Where did you ride OUTSIDE today? (2019 & 2020)


image

3 Likes

Group ride in Kenora, ON.

4 Likes

Ventura, CA

7 Likes

I met some mates I hadn’t saw since the start of lock down and headed to The New Old Barn Cafe. I was intending to substitute it for my TR session but lol every time I started to go into the sweet spot I started to drop them and they are too good mates for that so I sat up :+1: The guys done good though, coming through when I dropped the pace and set lots of PRs for them :+1::+1:


When I got back I saw a WhatsApp from another mate who needed forks so I took the long way to his, dropped them off and went to finish my sweet spot session. It was too strong a tail wind though so I barely got out of HR zone 3 Sweet spot also got me a personal KOM up a local bump.

6 Likes

A ride outside with my son. He’s 9, but killing it already on the trails. He’ll be faster than me in a few years!

8 Likes

I had grand plans to go across a ferry and visit a cafe on the water, but turned out a bunch of the “gravel” I planned to have an excuse to leave the knobby tires was actually rocky, rooty singletrack. I walked most of it. We also almost got shot I guess?

Top of that initial (actual gravel) climb. We usually ride around that lake at the shoreline.

“Sniping in progress” but it seemed more likely that the cover over the sign fell off.

Hubby’s Topstone in danger of bombs but we didn’t go past the fence so it was fine.

He used to race mountain bikes so he rode most of the trail. I used read a lot of books so I did not.

image

Eventually the singletrack did turn into farm roads and gravel.

4 Likes


Kenilworth Beach just north of Evanston in Chicago. Weather today was spectacular all morning with mid to low 70s and light wind on the roads (whipping wind on the lake though). Just the tranquility was I was looking for to reset my mind this Sunday.

5 Likes

Yesterday, I did the Jeroboam 150km gravel ride in the Dolomites, Italy, or rather, a 136km ride of the 150 planned. The weather was not ideal. The forecast fluctuated in the days ahead: it would rain a bit in the morning, a lot throughout, only in the afternoon and then only moderately. The basics: there were three options, a 300km, a 150km, and a 75km; the route was not posted; you needed to have the track on your GPS; and, there were to be two checkpoints with food.

While it rained heavily the night before, the morning of had broken clouds and sunshine. A couple of hours later, however, it started to get wet. Soon, it was hailing. After that, it was raining, usually very hard, with some bouts of a “white-out” due to the sheer amount of water falling.

I was with 4 riders when we passed what should have been, in hindsight as I looked it up today (Sunday), the first checkpoint. Nada. The same for the second checkpoint. It’s a good thing I had all my nutrition and, as I planned, I was able to refill my bottles with trail fountains.

My Garmin 530 died at mile 80 (of 94). My fault as I forgot to turn off the wifi and lower the screen brightness (although I was constantly referring to the map) to achieve a longer life. I continued another 6 miles estimating the remaining route, but I missed a turn-off. I ended up rolling into a restaurant and arranged transport (their friends had a van) back to the hotel. I later learned there were at least a few other abandonments. From sometime before mile 50, when I passed a group that had been passing me on climbs, I didn’t see another rider (that they didn’t catch up on the successive climbs made me wonder if they cut their ride short).

Overall, it was a “fun ride” with sightseeing and adventure.

Approaching an iconic view of the Dolomites. Shortly after this pic, a cow on the left started running alongside us as if she intended to cross in front of us. A local mountain biker who rode with us for a while sang to it and she stopped.

It started to hail moments earlier.

Some parts were peacefully desolate. This is looking backward whence I came. Ahead, after a small crest, the descending path has made with large rocks as some kind of perverse pavers. It was so bumpy I thought I was going to get a concussion. It finally ended and there was a wire across the path to keep the cows as bay. I stepped over it not realizing until it touched high up my inner thigh that it was electrified.

There was some traffic. This was actually a relatively massive herd. The billy goats didn’t care about me but some of the non-horned goats were quite interested in me.

A river crossing.

Scenic views.

Fountains like these were numerous enough and the water was refreshing. I used my last two maurten 320 packets to refill my bottles here. And yes, in the trough is a case of beer, though all but one was empty.

It was 80 miles with 12,100’ of climbing on the Garmin, plus 5.75 miles with another 1,000’ of ascent recorded using Strava on the iPhone after the Garmin died.

The results show 12 finishers for the 150. Yesterday morning, the organizers told me there were “about 50” for the 150. But among those 12 “finishers” is one person I know decided to pull the cord at kilometer 93 (basically at the end of the first part of the figure 8 course) due to the weather and returned to the start, so he wasn’t a “finisher.” I was disappointed with the event organization (I was looking forward to real food at the checkpoints), but the €38 entry was low.

9 Likes

This is about as flat as we can get here. Townsend (technically Pettit but who’s counting) on the schedule today but the rest of my week looks like this

so we went outside to soak up the sun while we can.

Every time I’ve ridden outside for the last month, I’ve felt tired and slow, like everything is harder than it used to be and my fitness is going backwards. It’s been frustrating and I’ve had to stop myself from panic-overhauling my training plan, because everything on the trainer feels great and I know things take time and maybe I just need to eat more or maybe it’s all in my head or my expectations are too high.

Last night I took the gravel tires off my bike. They’ve been on there for a month because we’ve been adding some off-road bits to our mostly-tarmac rides.

Turns out slicks roll noticeably faster on tarmac than knobbies. Who knew. :woman_facepalming:

5 Likes

What TrainerRoad sees:

What Strava and Garmin see:

:rofl: a simple out and back riding from elevation 73 feet (home) down to elevation 33 feet and back home. With two crossings over the freeway. At least we have a reliable ‘breeze’ to keep it interesting.

3 Likes

Evening MTB ride yesterday, gravel today. Weather this time of year is perfect. Too bad the days are getting shorter and it won’t last much longer. Better make the most of it while it lasts!!

7 Likes

Haaahahaha yes that pesky Y-axis! Here’s the Strava version:

Significantly less dramatic :laughing:

1 Like

I’ve got a TT coming up so today was going to be a rest day. I got a WhatsApp from a mate who I hardly saw for months, due to the current situation, wanting some company on a ride. So I gladly obliged :+1:

4 Likes

First 25miles TT for a year and I found out that early starts don’t go well with my system post my op (bowel hadn’t emptied it self for 24h so I started with a sore stomach :neutral_face:) and after getting my fitness back post op, I’ve lost it again.

Today trip to Chelmsford

![Screenshot_20200906-135330_Connect|243x500(upload://ym1AV5pB3JOmGHPJUa8YLruqtxE.jpeg)

My last 25TT a year ago mid chemo.
Higher heart rate and power.

Even the last club 10 mid August was better.

1 Like

Did the full length of the Des Plaines River Trail yesterday in the Chicago area. Runs from the Wisc / IL border down past O’Hare…56 miles of gravel one way.

I live 20 miles from the border, so went north, got to the top and flipped back south…wind shifted just as I reached the border to a northerly wind, so had a tailwind all the way south.

Reached the southern end and flipped back…wind had shifter again (and subsided) to a NE direction, which meant I was pretty well sheltered the whole way back home.

In Lake Country, the trail is well maintained and groomed…packed sand / kitty litter trail. In Cook Country it is quite varied with gravel, packed dirt and even a bit of single track.

Total ride was 112 miles, 7:02 ride time and TSS of 260. Great day out!!

6 Likes

I rode a classic route of mine today, one I had not been on for a while. For the most part I put out butter burner effort. There was a major south wind huffing. The route goes south and jaunts east (with some trees to shelter me from the xwind) for a bit and then turns north again.

There is a segment on the north leg of my ride today – a 2 mile segment with downhill trending with gentle rollers and smooth asphalt. Unfortunately, it has been so long I forgot it was the entire two mile stretch and instead hit it at the halfway mark. Still, put my third best time on the segment and I have about 10 or so seconds (off of my best effort) to break into the top ten on this one.

4 Likes

Rode around the Blueberry farms in NJ and to the coast. Had 2 buddies with me, made it my goal to get both into the 20mph club. Mission accomplished!



7 Likes

Sunny but windy day on the Queen K today

3 Likes

Tried to get away from the smoke in CA’s Central Valley but it followed me

Rode out of town at 106F / 41C according to my Garmin but the official high was 113F / 45C.

Anywho after rerouting to avoid the grass fire smoke, almost 90 minutes later the temps dropped like a rock and hit 66F / 19C

Wonderful cool temps lasted almost an hour before I headed less than 12km / 7.5 miles back into the sauna.

5 Likes

50km trail ride as the last ride before recovery week. Constant short uphills and downhills, lots of rocks and roots all over the place and a couple of rain showers. Exhausting, but fun.



7 Likes