My Most Recent Ride 2012 (Part V in a series)

Went for a ride today since Jens was home to carry the trike out. All I had to do was get dressed and hobble outside.

I was a bit irritated when my ankle started bothering me before I made a mile and half. Particularly since I pedaled for almost 3 hours on the trainer yesterday and the ankle felt great when I woke up though still uncomfortable to walk on. I think the cycling started bothering me because my leg/foot chilled since I didn't wear extra layers. Gray skies and barely 50 F.

So, we did just a 4.5 mile River Loop, but Loke seemed happy to be out for even that short of time.

Daffodils are up. There are trees that look and smell a lot like Baby's Breath that are turning white and casting their tiny little pedals into the hard wind. In places, bright blue-purple flowers crowd out the grass. Tulips are coming out too!

That's about all that can be said about the short, boring ride.

Terii

 

Well, I got out for a ride early this morning. The forecast is for thunder, Lightning, hail, torrential rain, and the possibility of tornadoes from this afternoon through tomorrow, so I thought I'd better get it in while I could.

Got to see the Great Egret fishing in the lake again, as well as a family of Killdeer skittering along the bike path. Those little things can REALLY run!!

But the big plus for me....just getting back in to riding...I was able to do 5 miles without stopping for a rest! A first time since I started the recovery process. I'd been resting after 3.5-4 miles, today I made it 5 and felt great! Took about a 3 minute breather, and off I went to finish my ride.

Happy Friday, everyone!

 

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! You are already benefiting from riding your recumbent!!!

 

Rode 23.7 miles today down to Townsend. When I pulled in the parking area I ran into Don and Terry who had just finished their ride to Tremont and back. Very cloudy with 50% chance of rain. Clouds kept the temperature comfortable and we didn't get any rain so it was a good ride.

Townsend is having their Old Timers festival going on. So I stopped to hear some bluegrass music and watch the cloggers. Great entertainment added to a great day. If I was driving a car I would have just passed it by. On a bent you are more connected to your surroundings.

 

First Rabbits of the Season

I like riding when the area churches are filled.
The faithful are off the roads;
the party-hearty people are sleeping.
Whatever the real reason, traffic is light and polite on Sunday mornings.

My ride was planned for late morning, to allow the temp to get up above
70F. (My eyes water in the slipstream when it's any cooler!)
So, I did some light gardening.
And a Bacchetta slogged by.

Very soon after the Bacchetta and his DF riding buddy rode by,
I took off on my ride.

---

Ten miles Into The Ride, I found myself rapidly catching up
to a pair of DF riders.
One guy was wearing faded Chattanooga Bike Club colours
and his buddy was wearing very bright, new-looking lycra.
-We were riding uphill....
They were riding slowly... the bright-coloured guy was wobbly
and was alternately shaking-out his aching wrists;
the faded-coloured guy was giving me evil looks.

I bet that the guy in Club kit was showing a newbie the ropes.
They were no Challenge whatsoever for me.

It does not matter:
I spotted my first rabbits of the season!
I did not even speed up to catch my quarry...
in fact, I slowed my pace so as to pass them safely.
I did, of course, speed way, way up to put them both
way behind me.
It worked.
They disappeared very, very quickly in my rear-view mirror.

At the end of my ride, 24 miles later and one mile out from my driveway,
I passed that Bacchetta going the other way, the one I'd spotted passing
by while I was planting cone flowers:
he was coasting downhill on my street -probably doing 20MPH.
I was spinning uphill and doing 19MPH.
-Then I passed his riding buddy;
-then I passed a young DF rider in his tuck, speeding to catch the
rabbits in front of him.

Nice day, nice ride and a great workout

 

Man, it sure sounds like you guys had an awesome day! Thanks for sharing.

 

want Fries with that?

Well, a day late but I was trying to catch up on yard work today. Took some great advice from folks on this site and did the New River Trail Saturday. I am not normally a fan of gravel trails but thought it was worth a try. It turned out to be a blast and one I will repeat later this year.

I started out in Galax on what was looking like a bad weather day. That look was with me all day, along with rain of various amounts. During the ride from Galax to Fries Junction the rain got bad enough that I had to take shelter a few times under the picnic shelters. The rain had let up by the time I got to the Junction so I decided to ride the Fries Spur.

Began that Spur with a flat and during the change I realized that this was the first flat I have had on the V2 since I purchased it 2 years ago. I am sure of it since I found that the tire had a semi-rigid liner of hard plastic that had been protecting my tube. I do not remember what it is called but it was green and had obviously been doing it's job until now. Stopped in the outfitters shop in Fries and picked up a new tube just to be safe and the crew was very interested in my ride. I passed out the info for this site and a link to ADCarson of Recycled Recumbent fame and was off.

I spent most of the remainder of the ride dodging horse presents left in the trail. It seems this was the 25th anniversary of the trail and there were 100's of the 4 legged rides all over the place.

The weather forced an early cancellation at Foster's Falls but I still got in 40+ miles and will go back later this summer to finish the whole trail. I will say I enjoyed the upper trail more than the lower but it was all pretty good and highly recommended for a weekend trip.

Jerry

 

OK Jon, Confirmed all you said and my riding group was impressed.
You did good and indeed, made new friends. They said you and all
my recumbent friends are welcome all the time. They like it. We have
up to 20 riders at a time and average 10 riders on daily rides. This
is a rich mission field and I hope all recumbent friends will take
advantage of these daily rides. We have a scheduling meeting on
May 11, and the Greene County Tennessee Riding Group will be riding
Cades Cove May 12. Hope a lot of you will show and introduce yourself.

 

Just over 10 miles today....and for the first time, I made the 10 miles without stopping for a breather. My recovery is going well. I'm resisting the urge to push it TOO much, but on a beautiful day like today, that's tough!

 

It's not me, it is my new bent that lets me ride faster!!! I plan to come join you folks again sometime. Thanks for the perpetual invite and keeping us posted on upcoming rides. The group is fun to ride with. Most of the riders are retired and ride at various riding speeds. No hammerheads!!! So if you come, you will find someone riding at your speed whatever that speed may be. And they are very friendly. Everyone of them came up and introduced themselves to me before the ride. Of course when I told them Buddy invited me, I became a leper!!!

Only downside is it takes 1 1/4 hours one way to drive there from Knoxville so it is 2 1/2 hours of driving for one ride. Bummer!!! That is the biggest thing preventing me from riding with your group more! But on beautiful days when my schedule allows it (I am still working), I'll give you a shout that I am coming! Can't wait for the next ride.

 

12.8 miles today. Actually, it was 2 rides (I think). Rode up to a little restaurant I'd been wanting to check out...they're very bike friendly...so I rode up, had a delightful lunch, and then back home. A beautiful day here in Indiana...sunny about 71 degrees, a great day to ride!

 

Rick, it appears we'll have wonderful weather this weekend. Be sure you get out to enjoy it. I'll also give you a warning. When I was first getting into riding the bent, one spring day when it got really warm I just could not help it so went for too long of a ride when it turned hot. For the first time in my life I got sunburned on the top of my lower legs! Never had burned there before and barely tanned. Also, you will find that riding a bent is a bit hotter than riding a DF just because of our position which exposes the front of the body to more SUN.

 

Sage advice! I never ride without putting sunblock on. And I put an extra coat on the top of my legs, top of my arms and back of my neck and face because they are in the sun the whole time!!!

I also ride with sandals but being a geek I always wear bicycle socks because it keeps the straps from rubbing my feet. I guess I am a big weenie! But on the good side, my feet never get sunburned! It is kinda strange having a tan line around my ankles though! :

 

My Back Hurt

-More than usual.

So, I went for a short, furious ride.
When I hammer up hills, the rhythmic force of the climb added
to the increased blood flow really help.

I headed straight for the hilly loop, bypassing my standard
flat warmup section of road.

My highest speed was only 28MPH and never dropped below
10mph (except for those pesky stop-signs).

After a 14.9 mile ride, of sprinting up hills and spinning down the back
of 'em, my moving average speed was 17 miles per hour...
and my back thanks me for it.

---

Saw one bicyclist riding on the hoods going the other way.
No rabbits today.

 

Can you believe it! I went out for a ride! Not just a river loop either!

I just haven't been out much with all the problems in my feet and slipping into a deeper and deeper funk. The feeling that my riding season was going to be lost was just too much.

Today, Jens kinda bullied me with the offer to drive me any where I wanted. He'd come to get me even if he didn't make it all the way home before I called with no complaints.

I went to an area about an hour and a half to the west. Loke and I had a blast. We only covered about 11 miles, taking it slow in consideration of my ankle and Loke's feet. Was passed by a group of about 40 bike riders. The youngest might have been 45 years old and it wouldn't surprise me if the oldest was over 70. I must have said 'Hej' nearly 30 times since it felt rude to not respond.

Oh! Nearly ran over a snake too. Loke might have stepped on it. I went back to check on it, but it was gone.

I'll be posting on my blog in the next day or two to get the photos up.

Terii