April Rides

[emily_in_nc]

nwg, that is a gorgeous photo -- all that clean white snow! I would love to ride those beautifully groomed trails if I didn't have to feel the cold!

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, will you be staying in Florida over the summer or do you two plan to do your usual traveling? Honestly, after this winter, I'm wondering if we shouldn't do the snowbird thing.

We hope to travel. It all depends on when I get my braces off. We will be taking some side trips in between my orthodontist appointments in the meantime. Need to visit the parents and hope to do some fun travel as well. We missed out on traveling last summer since I had my accident on April 21, so we only made it from Florida to NC and back all year. Itching to range farther this year, and I do hope we get to!

[ny biker]

NWG, that snow is way too deep!

I felt cold when I left work tonight but it was just shy of 50 degrees so I just stopped thinking about it and rode my bike. Instead I thought about the rides in November and December when I was overdressed because it wasn't really cold. I also went overboard with layers at the start -- vest over my Gore windstopper jacket, Amfib tights, fleecy Gore booties, and a wool neck gaitor for the first time in years. After a few miles I took off the vest and neck gaitor. I had problems with dry eyes, probably from the allergy eye drops, and either my saddle needs to be leveled or I've gained too much weight and my shorts don't fit anymore . Overall it wasn't too cold but I wasn't comfortable for other reasons. So I cut things a bit short, for a total of 12.3 miles. My shortest bike ride in about a year. And probably my slowest.

Despite everything I'm glad I was able to get out and ride. Maybe I can go out again on Sunday.

[Crankin]

Ha, ha, NY. I have decided my athletic humble bragging on FB would sound something like this:
"What a great ride! I rode 12.5 miles, and felt like sh!t the whole time. My head hurt, my eyes were tearing, and my stomach didn't feel too good, either. My speed was comparable to a mountain climb in Spain, although I was probably dressed right for the weather. But, the wind was blowing with occasional 30 mph gusts and I felt like I was riding into it the whole time."

Really, I am so tired of seeing people say things like "I had such a wonderful run, followed by a tough session on the trainer. My power watts were through the roof and I have been hitting all my numbers perfectly."

[north woods gal]

Emily. I do hope you can get out and travel, this summer. I always enjoyed those posts of yours about bicycling in all those different places.

Hey, N.Y., you got on the bike and went for a ride. That's what counts. Very few of my winter rides have been 12.5 miles, this year. In fact, quite a few of them have been just long enough to claim I went for a ride. Had to drag my butt to make some of them happen, too. Wonder Woman I am not.

Snowing, this morning. Surprise! Surprise! Only an inch to two, though, today. Right, now, I'd settle for a good rainstorm. At least I don't have to break out the shovel after one of those.

[Crankin]

It's snowing. Not sticking, though.
Thank you, all for letting me post my humble brag here. I would regret posting it elsewhere.

[rebeccaC]

Someone brought homemade cookies and, even better, homemade bagels with cream cheese into work today. They are wonderful, and though it's a tough requirement, I will power through each type; I know my numbers will be perfect in the morning.

...

emily...West Coast!!!!!!....more accurately L.A. for awhile and then the northern ca and southern or coasts ftw!!!!!

ny...good to read you're doing the flooring and +1 on nwg ...any ride can be a good ride!!!

[Crankin]

After a day of snow showers and wind, followed by a night of rain, it was 34 this morning . But, the sun came out around noon. DH brought my car to get the snow tires removed, and then we went to the LBS to spend our $40.00 coupon that we have no idea why we got it. Ended up buying 2 pairs of lightly thermal full fingered gloves which were on sale, so we ended up paying 6.00 for both. Scary thing is, DH and I wore the same size! The fingers were just a teeny long on me, but I have discovered I have "man hands," for petite person.My hands don't look big, but my fingers are long for a small person. After that, we went home, ate lunch, and went for a 16 mile hilly ride. It was really windy and we were heading into it for 3/4 of the ride. But, the sun was out and it was 47-49 out. I feel better today, and at least my average was ok for this time of year.
I really want to ride longer tomorrow, and if DH gives me crap, I will let him go home if his back hurts. His first PT appt went well, so there's hope.

[north woods gal]

Nice to have company riding in the snow or, at least, after a snow.

I do hope all go well for the both of you, health-wise. By the way, my hands are also very much like that. I have very long fingers for the size of my palms. Mom said I should have been a piano player.

I did my best NOT to give in to temptation and remove snow from my trails, but I couldn't help-myself. Ran the snow-blower down the main sections, then rode my fat bike with the most aggressive tires. Still dicey riding, because a snow blower leaves a lot of snow, behind, on a rough and uneven trail surface. It's out of it's element on anything but pavement.

I made it, though, at least far enough (almost two miles, fishtailing, now and then) to say I went riding in, and on, some challenging snow cover. Yippee!

Of course, that wasn't enough, so just rode the fat bike, studded tires and all, for five miles out on the neighborhood paved roads. Definitely feeling the spring fever, I guess, even though it never got above freezing, today. Tame compared to the trail riding, but just felt so good to be out and moving, fast. Right, now, the local roads are 80% dry pavement and 20% snow/ice covered. Not enough snow or ice to even slow down the fat bike. Well, okay, slow and fast are in a different category with a fat bike, compared to other bikes. Had a blast and that's what counts.

I really, really can't wait for some warm weather, all the same. Someone, please, send some.

[Crankin]

That sounds like a lot of snow!
I didn't ride today, butI'm OK with that. The pollen count was through the roof. DH and I walked to town and had lunch, and by the time I walked back home, my eyes were totally burning.
So, I walked 4 miles, which is OK for me.
We are going to have a few days of 50s- 60s this week. DH will be in CA until Thurs night, so I will probably commute a couple days and take the longer way home, do the club ride on Wed., and then ride Friday afternoon, when it will be close to 70.

[north woods gal]

Rumor has it that we may get a few days in the 50s, not this week, but next week. The rest of this week is our usual 30s stuff. That's okay, as long as we don't get hit with another snowstorm. Have been doing daily rides out on the roads with my hubby joining me for part of the rides. Yeah, it's cold, but it's doable. Looks like mostly road riding for awhile.

Or not. After a long hard day of shoveling, my snow trails are back to being in shape to ride, so I rode them like crazy, today. I am such a trail riding addict. Can't help, myself. Did 7 miles of road work, though, just to round things, out.

Saw an otter running though the woods, down by the lake, the other day, sliding though the snow in places. Cool.

Heard and saw a pair of Trumpeter Swans flying overhead. They think it's spring anyway, even if it doesn't look like spring.

No signs of bears, yet and this is the time for them to be coming out of their winter sleep. We are having a very late spring, though. Not much for them to eat with all this heavy snow cover. That could be a problem if they hang around houses, more, to find something to eat.

[emily_in_nc]

Have not ridden since Friday. We don't normally ride on weekends due to the bike trail being too clogged. Yesterday I had an orthodontist appointment, and today is going to be off and on rain & t-storms all day (mostly on). Bah humbug!

[Crankin]

As DH is saying, it is now January 127th.
Raw and drizzly today; I left work early as my last 2 people cancelled; normally I'd be out riding or taking a walk, at the least.
Tomorrow is the group ride. We are on a warming trend, but the ride starts at 10, usually over around 1:00.I've done this ride before, it's good. So, it will be 38 at the start and about 42 near the end. Of course it will be close to 50 and sunnier in the late afternoon.
I know I will make myself go, andI probably will feel like I am dying, since it's 35 miles and I have not ridden more than 20 at a time the last few weeks. There's only one real climb and one small one. Hoping some of the regulars are there, since if it's only the hard core riders who ride through the winter, they will already be fast. There's always slower people than me in this group, but with the weather so far, I am venturing some have not even been out on their bikes yet.

[north woods gal]

I'm still riding, but, okay, I'm sure that's no big surprise to anyone. I'm hurting, though, same as some of you with this lack of spring weather. Our snow cover is still so deep that our area high schools have had to travel a couple hundred miles, south, just to practice spring sports. On top of all that, we're expecting another big snowstorm, possibly the biggest of all, over the weekend. I'm now riding when and where I can as much to combat depression as for fun.

Good time to tweak some bikes, so have been changing out handlebars, grips and tires on the summer some bikes to take my mind off things. Oh, well.

[Crankin]

Right now it's foggy and 30 degrees. The weather people are saying "be careful of black ice." Now, it's going to be 39, in 2 hours, when the ride starts, but these conditions are what got my friend a broken hip. And, the ride starts very close to where his crash happened (I know, just coincidence). It will be much nicer, after lunch, close to 50. Am I crazy to be worried?