July rides

[north woods gal]

Thanks, all. Hoping for the best on the report, but will let you know, regardless.

Emily, my routine has been short daily rides for some time, now, but that's typically an hour or two, at most, for a ride, not all day or all afternoon affairs. I find that short daily rides are doable for me at my age without a lot of wear and tear on the body, but they still keep me in good shape. Even if I miss a day or two in one week, I stay in shape. No big deal. It's the long rides that tend to wear me, down, and take so long for me to recover. It's that recovery time that is critical. I'm in my 60s, too, so I know how your DH feels. No shame in cutting back or altering your routine. In fact, it's the smart thing to do if we want to keep riding into our old age. And, yeah, I am going to make a lot of changes in the type of riding I do, thanks to my accident, but plan to keep doing my short and fun daily rides. Those I can handle. Got my DH doing it, now, too, and he loves it. His disabilities prevent him from walking any distance, but he can ride these short daily rides on his fat bike and now he's hooked.

Been my experience, too, on the dog parks. The dogs sure love it, natural or not. They're social animals, after all.

[rebeccaC]

wishing for good news nwg...

If riding in areas with unruly dogs Halt dog repellent ftw….it causes only temporary but extreme discomfort. Buy 2 and use one to get use to how it works. Carry it someplace you can get to it in a hurry. When I’ve carried it, it’s on the outside of my handlebar bag.
It stopped one dog that would have attacked me….mostly though I just give dog treats to friendly or shy, wandering dogs in the old industrial downtown areas of L.A. I ride in.

[north woods gal]

I'M FREE!!! I did it. Got my neurosurgeon's blessing to start bicycling, again. Normally, he would require waiting another week after taking off the neck brace for the neck muscles to strengthen backup, but I told him I've been cheating this past week or so and have already been taking off the brace for long stretches to do just that. He tested my strength and mobility, then shook his head and smiled. Said, okay, we'll skip that part. You have my blessing to start riding.

Got home too late to jump on the bike and, besides, kind of an emotional wreck, so will wait till tomorrow when I'm fresh and alert. Will do a morning ride with my hubby out around the neighborhood and see how it goes.

It's over, though, and I'm going to do everything it takes not to go through this, again. One close call was enough.

[rebeccaC]

.....

[emily_in_nc]

wishing for good news nwg...

If riding in areas with unruly dogs Halt dog repellent ftw….it causes only temporary but extreme discomfort. Buy 2 and use one to get use to how it works. Carry it someplace you can get to it in a hurry. When I’ve carried it, it’s on the outside of my handlebar bag.
It stopped one dog that would have attacked me….mostly though I just give dog treats to friendly or shy, wandering dogs in the old industrial downtown areas of L.A. I ride in.

Yes, we have been carrying it for years on rides on rural roads. Unfortunately, letting the dogs get close enough to deploy it, if they mean business and are snarling, can be a problem. It is hard to aim properly while riding as well, and once the amount in the can gets a little low, it can be hard to get a hard enough stream to go more than a few feet.

When I had my accident fracturing my pelvis in 2005, I was going for the Halt on my handlebars when I crashed into my husband's bike right in front of me (he slowed down, I sped up when the dogs headed towards us). So while it can help and has saved our azzes a couple of times, it is not fail-safe. Nothing is, with certain dogs.

I thank you for the suggestion, though. Carrying Halt is certainly better than not carrying it.

[emily_in_nc]

nwg, YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! Enjoy! I hope your maiden voyage goes smoothly. Very happy for you!

Thanks for the clarification on the trails you were talking about, Crankin. We only occasionally ride those kind of trails; they are mostly for hiking, and yes, walking dogs, in my mind. As you know, we mostly ride "official", marked trails, rails-to-trails, city-maintained trails, national forest trails, and the like. Not many loose dogs on those, thankfully. Behind our 11-acre property in NC we used to own, there was an established hiking trail that had been there for many years, unmarked and across the back of many privately owned properties but known by all who lived in this wooded area. We used to walk our dogs there -- but on leash. We did occasionally run into other folks with their dogs off-leash on it, and one of our neighbors' dogs ran into our yard from it and attacked our first Boston Terrier, who defended our property. Needless to say, our vet bills were paid, and that only happened once -- we made sure of it!

[Crankin]

Congrats NWG!!!
Wow, that is a story, Emily. I know some think I am a dog hater, but it's actually the owners I dislike! I don't have a dog because I don't want the responsibility, maybe because I take that seriously. We had a cat for 14 years and I knew that was my limit.
So, good thing I looked at the AMC bike committee calendar last night. There is no Friday ride today. The agreement I have with Jack is that if I show up, I get leader credit for sweeping. That's fine, because I didn't realize it's going to be 90 and humid. I am getting ready to go out now, probably on the shady streets, and then back on the bike trail as far as I can get.

[Crankin]

Emily, I give you lots of credit for riding in Florida in the summer!
DH is working from home and then meeting someone for lunch, so I waited an hour and rode with him. So, it had to be a short ride, and once we got out, we made it even shorter. It's 85 and a dew point of 70, not sure of the actual humidity, but I was so sweaty from a 12 mile ride, I had to lie down on the floor when I got home, and let the AC cool me. This is a ride I usually do before work, a good mixture of flats and rollers, with one or two decent hills. It was my fastest average ever, on this route, which didn't help!
Glad I went, because this is the kind of day I might stay inside. Actually going over to the office, to see 2 clients after lunch and later out with friends for tapas. We head out to Amherst later tomorrow. The ride on Sunday is over 2,000 ft of climbing. It will be hot, but not humid, which I can manage much better. Looking forward to riding in a new place.

[north woods gal]

Yeah, I'm baaaccckk.

First ride in six weeks, this morning, and wanted it to be with my hubby. I wanted it to be a together kind of ride. For a bike, I decided on my new Pugsley, since it was a bike that we bought, brand new, but it didn't come home till the day after my accident. In other words, six weeks of looking at a new bike without riding it, not even once. That's pure torture for someone like me.

The Pugsley did exactly what I expected it to do. The new, re-designed Pugs has a longer wheelbase for even better stability, so I expected it to be a steady, predictable ride and it was. Fast, uh no, but about as safe a ride as I could pick for a first ride after my accident. DH and I managed only 5 miles of laps around the neighborhood, but then I did another three full laps on my trails for another 2 plus miles of trail work, making double extra sure to play it safe on the trails. My fears about trail riding didn't completely evaporate - I still balked, here and there, and walked some tough spots - but nice to know I can ride the trails without freaking out. Of the two types of riding, I felt much better about the road riding, though.

Whew! Overall, I was pleased. I was in better shape than I thought I was, but nowhere near where I was before the accident. I've got some catching up to do, but almost cried for joy for being able to ride, again.

Wasn't really planning on making it a double ride day, but this afternoon, I looked at the Gunnar single speed and just couldn't help myself. Hubby and I did another couple of laps for another 5 miles on the neighborhood roads. Honestly, riding the Gunnar was EASIER than climbing hills with the Pugsley. Honestly, the Gunnar rolls so easy that I think a tailwind could push me without any pedaling on my part. Looks like my single speed addiction continues, despite my accident. Again, I have a ways to go to get back in shape, but the fact that I could ride the Gunnar, again, after a six week layoff was like the icing on a very sweet cake of day riding. I am one very, very happy girl.

[emily_in_nc]

nwg, that is great! I can't believe you rode trails on your first ride out after your accident, but at least you showed yourself you can do it, so you won't be too scared to try. Back on the horse! Very happy for you!

Crankin, our dewpoint here has been running around 74-77, so I understand completely what you felt after your short ride. Multiply that by three, and you can see one of the reasons we decided to cut back to only three times a week. For me, it's a 35-ish mile ride, and 40 for DH, who doesn't mind the heat nearly as much as I do. Within the first 30 minutes, I am drenched, and that continues on. At the speed I ride, and with my two stops, it's about a three-hour effort. However (and it's a big however!), we do have a super nice pool to cool off in here in the RV park afterwards. Because of all the afternoon rainstorms here during rainy season, today the pool was actually chilly when we got in! I never expected it to be anything but bathwater this time of year. It was bathwater about a month ago, but since the near-daily rains began, it has been perfect. Really helps revive us after the incredibly muggy rides we do.

Enjoy your riding in Amherst. I can't even imagine how lovely a low-humidity ride would feel right now!

[Crankin]

Thanks, Emily. The ride is in what are called "The Hill towns," so that may give an idea of the terrain.
I remember that bathwater thing well. After 23 yers in FL and AZ, I cannot go in a pool or the ocean/pond without the water being at least 75 degrees. Preferably 80. That means I almost never go in any water!
NWG, that is great. I also cannot believe you went into the woods. Although, I understand why you went. It's called desensitization. But, I hope you stay on the road...

[north woods gal]

I had to try the trails, Crankin, to see how I would respond and I was afraid that if I put it off, I might lose my nerve and never try. There's also the practical side of me that hated to see three years of work building them go to waste, at least as fr as the biking. Although I managed the trails, well enough, I was still a bit shaky and nervous and, like I mentioned, I walked the bike over some spots that wouldn't have even slowed me down, before. I was especially panicky around boulders. No surprise, there. I'm still not sure about the trail riding at this point. Going to have to try some more before I make any decisions.

As for the road riding, though, including the little bit of gravel road I tried, it was pure exhilaration. That's where my heart is at this point, but, of course, it's still a bit early to make any final decisions.

Will ride, again, today. Our weather, fortunately, has been great. Have had the furnace come on the last two mornings and highs have only been in the 70s.

[north woods gal]

I'm working my way back, slowly (a lot of slowly ), but sure. Managed 15 miles, yesterday and another 11, this morning. No afternoon ride, though, with heavy thunderstorms in progress as I write this, but probably just as well. I do push things. (Duh!) Anyway, first three days back and over 40 miles of riding. Most of those were road, but maybe a quarter trail. I am feeling better about the trail riding as far as being able to do it and not freak out, but that old daredevil, give it hell attitude just isn't there. Might never be, again.

Have been doing a lot of switching on the various bikes to get reacquainted with them all and all have done well out on the road, some better than others, of course. All are roadworthy, though, and that's what counts, since that may be where I do most of my riding from now on. Yes, for those of you who aren't familiar with fat bikes and plus bikes, they can be quite roadworthy with the right tires. That, and it's always nice to bail to and ride the shoulders, safely, if need be, not to mention exploring those gnarly dirt side roads or even a cowpath whenever the mood strikes.

[Crankin]

Our ride today was unbelievably beautiful and very challenging. Not 17% grades challenging, but steady climbs, with portions up to 10%, 2 long downhills, and a road with 3 steep, short climbs past an alpaca farm at the end. This part of the Pioneer Valley is within 5-10 miles of a major area, including 5 colleges, but this was so rural, it felt like northern Vermont. Most of the way, we passed waterfalls and rivers along the road, as well as farms.
I was not the slowest and when we finished, almost all of us had lunch at a brewpub, next to the start, where I admit, I ate onion rings. Of course, I got all stiff on our 1.5 hour drive home and I am pretty exhausted. But it was cooler, no humidity, almost felt cold at points. One day reprieve, then back to the triple H.

[emily_in_nc]

Sounds like a lovely ride, Crankin!

nwg, I can't believe you have ridden that much already. You are a beast.

I might not be doing too much riding for awhile as while I was at my orthodontist appt. today and DH was riding, part of one of his Speedplay cleats (Zeros, I believe) sheered right off his left shoe and caused him to go down hard on the road. He was standing to accelerate through an intersection when it happened, and thank the gods, there weren't any cars coming from either of the four directions! He got really lucky with that.

It was definitely a freak occurrence and of course shook him up a lot. Once he determined that nothing was broken, he gingerly got back on the bike (which is fine other than a wonky break hood that can be easily pushed back into place. He had numerous areas of abrasions/strawberries up his left side: shoulder, elbow (the deepest and nastiest one), hip, and side of knee. Fortunately, it seems like just bruising and soft tissue damage, but he is certainly uncomfortable!

By the time I got home, having no idea of any of this (he didn't want to call and worry me), he had managed to clean all the wounds and put antibiotic ointment and bandages on all but the shoulder, which I took care of. I then walked up to CVS and bought more bandages of all different shapes, sizes, and properties. We already had gauze, tape, and a variety of smaller bandages, but he needed more of the larger ones.

I feel so bad for him! He is an excellent bike handler and rarely has any crashes, especially considering the 1000s of miles he rides each year. But this was a purely mechanical failure. He is going to be sorer tomorrow than he is now, and showering and sleeping will be interesting. I told him I'd sleep on the sofa so he doesn't have to worry about having to turn over slowly and carefully multiple times (or maybe moaning while doing so!)

Since he will be out of commission for awhile, I don't feel comfortable riding very far by myself, since we don't have a car. If anything were to happen to me, mechanical or otherwise, that I couldn't take care of myself, he wouldn't be able to ride out or drive out to rescue me. We have "friends" here in the park, but I don't have anyone's phone number and wouldn't feel comfortable imposing on them anyway, especially if they needed to haul my bike back.

It's funny, just a couple of weeks ago when I was feeling down (about to catch a virus), I thought about giving up on cycling for the rest of the summer due to the heat and humidity. Once I got to feeling better, I didn't really want that, but was looking forward to our new regime of three longer rides a week instead of four. Now it looks like I got my "wish", like it or not. I'm sure he'll be back on the horse eventually, but it depends on his healing time. In the meantime, I guess I'll be walking more, swimming more, and going to the gym more. Not that that's a bad thing, but when you can't do something, you miss it! Right, nwg?!

It is truly always something!