Weekend Ride Reports

[RC Vikings]

Thirty three miles with my son today. He's just getting into it and today he learned what it felt like to bonk. It's really been enjoyable to ride with him and I would never tell him but the old man gets a little bit of joy kicking his butt.

[mtnbiker]

I'm in rotten shape, but managed to get in 32 miles. Definitely nice to get out.

[PaloAltoCougar]

With rain and high winds expected yesterday, we rode Friday morning, getting in 54 miles through the hills with near-perfect riding conditions. Our century is in two weeks and we're ready.

Yesterday was the area's Cinderella Classic, in which a few thousand women do either a metric or full century. Unfortunately, it was raining very hard at the start (and for most of the day) with winds between 15 and 20 mph, and yet there were still a few knuckleheads brave women out there. Would any of you intentionally ride in such conditions?

[RC Vikings]

Typical windy spring day in Rexburg. I ride south until I can't stand it anymore and then turn around and enjoy the ride home.

[PaloAltoCougar]

For our last big ride before next Saturday's century, we rode 72 miles (Collier Canyon, Patterson Pass, and finally to Calaveras). Beautiful day, with only mild winds. The hills are a gorgeous green and there were far more riders than cars in the hills. Here's a shot at the 55-mile mark taken with my iPhone:

During a ten-mile stretch in the relative flats, with the wind at our backs Mrs. PAC and I were cranking along at 25+ and having a blast. As much as we loved having the kids at home, there are a great many upsides to an empty nest.

[Jarid in Cedar]

First ride of the year

[mtnbiker]

What??? No helmets? Scandalous!


Just kidding. Very cute! Hope you had a fun ride.

[Commando]

I don't bike... yet. But if I did, I would get this without even thinking about it.

[PaloAltoCougar]

After last week's ordeal (no bathroom facilities, plus wind and rain for 6+ hours), my first day back in the saddle was outstanding. Clear skies, no wind and temps in the high 60s. The 36-mile out and back to Calaveras Reservoir seemed like a short sprint, and the green hills are at their best. And I crushed Mrs. PAC. The fact that she has logged nearly 250 miles this week, donated blood three days ago, did a heavy weights workout yesterday, and is a 58-year old grandma does not diminish the pride I take in this achievement.

[Pheidippides]

First day of ms150 - a ride from Houston to Austin. Brutal. 20mph headwinds most of the day. Team broke up so I was solo a lot of the day. Still averaged 17mph, which ain't bad, considering.

Tomorrow looks to be a much easier day.

[Pheidippides]

Today was much better. 71 miles for a total of 146. No wind, nice weather.

[mtnbiker]

Good job, niku. That first day into the wind can be such a challenge that a lot of people just blow off the second day. Glad you had a better ride. And all for a good cause, too.

[RC Vikings]

I went an easy 50 with the guys from work and then another 35 with my usual group Saturday. I was tired by the time it was all done but I feel like I'm finally getting fit and faster. I'm down ten pounds since January and it's made a huge difference.

[Pheidippides]

So, after ruminating on the weekend I've come to the conclusion that I'm a flatland sprinter at heart. The hills I did would make a lot of you chuckle (1600 feet of gain over 142 miles, averaged just over 17 mph including the day with the headwind) but I struggled. Clearly I need to do some more training to handle that ride next year.

[bluegoose]

I was able to sneak in a good ride on Saturday morning. Started early in temps of about 45 degrees, which rose to about 65 by the time we finished.

We took one of my favorite routes into the hills, with an extension that adds about 10 miles and some big climbs.

Overall it was 58 miles with just over 5,000 feet of climbing. I got to do one of the steeper sections, called Buzzards Roost, twice after we thought we lost one of our buddies. We went back down the mile climb to look for him, while he was pulled off the road taking a "natural break". He soldiered on while we were back down the hill, thinking we ditched him and just kept going up the hill. We finally found him about 20 miles later at the store eating some grub.

It was a good ride. The legs were climbing well and we all had plenty of zip to hammer some fun sections of road toward the end of the ride. I'm not quite there, but am feeling on track in my training for the Death Ride in a few months.

oh, and we added a new guy to the group this week. Young guy just moved into our ward that is a roadie. Its always nice to have more bodies on the big rides.