My Most Recent Ride 2014 (Part VII in a series)

4.6-ish miles.

Yesterday, I went out with Loke for 2.3 miles. It was less than half the river loop because he was limping quite badly. Even stiff and awkward going down the stairs.

Today, he was the spritely and vigorous dog he was before the whole incident with the toe...and it happened to be his 9th birthday. I meant to take him for a longer outing if he was feeling up to it. He was, but the weather didn't break until 5 pm. I was too hungry to do a 2 hour pedal through the countryside.

So, River Loop it was, but since Loke was hopping and yodelling as well as being his birthday, I upped his speed limit to 9 mp for the outing. He still wanted more for parts of the loop.

Not a bad little outing.

Terii

 

Whilst its warm over there, here it is getting nearer to the ICE making weather...
Just 2 degrees above Freezing today 2 celsius [ 35 F ] I had prepared with Full Balaclava , thick woolly socks , Snow Gloves , and covers over my cycling shoes.
It was nearly enough... for some reason one finger got numb at 15 km [ 9 mile ] and feet went numb at 22 km [ 13 mile ] but at least it was easier riding because I just couldnt push myself as I usually do. Even the gear changing was leisurely because I couldnt feel the gear changer with the thick gloves.
I need to put a thermal wear layer on for my tummy but besides the numb bits everything else was ok.
I noticed a distinct lack of other cyclists, they must be crazy missing out on their rides :
It certainly is difficult to keep up the Milage at this time of year.
Glenn.

 

I rode to work yesterday for the first time in over 3yrs......
It was cold up here but nothing like your weather down there. Balmy 6 Celcius....

PS I'm on the GC in Qld.

 

3 days, 3 rides!

Today was just 10 miles, which is still better than the 4-5 of the River Loop. Since we did part of the River Loop on Monday, all of it on Tuesday, I found I just couldn't face it today though I planned to do no more than 6 miles with Loke.

I figured the roll through parts of Uppsala toward my in-laws apartment and over toward Vaksala church wasn't much more than 6 miles and we've only done that 2 or 3 times instead of 200-300. Off we went.

it's the first pretty day we've had in quite a while. The air is still quite cool, but the SUN is pretty warm. Loke seemed happy and limp-less as we rode.

This time where we generally turn left off a cycle path toward the little roads leading to the church, I went straight out of curiosity. About half a mile down, I found a sign where the path cut through a raised line of grass covered earth. Apparently the path lead to a nature park area which has quite a few trails two of which lead to small town areas. It caught my curiosity. I'm not sure they're navigable by the trike, but I'm curious to find out. I decided to do it another day, unwilling to risk breaking Loke. Perhaps I've found a new longer 'local loop' through a woodland type area! Unpaved paths of packed earth covered with a carpet of pine needles stretching through tree trunks in shady comfort!

One can hope any way!

Terii

 

We usually only get a couple of -2 Deg Celcius days each Winter here in western Sydney, do you ever get Temps down that Low in Sunny Queensland ?
P. S. Queensland is Known for its Beautiful White Beaches, typically a Post Card from Queensland is of very Attractive Bikini Clad Ladies on the Beach..... makes me feel Warm just thinking about it .
Glenn.

 

Glenn

Occasionally on 1 or 2 days at the very coldest we get down to 0 celcius where I live but up on Mt Tamborine and environs it will get into the negative for a few days.

absolutely beautiful day for it today. 2nd day back riding.

 

Day 1 of the Silver Comet.

Started in Atlanta and rode to Cedartown with plus mileage because I went back and forth at the beginning. 65 miles. Sunny, hot. From Atlanta to Rockmart, perfect trail. Slow slopes, shaded and fun. Rockmart to Cedertown.... hello... forget the o. The host at the hotel called them rollers. But to be accurate, they are like a roller coaster. Straight up and down. I had to walk up the hills. No fun at all!!!!

Took lots of pictures. Will do a big write up for those interested when I finish the ride. More great weather ahead and the hotel manager said the ride is much flatter to Anniston. Hope so!!!!

 

I tried to warn you weeks ago. The off-trail roads used before that section of the Comet was built are still the better way to go.

 

well thanks for the advice. I will know what to expect when I get the chance to finish. I have heard that the road to anniston is gorgeous. I am anxious to read your report.

 

Day 2.

Got up and got going by 8:00am with a clear day and 64 degrees. This part of the ride is remote. So not many places to stop so I pedaled through and found myself in Anniston (the end of the trail). This was mostly downhill and very pretty.

Tomorrow I turn around and head back to Cedartown. My original plan was to stop at Rockmart, but after going over the rollers between Cedartown and Rockmart, I am cutting the return short.

Taken lots of picture which I will post later.

 

Rode yesterday. Just 3 miles or a smidge more between home and my in-laws apartment for dinner. It was a way to take a little edge off Loke's energy.

It was HOT. In the shade with a touch of wind, it felt nice. It wasn't enough to counter the broil of the wind.

Might try to get out early tomorrow. Was a scorcher today and supposed to be the same tomorrow. I'm missing the chill days of last month already.

Terii

 

Day 3 Silver Comet

Woke up at 5:00 am with dump trucks emptying the dumpster close by. Geese!

But the good news is I got back on the trail early. Got to go 30 miles UPHILL and with a HUGE headwind!!!!! Did I mention the uphill and headwind part???

Anyway made it back to the Cedarville depot and my wife was there early so we took off. We are staying in Chattanooga tonight (Embassy Suite much nicer than out past hotels.)

Rode 48 miles today so did about 150 miles this trip. Took a lot of pictures. Will post them soon.

 

Temp adjustments

Are you serious? Tell me, what are the temps you are dealing with? A guy came in my shop yesterday wearing LONG SLEEVES! I asked him what was the deal and he said it was cold.I am sure my eyes bugged out when I said "you're joking right" , but he was deadly serious. Turns out he was from Florida. I guess one's perspective on what is hot vs what is cold depends on what part of the country you're from even if it is still in the same season.

 

It was just over 84 F, but I've gotten overly sensitive to warmer temps in the past few years. 75 F and up, I just start feeling sweaty and hot when I ride. I used bike in Mississippi when it was 90+ F, but one significant difference. I had AC chilled environments to recover in. Here, it's just sit under a fan with roughly the same temp and humidity as outside... or hotter thanks to TV, computers, oven and dishwasher.

Last week, I saw a woman working at one of the fruit stands. It was about 78 F I guess. She was wearing a goose down jacket. No lie. And of course, the day I called a scorcher, there was a man with a jacket zipped up to his nose, hood up and draw string pulled tight so very little of his face showed. Admittedly, that looked more suspicious than 'cold'

Today's ride was 13.4-ish miles. I clipped in and rolled out at 5:30 am, about an hour later than I wanted since today's temp is forecasted near 90 F. Oh for AC... as long as I don't have to move out of Sweden for it.

We took it easy. I was enjoying the peaceful surroundings of the Swedish countryside on a Sunday before too many people start moving around. I went to explore that nature park. It turned out to be unmanageable by trike with husky attached. I did explore down one rough lane marked as a cycle and foot path. Honestly, it was just a tractor track through a wheat field. Ruts and potholes with grass and weeds that stood taller than my head down the middle of it. Most of the time, Loke or I were pushing through tall growth as there wasn't enough space in the big tire ruts for both of us.

Stopped for some photos of course. Enjoyed the site of a few hares frolicking the in the distance. Saw some deer too as well as ravens.

Got back home around 9 am, starving for breakfast! A nice way to start the day!

Terii

 

Sorry I havn't been posting much, been out riding. Rode a century weekend before last on the Windcheetah. 80 degrees when we started at 6:20 am but thankfully the clouds stayed with until 10 so heat didn't become an issue until 11:30 or so.

The ride was nice rural country roads for the most part with very little traffic. For the first 25 we did have some old chip seal but it was pretty worn so not as rough as the newer stuff. Some real nice sweeping downhills with beautiful views of peanut farms, and livestock grazing around large ponds. We paid for the views as the ride ended up with over 5000 feet of elevation gain.

By noon I was really feeling the heat. The Windcheetah sits very low to the ground and the radiant heat off the blacktop just became brutal. Mile 95 brought us into a small town where a convience store with air conditioning and real cold drinks revived us. The last 6 or 8 miles were almost all downhill and after getting recharged we made short work of it.

104 miles in about 7:45 total time with somewhere between 5300 and 5500 feet elevation gain (three different readings with three different devices).

This weekend went out twice with Betty on her Eliptigo. It is quite the workout and 11 miles Saturday and 16 Sunday was enough for her.