Did 52 miles today with 4 others. flat road, chilly and windy, got nicer at the end

I am a 50 year old woman who started riding seriously in March when my knee surgeon said no more running.

5 miles to work, 7 miles to the gym to work with my trainer, then 3.5 miles home.

I rode for the first time in 6 days, having had the flu (or its evil twin) over the holidays.

18.3 miles on the tandem, flat with rollers, avg. 18.9 mph., in hazy golden sunshine and no wind. Hard to describe how wonderful it felt to ride again.

Cold morning in Maine...31 degrees when I checked first thing in the morning. Rode 12 miles to the ocean which was shining beautifully in the sun. Trip home was colder against the wind. Time to invest in some tights or leg warmers. How one day can make such a difference in your mood! Yesterday was grey and drizzly. Came home today invigorated and treated myself to a cup of hot chocolate to eliminate the chill.

First really cold day, had to take studded tires to work and went for a nice ride through the forest home. More snow above 1200 feet than I had anticipated. (no snow where I live).
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...k/P1010498.jpg

I rode a whopping 1.6 miles round trip to the polls to vote in a runoff election.

I did not ride today, but I ran 5k in 28:56 this morning before work.

Well to be honest I don't do "training rides" but If I did, the route I took today would be it! It's a lot of my general rec. ride on local paths and backstreets but today I added the Sinton Trail, which is 85% uphill and a good uphill grade to the Post Office off of Centenial Blvd., here in the Springs. From the PO back down to the trail is a very good bike lane with now down hill grade so I slam it up into the BIG GEAR's and haul bunn's as fast as me and "Frankenbird" can peddle! Then it's "Reward time" a sweet run down the Sinton Trail, thru urban fortest and smooth as glass asphalt! :)

Felt so good I decided to tackle a city street and traffic over to my LBS on the Westside of town, bought some bottled water, hung about the shop for 30 minutes and then headed home via more of the same. Not, offical but I figure 25 miles or so, good thing as they say a cold front is coming in tonight and we could get 3-6 inches of SNOW over Wed/Thurs. and the weekend won't get out of the LOW 30's, burr! :(

Burr, was a cold 68 degrees with a 5 to 10 mph head wind. Did 42 miles in the sunshine here in SoCal. Rio Hondo, LA River bed to the ocean then with the tail wind did 19 miles in an hour on the return trip. Was 64 at the beach. Disturbed two Vultures sitting on the side of the path, was "Paced" by a couple of small birds. Was nice and toasty in my thights and two tops.

This picture is actually from Monday's 53 miler with the Tweeners. We had an unusually large group of 13. Rode from Lincoln to Folsom CA and a new bike and coffee shop.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...ighborhood.jpg

(51) I rode 16.5 miles today exploring the bike paths in the PHX area. It may not seem like much to some of you, but my old mountain bike weighs 42 lbs not counting my handlebar day-pack. When I got home, I plotted it out on Google Earth; I gotta get one of those bike computers. :)

I like routine! And timely reporting of my rides.
Well, not today, so I will finally report my Sunday ride.

Having grown accustomed to my Sunday ride to and around Salem Lake, a distance of 27 miles that jump starts my riding week. In fact that single ride is one third of my weekly milage goal through the winter.

With rain predicted for Monday, and my pantry thinning out, I needed to ride to a distant shopping venue. Aldi was the ticket and I had hoped to extend the ride by using a longer return route.

I wanted 20 miles total, but got only 16.65. On the return trip I was carrying 20 lbs of goodies, so I guess it all equals out factoring in the additional effort. Plus the ride provided a milestone!

After an eight month layoff, I resumed commuting in June. By mid June I had begun a serious effort to increase my mileage at a gentle pace. At the end of Sunday's ride I had boosted my YTD miles to 1006.84! Yes I am proud of the accomplishment!

Monday brought the promised rain, but I took delivery on the fork and tires I needed to complete the rehab of my Bianchi. Tuesday, circumstances required me to be available to take and make telephone calls. Today MORE rain.
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Stats
Weeks miles: 16.65
Months miles: 197.5 (November)
Year Since June: 1006.84
Bike: Trek 620 w/commuting and trail gearing and tires

Another 50+ miles with my group. About 35 degrees when we left--59 by the time we got home. We did a big, hilly loop around Lincoln Ca. These pictures were all taken within about a quarter mile.

This doesn't show how steep it is.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...UpBaldHill.jpg

The funny thing about this picture is that the woman who appears to be giving directions never knows where we are.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...-02-09Trio.jpg

This was taken from the same spot as the previous picture, looking out toward Sacramento-ish.

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...fromtheTop.jpg

Tuesday in the greater Calumet Region felt more like October 1 than December 1 -- SW breezes 15+ mph pushed the afternoon tamps into the low 50s (F). Me and my Trek? We went 24 enjoyable miles on and near parts of the Erie Lackawanna trail. Bumped the 2009 total to 1311 miles. :thumb:

Indoor Trainer ride today. Whew! 20 minute warmup, 7 minutes of ILD (Individual Leg Drills) and I suck at those. Then 5 X 5 minutes hard. I was ready to give up at the 4th set, but somehow hacked it out. This is one of my first trainer workouts, I dread to think of whats coming.

I will ride to work today six miles, will go directly there but on the way home it will be the long way about fifteen or so. Was going to ride the motorcycle but weather is just to nice, fifty-five at 4:30. Hi of 60 or so with clear skys,and some wind. Just right.

Forgot something south central North by god Carolina.

It was 39 degrees and breezy at 6:30 when I hit the trail. That wind stung like the back of Pcad's hand. WHEW, chilly! Put in 14.4 miles and raced home for coffee.

61 degrees in Maine
 

Rode 13 miles today down to the ocean and back. Waves were beautiful. Some must have been 8 or 10 feet high as they crashed on the rocks. Unfortunately did not bring my camera today. Was unable to post yesterday but took a nice ride on Tuesday. Famous lighthouse at Two Lights with Fuji in foreground.

Coldest commute of the year (so far) today. 30 degrees when I left home. But it's been a dry week - I haven't been rained on since last Saturday.

Colder next week...

Very short one. Colder than a bankers heart, windy, not nearly enough clothes on. I hate winter.

That's dang fridgid!

Tuesday--14 miles, to work and back.
Wednesday--sick
Thursday--7 mile "recovery ride"

ummmm........about 10 miles yesterday and maybe 5 today. I promise to ride more this weekend. Supposed to be a little bit cold but dry.