Distance: 41 mi / 65.9 km
Time: 3 hours 54 minutes
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop, Greenhill Trail
Today could have been the perfect day to ride a bike. Lower 70s, low humidity, sunny, no rain, slight breez-wait no. The breeze wasn't slight.
I knew going into today's ride that there would be a pretty heavy wind (since I check the weather). Out of the west, which is probably the worst place it can come from on my long-distance days. You see, I live on the west side of town, which means pretty much any riding I do back home is...heading west. Usually up a hill, as well.
I set off to ride anyway, because if it's like this on ragbrai I would have to tough it out. I hadn't even gotten to Greenhill road when my asthma started acting up.
I've had some pretty bad history with my asthma. It seems that nearly everything triggers it: heat, humidity, allergens, walking fast, running, going up stairs, and aerosols (like spray air fresheners and perfume). Biking is about the only exercise I can do without feeling like I'm drowning. Today, however, was apparently going to be an exception. I took my inhaler, and it at least opened my airways enough that regular riding didn't trigger it.
This is when I mention the wind again. The forecast had said 14 mph with 23 mph gusts, which turned out to be wrong. The regular wind was blowing about 25 and the gusts had to be up to 40. While I made sure I didn't ride into the wind for most of the trip, there were times, of course, I had to ride directly into it.
Any exertion today (hills, standing, and yes, wind) made me short of breath. It was the worst riding back along Highway 20, before the trail turned north again. After I rode through those hills against the wind, I had to stop and catch my breath (and hack up all sorts of fun things).
I don't mean to spend the entire time complaining, however. While I was a few miles short of my goal of 45 miles today, my legs held up just fine the entire time. This is quite the improvement from Friday, where my muscles hurt for 2 days. I don't thing that will happen today. I can tell that I'm getting stronger, even if it's slowly.
I will be back on the bike tomorrow (for a shorter ride) if my butt doesn't hurt too much. Hopefully my asthma behaves tomorrow...
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Upper Limits
Distance: 47 mi / 75.6 km
Time: 4 hours 2 minutes
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop (x2), Greenhill Trail
When I started off today, I was already sore. I set a goal of 40 miles, but I wasn't honestly sure if I would get that far. I certainly was going to try, especially after not making my goal on the last long ride.
It has been windy the entire week, aside from today. I rode anyway, mostly commute to work, which is why I didn't bother to post it. I did make most of the training goals on the guide that I'm following, save for one day. I think I was only a few miles short though, and I had a bit more on a previous day.
There was rain in the forecast, but it looked like it wasn't going to hit us until later, so I decided to go anyway. As I said, my legs and butt were already sore, but nothing major. I find that the soreness in my legs tends to go away after a few miles anyway, as I get warmed up.
There were tons of people on the trails today. It seemed that, for the first 20 miles anyway, I was always following some other biker. These are just some examples:
-A middle-aged guy with an oversized tshirt. I caught up but he was going too fast for me to pass him.
-An overweight woman with two mirrors (like a car would have). She didn't look like a biker but props to her for getting out and riding.
-A guy, probably my age, who was obviously training for a race. He had the racing handlebars and everything, and was FLYING along the trail.
-Two women, coming down one of the underpasses, almost hit me because they took the turn too fast.
The person I met that gets special mention is an older guy, probably in his late 60s or 70s, who was wearing a ragbrai jersey. We started chatting at one of the stoplights, and he paced me for about 10 miles or so. He gave me some tips for riding and training, and said that I will really enjoy myself. He had all of his previous years wristbands wrapped around the handlebar tube. It was pretty cool, seeing that.
I took the Cedar Prairie loop twice, a decision that ultimately took me further than my planned mileage. It started raining a bit for the last hour or so, but nothing that bad at all. I honestly expected to get dumped on, but it seems that the rain missed us yet again.
I had to push myself hard to make it back, though. I went 7 miles farther than I've ever gone, and with only one major break. I kept telling myself "Only a bit farther". Sometimes I repeated it like a mantra. I rode the last bit of the trip along the same route I use to commute, which actually helped me. I felt my brain lock on to the routine and take me back home like I had ridden 5 miles, not 47.
My butt hurts more than anything. The new shorts are good, but getting time on the saddle is probably the more important part. I will have a couple days to rest it, at least, before my next ride. Not sure how my legs will do, as I am working 12 hour shifts the next two days. As I don't ride my bike to work for those kinds of shifts, it will be a sort of break, although not a very good one.
In other ragbrai news, we found a group to ride with. Cedar Valley Cyclists is a local group that I heard about at Europa. They will bus us out there and have camping spots at each town, and bus us back. I talked to one of the coordinators on the phone earlier this week, and he seemed enthusiastic about it. I will be registering and paying the fees after I finish typing this, so it will be official in a little while.
See you after the next big ride.
Time: 4 hours 2 minutes
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop (x2), Greenhill Trail
When I started off today, I was already sore. I set a goal of 40 miles, but I wasn't honestly sure if I would get that far. I certainly was going to try, especially after not making my goal on the last long ride.
It has been windy the entire week, aside from today. I rode anyway, mostly commute to work, which is why I didn't bother to post it. I did make most of the training goals on the guide that I'm following, save for one day. I think I was only a few miles short though, and I had a bit more on a previous day.
There was rain in the forecast, but it looked like it wasn't going to hit us until later, so I decided to go anyway. As I said, my legs and butt were already sore, but nothing major. I find that the soreness in my legs tends to go away after a few miles anyway, as I get warmed up.
There were tons of people on the trails today. It seemed that, for the first 20 miles anyway, I was always following some other biker. These are just some examples:
-A middle-aged guy with an oversized tshirt. I caught up but he was going too fast for me to pass him.
-An overweight woman with two mirrors (like a car would have). She didn't look like a biker but props to her for getting out and riding.
-A guy, probably my age, who was obviously training for a race. He had the racing handlebars and everything, and was FLYING along the trail.
-Two women, coming down one of the underpasses, almost hit me because they took the turn too fast.
The person I met that gets special mention is an older guy, probably in his late 60s or 70s, who was wearing a ragbrai jersey. We started chatting at one of the stoplights, and he paced me for about 10 miles or so. He gave me some tips for riding and training, and said that I will really enjoy myself. He had all of his previous years wristbands wrapped around the handlebar tube. It was pretty cool, seeing that.
I took the Cedar Prairie loop twice, a decision that ultimately took me further than my planned mileage. It started raining a bit for the last hour or so, but nothing that bad at all. I honestly expected to get dumped on, but it seems that the rain missed us yet again.
I had to push myself hard to make it back, though. I went 7 miles farther than I've ever gone, and with only one major break. I kept telling myself "Only a bit farther". Sometimes I repeated it like a mantra. I rode the last bit of the trip along the same route I use to commute, which actually helped me. I felt my brain lock on to the routine and take me back home like I had ridden 5 miles, not 47.
My butt hurts more than anything. The new shorts are good, but getting time on the saddle is probably the more important part. I will have a couple days to rest it, at least, before my next ride. Not sure how my legs will do, as I am working 12 hour shifts the next two days. As I don't ride my bike to work for those kinds of shifts, it will be a sort of break, although not a very good one.
In other ragbrai news, we found a group to ride with. Cedar Valley Cyclists is a local group that I heard about at Europa. They will bus us out there and have camping spots at each town, and bus us back. I talked to one of the coordinators on the phone earlier this week, and he seemed enthusiastic about it. I will be registering and paying the fees after I finish typing this, so it will be official in a little while.
See you after the next big ride.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: New Things
Well, let me get this out of the way now: I have been slacking. I do have good reasons for it though. I've been working nearly constantly since Wednesday, and aside from a ride to work once, I haven't gotten any miles in. It has also been extra windy, but that's something I usually go brave anyway. I'll try to get some riding in tomorrow but we will see.
Enough of that, I have other things to share with you.
I got my trunk bag in the mail Wednesday night. It is a bit smaller than I pictured but I like it. Here are pictures:
I can put my travel air pump (which you can see in the top pic), my tool kit, extra bottle, and it even have spots for pens and cards and stuff. I grabbed a couple of trail maps from Europa today that I can carry with me finally. I also put in a cargo net that I just bought today. I can't wait to try it out.
I also went to Scheels and spent too much on a pair of new bike shorts. However, I think that they will be worth it as they will be much more comfortable than the ones I have. The ones I have are okay, but they slide around too much on long rides.
The last thing I have to share with you is a photo I took of myself and my bike. I've had this idea in my head for about a week now and I finally got it on...well...computer.
Well that's all for now.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Early Heat Wave
Distance: 34.4 mi / 55.3 km
Time: 3 hours 1 minute
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop / South Riverside / Big Woods
My plan today is to go 40 miles. I haven't reached that goal yet.
It wasn't too bad when I started off at 10 this morning, but near the end of the ride, the heat, wind, and humidity got to me and I had to go home.
But I get ahead of myself. I started off today knowing that it would be a bit humid and windy. The wind was coming from the west, of course, so headwind on the way home. It wasn't horrible when I started, so I went south along the Cedar Prairie loop.
Part of the trail was closed, so I found an alternate route. I think I tacked on half a mile or so. Not too bad but I had to play in traffic a bit and that always sucks. The people around here are pretty used to bikes, but you always get the few assholes who either don't pay attention to you, or worse, see you and decide to be rude. Nothing happened though, so I don't really have a complaint today.
After a few miles I had to ditch the shirt, and rode in my shorts and sports bra. I may not be in the greatest shape but as I said before, comfort trumps shame in this case. At least I'm not as pasty white on my stomach as I was before.
I stopped at Europa today because they were doing free massages. I had to wait for a bit, but I was the last one. Apparently, I really needed one because all of my leg and shoulder muscles were really tense. That really doesn't surprise me one bit. The woman doing the massages said that I could "really use an hour long massage," which is probably true, but there also might be some motivation to sell involved. The hour massages cost 65 dollars, so no-go on those anyway. It still helped a bit though.
Of course, since I was at the bike store, I bought a couple things. Two insulated water bottles (since my water got to the temperature of bath water) and a new pair of gloves. These gloves have a bit more padding than my other ones. The ones I had were Bell ones from Walmart. They're good, but only up to about 20 miles. After that, my hands started hurting and getting numb. I think the combination of the bar ends and the new gloves should take care of that problem. They're men's gloves, since women's gloves are too small for me. I guess big hands come with being tall. I got the red/white ones (there wasn't a picture on the website). I tried to stick to my theme of red/black/white so my bike and all the stuff matches. I'm a bit weird like that.
I got back on the road and took Killer Hill down. I've mentioned Killer Hill in my other blog Disstraction. Basically, it's a really big hill (who knew). Got up to about 35 mph coasting before reaching the trail and riding back towards home. I figured I would get some fun in before turning into the punishing headwind.
I took one ride around Big Woods before deciding to head home, deciding not to take the entire loop. At this point, the heat and wind had started to get to me. I think I made a good decision, because by the time I got home and up a hill, I was sweating profusely and utterly exhausted.
As I said, I might take a few miles later to reach my goal of 40 miles. I also plan on riding to trivia. We shall see.
Oh yeah, no pictures either. My point and shoot decided it didn't want to work anymore. Yet another purchase to make, I guess.
Time: 3 hours 1 minute
Route Taken: Cedar Prairie Loop / South Riverside / Big Woods
My plan today is to go 40 miles. I haven't reached that goal yet.
It wasn't too bad when I started off at 10 this morning, but near the end of the ride, the heat, wind, and humidity got to me and I had to go home.
But I get ahead of myself. I started off today knowing that it would be a bit humid and windy. The wind was coming from the west, of course, so headwind on the way home. It wasn't horrible when I started, so I went south along the Cedar Prairie loop.
Part of the trail was closed, so I found an alternate route. I think I tacked on half a mile or so. Not too bad but I had to play in traffic a bit and that always sucks. The people around here are pretty used to bikes, but you always get the few assholes who either don't pay attention to you, or worse, see you and decide to be rude. Nothing happened though, so I don't really have a complaint today.
After a few miles I had to ditch the shirt, and rode in my shorts and sports bra. I may not be in the greatest shape but as I said before, comfort trumps shame in this case. At least I'm not as pasty white on my stomach as I was before.
I stopped at Europa today because they were doing free massages. I had to wait for a bit, but I was the last one. Apparently, I really needed one because all of my leg and shoulder muscles were really tense. That really doesn't surprise me one bit. The woman doing the massages said that I could "really use an hour long massage," which is probably true, but there also might be some motivation to sell involved. The hour massages cost 65 dollars, so no-go on those anyway. It still helped a bit though.
Of course, since I was at the bike store, I bought a couple things. Two insulated water bottles (since my water got to the temperature of bath water) and a new pair of gloves. These gloves have a bit more padding than my other ones. The ones I had were Bell ones from Walmart. They're good, but only up to about 20 miles. After that, my hands started hurting and getting numb. I think the combination of the bar ends and the new gloves should take care of that problem. They're men's gloves, since women's gloves are too small for me. I guess big hands come with being tall. I got the red/white ones (there wasn't a picture on the website). I tried to stick to my theme of red/black/white so my bike and all the stuff matches. I'm a bit weird like that.
I got back on the road and took Killer Hill down. I've mentioned Killer Hill in my other blog Disstraction. Basically, it's a really big hill (who knew). Got up to about 35 mph coasting before reaching the trail and riding back towards home. I figured I would get some fun in before turning into the punishing headwind.
I took one ride around Big Woods before deciding to head home, deciding not to take the entire loop. At this point, the heat and wind had started to get to me. I think I made a good decision, because by the time I got home and up a hill, I was sweating profusely and utterly exhausted.
As I said, I might take a few miles later to reach my goal of 40 miles. I also plan on riding to trivia. We shall see.
Oh yeah, no pictures either. My point and shoot decided it didn't want to work anymore. Yet another purchase to make, I guess.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Handlebar Wrap and Trunk Bag
I didn't ride today, but I wanted to share a couple of purchases I did make today.
I finally bought a trunk bag on Amazon.com. Here is the link: Bag
This is what it looks like if you're too lazy to click on that:
I finally bought a trunk bag on Amazon.com. Here is the link: Bag
This is what it looks like if you're too lazy to click on that:
There were a lot of reviews and they were pretty much all positive. I like the look of it. We'll see how I like it when it finally comes in the mail.
I also bought bar tape to put on my bar ends. I didn't really find too many suggestions on how to install it, so I just winged it. I don't think it looks too bad:
We'll see how that holds up, too. It came with some ends that I didn't need, but I like them a lot so I might incorporate them into some other part of my bike. Either that or use them for some sort of craft, I don't know.
I plan on going for a short ride tomorrow. I invited several coworkers to the lake. Karie and I are going to eat at Waffle Stop beforehand. Is it just me, or am I being way more sociable than usual? Hmmmm....
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Errands
Distance: 22.2 mi / 35.7 km
Time: 1 hour 32 min / 40 min (total)
Route Taken: Wal-Mart/College Square Mall
Today was meant to be a much shorter ride, maximum 25 miles. I didn't quite hit that mark but I think I did pretty good.
Karie and I went to Wal-Mart today to look at bike stuff. Yes, I realize that Wal-Mart doesn't scream "High quality goods" when it comes to bikes, but they sometimes have some good accessories. I was looking to see if they had bar ends, and she was looking for a computer, a tube bag like I have, and a lock. At least, that's what she bought.
The ride there was pretty decent. The wind wasn't nearly as bad as yesterday, thankfully. I had some residual soreness in my legs, a bit more in my butt. Not enough to prevent me from riding, thankfully. It wasn't too warm out, either, but it wasn't unpleasant at all.
I didn't find bar ends at Wal-Mart, so I convinced Karie to ride with me to Scheels at the mall. We had to take some actual roads for this trip, which is always a thrill ride. We didn't do too badly though, but people need to learn how to behave around bikes. Or more bike riders need to learn how to behave around cars so the people driving don't get all nervous around us. Well anyway, I guess paying attention is the most important part. We made it fine, although we had to circle the whole mall just to find the bike racks.
Scheels has a bike rack out front, but for some reason they seem to have decided to use it as advertising space. They had a bunch of used bikes all locked out front. There were only a couple of open spots, on the back of the rack, and that sort of annoyed me. At least they didn't take up the entire space.
Anyway, I found my bar ends, bought them, and we went back to Karie's house. I hung out for a bit, helped her install her new bike computer, and then I took off for home.
My second ride of the day was over to my best friend Dave's house to do laundry, and to make him install my new bar ends. We went and ate Hy-vee Chinese food in the meantime. After we got back, he installed them. He had to cut off the ends of my original grips, and bolt the new bars on the ends. It only took about 15 minutes to install both of them. I took them for a short test ride, and they were solid and felt pretty comfortable.
I left after finishing laundry and watching a couple episodes of River Monsters (one of my favorite shows!). On the ride home, I of course tested my new handlebars. The verdict? I love them. I feel like I have much more control than I did before. They especially help on hills. Switching hand positions to brake and shift will take a bit of getting used to, but I was already instinctively using them. The only downside I noticed was that the bare metal got a bit cold in the cooler air of the night, but I plan on buying some handlebar wrap tomorrow, so that will be taken care of soon.
I posted a picture of my new water bottle setup, too. Enjoy!
Time: 1 hour 32 min / 40 min (total)
Route Taken: Wal-Mart/College Square Mall
Karie and I went to Wal-Mart today to look at bike stuff. Yes, I realize that Wal-Mart doesn't scream "High quality goods" when it comes to bikes, but they sometimes have some good accessories. I was looking to see if they had bar ends, and she was looking for a computer, a tube bag like I have, and a lock. At least, that's what she bought.
I didn't find bar ends at Wal-Mart, so I convinced Karie to ride with me to Scheels at the mall. We had to take some actual roads for this trip, which is always a thrill ride. We didn't do too badly though, but people need to learn how to behave around bikes. Or more bike riders need to learn how to behave around cars so the people driving don't get all nervous around us. Well anyway, I guess paying attention is the most important part. We made it fine, although we had to circle the whole mall just to find the bike racks.
Scheels has a bike rack out front, but for some reason they seem to have decided to use it as advertising space. They had a bunch of used bikes all locked out front. There were only a couple of open spots, on the back of the rack, and that sort of annoyed me. At least they didn't take up the entire space.
Anyway, I found my bar ends, bought them, and we went back to Karie's house. I hung out for a bit, helped her install her new bike computer, and then I took off for home.
My second ride of the day was over to my best friend Dave's house to do laundry, and to make him install my new bar ends. We went and ate Hy-vee Chinese food in the meantime. After we got back, he installed them. He had to cut off the ends of my original grips, and bolt the new bars on the ends. It only took about 15 minutes to install both of them. I took them for a short test ride, and they were solid and felt pretty comfortable.
I left after finishing laundry and watching a couple episodes of River Monsters (one of my favorite shows!). On the ride home, I of course tested my new handlebars. The verdict? I love them. I feel like I have much more control than I did before. They especially help on hills. Switching hand positions to brake and shift will take a bit of getting used to, but I was already instinctively using them. The only downside I noticed was that the bare metal got a bit cold in the cooler air of the night, but I plan on buying some handlebar wrap tomorrow, so that will be taken care of soon.
I posted a picture of my new water bottle setup, too. Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Punishing Winds
Distance: 40.3 mi / 64.9 km
Time: 3 hours 35 min
Route Taken: Riverside/Cedar Prairie Loop/Big Woods Loop
My goal that I set today was 40 miles. I got ready and walked out of my house to...wind. Lots of wind.
I started off with a tailwind, which is fun of course, but meant that I would be riding home in a headwind. I still went out and did it, though.
I was originally going to take the Cedar Prairie trail the opposite direction that I did last time, but I changed my mind and went on the Greenhill trail. I decided to stop at Europa (the bike store) to get a 2nd water bottle cage put on my bike, as I'm quickly finding out that one bottle of water is not nearly enough. I want to get a rack bag too, but I don't get paid until Thursday so that will have to wait. I'm probably going to buy one online. The cheapest one that they have at Europa is 50 dollars, and I don't really like that one. I'll look around more later today.
I went down the south riverside trail to get to the Cedar Prairie trail and...turned into the headwind. The next 10 miles or so it blew at me diagonally, making things a bit more difficult than it should have been. I was exhausted after 20 miles but after a short break, I kept pushing myself. I swore a few times, and got stared at a lot. I guess I looked like I was working hard or something.
I took the trail all the way up to Big Woods, and after resting another 10 minutes, took the loop through Blackhawk Park. Another 2 miles into the headwind. The return trip was tailwind, and somehow that gave me enough energy and motivation to do the last 2 miles home; uphill and against the wind.
I made my goal, thankfully. I haven't decided if I'm going to ride tomorrow or not. I should try to get at least 20 miles in, but we'll see how my legs feel tomorrow. I'm exhausted.
No pictures today, since I managed to forget my memory card for the camera...
Time: 3 hours 35 min
Route Taken: Riverside/Cedar Prairie Loop/Big Woods Loop
My goal that I set today was 40 miles. I got ready and walked out of my house to...wind. Lots of wind.
I started off with a tailwind, which is fun of course, but meant that I would be riding home in a headwind. I still went out and did it, though.
I was originally going to take the Cedar Prairie trail the opposite direction that I did last time, but I changed my mind and went on the Greenhill trail. I decided to stop at Europa (the bike store) to get a 2nd water bottle cage put on my bike, as I'm quickly finding out that one bottle of water is not nearly enough. I want to get a rack bag too, but I don't get paid until Thursday so that will have to wait. I'm probably going to buy one online. The cheapest one that they have at Europa is 50 dollars, and I don't really like that one. I'll look around more later today.
I went down the south riverside trail to get to the Cedar Prairie trail and...turned into the headwind. The next 10 miles or so it blew at me diagonally, making things a bit more difficult than it should have been. I was exhausted after 20 miles but after a short break, I kept pushing myself. I swore a few times, and got stared at a lot. I guess I looked like I was working hard or something.
I took the trail all the way up to Big Woods, and after resting another 10 minutes, took the loop through Blackhawk Park. Another 2 miles into the headwind. The return trip was tailwind, and somehow that gave me enough energy and motivation to do the last 2 miles home; uphill and against the wind.
I made my goal, thankfully. I haven't decided if I'm going to ride tomorrow or not. I should try to get at least 20 miles in, but we'll see how my legs feel tomorrow. I'm exhausted.
No pictures today, since I managed to forget my memory card for the camera...
Friday, May 4, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Tan Lines
Distance: 17 mi / 27.3 km
Time: 1 hour 30 min
Route Taken: Riverside/Big Woods
I took a short ride today to at least attempt to make up for not riding extra yesterday. Although, my main plan was to go up to Big Woods and lay out for a bit to enjoy the really warm weather (and to soften my biker tan lines)I did about 12 miles before Big Woods by taking a loop around Riverside trails. For some reason, it seemed a bit harder today than it usually does. I'm not sure if its a bit of fatigue, the humidity, or the heat, or just me being weak, but I got tired much quicker than I usually do. I didn't exhaust myself, of course, but I felt a bit drained. I think it was probably the humidity.
When I got to Big Woods I changed into my swimsuit bottoms (I was already wearing the top) and rode to one of the hidden beaches. This is the first time I rode with the new seat without bike shorts. I wouldn't be able to do it for long; there are lots of metal bits near bare skin and it would just...hurt. Anyway, I got to the area, which wasn't too far (about a quarter of the way around the lake), set up my towel, and laid down for a bit. It didn't take long for me to move my towel from the ground to the bench, however, since there were lots of bugs...everywhere.
I saw butterflies by the hundreds today. Half of the time I was laying out I had my eyes open watching them. I did eventually get my camera and start sneaking up on them. Most of them were too smart for that but I did get pretty close to a couple of them. The downside was...the flies. They kept annoying me and biting. Well, that comes with being outside, I suppose.
After about an hour, I decided it was time to come home. I did a lap around the lake, and then headed back. I didn't push myself too hard today because I will be taking the bike to work, so that's another 10.4 miles to add to today. It was very humid at this point so I didn't bother to put my tank top back on. Keeping cool trumps shame as far as I'm concerned.
I have two days off in a row next week so I will attempt to ride two long rides in a row. I'll probably be tired as hell afterwards, but if I want to do RAGBRAI I better get used to it...
Enjoy the extra pictures today!
Time: 1 hour 30 min
Route Taken: Riverside/Big Woods
When I got to Big Woods I changed into my swimsuit bottoms (I was already wearing the top) and rode to one of the hidden beaches. This is the first time I rode with the new seat without bike shorts. I wouldn't be able to do it for long; there are lots of metal bits near bare skin and it would just...hurt. Anyway, I got to the area, which wasn't too far (about a quarter of the way around the lake), set up my towel, and laid down for a bit. It didn't take long for me to move my towel from the ground to the bench, however, since there were lots of bugs...everywhere.
I saw butterflies by the hundreds today. Half of the time I was laying out I had my eyes open watching them. I did eventually get my camera and start sneaking up on them. Most of them were too smart for that but I did get pretty close to a couple of them. The downside was...the flies. They kept annoying me and biting. Well, that comes with being outside, I suppose.After about an hour, I decided it was time to come home. I did a lap around the lake, and then headed back. I didn't push myself too hard today because I will be taking the bike to work, so that's another 10.4 miles to add to today. It was very humid at this point so I didn't bother to put my tank top back on. Keeping cool trumps shame as far as I'm concerned.
I have two days off in a row next week so I will attempt to ride two long rides in a row. I'll probably be tired as hell afterwards, but if I want to do RAGBRAI I better get used to it...
Enjoy the extra pictures today!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Road to RAGBRAI: Storm Watch
Distance: 33.9 mi / 54.6 km
Time: 1 hour 56 min & 1 hour 55 min
Route Taken: UNI/Big Woods/Greenhill Loop
My friend Karie expressed a desire to go riding with me today, so the first thing I did was ride to her dorm room. She hasn't ridden much, only a couple times, so I knew that I couldn't go all "pro" on her and take her for a 30 mile ride or anything.
I was looking at the weather all morning, worried. The radar and the forecast both said that there would be a storm this afternoon, so I didn't want to get caught in it. Regular rain I don't mind, but thunderstorms aren't really want I want to be riding in. The wind was already pretty bad when I started. It was blowing north, so the first part of my trip (to UNI) was all kinds of fun....
I took Karie north, through Pfeiffer park, over Krieg's Crossing, and up to Big Woods. I did go much slower than usual, but I was prepared for this, and I really didn't mind. I had to keep stopping to let her catch up, but, like I said, she had only ridden a couple times so I didn't blame her. When I first started riding again, I could only go 3 miles before pooping out. She made it a total of 12 or so. Not too bad for a windy day, either.
We made one loop around Big Woods, and then headed back. We both went to the campus dining center, Piazza. I used to work there when I went to UNI, but it's been about 3 years since I've been there. Nothing has really changed. Most of the cooks are the same (of course the student workers are all different). I even talked briefly with one of my former coworkers. The other cooks saw me but I'm not sure if they still recognized me. I didn't really feel like chatting all of them up, so I kind of walked past them and got my food.
After I left UNI, I decided to go for a bit longer of a ride. I had no idea when the storm was going to happen, but I couldn't really see the front at all, so I kept riding. I went south to the Greenhill trail, a route that I hadn't taken yet. I proceeded to ride east; right into the wind. It was a brutal grind uphill, and at this point, the wind was blowing at least 20 mph. I managed to make it, though, and the turn to go north was a nice break.
I took North Riverside trail, and stopped a nice little deck overlooking a lake off the Cedar River. I didn't sit down, but walked around a bit to rest my butt as it was starting to hurt (as usual).
I decided to take a loop around Big Woods to push my odometer over 1000 miles. I put the computer on the bike back in August, so that's, well, 1000 miles since the end of August. Doesn't seem possible, but numbers don't lie. Two years ago I wouldn't have been able to make it 10 miles.
I got home, tired and sweaty, but no rain yet. I was beginning to wonder if it had completely missed us. It certainly was humid, though, so it couldn't have passed us by very far. A look on the radar confirmed that it had, in fact, completely missed us. I'm glad I decided to ride.
I might get another 5 miles out of today by riding to trivia league, but we'll see. The hills are brutal and my legs are tired. I also don't know when I will be riding a long ride next, as I work every day for the rest of the week. I might be able to get a 20 mile ride in on Thursday or Friday, but I'll see.
Time: 1 hour 56 min & 1 hour 55 min
Route Taken: UNI/Big Woods/Greenhill Loop
My friend Karie expressed a desire to go riding with me today, so the first thing I did was ride to her dorm room. She hasn't ridden much, only a couple times, so I knew that I couldn't go all "pro" on her and take her for a 30 mile ride or anything.
I was looking at the weather all morning, worried. The radar and the forecast both said that there would be a storm this afternoon, so I didn't want to get caught in it. Regular rain I don't mind, but thunderstorms aren't really want I want to be riding in. The wind was already pretty bad when I started. It was blowing north, so the first part of my trip (to UNI) was all kinds of fun....
I took Karie north, through Pfeiffer park, over Krieg's Crossing, and up to Big Woods. I did go much slower than usual, but I was prepared for this, and I really didn't mind. I had to keep stopping to let her catch up, but, like I said, she had only ridden a couple times so I didn't blame her. When I first started riding again, I could only go 3 miles before pooping out. She made it a total of 12 or so. Not too bad for a windy day, either.
I decided to take a loop around Big Woods to push my odometer over 1000 miles. I put the computer on the bike back in August, so that's, well, 1000 miles since the end of August. Doesn't seem possible, but numbers don't lie. Two years ago I wouldn't have been able to make it 10 miles.
I might get another 5 miles out of today by riding to trivia league, but we'll see. The hills are brutal and my legs are tired. I also don't know when I will be riding a long ride next, as I work every day for the rest of the week. I might be able to get a 20 mile ride in on Thursday or Friday, but I'll see.
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