My Most Recent Ride 2008 (Part I of series)

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Those movies, or shows, must have been when I was in another
country training with live bullets. My kids know all about them.
Remember, I'm old enough to be yo daddy. I once told Mickey
that when he called me an old man. He said, heaven forbid.
It's ok for him to call me names, but he can't take it when I
say some True stuff about him.

Any way, it wasn't bad at all. Fast did hurt with the fairing
and no face shield. I like the face shield a lot. I wore two layers,
which were thermal Hanes long johns with a made in America
jogging suit of cotton and polyester. Then going out the door,
I put on my Stearns rain suit that has wicking lining. Wore
hightop boots and had the rain suit legs down in the boots.
I could have gone all day like that. I didn't get hot and swet,
and I didn't feel cold. My finger tips got cold, but that can
be corrected with a good pair of mittens. The rain coat hood
was inside the helmet, and thats all I had on my head. I think
I have been putting too much on my head and not letting the
heat escape that way and that causes sweating. I was
working hard in this strong a wind. The wind held it back
going down hill. I think I have some good riding ahead with
less wind, but I know now, I can handle the wind with the
face shield.

No, Mary didn't think it was funny out there taking pictures.
She was *****ering the whole time, and she likes winter. She
didn't put a coat on, so what can you expect.

One of the girls wrote and ask me why I didn't get an indoor
bike trainer. She is the one that has horses, so I wrote back
and said, why don't you get hobby horses? I don't hate much,
but I hate trainers. I've got 'em and they are boring. I'd
rather take a walk in the rain. I like that.

One last thought, you can train your body to adjust to the cold.
The face shield is wonderful. I couldn't have taken the wind
today without it. In other words, don't expose bare skin to
cold wind. Another trick is to start taking contrasting showers
as the temperature drops. Just bring the water temp from 85oF
down to 60oF. Do that three times with each morning shower.
Don't do it at night or you may not sleep. Take a warm shower
or tub bath at night.

I'm ready now for some good winter riding, when winter gets here.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Sounds like a bit of an adventure Buddy.

I can't say much on the speeds. To be honest, I'm a poky rider. 9.5 mph for an average is common. I have come away on a couple rides with a 10.2 or so, but only with dry roads, little to no wind (unless a tail wind) and on a flatter route. Wind, hills, and such play havoc on my speed because of my knees. I'm pretty sure I tend to run in lower gears than most people simply because my knees can't take the strain of pushing too hard... or too fast. So, not only lower gears, but lower cadences as well.

7.2 is not unheard for me, but only on VERY windy days, lots of uphills... or if I'm with the husky. Though he's actually increased to about 7.9 or even a couple runs of 8.1.

I try not to stress about speed and just about getting there and exploring the country side. The only reason I _do_ worry about speed is the knowledge that I could go farther in the measly 6 hours of day light we have currently, if I could just go faster. Next week, we'll drop to less than 6 hours of day. I can't WAIT for the solstice and the knowledge we'll be heading back to 17 hour (or more) days.

Buddy? Can you take a close up image of your face shield/helmet set up so I can get a better look? I got so POed with my face thing yesterday. One size fits all is never a good start. :roll:

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Well, right here in Midway TN, we have the meanest terrain for bikes
about anywhere. Dave and I have ridden these West Greene county
hills until we are sick of them. The grades are steep and short and
all over the place. Dave powers up them. He doesn't have gears on the
RANS Rocket, but even at that he has plenty of time to rest while
waiting for me. Winds like that ride are like going up hill the
whole ride. The wind held it back going down hill. I didn't see any
DF's. I may never see winds like that again on a ride.

Take a look at this face shield. It is so clear that it is difficult to
see the edges, but it rests well below the neck area. One word
of caution if you do this. Don't put rain-x inside. Seems to cause
it to fog more, but a quick gloved back hand clears it nicely. It
only fogs on a steep hard breathing up hill. On those, I push it back
and breath outside of it. Going down hill, it clears and is so nice.
One could probably cut some off the bottom. They cost $15. here
in TN, so if I ruin it, no big deal. A lot less than golf clubs and
country club green fees etc.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Do you have problems with your face shield fogging up??? I am just going back to my motorcycle days when I wore a face shield.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Thanks for the pictures, Buddy! I might look at it as an alternative to the cloth thing that keeps riding up to interfere with my Vision and leave my forehead clear up to the hairline bare to the bitter winds.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

You are welcome. It works for me. Didn't have fogging at all
untill I put the liquid rain-x inside and out. It fogged inside
yesterday when cranking hard up hill, but didn't fog so much
that I couldn't see. My gloved hand with palm toward my
chest slid rite up and cleared it nicely. Did that about 3 times.
It never fogged and cleared going down hill. May cut some
off the bottom. It rests down on my chest and blocks air
getting out. It doesn't fog on the outside of the shield.

BTW Jon, my motorcycle helmet is in the attic. When I was
going to college at night, I rode a Honda in the winter. Never
had a fogging problem to recall, I didn't have to crank and
work and breath hard though.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Morning all!

I cycled again today. Just the same route as I did Monday.

Monday, it felt hard. Today it about killed me. Wasn't so bad when I took the dog for his run. When I went out for my solo ride and planned to do my 20 mile loop, the wind kicked up. About 2 miles Into The Ride, it started to drizzle off and on. 4 miles into the ride, my legs were already feeling a bit tired and complaining. But I watch the forecast and the next 4 days are supposed to have colder temps and a rain/snow mix. If any of it accumulates, it might not melt off so I can ride. That just made me determined to get my 13.5 mile ride in at the very least.

About 8 miles into the ride, the temp did a 3 degree drop. Of course, I was dressed fine for 37 F with little to no wind, but not for 33-34 F with a fairly brisk breeze adding to the cycling wind. :

I was very happy to crawl into that hot bath when I got home.

But I feel very good that I kept at it in spite of how my legs felt, the wind, and drizzle. At least I can go out to eat with my husband's family tonight and dig into a lovely pasta dish with a clearer conscience.

This means nearly 40 miles for the week. Not my best, but better than slap against the head.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

My ride today was two hours and 15 minutes. The temperature
went from 35oF to 53oF and the last hour was at sunset and the
temperature went to 40oF real quick.

BTW, I no longer concern myself with miles. All my doctors at the
Lifestyle centers have gone to Interval Training, and so have I.
Google it to learn about it. It requires me to wear a heart monitor.
I keep it simple. I know what my target heart rate is. I force the
rate to go to my maximum target heart rate and when it hits that
number, I let the heart slow down to my minimum target heart
rate and then I speed up to the maximum heart rate again. I do
that through out the ride.

If you google Interval Training, you will see what I'm talking about.

All miles are not the same, and in fact won't help me lose a pound.
When I get out and ride 40, 50, or 60 miles, I just get real hungry
and eat like a horse. I can ride an hour or two a day and not get
too hungry.

My resting heart rate is 50 bpm. That's when I get up in the
morning or after I've been sitting for a couple hours in the evening.
So, that's the reason I use the two numbers of the target heart
rate, and not the formula for HIIT (High Intinsity Interval Training).

I keep it simple because I'm not going for six pack abs. All I need
to do is get some weight off, which is right around the middle.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

OH BTW, fenders are a must for this time of year. The trail
yesterday was wet, not mud, from the thawed snow in Bristol TN.
Fenders saved my day. Used the summer helmet and my ears and
face got cold until it warmed up to the 50's. Started out at 35,
which is ok in the bright sunshine, with 2 layers and a jacket.
Didn't go fast anyway on the trail.

Love this time of year, yeah right Dave.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Glad to see one of us go out today.

After yesterday feeling like such a strain, I decided to give today a break. It's been a rain/snow mix all day, but so far it isn't accumulating on the roads or sidewalks, so hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get out at least for the 13 mile loop. *fingers crossed*

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

OK, I can't stand it anymore.

Hi... My name is Jon...

I have not ridden my bent in 10 days.

[ARRRRGHHHHH!!!!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

Gotcha beat, there Old Boy. I haven't had my 'bent out of the shed since Nov. 10, and I will be moving my daughter to NC this weekend. Add it up. Even if Monday is warm (not gonna happen...), that's 28 days! I may have to put training wheels on the thing again.

Dave

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

OH, I don't want to hear it....NOV 3rd was my last ride and I won't begin to get a chance until sometime in Jan. I sit here all day unable to do anything except surf from one bicycle site to the next. I scheme, plot, and plan about which components I should put on the new Sea Dragon.

And to make it worse, this truely is my favorite time of year to ride. The bike trail is empty, the air is crisp and clear, and its easier to see wildlife along the river with the leaves off the trees. Last winter I was gearing up for Sebring and was riding 125 to 150 miles a week. Sigh

Ward

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

You have a good reason for the season. These other turkeys
need to put some cloths on and get their minds right, it is real
fun, ain't it Ward?

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride

You'll get there, Ward.

Just remember not to push yourself too hard, too quick and set yourself back. When my back flares up, that's my biggest problem. Giving it time to rebuild rather than hurrying up and doing something to re-injure it.

I rode today. Only 13 miles though as I decided to take pity on the dog (and kinda myself too) and take him for the full loop rather than a 5 mile run for him and a 13 mile loop for myself. I feel good. My legs feel like I did a little exercise, but nothing like the almost painful exhaustion I had Wednesday.

It did take me a while to get out the door as I kept waffling about going or not . Feeling under the weather, but desperately wanted to get more miles in before the week ended _and_ another hit of snow potentially shoots down any more cycling for a while. So, I'd pull on a layer, sigh and decide I just wasn't up to it. 10 minutes later, I'd feel stressed and guilty that I wasn't taking advantage of the lack of rain, ice, and snow, pull on another layer....

It was 33 with not so much wind when I set out. Overcast and a slight haze. Snow was dusted over the fields, but the roads were mostly clear with just a tiny bit of ice on the cycle paths. Thankfully, not enough ice to damage my rear derailleur. It was a pretty day in a shades of gray and white way. I saw probably around 20 deer, 5 hares and even a couple of hawks. I would have taken pictures to share, but my camera is in Vienna with my husband on his business trip.

Loke seemed thrilled with something more than his boring 5.5 mile loop. I am kinda wondering if I overestimated his stamina though. He's now flat on the floor and every now and again, he lets out this deep sigh or a groan. Poor fuzzy. To think last summer, the only thing that kept him from breaking 27 miles in a trip was the heat.

Terii