Saturday, February 16 rides

[IFjane]

No, we have not ridden yet - it's still Friday, for goodness sake!

But KathiCville and I are planning to meet tomorrow at 12:30 p.m.ET and ride together for the first time! I, for one, can't wait!

Stay tuned for a ride report (and pictures) on this thread tomorrow - ride safe, everyone!

[Velobambina]

Look forward to hearing about your ride & seeing the pics

Got in a 50miler early this morning. Lovely sunrise. No black ice, but cold & pretty windy.

[makbike]

I rode today in an attempt to life my spirits and take my mind off my dad - spirits are better after talking to my brother, mom and dad. My dad never left my mind as I rode - he was with me the entire 29.2 miles - couldn't ask for better company.

Today's ride was a chilly, gray ride but it felt good to be outside and not on my trainer. The wind was mild compared to last week which was a welcome relief. I rode the same route I rode last Saturday and cut about 5.5 minutes off my time This weeks ride allowed me not only to once again see the debris from the torandoes that hit parts of my community on Feb 5 but also allowed me to see the effects of the heavy snow and ice we were hit with earlier this week - crazy weather here.

Looks like it is back to the trainer for the coming week - lots of rain, wind and cold temps.

[Tater]

36.8 miles with a new riding partner. The ride was fun and having someone to draft off was nice coming home in the wind. Even better, was not having to wear booties and winter tights! At fort-three degrees, I got to ride in just leg warmers for the first time this year.

[KSH]

It's raining here. I had a 4.5 hour ride scheduled. So I hopped on the trainer.

4.5 hours and 70 miles later... I HURT! Wow. It was long... and my quads are feeling it.

[KathiCville]

[Glad to hear that your ride lifted your spirits a bit, makbike. Hang in there!]

I had *the* great pleasure today of meeting IFJane for the first time AND sharing a beautiful 27.5 mile ride on the backroads of Madison County. Perfect from start to finish!

Jane gamely rode at my speed (12 mph av---not exactly burnin' up the road, LOL!), while her fiance Michael, and two of their buddies joined us on and off for much of the route. (The guys reminded me of my border collie Samantha....Zipping ahead, circling back to check on the 'sheep'.....Zipping ahead, circling back....You get the idea, LOL!)

Besides the sheer fun of riding with Jane & Company, their enthusiasm and encouragement nudged me to score not merely one, but TWO, personal bests today! Longest ride to date: 27.5 miles; fastest max speed: 29.5mph......Yeehaw!!

We started out at a good clip that worried me a little, but once my legs warmed up (Mile 10? ), I settled in and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Jane picked the flattest route that Madison has to offer---not easy given that the Blue Ridge Mountains loom in the near distance. The only serious incline on the route leads to the hilltop town of Haywood, formerly named---appropriately---Heaven!!

The whole ride was picture-postcard pretty, but Geonz, Quaker Run Road is GORGEOUS! You are lucky to have a family haunt there!...Jane and I turned back just where Quaker Run begins a serious climb; a future goal will be to make it up that incline to the top, or at least until the pavement runs out...

All in all, a fabulous way to spend a couple of hours on a beautiful, blue-blue-blue-skied February afternoon! I'm grateful to Jane (Michael, Guy and Bates, too) for inviting me to join them. Lookin' forward to many more rides in the future!!

[withm]

Look forward to hearing about your ride & seeing the pics

Got in a 50miler early this morning. Lovely sunrise. No black ice, but cold & pretty windy.

Holy Moly! You got 50 miles in before 8:34am???? At 30o in the dark? I bow to you.

[lauraelmore1033]

Dh just bought a sexy new Roubaix this week and we set out for an easy 22 mile "break in" ride on the Sammamish trail with a big hill for dessert on the 520 trail (or is it I90?) since we are planning to do the Chilly Hilly ride next weekend. The weather was positively balmy at 54 degrees and we enjoyed the few sun breaks immensely. I was afraid he would just run away from me on his whisper-light new bike (since I have a chunkier cx bike), but I managed to keep up just fine (but that might be because he hasn't been riding much this winter...). All in all, a very pleasant ride.

[IFjane]

[Glad to hear that your ride lifted your spirits a bit, makbike. Hang in there!]

All in all, a fabulous way to spend a couple of hours on a beautiful, blue-blue-blue-skied February afternoon!

Absolutely - what she said! It was such a beautiful day and meeting Kathi made it even more special. I can't wait to ride with her LOTS!

[mimitabby]

Good old Raleighdon is doing a car free week, so i agreed to go along with him today on our bikes. the temp was near 50 when we started at about noon, and we rode the 20 odd miles to the Sammamish bike shop where D bought his lightbulbs and i got my brakes adjusted. while we were there we ran into a friend who informed us that the club meeting we were on our way to was TOMORROW not today. ooops.
So instead of going to Tony Roma's we opted for U district where my son lives. We met him at his favorite restaurant and had dinner. By then I was really tired, having ridden over 40 miles. We rode UP a hill to get to a bus stop, and took a bus home. well, almost home, we still had to climb up the hill, with the 12-14% grade whatever, it was dark... and i had to go to the bathroom. That hill was tougher than it's ever been; i was tired and cold. But here I am about to jump into a hot bath...
47 miles!

[Starfish]

My dad never left my mind as I rode - he was with me the entire 29.2 miles - couldn't ask for better company.

I've been doing a lot of rides this year with my Mom & Dad in my heart. The riding really helps. Glad you got out.

I had a 4.5 hour ride scheduled. So I hopped on the trainer.

4.5 hours on the trainer...you are tough!

I got in 28 miles and 2150' today. We've had so much gravel on the roads this year due to the snow that I've been a little slow getting out to start outdoor climbing training. Sure felt good to be outside today...and the rain held off until I got done! Man, I'm out of shape for climbing.

[Brandy]

193.7 miles. First double of the season...Butterfield Double. 12:18 total time. Tired and sore! More details when I do my report tomorrow. Sleepytime!



Notice I'm smiling...that's obviously before we started!

[jobob]

I did an almost-century with some guys from bikejournal & bikeforums.

94.3 miles and 5300 ft of climbing, which took me nearly as long as Brandy took to do her double

I was pretty tired at the end and I really didn't feel like riding that extra six miles to make it a full century. Oh well.

I rewarded myself with an In-N-Out burger for dinner. Double-double with fries well done. mmmm. And a diet coke - one must draw the line somewhere...

Ed to add: Here's the ride report w lots of photos on bikeforums:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=388918

[Crankin]

Wow, it seems like everyone is doing more miles in the colder weather...
It was a balmy 13 F outside when I got on my trainer. I did the Yoga-Spin Interval dvd with Graem Street. It's 45 total minutes of a yoga warm up, then on the trainer for 5 progressively harder 3 minute intervals at 100 rpm (with a 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down), then followed by a 12 minute power yoga session.

I can do the first 3 intervals at 100-105 rpms, but on the last 2 I'm hovering around 85-95 when I'm working in the highest 2 gears. This is a big improvement from last year, when I couldn't do much more than 90 rpm on this ride. I am hoping to see this transfer to improvement on the road. Our first ride we lead is on March 30th.

[SouthernBelle]

I almost blew off a Saturday ride because I really didn't feel well. But decided to at least ride a few miles while the weather was good. So I got in a 13.5 miles and tried out an interesting road.

They are building a new stretch of road nearby. First layer of pavement is down. Fun stuff. Like having your own private highway. It's a bit rough and you have to watch for different layers of pavement but still nifty.