My Most Recent Ride 2008 (Part I of series)

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Go get 'em Ward!!!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Man,you must have blew by those guys too fast. Haha, I couldn't help but grin as I read your post. That is awesome. I think your "have a nice day" was just the comment necessary to goad them. At least the guy was good natured in the end and not too nasty. Ha, I can't wait to get on my bent. Between high winds, rain, hail and tornados tearing aroud here it is not quite possible just yet. Oh well, keep it up and keep us posted.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Ward, it won't be long until you can give those hotshots at Sebring a good run for their money. btw, did you see what Tim did! He must have been flying! I talked to him Monday night and as usuall he was very modest.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

NO WAY will I be in Tim's league. I watched him pass me like I was standing still last year. But I do look forward to going again. It was tough just watching and waiting for the reports.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Well, I sorta rode to day. 1 hour 15 min on my trainer. I watched 'Harvey' while I did it and it was a bit of a push for the last 15 min, but I was determined to do it. My husband dragged me over to his parents' place today and his mother cooked us up a nice brunch. Hashbrowns, sausages, bacon, fried onions, omlette, croissants, and lemon fans. Almost what you'd expect from southern hospitality, though without grits. While I tried to keep my intake of it all to a minimum, I desperately needed to work off some of what I did eat.

I also got a walk. My husband has taken up a new hobby for as long as the ice holds on the lakes. Standing on a pair of skates while the husky drags him for 3 miles. I walked to the lake and back from the parking lot and of course, walked around a bit while my husband was off trying to keep his balance behind a wildly running Loke.

Hope the rest of you got out for a good ride today.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

What Terri? You had such a feast and didn't invite the rest of us!!!!! Oh well, it certainly sounds good anyway.

Skating behind the dog sounds like fun. Although I could never handle ice skates (bad ankles from polio) we did used to pull each other behind the snowmobile while wearing downhill skis. Now that was a blast!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Terri,

The ice skating behind the dog sounds kind of enticing to me.
I have always wanted to take my dogs cross country skiing. I think they would love it. I decided I would probably end up with a few broken bones though because as soon as they smelled a wild critter they would be off on the chase.
What do you do about iceballs in the pads when you take your dogs walking in the snow? Would vaseline work?

We had a rare snow today and I took my guys (two border collie- austrailian sheperd mixes) out for their usual walk to and around the park. They love the snow but do not really like the hard compressed snow balls that end up dangling off their pads. I had to try and break them apart a few times. Since your in the land of the snow maybe you know how to prevent this. I do not think my guys would tolerate doggie boots.

Unfortunately I am not doing very much bicycling but at the beginning of this week it is suppose to reach 50 so I might try riding 5 miles into work and the 5 miles out. Starts out in the 20's though so I will have to bundle up.

Thanks Sally

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Sally!

There are books that you can get that will give you tips on training dogs for running with skis. I'll have to find them to give you the titles if you like.

One thing I do know is that it's best to get skis that don't have metal edges. That way if you hit the dog with the ski, it doesn't hurt him/her as badly. My husband has thought about taking Loke out skiing too

As for the packed snow balls in Loke's pads... he's never had them. One nice thing about husky fur is that it sheds water, snow, and dirt very easily. We can come back from a wet run and Loke will be black from the tummy down. An hour later, he's white again. Same with snow.

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

HA! I awoke to 4± inches of snow! So there was no ride for me today but that was ok for today... I do love snow and got to get some good pictures BUT I do want to get out and ride... I getting very anxious.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

We've gotten about a foot of snow in the past 2 days. The most we've had at one time since the 3 feet in December which promptly vanished a few days later. Ths batch seems to be sticking around. Still, since I hadn't been cycling any way because of ice and now I have my trainer... I'm at peace. Not thrilled, but at peace.
If I didn't have the trainer, I'd probably be climbing the walls.

And HB! Being anxious to get out is a good thing! It means you must be getting your energy back.

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

HB are you getting out in the snow? I do sometimes miss it. I lived in Conn for 3 years the first year there it snowed Oct 19th and we didn't see the ground again until the last week in April. I had a big Chow and the colder it was the longer he wanted to stay outside. So I bought a little cheap plastic sled, a long leash and hooked it to his harness and let him pull me around. We both had a blast.

Terri, pictures would be fun

Okay, I guess I will get back too the topic. Yesterday it was susposed to be in the low 60's with light wind and clear. Well the weatherman lied. It was low 50's with winds 15-18 mph. I had on two longsleeeve jersey's and my chest was freezing. Put in another 30, nothing much happened, there was one fella I could see way ahead of me that I slowly (and I mean slowly) caught up to. He didn't want to talk so I continued on. 17.6 mph adv with the wind I was pretty happy.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Weather in Knoxville is GORGEOUS!!! I rode two days ago in the 50s. I took a video with my cell phone. It is not the best, but if you haven't been out in a while, you can imagine getting back on your bent. Click here to see it

You need Apple Quick Time to see it with sound or MS Video to see it without sound. (When I converted it I don't know why the sound didn't transfer over but it didn't.)

This is a greenway ride in East Knoxville I taped. It is an old railroad bed (you can tell because they carved through a hill here). This is part of the Holston River Park. Very nice ride and it is never crowded!!!

I plan to ride this afternoon. I bought a Flip digital video camera which has better resolution. I will take some shots today and post them this weekend.

This should get you in the mood to tune up your bents and get ready to ride!!!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

We have had ~ 80 degree weather here in Tulsa yesterdfay and today.... but the winds, geesh!!! I could barely keep my car on the highway yesterday it was gusting so bad

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

And we hit 59 yesterday! Yes, I rode 20 miles. Now the temperature is 32 degrees and it is raining/snowing/icing.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Our days have been consistently getting above freezing though some of those have been temps of just 33. Still, the ice is slowly going away. Not fast enough for my taste. Some of the paths are everything from solid slabs covered with water, to slushy mushes, and a few are clear.

I've still been using my trainer like a good girl. My sets are now 40 minutes long with a 10 min breather in between and I did 3 of those before family came over for dinner. I'm going to aim for 1 hour sets with 5 min breathers which is comparable to my solo cycling. When I cycle with the dog, he gets breaks for water and to check his paws every 1.5 to 4 miles depending on temperature.

Still... I wonder if I should drag my husband out for a ride in the country. Check the roads on my routes. Then find the more quiet roads to get there if they're clear. Most roads in town are ice free. Crossing my fingers.

Glad to see some of us are getting out for rides.

Terii