Sunday Group Ride

Jeff and I joined friends for a 42.86 mile road ride today. The pic shows Jeff out front in his new jacket, ribuck97 and Lynn as we pedaled up Bellevue Ave.

Out on Ocean Ave, I spotted this white tailed deer and had to stop for a pic.

Lynn had a flat near the end of the ride, but was able to change the tube like a bike mechanic!

New Bike Clothes!

Well, black spandex items don't make an exciting photo, but here are some of the new bike things I bought on Saturday. What I have been using is looking a little threadbare, so it was time for some fresh gear!

I got new gloves to replace my ones with the holes in the shifter fingers. The balaclava is mainly to keep my neck warm when it gets really cold out since I really can't bear a draft down my collar! It's always good to have another pair of wool socks. I also got a new pair of shorts and a pair of fleece tights. I know the shorts seem kind of strange this time of year, but I have been wearing them under the tights when it's cold.

Jeff found a nice shell jacket to block the wind chill. It's a fall orange color, so probably not too visible this time of year, but it will be good for the rest of the year. I picked out some bike wash and a chain brush since it seems like it will be a little more effective than an old toothbrush considering all the rainy rides I'm doing lately.

I tried on a couple of other items that I think I'll have to add to my holiday wish list. I liked the Pearl Izumi Insula Tour Jacket in limestone and white. It was so cozy and comfortable that I think I'd end up wearing it all the time, not just on the bike!

And I will have to get the women's version of Jeff's yellow jacket that I've been wearing. It's called the Vagabond 2. For now, the big one isn't so bad because I can fit as many layers as needed under it for dealing with the cold.

I'm not committed to wearing only Pearl Izumi, it just seems to be what's readily available at the local shops. PI is working out very well for me, though I wouldn't mind finding some different brands too. I took a mail order gamble on the De Marchi jersey and it turned out to be my favorite!

Also on my wish list are booties and maybe the lobster gloves. It wouldn't hurt to have a couple more jerseys to reduce the constant need to do laundry and the Gavia Pro Jacket seems nice at least in the pictures.

Do you have any bike clothing that you 'can't live without'? Let me know if you think of something I should consider getting!

Consecutive Days Keep Adding Up

So far, so good. Despite rainy weather, I've not missed any days for the 30/30 November challenge! For the week, I did 7 days of riding and 227.22 miles.

I've been varying distance and intensity on my rides, so I don't burn out. I think I'm building a good base right now! I'm glad that I'm not feeling drained at the end of my rides lately and that I wake up really looking forward to my ride everyday. It's a nice place to be at the moment!

Jeff was able to join me on this morning's damp ride. The yellow leaves looked especially bright in contrast with the grayness.

We were surprised to see a lot of people walking and running around fields and found out it is the Race for Open Space, a fundraising 5K event and celebration of opening a new section of the Greenway. I am pleased about all the new trails, but am sad that bikes are not permitted on them!

The last picture is just a shot of Jeff finally riding out in front on the last stretch to home!

The forecast looks dryer for riding Sunday-Tuesday, but then there is some rain predicted again. At least it isn't snow! I recently added the weather link at the bottom of this page, so you can check to see what conditions I'm dealing with. I'll be riding with Jeff and two friends tomorrow and will keep trying to get out everyday!

Rainy Day Ride

I rode X6 in the rain today to stick to the 30/30 challenge! Can you see how wet it was? The rain picked up as soon as I started my ride and has let up a little since I got home! I did 21.32 miles.

I did see some other people outside today and probably should have been dressed like them!

Maybe I'm crazy, but I actually really had a blast out there. I think I was able to have fun because it was so warm, around 60F, so being soaked wasn't a problem.

30/30

It occurred to me as I wrote down my numbers for today's ride that I just completed a run of 30 rides in 30 consecutive days. I don't think I've ever done that before! No wonder I'm feeling a lot more fit lately.

I didn't make it a goal in advance, it just happened to work out that way, but a few blogging bike girls have made a 30/30 goal. Kate, Trio and Jumbly, are trying to do 30 one hour or longer rides in the 30 days of November. I thought I'd play along as best I can. If the weather gets too sloppy, it's not safe for me to go out on my routes. There is some rain already in the forecast, but we'll see what happens. Checking my old records shows that I rode 19 days in November 2007 and 25 days in November 2006. Even if I don't bag another 30/30, I'll have the satisfaction of knowing I pushed myself to ride as many days as I could!

I'll keep you updated with the weekly mileage posts and probably have a chart of days and miles for you at the end of November. You know I love an excuse to post a chart!

Now, I'm quite certain I'm going to stay up way too late watching election results! Hopefully I won't be too tired for tomorrow's ride with a friend. Just so you know, I made sure to get out and vote before my ride today!

Pace Line of 3

I hadn't tried to take motion shots with the camphone before, but I tried it out on today's ride. It worked pretty well, my biggest problem was trying to keep my gloved fingers out of the picture! I cropped this one!

Jeff and I joined a ride buddy and did 41.35 miles. The pic shows Jeff and our friend plowing into the wind around Brenton Point.

Jeff was happy to get in 82 miles with me over the weekend since he's not getting out much during the week now. I got a good start on my weekly miles!

And, after the cold ride...low 40's at best...we made grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup! Perfect recovery food!

Recent Stats

It's time for some totals for the week as well as the month of October! I wish I could ride like this all the time, but I tend to fluctuate depending on things going on in my life and varying degrees of motivation. But it's good to know I can do this when I set my mind to it and I love how strong I feel when I am riding just about every day!

For the week, I rode 7 days and logged 196.09 miles. The weather was pretty good, apart from maybe Tuesday, when I think I experienced my upper limit of wind tolerance along the beach. Any more gusty and I think I'd have fallen over! I had some white knuckle moments and could not hold a line!

For October, I had a personal best for most days and most miles biked in a month! I biked 30 days and 866.64 miles.

Today, I started November off right with a nice 40.66 miles with Jeff. The sun was shining in clear skies and the temps were in the mid 50's.

I'm not going to set any specific goals for November as I think that could jinx me and cause it to snow a lot or something! But, I will try to keep up the frequent rides even if they become shorter to avoid becoming very frozen.