November Rides

[north woods gal]

Rebecca, we're up north, just south of the U.P. border in Wisconsin.

Sky, this is our first Border Collie, but have had other types of Collies, too. We researched the breed, thoroughly, so we knew exactly what we were getting. Very active dogs that need lots of play and work time and generally regarded as one of then most intelligent breeds. That can actually be a challenge, at times, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

[emily_in_nc]

Finished up the week with another lovely ride on the West Orange Trail. A beautiful, cooler day, temps in 60s to 70s, breezy, sunny. LOTS of folks out today but no problems as the trail is wide and most are very polite. The funniest thing I saw was a petite woman with a bike trail hauling a LARGE dog behind her. Not sure how she was going to manage that on the lightly rolling hills! She was just starting out in a very flat area. It was a cute sight, though. Saw two tandems as well. 32.2 miles.

[north woods gal]

Sounds deliciously warm, Emily.

Still riding my trails, but really tough because the snow is now mostly ice. Tried shoveling some tricky spots, but just made it worse because it made the trail even more bumpy and uneven. When it gets like this, the trail decides where the wheels will go as much as I do. Boring, it is not, though. May just take one of the road bikes out on the pavement and/or gravel for a change of pace.

[azfiddle]

The week before Thanksgiving and the weekend were still close to perfect riding weather here in Tucson- a little breezy a few days. I rode to work Monday and had Weds through Friday off, plus the weekend. I rode all 5 days and had 130 miles between Monday and Sunday. A storm came through last night and it's still damp outside this morning- with morning commute time temperatures projected to be in the 30's all week. I admit it - I'm kind of a wimp and can't get motivated to ride the cold and dark- so the bike will stay in the garage until the mornings are back in the 40's.

[ny biker]

Hey ALL - we are giving away two fun prizes on Monday - just post a photo of you, your bike or something you've done outside this Thanksgiving Weekend on Instagram and use the hashtag #optoutsidebtn You'll be entered in for the prizes. We have impartial judging on Monday. Grand Prize is a Surly Wool Sweatshirt and runner up wins a BTN water bottle a Surly T-shirt of their choice, socks of their choice and whatever else I can fit into the bottle.

North Woods Gal - I had a border collie that really looked like yours He was so good on the trail, we used the command "bike back" when a bike was coming and he'd get right behind me and not move until I told him to release.

Now I'm wishing we had taken some photos on our bike ride yesterday!

I got back home around 2:30 am on Sunday morning after being in NY with family for the holiday. Ordinarily I would have done an afternoon bike ride after getting back so late but was worried about getting stuck in afternoon holiday traffic. So I contacted a friend who always prefers to ride early and made plans to join her and another friend for a 10 am ride. Of course I did not do my usual prep before going to sleep (fill water bottles, get snacks, etc) so I had to get up early for that. Bottom line, I got four hours of sleep. Not ideal but I've done more than a few summer rides after only 4 hours of sleep so I knew I'd be okay once I got going.

There was a bit of a cold breeze but it was in the low 50s and the sun was out so we were comfortable except for when we stopped at a convenience store near the bay. It was breezier there. There was a picnic table next to the store where a guy on a motorcycle was meeting a friend so they could go for a ride. They had nice bikes -- an orange Harley and a very shiny and well-cared-for Indian. We had a nice chat with them while we had our snacks. In all we rode 46 miles. It was generally uphill into the wind for the last 20, so I was pretty tired by the end.

Afterwards I went to the LBS. I wanted to look for fleecy mid-weight tights, since my Sugoi Subzeros (yes for me they are "mid-weight" not heavy weight) are looking kinda ragged. They didn't have anything fleecy enough in stock but I also wanted to look at saddles, since the padding in my Bontrager Affinity is wearing out. I ended up having a long chat with the manager and will be going back later this week to try a new saddle. Then on the way home I hit up REI to see if they had any tights in stock. Sure enough they had some Novarra tights that felt cozy and fit really well, with good reflective accents and a nice comfortable yoga-type waistband to boot. And they were on sale. The waistband is purple but that's okay, it won't be visible under my jackets and jerseys anyway.

[north woods gal]

Crazy weather! Almost an inch of RAIN??? last night, so my trails are almost back to snow free and normal to ride. Hit them hard, right after breakfast. Then more RAIN??? this afternoon. Not complaining, mind you, because it is nice to have my trails back to where I can climb those steeps and make those tricky maneuvers. Makes me a bit nervous, though, because this is definitely not the norm for late November, this far north.

[ny biker]

Must have been pretty muddy!

That rain is heading our way. My usual Wednesday night ride will be rained out. I'm not sure yet if I will try to do it on Thursday or if I will just hit the gym for some indoor cardio.

[Crankin]

Yeah, we are getting almost 3 days of that. Other than wondering if the supposed window of dryness for Wednesday's ride will be true, or if there will be ice at 5:30 AM tomorrow when I go to spin class, it's not annoying me at all . I called it wrong last Wednesday, when it was absolutely freezing when I got up and it looked like the real feel temperature would be much less than the actual temperature, so I didn't go on the ride. Of course, when I got out of my class at the gym, it was cold, but bright sun, and no wind. It would have been fine.
This is actually making me wish for snow, so I am no longer in this in between season!

[Crankin]

So, the ride was cancelled (damp, rained all night, will be starting again anytime between 11 and 1) and I am glad I signed up for spin. So, I will hold my nose and ignore the "housewife" group who attends the 9:30 am class. OK, some of them are retirees or part timers like me, but all I know is that the conversation remains the same as it was in 2002. Only, instead of worrying about their kids driving, now they are going on endlessly about their grad school, marriage, and careers.
Sigh.

[north woods gal]

NY, actually only muddy in a few low swampy and boggy areas. Our thin topsoils lay on top of sand, so moisture sinks in, quick, and only collects in specific areas. Even after heavy rains, most of our trails stay open. Bikes actually stay pretty clean as long as I avoid the few loops though the swamps.

Speaking of trails, they are now snow free - odd for being almost December, but nice. More snow on the way, though, so did 7 plus miles of trail work, today, concentrating on a lot of repetitions on the steep climbs because it's the steep climbs that get closed down, first, with snow. Legs very rubbery, afterwards, but in a good way.