Weekend Ride Reports

[Topper]

I did the first weekend ride in more than nine months, a mere 35 miler. I understand goose's dilemma, but I am soo out of shape, I dare not ride with the boys. I finished by 8:30 and the temperatures shot past 100. Tomorrow on my second weekend ride in nine months. To add insult to injury, Mrs. Topper, went out to run five miles, but said she lost track and ran nine. She once took me out for seven, and we ended up doing 15. (I reminded her, I think we hit seven back there a long ways ago. "Oh don't be such a ninny, aren't the trees pretty?").

I wonder if my legs will ever return. Of course, I learned riding with a few cups of water in the desert heat is not a good idea.

[BigFatMeanie]

41 miles today - rode the Alpine loop this morning for the first time ever as part of the Timpanogos Gran Fondo. My time was slow but I was just happy to make it to the top.

[Topper]

41 miles today - rode the Alpine loop this morning for the first time ever as part of the Timpanogos Gran Fondo. My time was slow but I was just happy to make it to the top.

Congrats. That is a fun loop.

[RC Vikings]

We went down and did 60 miles in the Pocatello area. My riding buddies have done this a few times but this was my first and it was nice. Right outside the city are four really good climbs and on quiet roads. I've never riden on a road that leads to a ski resort that it didn't hurt and that truth continued today. I really struggle climbing but it was a good day.

[scottie]

41 miles today - rode the Alpine loop this morning for the first time ever as part of the Timpanogos Gran Fondo. My time was slow but I was just happy to make it to the top.

Nice. Did you do that with anyone I know? Have you been riding to or from your office yet?

[Topper]

We went down and did 60 miles in the Pocatello area. My riding buddies have done this a few times but this was my first and it was nice. Right outside the city are four really good climbs and on quiet roads. I've never riden on a road that leads to a ski resort that it didn't hurt and that truth continued today. I really struggle climbing but it was a good day.

You are very modest. I call you the power train. Just hitch yourself to the power train and hang on for the ride.

[BrutusBuckeye]

The wife and kids are out of town for three weeks and I thought I would be getting a lot of riding in. Unfortunately, the work needed on my bike and the heat have kept me from riding as much as I planned. I've done a couple of mountain bike rides, but nothing significant. This past Saturday I pushed myself out the door for a ride up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Overall, it was a fun ride. My plan for this week is to do a few shorter rides with a longer one this Saturday. We'll see...

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/334902943

[bluegoose]

The wife and kids are out of town for three weeks and I thought I would be getting a lot of riding in. Unfortunately, the work needed on my bike and the heat have kept me from riding as much as I planned. I've done a couple of mountain bike rides, but nothing significant. This past Saturday I pushed myself out the door for a ride up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Overall, it was a fun ride. My plan for this week is to do a few shorter rides with a longer one this Saturday. We'll see...

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/334902943

Wow that is a big climb. What kind of grades do you run into on that climb?

And your HR was crazy high, both for the peak and for the average. Can I ask your age, and is that red line for you, or did you have a little reserve left at the end of the climb? I don't think I've seen 194 on my monitor except for a little blip at the beginning when it is still picking up a good reading.

[BrutusBuckeye]

Wow that is a big climb. What kind of grades do you run into on that climb?

And your HR was crazy high, both for the peak and for the average. Can I ask your age, and is that red line for you, or did you have a little reserve left at the end of the climb? I don't think I've seen 194 on my monitor except for a little blip at the beginning when it is still picking up a good reading.

There are some stretches of 10% grade, but they're generally not too long. There are some shorter bursts that are around 12%. It's quite a long grind, though. I've driven that canyon probably over 1,000 times, but didn't ever appreciate how steep it was until Saturday. I've ridden the upper portion on a mountain bike, but the steeper sections are near the bottom.

As for my HR, I tend to run it a little higher than I should. I'm 35, so I believe my target HR should be about 157 (going by the (220-35)*0.85 method). I just got my HR monitor so I can regulate it better, but I'm still getting accustomed to it. Also, when I do a new route, I tend to push it higher for some reason. At the top, I was completely gassed. I had been passed a little earlier and I was making a push to keep up with that person. Looking back at some of my earlier rides on routes I am familiar with, my HR seemed to average just above 157. I'm planning on doing it again in the near future, so I guess I'll see if it goes down any.

[BigFatMeanie]

Not with anyone you know. The people you know said, "Why would I want to pay an entry fee to ride in that ride when I can just ride it whenever I want for free?"

I've been doing about 100 miles per week on the bike lately - done about 1100 total miles so far this year. I bring my bike on the train in the morning and then ride home after work. It's about 17 miles from the office to home.

[PaloAltoCougar]

The entire family is gathering for an early celebration of Mrs. PAC's 60th, so this morning she, our oldest daughter, two sons-in-law (Parrothead had to work--boooo) and I beat the heat by heading out before 7. We avoided the hills and had a blast. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn on my Garmin until we finished my pull that took us out to Livermore. Still, we had a decent average (17) over 40 miles despite the lights and one modest climb (Piney, the SIL on the right, and I did this a few weeks ago on the way to Diablo). There's something both awesome and embarrassing about drafting a 60 year-old grandma doing 24 mph in the flats.

We finished refreshed and ready for party time this evening.

[Moliere]

Some of the long rides you guys do are incredibly impressive and when you guys do all that climbing it just blows my mind. I rode 34 miles this morning with some ward friends and over that entire length I had 519 ft of elevation gain. At about mile 28 I hit an overpass and tried to power up it but was gassed and just geared down. I can't imagine climbing and climbing and climbing.

I did make it along at a good clip for me (over 18pmh) but it's not as impressive if you know that I never pulled the group. We had 4 riders and I am easily the weakest of the 4, but they were happy to lead the way and push me quite a bit. At mile 30 I was really done so I dropped from them (that's when they made a final push and actually finished stronger) and slowed down to around 15-16. Anyway, for my 3rd ride in about 6 months I was pretty happy.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/338215637

[RC Vikings]

Yesterday I was getting ready to go and I fell over in my driveway on the side I was clipped into. It took a little bit of skin off my knee but it was more embarrassing than anything else. I get going and just before I get out of town I hit some RR tracks and pinch the tube. At this point I feel the cycling Gods are telling me to call it a day and head home. I came home mowed the lawn and then went golfing. I hope today works out better.

[RC Vikings]

I had a new experience today. About five miles into my ride I'm out on this quiet country road that is home to a big fast angry dog. While I'm on the lookout for this dog I get hit in the back of the head. It felt like someone threw a football at me but the sound was of a hard object. I had no idea what was going on until I looked behind me and this big bird is hovering about fifteen feet above my head and looking to attack again. I put my head down and got the hell out of there but I wasn't real sure what to do if he came after me again. It's not enough that I have to worry about a ground attack from all the dogs in the area but if I have to start worrying about attacks from the air also I'm screwed.

BTW the other 35 miles were nice with no problems today.

[BrutusBuckeye]

I wasn't planning on doing a huge ride this weekend, but a buddy of mine called me and talked me into going out with him and a few others on a training ride for Lotoja. This buddy hasn't really been riding much lately so he said he would probably just turn back at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. I told him I'd be happy to turn back with him since that is all I was planning on anyway. Having had similar experiences with this friend before, I took extra food and money in preparation of him changing his mind. As expected, he did.

I was worried about bonking, so I paid a lot of attention to my heart rate. I think this helped me out a lot. My climb up Big Cottonwood was a little slower, but I felt a lot fresher at the top and that was probably how I was able to be persuaded to continue on. Even by the end I was feeling pretty good, except for that I started to feel some pressure points on my feet.

Overall, it was a beautiful ride with almost perfect weather.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/338455244