Machka 

Tell us about your September Cycling adventures! Where did you go? Do you have autumn or spring photos?

Machka 

Saturday -- It was cool and a bit breezy, but the ride was all right.

Distance: 35.6 km
Elevation: 238 m
Moving Time: 1:47:53
Elapsed Time: 1:49:53
Speed: Avg: 19.8 km/h | Max: 44.6 km/h
Heart Rate: Avg: 136 bpm | Max: 159 bpm
Temperature: High: 13.1C | Low: 11.2C
Wind: About 15 km/h gusting to 30 km/h

We went counter-clockwise around the kite and then did an out-and-back on the tail.





I didn't take any photos this time, but we cycled past this place on these bicycles.

woodcraft

Didn't sleep that well, & felt a little funky,

but then felt pretty good when I started riding.

Somewhat favorable wind, few stops, & two segments riding w/ others made for a good average speed,

which I buried myself maintaining to the end.

Unfortunately, while uploading photos, I saw that the top tube was cracked, from falling or being knocked over at the turn around stop.

87, 4,800', 16.7mph moving average.

atwl77

Same ol' boring training rides this weekend. Next week is an organized century ride that's happening out of town, so hopefully that would be more interesting.


Saturday: 2 laps, targeted Z4 intensity throughout. Nice weather, passed a bunch of what appears to be touring cyclists (which I'm just assuming due to their pannier bags), including a pair on tandem. Looks like fun.


I also learnt a thing or two about drafting. I got passed by a cyclist that wasn't that much faster than me, so after passing when he got back into the lane in front of me he was just about 2 bikes distance in front. I decided to try sticking to his wheel for a bit, slowly inching forward until eventually I was about half a wheel's distance. This entire time, I didn't really feel anything that made me think I was drafting successfully -- still felt the wind in my face, still felt like I was putting out the same amount of effort as before. Then I looked down at my Garmin and realized I was actually moving a little bit faster than what my level of effort felt like. Huh.


Anyway, I didn't get to experiment for much because shortly after I had to make a right turn while he continued straight on.


Moving Time: 1:48:15
Distance: 48.8km
Avg Speed: 27.1km/h
Elevation Gain: 297m


Sunday: 1 lap, higher intensity Z4-Z5 workout. 10km out the door, it started raining so I got home drenched from head to toe. Despite the weather and a bit of headwind during the rain, got some speed in and picked up a couple of PRs along the way.


Moving Time: 46.16
Distance: 21.9km
Avg Speed: 28.4km
Elevation Gain: 101m


On a side note, my bar tape was getting frayed so I decided to not just get a brand new roll, but to try out a 2-color scheme as well. Ended up botching the process -- length wasn't very even and the funky loopy bits around the hoods are probably wrong. It's the first time so I guess mistakes are expected. I'm still considering if I should go to the LBS and have more experienced people redo the whole thing for me...
IMG_20170909_183045-small.jpg

Machka 

Today (Sunday), Rowan and I did something a bit different ... we went on a short (1.5 hour) cruise on the Lady Nelson on the Derwent River.

This site explains the history of the Lady Nelson: Welcome | Lady Nelson

But just briefly, she is a wooden boat, a replica of a ship that frequented Tasmania between 1803 and 1825.

We like to do local touristy things, as well as travelling to other parts of the world, and every once in a while, we'll do something like this. After all, people come here to see Tasmania ... while we're here we might as well see it too.

The Lady Nelson





Us aboard the Lady Nelson





Hobart, from the Lady Nelson plus the Aurora Australis (the big red/orange ship) ... that ship goes down to Antarctica for part of the year. Rowan and I had the opportunity to go aboard about a year ago or so.





We walked to the Lady Nelson from a parking lot some distance away, and when we got back there, we went for a ride up the Cycleway and back.

Distance: 27.2 km
Elevation: 225 m
Moving Time: 1:24:17
Elapsed Time 1:29:01
Speed: Avg: 19.4 km/h | Max: 33.5 km/h

After all the wintery weather we've been having, today was actually relatively nice.

jamesdak 

Man, that sucks about the cracked top tube. Hope you can get it fixed and back on the road quickly. Or use it as an excuse for a new bike.

jamesdak 

Well, I felt really bad on my ride Friday. I've got a cold or something going on with the sinuses. So I took Saturday off.

Sunday - Decided to carry on with my Sunday theme of riding a taking pictures. I've taking out Japanese, Italian, and British bikes the past 3 weeks. So today was an American Schwinn. Shhhhh..... yes I know this one was made in Japan but don't tell anyone.

Anyway, decided to head up Snowbasin Mt to see if the colors have started to change yet. Wound up doing a bit over 32 miles with over 2200 ft of climbing. Realized when I got to the mountain that I was on a bike with only a 42T small chain ring and just a 26T large cog on the cassette. I figured the climb would suck but it really wasn't any worse than normal. I guess when you suck at climbing it doesn't matter what your gears are, LOL!

Anyway,lots of stops today to take pics. Quality is not that good. The cellphone camera was struggling today.

The steed of the day, my early 90s PDG Series Paramount:



Looking out over the lake and the valley on the way up.



Hit the first false summit before the descent to Wheeler Canyon and found loose, fresh chipseal. No 35 mph descent here today. This part was so sketchy!





At Wheeler Canyon. The road is gated from here on, no vehicles!





And the climbing begins again.



The goal, Snowbasin Mt, in the background.



Pretty much there now. There a large network of beaver ponds and canals hidden in those willows. And probably a moose or two.



Last picture before the maid descent. A whole lot of nothing on this side. There is pretty much all wilderness on this side all the way to Wyoming. Only got it up to 46 mph on the way down. The winds were not cooperating.

kbarch

Something about today's ride just seemed different. It was the New Jersey Gran Fondo. I'd signed up for the full 107 mile version, but figured I'd only do that if I was with a group, otherwise I'd just ride the 75 mile course. There were, in fact, a LOT of folks I know and have ridden with often with participating, and a group of them did finish more or less together, but I didn't manage to meet up with them or encounter them along the way. I did see one guy I know, and we rode together for the first few miles, and we encountered a couple of other regular riding mates, but didn't manage to stay together. We eventually got to a little climb that finally broke the peloton apart, and after that I think I rode less than 10 miles total in any kind of pace line or grupetto. Had a couple of nice chats with people I hadn't met before, including the doctor who's the senior partner at the practice with the orthopedist who patched me up.

It was just cool enough to leave the warmers on the whole morning, beautifully sunny, winds were never a problem, and the course was quite scenic. The refreshments at the last rest stop were fantastic. No mishaps, and nobody did anything to get on my nerves (though there was one guy who found himself in front of me who I wish had worn proper bibs), and although some of the roads were a bit rough, by many accounts, it was GREAT ride. However, I couldn't help thinking: I don't want to do this ride again. I'm not sure why - maybe having to leave the house at zero dark thirty, making a wrong turn on the way, not seeing as many friends at the start as I'd expected to see - maybe it was just soreness from a hard gym workout Friday - maybe the way I'd had a tendency to go full gas before the timed climbs and poor performances on the timed segments - but definitely, the coup de grâce was discovering, once I got off the bike at the end, that I'd failed to record the ride. So it didn't really happen anyhow. It was all just a strange dream.

woodcraft

Yeah, & the more I think about it & look at the damage,

I think it may have been bicycle assault. Don't think aimed at me particularly, but there is a certain amount of

hostility to (the many) bikes in the area. Can't really see the damage having come from the bike just falling over,

as the blow came from the top.

I may get it repaired, or maybe just put some tape over it, as it doesn't sound bad. Got this bike dialed in,

so not in a hurry to upgrade.

Jakedatc

Sat: headed back to RI for a tri on Sunday. On the way GF and I did a short ride on old roads to stretch out. RD was shifting like crap so we stopped in to my old LBS and had them take a look. Turns out my chain and cassette are toast but he adjusted it the best it would get for the race.

Sun: Sprint Tri down in Newport RI. Waves weren't too bad and less frequent than Sat. afternoon. Water was still comfortable in sleeveless wetsuit. I'm not a big fan of ocean swims, the salt always gets in my mouth and isn't pleasant. Swam decently but my arms were dead by the end and my hands were a bit cold. Bike was into a headwind and most of the uphill in the first half so it was tough but picked off a lot of people. second half was a lot of hammering downhill and I bumped up the avg by 2mph over the first half. Legs still felt ok when I started the run and kept a good pace with a guy a bit behind keeping me honest. Turns out he was not in my age group and I got 1st out of 3 that were and 8th over all. It was a small turnout for the race but still had a good race

John00

56 Miles. First day in months without heavy smoke.

San Pedro

21.5 miles with 2100 feet climbing.
Of course I hit the local Cat. 2 climb. I was really happy with the outcome. I only had to stop once on the way. My 28 tooth cog didn't even see much action as I slowed my cadence (70-85) this time and I was much more comfortable. I also did some more standing to change the pace. Overall, I dropped 9 minutes off the 3.3 mile, 7% average, 1,200 foot climb.

The way down was crazy. I almost crashed while sitting on the top tube and coming into speed bumps, then into a wet corner. After that I took a little more easy, and enjoyed the beautiful not used anymore back side descent on my way to the bike store (which was closed for some event).

A really nice ride that also helped me relieve a lot of built up stress.

Wish I would have brought the camera as it was a really clear day with some beautiful scenery.

BrazAd

Fri. night, I did a local ride, solo, that I've done several times since I began riding in mid-June. It's 18 miles long. First time I did it I averaged 15.7 mph... on Fri. night, 800 miles of riding later, I averaged 17.7 mph! Big difference and it's just cool to see progress.

Sat. night - the rain from Hurricane Irma was starting, so I didn't want to be far from the house in case the bottom dropped out. I chose to do a "small chainring" ride inside our neighborhood - what fun! I went down every road and culdesac in the neighborhood - 13.1 miles total.


What was fun was spinning! On Fri. night my cadence count average in the big ring was 82. On Sat. night, using the small ring, it was 107! At one point I was in the tallest gear on my cassette and when I looked down I was spinning at 106 and was going 21 mph! Definitely different from the norm and a great way to build up endurance.

Gary
Albany, GA

a1penguin

Nor Cal had a hot weather day today. But after two weeks of horrid heat and no long rides, I was hankering for a longer ride and decided today would be my metric century day. I didn't get started early, but went anyway. I was fine until about mile 50. The heat reflected from the pavement was taking it's toll on me and weather reports claimed it was above 90 in the East Bay. Exploring the Alameda Regional trail into the toasty hills was probably also not a great idea! 79 miles, 500 ft of elevation (FLAT!). I'll sleep well tonight! https://www.relive.cc/view/1178431150

JohnnyPedals

Did a training ride for the upcoming HTT(Hillier Than Thou Century) in 2 weeks. Perfect weather day. Nice temps and a cool breeze. This ride featured what is claimed to be the toughest climb in Orange County NY, Mine Hill Rd-1 mile with 660ft elevation gain ave 12% with a couple 25+% sections. There were a couple other nice punchy climbs.

Overall a great day on the bike. Finished up with 115 miles with 8900 feet.

https://www.strava.com/activities/1178198725

kbarch

Thanks for sharing that!
Still haven't made up my mind about HTT (and still haven't checked to see if the bike I want to take will fit in the trunk), but I'll definitely have to check out some of that route you did there. Seem's I've done a little bit of it during the Highlands GF, but I could probably get some more of it starting from home, or somewhere closer anyhow....

bikecrate

This weekend was dedicated to surviving Hurricane Irma. No bike riding for me. The only exercise was taking my dog for a walk before it got too rough. Overall, everything is fine where I live. I don't know when I'll get to ride again. There are still some lights out and debris in the roads.

JohnnyPedals

Good eye. Yes some of the roads were on the Highlands Gran Fondo. The route we chose Sunday was more for hitting short punchy climbs in preparation for HTT then for any scenic value. We ended up on rt32 for awhile. Not the best road to ride on. If you want to do a nice ride, the Country Roads Bicycle Tour is this Sunday. It is put on by Orange County Bicycle Club. Great ride on some nice roads. Good food at the rest stops and lunch at the end