Bicycle Diaries
30 years riding, 15 years writing
Le Lawn
Today was lawn day at the house.
Usually when I mow the lawn, I don’t go for a bike ride cause I’ve had my exercise for the day. But seeing as it’s Tour de France week, I couldn’t wait to finish trimming the blades of grass and go for a bike ride.
It’s also been rather cool lately, so going out after the noon hour was just fine, it felt like I was riding out early morning. The forecast calls for cool temperatures all week, oo la la, est magnifique!
Rode for 10.27 miles, average speed was 11.8 mph.
Riding with Andi
Rode with a friend today, made the ride more enjoyable.
When I could catch my breath to speak, cause Andi is faster than I am, the conversation made the miles fly by.
Rode for 13.97 miles, average speed was 12.0 mph.
Le Headwind
What a difference the wind makes.
Had a headwind heading out towards the lake, my speed hovered around 10mph.
On the way back, the tailwind allowed me to shift into the big chain ring and I was doing 15mph with no problem.
On a day when the Tour de France riders were averaging over 30mph on their time trials, I feel very humbled.
Rode for 13.98 miles, average speed was 11.6 mph.
Is that a banana in your shorts?
Or are you happy to be riding?
The banana, the versatile traveling fruit. Just stick one in the back pocket of your riding jersey and you’re good to go.
If there’s any in the kitchen when I leave, I’ll grab one. Should I not eat it all, the animals in the woods benefit from a snack. Hey, I’m doing my part to keep the rabbits and other inhabitants fed, are you?
Rode for 14.44 miles, average speed was 11.3 mph.
Linus in Yellow
A geek’s namesake brings me out of an 8 month hiatus.
T-Mobile team rider Linus Gerdemann of Germany cycles to win the seventh stage of the 94th Tour de France cycling race between Bourg-en-Bresse and Le Grand-Bornand.
Shortly after Linus crossed the finish line, I was putting on my riding shorts, pumping air in my tires and heading for the McAlpine. Whoa, do my legs need to spin.
Rode for 12.41 miles, average speed was 11.0 mph.
Sportline 340
My walking coach, a pedometer.
Though it’s not bike related, I’ve stayed in shape the first half of this year by walking. It’s been a welcome change, instead of speeding by the many nature sites in the nearby woods, I get to soak them in slowly.
Hey, at my age, any exercise is better than nothing.
Trekking through the woods
Taking long walks through the Greenway.
Gave the Trek a rest and I’ve been trekking through the McAlpine. Venturing into areas that I couldn’t have reached with the bike, it’s really fun and educational at the same time.
Santa brought me a Nikon D40 for Christmas and it’s been my companion on the trails ever since. Researching monopods for the camera, I’ve settled on a Leki Sierra AS, it’s a walking stick with a camera mount.
The weather has been crazy lately, we don’t know if it’s Fall, Winter or Spring. We’ve also had a lot of rain, which makes the trails rather muddy for riding.
This break from the bike has been welcome on the one hand and almost necessary on the other, since you can’t get into a training rhythm if the weather doesn’t want to cooperate.
Caught the Flu
It started with Grandma and spread.
It wasn’t a long and nasty flu strain, a couple of days of feeling like shit and then you started to recover. Grandma caught it first and then it hit each one of us in turn, it was mostly an upper respiratory infection, no headaches or high fever.
We’re glad that’s it’s over with and we hope that our little episode has inoculated us against any further outbreaks. During the crisis I walked to stay in some shape but I felt weak on today’s ride.
Rode for 10.28 miles, average speed was 10.9 mph.
All Hallows Ride
It felt creepy riding in the woods today.
At any moment, I thought the Headless Horseman would come riding out of the dense brush. With the leaves covering the ground and the howling wind passing through the trees, it was spectacularly spooky.
The creeks are still high from this weekend’s rain and the ground is still moist, making for a slower ride. The temperatures are great, just perfect for a cool ride.
Rode for 13.88 miles, average speed was 12.1 mph.
Dressing for cold weather
Coming from Florida, I needed new gear.
My fingers were getting a bit cold as the temperatures are dipping into the 50’s. The Fox Incline glove is perfect for riding in cold weather, I even use them for driving my car.
For my upper body, I got a Hind NTS base layer long sleeve tee, black of course. I wear my regular jersey on top and I’m warm and dry from the beginning to the end of my ride.
My legs warm up after a few miles, so I’ll hold off on buying any thermal tights for now.
Rode for 14.00 miles, average speed was 12.0 mph.
Charlotte, NC
Spent 10 years in Charlotte, a block away from an entrance to the McAlpine Creek Greenway.
Switched to a mountain bike from the road bikes I was accustomed to riding for 15 years.
The time spent on these trails was most appreciated.
Trek Fuel 70
