july 11 rides

[Fredwina]

I've been a bit more adventurous on my bent and have been doing some mountain rides youtube . did also make it to church but hit a big bump on teh way home and had to stop and adjust my seat

[Catrin]

I've been a bit more adventurous on my bent and have been doing some mountain rides youtube . did also make it to church but hit a big bump on teh way home and had to stop and adjust my seat

Adventures are good! Somewhere along the line I forgot that I "need" adventures, but have rediscovered that with my bikes

19.5 beautiful miles today, and it only took 90 minutes! That is the quickest I've ridden that distance and I wasn't trying for speed. It was just meant to be an easy ride after yesterday, and I really enjoyed the occasional cool breeze and the overcast sky that kept things cooler than it has been. I seemed to have a headwind though - regardless what direction I was heading

[7rider]

I've been a bit more adventurous on my bent and have been doing some mountain rides youtube . did also make it to church but hit a big bump on teh way home and had to stop and adjust my seat

Wait.
After second 14 on your video....the only car I saw on that entire vid was a single police car. Where was all the famous LA traffic? Did you leave at 4 in the morning?? I thought that area never sleeps?
Very nice riding.

I did a 55 mile loop out with some friends just north of Frederick, MD. It was a Potomac Pedalers Touring Club route - but we altered it to go up this hill called Hamburg Hill because my friend wanted to try out the low gearing on his new bike. True to its name, it was a meat-grinder. 3 miles, climbing over 1,000', averaging about 12-15%, maxing out at 19%! Yours truly is not used to dealing with such numbers. But that was just the warm-up. If that didn't kill me (which it nearly did), we then did Harp Hill, where the angels come to carry you Home. A slightly shorter hill, and overall not quite as steep, I nonetheless distinctly saw a 24 pop up on my Garmin's grade display.
As one of the guys in our group, Hugh, said "Sometimes, it's best not to know."

[Crankin]

After two days up in NH, where all I did was sit by the pool, drink beer and wine, eat soft serve ice cream, and various other sedentary pastimes (OK, I did run on the treadmill for 2.6 miles Saturday and lift weights), we came home to slightly lower temperatures, but still humid. It felt really unbearable when we started riding at around 3:15, but I made through the 15 mile loop nicely. We stopped at Ferns Country Store to have a big drink, when my DH threw some of the ice from his bottle on me, which worked well. Talked to one person I knew there and sped home.

[sundial]

Did a roast and toast ride on the hilly gravel roads. The humidity was so high I couldn't get my heart rate down and finally had to bail. After a nice, long tepid shower and a chilled glass of G2, I watched todays stage of the TDF.

[emily_in_nc]

Just a nice little 13.1 mile ride around the new 'hood and beyond - on bike paths, bike lanes, and some regular road, exploring! Hot, tho, 92-93 and sunny (pant pant). Stayed in the shade whenever possible. Highlight: riding past my mom's old apt. from when I was around 12-14 years old and she was in grad school. There was a guy sitting on the front porch smoking. Oh well! It was still fun to see it; it hasn't changed much.

[Fredwina]

Yes, I left fairly early (if you have to ask you don't want to know)
San Dimas Canyon is one of my favorite rides for that reason - two mile in and you'd never know you're in LA. I was surprised to see the Sheriff's car. The road has a gate shortly after it turns into dirt at the Ranger station

[Biciclista]

had to go to west Seattle to pick up a book from Barnes and Noble. As the crow flies, it's 4 miles, but this crow can't fly so we rode instead and it took 18 miles. West Seattle is the highest part of Seattle and we had to do quite a bit of climbing (up and down and up and down) before we finally got to the bookstore. I was already a little punky from the 100k yesterday and this ride included more altitude gain than the entire 62.5 miles yesterday! but it was good training. We left West Seattle with a screaming descent down Highland Park way, DH got up to 51 mph. I on the other hand, stayed below the speed limit... GOOD GRIEF what a hill!
Starting to feel like my old self again. It was a long long winter 272 days below 75 degrees in a row + a few more... Will be riding a bit more now!

[Becky]

DH and I did 54 miles in the almost-flat part of northern DE. The biggest hills were the two bridges over the C&D Canal. On one of the bridges, the Army Corp recently converted one of the travel lanes to a bike lane with a buffer. It's nice to see progressive bike things happening here

[TrekTheKaty]

We got up early and drove out to a regular route for out for a flat, fast 30 miler. However, we ended up in the middle of a sprint triathlon! I didn't feel fast and our route kept criss-crossing.

I did get to try my cool wings and loved em.

We also saw sunflowers, but couldn't remember what region of France that would be!

[loopybunny]

I hit a milestone today with a 51 mile ride. Up until now, the longest I've ever riden in one day was about 38 and that was on totally flat land.

The ride was part of the San Jose Livestrong Challenge. About 1200 ft of climbing. My max speed hit 40 mph (I think my fastest ever), but my average was 11.5.

Climbing is really hard for me since I live in flatlands and weigh too much. No practice climbing whatsoever. I have a lot of work to do.

I'm downright exhausted now and honestly, a little bit sore.

[sgtiger]

Rode about 7 miles today with DD, which is a long ride for her. We rode to the neighborhood cafe for some lunch and then a ride to the park. She rocked it of the way back - well, most of it anyway - despite the heat (she doesn't deal well with hot weather) and fatigue. She did throw a small fit on the second hill back, but problem solved with a promise of playing in the water and a popsicle.

[Biciclista]

wow, your little girl rode 7 miles! that's great!!!

[sgtiger]

wow, your little girl rode 7 miles! that's great!!!

Thanks! She's naturally very active and competitive. (She definitely did not get that from me.) She's learning how to be competitive with herself and is constantly pushing herself. I find with her that I have to reign her in a bit so that she doesn't hurt herself more than she already does.