Fifty Plus (50+) - Sunday ride thread?

Is anyone going to start one?

I have no such plans.

But I want to post that I just rode 60miles, my longest ever, through this undulating Cumberland Valley. We had strong winds today, my excuse for the 14.5 average mph. Kings Gap was our midpoint if anyone knows this area. It it the spot where the Blue Ridge meets the Appalachians.

But I want to post that I just rode 60miles, my longest ever, through this undulating Cumberland Valley. We had strong winds today, my excuse for the 14.5 average mph. Kings Gap was our midpoint if anyone knows this area. It it the spot where the Blue Ridge meets the Appalachians.

You just did.

Is anyone going to start one?

I've no plans to start one but I can tell you about my ride today! Get ready to be bored! At 7.45am I drove about 25 mi to meet up with a group at Myakka State Park. Lot of people hanging about waiting to go - some "animals," some not so fast, some I didn't recognize. Had sudden urge to use bathroom; when I came out, everyone had left! "Oh, bother" or words to that effect, I muttered, so hopped on my trusty Trek 2300 and set off into the park and after the bunch which was long gone. I warmed up at about 15mph and 60% HRmax for about 5 miles, passing a dead alligator in the road on the way. Well, it looked dead, but not injured, so I didn't stop to check! I increased speed to 17mph after exiting the park at 7mi. In my mirror I noticed someone gaining on me and it turned out it was a friend who was riding alone in training for a tri. She was puffing and panting as we rode together for about 4mi. At 10mi, she turned around as her training plan only included 20mi for today. On I went at 17mph and saw a group of 4 in the distance. After about 5 more miles I caught and passed them. It was part of the group I ride with. At the 18mi halfway point I stopped at a gas staion at Myakka City and met some of the "animals" who cruise in the high 20s. After a refuel, off I went on the rest of the loop with the bunch I had caught previously. They were doing 13-14mph, but I was feeling good even in 85F, so left them and continued along very quiet roads, with a light tail wind, back to the park. Once in the park, I was passed by a tandem ridden by a couple I had chatted to at the rest stop. They were cruising at 21-22mph, so I jumped in behind them and drafted for 4 mi. I like to cool down before the end of a ride, so I dropped off with 3mi to go, spun the rest of the way and got my HR back to 60-65%. At the parking lot, I drank the rest of my gatorade and a recovery drink, towelled off, drove home, had a shower and took my wife to lunch under the trees at a restaurant on the edge of Sarasota Bay. Temperature now 92F, so I'm relaxing indoors before we go to a party at 4.00pm. Oh, I had fitted a Specialized Avatar Gel 143mm saddle to test, but I still got the dreaded numbness, so I'm going to try a 155mm for my next ride on Tuesday. The only saddle I have which does not cause numbness is the Rido, but it looks weird
Well, you did ask about Sunday rides, so that'll larn ya!!

But I want to post that I just rode 60miles, my longest ever, through this undulating Cumberland Valley. We had strong winds today, my excuse for the 14.5 average mph. Kings Gap was our midpoint if anyone knows this area. It it the spot where the Blue Ridge meets the Appalachians.

Nicely done. and 14.5 in that country is no small feat, especially on your longest ride todate.

I rode 35 with the bike club (something I rarely do), which turned out to be a lovely ramble through the foothills of the Blue Ridge. Saw a bloodmobile on the way home, so I donated a pint of B-negative 30-weight. Now, for a shower, possibly a cold one and then a nap. I love Sundays, and I just know I could handle retirement.

I'm going to post a Non-Sunday Ride bit.

Fine Arts Sunday at church today, to be followed (soon) by a Fine Arts party.

I sang a total of 17 songs (would have been 18, but I snuck out before the final song).

Two identical services. Each service:

2 songs with my men's singing group (we were GREAT today!!)
2 songs with our mixed ensemble
3 songs with our choir (except I snuck out before the last one)
2 songs with the congregation

So, that is my Sunday ride.

Gotta go party!

(Oh and GOOD ON YOU, aqua4her - for your 60 miles.)

TX, JT!

No Sunday ride for me today, although it took enormous willpower to keep from taking a little spin at sunrise this morning.


I've been fighting a cold for nearly two weeks now, and it still shows no sign of letting up.
I've been training hard for two months and am tired of my legs being sore perpetually.
I took extra shifts at work last week and again this coming week.
I need to be fresh for three days of challenging rides this coming weekend at the Great Finger Lakes Bicycle Tour.
The bikes need a little maintenance and preparation for same.
Ribs were on sale this week, and I have a recipe for BBQ sauce I want to try.
Oh, and I have the new novels by Dean Koontz and C. J. Box cluttering my coffee table.


That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

No ride for me either. Worked on the wifes pool all day yesterday. Was expecting someone to help me with digging the trench for the Mains cable to the pump room- and he didn't show. That put me behind so today was spent on the pool again. Woke up this morning and it was raining- so I thought I could sneak out when it stopped- but It just did not stop drizzling all day.

I keep Thinking that I should forget the pool for a couple of hours- but the cricket bat is nailed to the shed door to remind me of what will happen if I don't get her pool up and running.

I did 50 miles at the Gerry Frierdich benefit ride in Belleville, IL this morning.

http://www.lepirtle.com/lib/rides/eventsdetail.cfm?eventnokey=1469

Good ride. Scenic, rollers, etc. and well attended.

Stapfam - swimming pool? If so, I hope it's indoors!! We'll be in B-ton from 23rd June. I'll contact you.

Last night was my son's senior prom. Tradition at my son's school is for the parents to throw the students a big dinner before the prom (my job was valet parking; my wife was a waitress). Then parents had a big dinner (w/alcohol) after the kids left.

Today, we were all expected to show up to help clean up at 10 a.m. So I head out the door at 7:10 a.m. (a little groggy) and took the l-o-n-g way to school (33 miles), helped clean up, and then returned home. 44 miles in all. Beautiful ride, cool-ish weather.

I really needed to get a long ride in -- the next 3 weeks are super-hectic (h.s. graduation, 8th grade graduation for my daughter, grandparents visiting, out of town wedding, some business travel, etc.) and I have a huge ride coming up on June 21. About all my riding will be commuting for the next 3 weeks.

Stapfam - swimming pool? If so, I hope it's indoors!! We'll be in B-ton from 23rd June. I'll contact you.

A week too late for the London to Brighton. Could have got you a ride- not that you would have enjoyed it.

Sunday (today) recovery ride day, 32 miles on the fixed gear bike. Lovely weather, headwind all the way to the beach (to be expected), repaid with excellent tail wind home, Whittier to Seal Beach and return. Gearing 42 x 15t, average speed 16.2.

Saturday's ride (from which I was recovering today) was 64 miles in the Angeles Crest region, 6,900 feet of climbing. For those who know the area: Lower Big Tujunga to Angeles Forest to Upper Big Tujunga to Angels Crest (Hwy 2) to Newcomb's ranch and return all the way on Angeles Crest to Foothill Blvd. in the city of Tujunga.

Rick / OCRR

Good ride, aqua. I did my first century of the year yesterday, and just decided to be a zombie today.

Posted in another thread that I got in a modest 14 miles today ... but it was a wonderful 14 miles. Great weather, very relaxing, and maintained 14 mph, my highest avg speed ever on my bent. Oh, and I saw 4 other bent riders today and a boatload of 50+'ers. Too bad more of them aren't here.

No ride for me. I worked on building some new singletrack all afternoon Saturday in 90+ weather. Today I'm bing lazy.

did about sixty miles. nice weather. five riders. good times.

Recovery ride today - 25mi., 18.5mph. avg. Yesterday did 95mi 3 Mountain Madness route, 9K ft of vertical., my last big ride prior to Assault on Mt Mitchell next Monday, June 9th (yes, you read it right). This will be my first time for this event. Thanks to lots of training, and some mentoring by our own jppe (much appreciated!), feel like I'm ready, still a little apprehensive about how I'll do.

We did about 25 miles. My first real ride with clipless pedals. I survived and had a wonderful time.

Just a short breakfast ride for my wife and me this morning. It was good to be on the bike all the same.

We cut it short because we had a family birthday party in the afternoon.

Oops! I posted this under a separate thread.
Didn't realize we were posting our Sunday rides here.
Sooo... here goes:

Yes, Mrs S and I, out together. She on her Giant and me on my newly refurbished LeMond.

I had it in the shop to get new brifters -I had broken one of the old ones somehow, fooling around with it- and, since the shop is right on the edge of Golden Gate Park, which is partially closed to auto traffic on Sundays, I suggested to Mrs S that she go with me to pick up the bike and we'd go for a spin. And she said "Yes" :eek: :D Couldn't ask for a nicer day. A bit windy but comfortable temps so we ripped of a nice, relaxed 10 miles, maybe. Beautiful. Well, relaxed until I said "I'll be right back" and dropped her in pursuit of a fellow LeMond rider -I thought it was another Reno- who went by. I had to catch him and see. Besides, I had to run through the gears and make sure it went through all the gears OK. Honestly, taking off in pursuit, stamping on those pedals, was pretty exhilerating. I caught him, we chatted a bit and then I headed back to my bride. She looks so good on that bike. And there was just spinning along. I think she's starting to believe it, now, too.

As for the LeMond, with new shifters and the derailleurs all adjusted and cleaned up, I forgot how nice a bike it was. Not a OCR C2, for sure, but it's no slouch, either. I know I'm supposed to sell it but maybe I'll hang on to it a little longer and put a few more miles on it. I even swapped out the 30T I had in the back and put the original 27 on it. Don't need those extra teeth anymore, it seems. Also took the Bontrager saddle off and put on the Fi'zik that came with my Giant (which now sports a B-17N)

That's pretty country to ride in -- and it's so green, too. Nice.

Here's what we did today: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=424761

I'm whipped. My legs are
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w76/cgallagh/a-slice-of-burnt-toast.jpg

That's pretty country to ride in -- and it's so green, too. Nice.

Here's what we did today: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=424761

I'm whipped. My legs are
http://i173.photobucket.com/albums/w76/cgallagh/a-slice-of-burnt-toast.jpg

LOL ...... That's as bad as what I posted after an especially tough brevet. I said my legs were

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x5/Bud_Bent/drumstick1.jpg

I rode 33 miles on Saturday in balmy weather. Millions of cicadas were out.

I'm thinking about trying a metric century this weekend. It's not a good time to negotiate with my wife about it, so we'll bide our time for now.

I had been looking forward all week to today's ride: 90 km in the Adirondacks around the Chazy Lake area. Last night I got totally prepared - lunch made, gear all packed and ready to go into the car. I was up at 6:00 am and it was pouring rain here in Montreal. I checked the Plattsburgh (closest dity to the area)weather on the computer and it said variable cloudiness, but it just looked so bad here that I decided not to go. I went back to bed and woke up at 9:00 am only to see a deep blue sky. Too late to go. The ride was starting at 9:30. Well, it did cloud up soon after and there were some showers late in the day, but I have a feeling that I made the wrong decision. I will have to check the club web page to see what became of the ride. At least, I got to clean out the basement.

Rain, lightning, thunder, wind, hail. No ride at all this weekend:mad:

Good ride today. 39miles. Max grade from Sport tracks SW off my GPS was 25.6% - I find that hard to believe although there were a few "walls" in the climb. Average speed 16mph. This now becomes a weekly occurance, one of three climb routes I alternate taking. Need to get stronger at it as century time approaches.

Elephant Rock Ride today. Fifty two miles and hit fifty mph on one of the downhills.

Entered a Cat 4/5 race on Sunday and was "off the back" on the first lap. Ended up finishing the race solo and averaging 19.7mph for the 22.5 miles. It was windy and the course was fairly challenging. Just did not feel good going into the race due in part to spending Friday fishing on a rocking boat on Lake Erie then tilling and planting the garden, most of the day, on Saturday. Later on Sunday afternoon, I decided to get in another 30 miles of riding and suffered throughout the whole ride while going slower and slower. In retrospect the 2nd ride was kind of dumb even though I wanted to get more miles in.

Mrs. HH and I rode the East Bay path from Providence to Bristol RI. It's a nice 30 mile round trip along Narragansett Bay. It was a beautiful Sunday although quite windy along the ocean. We had lunch in Bristol of a buffalo chicken wrap while sitting on the rocks by the ocean. Overall it was a very enjoyable day on the bikes.

40 very nice miles on a country lane in SE Wyoming. NO WIND!!!!!!!!!! Temp in the 60's. Longest ride of the year. We are about 2-3 weeks behind in our weather cycle this year.

I did a semi-organized century in the mountains on Saturday.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf1.jpg
Heading into the mountains.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf2.jpg
I lived in this area for 4 years.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf3-1.jpg

The last climb before a 23 mile downhill.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf4-1.jpg
Then lots of this.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf5.jpg
After some flat roads it's back into the hills.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf6.jpg

Mary took these pics, and she wanted to do an off-road ride Sunday, so I showed her an easy one.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/res2.jpg
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/res1.jpg
That's Topanga Canyon road down there.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/res3.jpg
A nice view of the Pacific just ahead.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/res4.jpg

Only one thing to say to Big John




"WOW"

Second thing- If I want to criticise-

How the hell can you class it as a century ride with 23 miles downhill?

So double wow and lucky basket.

Second thing- If I want to criticise-

How the hell can you class it as a century ride with 23 miles downhill?

So double wow and lucky basket.

Well, every foot you descend you have to gain back! This ride has about 8000 feet of gain, but it feels harder than that because you climb 3500 feet in the first 21 miles and at least that much in the 25 miles after lunch! I'll try to get some more photos later.

Got a few more pics from the century. Here's me, grazing at the lunch stop.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf13.jpg
Cassave pondering the hills to come after lunch.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf10.jpg
Some of the guys on a pretty section before the big climb.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/023tdf11.jpg
President Keith helping to fix a flat.
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u308/bigjohn53/tdf12.jpg

I also rode the Gerry Frierdich recovery ride Sunday (50mi). I wore my 50+ jersey and got a lot of compliments. :thumb:
Mud

I also rode the Gerry Frierdich recovery ride Sunday (50mi). I wore my 50+ jersey and got a lot of compliments. :thumb:
Mud

You had a 50 on your jersey, and you rode 50 miles?

Man, you rode a Century 50+50=100

I'll be 62 next month, can I figure that into the equation? 50+50+12=112 miles!:50:

I'll be 62 next month, can I figure that into the equation? 50+50+12=112 miles!:50:

We'll have to take a vote.

I did 66 miles at the nearest Metropark (Detroit area park system.) I did intervals on all of the small hills there. Legs were pretty toasted by the end of the day.

I did the regular 30 mile breakfast ride. This is the first time I've attempted hills since the start of the back problems. I managed to climb them but it was slow:( How I love that granny gear right now:thumb: