Fall Envy
 

everyone has been out enjoying the great Fall weather, taking pictures, and posting their ride stories to BF. it has been pissing me off. i have been sick and working like a dog for the man. yet, i keep seeing these great pictorials of scenic rolling landscapes and Fall foliage.

today i attempt to balance out the equation. i am feeling better, the weather is decent for the Midwest in October at 60 degrees, sunny & 5 mph winds. so, like any hard working middle class American i skip out on work. well, i go to lunch and never come back.

this was the result.

flatness
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3226/...a7863499_b.jpg

some trees
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3292/...b356fd55_b.jpg

some farm stuff
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3040/...5befe8d1_b.jpg

a horse
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3174/...c175896c_b.jpg

my riding partner
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3065/...5378a78d_b.jpg

the fred shot
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/...a9f114d6_b.jpg

the ride data.

it was short, slow, and snotty. still better then working. ;)

later.

that's not flat.

just sayin'

later.

man, screw you all

with much love of course

Nice pics. Looks like you had a great ride.

I miss flatness.

To me that's flat....

And your route is even in right angles...


Nice country roads...

Glad to hear you're back on the bike...

To me, the climb in the first pic looks pretty brutal.

That's a Cat .2 climb.

The only "flat" around here is on the trainer. I think I'd die of boredom if there were no hills to ride. Nice pictures though!

Flat, however, does not mean easy...

Flat poses its own challenges...

I find it much more difficult keep my power up and a steady pace when on a flat...

It is much easier to suffer going up...

I love gravity...

jeez, that looks like a boring place to ride!

just kidding, it looks great. nice pics.

People who believe that you cannot train to ride mountains living in a flat area do not understand this.

It is harder to train on flat ground, because you have to push yourself.

+1 ... an example story:

On September 20th, my father and I went out on a calm, but fairly hilly, 100 km ride ... and completed it in 5.5 hours, feeling pretty good.

On September 27th, my father and I went out on a very windy, but fairly flat, 80 km ride ... and completed it in 5.5 hours ... feeling wiped out.


Despite the fact that the second route was flatter than the first, and shorter than the first ... and therefore should have been easier than the first ... it was more difficult all because of the wind.

Dang, you live way close to me. I was looking for some routes out near Lockport actually. How do you like that route?

Did you do that climb in the 53 x 17 or the 53 x 15?

THAT is some flat. And you have a left side brifter as a riding partner? You need to get some friends. Or at least your own shadow.

wheres the color... Here are my shots from this weekend...

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/phot...29091_1082.jpg

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/phot...27968_1216.jpg

http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/phot...27974_5003.jpg

I don't know where you are in the midwest, but those areas are pretty similar to what I ride most of the time. Always (almost) enjoyable.

Looking at those Pictures, I am singing an old Talking Heads song in my head

I see the shapes,
I remember from maps.
I see the shoreline.
I see the whitecaps.
A baseball diamond, nice weather down there.
I see the school and the houses where the kids are.
Places to park by the factries and buildings.
Restaunts and bar for later in the evening.
Then we come to the farmlands, and the undeveloped areas.
And I have learned how these things work together.
I see the parkway that passes through them all.
And I have learned how to look at these things and I say,

(chorus)

I wouldnt live there if you paid me.
I couldnt live like that, no siree!
I couldnt do the things the way those people do.
I couldnt live there if you paid me to.

I guess its healthy, I guess the air is clean.
I guess those people have fun with their neighbors and friends.
Look at that kitchen and all of that food.
Look at them eat it guess it tastes real good.

They grow it in the farmlands
And they take it to the stores
They put it in the car trunk
And they bring it back home
And I say ...

(chorus)

I say, I wouldnt live there if you paid me.
I couldnt live like that, no siree!
I couldnt do the things the way those people do.
I wouldnt live there if you paid me to.

Im tired of looking out the windows of the airplane
Im tired of travelling, I want to be somewhere.
Its not even worth talking
About those people down there.

Goo goo ga ga ga
Goo goo ga ga ga

30 miles from the big city and lake michigan. the route is my quikie. not my favorite, but its quick and easy.



agreed. most of my training rides are amongst these plain fields. that being said i climb well enough for a flatlander. did a 130 miler with 14000 feet of climbing up in cheese land back in august and did not die.



thus, the balancing of the equation. :rolleyes:



well, i do have one friend who stil rides, but he is in Vegas Baby.



i dont know what that means, but i was in the small thingy up front and the big thingy in back, while standing.



later.

Gee, the scenery looks exactly like my ride today, only a couple hours more North. :)

As long as you're on the bike instead of work it doesn't matter how flat or hilly or windy it is.

I would rather have been on a bike ANYwhere instead of work yesterday. It was that kind of a day.

All that open road and big sky? Looks like fun.

Beth

Hmmmmm wide open spaces and no traffic....

Want to swap?

Love the narration. Nice ride.

As for balanced ride equations... I'm in the 'burbs, so I can ride country or urban. I see plenty of what you ride.

As for unbalanced ride equations... flat does not equal easy. A lot of people don't get that.