Hey, any good ride stories from this weekend?

[Tom]

Me, the usual. "Beautiful day, headwind all the way home." Sat., Sun.

Today, 44 degrees and raining moderately. Lovely. Seriously. I really had a great time out there and I'm still smiling even though I am here in The Vale of Tears for lord knows how long.

[J.Greene]

I rode the fixed gear for two days. I'm still recovering from a chest and throat infection. This cough is killing me.

JG

[Fixed]

bro i rode the fix too... hey my son and wife went out with me on my 2nd ride sunday afternoon that was really fun seeing them riding my son is great on the bike.. wife uh well I could walk along next to her but to see her out riding was great
cheers

[johnnymossville]

Saturday was warm and sunny, so after a good breakfast of blueberry and honey oatmeal I headed out for a 65 miler west towards Damascus, MD then up North to Westminster, MD. I got home and my daughter asked where I went, so of course I said the Middle East, then London. :)

Sunday I tried out my new Descente Rain Jacket and did a quick 35 miles in damp/dreary cool weather. It worked like a charm.

Overall, a good 100 mile weekend of riding.

[Scrafford]

Started out early Sunday morning from Purcellville, VA in a mist. Did Mt. Weather, one of my favorite climbs. It was so foggy at the top that I could not see cars and I did not have my lights on the bike. Fear of being hit kept me from enjoying the ride, till the descent. I am training for Mountains of Misery and continue to do all the climbs around the DC area. Just being on the bike makes for a good day. :beer:

[shoe]

i did learn that when you want an easy ride you should stay away from the guys in front...rapha and the ny cadence did a hundred mile ride out to bear mtn and back i figured i'd check it out...loosely the term a gentleman's race was thrown out there...so after our first regroup some people started out...did i forget to mention it was kind of chilly and rainy...so they start out on this short and steep kicker and at the top apparently it is on so i join in since i'm there...maybe 25 miles with some rollers of just a fast pace out to the bear mtn climb...so i have been out there once and did the climb last year ..not so bad.. a little over a mile..so as we get closer and my legs are pretty toasted i ask someone how long the climb is to put it in my mind...well this one coming up is around a mile and then bear is around 5-6 miles they say...seems i never did climb bear mtn just passed it by...just found a nice pace and made it to the top...smiled joked at the top..pretended like it wasn't too bad...while waiting a bit to dismount so my legs didn't cramp up....people chatted and regrouped and then headed back into the headwind of course but atleast the rain stopped..slugged out half of it on my own on the way back and after getting a coffee joined a group of strong riders that just knocked it out....good day sore legs...........dave

[benb]

Went up to the Burlington, VT area to help my parents open their camp and do some cycling...

Spent saturday from about 8AM-3PM cleaning up the 1/3 of a giant weeping willow tree that fell down.. reduce to firewood, rake up insane amount of leaves, tiny branches, etc.. (splitting logs is a killer core workout) Kind of fun to chop up a large portion of this tree as it dripped sap & damaged the paint on my car pretty badly several years ago. The rest of the tree will probably have to be cut down by a professional as there is a risk the whole thing will come down.

Went riding out on the islands on Lake Champlain.. air temperture was around 70F, water temperature was 40F... as a result it was insanely windy. Got to do the "Tongue hanging out, full on hammer in the drops, go 14mph" thing on the way back. Only did 50 miles, but the yard work got the best of me..

Yesterday went out and tooled around Burlington, Winooski, Essex, etc.. for around 20 miles just having some fun. Very windy again yesterday. At one point I went over a ridge and the wind shifted 180 degrees based on where the lake was.. pretty interesting..

I think these were the strongest shore->water breezes I've ever felt. I don't really remember doing much cycling in VT near the lake before late May before.

[wrestlr]

Pretty solid weekend.

Went up to Athens, GA for the Twilight Criterium race with about the other 40,000+ people there. Got there about 8 in the morning, went out for almost 70 miles, went out for a couple of brews and had some tacos after for lunch and pre gamed for the night.

About 5 the festivities began and me (20 years old) and about 20,000 college girls had a good time. Dude it was bad. By the time the pro race started I was pretty worked so it was the coolest thing to be drunk eating pizza at Mellow Mushroom and watching 100+ pros fly by in a blur. No complaints. To make a long story short I was out on the streets until about 4 in the morning and stumbled in the hotel to find the US College Nationals Gymnast teams all there also just getting in. They were ready to party after a long comp. Dude I did not sleep.

Yesterday a few of us then jetted down to ATL to catch the finishing stage.
-Mike

[Dan Le foot]

We are traveling in our motorhomes in the Southwest trying to make all the classic climbs and mountain passes wherever we go.
We are in Silver City, NM right now (Tour of the Gila this week). BTW. New Mexican drivers around here are real friendly. Everyone waves including drivers in pickup trucks and motorcycles
Yesterday we climbed the beautiful Emory pass (8400’).
About half way up the climb I just rounded a blind corner when I heard a car come up from behind obviously going way to fast for the conditions. Apparently he saw me too late, locked up his breaks and went into the dreaded out of control skid right behind me. Not seeing (but hearing ) how close he was to wiping me out I put the bike down in the brush on the side of the road. The car did a 180 and stalled going in the opposite direction.
So I picked myself out of the brush waiting for the guy to drive past and offer his apology and ask if I was OK. I was going to suggest that he be more careful and slow down.
But he didn’t stop. He drove by me real slow with all 4 wheels on the opposite side of the road, smiled and waved at me.
When we came back down the pass we visited the scene. We measured the skid marks at 50 feet (on a 5% uphill grade!) and was obvious that he was sideways. I could tell where I went down in the brush. He missed me by 5 feet!
Alive to ride again today.
Dan

[jthurow]

I was doing the city loop on Sunday morning and decided to ride by Busch Stadium. I was waiting at a stop light and a couple of big BMWs (a M6 or something) pulled up behind me. When the first one went past, I noticed the BMW emblem on the trunk had been replaced by a "5". It ended up pulling into the player parking lot.

Oh, & I put the lightweight tubular wheels on for the first time this season as a little treat. :banana:

jimi

[bnewt07]

Twenty miutes down the road I spotted a neighbours sheep lying on its back with a lamb half-out. Nipped over the wall, lambed it and carried on my merry way after making sure both looked alright. Rather pleased with myself!

Beat that!

[theprep]

Friday I took (10) 9-10 year olds Mountain Biking on one of the local easy trails.

It was my oldest son's 10th birthday and he invited some of his buddies for a MTB, Flag Football and Kickball Party at the local County Park.

His friends loved the MTB trail and made sure to leave enough time at the end of the party to do a second 30 minute loop.

Saturday - killed myself in some local hills for about 35 miles. The hills certainly seemed easier post Battenkill.

Sunday - skipped the final NYC Spring Series Race in Brooklyn for the local Early Bird world championships. 55 miles with some friends I had not seen in a while. Good workout.

[handsomerob]

poor planning left me doing yardwork ALL day Saturday in absolutely ideal riding weather. Sunday was raining off and on all day but it finally appeared to clear up around 4pm... so fingers crossed for a decent ride window, a buddy came over and we went for a "mostly" dry ride. I got to take the new to me Salsa for its maiden voyage. :beer: Our luck held out till the last 5 miles when the clouds decided they had held the rain as long as they could.

The pavement was wet the whole ride and it made me sure that I should get some fenders for my Bianchi cross bike for days like this...

Also, this was my first ride on the new sub-Chorus level Quick Shift Ergolevers (Veloce) and don't tell anyone but I actually liked them a bit more than I planned. I know I can't dump a bunch of gears with one throw, but the crisp click feels very good.

Last thing, I don't know if it is the Reynolds 853 or Waterford construction or the Protons or the Wound Up or the Salsa geometry but damnation it was a smooth ride. Really this La Raza is a great addition to the stable. :banana:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii178/sglservingfriend/Salsa%20La%20Raza/100_3681.jpg

[davids]

I had a really great ride Saturday - met a friend in Brookline at 8:30, we hooked up with another friend in Newton 20 minutes later, and then 2 more guys in Weston a bit after that. We looped out through the NW suburbs - Weston, Sudbury, Maynard, and Concord - before heading south through Wellesley, Needham, and home.

We had more than our share of mechanicals, all but one from one poor guy: 2 flats, a wonky USE seatpost, and a bag clip that wouldn't stay on the saddle rails. We stopped at ATA in Concord to let him replace the stripped seatpost screws (they tried to sell him a new post...) That was before the bag problems and his second flat. But the weather was great, so no one minded standing around too very much.

We got back around 1:30 - 5 hours out, and almost 4 actually riding! Just under 70 miles on a beautiful spring day. It was excellent.

Sunday morning, I hung out with my wife in a Beacon Hill coffeehouse, read the papers, ate croissants and drank delicious coffee. That, too, was excellent.

[Joel]

I took the Serotta out for the first time since December. I've only been on the fixie since then. Last weekend I did a metric century on the fixie over the central Florida 'hills' and felt good.

So, out on the road bike. Got a late start around noon on Saturday figuring a short ride. Perfect weather. My legs felt great. The bike felt weightless. I was smooth...smooth...smooth. So I rode, and I rode and said "self - you should ride a century".

And I did. Not real fast, but not stupid slow. And other than one spat of bad traffic, some killer stomach cramps, and a bit of headwind coming home...it was a lovely day for a century with no planning. Legs felt good the whole way.

Yesterday was a 35 mile soft roll on the fixie.

And that fourmites is a good weekend of riding!

Joel

[William]

I had a great ride on Saturday after the parade for the Little league that my son belongs to. We got home by about 11:00 and hit the road. Beautiful sunshine and comfortable temps. It was one of those days that the sun shining on you fills you with warmth that has a way of making that tightness in your legs dissolve into a comfortable rhythm. Made my way out to 102 and headed West over the rollers, then onto Ten Road for a short but steep climb. I wound my way around exploring until I found a climb that came out onto Rt3. I spent a little more time than I should have exploring that area. Mainly due to the knife fight I got into with a camp counselor that got lost in the woods while strung out on Oreo Double stuffs, Smores, and a quart of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Anyway, after cleaning out the dried melted marsh mellow from under my finger tips I was on my way. I time trialed down Rt.3 until I hit the fire station and turned down Congden Rd. which puts me back into a more rural farming area. After that I cruised into the area where Too Tall, Coylifut and I had ridden before, cutting through onto some dirt and rock strewn roads I made my way back to New Rd. and finally back home. I don’t know what the mileage was since I still haven’t re-mounted my computer. But from previous rides through similar areas I’m guessing at about 55 – 65 miles. After I got cleaned up I took our children out for ice cream…..”No, I don’t want marsh mellow on that…”.


William

[sellsworth]

My son and I did the Chico Wildflower century (Northern Cal.) yesterday. Great ride, although it was a bit hot. Just outside of Chico is one of my favorite climbs - Honey Run Road up to Paradise. If you're ever in the area you should do it.

[willy in pacifi]

My son and I did the Chico Wildflower century (Northern Cal.) yesterday. Great ride, although it was a bit hot. Just outside of Chico is one of my favorite climbs - Honey Run Road up to Paradise. If you're ever in the area you should do it.

Saw a lot of riders doing the Chico Wildflower 100 on Saturday. I think we were on Silverado Trail when we saw them or on Hwy 128. We were heading from Davis out to Calistoga then Gyserville for the turn around at 125 miles then return to Davis via Calistoga, Cardiac Hill and Vacaville.

When we turned around at 200k it was 97 degrees. My stomach does not do well in heat and I was also behind on my Enduralite pills so started to get cramps on top of my cramps until the temps dropped a bit. Well at least I learned a lot on this ride.

I was hoping to finish in 18 hours at midnight but took an extended dinner break in Calistoga to help with the stomach issues. One of the riders is German and at a couple of his stops he was having a beer. That sounded so good I grab a beer with 30 miles to go at the 7-11 and carried it to the finish as I was not sure I would beat the 2am cut off time. Not hte ride cut off time but the beer selling cut off time. Finished up just after 2am. 7-11 only sells 24 oz cans so only drank half to help me doze off for a nap before the 90 mile drive home.

Tough ride but learned enough to make it worth it. Next up the Davis 600k in a month.

willy in pacifica

[Larry D]

Spring has finally arrived in VT, the ground is getting green with some white spots still haning on. Yesterday I got out cycling into the Northeast Kingdom around Hardwick, Craftsbury and Albany for 2 1/2 hours of hills and farms. With the wind kicking up it elevated the lovely aroma of the manure spreading.

Life is grand. :banana:

[Tom]

It is the best sign of spring. It takes me back to the first days you could open the school bus windows, when we fought over the way back seat because if Lorna Eaton forgot where the bumps were you could hit your head on the ceiling if she didn't slow down in time.

Good times, good times.

[coylifut]

Twenty miutes down the road I spotted a neighbours sheep lying on its back with a lamb half-out. Nipped over the wall, lambed it and carried on my merry way after making sure both looked alright. Rather pleased with myself!

Beat that!

can't beat it. about 20 years ago I was doing a tt and looked over to see a cow birthing. At first I couldn't figure it out, but then the giant sack burst and out fell the calf.

[Too Tall]

Twenty miutes down the road I spotted a neighbours sheep lying on its back with a lamb half-out. Nipped over the wall, lambed it and carried on my merry way after making sure both looked alright. Rather pleased with myself!

Beat that!
IMPRESSIVE, now that's what I call a good neighbor :) Hey, you need one of these ==> http://www.thursdaybicycles.com/bicycle_frames/sheep_herding.html

[C50]

I had a wonderful 5 mile ride on Saturday. I have been with my girlfriend for 3 years now. When we started dating her son was six and was wanting to learn to ride a bike without training wheels. She asked me to help, bikes I knew but kids were foreign territory. It only took a little while for him to get the hang of it before he was cruising around by himself all be it a little shakey.
I"ve gotten plenty of road rash from my days as crit racer but none of it hurt anywhere near as much as the pain I felt watching a few of his low speed spills leaving a few minor scratches on his elbow as he gained his balance.

Saturday she called to ask if I would bring my bike when I came over because her son, now nine, wanted to go for a bike ride becasue it was so nice out. He wanted to ride over to his friend's house a couple of subdivisions away. It was the best ride on a sidewalk I have ever had. Watching him ride with confidence and skill, no more unsteadiness, enjoying the effort to get up the "big hill" he couldn't do before and laughing going down the other side "at speed" was undescribeable.

I hope he keeps wanting to go for a bike ride. I don't know who had more fun, him or me but I hope it is something we can keep sharing.

[Cary Ford]

Saturday, Swoop tried to pick a fight on the way up Latigo Cyn with a bug-eyed, spittle-riddled, sock wearing Manson Family reject who was trying to run us off the road in a camper van festooned with "Combat Medic" and "Paratrooper" stickers. After we turned around and descended back to the PCH in order to save our own lives, it was a good ride in 90 degree heat along the coast.

[stevep]

had a good ride w/ child #1 up in vermont. she has a route, we explored more and did a nice long dirt climb on a 7 mile dirt road to complete a cool cut through that seemed like it would work to me...3 hrs.
amazingly it did.
s
in the vicinity of montpelier.
northfield maybe, i forget the rest ...dotn know it up there much... cross bike is the bike up there... a lot oif the cool roads turn to dirt for part of the time..
thanks zanc.

[swoop]

Saturday, Swoop tried to pick a fight on the way up Latigo Cyn with a bug-eyed, spittle-riddled, sock wearing Manson Family reject who was trying to run us off the road in a camper van festooned with "Combat Medic" and "Paratrooper" stickers. After we turned around and descended back to the PCH in order to save our own lives, it was a good ride in 90 degree heat along the coast.

i didn't like the way he was dressed and was certain you wouldn't p*ssy out if he pulled a gun (which we both know he was about to do). besides, i am a marginally better descender than you.... and felt for sure with you being a bigger (8 inches taller) target... that i had a chance. i would have said nice things about you putting yourself in harms way.

in retrospect... me coming over the top of the van and shouldering his front quarter panel wouldn't have forced him down the ravine. i forget about reality stuff sometimes... toothless homeless people in camper vans and cutoff jeans shorts suck balls.

[Cary Ford]

Not to mention his "advance party" in forest green 60's econoline van with matching (missing) teeth

i imagine there was a hairy woman breast feeding a litter of puppies inside one of those vehicles...

it's moments like that I really wish there was a concealed carry law in cali... a little seecamp in the jersey pocket could have helped out if we had gotten boxed in...

[sbornia]

35 miles into what was supposed to be a 100 miler, my right Ergo lever died. Got lucky that the spring broke *after* I finished the 15% grade up McEwen Road in Crockett. Stuck in the 12 cog for the next 20 miles, mostly flat to Lafayette. No way to climb back over the Berkeley hills in that gear, so I met the GF for lunch and a ride home. Nice ride anyway!

[Jack Brunk]

107 degrees on the bike computer climbing rock store on Saturday. I saw so many Ducati's that I thought I really needed one. Then a guy going 70 plus towards the top does a standing wheelie and then he see's the Highway Patrol waiting for him to write him a ticket. No he got arrested and the bike impounded. I think I'll stay with two legged powered bikes. Back to the climb, man it was a hot weekend here in Socal and I spent almost 8 hours in the heat coffin. Did a 4 mile trail run today.

[WadePatton]

Great ride with old riding buds in the second ever My County metric. We took our sweet time and chatted it up the whole way. Got to ride some roads I won't do solo. Drivers were good, dogs weren't too bad. Everybody finished and nobody went down.

Was a bit wet, but didn't matter much.

[Waldo]

I did the Devil Mountain Double -- 206 miles with 18,000+ feet of climbing. Forumites Sean Smith and Jeff Gould were there too. Those guys are scary fast. Glorious weather, prevailing tailwinds, gorgeous scenery. Started at 5:00 a.m., finished at 9:27 p.m. Was thrilled to have finished and very happy with my time. Very long and detailed report tomorrow.

[rwsaunders]

We had two great weather days in a row and I was able get out early on both days to enjoy the sunshine and the coffee. Saturday's ride was with my friend who's been a slave to his kid's hockey season, so it was nice to get the bs sessions back in gear. My wife this, my wife that...you know the drill.

About a mile from home on Sunday, I noticed a puzzled looking cyclist at the top of the hill, dismounted from his Madone and trying to spin his rear wheel. In true Forumite fashion, I stopped and offered assistance and we both spent a couple of minutes playing with the wheel...two monkeys romancing a football if you know what I mean.

After I loosened the skewer and popped the wheel back in place, he was off and running. Sometimes the obvious is just begging to be, but it felt good to pose as a pro wrench.

[stevep]

I did the Devil Mountain Double -- 206 miles with 18,000+ feet of climbing. Forumites Sean Smith and Jeff Gould were there too. Those guys are scary fast. Glorious weather, prevailing tailwinds, gorgeous scenery. Started at 5:00 a.m., finished at 9:27 p.m. Was thrilled to have finished and very happy with my time. Very long and detailed report tomorrow.

sounds like a great ride vlad.
18k is a lot for anyone living on cape cod.

[jeffg]

I did the Devil Mountain Double -- 206 miles with 18,000+ feet of climbing. Forumites Sean Smith and Jeff Gould were there too. Those guys are scary fast. Glorious weather, prevailing tailwinds, gorgeous scenery. Started at 5:00 a.m., finished at 9:27 p.m. Was thrilled to have finished and very happy with my time. Very long and detailed report tomorrow.

Vlad had a GREAT ride. He paced himself beautifully, watched his nutrition and finished strong -- not easy to do in the first attempt at this ride. He is also a great guy.

As for being scary fast on the bike, that applies only to Sean, who passed me on the way into the lunch stop (about mile 110?) having started with the fast group at 6:00 (Vlad and I started at 5:00 with the normal folk).

As applied to me, scary fast describes the gastrointestinal distress I found myself in after not being able to tolerate Sustained Energy and that had me go from feeling invincible to &^%*&%$ . Quite comical to have to excuse yourself from the women hotter than cowgirl at the lunch stop ready to give you a massage in order to find a place to spend a few minutes doing a multicolor yawn! Anywho, that (and its aftermath) is another long story

It was a great day all around (all things considered) and congratulations to Vlad and Sean!

[wanderingwheel]

As applied to me, scary fast describes the gastrointestinal distress I found myself in after not being able to tolerate Sustained Energy and that had me go from feeling invincible to &^%*&%$ . Quite comical to have to excuse yourself from the women hotter than cowgirl at the lunch stop ready to give you a massage in order to find a place to spend a few minutes doing a multicolor yawn! Anywho, that (and its aftermath) is another long story

It was a great day all around (all things considered) and congratulations to Vlad and Sean!

Good to meet both you and Vlad on Saturday. That ride ended up being much harder than I had hoped. My excuse (I think it's a reasonable excuse) is that I spent the week leading up to the Devil Mountain Double in Norway in business, returned home Friday evening, and wasn't able to get much riding in since the Mulholland Double two weeks before. I had a good ride up until lunch, getting there only about 30 minutes behind the lead riders, which in retrospect was much too fast. After lunch, the heat got to me, which is very rare for me, and I had to stop on both Hamilton and Sierra to cool off. Finally got back up to speed for Calaveras and rest of the ride. My time was 14:37, I'm curious to see where that places me when the results come out.

Jeff, I gave up Sustatined Energy many years ago for similar reasons. One explanation I heard is that all of its protein is very difficult to digest if your going at more than a moderate effort. I now go with water, simple sports drinks, light energy bars like Luna and Lara, fruit, candy, and a coke for the finale.

I'm headed out to the Central Coast Double in two weeks in Paso Robles, anyone else?

Sean