Road Cycling - Last ride of the Year

There are some advantages living in Florida. 81 degrees and sunny today. Did a nice 65 mile ride today and 130 for the weekend. Don't particulaly miss the cold and snow in West Virginia.

58 miles today in SE NY State. 25º F when I left @ 7:30AM. 34º when I returned about 11AM. And that's with the third warmest December on record. All things considered, it's nicer in Florida in December.

58 miles today in SE NY State. 25º F when I left @ 7:30AM. 34º when I returned about 11AM. And that's with the third warmest December on record. All things considered, it's nicer in Florida in December.

BUT it's Florida! :D

I just got off the bike. 38.5 miles for me today...temp never broke 40° but my Assos Gator had me sweating my arse off the whole time. :D

I just got off the bike. 38.5 miles for me today...temp never broke 40° but my Assos Gator had me sweating my arse off the whole time. :D

assos gator? movin' on up i see.

Who would wear clothing named ASSos?

Pearl Izumi boys, Pearl Izumi.

Who would wear clothing named ASSos?

Pearl Izumi boys, Pearl Izumi.

Our team is switching from Hincapie to Giordana for '07, but I've really been happy with the Hincapie stuff. Still use PI gloves, booties, skull caps, and knee/leg warmers, though...

Who would wear clothing named ASSos?

Pearl Izumi boys, Pearl Izumi.

P

time to wake up and smell the espresso.

Pearl Izumi is not what it once was.

You, of all people, should be making the investment into a top set of winter gear - seeing you ride ALL of the time, and have a fondness for 'Extra Spensive' wheels and whatnot.

I was out today, wearing a pair of assos bib tights, a craft base layer, and my assos intermediate jacket, not heavy gear by any stretch. i may have felt many things on the ride, but cold was not one of them.

fortunately I get my stuff at a good price. having said that, i realized this afternoon that my bike clothing was worth more than my 13 year old c'dale winter bike. ;)

My team also uses Hincapie and I like their stuff a lot, but I'll definitely have to try a pair of assos bibs eventually.

back on topic...man, the weather here sucks. It's like 65 degrees, but raining nonstop. Looks like I'll be ending the new year on a trainer.

Did about 60 miles yestarday. I mostly just rode around town, with hourly stops for coffee and snacks. Starting temp: 18F @ 7:45 AM, finishing temp: 30F @ 2:00 pm. I'll probably ride around tonight and catch the new years festivities downtown.

From the booming metropolis of Spokane, WA
Mike

assos gator? movin' on up i see.
Nah that is the one I got a few months back...took me a while to figure out what I got. Thing is too hot. :D

60 miles in three dang days...just bought the bikethreedays ago too! Rain today, but 50 degrees! :(

Hope next year starts off better than it ends...I am seriously jealous reading these posts.

Enjoy a good ride for me!

52 km in Panama City, sunny at around 90 degrees. for a total of 100 km in the weekend

Did an hour and a half on the trainer. 45 degrees and raining here today. Happy New Year to all!

Did a quick 20km ride, would have done more but my toes froze so i went home :rolleyes: It was also windy :(

P

time to wake up and smell the espresso.

Pearl Izumi is not what it once was.

You, of all people, should be making the investment into a top set of winter gear - seeing you ride ALL of the time, and have a fondness for 'Extra Spensive' wheels and whatnot.


But my winter gear from Pearl Izumi consists of just booties, leg warmers and a basic (unlined) outer shell - and I have two heavier (non Pearl) lined shells I wear when it's colder. Other than that it's a standard racing bib/jersey over various upper layers and longjohn underwear of varying weight. And that's about it. I can't stand long tights, special jackets and all that other 'winter' cycling gear. I've got my ride wear outfits dialed in. I've been riding in the cold long enough that one look at the thermometer and weather conditions and I mentally know what specific garmets will work that day. And winter doesn't require anything too special - or winter oriented. Mostly it's the layers underneath that serve to keep me warm. In temps down to 18º or so.

Assos, Hincapie, Pearl, whatever works for you is fine with me. If you can get out there and ride in temps like today (and colder) you get my vote. Winter riding gear sucks - it's ugly, heavy and not all that comfortable. So I can't get too excited about any of it. But if it works it's a necessary evil.

But my winter gear from Pearl Izumi consists of just booties, leg warmers and a basic (unlined) outer shell - and I have two heavier (non Pearl) lined shells I wear when it's colder. Other than that it's a standard racing bib/jersey over various upper layers and longjohn underwear of varying weight. And that's about it. I can't stand long tights, special jackets and all that other 'winter' cycling gear. I've got my ride wear outfits dialed in. I've been riding in the cold long enough that one look at the thermometer and weather conditions and I mentally know what specific garmets will work that day. And winter doesn't require anything too special - or winter oriented. Mostly it's the layers underneath that serve to keep me warm. In temps down to 18º or so.

Assos, Hincapie, Pearl, whatever works for you is fine with me. If you can get out there and ride in temps like today (and colder) you get my vote. Winter riding gear sucks - it's ugly, heavy and not all that comfortable. So I can't get too excited about any of it. But if it works it's a necessary evil.

today wasn't that bad (but you already know that).

if you're happy with what you've got so be it. the one benefit i've found from my assos stuff is that it's not "ugly, heavy" and it's defnitely comfortable. :)

Looks like my last ride for the year was a 3.5km jaunt to the grocery store! I did beat my mileage goal by 500kms or so, so no complaints! :)

I have to agree with Merlinextraligh, that there are some advantages to living in Florida. 53 miles with friends in Sarasota. Rode down Casey Key and back. The ride was beautiful, with clear views of the gulf. Other than a little wind, it was the perfect way to end 2006!

Mike

My last ride was yesterday; it's raining today. I logged 24 miles; it was 58 degrees. I can't complain about that.

Another Northern Florida rider here.

I did a solo 68 mile ride today after a much later than usual Sunday morning start. (It's my 24th wedding anniversary. Please don't use your imagination.) I'd say it was warmer than I would like, but otherwise a beautiful day for riding. I even enjoyed the long stretches of headwind. I stayed up on the hoods to simulate climbing. Lord knows we don't have any of that in Florida. My water management was poor because two places I thought would be available for replacing H2O were not available, so I had to ramp it down a bit toward the end so that I didn't get too dehydrated. The first 66 miles were non-stop until I was able to get some desperately needed water 2 miles from home.

Just finished my last ride....a 14 mile tour of downtown D.C. with swings by the Lincoln & Jefferson Memorials, Capitol Hill, Supreme Court, Library of Congress, White House and the Washington Monument. The ride through West Potomac Park was the nicest section. While the streets & sidewalks up around Capitol Hill are a mess due to President Ford's upcoming funeral. Temps were in the 30s and the sky was overcast most of the afternoon.

Beautiful winter day in Austin. Clear skys, winds out of the west at about 10mph, temps in the high 30's. Rolled out with my teammate Bo and did an easy 48.8 miles. Taking tomorrow off the bike, for my last day of eating some crappy food and a few beers, first A race is in 4 weeks!

39, rainy, and windy.
Only managed three hours on the bike, but I completely under-dressed for it. I had hoped for four, but bad planning is bad planning.

I did my last ride of the year yesterday. Rode over to Pescadero to pick up a sweatshirt I had left in the H. S. office back on June 22 when I worked on our club's Road Race. I forgot that I hadn't picked it up until late September but never had a reason to drive all the way over there to pick it up. I finally decided to ride my commuter bike, with a single pannier, to retrieve it. Three of us split off from the club ride at Skylonda and rode over together. It ended up being 85 miles door-to-door to end the year. (I was going to go out today with the family. It was supposed to get sunny but the clouds just never dissipated; so I just stayed home.)

I had a bunch of things to do in the morning and didn't get a solo ride in. However late in the afternoon I put my 16 month old son in the child seat on the back of my Bianchi Volpe, and went for a ride over to the park. We saw some ducks and some dogs, and had a run around in the grass. Then rode up to the railway bridge and watched some trains go by (his favorite thing). That was my last ride of 2006 :)

(Actually had a couple of funny R900DuraAce moments, it's amusing to watch peoples faces when you drop them up a hill with a toddler on the back of your bike)

~38 miles (google earth'ed). constant 59* with low wind and 50% humidity. feels nice

Did a 62 miler, low 40s on the temps, but winds 16 gusting to 21. Missed the 4000 mile mark for the year by 84 miles. Close but no cigar.

82 km at 32º C (it's summer here).

I managed to get 25 miles in yesterday before the bottom fell out. I was supposed to play golf today but it was raining so I stayed home and dreamed about getting a new bike.

today wasn't that bad (but you already know that).

if you're happy with what you've got so be it. the one benefit i've found from my assos stuff is that it's not "ugly, heavy" and it's defnitely comfortable. :)

i'll second that. assos rules!