Machka 

Tell us about your cycling this weekend! Who did you ride with? Where did you go? Did you see any interesting sights?

Did you do other sports this weekend ... canoeing? swimming? hiking up a mountain?

Got pics?

Machka 

It's been a busy week with university but a rest week in terms of physical activity. Still trying to get the knee in order and just not feeling 100%.

Aug 22 - 2 km walking (26 min)

Aug 23 - 5.2 km walking (65 min) + 5 flights of stairs (4 min)

Aug 24 - 4 km walking (50 min) + 5 flights of stairs (4 min)

Aug 25 - 1.6 km walking (20 min)

Aug 26 - 2.5 km walking (30 min) + 7 flights of stairs (5 min)


-----------
Totals:
Aug Cycling Outside: 607.3 km (2108 min)
Aug Cycling Inside: 0 min
Aug Walking: 61.1 km (738 min)
Aug Stairs: 27 flights (21 min)
Aug Weightlifting: 60 min
Aug Rowing: 0 km (0 min)
Aug Time Total: 2927 min = 48 hours 47 min
Aug Distance Total: 668.4 km = 415.3 miles

Machka 

Saturday -- 20 km ride on a chilly (13C), windy, drizzly afternoon.

kbarch

This morning was a (mostly) leisurely ride up to do some hill repeats. 55 total miles, 3600' gained. Although for the most part the hills were solo (I took the steep way up a couple of times at the beginning, while most never went that way and a few only tried it at the end), it was a really nice group. Long-ish, leisurely stop at The Market before heading back.

I'm definitely glad to be back riding with friends, but disappointed with how long its taking to get back to form after six weeks off the bike recovering from crash. I did get one little Strava trophy today (7th all-time on a little 1/2 km +5.5% stoplight-to-stoplight segment early on in the ride), so that was nice, but other than that, it seemed I was definitely off my game. Not riding during the week probably didn't help, but there's less and less light before it's time to get ready for work these days. I wish we would go back to standard time after Labor Day...

seau grateau

Felt a little wiped out this week, so I had to take it a little easy.
Monday- Track workout.
Tuesday/Wednesday- No riding, felt a little sick.
Thursday- 25 miles with some interval training.
Friday- Chill cruising to run errands, get coffee, go to the bar. Did not track miles.
Saturday- 33 miles with 2000 feet climbing, felt like I'm starting to handle hills a little better.

Machka 

Sunday -- 84 km with 657 metres (2155 ft) of climbing.

We were supposed to do 100 km today, but I just wasn't up to it. The bubonic plague is sweeping through my office AND the tooth I broke on the 400K is in really bad shape (becoming infected). My dentists advises work ASAP. So those things could be part of my fatigue.

Still I suppose a somewhat hilly 84 km is a descent effort.

jeffreythree

I rode 57 miles this week, including my longest ride yet of 20 miles since picking up cycling in July. The great thing about completing that distance is I can now get away from the local neighborhoods' traffic and into the countryside.

Carbonfiberboy 

I used to ride a '99 carbon Trek 5200. Did a lot of group rides and events on it. Then in 2007 I converted into a tandem rider with my wife and hadn't touched the bike since, partly because the paint had failed on it and it looked like hell. So this year I sanded all the paint off it and rode RAMROD on the naked frame.



Number 14 means I was the 14th oldest rider out of 800.

But back to this week: I rode that Trek on a group ride again with the same Rabbits I rode with 9 years ago. They're still 15 years younger than I, but remarkably no faster in comparison than they were then. Some still can drop me, I can still drop some. It was a kick in the butt. https://www.strava.com/activities/692674433

No PRs, etc., because I ride my singles on a separate account from the tandem and haven't ridden these routes since I started with Strava.

HTupolev

Saturday. LBS A-group ride day.

Shaken awake by my alarm clock, I nom nom some food that's laying around, pour the correct combination of gatorade and water into my bottles to match the color of my bike, and get dressed. Then I make sure my tires are stiff enough for the rigors of road cycling: I pump them to around 40PSI. And so, ready for suffering, I stumble out the door on my Stumpjumper.



I installed new tires on Tuesday, and I haven't taken them to a group ride yet; I'm eager to see how they perform. Compass Rat Trap Pass extralights. They're 53mm wide when inflated, but built like a road racing tire. Just 400 grams each; despite being wider than the previous tires, which were also slicks, they shaved more than a pound off the bike.

20 miles later, I'm at the bike shop. The mild weather has drawn a big group.

First we head off onto the flats. Almost immediately, the group is shattered to pieces; I manage to hop onto the wheel of the second paceline from the front. Pedaling hard, I watch the front group quickly vanish into the distance. Strange... could these tires be letting me down? Is this exceedingly high-performance road bike not actually as fast as my Emonda ALR? I look at my speedometer, 27mph. Well, that seems right for the effort; apparently some people are just trying to absolutely obliterate all the KOMs today. Phew!
I'm not sure I've ever gotten Strava cups while being left behind so badly before.

Next up is a short stretch of rolling hills. Hmm. I manage to stick with the second paceline, but definitely taking shorter pulls than usual, and by the end I was about to explode. Maybe 34-pound bikes are disadvantaged on this kind of terrain...

After a regroup, we've immediately got a steep hill. Now, I know what you're thinking: this'll be even worse.
But wait! I have a secret weapon. And despite the e-bike wheels, it's not even a motor! Did you see it, hiding there in the photo? That weird thing near the bottom bracket? A third chainring, with just twenty-four teeth!
Stunned, confused, cyclists on modern road bikes exclaim shock as I fly past them up the hill. Just five manage the climb faster. And yes, there were more than five other people on the ride.
As I go by, one gasps that he's impressed that I'm strong enough to ride such a heavy bike up a hill so fast. Focused on my goal, I don't stop to give up my secrets, to reveal the truth: that while a 15-pound deficit in the bike may be a disadvantage, it's far worse to lose half your watts to pedals that don't turn when you push on them!

Most of the way back to the shop is flats and downhills, and was pretty much a mix of the above.

I'm happy with how this bike is shaping up. Versatile, seems to roll about as well on level ground as my "proper" road bikes, and it triggers people's "yep that's definitely a beach cruiser" response that makes them think you're performing some kind of epic WATTAGEBAZOOKA even when you're barely pedaling.
As long as the headset loosening up recently wasn't due to headtube ovalization, things should be fine... I guess I'll keep my eye on it. D:

Rowan

Love the story, H. Amazing that a Stumpjumper can go so fast! Nice paint job on the frame, too.

bikecrate

Saturday I rode to Upper Tampa Bay trail for about 40 miles. Nicer morning weather wise than usual. Sunday went out to Thontosassa and back for 40 miles as well. Weather not as nice. It was so humid it felt like riding in warm soup. The rest of the week is up in the air. Waiting to see how the tropical depression will play out for our area.

Nstoltzner

08/27-14 mile ride with brother in-law who rode my wife's bike.
08/28-15 mile ride with brother in-law on the wife's bike again.


Total: 29 miles.


Nothing to write home about but have been having fun watching everyone else improve. Although I usually only do about 75 miles a week.

goenrdoug

This was the last weekend in August, it was my last chance to complete two of the climbs in the Santa Monica Mountains Challenge. Smmt Challenge - Home

What's that, you ask? Well, there's more info on the site, but, in short, it's a challenge that runs for three months (all summer) and highlights 15 climbs in the Santa Monica Mountains (North-West of Los Angeles, for those unfamiliar for the area.) It's linked to Strava and has leaderboards, road, mountain-bike and running flavors. In short, it's a good excuse to go riding up giant mountains you might have otherwise been able to rationalize skipping.

So, I had left the two most difficult ones for last -- yeah, great strategy, eh?

Saturday, I skipped my normal club ride and rode a loop that includes Yerba Buena (8.1mi, 5.2%) -- a long climb with some of the worst pavement you can find around here. I usually fall apart on climbs this long and end up 'just surviving', but for some reason I was feeling pretty good and took about 20 minutes off my previous best time.
https://www.strava.com/activities/691200908

Sunday, I finally had to tackle a climb that I'd never done before -- mainly because it's an up-and-down type of climb since the road dead-ends at the top (at least for a road bike.) Corral Canyon. It's 5 miles long and averages 7.3%. That's a bit deceptive because there are a couple of flat(ish) sections and even a couple of dips in there. I started out feeling good about it, but it quickly started slapping me around with 15-19% gradients. I had to stop and catch my breath once, but saw a guy on a mountain bike coming up behind, so I pressed on and tried to keep him in my fred mirror as long as I could. He eventually caught me, but shortly after, we reached the plateau near the top and could actually breathe again. It was deserted at the top and the descent was fabulous (even if there was a Prius ahead of me that had a tendency to slam on the brakes at every turn, but wasn't about to let me pass them. https://www.strava.com/activities/692468898



So, for the first time, I completed the SMMT challenge. I was certainly not the fastest, but I finished it. Now I can relax... right?

kbarch

Are you kidding? The season for those kinds of rides is just getting underway!

alexaschwanden

I went biking about 250 miles this last week, and i have over 5411 miles on my road bike in 6 months of owning it.