[Doohickie]

Let's share our ride experiences. I'll start.

I've posted in a few other threads about the single speed bike I got for Christmas. One thing that vexed me about getting a bike is that I've been having significant knee pain while riding. Now I have a new bike and I (reluctantly at first) began taking it out. After a few miles.... the pain in my knee would start up again.

At first riding ss seemed about 2 to 3 times harder than riding a geared bike (for a given distance) due to not being able to shift up or down for conditions. I'm getting the hang of how to take the hills, how to start from a dead stop, when to just glide along, when to push. The thought process, at least for me, is a lot different than riding a geared bike.

Anyway, tonight, the ride was like heaven. I did the full 10 miles and had no knee pain whatsoever. I finished strong and felt like I could have continued another 5 or 10 miles. It's the best I've felt after riding the single speed.

The best part was that just before turning off the main road onto my street I was passed by a motorcyclist who gave me a thumbs up as he went by.

Here's my route.

[wild]

Yesterday afternoons ride COLD It was 29* and I was cold for the first 5 miles then I started to feel better by the end of my 10 miles I was cold but feeling good, this may be the best ride I have had under 36*, I know that I did get losened up so maybe I am getting acustemed to the cold. Snow on the ground this morningI should have put some tires with tread on the Explorer instead of the slicks, bouth bikes sitting this morning.

[Doohickie]

There's something neat about riding in bad weather (provided you're more or less adequately covered).

I wasn't sure if I'd get a ride in today with the weather being borderline bad (40* and drizzling). But this morning I picked up some neato wool gloves with Thinsulate linings. The gloves are fingerless but they have a flip-over mitten to cover the fingers if it's too cold (or flip it back if it's too warm). That inspired me to get out and ride around a bit- 19 miles by the time I was done. I was on the single speed again.

Here's my route.

[jeepster93]

I did 45 minutes at 75% mhr in my basement on the stand. After a 5K run outside.
Does that count?

[mikebike]

37 miles this AM on the tandem with my wife-- about 53 when we started and 64 when we finished... light winds = Great Ride

[IanHighfield]

Started the new year with 3 punctures over 15 miles. Have never flatted 3 times in a month before this.

Things are looking good.

[IanHighfield]

Originally Posted by jeepster93

I did 45 minutes at 75% mhr in my basement on the stand. After a 5K run outside.
Does that count?

Do that every day till spring and you'll be an animal.

[jeepster93]

Training for a 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks.
Ran one a month ago in Vegas, got the next one in Phoenix on the 17th.

THEN...
THEN.
Couch city for me for a month!!!(perhaps a week or 2)

[Doohickie]

Much nicer riding for me today. I rode 25 miles on the single speed, including an uphill grade I use as a benchmark (it goes up for a pretty good ways, then gets really steep at the end). I frankly didn't think I could do it. And I almost didn't. But I did.

A couple pics of the Cutter apparently swimming upstream, and a shot of the old County Courthouse with some glassy office towers beyond:

[stealthammer]

Twenty miles in 7* temps under clear skys on the fixie "for a cup of coffee". It was a bit nippy at first, but within two miles I was feeling pretty good.

I really baffled some of the drivers along the way though and I think some of them thought they were seeing things. My thanks to Terramar and Pearl Izumi for making it possible.....