Wildwood 

Grand Junction out to Palisade (again).
Familiarity -> Relaxation -> Pleasure, except for the 15-20 mph westerly headwinds upon return - where exposed.


Blue sky, straight roads, brown scenery, cliffs, mesas, tumbleweeds - mild mid-November temperatures = must be high desert.

Palisade historical Main Street. Turn 180* and get a closeup of the BookCliff Mt ridge.

rsbob 

Rest day. Have ridden 270 miles since 11/1 and the legs need a break (but not the literal one). So instead took the dog on a 5 mile walk and saw this:


Oh deer

Yaks and a cow or two

essiemyra

I was able to get out and ride this morning. I waited till 8:30 when the weather warmed up a little and the temp was 43f degrees with bright blue skies. I rode for a 21 mile jaunt.

spclark 

Managed a shortish run at my 'challenge' hill yesterday. May be the last chance I get to ride this year, weather's changing fastly towards winter.

Strava tells me that, despite not having done any real riding in the last couple of months, the gearing changes I made to my MB GR are worth the effort.

Last run up that .7 mile hill saw 4.7 mph avg. w/max @ 6.5. Yesterday's time was 4.9 avg., max 8.6. Heart zone went from 78.9% Z2, 7.2% Z3 to 61.2% Z2, 31.8% Z3. It was about 60° & WINDY, gusting to close to 40 up on the ridge tops on both sides. Bottom to top it's 255 ft uphill. Fortunate that this route only has a brief stretch right at the top that's up out of the coulee or I'd have been blown off the route:



(Side note my 'alarm clock' app tells me, my heart beat to a low of 47 BPM overnight. Never been that low before, usually around 49-50. Gonna get back in to lap swimming soon at local indoor pool my Dr clued me into. Been a decade since I've done any swimming at all, just as with the biking up until last spring. Maybe it'll help me meet the challenges in next spring's improved weather after winter heads back north for a few months....)

One of the routes heading 'out of town' nearby:



Pretty typical too, save for the curbs. There's a highway just over that first rise, curbs end there.

Deal4Fuji

Sunrise ride this morning, wet but warm. Wish I could claim photo credit but Bill the guy on the left in most of these is our photogapher.



others from the week



Monday no drop ride

Leebob69

Today's ride was short but quick. Doubt I was more than 2 miles from the house but traveled 5.6 miles in 27.50 minutes. Bonus is I worked the tightness out of my left calf. Dang that was fun!

chunkymonkeybik

Love that trail-a-bike! careful on the downhills. Another story about that....

chunkymonkeybik

All smiles! Grateful to ride bikes.

chunkymonkeybik

Went there! Was there during the summer before covid. Great small town. Visiting relatives. I'm from socal, strange i would see this pict. Small world.

chunkymonkeybik

Love those Walmart bikes! Kidding!

chunkymonkeybik

top bike in 1980s! Brings back memories.

chunkymonkeybik

Can't see the sunset if you're still in bed! Glad you got out.

chunkymonkeybik

Great ride today! To the calisenthics park, then long way home to dreadmill, then home.

JustaJoe

I took a very easy, hour-long ride today. Goal was to just get out, appreciate the local environment; reflect, acknowledge all of the things for which I am thankful and grateful. It was also somber as I kept thinking of a deeply-loved and -respected relative who will depart this world any moment now.


At a local park

Easy path, but not long enough!

rsbob 

Hit my annual mileage goal a month before year end, so am quite happy. Maybe another 250 before year end.

Leebob69

Visiting my brother and his son. Brought along my Sirrus and a couple bikes I'll be leaving here.
I rode yesterday. I am familiar with this town but had never rode a bike here. Looked on Ride with GPS to see if the were any trails ect...
Found a nice street circuit with bike lanes. Total ride was 10.3 miles in 73 degree weather. No complaints from me. I'll try to get another ride in today before chowing down and watching football.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Lee

Leebob69

Got a ride in before eating Turkey. 10.1 miles and I kept looking at my rear tire thinking it must be going flat. Took 48 minutes to go 10.1 miles. Ride With GPS says I averaged 12.4 mph. That's pretty average for me. Come on Detroit!

Now I'm ready for Turkey

Alan K

No ride today… waiting for the Turkey to get done, another 4F to go! 😋

I’m planning for a longer ride tomorrow, day is predicted to begin at 15F with a maximum of 29F - should be good with a few layers. Every year my sensitivity to temp seems to change so first couple of below freezing rides are always a little hit or miss from optimum dressing. Windproof insulated gloves and two layers of socks will definitely be a necessity.

Alan K

Here’s our after thanksgiving meal bonfire…



Smores anyone!

rsbob 

Sunny but cool in Seattle yesterday. Ride started at 38*F and 2.5 hours later finished at 50* and sweaty - hard to shed clothes. Did 40 miles which included two floating bridges and 2000’ climbing.

Leebob69

Still feeling out the roads here where my brother lives. 14.9 miles today. That should burn off some calories. I think I was lucky. Wind in my face going out.At my back on my return. In the middle I rode sidewalks around a lake. There were even ducks. So all in all a good ride

Lee

essiemyra

Finally I was able to get a bike ride in. I was able to get a 12 mile ride in today which is the first time in a few weeks that I was able to ride. Also it was windy with blue skies.

rsbob 

This is day two off the bike on the orders of Doctors Garmin and Strava. The legs agree. Tomorrow, it’s back to ‘work’.

andrewclaus

I moved to Tucson a couple of weeks ago and finally got up Mt Lemmon today, 65 miles and 7,000' of climbing from my house to the ski area. The road to the summit is gated/barricaded closed due to snow and ice--I could see it from the gate:

I rode the Tucson Loop once last week, 55 miles, otherwise just been running errands and doing short rides around town with my wife. It felt good to get up into the Sky Islands.

I'm going to work on a USFS trail crew up there next weekend, and will try to rest a couple of days before that.

rsbob 

Rode today and just about froze my toze. 34 miles in 34*F. Took about 20 mins to warm up most of me, but my left foot never got the message. I was forced into a cafe to warm up by drinking a large cappuccino and a yummy scone. 15 minutes later, I was good to go.