Machka 

Last weekend of May! Tell us about your cycling adventures this weekend.

[HR][/HR]

Saturday -- despite the fact that half my office at work and half the students at the university are down with the bubonic plague, and I'm hovering on the brink with sore throat and congestion ... I still wanted to go for a decent ride. It's been ages since we've been for a ride of any reasonable length.

So off we went ... 50.7 km at an average rolling speed of 20 km/h.

The temperature started at 11C and dropped to about 6C by the end ... and although the ride started dry and it didn't look too bad to begin with, within about 10 minutes it started to rain, and it rained almost all the way out. Chilly rain.

Fortunately we were fairly well dressed for it, although I could have used my toe covers. We stopped at about 30 km for coffee and a large chocolate chip and salted caramel cookie each, and to warm up just a bit. That was nice.

When we came out, it was just dusk and we turned our lights on. By the time we finished, it was dark.

I did struggle with my breathing a little, but overall it was a good ride.

generalkdi

Today is race day : You get 1h30 to climb a 400 steps staircase as many time as you can. ( I didn't train at all for this and kept doing bike... don'tknow how it's gonna end...!)
Tomorrow : Rain is on the way for tomorrow, so I guess it'll be a rest day, or maybe a quick run if it's not raining that much...

Machka 

I would enjoy that!

I climb 30-40 flights of stairs a day * 20 steps per flight = 600-800 steps/day and I do it in less than half an hour. I've never timed it exactly, except to know it is less than half an hour. Recently I've started jogging parts of it.

So I'd like to think I could do the 400 step staircase at least 6 times in 1.5 hours. But I wouldn't know until I tried.


However, I will say this ... all that stair climbing has done wonders for my cycling!!


Meanwhile ... good luck, all the best, and let us know how you go.

Chandne

A bit of climbing, sun, cold rain, dark clouds, and back home. 37 miles, 3,900 feet of elevation gain between 6,000-8,500, and time 2:50. Descending is a strength but climbing is another story!

bigdo13

been doing a lot of K's this whole month... today was a recovery day, just did a quick recovery ride with the old man, 33 kms, a lot of quick hills/climbs..Colorado Springs area.. went up to Seven Falls and Surrounding area. ... we're at high altitude so my father was really getting a good workout in.. at 65 he's a wonder to me... still so active and alive out there, hangin off my back wheel.. what a fighter man. only a few years removed from prostate cancer too.

cheers to my pops!

dmanthree

Saturday: took a rode up the NH coast to Jenness Beach in Rye. Cool to start, nice and cool along the coast, but quickly got very hot once I turned inland onto Rt 110 in Salisbury. Had to dial it back a bit the last ten miles due to the heat. Love the coast ride. A nice 64 mile round trip from my home.

generalkdi

Here is the result : https://www.strava.com/activities/590995367

It was great, but the stairs were a bit crowded. There was also a forced break since only 4 out of 5 participant per team could be in the stairs. It'll hurt tomorrow, I'm pretty sure.

HTupolev

My only currently-operational fendered bike is my Stumpjumper drop bar gravel bike, and it was raining, so I rode that to a group ride Saturday morning. The rain dropped to almost nothing by the start of the group ride, making things very pleasant for most of the day despite patchy dark grey clouds against the overcast sky.

The ride was the first time I'd actually been in a paceline over some stuff I'd travelled many times, and so I wound up bizarrely setting a PR on a hill climb segment. The old PR was set on a bike that weighs fourteen pounds less and has proper slicks, heheh. Drafting is powerful stuff.

Lots of smaller plants have embraced the season, and visually there was a lot of strong green and grey contrast.

Jakedatc

^^^ yes drafting is very good

Fri: moderate 34mi with a friend to keep the legs moving.

Sun: 50mi group ride. hung in with the 2nd group on the road. 6 guys in our group i think. good fast and steady.

kbarch

We have rain forecast tonight and all day tomorrow, so today's two rides will be it. Yesterday was very hot, and since there was a race this morning, I figured maybe not.
So this morning I actually managed to hang on for 90% of the race. The first eight miles or so I was doubtful, but the next couple dozen miles were fine - no trouble at all staying protected and rolling comfortably along, but on the final lap, we got to really racing again, and I wound up among the stragglers. However, about five of us formed a grupetto, and I found the energy for a little "breakaway" sprint over the last hill to the finish. It was fun, though. Originally we (our team) was supposed to get breakfast, but too many guys couldn't stick around, so that didn't happen.

After driving home, I left the bike in the car, so after getting a nice snack, I went back out and got it for a little 20 mile neighborhood/9W ride. Last nights rain and this morning's breezes and bright sunshine made everything smell great - I didn't see them, but I certainly smelled the roses.

Machka 

Sunday -- 31.2 km ... up the cycleway and back.

I had a reasonable amount of energy on Saturday, but Sunday I dragged myself the whole way up and back. Just tired and sore. I think I'm still recovering from an extremely stressful end of my university course + trying to fight off whatever disease it is that is taking out half the people I know.

It was another chilly one with the temp hovering around 10C. But at least it didn't rain this time.

alexaschwanden

i rode about 500 miles on my new fat bike in 9 days of owning it. its fun.

woodcraft

86 mile bakery loop.

I yelled at one of our group for stopping abruptly in the middle of the road.

He did it twice.

bruce19

Saturday a group of 12 rode 47 mi. at 13.7 mph. We were just putting along and had several dropped chains (same rider) and a mechanical. Without that and with a little focus we would have been a lot closer to 15 mph. But, that wasn't really what anyone was into. Left at 9 AM and the weather was perfect but by mile 37 it had hit 93 F and we were sucking down as much water as we could get. By ride's end we were all feeling drained but, all in all, a great ride. Northeast CT.

kbarch

Maybe slowing down for the mechanicals and such was a good thing - otherwise, you'd have been more drained.
I dropped a chain yesterday, too, but fortunately not during my group ride, which was actually a race.

bruce19

I'm not at all put off by stopping and lower mph. But, when we did stop the heat was killer without the "wind" from riding. Every time we stopped we were all looking for the shade of a tree and whipping helmets off. It got ugly by mid-day.

PnA83

Well this weekend was my very fist ride, and although I did go out, it was no where near some of your longer rides, realy im trying trying to get used to it and breaking in the seat..

I did manage to go out even though it was 40C and roud for about 8km both sat and sun. I can see how addicting this game becomes, already trying to beat my time from the previous day. Only strava let me down a tad by not starting to track my ride until the half way point... Otherwise great rides so far.

bruce19

Don't worry about time/speed. Just ride. Everything else will come with time and experience.

Jakedatc

being able to shift a chain back onto the rings without stopping is one of the tricks i learned that has saved me a lot of time (and getting dropped) Need to catch it quickly and shift the opposite way from where it fell. ie inside shift into big ring.. outside shift into small ring

bruce19

I learned it as "shift to large ring and pedal slowly." Has never failed me.

Jakedatc

yea if it drops on the inside. if it drops to the outside.. which is much more common for me. you need to shift the other way, since you were probably in the big ring already.

woodcraft

Wait, Wut??

kbarch

I've used that trick in the past, too, but for some reason it just didn't want to work yesterday, so I stopped in and got a chain catcher installed.

I know what you mean. Funny: it seems like just last week we were reluctant to stand around, getting cold in the middle of a ride.

A while back a group ride got shortened because temps refused to rise above freezing. But yesterday, a group ride that was supposed to be 100 miles was shortened to just 100 km when high temps were forecast. Since the part I particularly wanted to do was the far end (up around West Point), which got cut, I didn't attempt to join. I would have had to drive a ways to catch up anyhow - it got underway before our race was finished.

Carbonfiberboy 

Ride for Pie was Sunday. Except this year it was the Ride for No Pie, since both pie-baking cafes were closed. We had to go to a nearby town for beer and bar food. Totally second best. Maybe 3rd.

Good ride, though. Our first mountain ride of the year: one cat 3, one HC climb. We set a PR for our tandem on the HC climb. Weather was perfect, which had something to do with it. 65 miles, 4900'. 4 flats among 7 bikes. Rural and FS road maintenance around here is not the best.

2manybikes

Saturday on a century ride I found a nice place to fill my bottles and get food almost exactly at the 50 mile mark. So I'm filling my bottles and a guy walks up to me. He has work clothes on and is from a plumbing business box van truck with the name on it. He explained that when he's driving the van with the extra wide mirrors, like on a dual wheel pickup, he feels his entire family is at risk. He is afraid that he will hit a cyclist with the mirror, says the cyclist will be back on the road three days later, but he will be sued for all he has, and will be broke. I listen carefully, at first I did not get it. He's not mad or mean or anything he just is worried. I start to show him my Take a Look mirror and start to explain some things a cyclist can do to help reduce that risk.
He goes and buys something. On the way out he comes back and says "What Charity rides do you do". I told him I went on an MS 150 once. He says he had a friend he died from MS, and, puts $20 in my hand and says give it to a charity I like. He was polite, even friendly.

I don't get it ? Is he just strange?

In another spot a guy who appears to have mongoloid features, and waves to everyone every time I go by, walks over to me
when I stop nearby. We have a nice normal conversation, and now I can wave and say his name when I pass his house. Another rider from the area tells me, he goes across the street to the small grass airfield,and chases the cows away with his tractor when planes are going to land. An interesting day.

First hot weather ride of the year. YAAAY !!