Great to be alive
 

Today was a club ride on an awesome day with crystal clear skies and cool and windy weather. There were probably 100 riders today. You might think the start would be a crowded and dangerous mess of bikes but such is not the case. This is an old club that knows what it is doing. As a relatively new member, I'm continually impressed by how smoothly club events unfold.

As usual, I get sucked into going faster than my capability. I began to cramp toward the end but this is SOP for me and although starting out too fast is stupid, I love speeding along. Despite flaws in my cycling practice and despite being old and asthmatic, I get a bit faster each year and riding gets a bit less painful.

I've cycled 6600 miles over the last, umm, say 27 months, my entire cycling career. Ever so slowly, butt discomfort, hand numbness and neck pain all recede into the past. My bike is nicely tuned, thanks to much good instruction from this website and other locations, which makes operating the machine and each ride a pleasure. Each year I'm able to go a bit faster and the bike feels more responsive.

One of these days I will muster up a bit of extra energy and post photos of the roads hereabouts. New England is not spectacular but is sure is pretty. Everyone pay attention and stay safe.

Put in 32 miles on the fred-bike on semi-muddy MUPs today. A lot of other folks had the same idea so the paths had a lot of cyclists who were going for it. Had to pay attention and play dodgem with the other cyclists and the puddles on the path.

Sharon and I did 45.2 miles on the tandem :tandem: today, the 45-mile option of North Shore Cycling Club's North To Newburyport ride. Well, actually we did 45.2 miles but only the first 2/3rds were on their ride. The last third was spent following a map and my nose when the route instructions stopped, shall we say, agreeing with reality. :twitchy: It was a windy but otherwise lovely ride, fast at times.

A quick shot at the start:
http://users.rcn.com/jimmuller/pics/...n_Hamilton.jpg

On the return we stopped on a sidewalk park bench in Georgetown to have some lunch, and while we were there we watched a parade go up Main St, a celebration of the local Little League teams. Unfortunately we didn't get any pics of the parade.

Lunch:
http://users.rcn.com/jimmuller/pics/...Georgetown.jpg

http://users.rcn.com/jimmuller/pics/...Georgetown.jpg

Did a solo ride on a new route. Some nasty roads but new scenery.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...erry/bike2.jpg

I got 16 miles in by commuting to the office today. I didn't like it. I'm fine with the concept of commuting, but the entire concept of work I find contemptible.

Anyway, I'm over 1000 miles for the year so far. This is the most I've ever ridden this early in the year. Yay.

33 mile club ride on the Screamer this morning. We wimped out and drove the approx. five miles to the start and then wimped out again when it started raining at the sag stop. Instead of continuing on our planned 47 mile route, we headed back on the 27 mile route. Stopped raining, of course. Instead of completely caving in we rode back to the start then continued riding to our home for a total of 33 miles. It was raining a little again by then. Drove back to pick up the minivan, then went out to lunch..........

Passed the 1100 mile mark for the year today. Personal best for the end of April, near as I can remember.

60 miles today http://ridewithgps.com/trips/618820 on the touring bike
78 miles yesterday on the touring bike
Stranded myself in Bellville TX lots of wind and chip seal with a few rollers. scouting out the Tour De Cure Course

typing this standing up! legs are starting to cramp and have figured out to stand when they start

My brother lives in Massapequa Park.

Wife and I did the Chico Velo Mildflower today. This is the 100K ride (actually 61.4 miles) for old folks and tandems. Total climbing 2700' with one notable climb called Honey Run; our 36t cog came in really handy.

It's a nice ride. Very good rest stops and an excellent post-ride meal. The last 20 miles into mostly a headwind weren't an awful lot of fun and it did top 80 degrees.

I got in a 50 mile "recovery" ride today after yesterday's Wildflower Century in Creston. I rode the recumbent on the century and had a great ride through the rolling hills east of Paso Robles. There was only about 5600 ft of elevation gain and no really steep climbs so I could manage on the recumbent without too much trouble. Even the gradual climbs start to hurt after 80 or 90 miles though.

Ed

10 miles indoors due to the thunderstorms , 152 for the month , with wrenching on the Raleigh Grand Prix .

sweet jeebus, no! After this past weekend I'm not sure I'll ever get back on a bike again! :)

Saturday: 92 mile ride with ~4,000' climbing which devolved into a complete hammerfest
Sunday: 85 mile ride with ~6,000' climbing, all of it into a 20mph headwind.

My legs are complete toast. I can barely walk.
Plus I got a nasty saddle-sore on my manly bits. Kill me now.

Did my usual 30 mile ride this morning. The first few miles started out as a nice ride until someone turned the big fan on. Winds came out of nowhere and were 20+ mph for most of the ride. The layout of the MUP's path is such that no matter which side of the loop you are on, you either get hit with a crosswind or a headwind. The winds were causing trees to sway between 3-4 feet at the top and were really brutal in the open areas. According to the news channel, winds are currently at 19 mph and not getting any weaker. Good thing for aerobars.

23 miles at the crack of dawn.

Another very windy day, like yesterday, and another 30 miles. I wasn't going to do the second lap but decided to do it since it wasn't yet raining. Sky looked pretty bad, but it all cleared up and now the sun is out and getting very hot. Should be around 88º later today.

40 winks at the crack of dawn.

Almost 24 miles today. Had my first pinch flat today....was lost in thought, ran off into the grass. The bike ran fine after that but I still stopped at the LBS and they checked it thoroughly and said all was fine...didn't harm the hanger/derailers...tires were still true or so close to true it wasn't worth messing with--felt lucky as bike wasn't hurt(other than flat and changing it) and I wasn't hurt.

Just a little 7 mile jaunt down to the presentation of the "Wichita Bicycle Master Plan" at the city hall. Looks like we might be getting some well thought out new bike paths and bike lanes.

Totals = 602mi. YTD, 348mi. for April. On track for my yearly goal.

Rode 11 mi after work Tuesday (5/1) on the Chester Valley Trail in Malvern, Pa. It's hard to get a good workout on this trail because it crosses so many busy roads and one must often come to a full stop in order to be safe. But, it was May 1st, the weather was warm, and I enjoyed being out and on the bike.

I accumulated 624 mi. for April, a PR for me for that month.

Today I rode because I could, I didn't "have to," and because I'll be spending the next 4 days in meetings & seminars.

Nearly 24 miles today. Stopped at the LBS to get a new spare tube as I used the one I had in the bag yesterday. Also got another patch kit for home. Now I have a spare tube in the bag, one at home and a patch kit for both the bag and home.

I rode indoors due to thunder and lightning , but plan to get out again Saturday . 10 miles

http://app.strava.com/rides/7750658

Another beautiful ride in southern Indiana.

My good deed for the day was to give a ride to an out of town visitor here for Derby week. The gent is from Florida, and he was glad to see rolling pastureland and animals other than alligators along the road. He's used to riding at 20+ MPH in a pace line. That kind of thing happens around here, but I've never seen it. The temp topped out near 90, so he was quite at home.

Meant to ride yesterday after work but we had some Stormy Weather.
Modest five mile ride on the Screamer this evening.

No ride yesterday due to an early doctor's appointment. It'll be my weekly no ride day. I did get in my usual 30 miles today and a very nice ride. It was a bit warm with not too much wind, at least not like I had Monday and Tuesday. Very enjoyable.