Weekend Rides?

[Owlie]

It was close to 70 degrees here, and I needed to blow off some steam before finals. I was only planning a 25-mile ride, but that didn't seem like quite enough, so I rode up to the edge of Xenia for a 33.4 miler. I rode pretty fast, considering there were lots of other people on the trail (I'm used to having it to myself!) and I had to stop at some points to wait for people to go by so I could pass. I found myself using gears that I haven't used except on the trainer, so I think the ladders are paying off!

The bugs are out early. In addition to having to spit the things out and wipe them off my glasses, I felt something hit me and looked down to see a giant stink bug on my arm.

[Catrin]

Darn, neck hurting tonight...guess riding two days in a row is still a bit much...

But hey, I got in almost 40 miles between the two days and that is awesome considering what I have been doing

[rubysoho]

48.5 miles today. I could have pedaled an extra 1.5 mile but my left thigh had been (strangely) cramping starting after mile 37. No fun. But I still feel it was an excellent ride.

[Jo-n-NY]

Finally a weekend of outdoor rides despite both days temps began in the 30's. I am not one that likes cold temps but with bright sun shine the rides were really nice. I tested out a route that I am leading, National Womens Day ride next Sunday out the bike shop.

[azfiddle]

36.5 today- including 4 miles up Mt. Lemmon (I ran out of time or would have gone up further).

[luv2climb]

Yesterday was my second group ride with The Hammerin' Wheels Road Bike Club. This time we went from Rancho Cordova to Folsom and back via surface streets and the American River Parkway bike trail.

The climb of the day was Iron Point Road, otherwise known as "Costco Hill" by local cyclists. It is a popular climb, with plenty of 10% and 11% to keep the suffer levels high.

Like my first ride with this club, this was an "intermediate beginner+" ride. I'm not fast enough for the hammerhead rides, so this kind of ride is perfect for me.

On the way up Iron Point Road, I was passed by a woman who said this was her first climb. At the top, I found out it was her first road bike climb. She does mtb rides, which are excellent strength training for hills.

Near the top of the climb the ride leader was taking video of us climbing. He said he would post it tomorrow, so there will be some third-person footage of my suffering soon.

Near the end of the ride, I ended up in the lead somehow. I wasn't trying to be a "MUP racer" or anything. I was just having fun.

Maybe by summer I'll be strong enough to ride some of the tougher rides, but for now this will do.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/157202316

As with all my videos, this one is 100% natural sound. This means plenty of suffer sounds on the one climb in the video, so be forewarned!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvuTvW2CibQ

[Sky King]

Created a nice new route on Saturday, all by myself, a nice 26 miler with big hills about 3/4 of the way in so legs were plenty warm before the climb. Looking forward to showing it to the "fat bottom girls". Sunday was a simple 12 mile spin with the DH over to home depot and back and honey do projects which ended up being smart as we had 40 mph wind gusts in the afternoon!

[MojoGrrl]

I've had some knee issues since last month so I've been trying to take it easy. Had a couple of rides where it started hurting about 20 miles in, then made it 26 miles last week without a problem. We did 27 miles on the tandem yesterday, pretty much all flat, average speed 16.6 mph; no knee pain. Today I did 34 miles, 3000 feet of climbing, average speed 15 mph (crazy headwinds the whole way, both directions, I'm not kidding); knee is still okay. Seems to be rehabbing okay, but I am still going to my sports medicine appointment this week to find out what is going on and hopefully keep this from happening again.

[Catrin]

Awesome 15 mile ride today! Wanted to ride further, but time wouldn't permit it, and am trying to nurse my neck along anyway.

I had a HARD time deciding what to wear! It was 57 when I started and I seem to stay colder longer than others I am around. I knew I would be cold - so tossed on toe covers, leg warmers, and also had on base wool layer and SS wool jersey with sleeveless wind breaker. 45 minutes later I took off the toe covers, leg warmers AND the SS wool jersey - thankfully all of this fit in my hydration pack

When I returned home I found the temps had jumped almost 10 degrees in less than 90 minutes - no wonder I got warm! I've just learned that my feet get cold at about 62...as well as my legs.

[Owlie]

Awesome 15 mile ride today! Wanted to ride further, but time wouldn't permit it, and am trying to nurse my neck along anyway.

I had a HARD time deciding what to wear! It was 57 when I started and I seem to stay colder longer than others I am around. I knew I would be cold - so tossed on toe covers, leg warmers, and also had on base wool layer and SS wool jersey with sleeveless wind breaker. 45 minutes later I took off the toe covers, leg warmers AND the SS wool jersey - thankfully all of this fit in my hydration pack

When I returned home I found the temps had jumped almost 10 degrees in less than 90 minutes - no wonder I got warm! I've just learned that my feet get cold at about 62...as well as my legs.

Catrin, at 62, I'm out in shorts and short sleeves (albeit with arm warmers)!

I went on an nice, relatively relaxing 26-mile ride...it was interesting. I got a face full of small flying insects on more than one occasion, my first confirmed "bug in mouth" experience (and it had to be a relatively big one too )...not all that long after something else relatively large bounced off my nose. I rescued a little snake from the trail;it decided to sunbathe, which was not good because it looked exactly like a stick. I nearly ran over the poor thing. I took a stick and picked it up (like one does with worms) and put it in the grass well away from the trail. Of course, now that I think about it, I think it may have been a baby copperhead! Luckily for me, copperheads aren't terribly aggressive.
And I got rained on, but not much. Good thing, considering I was wearing a sky-blue and white jersey!

[nscrbug]

Rode 68 miles today...longest of the season, so far. Slowly working up my mileage...would like to do our first 100-miler of the season sometime in May. Tomorrow, I'm shooting for 70-75 miles. Weather is ridiculously warm for this time of year...was 69 degrees at 7am start and 82 degrees when I pulled into my driveway just before noon. Unheard of for Chicago in March. We are on tap to hit a 7 day record-breaking streak with these temps. But I'm not complaining.

Linda

[Catrin]

We broke a record today that was set in something like 1892! Crazy weather...which is why I am being so careful with my bike clothes - but not complaining!

[Owlie]

We broke a record today that was set in something like 1892! Crazy weather...which is why I am being so careful with my bike clothes - but not complaining!

We were just shy of ours by something like 2 degrees. Crazy. Of course, it's also making the trees go crazy, which my eyes and sinuses do not appreciate.

[luv2climb]

Can I have some of that warm, sunny weather you Midwesterners are getting? We've had a week of garbage! Yeah "we really need it, blah, blah, blah". Give me a desert climate any day. I hate rain!

I did get to take a ride with my elderly neighbor who is learning his new clipless system. Thankfully the crap held off until we got home. Now it's 45 degrees and raining.

For those who are interested, I've been posting about our rides here. I feel this gentleman is a great role model. There aren't that many people in their 80s who are as determined as he is to keep cycling no matter what.

[Catrin]

Catrin, at 62, I'm out in shorts and short sleeves (albeit with arm warmers)!

It was 58 when I started I do need to dress warmer for that - but it was 66 just a little over an hour later! I didn't know it would warm that quickly