October Metric Century

No procrastination this month. Got the metric done on October 1st! It sounds like I was all fired up, right?! Actually, I dragged out the door thinking I was going to try to get 20 miles. Luckily, I grabbed a cereal bar on the way out, but I was so lazy I went out with the 1/2 a bottle of water leftover from yesterday thinking I wouldn't really want it on a short ride anyway.

13 miles out I was feeling in a biking zone and started to think about going for the metric. By 20, I'd committed to the idea. I figured since it was cool I wouldn't need too much water and when I texted Jeff about my predicament, he said he'd bring me water if I needed it later on in the ride.

It was a little chilly feeling at times with temps ranging from about 54 to 58 F. I was wearing shorts, a very light, long sleeve jersey and a windbreaker jacket. Initially it was nicer as there were some areas of sun, but the clouds blew in thicker as the ride went on.

I stopped at 3rd beach for a couple of shots of the clouds, just with the camera phone. Looking back the way I'd come:

And across the beach to some moorings:

The ride was pretty much like the one last Saturday. My back really began to spasm at about 48 miles out and I had to struggle on through to the end. Jeff brought me water in the truck at 57 miles which really saved me. After he dropped water off with me, he went to fuel up the truck, then drove back along my route to pick me up just after I reached my goal for the day. Here's the Garmin profile showing 62.36 miles:

We are to the season where when I come back from a ride, I need a hot shower to warm up. No more cooling off showers at the ends of rides!

Well, just 2 more metric centuries are left in the challenge: Novembrrr and Decembrrrrrr! I won't be wearing shorts on the next one!!

September Metric Century

It's hard to believe that the goldenrod is blooming and it is officially fall! I am so happy with the drier weather. Saturday, I had a beautiful, sunny day for my metric. Once again, I postponed it toward the end the month and started to worry if I'd get it done, especially when I canceled one attempt due to lack of willingness to fight regular gusts of 30mph for 63 miles!

I felt great for about 45 miles averaging over 15mph and not feeling the pains I'd been having lately. After that, the foot numbness and a backache started in together and sapped all my energy. Fortunately, Jeff came out to join me for the last 23 miles, so I had some company and we tootled along enjoying the good weather and sights since there won't be as much opportunity for that soon.

The evidence from Garmin, showing 62.23 miles (just enough!).

It's getting a bit embarrassing to post the same route over and over, but it's what I manage to get out to ride...

August Metric

A break in the humidity happened just in time for me to get my August metric century with a few days to spare! I rode X6 and started off very well, but mid way my feet got very sore with a pins and needles sensation and it killed my tempo. I also ran out of water and was painfully dry as the weather was still pretty hot.

Jeff kept me company for much of the ride, joining me 22 miles in and, fortunately, with eight miles still to go, Jeff took the turn to the house, grabbed some water and brought it to me in the truck. What a relief!!

At Sachuest Point, I stopped short to get a photo of this buck with velvety antlers. He wasn't at all frightened, even walking toward me a little! This is the closest I've gotten to a deer out there as they are usually out across the field more.

Garmin actually shut off on me during the ride, but I managed to notice pretty quickly and you can see I still got a distance of 63.30 miles. With the crazy pains in both feet and being dehydrated, my speed ended up at 14 mph overall...which was disappointing especially after a fairly zippy start to the ride. Oh well, I just don't do well in summer weather!

I'm really looking forward to the fall and starting to ramp up mileage again. I had a good 20 mile X6 ride today. I think the next metrics will feel a lot better, assuming we don't have early snowstorms or something!!

"No matter what..."

Sometime last week I said to Jeff, "Let's go mountain biking this weekend, no matter what." That was before I bought the new trail runners and did 4.30 miles on a whim! In fact, when I set up the mtn bike 'date' with Jeff, if you had told me I'd be doing a run like that yesterday, I wouldn't have believed you and laughed hysterically at the very idea!

Apparently the run didn't excuse me from mountain biking! Since I wasn't really feeling that bad, just tired with achy shoulder blades and some muscle pain in the groin/hip area, I agreed to go as long as Jeff got the bikes ready and lifted them in and out of the truck. We went to Freetown State Forest to ride.

I haven't biked off road in ages, so I was quite pathetic, but it was so fun anyway. I had to walk over the large cobble washouts and picked my way on foot around a couple of very muddy, yellowy-green, frog filled puddles after very nearly going in one. My body felt fine as long as I was on the bike, but it was hard going when I walked.

We actually rode right through this sort of puddle easily, but it got quite boggy further on and I didn't feel inclined to get the camera out and be easy mosquito food.

Are we there yet?

Jeff got us to 'The Ledges', our goal, before turning and heading back to the start.

The loop we did came out to 10.42 miles.

July Metric at Jamestown

I think the July and August Metrics may end up being the hardest of the year for me given that I don't feel well exercising in the sun and heat and am going through my summer slump! While I may be 'well rested' I just don't have the motivation or dedication when it gets warmer and sunnier and there are many mellow activities to distract me.

However, last Sunday I did feel inspired watching my friend Jamie at a local tri.

Seeing him and all the others riding made me want to pedal. Something about the whoosh of all those bike wheels going by makes me feel a little giddy =)

Today, Jeff briefly went to work to tie up any loose ends, then took the day off to do the July metric with me. We decided that laps of Conanicut Island would be our least trafficy option and the shady parts would be occasional relief from the sun. I was anxious to get the metric done today as it was a coolish, dry day and muggy weather is due again soon.

Jeff hasn't done enough rides this summer and trailed along behind me for two laps before deciding to skip the last one to avoid serious pain later. I pushed on and managed to finish the metric distance though I got much slower toward the end. I got hungry and was low on fluid and the wind picked up a lot. As I was heading out Beavertail the third time the wind was getting so strong I was only concentrating on turning over the crank and not as aware of the road as I should have been until a deer was suddenly right beside me, pivoting away on its back legs to leap back into the woods. I guess it hadn't smelled or heard me coming as I was downwind of it. I'm not sure who was more startled! It was actually the third deer sighting of the day. On the first lap, we saw a doe and small, spotted fawn.

Here's a view to the west from Beavertail Point showing the bright, sunny day.

And one of Jeff with the Beavertail Light in the background. It's not quite as picturesque as usual as there is scaffolding on it at the moment.

Elevation Profile:

Speed Profile:

July Metric Stats
62.47 miles
4:14 hours
14.7 mph average...going in the wrong direction =(
3,289' elevation gain
1 nutty power bar and 1 bottle of Gatorade 1 bottle of citrus Nuun for fuel

My (Is it Really?*) June Metric Century and Catching Up

(*The day started out with heavy gray clouds and light rain and 50F degree temps. A cold north wind blew the clouds apart so it finally got mostly sunny and temps rose to 64F. Not exactly typical June weather!)

Well, summer comes and my habits change dramatically as you've noticed from my blog hiatus! But I'm still here and haven't been as absent from cycling as my blog would indicate. However, I did take a whole week off for complete rest and recovery!

I have been thinking about taking a week off for awhile, but wanted to feel in control of it and not be doing it just because of laziness or because of a lack of motivation. Last week seemed like a good time as it rained most of the time and I was so at the end of my rope with traffic that I'd done the entire week before on the computrainer. I had some other things I wanted to catch up on. Also, I hadn't taken a week off the bike since the week ending July 19, 2008.

Here's my mileage by week chart to bring you up to date. The current week is incomplete, of course.

I was a little freaked out that I'd lose fitness fast, but after a few days I was so busy and sore from cutting back hedges and other yard work that I didn't feel the need for more exercise!

The week off turned out to be wonderful for my biking! My legs felt fresh and strong today. It was a little weird not to really be aware of them...no aches or pains or complaining muscles. I'd look down and it was sort of surreal to see my legs cranking away and they lasted great for the entire metric.

Given the cold wind everywhere and the damp cold by the beaches, I was in a long sleeve jersey and still cold enough for goose bumps at times. It got really weird later in my ride as the sun came out because the sun would be warming my back, but I was chilly at the same time from the wind. Felt kind of like being feverish!

I did 3 laps of my regular route and some extra back and forth bits to get the necessary miles. The pics were taken on my first and third trips to Sachuest Point today. From seeing my profiles, you are probably nearly as familiar with my bike terrain as I am!

Here's the speed profile. Yeah, I got a little tired toward the end, but the slow down actually had more to do with some school buses and UPS trucks slowing up traffic and me.

I've decided I like these Nutrigrain bars on rides better than various energy bars I've tried that are just too chewy for me. Note the long sleeves!

June Metric Stats
62.96 miles
3:58 hours
15.8 mph average...was at 16.2 'til the last miles and those buses, etc...had hoped to hang onto 16 'til the end =)
2,760' elevation gain
2 cereal bars and 2 bottles of Gatorade for fuel

Cuteness

This baby has been making me smile every time I ride by his pasture. He's so fluffy, I want to give him a big hug! I should have put something in the pic for scale, he's tiny.

He was having a look at my bike today so I stopped to get his picture. I did a 23 mile solo ride on X6. The weather was gorgeous! I could have taken the road bike out, but X6 was all set to go from my last ride in the rain and some days it feels like the right bike for the inevitable bashing through potholes and patched roads around here.

Rainy Week

I only did 3 rides this week, the metric on the road bike and two short rides on the cx bike for a total of 106.46 miles.

This morning Jeff joined me on a rainy, foggy ride and I thought it was quite pretty, at least during the parts where I could see through my glasses!

Meandering May Metric

When I saw the sun shining this morning, I was determined to get a long ride in to make up for the lack of miles this week due to rain and feeling somewhat ill!

At the outset, I figured I'd go for the century distance, but it would be pokey given that I'd be riding on the Island and the fair weather traffic is picking up. It was more pokey than I'd anticipated for this time of year! I probably should have just done loops around Middletown, but I ventured into Newport and that's where I couldn't maintain any sort of momentum due to slow downs/stops at every intersection, slow downs and detours for road repairs/mowing and just having to ride along at the speed of the traffic flow.

All that didn't really effect my spirits though. After so much rain and being cooped up it felt good to spend all the time I could outside. I even stopped briefly at Brenton Point to gaze down at the waves breaking over the small beach below.

A view across the Bay.

And my bike, looking out to sea.

I had no appetite today and ate nothing until after my ride (and not much then). I was parched though and drank plenty of water and one bottle of Nuun. Fortunately as it was a relaxed, solo effort I didn't have to worry about bonking and being a drag for a partner.

May Metric Stats
63.09 miles
4:16 hours
14.8 mph average
2,721 elevation gain

Only 7 more to do!!

Jeff's 1000 Days and A Weekly Wrap Up

I'm so happy to have like minded company here in blogland when it comes to spending on cycling! I do try to keep it in check a little, but also feel like there's no time like the present when it comes to fitness items that contribute to good health and happiness. If I'm being completely honest, I was pretty much tallying up the expenses to see if I could readily justify buying some more things from my cycling wish list, or Jeff's.

Speaking of Jeff, I've been tracking his mileage too, so some of you might be interested to know that in the same 1000 day period as I posted for me, Jeff rode 333 days, exactly 1/3! He rode 7,129.67 miles. He's spent the same as me…we have to keep it fair around here.

Today's ride was a tough one as we'd expected a summery day and instead had fog, wind and low 50's F for temps! In this pic Jeff pushes into the headwind as his jacket billows out even though it's so fitted.

And, a little further along, on the bridge, there wasn't much of a view. There were a lot of other cyclists out, probably expecting better weather too. In fact, there was a cyclist coming towards us in this picture, but you can only barely see his head and shoulders over the guardrail.

My knees are still bothering me, so I was especially glad I'd pulled on the tights at the last minute. My joints were even chilled through those, so I can imagine the torture bare knees would have been!

The sun actually did burn through the fog at the end of our ride, maybe tomorrow will be a bit nicer? I'm planning to bike the short loop followed by more yard work.

It was a light-ish week of riding, 5 days/101.10 miles. Weather and knees didn't really want to cooperate, but it's still plenty of riding for maintenance.

Local Shop Ride

Jeff ate a bug today, so I think that means it's truly spring now! I'm glad I have managed to postpone my first bug swallowing of the season! The weather was fairly warm, sunny and windy and we went to Village Bicycle for a group ride. Ribuck met up with us there.

As you can see from the map, we could call this the 'butterfly ride'. It annoys me when I forget to turn the Garmin on at the very start of rides, but I did remember before we got too far. The red/end pin shows the more precise location of the shop.

Riders sorted out into different speed zones in the first few miles and Jeff, Ribuck and I ended up in a group of 10 for most of the ride. This was a really good bit! On the 'train' to Horseneck Beach with a tailwind!

We did 36.51 miles at 16.3 mph average.


I've been riding on my own or with people I know well lately and I found it a little hard to get comfortable riding with strangers again. I was frustrated with the amount of yo-yoing I did off the back for awhile. I'd be on a wheel and hit a pothole or something and get nervous and drop back and then have to work to bridge back, again and again. Eventually, I got it together and did better, particularly if I was on Jeff or Ribuck.

At one point in the ride we had a bunch of wild turkeys cross the road in front of us! It was nice to see the views in sunlight for a change rather than shrouded in fog and clouds. I struggled with a bit of a mechanical for a ways when my chain got stuck in the big ring. When I finally got it free with some awful cracking and popping sounds, everything seemed to be rattling, but after some shifting up and down it got sorted out again. Ribuck had an encounter with another gray pickup truck and a flat when we were nearly back to the shop! Not sure what is with the trucks going for him lately, he's a good, predictable rider!

It's been a great weekend of biking with 2 fun group rides totaling more than 70 miles! I'm looking forward to catching up with the blog reading to see what everyone else was up to =)

Weekly Miles and a Group Ride

It was kind of a rainy week and I didn't feel like wrestling my trainer tire back onto my road bike, so I had 3 days off! I still did 3 cx rides and 1 group road ride for a total of 106.46 miles.

The rain cleared out and we had an overcast, windy morning for the Saturday group ride. Seven started out together though we broke into groups of 5 and 2 in Little Compton.

I could have ridden sweep like this all day!!

The elevation profile. We can find some hard flats here on the coast!

And the speed profile, 15.8 mph average.

The only downside of the ride? Worms. Guess who cleaned both bikes? Well, to be fair Jeff did go to the dump in trade for me cleaning bikes. But, ewwwww...here's my rear brake...I'll leave the condition of the down tube to your imagination!

The weather is supposed to be even better tomorrow and we hope to do a local shop ride then, if I can get up after being out late tonight!

Group Ride to Wrap Up Week

I thought today was the nicest day of the week and luckily Jeff and I had plans to meet up with a couple of friends, Ed and ribuck. We did a popular Tiverton route of 30.34 miles at 16.8 mph average.




For the week, I did 5 rides/130.35 miles. I'm still taking the cx bike out most as the roads are sketchy in places with sand and potholes, so 3 cx rides and 2 roadie rides.

End of a Week

Today was the second outside ride of the year on my road bike. It is feeling good from its last tuneup and has a fresh set of tires on it.

Jeff and I did 55.22 miles at 15.8 mph average on many of the same roads as last weekend's long ride, but we didn't go as far and varied it a little.This was a farm we passed today.

For the week, I did 5 rides/147.72 miles. Four on the cross bike and 1 on the road bike. This was the first week of the year with no trainer time!

Bird Sightings

Today, I spotted these snow geese along my short route. One of the fun things about biking around here is the diversity of birds you see, especially in the colder months when they are migrating or over wintering.

Of course we have the common ones as well, like these mallards I see just about every ride in the same place. Maybe there will be ducklings later on.

March Metric +

I left the Island for this one--OMG! There are 3 bridges off the Island, but somehow people here get this mentality that it's burdensome to leave. I didn't think I'd get as irrational as that, but it's happened!

On Thursday and Friday, when it looked like the weather for Saturday would be sunny and high 30's/low 40'sF, Jeff and I started thinking of possibly doing the ride for the Metric Century a Month Challenge. We decided to start in Tiverton, ride south through Little Compton to Sakonnet Point shown here:

From there we rode East through farmland and little villages to Horseneck Beach and accidentally did the loop into the wind...aargh!!

We crossed the Westport River on this drawbridge:

And continued through Westport past the historical town farm:

We planned our ride to go past Village Bicycle so we could stop and say hello, pick up a spare tube and get tickets for the owner's Race Across America Fund Raiser Dinner. It's a very friendly shop! We only stopped briefly as we didn't want to stiffen up. We still had some ground to cover to get back to the starting point.

Here's how it looks on the map:

And the elevation profile:

I felt just OK for the ride as I was on the edge of being cold for a lot of it even though I've ridden in much worse. Some of the roads were so bumpy, it wore me down and made me achy (for the locals, I'm referring mainly to Peckham Road!). My feet were either cold or a little numb, so it got interesting putting a foot down at intersections, like when the foot's asleep and you're not quite sure it will hold you up. It wasn't pain, just sort of nagging discomfort.

March Metric + Stats
Road bikes (first outside ride of '09!)
68.35 miles
4:30 hours
15.2 mph average
fuel, egg muffin thing from drive thru on way to ride, 2 bottles of Gatorade in my fav flavors at the moment, tropical mango and strawberry orange

Now, only 9 more to go ;)

PS. Today's ride wrapped up a week, so I'll report the weekly stats as well. I rode 4 days outside/138.43 miles and 2 days inside/30.44 miles, a total of 168.87 miles.