Machka 

Tell us about your cycling adventures ... inside or out ... on this lovely summer weekend. Or winter weekend as the case may be.

Machka 

Saturday --

I wanted to go for a bicycle ride outside today, but it was another day of threatening thunderstorms.

I went for a short walk to get something for dinner and the apples for the apple-cherry crumble I baked ... and then I did 50 minutes on my trainer.

Machka 

Today I ran the Cadbury 10K!!

First time I've ever done an event like that ... first time I've run an event since my Track and Field days in my teens.


It's quite the event ... the marathon runners are set off at 6 am, and the half-marathon follow them at 6:30 am. There's a little break to allow some of those runners to come in, then the 5K runners were set off at 8:45 on a different route, and me and my fellow 10K runners at 9:45.

I got there (taxi + shuttle bus) at about 8:20, just in time for the first marathon runner to come across the finish line at 8:24. Great atmosphere!

And moments later, I came across one of my work colleagues! Although I knew that he and his wife ran, I didn't realise how involved they were. She ran the 10K too (much faster than me), and he was there doing photography for the club they are members of and also the Cadbury organisers. So it was nice to have someone there I knew. Another coworker was running the half, but I think she was finished by the time I got there ... she had a fast run.

Then the 10Ks were off! It was a good run. I kept to my slow pace and felt really comfortable. Except for one thing which I'll mention in a minute. I even had enough at the end to give an extra push for the last couple hundred metres.

There were a number of people running near me who were friendly, and we kept leap-frogging each other. And one other participant in the 10K was a lady who is hoping for an Olympic spot ... I was barely past the 1K point, when she was coming the other way, heading for the finish line!! Does she ever look fit and muscular!

As for the one thing I struggled with ... and I struggle with this on all my runs over 8 km (all 3 of them) ... my left foot goes numb. Like totally asleep as if I'm sitting on my leg. Really weird. I wear my shoes slightly loose, and even stopped at one point to loosen my shoe even more, but I had a numb left foot most of the way.

Despite that, I finished in 1:16:45 ... toward the back of the pack, but not dead last.

I was handed my bag with my medal, a bottle of water, and chocolate ... it is the Cadbury Run after all ... at the finish line, and then my work colleague took me over to the booth his club had set up because they had chocolate cake!!


I got in a 2.4 km walk on my way home. And after I got home, I did a 45 minute spin on my trainer downstairs just to get my legs moving a bit.

atwl77

Saturday was just a short 23.6km "warm up" ride for an event the following day.


That event on Sunday, however, turned out to be a disappointment in several ways. First of all, it was originally touted to be a 180km "race" but due to the police pulling out at the last minute, the organisers decided to cut the course short and turned it into an 80km fun ride. The official word out there is that the organisers failed to submit the necessary documents in time; whether there's anything else going on in the background, politically-natured or no, is up to speculation but I wouldn't be surprised if there was any.


Anyway, a major part of the course goes through badly-paved tarmac with potholes galore. Fortunately everyone was very careful and most people pointed out road hazards so there wasn't any crashes that I am aware of. I was pretty much prepared for this anyway, having mounted 28mm tyres with lower-than-my-usual pressure for this event. I still hit a couple of small potholes along the way but being a flyweight I managed to "roll with the punches" with no injury or damage to the bike. And no flats! (but passed a couple of cyclists who flatted though)


30km into the ride, I experienced cramps in both calve muscles and had to back down on my pace for the remainder of the ride to keep the cramps in check. This is a bit unusual as I rarely experience cramps during other rides as well as high intensity workouts, and made sure I was properly hydrated and had eaten well. It could be because I attacked a lot -- I wanted to stay with the front group and their pace was pretty fast. I thought maybe a lack of warm up might also be the culprit -- although I had did a couple of rounds around the event venue beforehand, but we lingered for a very long time at the starting point while the organisers were trying to sort out what to do after the police withdrew their support. And I also suspected the bad road conditions might be a contributor. The cramps were worse while on bad, bone-jarring tarmac but seemed to ease up when I could spin smoothly on smoother road sections. After thinking about my cramps post-ride, I think it was just the combination of all three factors happening together.


The organisers had promised to refund our entry fees but I'm considering rejecting the refund if/when they contact me about it. They did a pretty good job at organising everything and preparing all the facilities pre- and post-ride, we still got our jersey and medal (get a 180km medal for riding 80km, wheeeeeeee ) -- it was a lot better than other events that I have joined. It's just a shame the way the ride got cut short at the eleventh hour and I hope this does not discourage the organisers from organising cycling events in the future.


Moving Time: 2:32:23
Distance: 84.2km
Avg Speed: 33.2km/h
Max Speed: 46.8km/h
Elevation Gain: 69m

Ogsarg

47 Miles out into Panoche Valley and back.

kbarch

Sounds like you had more fun than you expected - that's always nice.

Sorry your race turned out to be a "fun" ride, and that your "fun" ride wasn't such fun after all. But like you say, when you "roll with the punches," it's not so bad.

jamesdak 

Well, it's a 4 day weekend for me.

Friday - Went to take out the Orbea and the rear had flatted. So I figured it was time to get back on something with real puncture protection for the rest of the winter. Cleaned and lubed up the Jake The Snake and took off. Had a nice 25 mile ride with temps in the low 40s. Felt great and was great fun right until the end. Flew into the driveway at speed hit a patch of wet, black ice and went down hard. Totally jacked up my right side and neck.

Saturday - Wound up going to the ER early in the morning. Diagnosis, possible minor fracture of the ankle (pointy part) and elbow. None of it load bearing so nothing to do but let it hear. So later in the afternoon I went back out with the pain meds and muscle relaxants working. Ran a faster pace for the 25 mile route than the previous say. Uh oh, is this doping??

Sunday - Went back out on the Kona, I guess I should mention it came through the wreck better than I did. Just had nothing at all today. Never got up to a respectable speed and for some reason couldn't get warm. Wanted to quit but stuck to it until the 25 miles were in. Right arm and shoulder as well as my neck are feeling mostly normal again.


The Kona Jake The Snake in it's current "subtle" condition.

FeltF2Tarmac

Got in a ride both days. Sunday was really a nice day for a ride

Jadesfire 

Finished a build. Still need to tweak the gearing, but went out on a quick 10 mile loop to check things out. It's always nice when nothing falls off or breaks (like me) during these inaugural rides!

wipekitty

On the road...despite the weather. I'm not moving too quickly, but it sure beats a trainer! 19 miles on Saturday at 5F, 13.8 miles Sunday at 14F. The snow is falling and the roads are cruddy...bring it on!

John00

38 Miles, Yesterday it was 60° blue skies everywhere. today was supposed to be in the 50°s with lots of sunshine. I wasn't sure what to wear in such mild temps. I went out and it was cold! like 32° cold. I live on a large hill, or bute as they call it, I rode around to the other side where I rode into thick cold fog. So I turned around and headed I towards the mountains where I could see sun. I rode up a road that goes to the ski resort, some sun and a little warmer. I had the lane to myself, but the opposite lane was full of people heading home from the slopes. Not much shoulder because they put down volcanic grit when it snows here. turned around around when the grit a 1/4' deep was reaching out onto the lane. Turned around and flew down the hill, Then I set off riding up another hill to get more miles in. Was a very cold ride.

woodcraft

Posted late as a club ride, but was a group of one.

Did ten laps on a 2.4 mile 870' climb plus 15 miles & some climbing out & back for 60, 10,700'.

GF brought some snacks at mid day. On the shady side so 40s-50s all day & a bit chilled by the end

from the freeze/thaw of the descent/climbs. Tons of cyclists out.

On one lap, a guy was ahead of me the whole way up, on foot!

Pretty sure I earned the beer after.

P.S. Congrats Machka & condolences jamesdak

canklecat

53 and 22 miles on the road bike. Fitness is down a bit after the usual winter flu or whatever, but it felt good to be riding and I could still match my best times/speeds on some segments although I'm getting winded quickly.

Some short commutes and errands too, and a couple of brisk walks to compensate for fewer long rides.

caloso

Did the River Ride (our local Saturday Morning World Championships). Had to bunnyhop a raccoon carcass and then, about 2 miles later, a skunk carcass just as the group was winding up for the outbound sprint. It's a wonder no one went down.

atwl77

Reminds me of the one time I woke up in the morning, had a bit of a runny nose, and took some antihistamines before going out for a ride. Felt a little better, in terms of performance. Later on I went to check the WADA site... lo and behold! If I were a pro I'd need to get a TUE for it and control my dosage (it's classified under the same group as salbutamol).

tangerineowl

Did around 150km on Sat, in about 40C heat. Took it easy but overcooked it at one stage.

Headed out to find some unpaved roads which followed a narrow river channel, that I'd spied on Google Earth. Went way too far south trying to find the way in, so double-backed and headed down it. Lots of big trees on either side which was nice and cool. Zero cars; rural area.

After a while the road turned into a track which had been dug up by a tractor i think. Had to pick my lines carefully for quite a while. Carried the bike over a couple of sheep fences. Found a fairly new licence plate.

Eventually made it out the other side, then headed for home back toward town.

Sunday, gave the bike a good clean.

kbarch

Rollers. Just rollers. Just played CDs to gauge the time and provide a background to regulate cadence and power. Found that the tune doesn't have to sound like background for a hard effort to work well as one.
For instance, while this tune is somewhat snappy, it's mellow, so I took it at a good cadence, but relatively easy gear (I thought). But as it kept going, staying fairly mellow, it just got harder and harder to keep up the pace. But I HAD to. That's all it takes, I think - the tune doesn't have to be forceful, as long as the beat keeps driving. So, in lieu of a photo, a tune from yesterday's "ride"

And a tune from Saturday's ride; where you can hear a couple of sprints.

afonsogrf

Finaly got out of home and discover my new city, nice place to ride Niteroi, RJ. A lot of cyclists here, but only in the weekends, the other days i will stay in with zwift.

jamesdak 

Hmmm, maybe I wasn't that off Sunday. The rear wheel was squealing as I brought it into the house yesterday. Just checked it and I broke a spoke so the rim was rubbing on the brakes. That'll slow you down a bit. Guess I need to do some maintenance. Both winter bikes down now.

Machka 

Really sorry to hear about the crash. I hope you're all right!

And of course, glad to hear that the bicycle is OK.

Machka 

Me, in my running gear, with my medal from the run.




And this is what Rowan has been doing. He manages a cherry orchard now, and this is their busy, busy, busy season. So he hasn't been able to afford the time to cycle or run just now. These are just a small sampling of the cherries he grows.

jamesdak 

I'm good, thanks! Although I figured out that the slow ride Sunday was due to breaking a spoke on the rear wheel. It was dragging on the brake at two spots. Now I know I need to lose weight when I'm breaking spokes on a CX wheel.

jamesdak 

Mmmm, love cherries. There's a remote area in the valley here that has wild plum and cherry trees growing. Like 5 different varieties to include yellow cherries that are sooooooo tasty! Maybe it was an old homestead back in the days.