Machka 

Where did you ride your bicycle this weekend ... or the days surrounding the weekend? What is it like where you are? Is it a long weekend for you so you can do extra riding?


[HR][/HR]

Saturday - down here, winter is giving us another kick again. Cold, wet, windy, and miserable.

So I'm about to go downstairs and ride the trainer.

Long Tom

Well, I may or may not ride this weekend. But today I did the (kinda brutal) 27-mile core of my hill route. I'd been putting in hardwood flooring all day so do you think it felt good to get up off my knees and fly through the cool evening air? Yes. It did.

We legalized the Evil Weed here- y'all should do the same, just sayin'- so my rural rides have a new game: spot the pot garden! I've got a few spotted. In a few weeks here as the resins come in, the nose will knows or something like that. Last fall my buddy and I cracked up every time we rode through this one small creek crossing area- reeked of skunky buds!

Had a minor mechanical. Rear wheel went out of true. Fulcrum Racing something. I like the wheels. 2 seasons of my Clyde ass, zero issues. The rear now needs truing. I heard it happen- I was neck deep in the hardest climb of the whole route, a loooong steeeep cruel thing that I just love, when I heard a funny spoke-like noise as I droped the hamer and hit my 400w asplosion threshold. So it's FUBAR. Considering I'm a lathe guy, truing a wheel is actually kinda fun. Make round things perfect- right in my wheelhouse.

Rainy this weekend and I want to finish this part of TFH (This F*ucking House, coming soon to a reality show near you!) so riding is unlikely. But I hit it hard today. Actually felt damn good. Strong. Willing. Raaawrr.

Machka 

Saturday -- 1 hour and 45 min on the trainer, doing commercial intervals for much of that time. To cold and wet and windy and miserable to ride outside.

Plus a light weights workout.


Spring starts on Tuesday ... but you'd hardly know that here.

la rosa 

90 miles annual BikeMO ride

alexaschwanden

Saturday: 76 miles from San Jose to San Carlos and back
sunday: 50- 100 miles most likely.

roccobike

Finally, a good one. 73 miles, 18.4 MPH, very satisfying as we prepare for the MS ride in New Bern in two weeks.

bbattle

Back to my favorite area; southern Tennessee. Started in Blanche, made it to the outskirts of Ardmore, then up to Elkton. East to Delrose, back to Blanche. Almost no traffic, very scenic and hilly.


Took a left turn and ended up doing about 5 miles on this chipseal road.



A nice doe just standing on an old tractor trail.



I could hear the train in the woods but it was gone by the time I got to this underpass.



Hey Look! free internet! Motel and adjoining 'entertainment' is just off I-65.


13.8mph avg. 41mph max. 2050 feet of climbing.

HardyWeinberg

6 miles in the rain w/ my wife so she could meet her goal for miles this month. 12mph. Considering a ride tomorrow. More rain, less wind, supposedly.

Jofu

In the SF bay area: 110-mile loop from Fremont to Livermore, down Mines Rd / route 130 to Mt Hamilton, and back to Fremont. ~7200ft climbing! Was fun but taxing for me I met and rode with 2 other guys for a while, was good to meet other crazy people LOL

Geoff

Machka 

Sunday -- Cool and drizzly day, so we decided to do one of many local hikes.

This one promised that "the falls are particularly impressive after heavy rain" in the description, and they were right. Wow! I had no idea there was anything like that so close to home!

Today the falls was just roaring. So strong that it created quite a wind. We've had a lot of rain in the past couple days so figured this would be a good time to check it out.

4.5 km all up according to Rowan's tracker.

indyfabz

This solo yesterday with a slight modification that took out about 50' of climbing but actually made the ride harder: MR. B - A bike ride in Frenchtown, NJ

Saw two pileated woodpeckers and a great blue heron.

Jakedatc

Sat: 22mi with the gf with great temps.

Sun: 49mi with front of the group club ride. 2500' of climbing kept my skinny self up there with the quick guys.

kbarch

Kind of a messed up weekend.

Turns out the last club race was scheduled for today, as was the last GF New Jersey Training ride. All week I was trying to figure out what I would do. Finally decided to do the race, and then maybe see what riding I could get in on the GF course.
Saturday, I couldn't NOT ride, so I took the fixed gear bike out for an "easy" spin. Well, it was relatively easy, but still work, though not a workout. I'm getting better at it, but it's not helping things, such indifferent training.

This morning, another sparse field, and though I made it a point of getting in a warm up and everything, I just wasn't ready to speed down the winding descent when it came. Surprisingly, three or four others soon dropped in front of me, and I managed to pick up the one who'd dropped his chain or something on the climb. He seemed to be making a very earnest effort, so it was nice to have someone to work with for a while. Although he was generally faster than I, I did get some opportunities to take over and do a bit of the work, but I soon got bored and called it quits after just 12 miles. Went home and blew off the Gran Fondo thing - I was still too late to catch the group, and didn't know the roads anyhow....

After I got home, I changed jerseys (mostly out of shame, but wanted to remove the numbers at least) and changed bikes, and went out for a ride on some popular roads. It felt good to pass people again. But one thing was really annoying. At one point, this guy starts to pass me on the up side of a longish dip. I manage to maintain momentum just a little better or something, and he ends up dropping back. Fine, I'd be happy to pull. Well, I get the sense he doesn't want that. A few moments later, he pulls around and I take his wheel. I figure he shouldn't mind - he's wearing a CRCA jersey, which is technically MY team, (CRCA is the big local super team, with dozens of sub-teams). But again, he does something that makes me think he does mind; he slows down for no apparent reason except for me to pass. So I quickly go around and resume the pace. A few moments later, he's blowing by me again. This isn't like taking turns pulling - it's awkward. But soon enough he turns off to cross the bridge and I head down to pick up River Road. What was annoying was the way it seemed that guy couldn't make up his mind what he wanted to do. Altogether he seemed like a very good rider, and it was clear that he was strong enough to have passed me and pulled away the first time - it just seemed like he was messing with me. (yes, it's all about me )

River Road turned out pretty well. It wasn't too busy, and what folks I did ride around seemed easy going and were quite predictable and, for the most part, once dropped stayed dropped Also managed to get some good times in. The little bit of 9W I had to take on the way home was teeming with fast riders. By that point I'd had my fill of passing people, but I had to wonder why more of them couldn't have been in the park this morning for the race; it would have been so much more fun.

Machka 

Lovely as usual ... one day we've got to get into that area and do some cycling. Tennessee is one of the few states where I have not cycled.

bikecrate

All last week the temps were really high. The heat index was in the triple digits. Finally on Thursday it was cloudy all day for the most part and a bit more bearable, so I went out for 34 miles in the evening. Saturday I went back to S. Tampa. It was actually rather pleasant in the morning. Then at 25 miles I got a 1/2 inch screw in my back tire. Did a tube swap and made it home. Sunday rode down to Picnic Is. and back for 34 miles. The rest of the week isn't looking so good since the remnants of TS Erika are supposed to be dumping rain, but we'll see.

floridamtb

Erica ruined the 1st Annual Cyclefest in Fort Lauderdale. I went out to volunteer since I'm still recovering from broken wrist and the whole park was flooded out, tents flying around, it was a mess. Hopefully they'll res-schedule after I can ride so I can join in. This was going to support a great cause near and dear to my heart... Women in Distress of Broward County

Machka 

I kind of climb like that ... somewhat slightly faster, then slow right down, somewhat slightly faster, then slow right down. It's a pattern that gets me up the hills without blowing up.

It's never a good idea to get on my wheel when I'm climbing ... if I'm not doing that, I'm suddenly stopping without any warning and walking.

Perhaps that was his pattern too, and you just happened to be going a pace that was more or less the same as his.


However, I will rarely pass a rider, I prefer to let everyone go and leave me to my misery.

kbarch

Could be. Could be he'd lost his concentration - he was headed back to the city and had probably finished a long ride. The reason it got to me was that he gave every other indication of being a potentially good wheel - the old club jersey, the good fitting and smart bike, the smooth pedal stroke.... He was messing with me, I just know it.
Or maybe he thought I was messing with him when I didn't let him pass the first time. Seriously, though, it was just before the crest after that dip (the kind where you zip down the one side so momentum can get you most of the way up the other side), and I really just wanted to maintain as much momentum over the top as possible, but it may have seemed like I was speeding up so he wouldn't pass.

Machka 

Nice! I had a great blue heron suddenly rise up out of a ditch right beside me on one ride long ago. Scared me half to death for a moment ... and then it was spectacular watching it fly away.

mpath

Two-day charity ride, Vancouver-Seattle: Sat - 100km before ride stopped due to 60-90mph headwinds, downed trees and powerlines. Sun - 135km to the finish.

woodcraft

Four days rock climbing in Yosemite.

On last day (yesterday), took a fall & sprained ankle.

Hobbling around, probably off the bike for a week.