Share your rides during the summer

[SnowHot]

Connie, I'm excited for you and your DH. The weekly rides definitely help in progression. I really miss it this week. However, it seems that you are far ahead of me in ability, but then I'm torn with different activities and my husband's motorcycle racing.

Keep posting. I love to see how its going.

 

[Consuela]

Over here, we call such move "creative dismounts".

I've had to do quite a few of them myself.

Fun! hahah

I suspect his dismount would have been more of a Doooh-mount (As SH says) if he didn't have his pedals set all the way loose. He probably still would have popped out, but not early enough to give him as much reaction time.

I had given him a hard time about his pedal settings in the past ("It's okay while you are learning, but remember you're not a 105lb girl!") But, don't think I'll tease him about it anymore.

 

[Consuela]

Connie, I'm excited for you and your DH. The weekly rides definitely help in progression. I really miss it this week. However, it seems that you are far ahead of me in ability, but then I'm torn with different activities and my husband's motorcycle racing.

Keep posting. I love to see how its going.

Thanks for the encouragement! If it's any consolation, you are a much more advanced skier than I. So, it's all good.

I miss your weekly TRs. :( But, more importantly to heal than to entertain me.

 

[itri]

Today I did a recon ride of the bike course for my Olympic distance triathlon next weekend. Here's a description of the course from the race website:

The 42 kilometer bike leg is a course that has a little of everything as it winds through north Boulder County. About 6 miles into the clockwise loop will ascend 15% Old Stage Hill (600' vertical climb in 2/3 of a mile). On the summit will be the first fluid replacement station. From Old Stage it is a beautiful descent down Left Hand Canyon and out onto the Buffalo covered plains. Now, in its third year, a 35mph speed limit will be strictly enforced on the major descent on the backside of Old Stage Road. We will have police officers and course marshals monitoring this. At mile 18 there will be a second fluid replacement station. Upon reentering the reservoir you will enter the transition area on the south side, and dismount your bike as you enter. There will be over 20 uniformed patrol officers to help you along the way. There will be 2 AID stations on the bike. NO DRAFTING!!!

Holy crap, this kicked my butt. The first seven-ish miles are uphill, with the major hill at 6 miles. I thought my lungs were going to burst out of my chest at one point! The saving grace of the hill was how gorgeous it was in the canyon. At one point, a baby deer literally *hopped* across the road in front of us, almost making the pain worthwhile! There was a false summit on the hill, which kind of sucked, but at the same time let me catch my breath for the last bit of up.

Once at the top, the next 5 miles were pretty much straight down, which was FUN. I'm still a little scared of going TOO fast and not being able to steer or stop, but I did top out at 37.5 mph, which is pretty darn fast for me! The downhill was through the canyon as well, and for a couple of miles went right alongside a rushing mountain stream...SO beautiful. The second half of the course was nice as well, but not nearly as pretty. It went across the rollers of the plains back to the reservoir. There was one section of bone-rattling rough road that I'm really not looking forward to riding again! Lots of cows, horses, etc. along this part of the course.

I'm so glad I did this ride today (pushed my long run until tomorrow so I could go), since now I KNOW that I can do it next week in the race. We even did a short run afterwards (about 2 miles) and it didn't feel too bad! It kicked my butt, but in a good way, and I DID IT.

 

[SnowHot]

It kicked my butt, but in a good way, and I DID IT.

 

[volklgirl]

Good on you, girl!

A SPEED LIMIT of 35 mph???? Cool and bummer at the same time. I hit 35.2 mph on my mt bike last weekend on the Old Mission ride. Woo Hoo!!!!

 

[itri]

Well, the speed limit is only for the super steep section at the very beginning of the descent. It's pretty much for safety because the course is open to traffic and there are a lot of driveways through that section. It's marked as a 35 mph speed limit for cars, so I would guess that's why they started enforcing it. This is also the area where bear collisions seem to happen! See here and here!

 

[Robyn]

Um, how did I miss this yesterday? Gaye, you'll do fantasticly next weekend, I'm sure of it. So glad you got to do the recon ride though, it's huge to know what you're approaching. And, oddly, I had a dear jump out about 7 feet in front of me yesterday as well. On a new bike. With clips that require I release in the opposite direction of habit. It almost sent me over.

I drove my duathlon course yesterday so at least I have a visual on it. Although, I'm not sure I'm going to fit in a recon ride.

Which day is your tri?

 

[itri]

Robyn, I didn't ride that course before the first time I rode it. It honestly looks worse than it is. The rollers are actually a lot of fun. The hard part is that it's uphill the whole way back into the park, even though it doesn't really seem like it's downhill on the way out!

The tri is Sunday. Should be nice and HOT for it. And I probably won't be hitting the run until around 9:30 or 10, so that'll be fun.

 

[Consuela]

Itri/Robyn, we're cheering for you guys already!

 

[Robyn]

Robyn, I didn't ride that course before the first time I rode it. It honestly looks worse than it is. The rollers are actually a lot of fun. The hard part is that it's uphill the whole way back into the park, even though it doesn't really seem like it's downhill on the way out!

The tri is Sunday. Should be nice and HOT for it. And I probably won't be hitting the run until around 9:30 or 10, so that'll be fun.

Actually, the fact that's it's downhill on the way out may be good, give my legs a bit of a break for a minute after the swim. Although the fact that it's uphill toward the finish isn't a blessing.

I still don't know about my schedule this weekend but I'm going to try to make it up to Boulder to cheer you on.

Connie, thanks for the encouragement. I know that for me part of why I'm so motivated is watching the trip reports of you and all the other Divas in their summer adventures.

 

[volklgirl]

A day of firsts for me.

GOOD LUCK YOU GUYS!!!!!!

First time this year: Today I took the full suspension bike out for a stroll around Cadillac Pathway. On the map below, our usual Wednesday route is 1-4-5-(Unmarked Single Track)-6-7-1 (about 3.5 miles) or 1-4-8-5-(UST)-6-7-1 (about 5 miles). Today, I did the full loop for the first time this year, including all the singletrack (10.9 miles). Besides being longer than I usually ride off road, the full route also includes all the really big hills, affectionately named Big, Mama, and Little Kahuna (note the black diamonds on the sections from 8-9 and 12-8. I was pretty darn happy that I made every single hill and only had to stop once to breathe. Admittedly, 1 hour and 25 minutes was slow even for me, but given the quantity, depth, size, and consistency of the sand pits this year and SnowHot's recent boo-boo, I was riding more conservatively than normal.

The penciled-in lines are all the unmarked and unmapped singletrack trails. For a readable view, click on picture to go to host site, then click Full Size just below the bottom right corner of the picture.


First time ever: I finally made that up-hill log pile that has defied me for 3 years!

Another first time ever: I saw a bear ! Since he/she was just meandering calmly through the woods, I didn't get too freaked , but I didn't hang around to visit, either.

 

[SnowHot]

First time this year: Today I took the full suspension bike out for a stroll around Cadillac Pathway. On the map below, our usual Wednesday route is 1-4-5-(Unmarked Single Track)-6-7-1 (about 3.5 miles) or 1-4-8-5-(UST)-6-7-1 (about 5 miles). Today, I did the full loop for the first time this year, including all the singletrack (10.9 miles). Besides being longer than I usually ride off road, the full route also includes all the really big hills, affectionately named Big, Mama, and Little Kahuna (note the black diamonds on the sections from 8-9 and 12-8. I was pretty darn happy that I made every single hill and only had to stop once to breathe. Admittedly, 1 hour and 25 minutes was slow even for me, but given the quantity, depth, size, and consistency of the sand pits this year and SnowHot's recent boo-boo, I was riding more conservatively than normal.

The penciled-in lines are all the unmarked and unmapped singletrack trails. For a readable view, click on picture to go to host site, then click Full Size just below the bottom right corner of the picture.


First time ever: I finally made that up-hill log pile that has defied me for 3 years!

Another first time ever: I saw a bear ! Since he/she was just meandering calmly through the woods, I didn't get too freaked , but I didn't hang around to visit, either.

Volklgirl! WOW. The uphill logs are killer! I have got to get those this year.


I have seen Bear out there twice, but not for a couple years. Lucky you! No pics?

 

[volklgirl]

No pics?

Sadly, no.:(

 

[Consuela]

Awesome job, Voklgirl! The "first time" things are fun, aren't they?

 

[Sheena]

Fun Car Shuttle from Saturday.

You mean I still have to climb? Only 1000 ft to go. ;)

Yay!!! Down Hill.

I did this one too. Made Mr. Sheena put away the camera. But I cleaned it.

The bottom is a double track.

But its just as fun.

 

[Robyn]

Not a huge ride tonight but thought I share this little tidbit that happened. At one point I led half of the group up a couple of hills while Andrea (my leader and coach) took the newbies out for a loop on some flat ground. We were meeting back at the bottom of the hills. So, I'm coming down the hill in the drops and really letting it go. I checked my bike computer (yeah, went and got another one yesterday and installed it) and I was going 33.1 mph. I come to a stop at the bottom of the hill and Andrea tells me "Stop grinning, you're not having any fun on that thing." Um, yeah, I am. LOTS and LOTS of it. :D

 

[Consuela]

Going solo...

Good job, Sheena! You look like you are having fun!

Robyn, check you out leading your own climb! Dang girl! You go!

I don't normally like to ride by myself... It's just not my thing. I like to stop and chit-chat while I catch my breath. And, I find I get a little lazy and complacent when I ride by myself and then I get bored when I stop to rest. But, I was jones'ing for some endorphines on the drive home and DH had already announced that he was playing Frisbee Golf with buddies.

Being inspired by VG's solo-ride, I decided to take DH's bike, Big Blue, to Fremont Older, which I always think of as a more of a beginner endurance training ride. Some decent climbs, a bunch of small loops (aka lot's of turn back spots), nothing really technical. I planned out a 6 mile ride, since I got a late start.

So, off I went! I have heard people say, "That bike likes to go fast!" about various bikes, but I didn't really know what they meant until today. Granted, I can only really compare it to Little Red, my 29 lb rigid. But, something about that bike just wanted to climb like a goat, a fast goat. I started pedaling and up, up, up I went. Big Blue would have no laziness... no complacency.

Here is Big Blue on top of Nob Hill with the Silicon Valley below it.

I thought, "DH better kick my butt with this bike. Heck, I could kick my butt with this bike!"

The descents were good, but I did hold Big Blue back a little. The top tube is a bit longer than I like. I moved the seat all the way forward, but still could have used another inch or two. So, that felt a little off when I tried to get in my aggressive stance. And also, I was a bit further forward in the saddle on the climbs than normal. Let me just say, that saddle is not a chair for sure and that is not my friggin sit bone that hurt.

Overall, the ride was one rush after another, climbs included. DH is going to be in for a surprise when I get the new bike next year.

PS. I didn't work on anything new from the book. I just tried to continue to work on my power pedal on the steeper climbs, braking, and cornering.

 

[SnowHot]

Good job, Sheena! You look like you are having fun!

Robyn, check you out leading your own climb! Dang girl! You go!

What she said!!!^^^^^

I don't normally like to ride by myself...................
......... But, I was jones'ing for some endorphines

Being inspired by VG's solo-ride,

Get used to it!!
She has that tendency.

So, off I went! I have heard people say, "That bike likes to go fast!" about various bikes,

I thought, "DH better kick my butt with this bike. Heck, I could kick my butt with this bike!"

The descents were good, but I did hold Big Blue back a little. The top tube is a bit longer than I like. I moved the seat all the way forward, but still could have used another inch or two. So, that felt a little off when I tried to get in my aggressive stance. And also, I was a bit further forward in the saddle on the climbs than normal. Let me just say, that saddle is not a chair for sure and that is not my friggin sit bone that hurt.

its a rush when you get on a bike with different tenacity than you're used to and it give you this>>>

Overall, the ride was one rush after another, climbs included. DH is going to be in for a surprise when I get the new bike next year.

Don't you know its time now to get deals because shops are looking at 09 stuff and need to unload their 08 stuff.
Lets go shopping!!!

 

[volklgirl]

Wow, what amazing stories!!!!!

I did this one too. Made Mr. Sheena put away the camera. But I cleaned it.

Next time, you HAVE to get a picture! Congrats!!!

SnowHot....look at all the fun you're missing. :Cry: