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

I had a change of venue this weekend. We visited friends in North Carolina and I brought my bike. We ended up riding 27.4 miles in hilly Cary NC. Very different scenery but still beautiful. Old tobacco ponds everywhere.

I don't think there are many bents around here because everytime a roadie was going the other way they gawked at my bike. So I felt like I was an ambassador out here for bents,

 

How "bad" were the hills?

 

My wife got out and road again today about 13 miles. I played around on the 29er a bit, added a little single track and then played on the walkways of the local community college.

 

Per my husband's suggestion (near insistence really), I'm going to start taking Loke for multiple short rides on alternating days to see what that does to his stamina and feet.

Maybe I should wait and post both rides I have planned today, but I'm not.

I woke up and it was 34 F this morning, amazingly chill for this late in May. It's warming quickly though and was already 45 F when we took the trike out of the car around 8 am. Probably about 48-50 F when I finished the ride just a few min ago. I have the trike locked up outside with multiple cables attached to the balcony. VERY nervous about leaving it out there, but no way I can lug everything in and out more than once a day.

Loke and I both enjoyed the chilly air for the 5.6-ish miles we covered under partly cloudy skies with brisk winds. Just a slightly modified River loop to keep Loke and I from going completely stir-crazy.

I'll probably do a grave mound/river loop around 2 pm or so for the 2nd outing. It's been so long since I've ridden the grave mounds I might even take pictures.

Terii

 

2nd ride went fine and Loke's feet held up well. He had plenty of energy to burn too, hitting 19 mph as we raced down the slope beneath the rail tracks. That was after scurrying around the apartment like an insane thing for nearly an hour and the ride this morning. That cool air really energized him.

It was grayer, but warmer. I felt a bit down when I passed the mounds as people have been climbing all over them in spite of the posted signs so ruts are getting worn in them which will hurry along erosion. They've opened a few more digs near the area which they are offering guided tours through as well. Not sure my ankle is up to hiking over fresh dug ground and standing while someone lectures about the finds and history of the area.

Loke's flat now and I've gotten a fair bit of exercise. Not as much as a proper long ride, but nothing to turn my nose up at either.

Oh, and it's official. I am the lightest I've been in 3 years or so! Since New Years, I've lost 8 pounds.

Terii

 

Yeah! congratulations! Keep up the good work.

 

Well, the whole going out on alternating days has been a bit of a bust. Did the 2 rides on Wednesday. Thursday was a rest day, but Friday I ended up trapped at the apartment by the cable guys who were supposed to come by between 7am and 5 pm to install the broadband that the landlords have decided to provide to every apartment. Around 5:30 pm they called to say it's postponed until Monday. How kind of them.

Saturday was miserable. Barely 40 F for the high, steady rain, VERY strong winds (gusts over 50 mph) and I was sick.

So, today, I since it was already warmer than yesterday's high when I woke up (46 F), winds of only about 20-30 mph, I bolted out the door as soon as Jens woke to carry the trike out.

Green leaves and twigs are scattered everywhere like the leftovers after hurricane clean up. The cold snap with the rain seems to have stirred up the snails. They were all over the place too, so the 7-ish mile loop Loke and I took was a snail slalom. I just can't stand running over anything alive if I can help it. Not even snails or worms. I'm not sure I'll get out for a 2nd ride today as rain is moving in and I'm still not feeling too well.

The outing at least made Loke very happy. He ran like a mad dog. I even managed to get a 16 second video of him yodeling a bit because I was being too slow about getting onto the trike and moving out.

Terii

 

Don Sullivan, Terry Wells, & I rode the southern loop of the Sequatchie Valley yesterday starting from Dunlap, TN. A beautiful valley that looks a bit like Burke's Garden on steroids. 76 deg cloudless day with humidity less than 40%. Very unusual for June. A combination of short hills, rollers, and many miles of almost flats in 70 mile long valley ringed by high ridges. Rode the west valley wall to Jasper & returned via the east side.

Don & I on our black aluminum Corsas & Terry on his impressive titanium Corsa.

Terry went home after the 62 mile loop. Don & I are at the Mountain Inn in a nice suite for less than $80. A very "suite" deal. Out for breakfast soon & then as many miles we can stand in the north loop of the Valley. Hope to have 2 day total well in excess of 100 miles before heading home later today.

 

Another ride though just a 3.5 miler. A quick river loop shoved in between the time my husband got home from work and cooking dinner. Loke was thrilled to be out and kept a brisk pace. Surprising for the River Loop which he usually drags on from sheer boredom.

We'd have made much better time except the path was packed with people who were determined to enjoy the first extended period of sunshine in almost a week. It was around long enough that the roads were dry from the rain we had through most of the morning and a fair bit of the early afternoon. So, Loke at least came home without being a mud ball.

Jens and I are also planning an extended weekend trip for June 14-17. Looking for a place he can fish and I can ride.

Terii

 

A 7.6 mile ride today which was the River Loop w/ Extension with a few more wobbles thrown in. Loke was a machine so we made good time. Planned a longer ride which I hope to get in on Saturday.

I couple on a tandem stopped me to ask about my trike. They seemed quite intrigued when I told them they made recumbent tandems with two wheels as well as 3.

Terii

 

I had a back breaking ride. I broke a zip tie in the seat back. The bike also lost a brake pad. 9 miles.

 

Hmm, that ride sounds intense. Just riding real hard or just bad karma this time around?

 

I may push too hard when I seek back comfort and support. I dropped the tilt one notch so there's less to push on. I have broken a few chairs, so I could have expected this. The front brake is Aztec and the rear brake that lost a pad is Jagwire. I stopped frequently to pick up cans, and the route has small rocks, so maybe that is a damaging combination. I'm over 600 miles on a used bike, so it could just be time for stuff to break.

 

Loke and I have been left to our own devices for a few days as Jens is on a business trip in London. With my ankle still giving me fits, I had Jens put the trike in the car figuring it would be easier to get out of there than the apartment. Imagine. Getting the seat, trike and pod bags on the ground for assembly. Just carrying the trike down the stairs killed my ankle the last time I tried it with the 40 pounds of awkward weight on the weakened leg while trying to navigate the steps.

I was right! My ankle feels fine and it took me a fraction of the time to get moving. All I had to do was get dressed, harness Loke, make sure I had phone and GPS and grab a bladder of water before leaving the apartment. Tethered Loke next to the car and less than 5 min later, I was clipped in! Pity I don't have the car more often, I could get seriously addicted to my outings beginning that easily!

Any hoo... to make a local outing more interesting, I decided to go to the Uppsala downtown since Loke and I both could do the River Loop with variously add-ons in our sleep any more. We did the River Loop first to give Loke a little time for his business so I wouldn't need to stop on a crowded city street to clean up. From there, we followed the river under mostly cloudy skies and took a few of the cobbled old streets. We ended up circling the cathedral twice as the first time I was looking for a way closer up to it. Pretty old buildings in the area.

Unfortunately, I couldn't really get a good picture of the cathedral because it's so huge and VERY crowded with buildings all around it. I did collect the runestones around it and a few other buildings as well. I tried to climb up to the castle, but the slope was killing my ankle even in my granny gear and tire spinning quite a bit on the gravel, I gave up.

Then we crossed the street that was used in the American adaptation of 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' with Daniel Craig and along a busy road with a wide cycle path that took us near there we begin and end the Field Loop before returning again to the last mile leg of the River Loop. The last 2 miles were done in a sudden rain shower.

There's a possibility, albeit a small one, I might drive the trike somewhere else for a ride tomorrow. I'm pretty sure that's what Loke was hoping for today since he jumped right in when I opened the front door to put the water bladder in the front seat until time to put it on the trike. I had to drag him out, which is unusual. He doesn't like car rides. I guess it shows how sick he is of the River Loop if he's that's desperate to get into the car.

Terii

 

Wrote a blog that covered a trip to a medieval market since I got to take pictures of the inside of a church where I started a ride in 2010 and yesterday's jaunt through the old parts of Uppsala. Lots of pictures!

Terii