The legs are still tight even today so I didn't ride and I might not ride tomorrow, although I hate to take 2 days off in a row. We will see...
I am with you on taking my hands off of the bars, as a kid it was nothing to ride around with no hands but I am to old and heal to slow to do that now. I see the guys on the tour doing that and I just close my eyes, ohhh to be young again.

I am feeling inspired to start posting in this thread... though I generally ride the same route on the weekdays, it takes me through good old-fashioned Louisiana swamps and farmland. There are some really nice shots I could get on some of the roads.

Any other riders in here from southern LA?

Welcome to the thread FunkyStickman .... Post, post and post some more... Everybody that posts in this thread helps keep me motivated..

I'm the same way Slo Spoke ....... I remember riding all over the place no handed when I was a kid, on bumpy dirt roads no less. I remember seeing who could ride the farthest on the way to school... <sigh> About 4 years ago I tried to bunny hop a speed bump in a parking lot on my mountain bike. Somehow the chain came off as I was landing & there was NO resistance on the next pedal stroke and over the handle bars on to my face I went. I had a nice black eye and scrapes on my face but the worst thing was I messed up 2 of my fingers so bad I could not ride for about 2 weeks. Yep healing takes longer now ..... DOH!! Oh and of course everybody seen me fall. And it was outside of a plasma donation place (sister was donating) so the doc from in the plasma center came and bandaged me up... Ohh fun times.... NOT lol.....

I didn't ride yesterday either.. I had plans to ride.... but everything just seemed to go wrong (all small things). Forgot the memory card for the camera, took more time in town running errands, started raining by the time I was done with the errands.. And I dunno this may have just been in my head.... but I didn't feel good..... LOL

I went 22 miles yesterday. It was pretty hot, but I guess I have gotten used to it although we are supposed to be over 100 by the end of the week. Still loving the new bike and have been working on my cadence. Can someone tell me what kind of cadence I should be working toward? Right now I can maintain around 90 rpm. Before I was under the impression that I needed to keep heavier pressure on the pedels to gain in speed, but keeping a faster cadence has actually helped me pick up my overall avarage speed. I'm not talking by just a little bit either it has really started jumping.

You got it!

A cadence of 90 is plenty good for getting in shape, the goal is to use the bike's gearing to get your heart rate up, and not fatigue your legs. Your legs will naturally get stronger as your heart gets in shape, and you'll lose weight faster. Track racers will sprint up to 150+ RPM, but that's extremely hard to maintain. I'd use your target heart rate and leg fatigue as an indicator of whether you need to increase or decrease your cadence.

Almost forgot, yes, I rode today! Did about 13.5 miles, down highway 20 through the swamp. Saw at least 3 dead raccoons, heard several alligators as I rode. Got helping drafts from a few 18-wheelers, and got to watch the sunrise throw sunbeams through the mossy cypress trees... was a very nice ride. One of these days, I'm going to spend the weekend going down Hwy. 20 with a big broom and sweep up all the debris on the shoulders. I didn't have time to get my camera set up, so I'll get more pics the rest of the week, as I took the rest of the week off of work.

Well I did get out for a ride today because I like to torture myself I think..... I say I tortured myself because I always end up riding when its REALLY HOT... I started my ride at about 2pm or so today... I did remember the memory stick for the camera so that was a plus. But there isn't anything more to take pictures of on my normal ride. So I decided to ride down the where SR19 crosses over the barge canal. So the pics are of the bridge. I have only ridden over this bridge a couple of times and that scared me enough to never do it again.. In the picture where it turns from pavement to cement is where the shoulder/bike lane ends on the bridge. And LOTS of log, dump & big semi trucks use this road, very scary up on the bridge when one of those go by.

Ended up riding 27.25 miles.... The heat really started getting to me the last 9 miles or so... I just got overheated. If it weren't for a nice tail wind I most likely would have called for a ride. Even with the tail wind I came close at one point. I did recover a bit though after the last hill.. But I was COOKED when I finally did make it home. Glad I rode though..

I miss my bike PC that had the cadence setting... I just stopped working.. DOH! If I remember correctly I used to try to keep it between 80 and 85. Where I found it made the biggest difference when riding was going up hills. I focused more on the cadence and less on the speed on the hills.. and that seemed to help me get up the hills better.

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Aaaand I did it again! Got my lazy self outta the sack at 6:30a and hit the pavement. Had enough time to get in 10 miles @ 15MPH before hitting the shower and off to the cubicle farm. Early morning's the only sane time to ride any more;as july drifts toward August the mercury's drifiting up to the mid to upper 90s. I'm hoping I can get to where I'm getting in rides twice, maybe three times a week. Gotta get in shape for the big rides in the fall.

"fast ride" last night w/ county group, 5 riders inc. me. 24 miles, 20avg. out and back on pretty flat roads. no hills to speak of, just some inclines.

Hit the bike for 22.1 miles this morning, and man! Had headwinds most of the way, could barely get over 10MPH in some stretches. When I got back home, I felt like I had been riding forever, even though it wasn't that long. I used the granny ring for the first time in a year, I think... ugh. Spinning on.

Wednesday 7/21
28.3 miles today.

467.2 miles this month
3947 miles this year
122 ride days LY vs. 126 ride days TY
3552 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 52.6% of my goal. I need to be @ 66.6% (5000 miles) by the end of August
401 miles ahead of last year at this date

Today’s ride as seen through the eyes of my bike:
After my bout with leg cramps on Sunday I took Monday off and planned to take Tuesday as well. However about 7:30 pm Tuesday evening I decided to try and work some of the stiffness out of the legs. I went out and did a short easy 6 miles, didn’t take the computer or wear a helmet, just wanted to spin.

Today I got out pretty early (7:30 am) and did an easy 28. Did my usual Panera Bread ride and had a bagel with veggie cream cheese and a large iced tea before heading home.

There are several nice neighborhoods that border the Seminole Wekiva Trail that cyclist can and do ride thru and pick up additional mileage with low traffic and wide smooth roads. This morning I rode thru Springs Landing Estates. I can pick up about 6 additional miles by doing this loop. I have seen deer in this area even in the late morning but I guess it was just too hot for them to be moving.

Yesterday I went to Orange Cycle in College Park and bought Hammer Endurolytes, an electrolyte replenishment capsule, I took 2 before I left this morning then one at Panera Bread and another on the way home. It may be a little premature to say that they work but I feel better after today’s ride than I normally do after a similar ride. If they do the same thing tomorrow I will be a convert and RICK @OCCR will be my new best friend for his post in another thread about leg cramps.

I hope you enjoyed my ride…

Photos 1-4 = my view from Panera Bread
Photos 5-8 = some random shots on the way home

Slow Spoke ... Did you do a wheelie to get a picture of that chopper???? LOL Very cool pics though....

I didn't take the camera today.... Same ole boring ride with nothing more to see..... (that and I was in a hurry and forgot the camera). Just before I was going to leave for a ride a customer showed up with a PC that needed fixing. So I got started on the ride a bit later than I would have liked. Kind of rushed out the door. Met the nephew at the Walmart in town... just for something to do. 11.75 miles there and 11.75 back sooo a bit over 23 miles today. I really wish I had a north/south road near by to ride sometimes.... On the days I dont feel like dealing with the headwind. Headwind all the way into wally today.... (going east). Got back just before dark... On the plus side it was quite a bit cooler... Felt strong the whole ride today........ even into the wind

Another computer tech! Yay!

Did my "short" ride this morning, only 13.6 miles through the swamp. The bike started making some creaking noises, so I'm going to give a full once-over later on. Also, I think I finally dialed in my trekker bars, no hand numbness today. It's a more aero position too, so it's win/win. I even took a couple of pics, I"ll post them up later.

Took Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off. Working from home today and slipped in a shorter ride. Left later than I wanted to waiting on time sensitive work from someone else. Grr. It was already 82 when I left. The humidity was probably around 70%. Normally I'd say that's not so bad, but I'm battling my special lady time so it felt much worse than it sounds. I did a variation of the Trolley Trail loop I've done before. Came out to 9.15 miles no stops except for lights.

This week I started the paperwork for Commuter Rewards. Get paid to ride to work? Sounds like incentive to me! The morning ride should be no problem, but I do have concerns about the ride home at 4pm. At least I'll be able to stop as needed to cool down. Maybe the first time I'll plan a midway rest stop. Maybe somewhere air conditioned. :-)

No pictures today. I didn't bring my camera. The trolley trail is pretty so I'll get pics next time I take it.

Funny, there's another thread I read a while back about littering. Poster was asking if throwing an apple core on the ground was littering. Someone brought up banana peels hazards on the roads. Damned if I'm not seeing banana peels constantly now. Usually on the side of the road, but today smack in the middle.

Wednesday 7/22
30.7 miles today.

497.9 miles this month
3977 miles this year
122 ride days LY vs. 127 ride days TY
3522 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 53% of my goal. I need to be @ 66.6% (5000 miles) by the end of August
432 miles ahead of last year at this date

Today’s ride as seen through the eyes of my bike:

Very boring ride today, outside of the heat and humidity the only two things worth mentioning were the 2 gals that I had a conversation with at Panera bread and the armadillo that was digging for his breakfast beside the road. I thought it was a little premature to ask the gals if I could photograph them but the armadillo didn't care. So here is my photo contribution for today, such as it is....

abracapocus ..... You made me laugh with your comment...

Had to go to G.ville today... Rode from Sams Club & down part of the G.ville Hawthorne trail to Hawthorne. Didn't really like the traffic and the fumes so much... I swear I think the trail was 10 degrees cooler than riding on the road. Ended up riding almost exactly 23 miles... Was a good ride once I got out of town.

Went to the bike shop to get some chain lube...... Left with chain lube & new bike shoes..... DOH!!

1st pic is of a trail that runs along side of Waldo Road in G.ville.

2nd pic is of a group of riders that all of a sudden were behind me, NO on your left or anything they were just THERE... With the traffic flying by I didn't really hear them, but heard something so got to the right anyway. NOT one of them said hello, or how are you ... not a peep..... Did hear them talking about Chris Horner and how well he rode the last few days. They really didn't fly by or anything, I was curb side for about 30 seconds with them going by..... JUST trying to stay straight... As you can see in the pic they are out into the traffic lane.... I'm sure they were out into the lane even more when they went around me....

3rd pic..... just another stretch of the road coming out of G.ville

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Ha, well, riding city streets there's no end to the junk I see. Never boring, that's for sure. I'd gladly trade the condoms for a few ofkjc964's armadillos. :-)

Glad to see it's not just me. More often than not my head nod or smile is ignored by other cyclists. Pedestrians I encounter are more friendly.

My last ride I also got to find out the wrong way to lean into a turn. At first I thought "oh, I can't lean over that far" but then when I thought about it I realized I must have had that side's pedal down. Something I never had to think about on the motorcycle. Of course, I've hit pegs before too, so...I guess I just like leaning.

Changed out the tires, tubes and brake pads on the Schwinn Breeze. Pedaled it around in front of my house. It's kind of terrible to ride. The shifting seems messed up so I need to figure that out. Need to fiddle with the brakes some more and see if I can't get the stopping to work better. And I feel like I don't have control in that more upright position. Maybe I just need to get used to it.

Years ago when I first started riding as an adult I went through 3 and 1/2 Wally Mart bikes. I say 3 and a half because I used a 4th to keep 2 of the others going. Broken spokes, sheered teeth, bad brakes, bent axle's you name it I wore it out on the wally bikes. But through those bikes I learned I found something I loved to do.... Anyway.. the first time I test rode a real bike (my Fisher Tassajara) I thought I was going to go over the handle bars just riding, because your so far forward over the bars. Now I cant imagine it being any other way.. People that don't ride or have never ridden a quote unquote good bike ask all the time doesn't your back hurt riding like that? The truth is a lot of the time if my back is hurting.. riding will stretch it out and make it feel better.

Got my new bike shoes all set up... ready to test them out on the bike later. They are lighter and seem to have more support...

Got out for a ride on Friday.... The wind was NOT my friend on the 10 miles out.... was NOT my friend in a big way ... lol The headwind was brutal heading east. Several times I thought about just turning around and going back home.... But I didn't ... Went on past my resting rock a lil bit so that I would get a 20 mile ride in. Stopped at the resting rock for a bit on the way back though. The new shoes felt really good, but I had to adjust the left one a bit while at the resting rock. I took the camera today, but uggggg just nothing really to take any pictures of. I tried taking a couple of pics of some flags blowing in the wind but they didn't turn out very good.

Anyway..... Glad I went and got the 20 miles in.... felt good when done...

Saturday 7/24
36.4 miles today.

534.3 miles this month
4014 miles this year
123 ride days LY vs. 128 ride days TY
3485 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 53% of my goal. I need to be @ 66.6% (5000 miles) by the end of August
447 miles ahead of last year at this date

Today’s ride as seen through the eyes of my bike:
Got out early this morning and the temp was already 79* and the humidity was 96%. Loads of people out today runners, roller bladers, walkers, cyclist and lots of wildlife as well.

I made my stop at Panera Bread for a bagel w/cream cheese and an iced tea. Then I took International Parkway north to Wayfield Road and turned west for about a mile where I passed these two churches that were across the street from each other. Not hard to tell which one has the largest collection plate on Sunday. The two houses in the background are part of the larger church. Kind of a stark contrast don't you think?

On the trip back thru Heathrow I saw about 3 dozen Sand Hill Cranes, my favorite bird. Several Gopher Tortoises were out along the trail today enjoying the sun and having a little breakfast. I encountered a group of runners at about the 2 mile mark and they were so busy listening to there music that I really had to shout to get them to let me pass. Oh well the trail does belong to everyone.... I think I saw more groups of cyclist today than I have ever seen, they were just every where.

I hope you enjoyed my ride.

Did 22 miles this morning with my buddy, I'm trying to get him into the hobby, and we've been enjoying the quiet riding. He's riding a nice Nishiki mountain bike I found in the trash and rebuilt with slicks for about $45. Last week, I felt like garbage (I think I'm developing an egg allergy, I had 2 fried eggs for breakfast) and so he was able to keep up with me the whole way. LOL, I think I suckered him into thinking it was easy.

I finally got my handlebar setup tweaked just right, I rotated the trekking bars forward and moved my brake levers inward, and everything worked like a charm. The bike is still making a creaking noise I haven't been able to locate, I think I've narrowed it to the seatpost.

Today, we had good tailwinds thanks to Tropical Storm Bonnie, and made really good time. We stopped at 16 miles, rehydrated, and the last 6 miles my poor bud was sucking wind... I guess he forgot to eat a snack, and his body hadn't adjusted to going more than 90 minutes without food. So I spun down and we limped back home, and still beat our time from last week.

We ran across a couple of riders at the gas station from the local bike club (both of which I knew) so we chatted for a bit. I asked if they'd let my friend pick up one guy's Cannondale road bike, he just about freaked at how light it was.

Still enjoying life! My Wal-Mart Schwinn (Pacific Cycles) aluminum hardtail MTB is about to log over 1,000 miles since last summer. I decided to put my old Kendas back on it to see how many more miles I can get out of them before they start to cord.

Finally got some pics to post up for some of my ride route... hope you folks enjoy! These aren't my best pics, but my good camera is a bit large to carry on the bike.

Morning sunrise in southern Louisiana:


Heading down my street


Highway 311 through the cane fields and plantation homes


Thousands of acres of sugar cane. It's taller than me.


Local Country Club's entrance drive


A shot across the street from the pond


Local Antebellum plantation home. They are constantly shooting movies at this one, it's gorgeous. We're still on highway 311.


Here's highway 20, about 6 miles of nothing but swamp and roadkill.


There are trees all along the highway with Spanish moss on them, looks gorgeous in the morning sunlight. This isn't a great shot, I'll see if I can get a better one at some point.


And of course, my trusty steed, a Pacific Cycles/Schwinn beater. Doesn't look like it would carry me 1000 miles, but it's getting the job done.

yes, finally...20.2 miles on the Withlachochee Trail. Holder to Inverness. Rested awhile in front of the bike shop at Inverness and then back. We did get rained on the last mile or so but it felt pretty good. Just nice to finally get some miles in. Next weekend we are heading up to Mike Roess Gold Branch State Park to camp for the weekend. Not sure if I should take the mb or the road bike. Might just take both. Probably the last weekend of riding for me before my knee surgery.

LindaN

Hey, I just rode up to Golds Head today & actually rode around in the park this time. I was on the road bike. I think the main road into the park had to be at least 3 miles long. There were also a couple of other roads I didn't go down once in the park. I'll post some pictures a bit later of my ride including some from in the park.

Great! thanks! I did read on the state park web site that they had trails inside the park so I think I'm going to take the mb also. Would love to see your pics.

LindaN