First Delicious Ride of Spring!
04-13-15 | 10:42 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 1,001
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From: New England
Bikes: Trek 1.1
First Delicious Ride of Spring!
No, not "delicious" in the sense of chocolate cream filled donuts but rather in the enjoyment
of hearing the birds all vying for air time, the Spring runoff in the little brooks I passed and
mostly, the feeling of enjoying great health and love of life in my 80th year.
What did I do to deserve this? Worked for 33 years at a drawing board in an Art Dept.
Well, maybe the fact that I did ride my bike to work and I did spend a lot of time fixing up
an old house, and of course, an assortment of boats that needed hard physical effort to keep afloat.
Considering the fact that I only spent about an hour and a half on the bike trainer this winter I am
amazed at how fit I felt on this first season ride of 15+ miles. And the whole season ahead!!
of hearing the birds all vying for air time, the Spring runoff in the little brooks I passed and
mostly, the feeling of enjoying great health and love of life in my 80th year.
What did I do to deserve this? Worked for 33 years at a drawing board in an Art Dept.
Well, maybe the fact that I did ride my bike to work and I did spend a lot of time fixing up
an old house, and of course, an assortment of boats that needed hard physical effort to keep afloat.
Considering the fact that I only spent about an hour and a half on the bike trainer this winter I am
amazed at how fit I felt on this first season ride of 15+ miles. And the whole season ahead!!
04-13-15 | 01:40 PM
#3
Senior Member
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 4,340
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From: Bristol, R. I.
Bikes: Specialized Secteur, old Peugeot
I've done several very short rides in town in the past few weeks but not anything else before. Today was the first "Real" ride since the first week in January. Pleasant day along the Sakonett River. I'm sporting a new saddle, that seems fine after some customizing, the bike is clean and to complete bike maintainence chores, and spokes a re polished and gleaming. Nothing enhances the cycling experience like well polished spokes.
04-13-15 | 01:45 PM
#4
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 9,158
Likes: 1,743
From: Lebanon (Liberty Hill), CT
Bikes: Canyon Aeroad, CAAD 12, MASI Gran Criterium S, Colnago World Cup CX, Guru steel & Guru Photon
Excellent. We, too, had a good start to cycling season. Last Weds. my gf and I did a 23 mi. ride around our rural town of Lebanon, CT. Then on Sat. we had our first club ride and did 26 mi. with 8 others. On Sun. we went back to our town with 4 others and did 26.4 mi. w/1600 ft of elevation. Today my legs are a little achy but nothing terrible. At age 69 (me) & 62 (her) we are grateful for the good start. On the Sunday ride it was amazing how often we heard the cacophony of peepers.
04-13-15 | 01:48 PM
#5
The Improbable Bulk
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 8,379
Likes: 7
From: Wilkes-Barre, PA
Bikes: Many
I can't ride in the cold due to health issues, so this past Saturday was barely a go, with the temperature. It was great, in spite of the gusty wind, and helped me to feel like spring is actually here. I will be riding this afternoon after work.
I have a lot of catching up to do... I feel like I got started later this year than last, but I am not 100% sure. It sure seemed like a long winter.
I have a lot of catching up to do... I feel like I got started later this year than last, but I am not 100% sure. It sure seemed like a long winter.
__________________
Slow Ride Cyclists of NEPA
People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Slow Ride Cyclists of NEPA
People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
04-13-15 | 02:14 PM
#6
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 12,560
Likes: 799
From: Middle of da Mitten
Bikes: Trek 7500, RANS V-Rex, Optima Baron, Velokraft NoCom, M-5 Carbon Highracer, Bacchetta Quattro, Catrike Speed
I've now got about a hundred miles under my belt for the season. It feels great to get out, but man am I out of shape!
04-13-15 | 02:17 PM
#7
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 13,358
Likes: 665
From: northern michigan
Bikes: '77 Colnago Super, '76 Fuji The Finest, '88 Cannondale Criterium, '86 Trek 760, '87 Miyata 712
What a delightful time of year. Just getting on the bike is what we dream about all winter (up here, anyways).
04-14-15 | 06:03 AM
#8
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 12,940
Likes: 363
This is the best post here in a long time, very well written Sculptor7. Heard our resident whippoorwill last week, for the first time since last summer. Always signals that warm weather is back for us around this part of the state. It is nice to ride in shorts and a ss jersey, instead of layers and a head cover under the helmet. thanks for your wonderful report, and the life background, too.
Bill
Bill
04-14-15 | 08:38 AM
#9
Senior Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,381
Likes: 219
First Delicious Ride of Spring!
Mine was on April 4:
Mine was on April 4:
Last week I posted,
On sunny, cloudless Saturday afternoon (4/4), I did the first true ride of spring, on the carbon fiber bike, from Norwood to Kenmore. First time this year with:
My ride was one of the windiest I can recall in Boston with gusty pushing winds, as head-, tail- and cross-winds, with sporadic gusts strong enough to push me leftwards towards the traveling lanes. Another reason to have a rearview mirror, to monitor upcoming rearward traffic for those surprise deviations from the straight forward progression.
My ride included the previously described “Goddard Street Swoop" in Brookline,
with this further observation; the road surfaces were smooth asphalt with no potholes until it started to level out in Boston at Jamaica Pond.
… Last Tuesday (3/24) was the first ride on my carbon fiber bike since January 1, because I keep it pristine, only ridden on dry, salt and debris-free roads…
All in all, it might have been premature to ride that route on my CF bike, but it still was a pleasure….Anyways I considered the above ride a sign that this Historic Winter is over, but nonetheless a difficult ride due to the road damage by the severe weather…
All in all, it might have been premature to ride that route on my CF bike, but it still was a pleasure….Anyways I considered the above ride a sign that this Historic Winter is over, but nonetheless a difficult ride due to the road damage by the severe weather…
- no facemask, balaclava or goggles
- single pair of thin knit gloves
- overly warm with fleece, instead of winter jacket
- single pair of tights
- single pair of socks, no cycling boots.
- dry snow free-roads, and shoulders with wide swaths of debris-free pavement.
My ride was one of the windiest I can recall in Boston with gusty pushing winds, as head-, tail- and cross-winds, with sporadic gusts strong enough to push me leftwards towards the traveling lanes. Another reason to have a rearview mirror, to monitor upcoming rearward traffic for those surprise deviations from the straight forward progression.
My ride included the previously described “Goddard Street Swoop" in Brookline,
…I want to also tout [the downhill run on] Goddard Street by Larz Anderson Park in Brookline. From the top it’s about 1.5 miles past Jamaica Pond to Boylston Street (Rte 9). So it’s very scenic with gentle curves, with low traffic, and notably only one cross street as I recall, on the uphill side, until the road starts to flatten out at the Pond…. Just past the crest is a turn-off, so you can allow any cars behind you to pass, and then cruise almost uninterrupted for nearly the entire length. Even after the single traffic light just past the Pond, it is still declining and one can easily (for me) pedal up to 20 mph.
04-14-15 | 12:39 PM
#10
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 6,663
Likes: 2,405
From: Colorado Springs, CO
Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Specialized Rockhopper, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V
Winters in Colorado Springs are brown and ugly in a way I don't remember in the Midwest. Sculptor has captured the feeling just right. How much of this do people miss out on by closing themselves up in a car?
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