Machka 

You know the drill ... tell us all about your cycling adventures!

Machka 

I'll start by mentioning that I've exercised for 30 days straight! WooHoo!

Kabuki12

You go girl!! I will check in later on this weekend. I have worked 3 Saturdays in a row so my cycling has taken a hit , only riding once a week. Time to change THAT routine! Joe

Machka 

Saturday - Slept in. Got quite a bit of tidying done, laundry put away, etc. Wind died down so we went for a short bicycle ride. Now watching the ... Tour de France!!!


Our Ride
Distance: 15.03km
Elevation: 63m
Moving Time: 58:04
Elapsed Time: 58:49
Speed: Avg: 15.5km/h | Max: 29.2km/h
Calories: 219

Machka 

Sunday -- wind howling all day! Trees down not far away. Wheelie bins sliding down the hill in front of us. Car with caravan flipped on its roof on the coast. Power out in places.

We decided to stay in and not venture out into it all.

Cycled, walked and now watching the Tour de France!


Indoor cycling - Zwift

Distance: 14.21km
Elevation: 83m
Moving Time: 48:24
Elapsed Time: 48:24
...................... Avg ... | ... Max
Speed ............. 17.6km/h | 41.8km/h
Heart Rate ...... 144bpm | 164bpm
Cadence ......... 70 | 97
Power ............. 60W | 91W


Indoor walking - Zwift

Distance: 1.50km
Moving Time: 16:51
Elapsed Time: 16:49
Pace: 11:13/km

canklecat

Saturday was my fifth anniversary of resuming cycling and my fifth failed attempt at meeting an arbitrary distance/time goal in the hottest weather of the year. I'm starting to look forward to achieving these failures.

Each year since then I've attempted a full century and haven't managed to finish one yet. I have done a metric century a couple of times. Some of us were considering this weekend the unofficial Hotter 'n' Hell Hundred, since the Wichita Falls event was cancelled.

I did 48 miles Saturday, a little short of the full century I'd planned. I planned to ride 50 before noon, take a siesta (the afternoon temperature was estimated to be 105F), and finish that evening. I figured as long as I finished by midnight it counted.

I had ridden 65 miles Wednesday evening, my last prep ride, and felt great. In fact, I should have done my full century that night. But I wanted to save energy for the official date. Dumb. Next time I'll ignore arbitrary calendar stuff and just ride according to my own body.

On Saturday, even with months of careful heat conditioning, I still overestimated my ability. I expected the temperature to reach over 100F by 1 pm, but I expected to be home resting by then.

Didn't turn out that way. I decided to ride the first 50 miles around a lake to the west, mostly rural roads. I hadn't ridden that route in almost a year and hadn't heard any negative reports from other local cyclists. But the roads were a mess. A long stretch of formerly smooth paved shoulder was now the fresh hell of new chipseal, the worst I've encountered yet. Making it worse, I'd just swapped from perfectly good 700x25 tires with latex tubes to 700x23 with butyl tubes. The combo felt like the Flintstone's rockmobile tires.

Formerly semi-passable asphalt was now a chopped up and neglected mess of chunks of asphalt busted up by road machines, but never finished. Apparently the county commissioner did whatever they could afford to do quickly and just dumped a mishmash of gravel, railroad ballast, pea gravel and sand willy nilly. I was riding the brakes on every downhill, eyes popped out goggling for soft patches of sandy pea gravel that would make the skinny tires plow in.

I was an hour behind schedule when I decided to take a chance on an unfamiliar farm/ranch road that I knew friends had taken before and hadn't mentioned any problems. Fortunately the road was great, no problems.

But the weather changed very suddenly, from partly cloudy and 90s to clear blazing sunlight and hot. I'd felt cold fronts blowing in during autumn and spring changes, but this was the first time I'd experienced a sudden hot front in Texas -- although I'd experienced the Santa Ana winds in Southern California. The temperature suddenly increased 10 degrees, from the mid-90s to mid-100s. My bike computer claimed the temperature peaked at 126F but I'm doubtful. That computer tends to overestimate by 10 degrees, and seems to read heat off the pavement rather than ambient air temperature. But the pavement definitely felt hotter than 110F.

Fortunately I did not underestimate my need for water. I knew there wouldn't be any place to get refills along the route I planned to take. Besides the usual pair of 24 oz bottles (both with electrolytes, one frozen so it's still cold more than an hour later), I added a new hydration pack that held 2 liters of plain water. An O-ring wasn't sealing so there was a slow leak down my back and it actually felt good. It was so slow it didn't drain the bag, just a gradual seeping.

I had two puncture flats in the final 5 miles home, and was down to about 8 ounces of hot water. But it was still water. That was the worst part of the ride. Mostly the psychological element of being so close to home and baking along the roadside.

I got home at 2 pm, two hours behind schedule, and decided to take a nap and cool off, then start again around 6 pm to finish another 50 miles before midnight.

I slept until 11 pm.

August 29 was my fifth anniversary of resuming cycling after a 30+ year hiatus. And it never gets any easier. I just go slower. (Greg LeMond lied.) It was much easier in my teens and 20s when I did a little racing and a lot of longer casual rides, mostly around SoCal and Baja.

A 2001 car wreck broke my back and neck, so my mobility was pretty limited for years. I needed a cane to walk any distance. And it got worse from weight gain due to unhealthy eating. I got up to 205 lbs (my optimal weight in my 20s and now is around 145 lbs). By 2014 I was walking 3-5 miles once or twice a week, always with a cane. I figured I was ready to try bicycling again.

Five years ago on Aug 29, I bought a comfort hybrid to get started again. I met the seller in a parking lot three miles from home. I figured even without having ridden in 30 years, how hard could it be? I had no idea how hilly my part of town is. As Hemingway observed, you just don't get a sense of the terrain from motor vehicles, or even from walking. But a bicycle makes every bit of that terrain palpable.

After one mile I was cooked. I was so exhausted when I tried to dismount I literally fell off the bike onto the grassy shoulder. Fortuitously, it happened to be at a bus stop and the bus was only a few hundred yards away. The driver had seen me stumble and helped me put the bike on the front rack and drove me to my apartment building, even though the official stop was down the street.

For the first month I could barely ride 400 yards without needing to stop and huff my asthma inhaler. It was hard to imagine ever regaining a fraction of my youthful fitness. Within three months I was making a 20 mile round trip to and from visiting friends near downtown, but it was an all day expedition. I had to stop every mile or so to rest.

I've gotten a little stronger every year, and mostly ride road bikes now other than hybrids for errands and casual group rides. I still have that 40 lb comfort hybrid, although I rarely ride it anymore.


Peak elevation and heat of the day. Halfway on a 50 mile round trip, an hour behind schedule due to unexpected road conditions. Over 105F at this point.

First of two flats in final five miles home.

Managed to scrape both legs with chainrings and freewheel. That takes coordination.

philbob57

Was it Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance that talked about the tennis teacher who had students aim out of the court, saying, finally, something like, 'Now you know how to aim the tennis ball, so now aim it into the court'? You've been learning a lot about your annual 8/29 century, so you're getting closer and closer to knowing enough to go the distance. Consider your successes - not running out of water, when it got to 105, dealing with 2 flats, and taking an obviously much needed nap. I'm sorry you missed your century, though.

I did 25 miles yesterday at over 11 mph, stopping for red lights, slowing for stop signs and stopping when a car was even close to having the right of way, and stopping to eat a sandwich. Got 7 PRs on Strava. It's easy when one starts slow....

Kabuki12

I did my Sunday ride and had a great time. It was cooler than previous weeks which reduced fatigue. It was an easy 35 miles.

Ogsarg

The fires in my area aren't raging anymore and it's cooled off a bunch. I didn't ride last weekend due to the air quality so wanted to get in a decent ride. Since it was only 57 when I left a little before 9, I headed south to Pinnacles....actually went 3-4 miles past before turning around. There is always a bit of headwind coming back from there but yesterday was a lot worse. Steady 10-15MPH made for a slow ride home. As I was getting into town I was starting to feel a little better so did a detour around town and came in from the west side to add about 10 miles. 81 total for the ride with 2900 ft.

John Foster

Proud of my son, he rode 197 km yesterday to finish off a cycle challenge for charity, my wife, oldest daughter and myself rode with him for 27 km. I also did another random 16 km around my neighborhood in the evening.

audiomagnate

I did 26 miles on Saturday and 30 yesterday. I didn't do my usual loops I just headed out to the country solo both days and saw some beautiful countryside and lots of horses.

atwl77

I completed the BRM1000 audax, longest ride I've done this year. I've left a longer/detailed ride report over at the long distance forum.

Clipped_in

I just did a couple of usual rides in our local mountains. They never disappoint.

bikecrate

Tuesday evening rode to Picnic Is. for 31 miles. Thursday did the usual Davis Is. evening ride for 27 miles. Saturday I went to Weedon Is. for 41 miles. Sunday was rained out.

Andy Somnifac 

Let's see... I... Yep, rode on the trainer again.

It was Purple Unicorn on Zwift time, for those who are familiar with those workouts. The last set of intervals was unpleasant.HR didn't want to recover as much as I'd have liked by that point.


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