Did some fantastic gravel riding last weekend:
(Bragi Freyr Gunnarsson (@bragifreyr) • Instagram photos and videos)
(Bragi Freyr Gunnarsson (@bragifreyr) • Instagram photos and videos)
Usually my mates do a chaingang on Wednesday night which is too close to my Thursday TT. This week however they changed ot to a Thursday and the TT was cancelled. I knew it would be a high enough intensity for the ride to substitute.
The ride is in the Flat Fens, starting in Yaxley it goes by Holme, through Ramsey St Mary’s and Ramsey Heights, Upwood, Great Raveley, Abbots Ripton, then up the old A1 to the Stilton over bridge of the A1(M).
Mt Weather, VA, USA
Tackled my first categorized climb today. Definitely did not have enough gears. Then, on climb 3 of 4 my rear shifter cable broke. I was able to complete the ride but I was essentially riding a single speed bike. Lots of low cadence / high torque work and coasting for the last 25 miles. Still had a blast. Now to YouTube to figure out how to replace the cable.
I met some mates in Oundle for a coffee this morning pre race.
And raced the N1/10 in the afternoon. Not really my best. I had hoped to repeat my 15miles TT on the same course back in June but its 10mile segment was 46s faster.
Other than my post op stomach (which played up just before the race), I think I have a lead on what is causing me to be so variable. My sinuses are effected by the grass pollen, my ears were like they need to pop but popping them did nothing and Ive been totally bunged up at night. I have been using nasal spray and taking Hayfever tablets. I think the latter is drying out my sinuses too much though so I am going to try using just the nasal spray 
Plenty of time to get it sorted before my ‘A race’ though as it’s been postponed to next year 
Well, that’s…uh. Unexpected.
50 mile ride in the Washington DC area today on the local trail system. My wife and I are training for the Seagull Century in October. She’s just getting into riding and still puttering around on her heavy hybrid while we wait for the bike shop to tune up a Giant road bike she got used from a family member.
Between her slow, heavy bike, and the start, stop, start, stop of riding a bike path in the city we averaged 12 miles an hour for the 50 miles. I’m trying to convince her to get up at the crack of dawn to beat the crowds, but she just gives me the sideways “look”, At least we’re getting the miles in.
Where are you riding in DC? The W&OD has a lot of road crossings but is better than riding in the city. If you don’t mind driving there are a lot of quite roads in Prince William County. Use RideWithGPS.com, search for rides that begin within 10-15 miles of Manassas and it will give you Haymarket, Gainesville, Nokesville, Brentsville, and Manassas.
We live near Mount Vernon so it’s easy to roll out the front door and hit the trail north, pick up the 4 mile run, then get on the W&OD.
But yea, there are some good roads west of here. Thanks!
Friday was a short cruise on the trails after overnight heavy rains and with morning humidity. Saturday was a road ride in summer-like weather before the hail and lightning returned in the evening (which is better than it coming in the late afternoon as has usually been the case recently). And today was another cruise on the trails after the downpour, so although I cleaned the bike last night, it needs it again. It’s supposed to be summer 
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Friday’s trail ride:
I didn’t get a shot of the gaggle of deer I surprised on the trail, but I got some other pics with the dampness of the rain and rudimentary trebuchets alongside the swollen, fast-moving storm-driven river.
Saturday’s road ride. I’m really having problems with fueling, I’ve come to realize. This played out on the main climb and at the end when I needed to stop and get some coca-cola even though I was less than 4mi from home. 
The views were nice (of course).
Cowbells to be heard often, including these guys near the top of the main climb (6mi at 6%).
Today’s ride on the trail, after another night of hard rain, was an easy roll just to get in three consecutive days. (I ran on the trails, something I used to do often, Wednesday and Thursday primarily to avoid getting the gravel bike dirty 
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What do you use for fuel while riding? There’s a lot of good info on DIY recipes here.
@rkoswald my problem is simply getting in enough calories. I use Maurten but it’s become clear — or rather, I’m finally realizing — that I’m consuming half to a third of the calories I should and need. That’s not the fault of my fuel, it’s me not consuming enough of it. One hundred to two hundred calories per hour is what I tend to take in where more is the exception rather than the rule.
