Sunday 9/19/2010
40.1 miles today 65 mi. this day LY
430.4 miles this month
4978 miles this year
161 ride days LY vs. 160 ride days TY
2521 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 66.3% of my goal.
10 miles ahead of last year at this date

Did a solo ride this morning. weather was perfect. Lots of people out today.

Motivation meter today 10.0 on a scale of 1-10

Photo 1 & 2
Talked to these folks at the northern most trail head today as they were getting ready to ride in about a 10,000 acre nature area. The horse on the right is Cookie and the horse on the left is Cajun (photo 1). Check out the socks on the guy in photo 2
Photo 3
If you belong to AAA here is where your money goes.
Photo 4
Rode by the soccer complex again today, yesterday the little tykes were playing today it was the big boys.

Stock saddles are rarely comfortable. May I suggest, if you haven't already done so, that you get yourself a good pair of padded cycling shorts. I also use chamois butt'r from paceline, it reduces friction and helps the skin slide in the shorts. Makes longer rides more tollerable.

If you already have shorts, get the chamois cream. Then start thinking about the saddle, and get one with the cutout in the center (relieves pressure in the obvious area).

This was my intended ride this morning, 78 miles out and back.

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...28491186220086

I started out the day with 218 miles on my legs for the week. I rode out to meet up with the About Bicycles 80 mile ride of the Keystone Heights Rollers but, I just never really had it this morning. The first hill in Middleberg put the true doubt in my head, so I decided I'd pull off. But where can I go once I'm south ...of 218? I turned off at Thunder Rd and fought the wind solo for 21 miles home.

I know others do more than I however, over the last 6 weeks I've ridden 1700 miles averaging 283 miles a week, or 40 miles a day (avg 18 mph) and no days off the bike.

Very tired now.

Yep... Went to the flea market in Waldo with my mom and sister. On the way back they dropped me off at the trail in Keystone Heights. I rode back towards Keystone and was going to take SR21 up to Golds Head State Park. But as soon as I turned on 21 i said to myself NO WAY..... Did NOT feel like fighting that headwind going up the hills for 6 miles. So turned back around and kept heading north on SR100. I turned around about 6 miles from Starke. That stretch of rode is nice to ride on... nice wide bike path recently paved. (see pics). The wind was crazy could not make up its mind which way it wanted to go. Some of the crosswind gusts were a lil bit scary at times. Great ride though, felt good almost the whole way, even fighting with the wind..... :P The trail into Grandin is 95% done, they even had some of the paint on the trail at the road crossings. Ended up riding 26.56 miles..

Pic 1 & 2... Just cool looking parts of the trail near Keystone..

Pic 3... Nice wide shoulder on SR100 north of Keystone.

Pic 4 ... Sign telling the workers to STOP work if they see a Golfer Turtle.


Attachment 170448Attachment 170449Attachment 170450Attachment 170451

~54 yesterday, was with bike shop group ride, then we were a group of four or five, then four, then two... was supposed to be a 65 mile ride but two of us hit the wall and decided to route back early. I could have done the 65 had I not decided to play "mountain points" and hang with a group doing 2mph faster than my usual avg.

view of hwy 96 from natchez trace parkway bridge

~48 today - mixed together a couple of my usual loops to make a larger loop, 24 miles into it my front seat bolt broke and I had to get a little creative. I was just adjusting my position and it popped - lucky I wasn't hands off, stretching out or something. Used the rear bolt in the front and kept my weight to the back. Could have headed home sooner but stuck it out, though I did cut a couple of roads / 8 miles out of the ride.

broken seat!

this is the most miles I've done in a weekend all year... MS150 coming up in a couple of weeks! If it wasn't for that I think I would have stayed in bed!

RonH, I guess you just have to get outside the perimeter to get higher miles. I suppose you could do it in town, but the lights and stop signs get annoying after a while.

Lindaosm, so glad to hear you're getting out there. Sounds like your recovery is going beautifully. If it makes you feel any better, I'm always slow the first mile or so (and possibly much longer after that.) And I'm only recovering from being lazy.

jbm, thanks and congrats for getting out there! Love seeing where other folks take their bikes. If you really want to see some beautiful stuff, go look at the empty road ahead thread.

Slo Spoke, thanks for sharing your rides. Back in the day, my neighbor across the street had a purple stingray with that sparkly banana seat and streamers coming out of the handlebars. I was SO jealous of that bike.

droobieinop, for commuting and longer rides I always wear cycling specific clothing. For Saturday's ride, I was wearing regular bike shorts with a padded chamois. I also have mountain bike shorts and a skirt with a shorts liner that both have a chamois, but almost no padding. I have chamois cream and used it for a while when commuting but discovered that I didn't really need it. On my commuter, I wouldn't have needed it for that 17.4 mile ride either. After a bunch of adjustments, I think that stock Fuji saddle just isn't wide enough to support my sit bones. My other saddle is a Terry and once I got it adjusted, I had no more problems.

zzOtherlandzz, now that's some nice riding surface. Also, tell your friends with the seat issues to HTFU. :P

Gavush, more mountain pics! So I can stop complaining about my hills.

Sunday was busy and no time for a ride. The commute this morning was nice though. Anyone else tired of highs in the 90s? Seriously, when is that going to end?

Got to see my one man cheering section in the Old Fourth Ward again. It's been a while. Sadly he was back in a wheel chair instead of on a cane. He did yell out "way to travel" to me and positioned himself to gimme five as I rode by. This stuff doesn't happen when you're sealed off in your car, does it?

Later, I was stopped at a light on Peachtree with another bike commuter. We chatted about about my bags before the light changed.

Oh, and this is the other side of the free art I picked up the other day. I promise I'm not that stupid. Maybe it's time to up the B12 supplements. Sheesh.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/...961f16e300.jpg

abracapocus .. Anyone else tired of highs in the 90s? Seriously, when is that going to end?... zzOtherlandzz is tired of the 90's too....

Working on bikes now... Ride later ............ assuming I don't mess anything up installing the KMC missing links ....

Monday 9/20/2010
35.2 miles today 22.5 mi. this day LY
465.6 miles this month
5013 miles this year
162 ride days LY vs. 161 ride days TY
2486 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 66.85% of my goal.
22 miles ahead of last year at this date

Motivation meter today 10.0 on a scale of 1-10

Did a solo ride this morning. weather was perfect, temp range 73 to 86. Today has to rank right up there with the best riding days that I have had. The bagel at Panera tasted better, I came upon some deer feeding on some acorns and my computer turned over 5000 miles for this year. I got to meet Richard riding his Wind Cheetah, nice bike and a great guy, thanks Richard.

Photo 1,2,3, and 5
This gal loved the camera, she just hung around and let me take all the pictures that I wanted.
Photo 4 and 6
Momma deer daddy deer and baby deer, they moved off into the woods as I tried to get closer.
Photo 7
My computer hitting 5000 miles this year... WHOOPIE...
Photo 8
Richard and his Wind Cheetah. Take notice of the stick steering.

Congrats on the 5k for THIS YEAR!! I've only got 5k on my road bike from when I got it in Feb of 2008.... but over 900 in the last 60 days or so.. Of course my mom is going to wanna kill me after I show her the pictures you took of the deer. She is ALWAYS bugging me "how come you don't take pictures of the deer you see". The thing is, I've only seen ONE deer since I put the camera mount on my bikes. And that one time.... The battery had died on me earlier in the ride....

I seem to have mislaid my bike computer after the Tour de Tow this past weekend. I know the short route I just did was 10.2 miles, but I have no idea how fast I was going :). I pushed as hard as I could as long as I could. The last westbound leg was kinda dicey with the sun coming down. Need to get better shades.

Today was one of those days that I sais to myself after my morning ride I should have done more. So this evening I did another 25. That gives me a 60+ mile day and it was great. There was not a cloud in the sky and the moon was almost full, the wind was cool and the people were nice. I should have done more.

Other than commuting, I haven't done much riding... I really need to mount a small camera (not my nice one) on the bars so I can snap some pics of my boring commute. It's actually not that boring, just not that exciting, either.

On a good note, I've been trying for months to get some of my buddies to come ride with me on Saturday mornings. I've even gone as far as to build a "loaner" bike for them to ride, but alas, no one has risen to the challenge. I did get one friend who said he'd come ride with me this coming Saturday, so I'll try not to scare him away! Maybe 14 miles or so would work. The MS 150 tour is coming up in 2 weeks, I'm stoked! I need to get some more miles in before then, so I might try a longer day/night ride this weekend too.

Ugh. So much riding to do, not enough time!

See now that's what I'm talking about..... Now you went and got me motivated for a ride tomorrow..... Thanks... :D

Always glad to help a brother out..:thumb:

Wednesday 9/22/2010
37.2 miles today 00.0 mi. this day LY
528.2 miles this month
5076 miles this year
162 ride days LY vs. 162 ride days TY
2423 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 67.68% of my goal.
85 miles ahead of last year at this date
35.2 miles average ride this month
31.3 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 10.0 on a scale of 1-10

Did a solo ride this morning. weather was perfect, temp range 73 to 87. Can I get in another 25 tonight? We shall see....we shall see...

El Conquistador De Amore brought his new Litespeed Palmares to our ride today. VERY NICE bike. :thumb: We rode 27 miles -- mostly hills and rollers. I'm 65 and he's 33. What a workout. :eek:
Thanks for the ride Deren.

Just the regular 18ish miles to work and back today. I made it a point to ride today because it was International Car-free Day. And I grabbed a couple of quick pics.

Waiting for the light:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4088/...88c6008bea.jpg

The worst hill of my commute:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/...dc4a681588.jpg

Of course it doesn't look like much in the picture. Still, it kicks my butt less and less every time.

abracapocus .. People or friends that don't ride will never know how much what looks like a small hill in a car can play hell with you when your on a bike ... Same with the wind.. Cool pics BTW..

Got out for a ride today..... Sooooo close to giving up and turning around several times while riding into the wind on the "out" leg of my ride. But I stuck with it and did my usual ride +3 miles.... Ended up riding 23.10 miles...

Only took 1 pic today.... was climbing up the hill out of 9 mile swamp (hey thats what the call it)... As you can see the sun was directly in my face while going up the hill. So in the middle of the hill I decide to take a picture... NOT really a great idea but hey... never said I was smart LOL .. By the time I snapped the pic I was almost stopped in the middle of going up the hill... Took the pic & stood up... Normally that hill kind of kicks my butt at the end of my rides... But I felt great at the top today!!

GREAT RIDE!!

Attachment 170911

Thursday 9/23/2010
21.4 miles today 28.5 mi. this day LY
549.6 miles this month
5097 miles this year
163 ride days LY vs. 163 ride days TY
2402 miles needed to hit 2010 goal (7500 miles)
I am @ 67.9% of my goal.
47 miles ahead of last year at this date
34.4 miles average ride this month
31.3 miles average ride this yr.

Motivation meter today 8.0 on a scale of 1-10

Did a solo ride this morning. weather was perfect, temp range 74 to 87. My mind just wasn't into the ride. Stopped at the LBS and picked up a bottle of E-caps by Hammer (seems to stop my leg cramps)and a tube of Parks Polylube 1000 for the bike.

Can I get in another 20/25 tonight? We shall see....we shall see... I hope I can... I hope I can.

SloSpokes words of wisdom for the day... Hills and wind are your friend, they provide you with cheep resistance training. (Slospoke ducks for cover)

I kept repeating this for the 10 miles into the wind today ---> SloSpokes words of wisdom for the day... Hills and wind are your friend, they provide you with cheep resistance training. (Slospoke ducks for cover) ... It must have worked because I averaged a bit over 14mph into the wind today instead of my normal 13.5 to 13.8 .. lol ....

Seemed like every little thing was nagging me on the bike today... Both knees for a bit, my thumb that I sprained a few weeks ago nagged me a bit. The noise my bottle was making in the holder. ahhhhhh.... Despite all of that though I had a good ride of 20.29 miles... Ohh and the temp was 77 when I went by the hardware store on the way out..... said 81 at the house when I left though.... hmmm A bit muggy but nice NOT to be 88 or 90....

OHHHH and I found a quarter... :D

;)Send me the quarter for giving you the words of wisdom.:)

I could not stand just doing 21 today so I did 21 more tonight 42 total for the day.

Yep, 9/22 went with Ron out to Avondale,Decatur and Emory and was shown some routes I wouldn't have considered. And as I'm still learning I appreciate the help. Much more hilly than I was expecting but it was fun. Legs were a little weak today but still managed about 15+ miles with a very long hill.
Thanks!

Yep.... I rode today... 21 miles and some change. Once again the headwind on the out let of my ride. Felt pretty strong into the wind today. I didn't feel bad on the way back (with the wind) but I didn't have as much energy as I did yesterday.... It said 84deg at the hardware on the way out.... and 77 on the way back. Cloud cover the whole way so that was pretty nice.... Was still pretty muggy though.

Overall a good ride... but not a great ride... glad I went though..

Slo Spoke your quarter is on the way ... ;)

I believe I am going to go for a ride this morning before it gets hot. It's supposed to rain tomorrow right into next week.

Update: did 40 miles, the last 20 into a stiff headwind. I am wicked beat right now. Gonna go eat lunch and crash on the sofa while I pretend to watch a baseball game.

Did 26 1/2 miles this morning with a friend. Well 17 with him and the extra riding to meet him. My house to Decatur, then we rode downtown, then headed past Georgia Tech and got coffee at Octane. Then back through midtown to Decatur. Then back home for me. Was also testing out a Specialized Ruby saddle. To give it the ultimate test, I wasn't wearing cycling bottoms, just some tights with a little skirt over it. The sit bones are a little sore, but at least I was sitting on them and not, er, other stuff. This one could definitely work. I think I'm going to try another one they have just for comparison.

about 25 miles Thursday evening, 7pm "full moon" ride on Natchez Trace Parkway with Trace Bike's group. About 45 miles this morning with 3 neighbors. Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3

abracapocus: we don't really have mountains in my area, some hills, but no mountains. I'll try to remember to catch a couple shots of local hills. On the MS ride next weekend there is one called pull tight hill, according to the website it's a mountain but I'd call it a hill.