May rides, may they all be wonderful

[Crankin]

Our leaders' party was fun and DH and I are going to lead 1/3 new type of rides to lure AMC members who have not ridden with the bike committee, i.e. either new people, or hikers, skiers, paddlers who ride, but not with us. The lure is they get a free lunch! If we don't get enough people to sign up who are new, we can open it up to others who have ridden with the club. We'll see how this works. Now I have to figure out a new route that is about 20-25 miles long.
Today started out cold and cloudy, really raw. At the party, I made plans to ride with one of the other women, who is the girlfriend of a man who DH and I mentored. He is recovering from knee surgery and DH is down with a cold and injuries from, well, a very stupid accident that could have been horrible. He's had a bad week! So, at first my friend and I were going to do a 25 mile ride, but even though we knew it would be clearing, we opted for an 18 mile ride from her house. They live really close, but I drove there, with my bike. She is a very strong rider, but she hasn't been out much; also hiking is more of her first sport. But, she definitely has slowed down. It was coolish when we left, but by the end, I had my head cover off and wished I was wearing a vest, not a jacket and had brought short fingered gloves. But, I unzipped and was fine. Although the ride was not on any roads I don't usually go on, it was mostly in the opposite direction, so it felt different. It was quiet out at first, but then, more riders and cars. I am glad I went, it was fun.
Leaving for Mother's Day at my son's around 5:30. I cooked and made the dinner, so when my DIL gets home from work, it will be ready. I just spoke to my other son. He leaves for Ranger training on the 22nd, so he is in Philly, where he will leave my DIL and granddaughter for a couple of weeks, so she won't have to spend 8 weeks alone. Thinking I might get down there before she goes back to GA.

[emily_in_nc]

Crankin, I hope your DH will be okay. Sorry to hear that he is down for awhile! A bike accident?

We had four good rides last week (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri) of around 35-36 miles each. On Friday I felt especially strong. I almost always take off Saturday/Sunday because of how busy the trail is and needing to do other things (laundry, shopping, work out in the gym, long walks, etc), but looks like this week we'll be lucky to get in any rides, as a tropical-looking thing has settled in over Florida, bringing lots and lots of rain. It has been raining since last night, and I am dreading having to take the bus to my orthodontist appointment in an hour. We haven't had many rainy days at all this year, so I can't complain, but just wish it weren't today. One of the downsides of living car-free! They say we could get 3-6" of rain over the next few days. Now I really wish I had ridden yesterday, as it was cloudy but not raining, but I had planned on laundry and the gym, and I just didn't think it through. Oh well.

[north woods gal]

Speaking of tropical weather, Emily, read that the NWS is predicting another bad hurricane season, this year, at least on a par with last year. Hope you don't have to deal with that.

My bike shop's been very busy, as you might expect for this time of year. That means my new single speed won't be coming home, today. Poop. Oh, well. Did a some trail and road miles on one of the geared bikes in one gear to practice. Unusually hot for us at 80 degrees. Star was showing it. Border Collies don't do well in heat. Have to keep an eye on them in hot weather.

[Crankin]

Emily, no it was noting to do with a bike accident! First, he's been getting PT for a back issue that is getting better. Then, he was not paying attention going down the stairs and he messed up his foot. That is slowly resolving, though walking hurt more than riding. Then, he caught a really bad cold from our granddaughter the weekend before this past one. Both she and our son had been really sick. But, then Wed. night we had water in our basement. It turned out the main line to the septic tank was clogged, so after a plumber, the condo association getting the septic company out here, and then the pipe unclogging guy, who didn't get here until 9:15 PM, he was exhausted. When the guy finished, around 11:30, DH went out again to check with him in front yard. Although he had lights out for where the guy was working, he didn't see the cover to the septic tank was off still and he fell in! In order not to drown in a pile of sh!t (although it had just been pumped 3 hours earlier), he was able to catch himself by doing an old gymnastics maneuver, but he is really banged up. An unfit person probably would have broken several things... I laughed my head off, but I reminded him there is a reason to look down at the ground at times! Yesterday his cold was so bad it was unreal. He stayed home today and it wasn't just work from home, he actually slept on and off through the day and he is much better now.
We are getting that front tomorrow late afternoon to evening. Severe thunderstorms and wind predicted, but Wednesday looks great for my friend who is from western MA and I to ride.

[north woods gal]

Good heaven's Crankin! That is what I call a really lousy day. Unbelievable. Glad he's on the mend.

Getting a few showers, this evening, but we have had an abnormally dry May, so far. Not sure what to make of our weather, anymore. I don't dare wish for more rain for fear of going to the other extreme.

Did two rides, today, one after breakfast and one late afternoon. Nothing strenuous. Just kind of noodling around for fun with lots of stops to throw sticks for Star. Need some of those rides, now and then. Keeps me from getting too intense. Helps me to keep things fun. Star loves it, too.

[Crankin]

Thanks for letting us know, Sheila.
Planning a 40-ish mile ride tomorrow. DH took the day off and I am back to my 3 day a week schedule. It is going to be 85-90, so I am hoping to start early. We were going to do a group ride Sunday (a group that doesn't necessarily ride together), but it is going to be cold and rainy. Then, I thought we'd just do the ride Saturday, as it's going to be super hot and this ride is a metric starting on the coast in northern MA, going up to Exeter, NH. But, that's out too, because now, while it's going to get stormy here in the late afternoon, I just heard the weatherman say, "Don't plan on a beach day on the North Shore on Saturday," because the storms are starting much earlier there. So, it will be another hot and hilly ride. So, Sunday will be a rest day and it looks OK for a short ride on Monday.

[north woods gal]

Thank heavens the forum is back. I know we're a small group as forums go, but I really, really missed not being able to chat with everyone. I missed you guys.

My news while the forum was down is that I've fallen in love with my single speed and the whole single speed concept. The Gunnar SS really is the finest bike I'ver ever owned. Now well over 100 miles on the pavement with it, about 20 or so on the trail. Been riding it everyday at least a little, often alternating with one of the other bikes.

Out on the pavement I can climb my hilliest sections on my route with the gearing I now have on the Gunnar. I was not expecting this because I do have some sections that are nothing but hills for miles, not a level spot anywhere. Oh, I really have to work at it and, for sure, it's been a learning experience as far as technique needed. Very satisfying to do these hills my with only one gear, though. The amazing thing is that my average speed on the hilly routes is the same and even better than with the geared bikes. This I did not expect, either. Who knew? The reason I can do better with the single speed is that I really have to hit the climbs early and hard to maintain my momentum. Can't get lazy and wait till I'm well into a climb and just drop down to another gear and just spin up the hill, as with a regular bike. In other words, I'm getting up the hills faster on the single speed. Really have no choice. On the level sections I can maintain a very pleasant 12 mph for an average speed, even with a good head wind.

Much harder to ride my trails in one gear, believe me. Have to do MUCH more standing on the pedals. Still, I can climb my steepest sections, but it takes it's toll. Half an hour on my regular laps is about it, for now. And here I thought I was in good shape. Whoa!

Okay, call me crazy, but I figured why not have one single speed (the Gunnar) for road work and one with lower gearing for trail work? Sooo ... traded in two of my five fat bikes (a couple of Norcos) and had my local shop order that Log Lady steel single speed, today. Good thing, because I got the last medium LL in the country. The Log Lady will be my dedicated trail single with a bit easier to manage gearing for trail work. Won't be ready for awhile, but that's okay.

Anyway, glad to be back.

[north woods gal]

One more thing. Our weather has been almost dangerously hot for so early in the summer. We've been having July kind of heat - July is our hottest month - and here it is only May. Can't imagine how July will actually be for us, then.

Hope everyone is staying safe if you're getting this kind of heat so early. This is crazy. Never seen anything like it.

[emily_in_nc]

Interesting, nwg -- we've definitely been warm in Florida, but not excessively by Florida standards. Mid-80s is the highest so far, and will probably have a cooler weekend when the tropical (depression/storm, whatever it ends up being) comes through. Rainy days are always cooler, obviously. I hope your May heatwave is an anomaly and doesn't bode for a crazy hot summer.

Enjoyed reading about your Single Speed adventures. You are a very strong rider and are getting stronger every day doing this! When I ride my cruiser bike around the campground, which is pretty much flat, just a slight slope up towards the eastern side, I can really feel it when riding into a headwind and spend a lot of time out of the saddle. But nothing like your trails or actual hills on the road like you are riding.

Looking forward to photos of your Log Lady (cool name!) when she comes in.

[north woods gal]

Thanks, Emily. This crazy weather pattern this year makes it so hard to predict anything down the road. As for the heat, it really doesn't bother me, but I have to ride slower with frequent stops when Star is along. Border Collies are very susceptible to heat. It's a lot harder on her than me. In this kind of heat, I usually take her back to the house after a few laps, then continue my workout.

The Gunnar really is the best ride, ever, for me. It's decked out with all high end stuff, but it's that marvelous frame. It's made by Waterford, in the Waterford plant. The Gunnar line is the more economical Waterford line. It's tig-welded (still by hand), instead of lugged as with a standard Waterford. The Gunnar line has fewer custom options. Interesting factoid I learned about Waterford is that the company is owned and run by a guy the name of Schwinn of the Schwinn bicycle family.

Riding a single speed is very reminiscent of riding those old cruisers we had as kids, yes. Very different bikes as far as all the technology and outfitting, of course, but the principle is still the same. Next time on vacation, I may just rent one of those cruisers like you're doing. Sounds like a lot of fun. Hope you don't get too much of storm, down there. Send some of that rain, up here. We really, really need it.

[Crankin]

Ha, I've only ridden a beach cruiser once, on Hilton Head Island. After 3 days of that, my knee was killing me, and I don't have knee problems! I love my gears.
So, we rode 32 miles this morning. We ended up doing a run through of our club rally ride, which we lead one group of. It's not new and we designed the route, but there is a hill that is pretty hard, so I wanted to test myself on that one. We rode to the start, 5 miles and then proceeded until we were a mile from our house and, then we headed home. The ride next week is 29m miles. It was 72 when we left and close to 85 when we got back, but this route is mostly shady. It was also breezy. The heat did get to me by the end, but more than that, the damn pollen is just gross; I kept swallowing stuff in the air, which made me feel like I was choking. I dealt with it, though, but next time, I will take my inhaler with me, in case. After the big hill, there is one other smaller, short climb that is annoying and DH got ahead a bit, and that's where I was dealing with the pollen. However, we had a great tailwind on my favorite road, so we increased our speed a lot and by then, we were about 4 miles from home.
I was starving and overheated when we got home, and today was my first spray the bottle down my bra ride! Going out tonight, to celebrate a long weekend.

[emily_in_nc]

Sorry about the pollen, Crankin. We dealt with that here back in March -- or was it February!? It's truly summer here now, and with a tropical storm or sub-tropical depression or whatever the h*ll it's gonna be, the season is starting early! I'm expecting a lot of rain from tomorrow afternoon through Monday, at least, so am very glad the weatherman was wrong this past week. It looked like a washout, and we actually got all four of our rides in! We could have ridden all five weekdays, but we always take one off (usually Wed.) to do laundry, gym, errands, chores, etc. We did just have a brief downpour, but overall, a pretty dry week after a very wet week the one before.

I only do short rides on the cruiser bike so haven't had any knee or other issues. But I also had a cruiser bike in Belize and Mexico and did longer rides there. My crotch was more of a problem than anything else, since I typically rode without bike shorts. I did at least upgrade the saddle in Belize, since we were there longer, but never bothered in Mexico, since I bought it and sold it within six months, before we came back to the US for the summer.

Hope everyone has a good Memorial Day weekend. I'll be quacking like a duck down here in the rain and am just hoping to get some walks in between downpours. Will try to send some of this wet stuff up your way, nwg!

[Railtrail]

Interesting factoid I learned about Waterford is that the company is owned and run by a guy the name of Schwinn of the Schwinn bicycle family.

Hello friends,

I stumbled across this board while searching for information about the log lady. I must say, it took a good bit of work to find my way here. The G search engine was very insistent I stick to only 2 specific sites.

Anyway, I thought NWG might be interested to know that the Log Lady was developed and engineered by Anna Schwinn while she was head engineer for All City Cycles. You are on a Schwinn roll! She also developed the Space Horse, which I believe is their best selling bike.

I’m picking up my own log lady today at noon. Super excited!

[north woods gal]

Hello friends,

I stumbled across this board while searching for information about the log lady. I must say, it took a good bit of work to find my way here. The G search engine was very insistent I stick to only 2 specific sites.

Anyway, I thought NWG might be interested to know that the Log Lady was developed and engineered by Anna Schwinn while she was head engineer for All City Cycles. You are on a Schwinn roll! She also developed the Space Horse, which I believe is their best selling bike.

I’m picking up my own log lady today at noon. Super excited!

Wow, oh, wow! And welcome to the forum. Nice to have you with us. Should be a lot of fun comparing notes.

Record hot for us. If the forecast holds, we'll hit 92, tomorrow, making it the hottest day we've ever experienced since moving up, nine years back. To put this in perspective, we hit 90 once a summer in July, but on an every other year kind of basis. The only AC we have is a window unit and in some years, we don't even bother to put it in. It's in, now, though.

I'm adapting, all the same. No way will I stop riding. Just a matter of riding pavement early before peak heat and for trail work too, though the heat isn't as bad back on my forested trails. Riding close to home is also a help, in case I start to bonk. I just need a bit of time to adapt to this early heat. Very strange weather pattern for us.

If this heat holds, it can be bad for a lot of our native plants that are not adapted for prolonged heat. Our forest experts have told us that their studies show that our north woods are slowly retreating northward, now, thanks to global warming and becoming more hardwoods as in the central part of the state. Maybe we should have retired farther north!

[Crankin]

Wow, it's warmer where you are, although it's about 86 here. Thankfully, today is overcast, with a breeze, and no pollen flying into my lungs!
We did a low key ride to a café that specializes in waffles. It's at the beginning (or end) of the Minuteman bike trail, so there are a lot of cyclists around there, as it is also a meeting place for group rides. But, as usual, there's a story here. So, I haven't ridden my Guru since last fall. This is the bike I'll be taking on our trip in August. You guys know I don't like the geometry of this bike as much as my Trek, but I also really disliked the Frog pedals I had, because I was becoming unclipped all of the time. This was an issue for some, so I know it's not all in my head, as I read about this. Last fall, I put an extra set of Speedplay road pedals on the bike, but I don't really like to use road pedals when I am on a tour. So DH bought both of us spd pedals with huge platforms. I used the shoes at the gym once and they seemed fine in spin class. So today, I was a wreck before starting; too many changes at once brings out all of my anxiety. Dealing with the different feeling of the bike was heightened about 10X by the different pedals. After a little screaming in the parking lot of our condo, we were off, and it seemed like I was not easily clipping in my left foot, which is the one I unclip with. I was fine with that... the restaurant is about 10 miles from my house and DH insisted we take a packed dirt path that takes you off the main road and ends up near the café. I've been on this trail with my mountain bike; the part in Concord is always muddy and wet, but the next town, where we got on the trail has totally graded it. But... DH had not been on the trail since last fall. There was one section that was sandy, rutted, and torn up. I started skidding, and luckily, I put my foot down and didn't crash into anyone behind me. There was a group of guys on road or cross bikes who told us this was from the town taking down trees from the winter storms and not regrading. I walked over this part. But, I was so spooked I slowed down to such a slow speed, a runner passed me! This would be OK, without the wrecked part, or with the right tires/bike. The waffles were great, and it was not too busy. Obviously, we did not take the trail back, so had a non-eventful trip, except at one stoplight where I had to work to get unclipped. DH fixed that when we got home.
I wish I wasn't so sensitive to change going back and forth between bikes. I love the way the Guru feels, once riding, but, the top tube is not slanted quite enough for me. So, a nice 20 mile ride, and I will ride this bike on Monday to get the muscle memory back.