Started out this morning on one of my regular, flatter routes, after having done a few hills yesterday. I wanted to ride my steel Marinoni today as I felt like riding something more comfortable, being a bit stiff and sore this morning, and I was aiming for about 60-70 km. At just over 4.5 km, I heard a snap. Sure enough, another spoke had broken. A week ago today I rode a century and limped the last 30 km home with two broken spokes. On Tuesday I popped into my son's shop and he replaced the broken spokes and trued the wheel, but he said the wheel looked like it could use a rebuild. I guess he was right because another spoke popped today.

So I limped back to my car making it a whopping 9.1 km ride, drove home and had lunch. After lunch I thought I'd invoke Plan B, and got the mountain bike out for a planned 40 or so km ride on dirt roads with lots of hills, starting from home. At about 6 km into the ride I realized I'd had a senior moment: I'd left my water bottles in the fridge at home. Grrr. It made me feel more like 85 than 58. I didn't want to go back home to fetch them, but nor did I want to scrub the ride, so I compromised and did a shorter loop of 23.1 km, which I was able to manage without water. Still a decent 328 m of climbing in that short distance.

Double Fail Day! Tomorrow rain is forecast so it will be downtime day. Sunday looks good so maybe a 60-70 km ride with my wife after church, which would give me about 180-190 for the week (rode 299 km last week).

Maybe some deception... for safety's sake? Maybe we should shout: Pokémon... on your right!

AU or Driver Training?

R/C flying field.

http://i583.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps28bcc044.jpg

22 miles riding to and from work today.

My mistake I took a guess and thought you were talking about Floyd Bennett Field. Based on the discription and your avatar.
:p

Birthday coming so picked the best weather day to give-a-go at Medicare mileage, 65. Four loops on my most regular 'training route' seemed too boring, but would make the miles easy. Somehow Medicare Mileage should be at least a little bit challenge, if not epic. 65 would be my longest ride of the year and the route had the most elevation gain (again, not epic). Into Rainier National Park at the Carbon River entrance. Buckley with its' Veterans Memorial. Carbon River is glacial melt and not a clear water river. I like BIG trees. The DeRosa was a good choice = light wheels, racer handling for downhills, appropriate gearing and all day comfort with perfect fit.

A very hot and humid 40 mile ride with my buddies Lou, Frank and Steve and a 12 mile solo ride for my 52 miles. I have more than enough miles to where I can do some shorter rides over the next two weeks and still get my 1,000 mile month. With this heat, I'm seriously considering it.

37 miles Saturday morning, between a 19 mile group ride, and the ride to and from. Unusually cool July morning, perfect day for riding. For once I was only near the back of the pack, not the actual caboose. I started out near the front but realized it was hopeless after getting passed by a guy 20 years older than me like I was sitting still, and a couple of 10-12 year old girls. But I beat the kid riding the Big Wheel this time, so that's something. :giver:

Had an attack of the rheumatiz Thurs nite. My right foot was so painful I couldn't walk on it the next day. It looked like a balloon, I was going to stencil Macy's on it. So no ride Friday, but Prednisone to the rescue. A little tight still in the (flat bottom) riding shoes today. 18.1 on the Tarmac with matching 23C sized tires (came with a 25C on the rear). Still researching various tires on i-net.

2016: 2,655 Miles ♂ Total Miles: 12,253
Allez 1098/3530 · Roubaix 1100/3632 · Tarmac 76/76 · Sirrus 188/2223 · Trike 194/1778



The Postmaster General of the United States is the second highest paid government official after the President.

I did a very short, very gentle and easy, 6.30 mile ride around the neighborhood. Still working on stretching my pulled lower back and occasional flare-up of sciatica. Slowly but surely, I'll be back in top shape and will be out there again riding 25-30 miles without a problem!

Rolled down the driveway at 4:14AM on the Paramount with roads a tad wet from last night's down pour. Had tunes playing on radio station and took it easy for 26 miles. Made it back home for a shower since it's still Hot/Humid overnight then out on the Giant for a more lively LBS ride. Got in 66 miles so totaled at 92 for the day.

28.4 miles - from Brunswick, MD down to Point of Rocks, MD and then back to Brunswick and then north to Harper's Ferry, WV and back. What...a... hoot! The ride was all tree shaded towpath, the air nice and cool as I pedaled along, and the views were just lovely....when you could get a glimpse of the river through the thick canopy of trees. The abandoned canal alongside the towpath varied as to whether it was deep enough to still hold water - which was uniformly pea green - or too shallow by virtue of having been silted in with tree growth taking over the trench. Lots and lots of people out today - after all, it is Saturday. Mostly bikers, although there were a far number of hikers when I hit the section of trail that combined a short stretch of the Appalachian Trail that runs through into Harper's Ferry.

The further north I went, the more the Potomac river widened until it merged with the Shenandoah at Harper's Ferry. At that point above the conjuncture, there were flotillas of unique geological striated rock outcroppings - all showing their distance prehistoric past as once being an ocean floor with layers of silt accumulating and compressing over millions of years before being uplifted by Mother Nature. The remains of that layered rock were jutting skyward out of the river, tilted up at a 30 degree angle like stone sail boats, with water rushing around them in a soft drama of whitewater gone tame. All about me were high cliffs of rock on both sides, which were both intimidating, and awe inspiring.

But what as most unique was the river mimicing rush hour on I95 - packed shore to shore with tubers!! I had to stop a few times to take photos of the crowds, but my snaps just couldn't capture the vast number of floats and people being carried along the languid current like human confetti. Last time I remember doing a float down the river it was in a no-name black donut of a big truck inner tube with the inflation stem still sticking up a mile long. You risked scrapping your derriere when the river was at a low level because your entire body was smoshed down in the tube hole. Imagine my surprise to see nowadays what equates to colorful floating lounge chairs with attached tag-alongs for the cooler of beer and snacks!! I mean these people were sitting in floating EasyBoys with their feet up, arms on arm rests, back rests - the works!! No butts scrapping the river bottom in this crowd! I waved at a number, and they all shouted and waved back, happier than clams at high tide, floating and grooving. The river was at a low stage, so anyone out of their tube was only waist or chest deep in water. It looked like such fun. And based on the massive volume of people in that river, and the tubing companies racing up and down the road with flatbeds full of luxury tubes, they were all having a blast!

What I didn't like was my cell coverage quit the second I got near the WV border. I had been chatting with hubby on the bluetooth just fine up until I got close to the Harper's Ferry doorstep, and then WHAM - instant zero coverage!!! Didn't get the coverage back until I was 1/4 mile south of HF, heading back to Brunswick. I simply have to get a cheapee pay-by-the-minute cell phone that can be used in that multi-carrier-dead-zone area.

Past Harper's Ferry I went as far as Lock 36 at mile point 62, and figured it was time to head back to Brunswick. It was getting hotter (into the 90's now) and more humid by the minute, and I had already decided that next time I did the trail I would park at Shepherdstown, and backtrack the 10 miles to that point and then go forward from there.

Met a very nice older hubby and wife biking team just shy of the Brunswick parking lot - they were just starting out so I stopped to chat with them. We discussed the Allegheny Gap which they had done several times, and they had some great advice, especially which sections of the trail were the most scenic. They did say that the Cumberland Valley/Williamsport section of the C&O was their favorite as it was incredibly scenic. That's at the 95 and 100 mile point. At this time, however, I've only toured the towpath up to the 63 mile point, so I still at least two more round trip tours to get in before I reach to that 100 mile point section.

Doing a section of the C&O at a time really is a lot of fun!! Low stress and relaxing. My pedal average speed today was about 8.5 mph - not very speedy, but just enough to keep a cool breeze blowing. I'm sure I could have done a few more miles today but it was getting hotter and more humid, and I knew thunderstorms were due in the afternoon. All told the trip took 3 hours and 23 minutes.

Next tour this Wednesday will be at Shepherdstown, WV at the 72.5m parking lot, where I'll head back south towards Harper's Ferry to the 63 mile point (Lock 36), and then return back, passing Antietam and going north to Snyder's Landing at 76.8 miles, and then back south to the 72.5m parking lot. Should be a 29 to 30 mile round trip. Wednesday will be the only day in the 80 (88 to be exact); all the rest of the week will be 95 to 100 degrees.

Use tubular rims and Specialized tubies (24mm) and your search is over. The Tarmac is worthy.


edit: as is my Calfee.

28 miles on the long ti bent today. Large rural component. About 10 miles of the first part of the ride was riding opposite many, many RAIN riders (Ride Across Indiana - 164 miles from Terre Haute to Richmond). Rang my bell, said Howdy, tried to be encouraging as they neared halfway.

36 miles in about 2:15 on the Omaha multi-use paths today. Perfect weather for me. Low 80s, moderate humidity, slight headwind on the outbound leg with a mostly slight tailwind on the way home.

I've been off the bike for the last 4 years until last Thursday. Feels great to ride again, but man am I slow. Had three roadies blow by me like I was standing still. There's a difference between 49 and 53...or so it seemed today. I felt good throughout the ride and relatively speaking I finished pretty strong, but I really wanted to go 2:30-2:45 today. Got to a point to turn left to extend the ride or turn right to go home, and I turned right. I felt some tightness in my upper back, and my butt was sore (although intermittently....weird). Decided to call it a day. God, I'm slow. Getting old sucks.

I was pretty wiped when I got home after the ride. 45 minutes mowing the lawn this afternoon pretty much did me in...a long, hot shower, some pizza and a few beers tonight. No idea whether or not I'll even bother with a recovery or fun ride after watching the British Open tomorrow morning.

Got an early arrival at the park this morning so it was fairly cool when we started to ride. Riding with my buddy Frankie D but he wasn't getting there until 9:00. Rode the first three miles with the wife at a nice and slow pace, rode the next 8 miles solo then waited for Frankie to arrive. Did the remaining miles with him and by then the heat was torturous. Only 41 miles this morning. Resting the legs and the body tomorrow.

Saw this while stopping for a bathroom break - a true bicycle luggage rack.

Nah, too much expense and work for my old arthritic hands. Heavily infested area with insidious Goatheads. Sticker flats are just a fact of life here (Reno/Sparks). I went with the Continental Ultra Sport II and Rhinodillo liners. I have CST CZAR on the Allez & Roubaix (with liners). I'll compare them when I get them.

Beautiful morning, 68° at 8:30AM, 75° by 11:30. Wind doesn't appear until later. 20.6 @1:32 on the Roubaix. I started using the MapMyRide calorie counter. 1711 for this ride.

2016: 2,676 Miles ♂ Total Miles: 12,274
Allez 1098/3530 · Roubaix 1121/3653 · Tarmac 76/76 · Sirrus 188/2223 · Trike 194/1778



The name "Jessica" was made up by Shakespeare for his play The Merchant of Venice.

I've been remiss in posting here. We've done some riding but life has been hectic lately.

We rode 52 miles on the tandem yesterday, just a pleasant ramble around MetroBoston-Northwest, Waltham to Carlisle and back, our longest ride so far this year. Today we went out with a purpose, to pick up veggies at Hutchins Organic Farm in Concord. We ended up 40.8 miles and 37.8 pounds of veggies!

Even better, we stopped here Welcome - The Robbins House for a bite of lunch and were treated to a lovely and unexpected cello concert.

http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...lloConcert.jpg

Hutchins Farm:

http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...AtHutchins.jpg

And the obligatory loading of the bike:

http://world.std.com/~muller/pics/Ri...16/Veggies.jpg

42 miles on a club ride today on the Screamer with my favorite stoker, followed by the annual club picnic. Can't say that there were any real hills on today's ride that started on the far northeast side of Indy in Noblesville.

Turned 50 yoa this year, and decided the old body just couldn't take the running anymore. On Thursday I picked up my new Trek 7.2. Friday was a test 10 mile ride, 12 mph average, that felt quite easy frankly. Today was 16 miles, 11 mph average. I quickly discovered the second day, like running, is tougher than the first. I've also got new respect for the elevation change and headwind. The ride out was really tough, the ride back was sweet (I live in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico...the nearest intersection off my state route is 11 miles one way and 13+ the other way....I'm gonna be seeing a lot of the same road).

First after-bike purchase was a helmet. Now I gotta get a mirror (it's gonna take awhile to get use to vehicles coming up from behind) and a cell phone mount. Oh yeah, maybe a different saddle....but I'll give this one a few weeks to see how it goes.

Tomorrow, rest day. Not sure what my goal is other than losing about 15 lbs. But it was fun to get some exercise in without pounding the asphalt.

Russ

46 miles today on my 1984 Trek 610. I bought the frame last year and built it up into a long distance machine with a triple. The bike is a mile eater and handles great:

back at it
 

Working back in to it.

Progressed from a moderate 15-20 mile the last couple of weeks to the last 4 days, an approx 16 mile roundtrip. The first 8 are for all intents, up. 4% to at times 15% grade up. Only one 200ft stretch is a slight down. The rest is up, up, up, no stopping. Route begins at 6,000ft. It is a grind. Up into the Rocky Mtns from Colorado Springs.

I could use 1 lower gear on my Trek XO1, but I don't have it, so I push through and hope within a few days, I won't feel like I am missing that lower gear.

Woke up Sunday aching all over after Saturday's 37 mile group ride. Figured I'd just over-exerted myself trying not to finish last. Decided to skip the two local morning and nighttime group rides.

Then felt not-so-awful by 6 p.m. Decided maybe a short ride around the block to loosen up might do me some good.

Got home 17 miles later, including a little grocery shopping at the Tom Thumb that still stocks my favorite Texas ales. Both the ride and the bottled elixers are good for what ails me.

18 miles and a nice kiss from a rock wall. Life is good!