by new light 17 Replies latest social physical
I used ride all the time, up until about 8 years ago....too fat to be on a bicycle in public now hahah...but that is one thing I would love to get back into as I try to get back in shape..
LIVE FREE OR DIE!
Are you from NH? That is the motto up there you know......=)
Princess and her husband are both cyclists. They are doing a ride today. Last year they rode the Seattle to Portland (STP) and have plans to do many more this year.
I would have replied last night but was a bit wiped after the day's ride. We did the first club ride of the season, called the "Chilly Hilly". It's a 33 mile ride around Bainbridge Island with over 2600 feet of elevation gain. Usually the weather is pretty cold and can be wet or even snowy but this year the weather was awesome. The sun started breaking out about the same time the ferry docked at the island. At five miles we stopped to take off our outer layers and were able to bike in tights and jerseys. For the first ride of the season it was pretty grueling. Every member of our group were cursing the final hills, they were just relentless, but in the end we all made it and it took way less time than we thought it would. Even with all the climbing my average speed was 14mph.
Wow! That's a nice road bike! Holy crap!
I prefer mountain biking; If you want to see crazy trails, we have huge mountains and beautiful ridgetop trails that are stunning.
One is called Cox Hill. You end up 2000 metres along this ridge, and have a 5km ride down; it's just spectacular, and your hands soon ache because of having the brakes on all the time.
I would definetly road bike if there were roads with no cars on them. I just hate the whizz of traffic. On this one ride, you start in Canmore, and ride into Banff via a steep road up a mountainside to a shallow pass. From there, you ride to Banff and take the highway back, because it's downhill. We do 20km in 45 minutes on a mountain bike. Road bikes whizz by us like we're standing still. They are just incredibly fast!
Wonder if they rent them somewhere. If they do, I'd travel there just to try it.
I found an article in the Seattle times about the ride I did yesterday. The Baker hill that is mentioned was incredibly long. I did NOT walk my bike up any of the hills. I won't do that.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001868482_chillyhilly01m.html
Bravo, Princess.
When we lived in Atlanta we would go watch the "Tour whateveritwascalled". My kids were into cycling and was a big fan of Lance before he became "famous". LOL We would follow Greg LeMond's races' too. We are advid fans of Tour deFrance every year. Even watching ESPN2 @ 2 am to keep up on the race. Thank goodness Lance has made it a sport worth watching over the last 5 years and the reports on ESPN has moved to "normal" hours.
My son works as a bicycle mechanic in a local bike shop. He loves it. And he loves his campy parts. He wouldn't give them up even after his DeRosa broke apart and couldn't be fixed.
Our old, used to be best friend was a cyclist in the 60's-70's and was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame this past year (same time as Lance, hehe) but we couldn't go and support him because we are now *gasp* apostates. Such a shame that the WT devides friends and family.
Everyone enjoy your rides. I know they are hard work.
Joy
My hubby and I ride. I love it. We just bought new bikes last summer. In my area we have over a 100 miles of trails that are built on old railroad beds, and more are being planed, that will one day connect two major cities near where I live. It's great no traffic, mostly flat terrain, the scenery is beautiful, through beautiful forests, small towns, along rivers, farms. We see wild-life along the trails, beaver, deer, black bears, snakes (ugh). So far I haven't rode in any competition, maybe someday.
Hapgood
I'm doing my first Century ride in Lake Tahoe in June, any advice would be helpful. As far as having my weekends back, yeah, it's the best :)
I'm doing my first Century ride in Lake Tahoe in June, any advice would be helpful.
Get your butt used to the saddle, and just ride. Sounds like fun. I have a century ride in June too. Probably should start riding soon to get ready, eh?
