Weekend ride reports, please

[Bruce K]

It's time we started doing this again.

The weather is warming up, people are riding more, and it's always fun to see who is doing what.

I'll start with a 45 mile jaunt through the North Shore area of Boston with about 12 of our local club. Pretty intense pace. Lots of fun.

Today, a beautiful New England spring day, 47 miles with a few less folks at a slightly more subdued pace due to a nasty headwind.

Recovery ride tomorrow evening if it doesn't rain.

BK

[ty-ro]

Fast 35 mile hilly solo ride on Saturday and a 60 mile ride with a couple of friends today. The weather here is stunning at the moment. Spring is here!

[RudAwkning]

I'm retarded:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=58584

[JBone]

75 miles yesterday which was not as hot as today. trying to put some miles in for next weekend's Alpine Challenge in San Diego. gosh hope it's not going to be too hot next weekend.

[joelh]

40 mile group ride today in central NC. Overcast and a bit of breeze, but a very nice day on the bike with good company. Nice day!

[regularguy412]

Off day on Saturday- rainy and I wasn't feeling so hot.

Got in a solid 40 today with a little climbing. I would have ridden more, but ended up racing the thunderstorm to my house. I won by 15 minutes. :D

More storms coming in this afternoon, so I'll do something easy tomorrow and set my sights on a group ride Tuesday night.

Mike in AR:beer:

[Elefantino]

Saturday: 47 flat miles straight no stops fast pace.

Today: 60 miles around Clermont, Fla., hill country. Had absolutely no legs today. Beautiful day, but I sucked.

Oh. And one of my gold crowns was dislodged by SportBeans. Fortunately, I didn't swallow it.

[Ray]

Friday about 40 hilly miles pretty hard. Saturday about 35 semi-hilly pretty easy. Today (Sunday) we went to the Phillies game. Prettiest weekend of the year so far - not even close. Starting to really feel pretty consistently good on the bike again. Happens every spring!

I seem to have lost my appetite for long rides, so most of 'em are 30-40 with the occasional 50 miler. Instead of doing a few centuries per year like I used to, I might do one or two metrics. I have nothing to prove anymore (to the extent I ever did) and its still the second most fun I know how to have on a regular basis.

-Ray

[1centaur]

Today, a beautiful New England spring day, 47 miles with a few less folks at a slightly more subdued pace due to a nasty headwind.
BK

Rolled the Idol today, comfortable bike with handbuilts to let the wind pass through, hit Bruce's headwind with legs in recovery mode and decided to just focus on technique and not look at the speedo. Did 53 miles at a respectable pace nonetheless. Next weekend may be 72 and sunny, which would be the first ride of the year with pasty white leg skin showing.

[Bruce K]

NO KNEEWARMERS ?!?!!!

:banana: :banana: :banana:

BK

[jvp]

~57 mtn. miles on sat...blue ridge parkway from asheville up to craggy gardens and return. I think mt. mitchell is in the backround:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/bianchi026.jpg
To get to craggy, I had to ride the closed "cyclocross" construction section, they waved me through!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/bianchi028.jpg
I rode my '89 paramount w/ 39/26 for the climbs. I was slow.

[false_Aest]

Friday: Busted ass at work to start the weekend/birthday celebration early. Had an encounter with a driver---no contact just a form of road rage;called police. 65F 33 miles.

Saturday: Birthday. 50-ish miles. 70F Saw cows, horses, dead deer, ground hog, and had my first encounter with chipseal. Easy pace for the ride. Just happy to be out and alive for another year. Back home and 2 beers for celebration.

Sunday: 65F 33-miles. Moderate pace. Rain at the end. Got a craving for a burger. Ate it... and fries. Guilt. Full stomach. (No more cravings for a month or so I hope)

[joelh]

I really want to ride the parkway. I was thinking Pisgah to Asheville. I'm not sure that I am ready for the climbs that you took.

[Pete Serotta]

I was wondering if they had opened that stretch yet....guess I can see from pictures,,,,Looks like you had a wonderful day. RALEIGH had sun and on SAT actually got up close to 80. Today it was about 60 and cloudy. Good rides both days....

~57 mtn. miles on sat...blue ridge parkway from asheville up to craggy gardens and return. I think mt. mitchell is in the backround:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/bianchi026.jpg
To get to craggy, I had to ride the closed "cyclocross" construction section, they waved me through!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/bianchi028.jpg
I rode my '89 paramount w/ 39/26 for the climbs. I was slow.

[Smiley]

47 mile ride, nuf said

[jvp]

I really want to ride the parkway. I was thinking Pisgah to Asheville. I'm not sure that I am ready for the climbs that you took.

Just do it. I had no mtn. prep for my ride, just bike commuting and some hilly weekend rides here in Raleigh. I noticed that the really long climbs up there were composed of different sections or "pitches" of different grades, some easy some hard. The hard sections were rarely very long, so I could recover pretty well climbing the easier sections that followed. I rode conservetively (sp?) pretty much the whole time. If I had managed my food and water a little better I would of been faster I think. Here's a view of craggy from the construction zone:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/bianchi029.jpg

Me up at craggy, self-pic w/ weird sun wash:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/bianchi030.jpg

[csi & legend ti]

Got out on Sunday and did 57 miles with 3300 feet of climbing.

Rode from Mass into Vermont then back to Mass. Very windy day.

[BillyBear]

too much snow, maybe tomorrow.

[Larry D]

Saturday was cold, windy and on-off rain in Northern VT so no ride.

Today, temps in high 40s and a bit of a wind blowing, I got out late in the afternoon for 30 miles in the Northeast Kingdom. Not much traffic, so snow still on the higher peaks and in the shaded areas and the lovely spring smell of fresh manure spread over the meadows.

You gotta love VT in the spring. Surprisingly the roads are in very good condition where I have gone. Staying away from Rte 12 from Elmore to Montpelier, it is a nightmare.

[Steve in SLO]

Did a road race on Friday, WINDY, but great course. About 45 miles of rolling terrain with a 3.5+ mile climb to the finish. UGH and WHEW! the pic says it all.
Saturday brought a circuit race where we rode around Laguna Seca Raceway for 50+ minutes. Very fun but also hard. Great crowd interaction.
If you haven't been to the Sea Otter, it's a west coast classic event. Lots for everybody: races of every degree, road and MTB, carnival stuff for the kids, demos from many manufacturers and LOTS of vendors. Very great vibe.

[Jack Brunk]

Yesterday did the metric century in Death Valley. 65 miles and 5800 ft of climbing and every foot of climbing was into a headwind(25-60mph) that started at 6:15am. 5 plus hours of grueling rding except I was on my new Kirk JKS and people if your considering stainless steel please PM me for some insight into how much of an effin genius Dave Kirk is. A new set of 840 gram Edge wheels were also a welcome addition to the steed.

Today a 21.6 mile ride done in one hour to test my legs. they passed.

[PaMtbRider]

South central Pa. had perfect weather Friday for cycling so I got my first century in for the year before going to work on 2nd shift Friday afternoon. I was hoping for a recovery ride Saturday, but my wife wanted to put in some faster miles so we compromised with a 38 mile ride in the morning and kayaking in the afternoon.

[majl]

If you haven't been to the Sea Otter, it's a west coast classic event. Lots for everybody: races of every degree, road and MTB, carnival stuff for the kids, demos from many manufacturers and LOTS of vendors. Very great vibe.
I was waitin' for someone to chime in about Sea Otter. Thought I was the only forumite there. First time at the event and you are absolutely right - it's a virtual candy store for us bike geeks!

So here's my weekend riding:

Friday: Sea Otter MTB XC Race (Cat 3): 20 miles, 2750 ft. Placed 9th in my age group (40-44) out of a field of 84. I was jazzed! :banana:

Saturday: Took my 66-year old father out for his second road ride (first was 3 weeks ago) and we did a 21-mile gentle loop in the Portola Valley / Woodside area. I've been trying for a few years now to get him on a bike and I think he's really enjoying it!

Sunday: Did a big ride with my riding group that we dubbed the 3-Hills Climb. King's Mountain, Tunitas Creek, and West Alpine. 77 miles and 7400 ft. Both were personal bests for me in terms of length and elevation gain. West Alpine was the toughest as we hit it at around 1pm and it was scorching hot. I felt strong for the first two climbs but then bonked in the hot sun on the final one. One of my riding mates was super strong and was kind enough to stay with me, giving me encouragement and towing me to the summit.

All in all, a spectacular weekend of riding! :D

[jbrainin]

Friday: a rolling 41 miles with two others riders, not too fast but not too slow.
Saturday: a hard, hilly 55 miler with 6 other riders. Too fast, pushed too hard up the hills.
Sunday (today): another hilly 55 miler with 6 other riders but this one was much slower as I (thankfully) had to nurse one slower rider around the route.

Total miles: 151
Total feet climbed: 11700

Altogether, it was a very nice weekend.

[Waldo]

I'm retarded:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=58584

As the famous t-shirt says, "I'm with stupid," which makes me stupd too. Saturday: 206 miles, over 18,000 feet of climbing, 16:42 minutes. JeffG and WanderingWheel were on the ride as well. Jeff finished in 15:07 and WW in 15:30. Sunday: even walking feels not so good, so no riding.

[victoryfactory]

Sat, 3 hrs, Sun, 3 hrs
Oh, my aching lugs!
The old fat man finally unhooked me from that mechanical
thing that wears the rubber of my rear wheel and took me
out for a ride. Now I just wish he would drop about 10 lbs and
give my seat rails a break....

VF's bike

[SpyderA4t]

33 miles in at Blue Hills reservation in Milton, MA. 3k feet of climbing which is pretty good in this neck of the woods. 3x up the hill and it felt good to stop

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/3925586

http://www.northeastcycling.com/Hill_Climbs.html

[bronk]

35 Sat, 45 Sun and 25 Monday -- all in the North Yorkshire Moors in Northeaster England. Been working here off-and-on since last September and it's finally starting to become decent riding weather.

A couple observations:

-- the north yorkshire moors are a fantastic place to ride. low traffic, great roads, nice countryside, good climbs.
-- everyone hammers around here -- even the old ladies with the basket-bikes. (everyone also tends to mash. haven't seen a spinner yet).
-- riding is taken seriously and I've been passed twice this month by guys going much faster than me
-- there are some seriously steep banks (climbs) around here and a 12-25 rear cassette isn't enough
-- the standard hello to a fellow cyclist is a simple twist of the head (takes some getting used to)

Anyone from these parts want to shed some light?

[nahtnoj]

Did about 95 miles out of Philly on Sunday. Got started around noon and weather was great until around 4:30 when the wind started picking up. Rode from Valley Forge back to East Falls down the SRT with a pretty stiff headwind.

[Cinci Jim]

Rode like a dream! Did about 30 miles - setting the disc brakes and still need to dial in the stoker's stem.

This machine is going to be the regular weekend rider for the next several weekends!

[onekgguy]

I had a couple of good days last week. 81 miles (http://kevinandtammy.net/ride/2009_4-15_81_miles.png) on Wednesday and another 82 miles (http://www.kevinandtammy.net/ride/2009_4-18_82_miles.png) on Saturday.

We're back into some more spring-like, cool, rainy weather this week but it's supposed to be warm again by the weekend here in Minnesota.

Kevin g