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  • #16
    Snow on Mt. Diablo and all of the surrounding hills, not to mention the prospect of cold rain this morning, combined to keep Mrs. PAC and me indoors. We went to the gym and did our first spin class together. It was kind of funny how sweaty we got, not realizing until now we're probably sweating that much on real rides, but the steady 15-20 mph breeze keeps us dry.

    It was a great workout, but we agreed there are better ways to work up a sweat indoors on a Saturday morning.

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    • #17
      Made my inaugural mountain bike ride of the new year yesterday. Rode in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. The weather was nice -high 50s. We got in our ride before gale force winds set in. There is a loop I like to ride that is about 6 miles long, so yesterday I decided to do two loops. On the second loop downhill I broke traction on the bike and took a tumble, scraping my leg. I had remarked before the ride that I needed new tires for my bike as the tread is getting awfully thin. So I am blaming the crash on my poor tires rather than my bike handling skills It was great to get on the mountain bike. Carving singletrack is sheer fun.
      Last edited by John McClain; 02-21-2011, 03:19 PM.
      Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.
      Albert Einstein

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      • #18
        Spring is on the way. We went 42 miles up to the Calaveras Reservoir and back. We were not alone, passing close to 200 other cyclists on the ride. Most of them seemed to be relative newcomers training for a big benefit ride later this spring.

        As usual, at the end of the ride we jammed it on the final straightaway and were sailing along at over 25 mph. We both thought we were much cooler than we really are.

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        • #19
          Originally posted by PaloAltoCougar View Post
          Spring is on the way. We went 42 miles up to the Calaveras Reservoir and back. We were not alone, passing close to 200 other cyclists on the ride. Most of them seemed to be relative newcomers training for a big benefit ride later this spring.

          As usual, at the end of the ride we jammed it on the final straightaway and were sailing along at over 25 mph. We both thought we were much cooler than we really are.
          Jealous PAC. I've got spring fever bad!
          "Newton's First Law of Motion: ...things at rest tend to stay at rest. Things in motion, tend to stay in motion...."

          Hmm... Good motivation for me to remain active I guess.

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          • #20
            I finally got out on my mt bike this weekend. The roads are still covered in dirt and gravel from the winter so I'm not ready to take the road bike out yet. We've had a ton of snow this winter and on some of the farm roads I'm riding between drifts that are piled as high as ten feet. I feel like I'm riding down a toboggan run. I got 27 miles in today and the whole time I was jealous of PAC and the weather in NorCal.

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            • #21
              We had a really good ride out Mines Road, a long climb that will be part of the Tour of California's Stage 4. We did 53 miles and felt great afterward. It seems like the greatest benefit of the weight training the past five months (three days a week with lots of lifting and ab/back work) has been much better core strength--I don't feel tired at all in my back or midsection as I used to after long rides.

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              • #22
                Oh, man, there'll be no keeping up with you on the CUF ride.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by mtnbiker View Post
                  Oh, man, there'll be no keeping up with you on the CUF ride.
                  Worry not; I feel better, but I'm not faster. We averaged 15 mph today. There was a lot of climbing, but still...

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                  • #24
                    Thirty miles and it's still cold. This is the worst of it but it still looks like a long time until spring.



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                    • #25
                      Took a little break from work yesterday and did my first outdoor ride of the year. A little 18-mile spin down to Utah Lake and back. It was wonderfully therapeutic.
                      "There is no creature more arrogant than a self-righteous libertarian on the web, am I right? Those folks are just intolerable."
                      "It's no secret that the great American pastime is no longer baseball. Now it's sanctimony." -- Guy Periwinkle, The Nix.
                      "Juilliardk N I ibuprofen Hyu I U unhurt u" - creekster

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                      • #26
                        Got ont he bike saturday for the first rid since August I think. Felt great to get an easy 27 miles in.

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                        • #27
                          We're three weeks away from our toughest century ride yet (6300 feet of climbing), and I'm not ready. Unfortunately, it's been raining a lot. So I went to the gym for a spinning class taught by "Elsa", who I assumed would be a tall, nubile Swedish blonde. Instead, she was a short, middle-aged Asian woman (I love the American names they choose) who bore a disturbing resemblance to Sessue Hayakawa's camp commander character in Bridge on the River Kwai. But she was awesome, directing a great 60-minute workout (man, I can't believe how much one sweats on a bike in an enclosed room), all the while shouting out faux angry commands and declarations. "You too slow! You get fat! Work harder!!!!" I'd rather be outside, but I feel like I did 40 miles this morning.

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                          • #28
                            The missus and I continued our century prep by going 60 miles today, with 4200 feet of climbing (per Garmin, a mere 2900 per MapMyRide). Gorgeous weather, with full reservoirs and creeks along the way. This is the best time of year to ride in NorCal. The hills are a vivid green, and the temps are perfect. I'm going to take a nap, so nobody call me for the next hour or so.

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                            • #29
                              I broke out the road bike for it's first ride this season. The wind was blowing strong so I headed straight into it and after suffering for about an hour and forty minutes of 13 and 14 mph I turned around and enjoyed 50 minutes of high twenties and low thirties. I hate the wind.

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                              • #30
                                RC - I agree...there is nothing more discouraging than trying to ride in the wind. I hate the wind, and I have self proclaimed the Wasatch Valley as the "Windiest Place on Earth". I don't care what day it is, or time of year it is...there is always a wind blowing here for several reasons.

                                1) if there is a northern wind...it's coming straight down the valley;
                                2) if there is a southern wind...it's coming straight up the valley;
                                3) all the east side canyons create wind blasts coming from the east where one would think the mountains would block it out...nope;
                                4) same with the west side....canyon winds instead of wind blocking mountains.

                                Wasatch Range = wind tunnel

                                First ride of the year outside this weekend. 20 miles of just getting lost. Went up Redwood Road (excellent bike lane) to Camp Williams, then down to the Jordan River Trail. It's blocked now due to the new bridge construction...so, I got off and got lost on random roads while working my way back to Saratoga Springs.

                                As Lebowski stated...there is certainly something theraputic about riding...love it.

                                Friday...was 73 degrees and sunny. By Saturday night...there was about 3 inches of snow on the ground and blowing like a hurricane. Ugh. I need to move to California...
                                "Newton's First Law of Motion: ...things at rest tend to stay at rest. Things in motion, tend to stay in motion...."

                                Hmm... Good motivation for me to remain active I guess.

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