Machka 

Tell us about your rides this weekend? Or did you do some other sports? Tell us about them too!!


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Saturday - we decided to do a test ride of both a distance (100 km) and much of a route. And we did!

But it wasn't without its challenges.

When we started the wind was blowing at 40 km/h (approx. 25 mph) and gusting to a breezy 55 km/h (34 mph). And we were straight into it for about the first 12 km. Made for a slow start.

Then we had a tailwind for about 13 km which was really nice. And the day was really nice then as well, with the temperature up to about 18C.

And then, as we cycled along the coast, the wind really began to blow ... 45 km/h (28 mph) gusting to 65 km/h (40 mph) ... 45 km/h (28 mph) gusting to 78 km/h (48 mph) ... 72 km/h (44 mph) gusting to 94 km/h (58 mph). Mostly cross-wind. Occasionally tail. Occasionally head. I recall one particular horseshoe bend that started with a slight descent. As I came around the corner, at something of an angle as you do, the gust nearly took my bicycle out from under me ... there was some mad steering, braking, and flailing of leg to keep myself upright.

We stopped in the next town just as the wind died down to about 40 km/h (25 mph) gusting to 70 km/h (43 mph), and tried to find lunch. First place we stopped used to be a really nice place with cycling memorabilia about the place, but unfortunately it was gutted with fire. It has been rebuilt but instead of the warm atmosphere and good food ... it's a cold, unfriendly place with food so gourmet we didn't even know what half the stuff was. All we wanted was a sandwich ... and the shaved beef tongue or chicken liver pate didn't quite appeal. So we left and went to another place where we had paninis.

By this time the wind had begun to shift. We were expecting a strong cross-wind or even head-wind but what we got was a gusty sort of cross-tail combo. (45 km/h (28 mph) gusting to 80 km/h (50 mph), with one particular blast up to 93 km/h (58 mph)). About halfway along that section we also got blasted with a rain storm. The rain was being blown so hard, it felt like we had been caught in hail ... stinging! After that it seemed to calm a bit (40 km/h (25 mph) gusting to 65 km/h (40 mph)) for a little while.

But with 20 km to go, it picked up again, and the cross-wind gusts to 80 km/h (50 mph) in a stretch along a busy main highway had me stopping a couple times when the wind threatened to blow me off the road.

All of that and hills too ... 1096 metres (3595 feet) of climbing.

Nevertheless ... we made it!! And we celebrated with pizza and tiramisu!

This ride and the post-ride dinner were something of a celebration ... something I wanted to do when I finished the course I'm taking. Just the exam to go!


Stats
Distance 100.15 km
Climbing: 1096 metres
Riding Time: 5 hours 43 min
Total Time: 6 hours 43 min


Oh, and when we got home, we discovered that one of our kayaks had been knocked off its perch by the wind. Since we've been home, there have been gusts over 100 km/h.

kbarch

Yikes - that's some wind!

Today I just had to deal with a bit of swirling breezes on the way home, but the morning was spent in Palisades State Park with members of the weekend gang. River Road traverses the steep hillside (cliffs here and there), and Alpine is the way out at the north end. It's also heavily wooded, so you don't notice the wind when you're down in the park. That was all we intended to do for the morning - going up and down Alpine hill. Most of us just did two full climbs, but I did a couple of extra climbs of the bit from the boat basin up to the traffic circle each time.

Here we all are at the bottom the first time.


It was kind of funny being on a multi-gear & compact setup this morning. The last couple of weekends I'd ridden with a standard, and then the last three rides during the week had all been on fixed. So early on, when we were going down a modest little grade, barely 20 mph I'd guess, it felt like I was spinning out on the big ring and littlest cog! (50/11)

Strava sez: 22.9 miles, 1,936' on the main ride. Add 5.7 miles and 463' to get to the start, and the same distance but only a couple of bumps for 106' to get home. Adds up to 34.3 miles and 2,505'
Tomorrow's planned ride is longer but flatter and at a relaxed pace. Looks to be chillier, too.

silversx80

Kind of a kickstart to the weekend. I was up in Greenville, SC for a conference yesterday and brought my bike. Ended up being able to get in a 30 miler to include Paris Mountain (both ways) before I had to leave for home. Been a while since I had a real climb… I miss living in the mountains.

In The Grass by silversx80, on Flickr

Machka 

Sunday-- 3.7 km walk. Just walking. Some of it was between buildings shopping, but most of it was on the beach!

After yesterday's ride, we wanted a little break.

woodcraft

Saturday was the annual 'biketoberfest'- music, microbrews, booths, etc..

The "beer earner" ride was 47 miles, 5,900' climbing.

Took a minute off my PR on the benchmark climb (3.9m, 1,486') to 31:11.

Only another 10 minutes faster to break into the top fifty!

Jakedatc

Sat: chilly 40mi with a group of friends. went with knee warmers.. shoulda done tights, legs never really warmed up. pretty easy pace to keep everyone together with a few jumps for giggles. ended at one friends house for pie afterward.

Sun: watched kickass Rugby world cup Aus v Scotland.. so good. rest of the day will be watching the more padded football variety Go Pats

kbarch

That's a pretty climb-y ride!

And for some reason, those stats suggest that elevation over time (either moving or total elapsed) might be an interesting metric for recreational rides. Where elevation is an option, it seems to give a good indication of the character as more or less climb-y. Today was pretty casual - including ride to the start and back home, it took me nearly four hours to get in 1752'. Yesterday it didn't take our group much more than 90 minutes to pick up almost 2,000'. What helped was the fact that it was very easy to do 25-35 mph between each climb; much of the non-climbing distance was covered very quickly.

Machka 

Yeah ... I don't think I have ridden in wind that strong since I left Manitoba. And there it was flat so I wasn't also trying to get up hills.

bikecrate

Saturday was very pleasant. Low temps and clear skies. I did a typical 35 mile ride around S. Tampa. Found myself in the middle of another charity walk. This is charity season here. Sunday was really gloomy. Cooler, cloudy and the wind had picked up. I went out to Thonotosassa for 40 miles. Still on my hybrid. I just got my new wheels for the road bike in late Thursday. The gear is switched over, but I didn't get it fully adjusted yet. I might take it out tonight.

Machka 

Nice view from up there.

slimyfrog

This ride on Saturday with my cycling companion
The limiting factor was my stupid knee... (overused it a couple of weeks ago and it likes to complain). The most entertaining part was driving over a bunch of acorns and hearing my friend squeal as he got pelted repeatedly. Also... hills are getting easier and easier. Speed is going up overall and so is my endurance. As long as I keep improving, I don't care about how bad I am

This on Sunday with my 8 year old son He loves riding. This is his 2nd or 3rd 10 mile ride. He got to wear my arm warmers as leg warmers
Was quite amazed by the binding yet stretchy material. Was in awe when he hit 16 mph during a sprint. He's skinny and lean. I want to see a climbing specialist in the making.

Both rides made my day and week for very different reasons.

Machka 

Monday -- 35 flights of stairs + 3.2 km walking


Tuesday -- 25 flights of stairs + 1.6 km walking + ...

We spent about half an hour after work today cycling!! 10.2 km. That's the first time we've cycled after work in a long time. We were checking out a possible route on which to do intervals.

And I rode Machak. Rowan has been fixing him up.

bikecrate

I tried to go out last evening to at least test my road bike adjustments. Not a great day anyways. Very windy. It was shifting okay, but still needed some more tuning. At about 5 miles it spontaneously jumped from the front large chain ring to the middle chain ring. I couldn't get it to shift back. I rode home and tried to do some work on the FD but it just will not respond to the shifters. WTF, this didn't even have anything to do with the wheel switch. I'm throwing in the towel and taking it to the LBS. This bike is possessed.

TJKnight

Solvang Autumn Double Century: 198/11.5k. Freaking amazing scenery. The Mount Tepesquet climb was my personal favorite. This pic is from the long flat after that descent, en route back to Solvang.