Weekend Ride Reports

[PaloAltoCougar]

Hmmm... I've made my privacy settings to public. Not sure why it's not working.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/204576955

Weird; it opens up just fine now. It's interesting that on a small loop like that you still racked up >5000 feet of climbing. Nicely done.

[mtnbiker]

Wow, good job. Seems like it would be really boring to go around and around on a small circuit like that. Did they have streets blocked off so you wouldn't have to stop on every corner?

Those Garmins are pretty cool. Look at your top speed: 2,831.1 mph. You were really cruising! I guess that was an instantaneous velocity, and you spent the next 7 hours riding back?

[Parrot Head]

Wow, good job. Seems like it would be really boring to go around and around on a small circuit like that. Did they have streets blocked off so you wouldn't have to stop on every corner?

Those Garmins are pretty cool. Look at your top speed: 2,831.1 mph. You were really cruising! I guess that was an instantaneous velocity, and you spent the next 7 hours riding back?

Yeah, the update to the Garmin Connect site has gone horribly on the Max Speed field.

They do have the streets blocked off and that makes it a much easier ride and allows you to chat it up a bit. I also forgot to mention that I did the first 50 miles in a single gear (because my MIL thinks I'm crazy) before beginning to shift.

[bluegoose]

I'm having a hard time downloading data to Garmin connect right now, so I can't show any routes.

I have this annoying habit of taking my bike on nearly every vacation that we take. I don't get to take a ton of time off work, so when I do I make sure to do those things that I most enjoy. Any relaxing vacation wouldn't be complete for me without exploring a new area by bike.

In doing this, I've had some great rides through the coastal California redwoods, around Lake Tahoe, through Park City and Sundance, around central and southern UT, through the mountains near the south Yosemite entrance, all around the Sequoias and Sierra Nevada mountains, through Lassen Volcanic National park and now southern California.

Last week we were in Oxnard for 5 days on a family vacation. I was able to sneak in a couple of rides while there. One was up into the foothills from Ventura to Ojai. It was a nice ride along a bike trail the entire way. At one point we decided to venture off the bike path and follow the highway back to the coast. Apparently not a great idea as the road was not good and I got my first flat in about 5 years. A pinch flat with the classic snake bite on the tube. Its been so long since I've changed a tire that I almost forgot how and went through 2 CO2 cartridges, only to get about 40 psi in. Oh well.

Our second ride was along Hwy 101 for a few miles to Ventura then along the beach trail for several miles. We then headed east along the foothills through miles of lemon orchards before circling back around to Oxnard.

Both were very nice rides. The weather was perfect for riding, as it was a bit cool when we started but warmed up to about 70 degrees by the finish. About 34 miles each day.

Looking forward to Labor Day weekend when we head back up into Calaveras county for a family get-together. If the planets are aligned I should be able to sneak in a couple more good vacation rides before my road bike is sentence to time spent on the trainer as I don my running shoes for the rest of fall and winter.

[Parrot Head]

Looks like fun, 'goose -- except for the flat. I need to get out and ride in some places beyond my usual neck of the woods.

Last week, I had the distinct non-pleasure of telling a fellow rider (whom I didn't know) that it was time for him to invest in some new shorts. He didn't get the veiled hint right away, so I had to explain that his shorts, while not ripped, were sheer right at his crack. I waited until I could get him alone so the rest of the group wasn't completely aware of it and then our laughing made the rest of the climb difficult. So, folks, check your shorts when you get dressed next time!

[Marvin Hardtospell]

I'm visiting a friend near Flensburg which is in northern Germany on the Danish border. Brought my bicycle with me and have gone on a couple leisurely 30 mile rides in the morning before she wakes up. Has been absolutely fantastic. The country roads are in excellent condition and there is zero traffic. It is completely different from cycling in London. So much fun cycling through corn and rapeseed fields, pine forests, small villages with ancient bridges, wind farms, and even solar farms. So cool. I think I am hooked on traveling with my bicycle.

[kccougar]

I completed my first 50-mile ride this morning. I wonder if there could be an easier 50 miles out there. We rode around Bear Lake so it was very flat, and I had 4 scouts with me so our pace, at times, was like a snail. Average of 10 miles an hour. But for my younger son this was his first ride of any distance at all and he came through with flying colors so I'm glad about that.

[mtnbiker]

I completed my first 50-mile ride this morning. I wonder if there could be an easier 50 miles out there. We rode around Bear Lake so it was very flat, and I had 4 scouts with me so our pace, at times, was like a snail. Average of 10 miles an hour. But for my younger son this was his first ride of any distance at all and he came through with flying colors so I'm glad about that.

That's awesome that you managed to get the scouts around the lake. Cycling merit badge? Was that 10 mph based on total time, or actual ride time? I hope it's total time, including stops, because actual ride time at that speed would be excruciatingly slow.

[kccougar]

That's awesome that you managed to get the scouts around the lake. Cycling merit badge? Was that 10 mph based on total time, or actual ride time? I hope it's total time, including stops, because actual ride time at that speed would be excruciatingly slow.

Yes, cycling merit badge. 10 mph based on total time. We started at 6:00am and finished at 11:00. We were still excrutiatingly slow. Average moving speed was 12.3 mph.

[Coach McGuirk]

I have been concentrating on improving my running times this year. It has been painful to give up cycling but I have dedicated the last few Saturdays to cross training on the bike. I did a ride that I have done years past many times and averaged a 16.1 mph when previously I would have done this in no better than 15 mph tops. Seems the running is helping everywhere!

Distance: 22.52 mi
Time: 1:24:03
Avg Speed: 16.1 mph
Elevation Gain: 888 ft

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/209206581

[ERCougar]

I have been concentrating on improving my running times this year. It has been painful to give up cycling but I have dedicated the last few Saturdays to cross training on the bike. I did a ride that I have done years past many times and averaged a 16.1 mph when previously I would have done this in no better than 15 mph tops. Seems the running is helping everywhere!

Distance: 22.52 mi
Time: 1:24:03
Avg Speed: 16.1 mph
Elevation Gain: 888 ft

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/209206581

Nice job!
I'm a big fan of cross training too. Keeps away injuries and keeps me from getting bored or burned out. And I think the effect goes both ways--cycling helps running as much as the other way around.

Are you thinking about a 1/2 IM again?

[Coach McGuirk]

Nice job!
I'm a big fan of cross training too. Keeps away injuries and keeps me from getting bored or burned out. And I think the effect goes both ways--cycling helps running as much as the other way around.

Are you thinking about a 1/2 IM again?

I am. My running was just too slow to take any tri distance seriously, so I dedicated this year to getting that weakness shored up. After the half marathon in September, I will start a half IM training, but I need to pick a good one to train for.

[Eddie]

Had my first flat on the road since I was a kid this morning.

As it stays dark longer, I was out in the dark. I have a light, but apparently glanced away at the wrong moment and hit a pot hole pretty hard. Only 2 miles into a 25 mile ride.

I heard some hissing, and was flat pretty fast. So I hit the brakes to stop quick, kicked out my left foot since I usually put that foot down first, and promptly tipped over to the right. Another first.

So now I've got a bloody knee and a flat, siting on the side of the road in the dark. Luckily I was near a street light, where I headed to simplify things.

I was actually pretty proud of the fact that I was able to get the wheel off, the old tube out and the new tube in, and use a CO2 inflater for the first time without screwing it up. I hadn't taken extra cartridges and to be honest wasn't even sure how to use the dang thing - but got lucky.

Good times!

[PaloAltoCougar]

Had my first flat on the road since I was a kid this morning.

As it stays dark longer, I was out in the dark. I have a light, but apparently glanced away at the wrong moment and hit a pot hole pretty hard. Only 2 miles into a 25 mile ride.

I heard some hissing, and was flat pretty fast. So I hit the brakes to stop quick, kicked out my left foot since I usually put that foot down first, and promptly tipped over to the right. Another first.

So now I've got a bloody knee and a flat, siting on the side of the road in the dark. Luckily I was near a street light, where I headed to simplify things.

I was actually pretty proud of the fact that I was able to get the wheel off, the old tube out and the new tube in, and use a CO2 inflater for the first time without screwing it up. I hadn't taken extra cartridges and to be honest wasn't even sure how to use the dang thing - but got lucky.

Good times!

Did you finish the 25 miles? If I'm out of CO2 or a fresh tube, I take the shortest route home. Continuing on is either courageous or foolhardy, especially at night.

[Eddie]

Did you finish the 25 miles? If I'm out of CO2 or a fresh tube, I take the shortest route home. Continuing on is either courageous or foolhardy, especially at night.

It was in the morning - by the time I got the tube switched out it had started to get light.

My excuse is that I was feeling kind of pressed. We're sending the scouts on a 25 mile bike ride Saturday morning and I told them I would measure the distance - we want to drop them off 25 miles from home so that they'll have the motivation to keep going and we don't have any quitters. And today was really the only day I could get out to do it.

Usually I'm carrying CO2 and a pump. But I haven't gotten a flat on the road since I was a kid - so I quit taking the pump last week. (famous last words?)

But my saving grace in deciding to go forward is that my lovely wife was planning to pick me up at the far end of the 25 miles so that I didn't end up doing 50 today. So I pressed forward with the knowledge that if something bad happened she was already planning to come get me - and it just might result in my waiting a little longer for a ride - but I wouldn't be stranded.