Weekend Ride Reports

[Jeff Lebowski]

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.

You obviously have never been to Wayne County. The only time I have ever seen the wind not blow there is when we brought a bunch of kites to fly.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Mrs. PAC and I are leaving tomorrow morning for BYUI where we'll pick up the youngest. Thus, we had to go out today for our final big ride preparatory to next week's century. Until the winds came up late in the ride, it was spectacularly nice. Blue skies, cool (high 50s), and a very lightly traveled Mines Road (a part of the upcoming Tour of California). We did 80 miles with an elevation gain of either 2900 or 4600, depending on whether you believe MapMyRide or Garmin. Either way, it was a lot. But we haven't felt this good after a long ride, perhaps ever. I think it's the result of the offseason work we've done at the gym where we've done a lot of core and upper body stuff. The recreational drugs probably help, too.

I should be putting up the CUF Ride poll about locations, but notwithstanding the foregoing, I'm too tired. I'll get something up by the end of the weekend when we return.

[Borg]

PAC-
What century ride will you be riding in next week?

Hmmm...I'm considering throwing in for this one: http://tourdesummerlin.com/ it's coming up shortly and I've been on my bike once so far...hey....I'm ready.

[PaloAltoCougar]

PAC-
What century ride will you be riding in next week?

Hmmm...I'm considering throwing in for this one: http://tourdesummerlin.com/ it's coming up shortly and I've been on my bike once so far...hey....I'm ready.

Sorry for the delayed response. We've been on the road all day and now find ourselves in Idaho Falls, which apparently did not receive the memo that winter is over. Anyway, we're riding the Tierra Bella Century just south of the Bay Area. It has lotsa climbing, but I think we're ready; survival is our only goal.

[RC Vikings]

We've been on the road all day and now find ourselves in Idaho Falls, which apparently did not receive the memo that winter is over.

Welcome to eastern Idaho PAC. We have this one just beautiful week in August but other than that the weather sucks up here.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Feeling sorry for those whose locales have yet to emerge from winter, and filled with the spirit of Elijah (he was a great climber, btw), we decided to ride for our kindred somewhat-dead, and did a proxy ride for RC Vikings. We did the 30-mile Palomares Canyon loop that was gorgeously green and filled with the sound of falling water. We climbed over 2000 feet, but with that distance, we feel a whole lot better now than we did after last week's ride.

[bluegoose]

I'm back!!!

Well, sort of. For my first ride back from my annual running hiatus, I awoke to a light drizzle this am. A couple of text messages later and we were off on the road to give it a try. Ran only worsened the further I got from home. So I only got in about 10 miles before being driven off the road by heavy rain. Not wanting to miss out on a workout, I then took to the garage for a 45 minutes sludge fest on the trainer.

It felt good for those 10 miles and I am looking forward to finally getting some dry roads around here after getting drenched for much of the past 3 months.

[Parrot Head]

After a mix of rain, tornadoes and travel, I was able to get out on the new bike this afternoon. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to charge the Garmin so I can't provide any great details on the ride other than it being about 80 degrees, windy, and at least 8 minutes in duration -- but I'm sure it was much longer than that. But it did feel great to be out there.

From the ride today, I think that a lot of people in this area are fairly respectful of cyclists, though I did get one jerk who came up and honked right when he got on my tail. No oncoming traffic, I was hugging the line, he was just being an idiot.

[PaloAltoCougar]

After a mix of rain, tornadoes and travel, I was able to get out on the new bike this afternoon. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to charge the Garmin so I can't provide any great details on the ride other than it being about 80 degrees, windy, and at least 8 minutes in duration -- but I'm sure it was much longer than that. But it did feel great to be out there.

From the ride today, I think that a lot of people in this area are fairly respectful of cyclists, though I did get one jerk who came up and honked right when he got on my tail. No oncoming traffic, I was hugging the line, he was just being an idiot.

Welcome to the cycling clan! It gets better (and easier on the backside) the more you do it. We may have to get you some wheels for the upcoming visit.

[Viking]

I am bringing the Lemond to Rio next month. Can't wait. I'll post some pretty sweet pics from the great rides that exist here.

[RC Vikings]

Saturday group ride today. Me and seven really fast guys. I knew I was in trouble from the start but I hammered really hard with them for about twenty miles before I told them to go ahead. They were willing to wait but I toast. Five miles later one of the guys had a tire fall apart on him so I was able to catch up and even get ahead a little. They caught me on the climb that we do and we all finished together but I'm not in top form right now. This was only forty miles and I needed a nap after I got back home. The skiing this winter was a nice break but I need some miles in my legs.

[John McClain]

We had General Authorities visiting for Easter Weekend which meant a short ride on Saturday, what with Leadership Meetings, etc. But on Friday, I put it out there (for me at least). Went climbing on the backside of the Sandia Mountains. Rode from the summit of Sedillo Hill down to the Village of Tijeras, turned south, enjoyed a nice tailwind up the canyon as we claimbed to the top of what the locals call South 14. Made a nice little loop through the National Forest and then headed down the canyon into a very stiff headwind. At times I was pedaling hard to go downhill. But that is spring in Albuquerque - wind followed by more wind. After arriving in Tijeras on the return trip, we turned east again and climbed Sedillo Hill. All in all, considering how fat I am and the shape I am in, I felt good about the ride. Was on the bike for 3.5 hours and my back held up reasonably well with the climbing. Now to lose about 15 more lbs.

[bluegoose]

I made it out for my first real road ride of the season last night. I got off work at a decent hour and met a buddy who has been hammering all spring and is just waiting to punish me for neglecting my bike all winter and spring. In all, I did 25 miles and we averaged 18mph. About 24 of those miles were spent tucked in on his back wheel. On the flat stuff I felt pretty good. Hills weren't too bad if I took them easy, but as soon as I tried to sprint or hammer into the wind my legs turned to jelly.

Perfect weather this week here - 70 degrees and sunny with an ever so slight breeze.

[bluegoose]

During my drive home from work today, I was trying to decide whether to battle the 20mph winds on the roadie or just hit the spin class at the gym. My mind returned to the browsing I did at the Bike Shop of several hours ago, to RCViking's stirring inspirational Patton-esque speech about riding head down into the wind.

I donned my favorite jersey, strapped on my shoes and hit the road. 22 miles later, I am totally spent, as the last 8 miles were headed directly into that 20 mph headwind. But those are miles in the bank, as I know for a fact that my riding buddies were not out suffering as I was this evening. Dinner will also be that much more satisfying, knowing I just killed over 1,200 calories, leaving them for dead along the side of the road.

[Pheidippides]

First long group ride today. Maybe a bit ambitious for a newbie such as me, but I had an awesome time. Good group that goes out of my local bike shop, which is about six miles from my house. I kept pace with the leaders until the very end (the fastest guys were all out racing today). Other than one minor issue where I couldn't get out of my pedals and had to hang on to somebody so I didn't fall over, it was an awesome ride.

You guys aren't kidding about that whole wind thing. It sucks. See, e.g., the last six miles home (done solo).

My heart and lungs want to do another 50, but my quads are spent.

Oh, and in case I haven't told you, Houston is flat.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/84013364