May 31st report!!!

[AuntieK]

Rode 14 miles trying out a tri-route with Lifesgreat. Nice route...overlooking the lake in a quiet little community. We practiced some sprints when a neighborhood dog decided to chase us. All in all, lots of fun!

[Lifesgreat]

Rode with AuntieK and two other friends on the west side of Utah Lake. We were scoping out the bike portion of a tri I have in 1 1/2 weeks. Boy, can AK sprint when a dog is at her heels The dog also chased me. . . almost squirted him with Gatorade. . .

[KnottedYet]

Salsa- yeah, the uphill (Perkins from 3rd Place Books to 185th) was homeward. It was doable in my lowest gear.

Such a pretty route. Nice to know I can get to the Burke without putting the bike in the car. And the traffic on the route really wasn't that bad when I was out there.

[winddance]

Today I rode part of the Bay Trail with bikerz and tomgrrrl (I think?). I came flying home and was already planning on heading out the door to ride Old Tunnel Road when I checked the board on a whim and found that there was a ride being organized!

Of course it was for 6pm, and it was already nearly 6 when I got home, but the two of them were so kind and accomodating in coming back to catch me at Emery Point. It was pleasantly windy, with a beautiful view of the fog rolling into San Francisco, and we enjoyed a brisk, chatty ride. I know the other two added on some miles going back and forth, but I think I did about 14 or so.

[bikerz]

Yes - that was a great ride - the Bay Trail always makes me feel good! It's been a while since I rode with Tomgrrrl - she's FAST! I ended up with 24 miles in, and the little racetrack hill twice!

[kimct]

Salsa, no ma'am I won't be giving up! Think I need a day or two off though...been pushing way hard with distance and I'm really feeling it longer than I should be. I wasn't feeling right when I took off, but was determined to ride....maybe I should have just listened to my body and mind in the first place!



Kim

[tomgrrrl]

I'm not that fast! lol....I had a good time too riding with Z and winddance (who has a very cool looking bike). I don't usually ride in the evening, but I think I'd like to do it more often after tonight's ride....and having a couple nice riding pals doesn't hurt. It was a bit windy, especially along that exposed part in Emeryville, but I actually think the wind calms down a bit in the evening compared to the afternoon. As Ann and Lisa have mentioned, we rode at a nice pace and had great scenery and conversation along the way. The Bay Trail makes me so appreciate what a beautiful place we live in....and it's nice to actually have a (relatively) flat ride....Thanks again for a great ride!

[CorsairMac]

So I decided to pick up some extra miles on my ride home, and I had 1 hour to do it in. Left work and started off on a nice 12 mile route and saw a young man walking his bike on the bike path. Stopped to offer my help and his back tire had slipped out of the dropouts and the tire was rubbing on the frame. Poor kid had not a clue how to fix it soooooooooo, we flipped his bike upside down, I pulled out my trusty Leatherman (it wasn't QR levers but actual bolts) and proceeded to fix his bike. He was all manner of impressed that I A)knew what the problem was and B)had tools With me that could fix it. Got him up and riding and continued on my journey, kinda with less time than I had originally planned but still enough to pick up the miles and Still make it home for my meeting.

Started climbing a long, steady overpass and here come 2 kids weaving and bobbing their way Down the overpass and one calls out "you got a pump?" Well...as a matter of fact I do soooooooooooooooo, we flipped his bike over, spent Forever taking the valve cap off, I had to switch my pump from Presta to Schraeder and pumped his tire up. The kid was Very impressed I had a pump and that it would work on his bike too!! Anddd that I knew what I was doing with it. He had to hold the valve stem since it was not seated in the rim straight - which I suggested he fix when he got home to make it easier to put air in next time. I also joked it was lucky for him I had Just switched from CO2 to a pump or we might've been in trouble. So...he wanted to know all about CO2 cartridges and why I switched and how easy were they for him to carry. I answered all his questions, got his tire pumped up and sent him on His way. Now.........I'm really starting to hurt for time and I'm only halfway home!

Finished the rest of my ride without incident, walked in the door at 6:10 with my ride due there at 6:15. Whewwwwwwww just made it barely!!!

[bikerz]

Nicely done CM - it never hurts to have some extra bike karma in the bank!

[Geonz]

I did a 24 mile loop on my homebound commute, and the rain caught up with me, but by then I was kinda sweaty so it was good. 3 miles from home, I'm cruising down a "hill" (quarter mile long little pimple in the prairie terrain) and a hokey spoke (a big light that attaches to two spokes and sits between them), which had been occasionally clicking, does something noisier and bam! the whole mess is loose and banging around and I'm in danger of being hurled to the ground. I brake sorta hard (I'm incapable of slamming on the brakes... too much winter driving!) and now I'm fishtailing!
I was still mentally trying to decide whether that imbalance was because of the spoke thing or something else, when I realized that a: it was your basic "brake on slimy wet pavement and you're going to skid" and b: I had already moved hips, feet and hands and, without the usual necessary painstaking verbal instruction from the brain, steered out of it *and* braked some more.
I'm limping it forward the 100 feet on this skinny road to a little chunk of gravel so I can take that spoke off, watching like a hawk and yea, here comes a truck... he slows... "Do you want a ride?" ... and his badge says Urbana Police. Alas, I turned him down on the grounds that it was just a broken spoke and I was just a mile out (only a slight fib)... now I'm thinking I should have taken him up on it becuase a: I might have been able to advocate (yes, I'm an almost normal commuter person and it's normal to ride a bike!)... and b: I still had to limp the bike in 'cause one spoke short (and with one hokeyspoke weighing down one side) the front tire had visible (tho' not severe) wobble. OTOH, it would have been a significant bunbite to get my creature into his truck and I was really wet and sweaty and gritty.
So now I switched off wheels with my trek, have the wheel in back to take to the bike shop (because I'm still a Klutz and have some questions about taking it on GITAP):