Weekend Ride Reports

[Pheidippides]

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85307977

I did 21 this morning. Beautiful morning. Almost ran over a squirrel. Then I almost hit a deer. And then a dog tried to attack me (thankfully he was very slow). All of which added to the experience.

I'm doing another 50 tomorrow, I think - same ride as last weekend. I'll be very honest: I'm envious of you guys with your elevation changes and such. I'd love to take a trip over the alpine loop.

[Borg]

[url] I'll be very honest: I'm envious of you guys with your elevation changes and such. I'd love to take a trip over the alpine loop.

Come up in the fall. Lebowski will kick your trash and con you into the mild mannered "Nebo Loop". I should have thanked him for that grind by puking on his bike. Was fun though. Probably the toughest climb I have ever done.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Mrs. PAC and I are up at Tahoe, bribing CHP officers in anticipation of this year's CUF Ride. This morning we rode a portion of the Tour of California's first stage which ends up at Northstar. Near the finish, there's a 1,000 foot climb, followed by an 800 foot descent and then a sharp left turn, followed by a short climb/sprint to the finish line. Going down the descent we hit 44 mph without pedaling or even a decent aero tuck. I assume the pros will be breaking the speed limit and the tight turn near the end should have a certain NASCAR quality to it.

Gorgeous weather to go along with a fun ride (36 miles). With the deepest snowpack in decades, the lake is already at capacity and there are small waterfalls everywhere. Tomorrow we'll probably return to Donner Summit.

[Borg]

PAC -

"deepest snowpack in decades"....."returning to Donner Pass tomorrow".

....um.....don't get stuck in the pass. Are you tougher than Mrs. PAC?

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Trying to avoid the women's prison, I see.

Me riding past that place in my Lycra Superman outfit would have resulted in some serious conjugal visits.

As for the interstate question, there's actually a bike path between the freeway and the flood control channel.

[Borg]

"Denied"!

Grinding up that blasted grade 10%ish I think on Suncrest...we were turned back about 1/4 of a mile from the top by a cloudburst! #$@!~! 1/4 mile! I wanted to go up and over as that was closer to my home (on the Utah County side) but both riding buddies did not want to get caught in the rain going down a 10% grade...so, we turned back and headed down.

Still too late as the thunder rolled (queue Garth Brooks) and down we went in the rain. The last 10-12 miles we rode in a complete "gully washer". Ugh!

[RC Vikings]

It was a little windy in the morning so I thought I would do some yard work and wait until the afternoon to see if the wind died down a little. In 40+ years here I've never seen the wind die down in the afternoon so i don't know what I was thinking. I went straight into the wind for about fifty minutes and then turned around and came home. Friday night was a little better and I got 46 miles in but it's been a windy spring.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85643888

[Jeff Lebowski]

The Lord taketh away and the Lord giveth...

Rode up to Vivian Park yesterday and when I got back down to the bottom of the canyon I noticed that my Garmin 305 had fallen out of the clip.

$?!&&)(:/??&&$#¥€%?!!!!!!!

I rode back up the canyon sick to my stomach. For some reason I recalled something hitting my foot on the way down (I thought it was a rock). I stopped at the approximate location and searched up and down the sides of the trail in the weeds. I gave up and was walking back to my bike and glanced over in the weeds one more time and there it was. Praise Jesus!!!

I need to work that into my testimony next month.

[bluegoose]

The Lord taketh away and the Lord giveth...

Rode up to Vivian Park yesterday and when I got back down to the bottom of the canyon I noticed that my Garmin 305 had fallen out of the clip.

$?!&&)(:/??&&$#¥€%?!!!!!!!

I rode back up the canyon sick to my stomach. For some reason I recalled something hitting my foot on the way down (I thought it was a rock). I stopped at the approximate location and searched up and down the sides of the trail in the weeds. I gave up and was walking back to my bike and glanced over in the weeds one more time and there it was. Praise Jesus!!!

I need to work that into my testimony next month.

Great, faith promoting story, JL. Thanks for sharing.

A few years ago when my buddy crashed out on a century, He was a little out of it after taking quite a hit on the head. All he could think about was what happened to his Polar bike computer, He asked probably 50 times in 20 mins. We combed through the road side weeds probably 10 times before finally seeing it tucked away in some trampled down weeds. I can't blame him for fixating on it - i think that model cost about $700.

[Coach McGuirk]

It was a little windy in the morning so I thought I would do some yard work and wait until the afternoon to see if the wind died down a little. In 40+ years here I've never seen the wind die down in the afternoon so i don't know what I was thinking. I went straight into the wind for about fifty minutes and then turned around and came home. Friday night was a little better and I got 46 miles in but it's been a windy spring.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85643888

Wish I could hold an 18 average into a headwind. I got caught today in 25mph head wind today for a good 8 miles. I finished the ride with a 14 ave.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/85946361

[Pheidippides]

The Lord taketh away and the Lord giveth...

Rode up to Vivian Park yesterday and when I got back down to the bottom of the canyon I noticed that my Garmin 305 had fallen out of the clip.

$?!&&)(:/??&&$#¥€%?!!!!!!!

I rode back up the canyon sick to my stomach. For some reason I recalled something hitting my foot on the way down (I thought it was a rock). I stopped at the approximate location and searched up and down the sides of the trail in the weeds. I gave up and was walking back to my bike and glanced over in the weeds one more time and there it was. Praise Jesus!!!

I need to work that into my testimony next month.

I wish I would have been so lucky with my 305. But it officially bit the dust Saturday, so garmin link for me.

Did the same 50 miler I did last weekend. Felt confident enough to take a pull of the group. Except I didn't know the protocol for telling people I was tired and to replace me (I know it now) so I just kept going. Ended up pulling for about 8-10 miles (unsure because of my dead garmin). I know that's no big deal for you vets but I appreciated people - knowing I was a newbie - telling me it was a good solid pull.

Nasty headwind for the second half of the ride, though, and that sucked.

[PaloAltoCougar]

As long as I'm posting cycling-related pics (see the Tour of California thread), here's one from last week. It's Calaveras Reservoir from the south (not far from where today's Tour stage will finish) along which we ride a few times each month. Our casa is about 20 miles to the north (top of the picture).

[Borg]

Wow PAC...beautiful. I think that would become my favorite loop living in that countryside.

[mtnbiker]

That looks really nice. How busy are the roads? Do you mostly have them to yourself on your scenic rides?

[PaloAltoCougar]

That looks really nice. How busy are the roads? Do you mostly have them to yourself on your scenic rides?

Yes, the road that goes along the reservoir (it's to the left in the pic, although it's hard to see), is nearly deserted. On weekends, one always sees more cyclists (usually at least a couple dozen) than cars (maybe 2-3). Sadly, the hills are starting to turn brown/gold.

Interestingly, they're rebuilding the dam (it's on the north side at the far end of the pic) and, for nearly two years, they're going to shut down the road altogether for motor vehicles, but it will remain open to cyclists.

We invite all Cuffers to come and partake.