Machka 

Where did you ride your bicycle this weekend? Tell us all about it. Got pics?


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It's Sunday 5 July. There was no Saturday 4 July for us this year ... skipped it all together. So ...

We walked a bit on Friday 3 July (5 km) and again today (1.5 km). But no cycling because we, and our bicycles, are in transit.

TheManShow

Not sure if it is a smart idea or not, but the bicycle will spend the 4th. of July Weekend on the hooks in the garage. Too many poor drivers, drunk & imparded drivers on the roads this weekend.

People are in a more of a hurry then normal, and I do not want to be a statistic.

bruce19

Rode my clubs' B ride. We did 47.6 mi. w/2900 ft. of climbing at 15.6 mph. This was all in northeastern CT.

Jakedatc

Fri: Swim around the ocean/bay body surfing some pretty small waves, but fun anyway

Sat: 1mi pond swim and 30mi ride with the GF

Bruce, it is funny the differences in different clubs for their breakdown of levels. B ride with my Sat. group would be 19-20avg for 35-40mi. These are things to figure out when riding with a new group! haha

la rosa 

73 miles Freedom Ride Independence MO

kbarch

Rides this weekend have been short, but that's OK.

Friday morning I just headed over to River Road for a little workout, doing three repeats of some little climbs from the boat basins back up to the side of the palisade. But later that day I went and picked up a single speed/fixed gear bike and rode it home - about 18 miles. Yesterday I went about as far with it flipped over to fixed. It's addicting: about to head out for another fixie fix.

My main club membership expired yesterday. It's an excellent club, but I live across the river now, which is great for cycling, but not so great for hanging with that club. Their distinction was as much about riding style as speed or distance, and advertised speeds are cruising speeds (i.e., speed on straight flats, no wind), not necessarily average. Doesn't matter how fast or strong you are, if you aren't a skilled and well-disciplined pace line rider, they generally don't want you on their A rides. B rides they expect you to know and follow the rules, but are casual and fairly forgiving. C rides are where they train you.

Jakedatc

Yea, I ride with 2 different groups. One has basically the A riders go out first, B's behind them, then everyone else sorts themselves out in small groups of similar speed. It is large and pretty much lets people sort themselves out. My shop ride is smaller and more structured. A and B's usually go together and the only difference is who rides away off the front when the pace ramps up. Definitely expected to have pace line skills. C ride leaves at a different time and is more casual.

HardyWeinberg

I rode a 50 mile loop on Friday and a then added onto it for 70 mile pentagon kind of thing today. Today the roads were covered with the traditional independence day broken beer bottles and burnt out fireworks. I took what I hoped was a cool picture of Rainier but the picture isn't great because the mountain fades back into the haze rather than looms out over everything like it really was.

I got a new (to me) carbon fiber roadbike a week and a half ago and it is really like night and day compared to the 32 pound cyclocross I did most of my distance riding on in previous years. Holy cow.

roccobike

Nice 50K charity ride. Had some very fast flat sections and some hills. Pretty nice ride overall.

Machka 

Canada Day was in the middle of the week, so I mentioned it in last weekend's thread, but I'll do the whole story here ...

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On July 1 - Canada Day - my cousin David, husband Rowan, and I hiked to the top of Mt Cheam in lower mainland BC.

The adventure began with a drive about 2/3 of the way up the mountain ... first on a nicely paved road, then onto a gravel road, and then onto a forestry track which required vehicles like David's 4WD Jeep. And of course, on the narrowest part of the road with a cliff on one side and steep drop off on the other was when we met oncoming traffic descending from the mountain. That gave me, on the passenger side, looking down the steep drop off a few heart-in-mouth moments.

But we made it to the trailhead and started the hike. First a climb over a huge, carefully placed fallen log, and then onto a wide and gently climbing trail. That part was lovely with views of the valley and mountains, including Mt Baker, in the distance. We crossed a little bridge and the trail narrowed as we made our way past little Spoon Lake and through meadows of wildflowers.

And then the trail began to climb steeply. We were still in the meadows of wildflowers and surrounded by beautiful views so there was always something to look at as we climbed and when we stopped to catch our breath or have something to drink. There are very few trees on the way up, mainly just long grass and a variety of wildflowers, including a plant that looks suspiciously like corn.

The trail levelled for a short while and passed through a grove of pine trees where we stopped for a break in the shade. It was hot! The starting temperature down in the valley was about 30C, and although it did cool as we climbed, it didn't cool by much.

Then we continued climbing again until we reached the first lookout a short way from the top, complete with a bench for us to rest on. That lookout provides stunning views of Agassiz, Chilliwack, Harrison Lake, Cultus Lake, and of course, the Fraser River.

We stayed there a little while before completing the ascent to the top of the mountain, where there is an breath-taking unobstructed 360-degree view of the entire area, including Lady Peak immediately to the south, Mount Baker off in the distance, Jones Lake below, and the entire Fraser Valley. It is an incredible view! Well worth the climb. David and Rowan ventured quite close to the edge, but edges make me nervous so I stayed back a bit.

Not long after we got there, a couple of guys hiked up and one was carrying what looked like a flag pole ... and it was exactly that. He unfurled a Canadian flag on the peak, in celebration of Canada Day!

Then we descended, and while descending may, in some ways, be easier than ascending a mountain, it was steep and put a strain on our quads. I know my legs were shaking at times. The whole hike was a great workout.

In total, the 9.5 km hike, with 700 metres of climbing, took us approx. 4 hours to complete.
Mount Cheam hike in Chilliwack, BC | Vancouver Trails


My photos start with the one labelled "01Jul15_MtCheamClimb_01" ... and there are quite a few. They go on to the second page.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka...57654396714698

CafeVelo

I snapped a ritchey crank arm.

The blue is old housing I used to shim a cadence pickup magnet

generalkdi

Saturday : Played tennis with a friend, lost 2-6, 6-7(5-7).
Sunday : Went for a long flat ride for 138kms : https://www.strava.com/activities/339926638

K.Katso

I rode to Utrecht to watch the TdF on Saturday. Did my interval training on Sunday.

Tpcorr

On Friday I rode solo in the early evening, 18 miles at 17.2 mph. This, for me, is very fast. I decided, with some trepidation, to try my first club ride, the following day, Saturday. I was hoping I could keep up. It was B ride and we went about 34 miles at a 15.5 mph average. It was fun and easy. This inspired me to try another club ride on Sunday, listed as a B/B+ ride. As soon as we began I realized that this was a paceline ride, which I had never done before. We went a bit faster than the average speed listed in the ride description, but it was lots of fun. We went a little over 35 miles at a 17.4 mph average. I think riding in a group makes me go faster, I know a huge part of that is drafting the other riders, but also my adrenaline is flowing and I don't want to be dropped.

Tom

bikecrate

Sadly, no extra time off. I was led to believe it would be a quiet day at work on July 3rd, but no and regretted coming in. Saturday I went for my classic S. Tampa 35 mile ride on a sunny morning. Strangely very little traffic. Very few cyclist too. Sunday more of the same, but for 41 miles to Picnic Is. and Davis Is. Saturday started Le Tour so I did spent the weekend decorating the house and watching the races.

Machka 

Machka 

I would have enjoyed doing that.

Rowan and I stayed in Utrecht for a few days back in 2012. I enjoyed watching the coverage in that area, trying to see if I recognised anything.

Bugstomper2000

On Saturday I rode 2 miles to lbs to get a new bottom bracket installed. It'll be in the shop til wednesday.

Wheever

Attempted my first half-cent on Friday. Forgot to fuel. Made it 48.87. Did 25 on Saturday and another 20 on Sunday. I'm going to attempt the 50 again this weekend!

Machka 

So close!

And yes, fueling helps.

HornedFrog

A whopping 23miles on Sunday and I was pretty much toast by the end. Brutal combination of heat, humidity, and what felt like 20mph sustained winds.

Tis is the season in north Texas.

Machka 

Machka 

It was certainly hot enough where we were the last three weeks to get in some swimming. Now if only we would get a few weeks of that heat here in the summer. We've got the beach ... we just don't seem to get the temperatures.

2manybikes

July 4th 25 miles, to and from a huge Parade. Monday 6th 102 miles rural roads. Could have done more. 100 F - 90 F on the road. Perfect for me.

MattMem

I rode the Dunwich Dynamo a free "cult" ride from east London UK to the beach in Dunwich, 125 total miles, ridden overnight. We set off around 8pm and after a few good stops for a pint or two we made it to the beach by around 6:30am... Saw the sunrise, sunset and managed a dip in the sea which was COLD. It's amazing ride with cyclists of all types and a great atmosphere.