Club ride SW of the Twin Cities metro - out in the farmland by the Minnesota river. Only about 10 people showed up to the ride, maybe because it's kind of far from the metro, and after just two miles I realized that I was way out in front with one other guy. Happily, it turned out that we were very well matched and we did the whole 77 mile ride together, trading pulls ranging from one to five miles, depending on the winds. We finished with an average of 19 MPH, which for me is very respectable. It was supposed to be 80 degrees and sunny, but we managed to ride under a small localized storm for a good chunk of the ride. It didn't soak us, we just got damp.

My legs were killing me for much of the ride - not fatigue (well, in the last 10 miles I was pretty fatigued), just pain in places that I don't normally notice, such as my upper calves and the muscles in my inside upper thighs. I changed the position of my cleats the other day - I wonder if it could make that much difference? I can't decide whether to change my cleats back to their old position or to keep them as is (I think I get a little more power the new way) and wait for my legs to adjust.

51 miles, almost no wind, lots of people, families, clubs out today. Sunshine, blue skies, all around great ride. Temps in the low 80s to mid 70s.

10 Wheels,

Very sorry to hear about your cousin, very sad.

Weak Link,

congrats! No stopping you now.

47 miles on Saturday on the tandem with about 2500' of climbing. Started at 0700, stopped at the 40 mile point for breakfast, home before noon. Good temps made for a great ride.

Just got in from a beautiful 40km ride through Aylmer / Gatineau Park



I've got to get a little P&S camera to take with me, I suppose cell phone pics are better than nothing!

2 laps of Tour de Toula (my local fitness route) 32 miles total. Temps in the low 80s, no wind.

57 miles yesterday and 49 miles today on the Hilly Hundred in hot, dry Southern Indiana with 5,000 other cyclists. Rode my V3 ('bent) Saturday with an old friend and today rode our tandem with wife/stoker, accompanied by same friend and 22-yr old son who rode his first Hilly day. Max speed was 41 on the V3. I will confess to walking up the worst of the hills - Mt. Tabor. My son made it up that hill. (Youthful energy and no evident body fat.)

57° when I left and rode 57 miles.It was a beautiful day too. It was 71° when I got back.
Redskins won today too! Woohoo!!!!

Yes I did.

Almost perfect weather. 79F very light breeze and tolerable humidity.

Rode my SS because my intent was a leisurely enjoyable ride. Encountered a youngster in a local team kit that must have wheel sucked me a bit, came up for a pull, I hung on and rode his wheel a bit. He sat up and I passed thinking he'd grab the wheel.

Five minutes later I started wondering where he went. Oh, well.

Amazing October weather. Mid-70s (24C) when I left home. Low 80s (28C) when I got home. Did 36 miles.
Got home and the wife said we were going over to some friends house and celebrate October-fest with good German beer, bratwurst and three kinds of sausages, sauerkraut, pumpernickel bread, etc.
Now I'm sitting here with a very full stomach.

Got back late last night form the three day UCI Cyclp-cross race festival in the Cinncy area. It was hot, dry and dusty making it truly a lung buster. I competed in the Master's 45+ Cat 4 races which had anywhere from 27 to 40 old guys risking life and limb for merchandise prizes. The start of the races are mad house. The fields of the Cat 4 open, 35-44, and 45 + were all combined with the younger guys called up first in rows of 8, then the 35's followed by my group. There was at least 120- 150 racers all blasting from the start and racing against their field and everyone else for 40 minutes of self inflicted pain and suffering. One thing good about the combined groups was each group had a different colored number so you could tell who were your competitors. I always hit the start as hard as possible and took a lot of risks to get ahead of my group and put other riders between us.

At the end of the weekend I raced in Covington KY, Middletown OH and Fairfield OH. Talley was a 2nd place on Friday, 5th place on Saturday (would have been 3rd had I not crashed into a barrier and got wrapped up in the bike with 1/2 lap to go) and on Sunday I abandoned from the race after 20 minutes while in 3rd place. I suspected while warming up that I was pretty much done as I could not do any hard effort and recover. I did my usual hard start then could not recover and was truly out of gas.

What a great sport! The guys who race are nice and friendly, there are announcers busting on the racers while they struggle in the sand pits, even the pro's, and the whole festival thing with beer is special. Before our race start on Saturday the announcers called everyone's attention the the start of the Cat 4 race. They were betting each other on where the big crash would take place and encouraged the fans to get out on the course to watch the "demolition derby of the Crash 4's. The crash did happen, just behind me.

Here are a few images.

Uh, dude, this thread is about the ride you did today, not last weekend!

I rode to Washington DC today.

Hey, chill out. There's nothing wrong with a ride report that's a day or two late.

4th day of heavy rains, I am sick of it.

Nothing wrong with a sense of humor. Get one!

I rode about 7 or 8 miles, half on the Greenway half on city streets, first time out with new gearing(thanks, mechanics forum!) and the bike was brilliant. I know now that it fits me, something I wasn't sure of before. I have been doing 6-10 miles three or four times a week since I got the bike in August. Now I will start increasing the distance; I guess I will be taking that bridge to the bigger island next-door in lieu of a real climb because I've gotta train. I signed up to do a century next summer, first since 1974!
Sense of humor or not, thanks for the photos qmsdc15. And everyone.

My LAST ride before surgery tomorrow.

I did not sleep last night due to the pain, but resolved to ride today, as it will be 3 months or more before I can ride again. It was a bit damp and cool, - 44F - which I love, and I did 20 miles over hills.

It was a very slow, very tired run, and I hurt when I got back, but I still enjoyed it.

DnvrFox,

Best wishes on your surgery tomorrow. Hope it goes well and you can heal fast.
Take care.

KR

Glad you got out today. Prayers your way.

Three riders, one flat , it was glass.
12 miles of rain. temps 65*-91*

100.31 miles

Rode my second century of the year on Saturday. It was the Maple Leaf Bike Ride in Carthage, Mo. Weather was perfect except for headwinds on the way back in. Even some of the hot shot cyclists (of which I am not one) were commenting on the wind. Good news is that I actually passed a few people and was not last.

61 miles for my birthday ride, only needed 58. I rode with my brother and we rode on the W&OD trail in Va.
First time riding that trail and more than likely last time. It had way too many road crossings and just felt so chopped up for the first half of it. A few blind corners that were a little scary too.
But I am glad I rode it, and with my brother made it all worth while, I had a great ride.
The weather was perfect,68° when we left and 81° when we got back.
As soon as we got back I took off front wheel and laid it on the ground and put bike in back of truck and as I picked up the front wheel it had a flat! It flatted between the time I took it off to the time I picked it up, weird.

That is called "Karma". And GOOD Karma at that.

After I'd gone about 4 miles I started feeling tired. Never got un-tired so only did 32 miles.

Ran into my old boss from the bike shop on the bike path. He was on his new Longbikes recumbent. He's getting ready for a cross country trip on it next summer. He asked if I'd be willing to come out of retirement for the 2-3 months he'll be gone and work part time at the shop. I guess he's been talking with my wife. She's been asking if I'd like to go back to work part time at the bike shop.