December rides...

[ny biker]

Let's get this party started!

I haven't ridden yet this month, but posted a club ride for tomorrow because the weather forecast looked good, sunshine with temps in the high 40s. Then they added "windy" to the forecast. So not sure if it will be okay or too windy. Canceling and rescheduling for Sunday would be an option, though it will be cloudy so we won't have the warmth from the sun. We shall see...

[north woods gal]

Wow! December, already? I'm still a bit off balance with this strange weather of ours. Here it is, December, and no snow cover or even ice on the lakes. The good news is that I am still hitting the MTB trails for all they're worth before the snow comes. Will still ride the fatties in the snow when it comes, but that's a whole different kind of riding than technical trail riding. May even dust off the road bike and take it out.

[emily_in_nc]

I started the month yesterday with another excellent ride on the West Orange Trail. Had a great tail wind all the way out so felt great. The way back, the wind died for awhile, surprising but nice, since we'd expected a head wind. But it picked up again right in our face towards the end, lowering our speeds, as did hunting for an elusive upholstery shop downtown.

Anywho, a nice ride in shorts and short sleeves, right before a cold front blew in. 33 miles. Less than 100 left to reach my goal for the year of 3K, which I should be able to beat by a bit.

[ny biker]

I guess I should upload all the rides on the Garmin so I can see my total miles so far this year, in case I'm close to a milestone. I haven't uploaded anything since May.

I'm still trying to figure out my weekend. I really want to get the new saddle on the bike before I ride this weekend because I don't know how many chances I'll have to test ride it during the 30-day guarantee period. (Of course that's the main drawback with testing a saddle this time of year.) I was going to get the saddle tomorrow morning before my scheduled ride but the guy at the LBS won't be in tomorrow. I could move the ride to Sunday and get the saddle Sunday morning, but would probably have to start the ride a bit later in that case. And with the early sunset I would be risking getting home after dark if anyone on the ride has a mechanical that causes a delay.

Decisions, decisions.

[Crankin]

We had the exact weather that NY described above, today. It was very windy, not that cold (44) and partly cloudy. There was no sun when we left and some when we got home. So, just a little 16 mile ride, where we started out going uphill to warm up, which did achieve that objective, but generally is not good for me. The wind gusts were vicious at times, probably up to 25 mph, but it seemed like the frequency died down a bit when we were out.
Saw a few other lone cyclists, including 2 I know. Nothing eventful, except there always seems to be more traffic than I expect for a Saturday. Like all cold weather rides, I complain while I am riding, calm down nearer to the end, and I am glad I went when I finish. My attitude toward riding has sucked lately. I *want* to ride, but when I start, I often feel like crap; this is normal for me, I always need a long time to warm up. However, some of it is I have been riding straight through since March 2015. Usually, I take at least 1-2.5 months off from riding outside. Right now, I feel like as long as there is no snow on the road, I need to be out there, at least once a week. I seem to be motivated for the gym and hiking, but I really want it to snow!

[north woods gal]

In town to do stuff, all day, so didn't get to ride and feeling my usual guilty about it. Supposed to get 2" of snow, tomorrow, and that means my trails will be snow covered, again, so that just adds to the guilt. Silly, I know. Should actually be grateful for as much no snow trail riding I have been able to do this late in the year. The gloom is really getting me down, too. Haven't had a sunny day since well before Thanksgiving. Someone send some sunshine, up here, please!