My Most Recent Ride 2010 (Part III of the series)

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

Yesterday it was a beautiful spring morning and I was out to ride some flats and easy rolling hills from the southern side of the Sea of Galilee up to the north eastern corner. We call it a sea but I think in the US people would call it a lake.

The plan was to do an easy 45km (~28 miles) there and back type of ride. As I got started a couple of triathletes passed me with their fancy euro- carbon bikes and aero bars. I chatted with one of them and then she passed me as well. I started getting warmed up and noticed that the lady triathlete had not gotten away from me. Soon I felt she was actually going to slow for me and passed her.

After a while I actually caught up with two other triathletes who had passed me earlier. Now I was psyched !! For the first time in my short recumbent career I was passing uprights!! I rode up a short hill together with these two and felt good and only dropped to my middle chain ring not the granny.

Then a hot shot triathlete passed all of us and told one of the other tri's that "He eats a thousand like him every day" (hebrew expression meaning basically you're a loser.) I smiled to myself and thought let's see what happens on the down hill side. Needless to say I just started hammering. By the end of the downhill I was in my 52x11 and flying ! I whizzed past the hot shot grinning with him just looking at his front wheel.

I hammered all the way to the turnaround which was mostly flat and rolling. The hot shot eventually got back to me but it was fun finally being able to get up some decent speed.

I pushed it pretty hard on the way back to my car and passed a couple more tri's and roadies. Although some passed me as well. I probably pushed it harder than I should have and my quads were on fire by the time I was back at the car. But it was great. I did the 45km in about 1hr 32mins which is a 30kph (~18.75mph) average and excellent for me. I don't have a computer yet on my 'bent. I'll get one when I can do the entire 61km Sea of Galilee loop at an average of 30kph.

 

bike and blooms

Hello all.
Ride yesterday was ok. Not many turned out because of the threat of inclement weather but those who went I think enjoyed it. Very short though.
Hope to do a longer ride this morning before the winds pick up.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

Yesterday there were Earth Day festivities in Rochester, Michigan. Including a parade. Ironically, I drove 100 miles to participate in the little 6-block-long event. It was WAAAAY smaller than I'd been led to believe. There were three of us there on our NoComs, and the cameras went wild! Unfortunately, I don't get any Detroit-area television channels, so I don't know if we made the 6:00 news. After the parade, it started raining, so our plans to retire to the local Metropark for additional mileage were discarded.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

John, when I was a little boy I remember going to a parade there as we lived not too far north of town. That was the first time I ever saw the Budwieser team and wagon and remember getting an orange from the drivers along with some candy. That was in the 1940's and coming from a poor family that orange really meant a lot.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

Oh yes, the Greyhound brain strikes again!!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

Yes, because it's fresh water, it'd be called a lake here. But as lakes go, it's pretty good-sized. We have lots of inland lakes that are 13 miles long or more, but they're usually a lot narrower.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

I rode today. Beautiful weather, though a bit on the breezy side. Nice temp of 61 F.

It was only the 14-ish mile Ulva/Gamla Uppsala Loop. But it was nice to get out for a ride. Loke got to wear his booties since his feet are still a bit tender from the last ride over the weekend. I feel like I probably could have done a 30 mile ride just fine.

And you can tell how tedious I'm finding my home loops now that I don't really have much to say about the ride.

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

The stormy weather finally moved out of East TN, so I topped up the tyre's air pressure and went riding yesterday afternoon.

Thirty miles in cool, crisp, Spring air.

But, while mowing (harvesting: grass grows great in stormy weather!) after the bike ride, the drive belt between the motor and the cutting deck snapped.


Oh no.
Too bad.
Oh well!


Looks like a good day to go riding today too.


-Steve

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

Don't have one!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

A beautiful day here yesterday with the temps in the 70's, no clouds and the wind pretty light for this time of year at 4-6 mph. I met Liner, my friend who has become determined to get in better shape and has 2000 miles for the year already. We rode a nice route down the Riverwalk onto Ft. Benning and looped back downtown to meet Mike when he got off work.

Another loop out onto Benning, the Riverwalk was teeming with cyclists, runners, dog-walkers and stollers so our pace didn't pick up until we were onto post. Traffic had picked up as it was now 5:45 and the multitudes of offfice workers on post were in a hurry but they were for the most part hospitalble and gave us wide berths.

We finished with a total of 67 great miles. We hadn't pushed too hard for me but Liner was beginning to bonk by the time we drug back into the parking deck. We were out for 5 hours and as darkness fell I took it on home.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

Yesterday, another incredibly beautiful day for riding: I did go out for a short ride.
Seduced by the abundance of nature's beauty, the short ride evolved into a longer one.

On the return leg (pun intended), my left leg cramped to such a degree that I had to stop.
In the middle of the steep little hill.
Thanks to the low recumbent seat, I could remain seated while stretching my legs.

It's even nicer today.
Maybe I will go out for a SHORT spin, later on, despite what my legs are telling me....


-Steve

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

Yesterday was pretty windy but warm (high 60's) so I headed out. To my astonishment when I turned south I got a look at the western sky....and it was black! So, I rode a couple more miles then headed home. Had just enough time to take care of things that were outdoors. Total ride was 6.8 miles.

Today even warmer as it is in the 70's. Windy but so far not as bad as yesterday but supposed to get worse. So, I headed out before noon today and got in 20.5 miles. Now I feel better. This riding once or twice a week is not enough! Soon though our weather will get better.

There are just a few farmers still planting corn but most of it is in the ground already. This is way ahead of what is usually done. The beans won't get into the ground for another week yet as our last killing frost is normally expected around May 10. However, we've seen corn and beans lost in June from a hard freeze so we're never out of the Woods weatherwise. I don't expect late freezes this year though and it would not surprise me to not get another frost until September or October.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

Your wish has been granted.
I do not like riding in the wet, let alone in severe wet weather!

Yes, I'm a wimp.
But there's an excuse here somewhere...
oh, of course:
I was a motorcycle test rider and was paid to ride on public roads
in all seasons and in all weather.
Enough is enough!

-Steve

(But I wanna ride!)

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

I rode a whopping 12.8 miles yesterday....and my legs were like they had been filled with lead. Not sure why but it was a difficult ride. Then I stopped to chat with someone and could hardly get going again. But the dark clouds coming from the west made them turn the cranks enough to get home before getting wet.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride - 2010

That's what I rode, but it wern't no Michg'n cake walk. It was
a real he man TN hills climbing combat action crank for your
life outfit. WUSS. 100% 7-20% and all up hill. <g> Now don't
get mad at me Mr Sabage.