My Most Recent Ride 2008 (Part I of series)

Re: My Most Recent Ride

I rode 24 miles yesterday, after realizing that I had a 62 mile ride (Tour de Sewer) coming up in about 12 days I decided I needed to ride more often than once a week. My rides yesterday were 8.5 miles in the Rancho Cucamonga area in California (during lunch break), trying to ride up hill as much as possible to get myself in shape a bit quicker, then after work I rode 16.2 miles (total of 2 times around the lake) in the Puddingstone Lake area. I went up a lot of steep hills. I plan on doing the Puddingstone ride again this afternoon. Although the first circuit was a killer (one of the hills I had to stop about every tenth of a mile to catch my breath) the second circuit I made with no problem, a little slower than I’d like, but no stopping other than at stop signs and signals.

The Tour de Sewer has about ¼ of its distance in the Whittier hills, so I’ll have some grades to do. It’s going to be interesting since this will be my longest ride to date. So far, just over 40 miles has been my best. There are 3 of us from my church that are going to do this ride, which is sponsored by the Lions Club of Bell Gardens. One of my friends has done this ride for the past 5 or 6 years and is now getting 2 of us to join him on it. I’m just hoping he’s going to still be tired from doing a century up at Solvang this weekend.

After I (hopefully) complete the Tour de Sewer I’ll let everyone know how it was. I know there are a few bent riders here in the Southern California area, so perhaps in the future we might meet on one of the sponsored rides.

Curtis

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Way to rack up the miles, Curtis. I definitely would like to hear how your tour goes.

I'm still just racking up time on the trainer. I'm cutting back to 1.5 hours at a time on it and going to aim for doing that for 2 or 3 days in a row and then start adding the time. Start building up some long term stamina for touring. Can't really see myself touring with cycling for one day, rest for one, cycle, rest. Would take forever to cover any distance.

I noticed something funny when I was pedaling this morning. Loke will come over and stand right by the trike in his harnessed 'running' position. He stood there for a good 10 or 15 minutes at one point. Didn't sit or lay down, just stood there watching the TV with me. I guess it's wishful thinking on his part. Imagining that he's out on the open roads, trotting along with the trike in the sunshine and fresh air. Furry Wierdo.

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Well, dogs can dream too! You should get him a treadmill so he can exercise along side of you!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

As soon as we find a bigger place that we love, I plan to talk my husband into getting a treadmill for my husband's use of course.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

I just saw our forecast and they say we might see 50 again next week. Most of our snow is gone now but there is still too much. I probably won't get out on the road unless it is 50 degrees or more.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Curtis, remember on a longer ride than you are used to just take your time keep your heartrate down and spin up those hills. You will be fine.

Pretty nasty day for the wheels of fire ride yesterday with a forcast of rain all day and a high of 60. Only 5 recumbents, Jerry on a Corsa and I, two Easy Racers fully faired, and a RANS rocket. The rain started just shortly before the mass start. Jerry and I began the ride together and took the first climb easy just warming up. It was plenty cold 50 degrees but with the wind and the rain felt much colder.

First rest stop Jerry talked me into leaving him, he was going to ride a shorter route so I pulled out and picked up the pace. At this point I was probably at the back of the Metric field (which was my planned ride). On the downhills into the town of Pine Mt I passed 10-15 riders and rode through the rest stop at the base of the climb heading up to the ridgeline.

On the climb I was passed by two guys working together and as we reached the summit they turned to ride the centruy. Over the crest the Metric takes an almost immediate right before dropping into the valley. Very tight turn about 250 degrees coming down a 11-12% grade and with a pretty strong gusting crosswinds...that wasn't fun. Then flying down into the valley I passed two more before the turn towards Waverly Hall.

Now heading East into the teeth of the wind, on the flat 14-17 mph. A couple of short steep climbs of 6-8% slowed me down to 7-8 mph with the wind. I only passed three on this section and coming into the rest area I was caught by a DF rider.

There were lots of Vols here at this rest stop and I got held up doing a demo for a few minutes. The DF rider who had caught me pulled out before I could so I had a rabbit. It took me about 6 miles but I was alble to catch him. Fortunate for me it was more down than uphills on this section and the headwind hinderded him more than I. Passed 3 more along this section.

We rolled into Waverly Hall together and decided to ride together west accross the county. With the tailwind and riding with a really strong rider we moved along the flats at 27-28 and would still be moving at 20-21 as we crested the small hills on this section. Not exactly sure how many we passed along this part, at least 5.

The next rest area was at the intersection of highway 27 and Perry(the DF rider) was turning off the course and heading back. A few more steep climbs but still with a tailwind I managed to only pass 1 more.

At the second turnoff for the metric from the century The workers there said I was the 5th rider through. I had a feeling that those four guys were WAY ahead of me though. At this point my goal was to not let anyone I had passed catch me and to finish before the speedburners riding the century.

I was successful. So to my knowledge finished 5th in the metric. 4 hours 51 minutes total time and a 14.6 adverage (I have no idea what my ride adv was)

As usualy a great ride, maybe not as well supported as years before. However they had raisinettes so that makes up for it.

Ward

​

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Soooo close.

It was sunny. It got to 42 degrees. The snow and ice was gone enough that I could have ridden.

Didn't make it out the door. There was an outdoor activity fair in Stockholm today. Kayaking, SCUBA diving, hiking, camping, fishing, canoes. No cycling though. So we went to that. Then we got home and had to do some running around to get my computer fixed. My HD decided to quit working yesterday after less than 3 months of use.

I still tried to get out the door. Pulled on a few layers and then as I was getting overheated trying to get everything settled, I realised I needed to air my tires. That was the end. I suddenly just felt to hot and exhausted to fight with bad knees and back, to crawl around on the floor dealing with valve adaptors and tire pumps while wearing a sauna. Certainly wasn't in the mood to get out the layers and then fight my way back into them.

I'll hopefully be able to ride tomorrow. It's supposed to be as warm as today so no snow. My tires are good to go. All I'll have to do is get dressed, slap the harness on the dog and bully my husband to take the trike out the door.

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Well, we had lots of rain, too.

We got to the bike shop yesterday a little after lunch time and picked up the trike. I've attached pictures to this message showing the trike with my ride alongside, and then with Karen in her seat. As you can see, even though things didn't go quite as we had hoped (sunny and clear), we did get some riding in.

Since it rained all day Saturday, we just collected the trike and found our way to our hotel, a Country Inns & Suites near the trail in Hiram. Took the trike into the room (the hotel management was quite agreeable and accommodating -- very nice folks) and installed a computer.

We woke up this morning hoping for at least no rain, but our hopes were dashed. It was raining lightly when we looked out the window. We ate breakfast and hung out for a little while and noticed that the rain had stopped. Woohoo!

So we packed up and got ourselves over to the trailhead, by which time it had started raining again lightly. My loving, patient, long-suffering wife is such a good sport. I asked if we could just ride a mile each direction on the trail just so we could say we had and she agreed. I had to unmount my bike off the top of the car, struggle into my jacket, change my shoes, etc., etc. and finally we got going.

The rain was very light, but it was chilly and our fingers and toes kind of froze. After a mile in each direction and back for a total of four miles, we reloaded the bikes and started getting warm again in the car. A stop by Sweet Tomatoes (a buffet restaurant we like) on our way back to the interstate helped both our feelings considerably.

When we got to Chattanooga, we realized the rain had stopped again and the temperature had warmed up so we stopped at Chickamauga Dam and rode 6.8 miles of the Riverpark out and back (a total of 13.6). That's where we were when I took the pictures.

So, even though it wasn't the weekend we planned, we had a great time, Sunny the TerrorTrike has been christened, and Karen is very happy with her new ride. Thanks for all the encouragement.

Another question: who has experience with riding trikes on the Katy Trail and what is that like? The Katy is not paved (at least the bit I've seen) but my impression is that it would be smoother and flatter than the Virginia Creeper. Would anyone care to share? Thanks!

Tom

P.S.: Bill, the Django says "Hi." I noticed the bike shop (the Silver Comet Depot) had a Burley Jett's Creek for sale and wondered if they had picked it up from you.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Jon, Don, Buddy, and I did the entire Katy from Clinton at the west end back to St. Louis. +300 miles. A fantastic ride. Don't recall any single track. Generally flat. Smooth although little pavement. Plently of room to ride two or even three wide. Very out in the open, so hot/sunny weather requires planning. Few water stops in some intervals. When well-planned, as Don did for our trip, it can be a week to remember.

Dave

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

That sounds like quite a ride! Were you all on trikes? Did you camp along the way or stay in hotels? Sounds like you did about 60 miles a day or so? Thanks, Dave.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Spring in Michigan too. Here it is only Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day and I've rode the bike 3 times already this week! This has to be a record for me. I never recall being on the bike so much so early in the season. 56 miles so far this week! But boy oh boy does my body ever feel it.

Somehow it just seems to get harder every spring. My wife says age has something to do with that, but I really don't know...

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Only Jon was pedaling 3 wheels (his trike with bags). Buddy was on 2 wheels with bags, Don was on 3 wheels (2 wheels plus a Bob trailer), and I on 4 wheels (2 wheels plus a Burley trailer).

Our actual mileage was 261 miles since we also did a side spur trail near Columbia. 5-1/2 riding days, no more than 50 miles/day. We spent a LOT of time stopping and seeing the sights along the way. Too many diversions to make 60+ miles/day. And the bed & breakfasts we stayed at were great and the breakfasts such that we rarely ate again until mid afternoon.

Word to the wise: If not doing round trip, always ride west to east. The prevailing winds will generally push you along. And there seemed to always be some wind.

Jon wrote a very nice article on the trip that was published in Recumbent Cycling News. I hope he doesn't mind my attaching it here. And don't forget to check out the KATY link he shows toward the end of the text.

Dave

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Thanks a lot, Dave. That article is excellent. I really appreciate your sharing it and Jon's writing it. It provides just the kind of information I was looking for. Now I can't wait to ride the KATY trail. At this point, my weekends are probably booked through 2050 with all the rides I want to do.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

I had an awesome ride today... OUTSIDE!!!

It's partly cloudy, a bit breezy and 41 F out. I was perfectly dressed and there were meadow larks everywhere in the fields along the river though with the snow still lingering I would have thought it too early for them. Loke LOVED it as did I.

We only did 5.5 miles. It was more to see if the trike needed any tinkering and how well Loke would do. I'd only planned to do the short 3 mile loop. Loke was doing so well that I decided to go with the extention as well. He ran much better than he did at this time last year. Held an average pace of about 8.2 MPH average instead of his yearly start of 7.1.

Spring is HERE.

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

I biked in to work two days this week (about 14mile round trip) It was nice.
Today I did the Stock Creek loop from my house (14 miles). Hilly but pretty nice and not too much trafic. Hope everyone got out and enjoyed the weather here in East Tennessee. Sally