Did you ride today?
- Thread starter dlb2
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dlb2
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I met my riding partner tonight at 7:15 for a little gravel grinder. It was 86 degrees with a dew point of 73 and rel. humidity at 65%. Normally that would keep me right here typing away to you all, but I couldn't let a guy ten years younger than me think I was a girly man! We did 26 miles but there was only 360 ft. of elevation gain so I lucked out. After sweating so much it actually feels cool out!
We did 33 miles on Sun. with 1200 ft. of elevation. that's a good amount of climbing for me. If we did that tonight I would probably be in traction!
We did 33 miles on Sun. with 1200 ft. of elevation. that's a good amount of climbing for me. If we did that tonight I would probably be in traction!
Bobvin
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Got out tonight for my "training loop". Recently put up a new group on Meetup.com to try and find some other road cyclists interested in my "fast night" training rides. When I was a young fella we trained Tues & Thurs at speed, full pace line work on the farm-to-market roads in west Texas. Man, we could crank it up.
My loop is about 33 miles, with ~1600 ft of verticle. I can ride from my house and there's only a couple traffic lights the whole loop, mostly rural roads—though in this area it is still metro enough you'll get a few cars. Quite a few folks have joined the meetup group, but none until tonight have joined for my loop. I think the pace/effort keeps many folks away. (When I do the loop with the wife, the average speed drops a couple MPH so those nights might gather a few more riders.)
When we left it was threatening thunderstorms, but we headed out and missed the rain completely. Nice evening, about 80°, no wind, moderate humidity. My riding partner was just a little weaker on the hills, but couldn't hold on on the flats. I didn't get the impression he had much experience on someone's wheel. Still, it was fun to share my loop with someone who doesn't live to far away. Since most Seattle riding is urban, and it sure seems a lot of folks enjoy that, its nice to have a get-away where there's some cows.
My loop is about 33 miles, with ~1600 ft of verticle. I can ride from my house and there's only a couple traffic lights the whole loop, mostly rural roads—though in this area it is still metro enough you'll get a few cars. Quite a few folks have joined the meetup group, but none until tonight have joined for my loop. I think the pace/effort keeps many folks away. (When I do the loop with the wife, the average speed drops a couple MPH so those nights might gather a few more riders.)
When we left it was threatening thunderstorms, but we headed out and missed the rain completely. Nice evening, about 80°, no wind, moderate humidity. My riding partner was just a little weaker on the hills, but couldn't hold on on the flats. I didn't get the impression he had much experience on someone's wheel. Still, it was fun to share my loop with someone who doesn't live to far away. Since most Seattle riding is urban, and it sure seems a lot of folks enjoy that, its nice to have a get-away where there's some cows.
dlb2
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Nice riding Bob. It sure does seem nicer having someone to ride with. I go a little crazy and start talking to myself if I'm out there by myself all the time! I'm lucky to have a ton of gravel/country roads to ride on. It's nice not having to worry so much about cars.
socfan12
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I just got back from doing 26 miles. I felt really good considering the heat we've had lately. It must have been all those carbs I drank last night!
No one said you had to eat your carbs before a ride!
Bobvin
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Got out twice this weekend. My little Meetup group added a new member who is in the states for a few months doing math in the Microsoft research dept. He is a nice Italian fellow, a year or so older than I am, and we rode my training loop on Saturday morning. 34 miles, 1700' of climbing, and the average time equaled my personal best for that loop, 18.3 mph. So we were scooting along quickly on the flats, and he kept me honest on the climbs. It was very nice to have someone so equally capable to ride with. I did back off the pace just a bit a few times as he appeared to be falling back a little, so maybe my next solo time trial test I'll be able to better my previous time.
Sunday I got out with my wife... she wanted a "good hard ride" so we did the training loop but added 10 miles and another 1000 feet of climbing. She hadn't been on the bike for a couple weeks, so it turned out to be a challenging ride for her. I don't mean to but I push her pretty hard. I wait at the top of the hills for her, but on the flats she can usually hold my wheel.
When we got home I opened a nice bottle of rosé wine (and I don't usually drink white wine or rosé) and we wound up in the music room listening at very loud volumes. Overall, it was a really great day. Mid 70s, sunny, and the climbs were mostly well shaded. Ended with Hugh Masekela, Marc Cohen on vinyl, as well as some hi res digital. Perfect end to a great weekend.
Sunday I got out with my wife... she wanted a "good hard ride" so we did the training loop but added 10 miles and another 1000 feet of climbing. She hadn't been on the bike for a couple weeks, so it turned out to be a challenging ride for her. I don't mean to but I push her pretty hard. I wait at the top of the hills for her, but on the flats she can usually hold my wheel.
When we got home I opened a nice bottle of rosé wine (and I don't usually drink white wine or rosé) and we wound up in the music room listening at very loud volumes. Overall, it was a really great day. Mid 70s, sunny, and the climbs were mostly well shaded. Ended with Hugh Masekela, Marc Cohen on vinyl, as well as some hi res digital. Perfect end to a great weekend.
Bobvin
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She said she was noticing some differences, but didn't give any definite response when I asked her. It took me a while before I started to appreciate the difference vs. my shallow DT Swiss rims. She did mention she felt it was a little easier to hold speed. I think on a day where she's feeling a little stronger and we can wind it up more on the flats she'll notice the difference more. It does take riding at ~20+ mph before you can tell there's something different.
socfan12
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Bob,
Sounds like a wonderful weekend with your wife! You are so lucky you guys can share so much fun stuff together: cycling, wine, tunes! Wow! Good on you, mate!
:heart:
socfan12
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Nice, Anthony! Will you add the route to your normal itinerary now?
haha, so do I Doug. I try new routes once in a while, but I'm stuck on the 3 or 4 for some reason.:skeptical:
dlb2
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I think part of the problem, at least for me, is that I always try to get bigger, faster, stronger, and finding a new route takes time. I love exploring new routes to take but it means going slower and trying to remember where I went, as well as remembering how to get back!
Bobvin
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Try "ridewithgps.com" or "mapmyride.com" and you can see what rides other folks in your area are doing. It has helped me add to my routes, find new ones, and explore some new areas. Most excellent resources. I like RideWithGPS because you can download routes directly to a Garmin and then you're off and running.
asindc
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Yes, I have, though the path is very crowded during the week with walkers and joggers, especially after 7p. I think I'll ride it tomorrow morning to see what the weekends are like.