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Thread: June Riding

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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394

    June Riding

    I've actually ridden 2 days in a row. A miracle.
    Yesterday I was the sweep for a 31 mile ride that another leader and I do on an intermittent basis throughout the summer. We've never had a lot of riders, so the other leader opened it up to another group that made me somewhat nervous. They are fast. But, they all behaved, the weather was perfect, but I was glad I was the sweep. However, toward the end, there were a couple who fell back after some serious climbing and I was happy to do my job behind them. I was tired at the end, but glad I forced myself to do this.
    Today was our rescheduled AMC New Members ride, which is not just for new members. Usually, it's at the beginning of May, but we were rained out. Tuesday, our friend who leads the slower group (we always split the group in 2, as some years we have 30-50 people of varying abilities) bailed, as he has a sprained MCL. I found someone else, but not someone to sweep that group. We only had about 12 riders, so we wanted to all stay together, but there were 2 riders who could not do a compromised pace. After a climb, they told our replacement leader who was sweeping, they would go off on their own, which was fine, as one is a leader, too. This woman is a real pain, so I am glad I was not dealing with her. Once they dropped off, there was only a small gap in the group. I got to stay in the middle, so my speed was up there. It was so nice to have a congenial group, no incidents, and perfect temperatures. About 5 miles from the end, it started spritzing out. We had several bailing out points, but we took a wait and see attitude, and did the entire 20 mile ride. It started raining harder as we were leaving the parking lot, but it was finished when we got home.
    All in all, a good day. It is supposed to rain starting tomorrow late afternoon and continue for several days.
    2015 Trek Silque SSL
    Specialized Oura

    2011 Guru Praemio
    Specialized Oura
    2017 Specialized Ariel Sport

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Posts
    10,889
    Sounds like a very nice day - congratulations on being able to actually ride 2 days in a row! The weather this year has just been wild everywhere!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Tucson, AZ
    Posts
    1,973
    Hi - been AWOL but riding pretty much every day. I finished the school year with a "PCW"- perfect commute week and over 75 days riding to work. I'm doing the 100 commute day challenge on bike journal this year.

    I think I posted we went to the Chiracahuas last weekend for a mini-bike tour. Just to practice, really, because we only rode 2 miles to the campsite! But we packed in all our gear. I had to replace my panniers- the ones I bought used ripped on the seam. (I think I'll post separately to see if anyone has a suggestion on whether they can be repaired). We took the touring bikes on a rough dirt road in the Chiracahuas - looking for a rare bird. Although we negotiated it successfully, it was not really ideal. The "back side" of the hill (we went down 2.4 miles over the top of the pass) was really steep and it was hot- we couldn't get enough traction to ride in places. Then coming down was just really challenging because the road was either gravel or rock and it took a huge amount of concentration. We had to brake the entire way and my hands were hurting. I decided it needed mountain bikes, disc brakes and possibly a younger body to enjoy that ride! But we did it! We spent time hiking and looking for birds on Saturday and did the big mountain ride on Sunday. We didn't even see the rare bird (Slate-throated Redstart) when we got to the spot after all that work!)

    Tues, Weds and Thurs mornings I did various flattish rides around Tucson to some birding sites.

    Then Thursday night until today, my husband and I took a somewhat longer bike camping trip to Madera Canyon. The grade is not bad until about 3 miles from the campground. It was about 16 miles, 5 flat and and 8 3-4%. But the last bit is 7-9% or higher most of the way and I could not pedal the loaded touring bike on the steepest (10-12%) sections. So it took us about an hour to go the last three miles. Friday I rode to the end of the road- maybe 1.5 more miles but gets up to 13%! I saw one of the birds I was looking for last weekend (Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher), but mostly lots and lots of hummingbirds.
    2016 Specialized Ruby Comp disc - Ruby Expert ti 155
    2010 Surly Long Haul Trucker - Jett 143

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Traveling Nomad
    Posts
    6,763
    AZ, those sound like the kind of adventures DH and I had last year. We rode on some crazy steep and unpaved forest roads that left me saying "never again"! But nice that you got to see birds!

    We broke down and bought a bike trainer (used to have two of them but gave them away when we moved to Belize in 2011). Now we can "ride" inside our motorhome, as the place we're staying now is not bike friendly at all, and I'm not ready for the road yet anyway. So today DH put my mountain bike on it, and I rode for 30 minutes, my first "ride" in the 6 weeks since my jaw- and thumb-breaking accident. Felt pretty good (for a trainer ride, anyway, not a big fan!) I didn't push it since it was my first ride but still worked up a light sweat, so that's a good thing.
    Emily

    2011 Jamis Dakar XC "Toto" - Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flow
    2007 Trek Pilot 5.0 WSD "Gloria" - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow
    2004 Bike Friday Petite Pocket Crusoe - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    north woods of Wisconsin
    Posts
    1,110
    Great ride reports! Thanks.

    Nothing special, here. Just my usual every day stuff. Just for fun, yesterday, I rode my 5 different fat/plus bikes for an hour on our trails just to get a comparison in a back-to-back kind of way. (Yes, even with fat bikes, there are a lot of differences in the way they ride and handle.) Didn't really learn anything I didn't already know, but still fun and interesting and a good workout, to boot.

    The Trek Stashe 29x3" rigid was the fastest and most nimble, but it has the purest XC (straight up) geometry. Definitely not as comfy over rough ground, though, as the fat bikes. Definitely felt the difference. Can still do the same log hops and rock pile climbs as the fat bikes, but not as much margin for error. Timing and approach are more critical for the stunt stuff. Super gravel and logging road bike, though.


    My Norco Sasquatch fattie came very close in speed and handling and was much more comfy over the long haul. It's a fat bike that rides like a good trail bike. I could ride it as my only MTB and be perfectly happy.


    Switched back to the original Schwalbe Sammy Slick 700x35 tires on my Salsa Warbird and ride comfort AND handling in sand improved, dramatically, over the 700x40 WTBs I was running. Funny how two tire models can look so similar in tread but perform so differently. Problems solved with just the change of tires. Time for a nice long run on this one. Does great on hard packed gravel.
    Last edited by north woods gal; 06-04-2017 at 08:45 AM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Concord, MA
    Posts
    13,394
    DH and I rode the bulk of our club's bike rally ride we are leading next Saturday. We developed the route, it's not new, but it has a climb we haven't done this year. We did about 23 of the 29 miles, from our house, although the ride starts about 4 miles away. We also did the end part differently, so as not to repeat riding we did yesterday. PMC riders are out in full force, training, which can be kind of annoying. You get groups, going fast, then they stop and clog up intersections because they are unfamiliar with the area. And, maybe it's just me, but it bugs me when these riders keep their little "badge" that they put on their bike when they actually do the PMC, all of the time. Like, "look at me." Yes, I am very sensitive to anything that seems like passive bragging...
    ETA:
    Emily I didn't see your post above earlier. Glad you got the trainer and had a successful first ride. Are you still in NC?
    Last edited by Crankin; 06-04-2017 at 03:36 PM.
    2015 Trek Silque SSL
    Specialized Oura

    2011 Guru Praemio
    Specialized Oura
    2017 Specialized Ariel Sport

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897
    Glad you're able to start pedaling again, Emily.

    I rode 38 miles yesterday in northern Maryland, a great area for cycling. I joined an another bike club that sometimes rides in that area. Most of their rides are farther north and east, too far from where I live, but they do some that are close enough for me. I got to bed late (as usual) on Friday night, was not sure I wanted to get up early the next day, but decided it would be worth it. The route was really nice and the weather was just about perfect. The people I rode with were all very friendly and a few of us went for lunch after the ride.

    I put the Sole insoles that I've been wearing in my sneakers into my bike shoes, and overall I think they were comfortable and offered better arch support than the Bontrager insoles I had been using. The route only had a few hills, but the first one made my right ankle start to hurt again. Just a little pain, but enough to get my attention. After that I started to push more with my left leg while pulling up with the right leg when going up hills, to take the pressure off my ankle. The only down side to the Sole insoles was that they were a bit thick and made my toes a bit cramped, so today I ordered a second pair, a thinner version of the ones for my sneakers, to use for cycling.

    p.s. North Woods, is it a coincidence that all three bikes are similar colors?

    - Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
    - Red hardtail 26" aluminum mountain bike, Bontrager Evoke WSD saddle
    - Royal blue 2018 aluminum gravel bike, Rivet Pearl saddle

    Gone but not forgotten:
    - Silver 2003 aluminum road bike
    - Two awesome worn out Juliana saddles

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Traveling Nomad
    Posts
    6,763
    Quote Originally Posted by Crankin View Post
    Emily I didn't see your post above earlier. Glad you got the trainer and had a successful first ride. Are you still in NC?
    Yes, and will be for some time since I have to get braces on my teeth so will have multiple orthodontist appointments once the process gets started (still working with the oral surgeon for now in elastics and arch bars). Also, my step-father has been diagnosed with Parkinson's so we've been helping my mom wherever we can. Will likely be helping her get their vacation home ready to put on the market this summer, as I don't think my step-father will be able to drive there going forward, and my 82-year old mother doesn't do that drive (narrow, curvy mountain roads).

    It's a shame this particular area is so bad for cycling -- most roads are narrow with no shoulders and lots of traffic. No bike paths. There are some so-so roads we have ridden (on previous visits) around my mother's house, so we may take our bikes over and do that once I am ready to ride outside again, but the area around the campground we're staying at (about 20 minutes away from my mom's) is not good at all, unfortunately. There's a very steep, mountainous unpaved road to even get out to anything paved, and then those are very hilly with no shoulder and not bike friendly (loose dogs, traffic, etc.) Not an ideal place to get stuck for an extended period of time, but I'm trying to focus on healing and realizing that this too shall pass.

    Here I am on the trainer yesterday -- glad we got it!

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Emily

    2011 Jamis Dakar XC "Toto" - Selle Italia Ldy Gel Flow
    2007 Trek Pilot 5.0 WSD "Gloria" - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow
    2004 Bike Friday Petite Pocket Crusoe - Selle Italia Diva Gel Flow

 

 

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