Group Ride

And it was a perfect evening for it!

Lots of people (and animals) were out enjoying the sun and fresh air. These polo ponies were getting exercise, 3 a breast.

Blooms are bursting open. This one was at our group ride meet up place.

Our pace line, 5 of us turned up for the ride.

Riding past 'Hanging Rock'.

Getting Serious Again

Yesterday was Jeff's first day out on his road bike this year. I've been on my road bike for a few rides now. I guess we'll clean up the cx bikes for now, though we might take them out for some gravel crunching this summer. It would be a novel experience to ride them in warm weather since I associate them with freezing rides!

We paused out at the Point to watch some deer foraging. There was this main group...

and some more here and there by themselves.

Tonight, we had a group ride after work, but were running a little late and didn't make it to the start point in time. We did run into the others part way out which was nice. I'm looking forward to getting back into the habit of 1 or 2 group rides a week.

Best Weather So Far

Along the beaches, it was somehow sunny and foggy at the same time, but really warm.

I saw one surfer in the waves.

And waved to three other cyclists.

I really enjoyed seeing lots of birds today from a large white heron flapping overhead to pairs of chubby ducks splashing in the overflowing ditches. Animals are so spunky and funny in springtime. As I passed one farm, a fuzzy brown and white cow was knee deep in the pond, mooing it's head off! The horses in this stable clearly wanted to be outside. The far one kept doing great big horsey yawns and hanging its tongue out. If you look really closely, you can see it's yawning in this picture, but it's a little hard to see in the shade.

Recovery...

...but not from some fab ride. Recovery from the Flu From Hell. Today was my first day back on a bike since getting sick! I loved being out there, though I felt weak and feeble and had fits of coughing. I took it easy riding just shy of 16 miles and averaging 14mph overall. It was my first road bike ride since last fall as I spent the winter using the 'cross bike.

A few days ago, Jeff and I signed up for The Flattest Century in the East, so we have an event in September to look forward to. It was fun last year! Sign up for non-NBW members opens May 1st.

After Work Quickie

Well, it's definitely not Copenhagen Cycle Chic, but here's proof that biking is not always hardcore and spandex for me!

It was light late enough for Jeff and I to hop on the bikes for a little ride after work. It's cloudy and rain is on the way along with lower temps, so it may be a while before we do this again.

1st Ride of March

This morning was sunny and spring like, though now it is gray and windy out. That's New England weather alright! I felt quite motivated to get out on a bike this morning and did just shy of 20 miles around one of my regular loops. I took it easy and didn't feel too bad even after so much time off.

I hope we have a good March for riding as this off season time is the best around here. It's quiet and peaceful, even along the beaches. The sand dunes try to spread and fill in this boardwalk path and even try to cover the roads in spots. It's nice to have the cross tires so I feel pretty secure on any loose sand.

In between the heartache of losing grandmother and the winter weather keeping me off the bike, Jeff and I treated ourselves to a new TV that we've been wanting for some time. It's a 50" plasma one which certainly boosted my mood! Saturday, Jeff hooked up my laptop to it and we played around with watching Cycling TV and Versus on the big screen. Hopefully we'll be able to watch some of the Tours this way over the coming year as we don't have satellite or cable for race coverage.

Otherwise, I don't have much to report. I'm trying to catch up on reading cycling blogs and am getting through my Bloglines list though I haven't gotten around to commenting much. I'll get back to that soon too!

Here I Am, At Last

Sorry for being a neglectful blogger lately. I have been in the doldrums following the death of my grandmother and have been derailed from my biking for awhile. Fortunately, it is winter, so I haven't been missing too much!

Jeff and I got back on the bikes today for an easy ride with friends in Old Saybrook, CT. As you can see from the pics, it is a beautiful area. Part of our ride crossed a golf course in Fenwick, the community in which Katharine Hepburn had a home on the water.









After the ride, Chris and Debby hosted a party for watching the final stage of the Tour of California!

I'm not sure I'm back to blogging on a very regular basis just yet, but I wanted to let you know I'm not gone forever!