Did you ride today?

Having recently joined Strava, I realized yesterday that I have not one but two bikes listed with the app showing 0 miles. One is down for repair. That's bad enough, but the other is fully functional and that just isn't acceptable. Out I went on the Montague folding MTB to stack up a few miles.

I think we set a temperature record today, with the mercury cresting at 83*. It felt strange but nice to be out riding without insulated gloves, multiple layers, or all the rest of the winter cycling bits. I didn't even bring a spare layer! I was a little less enthusiastic about the need to slather up with sun screen, but it's that time of year and the stuff is better than a sun burn.

My route was a meandering wander which ultimately took me on a series of trails I haven't ridden in a while. It was great to be out and to see that the spring green-up is getting underway. It's a good time to be in CO on a bike. It was a perfect day to enjoy some saddle time on a bike I haven't ridden in a while.

Edit: oops, 26mi. 667ft climbing.

I’ve had several good rides this week.
The weather has been great for it.

Total miles has been just over 100, when I count 10 on the trainer.

Elevation gain for these rides was 6292.

The two longest rides were 30 miles.
No pictures worth sharing this time.

Life has been extraordinarily busy. It’s all I can do to squeeze in these rides.


I hope everyone is well.

Road test day. 13mi on the fat bike through moderate falling snow gave me a solid read on several new components, starting with my Portland Design Works Mud Shovel 6.5 mud guard out back and the MuckyNutz mud guard up front. I think I will need the matching downtube mud guard too, but the two are a great improvement over nothing.

My nifty side by side water bottles worked well, both as dispensers of water and a surprisingly effective mud guard. Mucked up the bottles good and proper. Though temps were only in the mid-30's, my bottles were pretty well slush-frozen into the cages by the time I returned home.

It felt good to be out in the snow. I tried my Pearl iZumi Amfib lobster claw gloves for the first time, too. Sadly, they turned out to be too small. Felt fine when I just put them on, but as soon as I got a grip on my handlebars, they set to trying to saw my hands in half. They were also a little heavy for the mide-30's temps, but that's not the gloves' fault.

I didn't really need to use my new-to-me dropper post, but it would have felt wrong not to, so I did a couple of times. I don't think it liked the cold a whole lot, but it still did its job. I think I'm gonna love that thing. I just need to buy a shock pump to keep it properly inflated.

More miles would have been great, but I did a bad job of layering and ended up soaked in sweat. That made the ride's 30mph descent a pretty chilling experience. I was once really good at layering for cycling. Very much off that game of late. Good thing we're headed into summer. Glad I got another snow ride in first.

What a ride! This morning I loaded up the touring bike and drove out to the town of Boulder, at the foot of the front range. Met up with a group at a roadside pullout and we set out to ride to the town of Ward, where a restaurant beckoned.

I nearly made it. Lasted through 12mi of sustained ascent, mostly 4-6% grade. Beautiful area, magnificent morning. Temps started at about 27*F and warming quickly. We countered that by climbing steadily from a starting altitude of 6k ft toward somewhere past 9k ft.

All was well during the climb. I stopped a couple of times to munch Clif bars and all seemed well. I was slow as molasses in January, but I knew that going in. Then the grade ticked up into the 8-10% range. It was at this point that my legs and cardio ganged up and gave me the news: I was done. I stopped and had another bar, some more water, and took some pics. Breath caught, I set out again. Again, the legs, heart and lungs all repeated the assertion: I was done.

I got off and started walking, hoping the change in pace would help. Nope. Done. Well, so be it. It was at this point that I realized my other problem: a zipper issue with my jacket hadn't been resolved at the start of the ride as I had believed. Thus I ended up hauling along two extra layers that I needed but couldn't use because I was afraid to remove my outer layer lest I be unable to re-zip it. Without an outer layer to block the wind, that descent would have been ugly.

So, I left the layers in my bag and turned back. As expected, the first few miles were bitterly cold, but this time I was descending into warmer temps. I was a little more annoyed to have such a sweet, screaming descent without the ability to properly attack it. I spun my way down, but not much faster than I could have coasted it. Still, a beautiful day and wonderful ride.

24mi total, 2503ft ascent.

I hoped for a rain ride this morning, but by the time I got ready and donned my gear, the rain had mostly if not quite ended. No matter. I enjoyed an easy 11mi spin on the touring bike. Great day for full coverage fenders. I always forget just how much I love the hiss of tire rubber on wet pavement.

With temps in the low 40's and a moderate breeze, it was challenging day for which to dress. I could have done a better job, but my choices worked out okay. I was never exactly comfortable, but the discomfort was mild and changed frequently enough thx to the wind that it worked out okay. I'd begin to freeze on descents only to cook on the climbs. My gilet was generally beneficial, though at one point it felt like my torso was roasting even as the wind sliced cleanly through the layers on my arms.

Just one of those days. Not many others out, nearly all of whom were on foot. I'd like to have gone further but my endurance is off after 5 days of back to back rides. It's been too long since I got to do this. Now, to find second lunch. I'm thinking an all you can eat place might be about right .