December rides

[ny biker]

I have posted a club ride for 11 am on 12/13/14 - 15 miles to a rest stop, then 16 miles back to the start. Let's hope the weather cooperates!

In the meantime, I'm hoping it will be warm enough to ride after work tomorrow (12/3).

[Crankin]

Well, I don't think I am going to get to ride until the weekend. It's going to be warmer (43) on Saturday, but pouring rain. Sunday looks nice, but a high of 38. That is getting to my limit. But, I need to keep testing my saddle. There's a chance I could ride Friday afternoon, but not looking too promising.
I went to spin class yesterday, before work. When I joked with the instructor that I was there under duress, she was confused and asked me why. It appears she's never been on a real bike in her adult life. Sigh...

[ny biker]

The forecast for today was a bust -- it's been foggy and cloudy, which is keeping the temperature from warming up, and when I came in from getting lunch I could feel that the wind was already changed from the SW to the NW, several hours ahead of the forecast for that. But I have my AmFib tights and my Showers Pass jacket, which is quite warm, in addition to hats and gloves and base layers and a neck gaiter. So I will try to ride after work tonight anyway.

[Jolt]

No outside riding for me today either...or running for that matter. We had freezing rain last night so there was still a lot of ice around. So, I decided to try a spinning class at the gym for (if you can believe it) the first time ever. It was kinda brutal (but I felt really good afterward)! The temperature in the room probably wasn't helping...it got pretty hot and I was on the opposite side from the window. Plus, there was a lot of standing which is not something I usually do on the real bike unless I'm standing up to stretch/give my butt a break. A good workout for sure, and certainly more up my alley than the exercise classes that involve a bunch of choreographed crap that I can't do .

[azfiddle]

I'm really not gloating- it's unseasonably warm here in Arizona, so I got out after work for an hour- just a jersey and shorts - the temperature was in the 70's. It should be about 10-15 degrees cooler. At least we might get some rain tomorrow...

[ny biker]

AZ, please enjoy your beautiful warm weather for all of us who are cold.

I did get out and ride tonight. I realized it was the first time I've ever done a post-work ride in December. It turns out there are lots of nice Christmas light displays on the houses along my route.

Conditions were really not great. Temps were in the high 40s. Since the clouds hung around all day and didn't start to break at sunset, the roads (and the leaves that have fallen on them) were still wet when I started. At one point I could feel my rear wheel slipping as I stood up to ride up a steep incline. The wind was kicking up, which helped to dry the roads and leaves, but also was a bit gusty at times, and it was cold. The good news was that I was comfortable the whole time, not over- or under-dressed. In all I rode 17 miles, and was just a bit slower than I would usually average on the same route during the summer.

When I left work, I really wanted to just go home, and I pretty much had to force myself to ride. I just kept thinking -- don't think about it, don't think about the cold and wind, just do it and see how it goes. And it went well. I don't know if I want to ride when it's much colder, because I've got more layers for my torso but I don't have any more for my feet, and there's only so much my lungs can take before the asthma kicks in. But mid-40s with a bit of a north wind, that I can handle, even in the dark.

[Crankin]

Jolt, one thing that I've started doing in spin class (or when I use the trainer at home) is put Nuun in my bottle. The added electrolytes seem to do the trick for me. Just make sure you get the Nuun R Natural, without the preservatives. I realized that I often feel as crappy as I do when I ride outside in very hot weather; it's all related to overheating. Find a bike by a fan or open window/door. I always wear a sleeveless jersey, too.

[AppleTree]

On the trail yesterday for a sunny but VERY cold ride on the Sammamish River Trail. I thought, since this trail was less shaded we'd be safer from the frosty or icy areas, but there were still spots that were a little scary. The worst were the bridges and overpass areas (or underneath the overpass). One overpass was just encrusted with frost, which is somewhat better than ice, but I was careful not to do anything sudden...like brake or turn. It was 36 degrees when we started out and I didn't take off my heavy outer jacket and gloves until two hours later. Did stop and get warm in a few places along the trail. Stopped at Element Cycle in Redmond and noticed they were selling "12th Man" bicycle jerseys... I need to go back and get one of those for my son for Christmas! They were all out except for the display model. FUN! We also stopped for lunch at Starbucks and warmed up.

I did come across one area that was icy, a low area of the trail that was in the shade...I just turned and went another way around it, no way was I going to chance falling on ice.

Starting out when it is as cold as that is so much a mental effort. Once I am out there, I always think, "this isn't so bad!"...but just getting started is hard. I was very bundled up in layers and sure wasn't motivated to go very fast at first, ha. It was maybe low 40s when we got back to the car about 2:00 pm. But I enjoyed being out in the sunshine...ended up doing about 26 miles altogether.

[ny biker]

Another cold ride for me today, a club ride which I led. Yesterday it rained all day, and I had to work, so I basically did not leave my living room all day (worked remotely from home). Today it was sunny, which was great! We also had a cold north wind, 10-20 mph with gusts of 30 mph. Temps were in the 40s, wind chills in the 30s. I could easily have canceled the ride based on the wind chill. But it was sunny!! I figured if I could ride under similar but slightly less windy conditions at night, I could handle it in sunshine. So the ride went ahead as planned.

We rode 33 miles. The route was basically a big clockwise circle, so we had equal parts head wind, tail wind and cross wind. It was in a rural area, but the farms are not large and there are lots of trees, rather than the huge expanses of wide open fields that you find in some rural places. This all combined to make the wind pretty manageable. There were eight of us in all, and we had a nice ride.

[DebSP]

II took my fat tire bike out on the rail trail yesterday. It was cold but the sun was shining. I layered up and stayed warm. The only thing that bothered me were my toes. Couldn't keep them warm. Need to try a few things this winter.

[rebeccaC]

II took my fat tire bike out on the rail trail yesterday. It was cold but the sun was shining. I layered up and stayed warm. The only thing that bothered me were my toes. Couldn't keep them warm. Need to try a few things this winter.

I rode in the cold (20+/- degrees) for the first time in a few years over thanksgiving. Wool and thin silk socks and shoe covers worked well to keep my feet happy. A person that rides there a lot in the winter showed me some nordic gear's socks with heated toe sections that i'd always use in really cold winter riding.

luvs southern california weather......

[DebSP]

I rode in the cold (20+/- degrees) for the first time in a few years over thanksgiving. Wool and thin silk socks and shoe covers worked well to keep my feet happy. A person that rides there a lot in the winter showed me some nordic gear's socks with heated toe sections that i'd always use in really cold winter riding.

luvs southern california weather......

I tried wool sock liners and then wool socks in my hiking boots. It was only -1 celcius (30 F). It is going to get a lot colder. I may look for the heated socks before winter is over! Last year I used some hand/foot warmers. They were okay but not great. I think the problem is that I don't have enough room in the boots I am using so my toes are cramped. Have to look at different foot wear. I don't use riding specific footwear.
I did 26 km but it took me 2-1/2 hours since I just toodle along enjoying the ride. It was funny because even my face felt frozen when I stopped to talk to someone who wanted to ask about my fat tire bike!

[marni]

we are experiencing a spell of relatively mild (ie seasonally normal) weather here in Houston, for once. Today's ride was 27 miles in 3:21 for an average of 14.2. Would have been faster but 13 miles of the ride were up and back on notorious Coshatta road- 6.5 miles and 8-10 rollers each way depending on how you count. Group of 5 of us thoroughly enjoyed the ride as it was relatively windless for the Texas plains, for a change.

[Crankin]

Did a teeny 8.5 mile ride in the sunny cold of 38 degrees, plus some riding around my driveway, trying to dial in saddle height on my Silque. It ended up going back up a teensy bit, after being lowered, and I had DH tilt the bars back to what I consider a normal position, from the very upright position the fitter wanted me to be in. I hated it, and I think it was affecting other things.
Still getting used to the gearing, too. Although it is very similar to my Guru's gearing, it has a different cassette on the back. Tried spending more time in the small ring, as was suggested.
Tomorrow is going to be in the 40s and I am going out for at least 20, hopefully, 25 miles. Then someone is coming over to test ride my Kuota.

[ny biker]

I have posted a club ride for 11 am on 12/13/14 - 15 miles to a rest stop, then 16 miles back to the start. Let's hope the weather cooperates

Today's ride was great. Nine people joined me for the ride. So it was 10-11-12-13-14-15-16 -- 10 cyclists at 11 am on 12/13/14 riding 15 miles to the rest stop and 16 miles back to the park.

It was colder than I had hoped, based on recent weather forecasts -- 41 at the start, with a bit of a west wind. But the sun was out, and it rose to almost 50 by the time we finished. So overall the weather was okay.

When I arrived at the ride start (a small county park) there was no one else there, but I noticed a dog standing near my car, staring at me. He was friendly, nothing to worry about, and in fact he wanted someone to play with. But he was also alone, with no sign of a person with him. After a few minutes my friends started to arrive, and I know from experience that one of them is good with dogs. I asked her to help, so she lured him over with a cookie and found a phone number on his tags, and I called the number and left a message on the answering machine. When we were about 14 miles into the ride, the owner called my cell phone and left a message. He lived across the street from the park, and wanted to let me know that he had gone over and gotten his dog, and to thank me for calling him. It seems the dog had managed to get through the electric fence, so he planned to raise the voltage a notch (or whatever adjustment you make to electric fences) to keep the dog from making any more solo visits to the park.

Tomorrow is also expected to be sunny, and a bit warmer, so even though I have tons of holiday-related errands to do, I'm planning to join another club ride. I'm not leading this one, but I did come up with the route.