revving up to 95-110rpm/15-20mph and maintaining it until I caught up with the next group or road crossing. Only had to stop once, for a woman and her little girl who were taking a break and left their bikes standing perpendicularly across the trail. Again,

Rolled back into Hancock with a total of 24.25 miles and a totally satisfied feeling.

[Fredwina]

i was supposed to be a rolling ride Marshall for a 34 mile ride. The problem I had was that I'm supposed to do a century next Saturday, and didn't think 34 was enough prep. So rolled out of bed early and got an extra 30 in. Ironically the only flats I changed were on my own bike. At least I have new tube for the Tour De Tuscon It was a gorgeous day, and the Santa Anas were not that bad.

[paigette]

Sigh...only 4.99 on my MTB; before I got a flat. Co-workers & I could NOT get the tube to fill (which we felt ashamed of), so we hitched a ride with a nice man named T.BO.... But he had his kid with him & I figured most serial killers do not travel with kids.

Tire is now fixed(with SLIME) and hopefully I will go out with the local MBA tomorrow!

[Popoki_Nui]

The day started out sunny and mild, so I rode downtown to the Remembrance Day ceremonies to pay my respects. Then met up with a friend and rode out thru town and into the rolling countryside north of Victoria. Pretty fair tailwind, which we would have to battle back into town, so we did only 18km outbound and the same inbound. Halfway back to Victoria, heavy black clouds rolled in and cold, driving rain blasted us all the way. Some felt like ice pellets. What a contrast from the morning. Only 39km (23mi) total, but better than sitting on the sofa!

[ACG]

Rode Tour de Foothills, 66 miles or more. Not a lot of signage, route slip was set up on so that you could fix it to your bike very well. My friend and I doubled back a couple of times. It took us 4 1/2 hours or riding time, by the time we got to the park, they were closing shop. hmmm. But I love riding my bike and that is what I did. There was a great climb near Mt. Baldy mountain road.

[aicabsolut]

Not a bad day for me, 50s-60s while I was out. I tried the Curtis trail for a hills warmup, but I went a little slow, because there were tons and tons of wet leaves. Those leaves were also hiding a million tree roots and other bumps (not fun while going up a short but steep incline, because it's hard to keep pedaling while getting bounced around on the saddle. And on that note, I'd like to say that the chamois in my Nike knickers suck, because I'm still sore from all those bumps.

I thought Curtis runs into W&OD, but it just dumped me out on this busy road at the end. So I went back and hit the other trail it connects to that I often ride and is fairly flat. Total maybe 18 miles plus a few in traffic getting there and back. (had to hurry for family stuff).

On this fairly busy road on the way home, I got some road rage towards this one SUV. I can generally make most if not all of the lights if I keep a fairly slow pace (which is odd, because going the other way getting started in the morning I have to race along, and that's uphill). This is a 4 lane undivided road, with 2 lanes that turn into parking lanes. Busy shopping area, lots of car doors to watch. So I ride just inside the right main lane. Well one SUV had to race past me, VERY close with his mirror (these lanes aren't narrow BTW), just so that he could stop at the light, have me pass him AGAIN because it would be green by the time I got there. Thank goodness I got away from this car, or I'd probably have given the mirror a smack the next time .. see if he'd get the hint to scootch over a little. Not like the parked cars could move. This is a road that a LOT of cyclists take all the time, though I won't ride it in rush hour like a lot of people. It wasn't even 10am yet.

That's my rant for today.

[Fredwina]

Rode Tour de Foothills, 66 miles or more. Not a lot of signage, route slip was set up on so that you could fix it to your bike very well. My friend and I doubled back a couple of times. It took us 4 1/2 hours or riding time, by the time we got to the park, they were closing shop. hmmm. But I love riding my bike and that is what I did. There was a great climb near Mt. Baldy mountain road.

Glad you did Tour De Foothills. I'l foward your recommendations for larger signs on. I also thought we could have done a better job with the Arrows on the street (I think they only used one coat of paint) And 4.5 hours to do a metric with that much climbing isn't too shabby, espically with the 8% grades on Baldy Road.