February 18 rides

[Fredwina]

I had a flat tire when I left. I fixed, and pedaled about 1/3 of the away up Mt. Baldy Road, It gorgeous out, not a cloud in the sky. I was doing some more route scouting. things we're well until I turned to go home(5 miles to go), and the I ran into why the clouds weren't there: a nice headwind. I was actually hoping for red lights, so I could take a break. Of course , they were all green

[salsabike]

Of course they were green, and if you'd had a tailwind...fill in the blank.

Mr. Salsa and I went for a 30 mile tandem ride today with 15-20 mph headwinds on the way out, and of course, some benefit from the tailwinds on the way back. It felt good to get out two days in a row but I am pooped!

On the pier where we start and end our ride, there was a juvie bald eagle hanging out in a tree right on the lake. She was there when we started and there when we came back two hours later. By that point, she was being harassed by several crows who kept dive-bombing her. She seemed unperturbed. It was a very cool sight---you can see big birds up pretty close on that tree. Last spring, an osprey hung out there for weeks on end. I am just a fool for the birds, I guess. Saw lots of little groups of mergansers with their cool red-brown mohawks along the river trail.

[Eden]

ohhh you are lucky - we seemed to have a #@&* headwind or sidewind no matter which direction we were going today (did Renton to May Valley to Mercer Island with a team mate - we must have worn everyone out with the sprinting clinic yesterday cause only 2 of us did the whole team ride today and only 5, plus one of our sponsors, showed up for the start....). It was like riding a bucking bronco going across the I-90 bridge today!

[Veronica]

We did a mountain bike ride at our local regional park. Gorgeous weather and the hills are so green.

I was upset that I didn't make it through the switchback on the second climb. I HATE this switchback. Any time I make it through it's a glorious day.

It's steep - probably 18% and in the spring is always churned up the cows, in the summer it's always very loose. I had picked what I thought would be a good line, but I couldn't hold it. I started veering off into the really chopped up stuff and managed to power through it for a bit, thought I might make it, but I couldn't keep my balance right and the front wheel came up.

And of course it's too steep to start up again. I tried, because I'm obstinate. Looked behind me and thought about going back down to the flat just below the switchback to try again. I HATE going down this switchback, almost as much as I HATE going up it. If you fall to the outside, it's a pretty big drop off and the best line is to the outside. I decided to be a wuss and walked up a bit to where I could start up again. I pedaled a little bit up the hill. But I was PO'ed and I don't like letting the hill win.

I turned around, went back down around the switchback. I took the same line I had wanted before, held my course through it and continued up the hill.

We call this section of trail the wall. It climbs 570 feet in about 9/10 of mile. That's an average grade of 10.5%. I know there are sections much higher, like the switchback, because there are also a couple of relatively flat sections. Those are NICE.

I had a screaming descent down the other side and hit a high of 33.

V.

[mimitabby]

Rode from near gasworks to Sandpoint and back (that was where the Bike Expo was)
It was nasty windy and cold but it never rained. I was really encouraged to go as fast as I could: the weather and the fact that i was with people with tens of thousands of miles on their bikes... gasp gasp gasp.

that was about 12 miles total. a "recovery" ride sort of. Hahaha

[uk elephant]

Had a very nice ride, and the longest ride ever! 56 miles. Overcast day, but now wind. Perfect for riding. And because I knew where I was going most of the time, I didn't have to stop every half mile to check the map. Peddaled through scenic villages with thatched roof cottages and rolling green hills. Stopped for lunch in Lavenham, a village full of mideaval buildings. Well worth going back for a proper visit some other time. Headed towards home along the train line in case I needed to give up and take the train home. But I kept going and made it all the way home without cheating.

[7rider]

I did 35 minutes on the rollers.
No headwind.
No tailwind.
Just lots of sweat!
Kept at bay, of course, with my slick AV buff!

[Velobambina]

Completed the first two disks of Spinervals Hardcore 100. Total time--3 hours and about 35 minutes. I hadn't planned on doing the entire 5.5 hours, so I didn't eat anything before getting on the trainer. If I had planned properly in terms of nutrition, I think I could have made it through the entire thing.

This is a great Spinerval. Very do-able if you have a good base. I like all the sets. The third disk, which I've done two or three times, is the most difficult (2 hours, a lot of big, tough gear work). Playing my own tunes helps a lot, too.

I'm going to try to do the workout in its entirety some bad-weather Saturday or Sunday. But hopefully, we have had our final "no riding outside" weekend until next winter.

With some luck, tomorrow's rain and the rest of this week's warm temps will melt the ice pack so those of us here in the DC area can ride outdoors again in a couple of days.

[lauraelmore1033]

went on a group ride down to the bike swap. Very small group; speedy guy, slow guy and ride leader with a no rider left behind policy. It was supposed to be a social pace, but slow guy was toooo slow, so I tied to keep up with speedy guy who had an all riders left behind policy. On the leg back I managed to keep him in sight as we pushed a 16 mph pace (Man I LOVE this new bike!). I realized he was trying in earnest to lose me when he sped up to 18 mph and kept looking back. For some reason this really pissed me off and I became more determined not to be lost. He couldn't keep it up forever and I did eventually catch up with him. This was the point at which he decided suddenly to veer off the route. I was happy to let him go. 'Tis a hollow victory, of course; this was the "downward" leg of the course and gravity was on my side since I am heavier. If he'd tried to lose me on evn the slightest bit of uphill, I wouldn't have been able to keep him in sight.

[Derf]

Short ride with DH (still getting used to clipless pedals) and two friends (the husband is new to road biking, but seems like a "natural" and was used to moutnain biking, this was the wife's 3rd time out). Only 15 miles -- Marina Del Rey to the Manhattan Beach Pier and back. Short, but beats nothing!