November Rides?

[Crankin]

I made a monthly title, given the fact that a lot of us don't ride as much at this time of year.
So, yesterday I went on a ride to celebrate my 60th birthday, which is tomorrow. I had looked up several metric possibilities on Ride With GPS. Rides that were local and did not have 4K feet of climbing, since I am trying to rehab my spine. I found a couple that had 2-2,5000 ft. of climbing.
DH proceeded to "design" his own ride to surprise me. I hate surprises while riding. He said it would go through a lot of neighborhoods, in towns we rarely ride in.
We started off heading to Concord Center in a different way, looped through a neighborhood, then through the center, through another neighborhood, where at mile 5.5, we stopped to shed clothing. It was apparent I needed to take off my base layer. We finally crossed RT 2, and stopped at Verrill Farm, where I did a quick change in the bathroom. My pockets and smaller seat bag were stuffed with knee warmers, base layer, cap, long fingered gloves. I kept the arm warmers and vest on, but did push down the arm warmers for about half of the ride. So, on into the lovely town of Lincoln. It was fine until we turned onto an unpaved street. Great. Thanfully, I put 25s on my Kuota about 2 months ago, so while it wasn't awful, I had to slow and I was yelling at DH (I had warned him not to take me down dirt roads). It was short, hilly, but hard packed. OK, more familiar roads until we got on another, long dirt road. A car came by and scared the crap out of me while I was trying to concentrate. When that was done, we headed into Wayland and Weston. We climbed one hill that I had been on before, and then headed into some neighborhoods that had some very good climbs. I noticed that all of these roads had names like "country road." It seemed like we circled around and on Rt. 20 a few times, and then we were in Framingham. We were heading south by now and I knew we were in kind of a sketchy area. More, because people driving here probably don't ever see cyclists, and it's a bit industrial. After a little bit of a screaming match about where to stop to eat, we stopped at a pizza place in a strip mall. DH convinced them to let him use the bathroom, as it said "no restrooms." We ordered a chicken wrap to split, that was huge. The chicken was kind of fried and there was bacon in there, but I really needed the salt. I also gulped half a Gatorade. We had ridden about 35 miles at this point and I was starting to fade. The owner of the place was mean and our sandwich came after several other people who came in after us got their pizzas. Anti-cyclist vibe , definitely.
Off we went. We quickly got into a more rural/suburban part of Framingham, involving some heavily trafficked intersections and cars that clearly had clueless drivers. All of a sudden, we were in Southboro, which I thought was only on the other side of a major highway. We started climbing and climbing, but the scenery was great. DH said he felt like he was in a familiar place, and he was. We passed his boss's house... about 6,000 square feet of it. The climb was long, and then we kind of turned and headed into Marlborough. OK, I knew we were on the way back now. But... we had to ride down a very busy 2 lane portion of Rt. 20. The thing is, I have been on other, delightful roads around here that ended up to the point where we needed to turn. Oh well, after about 3 miles of this, we turned onto the Wayside Inn Rd. and voila, back in a place where I felt comfortable. We were at mile 45 and there were no surprises after this. Passed the Grist Mill, the little Red Schoolhouse of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," fame, and several other places from my childhood. I got a burst of energy, I just wanted to get home! We stopped to put our red blinkies on, as it was cloudy and about 3:30. Our cruise in through Sudbury and west Concord was uneventful and even the traffic in Concord center seemed less crazy than in past weekends. We got home at around 4:15 and collapsed!
61.06 miles, at a slow speed, but it ended up having 3K feet of climbing. The weather was fantastic, around 65, no wind.
I am resting today.

[emily_in_nc]

And you deserve to be resting! Wow, sounds like a pretty epic ride, especially considering your back problems lately. Congratulations on your birthday ride, and I hope you have a lovely birthday tomorrow!

I posted photos from our road ride (just around some suburban neighborhoods in Prairie Village and Overland Park) yesterday. That one came in at 18.5 miles. Loved seeing all the beautiful trees and made DH stop several times for photos. He hates to stop once we start riding.

Today we rode 21.5 miles to and from Costco (in downtown KCMO) on our mountain bikes for a few things. It was super windy, leaves flying around everywhere. The wind made it feel cooler than the 55-60 it was, plus the sunshine was milky rather than bright, but it was still a fun ride overall.

Tomorrow we're planning another errand ride -- need to go to the Natural Grocer for a few things. It's supposed to rain Tues/Wed and get much cooler, so we have to take advantage of these 50+ days when we have them. I doubt I'll do any rides when the high is not going to hit 50 (I know, I'm a wimp!)

[azfiddle]

I got in a short ride on Saturday - just up a short distance on Mt. Lemmon (3 miles) and my friend didn't think she could make it to the restroom at mile 5.5... so down we went. But Sunday we both signed up for a century. We missed one turn and ended up a few miles away from the 3rd sag stop. She opted for a ride home but I got a second wind and rode to the end- actually only 96 miles instead of 98 because of our wrong turn. It helped having a tail wind for the last 16 miles

El Tour de Tucson is fast approaching- that was probably my longest ride before the actual 111 mile event on Nov 23- maybe one more in the 80's next weekend though.

[OakLeaf]

Oh yikes Crankin! Some birthday present. Hope you're getting a better one today.

A couple of friends dragged me out today and I was really glad they did. I just will not motivate myself to go out the door when it's cold, but I'd already told them I was coming along. Honestly they'd pushed their start time back an hour and it was already 37° by the time we started, but that's a lot colder than I've been riding in recently. I nailed the clothes, too, which was great, because that makes all the difference, and I'm so prone to getting it wrong. Beautiful fall day, a little bit windy but nobody was riding fast, some color left in the trees, I even climbed the last hill with my friends when it would've been shorter for me to go another way when we split to go to our respective homes. Just 28 miles (because you know I'm turning 28 tomorrow ), but over 2100 feet of climbing.

[ny biker]

So, yesterday I went on a ride to celebrate my 60th birthday, which is tomorrow.

Happy birthday!!!

I went for a ride on my birthday back in June and got caught in a heavy rainstorm that totally surprised all the local meteorologists. It was as if the universe was sending me a message. But the ride was okay after the rain stopped. Sometimes we just have to focus on the okay parts.

I usually stop riding around this time of year and switch to taking walks instead, or maybe using cardio equipment at the gym. But lately I find I am only really happy when I'm riding my bike, and last spring I had decided I wanted to try to get comfortable cycling in colder temps, down to 40 degrees or so at least. So while I work on addressing the reasons for not being happy (mostly job-related stuff), I've also been indulging in some retail therapy and buying some clothes to help me stay warm on the bike. I've also been experimenting with different approaches to layering. For example it looks kinda funny, but wearing a wind vest over a windbreaker can actually be quite comfortable.

I also started to lead rides for a local club this year, and I find that it's quite fun. It takes a little bit of work, and sometimes I get tired of having to ride sweep, but everyone is so friendly and I'm having fun planning the routes, exploring some new areas and changing up familiar routes to add variety. Sometimes just riding a favorite route backwards can make it seem totally different.

So anyway, yesterday I lead a ride that was a sort of an abbreviated version of a mash-up of a couple of old club rides, done in the opposite direction that we usually go. The weather was sunny and temps were in the 50s, but there was a brisk northwest wind that brought the wind chill down into the 40s. Things started out a bit rough, with a lacrosse tournament filling up the parking lot at the school where we were meeting. Luckily we were all able to find a place to park, mostly at the far end of the lot away from the athletic fields (and also far from where we usually park for weekend rides). Along the way we had a couple of flat tires and a broken brake cable, and one of my friends had to shorten the ride because of a knee problem. But the wind turned out to be less of a problem than I had feared, and it was a really nice route, and ultimately we had a very nice day.

I've also recently bought a new, brighter headlight and a reflective vest so that I can continue doing the short hilly rides that I like to do one night a week after work. If all goes well I'll be back out again on Wednesday night.

And I'm thinking of leading another ride this weekend. I haven't decided which day yet, though.

[Crankin]

Oak, I got my present yesterday, a day early. It seems like this birthday celebration is being dragged out through next weekend!
No riding today, went to the gym, and tomorrow I am resting. Wednesday, I am going to force myself to go on the group ride that actually will be on a few of the same roads I was on Saturday, but no bad parts of town! It starts/ends at a favorite pub that is quite unique. It used to be a speakeasy. I only know about it from this group. Only problem is, that I have a client at 4:30 and I think I'd better not have a beer with my lunch! . There is a bit of dirt on this ride (< 1.5 miles) and it is going to be 37 at the start and 50 or so when it ends. A little worried about dressing right.
It was 28 when I went to the gym this morning and I was thinking about how I would be dressed for a ride in this temperature, in the dark.

[OakLeaf]

it is going to be 37 at the start and 50 or so when it ends. A little worried about dressing right.

That's pretty darn close to what I rode in today, though it was only in the high 40s when I got home.

I had a microweight wool zip-T under a long-sleeve synthetic jersey, and an extremely lightweight windblocking vest over that. Light knit cap under my helmet, Ibex Kilo II gloves, polypro fleece tights, shoe covers.

It was perfect for me. And I could've easily stowed the vest and the cap in my jersey pockets, they're that light, though I wound up leaving them on the whole ride.

[emily_in_nc]

Our "errand ride" yesterday (Monday) ended up being over 35 miles! We did the bike path first, though, so that accounted for quite a few of those miles. After that, we hit the Natural Grocer, Subway for a quick (late) lunch, and finally another grocery store for a few more items. We rode our mountain bikes with racks and Tailriders (plus I wore a backpack) so we could carry all our purchases.

Temp was in the high 50s, but with a stiff, gusty wind and completely overcast, it felt chillier -- downright cold after a rest stop. But it was a fun ride, and there's still some gorgeous foliage out there:

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But then there were also places like the photo below, reminding us that winter is fast approaching:

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[Giulianna23]

Did a 32 miles road ride Saturday with a few friends. Went Sunday for a short 4-5 mile MTB solo ride.

I had to take this pic.

[Crankin]

As usual, I bagged the group ride today. I have to come to look forward to Wed. morning as a Saturday morning, even though I have to work later.
I just came back from a little solo 15.6 mile ride, which I must say, was not one of my best. This is my go to route when I have more than 30 to 45 minutes. So, first, I dressed wrong. It was cloudy and 49 when I left, but windy. I knew it was getting warmer, but didn't realize how warm. Then the sun came out. And I didn't hear that the winds were sustained and about 15 mph, gusting to about 20. Things just didn't align today, but I got out there, not matter how sluggishly, with an average about the same as my metric on Saturday! Am chalking it up to the wind and being hot. And, I wanted to finish so badly, that I got home with just 4 miles left to hit 2K. This, in itself is depressing, since it's my lowest number of miles in years, but, hey, I'm still out there .

[ny biker]

Wind is the worst. It can really wear you down.

But yeah, you're still out there. That's what matters.

[ny biker]

Well, I did my Wednesday night ride tonight. I worked from home today so I thought I'd be able to start it early, but then I did a load of laundry and had to wait for the dryer to finish. So I started around 7:40, I think. It was relatively warm, with temps in the low 60s. I think the total distance was about 16 miles. It was nice and quiet.

The long-range forecast calls for colder weather to move in next week, with forecasted highs in the low-mid 40s on Wednesday. And my work location is moving to a different office with a longer commute, starting tomorrow. So there's a good chance I'll have to ride on the indoor trainer instead of outside. We'll see.

[emily_in_nc]

I hope some others got to ride today!

DH and I had an excellent ride on our road bikes. Not too long, just 21+ miles, but absolutely perfect fall weather. Started out around 55F and ended around 63. Sunny, light breeze (nothing like the 30-50 mph gusts we had on Friday -- no, we did not even attempt to ride!) Foliage is getting to be past peak but was still pretty. I felt really strong today, for some reason, and hills seemed easier than normal. Perhaps this is due to a good night's sleep last night, or just enjoying the weather, or the lighter winds, but whatever it was, I'll take it.

Tomorrow will be our errand ride on mountain bikes -- we need to hit several grocery stores for different sale items. The high is only to be 56, which means maybe 50 at the time we'll be riding since the high is at 4pm, and we don't like riding that late in the day.

Monday morning a serious cold front is supposed to blow through, bringing very chilly temps for the rest of the week, so after tomorrow we probably won't ride again until next weekend. Sigh...

[ny biker]

We're expecting that cold front here on Tuesday. In the meantime, we had a bit of a front pass through today. It brought winds from the NW, 15 mph gusting to 30 or more. Nonetheless the sun brought a bit of warmth and the sky was blue and there are still some colored leaves on the trees. I led a 41-mile club ride in a beautiful rural area in southern Maryland. It was great. The wind didn't seem too bad for most of the ride, but my legs were pretty tired so I guess it was working against us.

We've reached the time of year when water fountains in parks are turned off for the winter, which takes away some tried-and-true rest stops in my favorite cycling areas. I need to work on identifying some alternatives.

Now I'm watching Casablanca on TCM. One of those movies that gets better every time you watch it...

Anyway, I seems pretty definite that it will be too cold for my post-work bike ride on Wednesday, but I'm hopeful I'll be able to do a club ride in rural Virginia on Saturday.

[Catrin]

Crankin - happy belated birthday!!! I hear you about not knowing how to dress to ride this time of the year. I either dress too warm or I freeze, can't seem to find that middle ground.