Ok girls - just how many of us are there here?

Originally Posted by wackydeirdre

Hi Lucy,
I have a friend in Albequerque who tells me its where all the cyclists go for heavy duty training. It sounds like an awesome place to cycle! I hear the balloon festival started today. Enjoy it!

Originally Posted by wackydeirdre

Enjoy it! I'll have to update my friend on the date. He has a terrible time with dates. He's an artist and always very preoccupied. Enjoy those mountains! I hear if you can ride there you can pretty much handle anything with the air being so thin and all. I heard you did have some terrible rain there a month or so back but you basically have the wind to contend with more than anything which can get pretty harsh I hear.Have a great time!

Originally Posted by wackydeirdre

My guess is you probably will have a lot of excess stamina when you go back east unless the humidity bothers you then you might be flattened. It could be whatever you are used to. They may train for the big tournaments in Albequerque because they aren't used to the thin air and want to condition themselves for all altitudes, I don't really know for sure. I actually like to ride on hot humid days better than in the cool weather. I like the challenge and feel I get a better workout. I'd like to visit some day and find out what it's like to ride there. I was supposed to visit my friend this past summer but a lot of unexpected things came up so I had to put it off a while. Where do your folks live? It sounds as if you only have been living there in Albequerque for a short time. Have you picked up the accent yet? I'm gonna warsh the clothes and such?
RE: The rain, my friend told me today that the first saturday of the balloon festival each year without fail it rains. It's good they finally got the rain there though , they have been in a drout for some time it seems. Did you manage to ride much with all the "gully warshers" this summer? I just cant help busting on that accent whenever possible. Is this your first time riding or did you pick it back up again? I love what riding does to my bod! I swam more than rode this summer but have gotten back into it again, I'd hurt my leg acting like a kid in my yard with my sons and tore a muscle so am gradually getting back on the bike. It's going to take a little time to get back to speed but I'll be fine. I plan to ride outdoors for as long as the weather allows. Back on the trainer after that until spring. The summer goes too fast!

Originally Posted by Lucy_Aspenwind

Hi

Definitely agree with you about training when it is warm vs. cold weather. I find it harder to breath when it gets below a certain temperature - perhaps a remnant of childhood asthma, but nonetheless that's how it is for me.

I've been here a few years now, but definitely no accent - I'm not from the US

This summer was by far and away the worst I've ever seen here. The records apparently agree - wettest summer on file since the mid 1850's. I got caught in the rain a few times, not something I especially fancy - folks here drive poorly enough on sunny, clear days, much less stormy, rainy ones!

I just got into riding in July of this year. I had wanted to for a while but had some knee problems, thankfully (knock on wood and a many, many Hail Mary's)....I am better.

Originally Posted by wackydeirdre

I had an old knee injury also from skiing. I finally was able to quit using the brace at the end of the summer. I ended up hurting the same leg only pulled (or perhaps tore) my hamstring. I'll lean toward torn since I did it in July and it still hurts some. It also is feeling better than before so I'm back on the bike taking it slowly until it gradually is stronger also.

I also have asthma since my house burnt down in 1999. Haven't had an attack in a while but my first year cycling we had a very mild early winter and I rode until mid Jan. one day the cold hit and I had an asthma attack that flattened me for more than a week. I was in bed sucking on the albuterol peace pipe. My old friend the nebulizer. Haven't had that out since. My daughter seems to have outgrown her astma also thank god! Last attack she had turned into pneumonia a couple years ago. Anyhow, water under the bridge. All is well. It's getting cool early this year then we had a nice day again today near 80 so it was a pleasure to ride. I dread puting the bike back on the trainer for the winter. It just isn't any fun. Keeps me in shape so I guess it serves it's purpose. Have fun out there!

Originally Posted by Lucy_Aspenwind

I totally understand - I don't have asthma anymore but it is impossible to forget those attacks when I was a kid. Believe you me, asthmatics have all my empathy!

Well I am about to buy a trainer so I can get some 'riding' in during the weekdays. So you won't be alone working indoors

Originally Posted by wackydeirdre

They are boring but better than getting out of shape and you'll need it with the winds there. Have fun with it.

Originally Posted by Van Hilliard

Hi Folks,
I have been riding (off and on) for several decades. In 1975, I retired from racing and spent some time competing as a runner and race walker. I made a cycling comeback of sorts in the 1980s (local and regional races) and directed a racing team (all men) for several years. In the late 1980s, I discovered throwing in track and field (athletics) and began to compete there. My specialty was the heavy weight and the hammer throw. I managed to win a world championship in the weight pentathlon in 1995 and set a few national and world records during that time. Unfortunately, I discovered kayak racing in the late 1990s. I say unfortunately because I managed to end two activities with one set of injuries. I damaged my shoulder, had surgery and was unable to come back from it so I quit competing in both kayaking and throwing in 2001. The next year, I tried cycling again and a year later managed to win a couple of age-group state titles but health once again took me off the bike. I'm now in what I consider to be my fourth cycling comback. I started riding again in July. I'm much too heavy -- great for throwing but bad for cycling. My challenge now is to find a group slow enough for me. Our local club has a group called the "daisy pickers". It's a great group of people who understand that looking around can be part of the pleasure of riding. I still feel the urge for speed but even if I manage to get faster, I'll reserve some time for the pure pleasure of riding and looking around.
I teach at a university and also am a nature photographer (so looking around definitely will be integrated into my future off-road riding). Before entering academe, I was a journalist for 18 years and at one time wrote a newspaper column on bicycling.
I'm glad to be here. I look forward to getting to know many of you.

Originally Posted by Van Hilliard

Hi Folks,
I have been riding (off and on) for several decades. In 1975, I retired from racing and spent some time competing as a runner and race walker. I made a cycling comeback of sorts in the 1980s (local and regional races) and directed a racing team (all men) for several years. In the late 1980s, I discovered throwing in track and field (athletics) and began to compete there. My specialty was the heavy weight and the hammer throw. I managed to win a world championship in the weight pentathlon in 1995 and set a few national and world records during that time. Unfortunately, I discovered kayak racing in the late 1990s. I say unfortunately because I managed to end two activities with one set of injuries. I damaged my shoulder, had surgery and was unable to come back from it so I quit competing in both kayaking and throwing in 2001. The next year, I tried cycling again and a year later managed to win a couple of age-group state titles but health once again took me off the bike. I'm now in what I consider to be my fourth cycling comback. I started riding again in July. I'm much too heavy -- great for throwing but bad for cycling. My challenge now is to find a group slow enough for me. Our local club has a group called the "daisy pickers". It's a great group of people who understand that looking around can be part of the pleasure of riding. I still feel the urge for speed but even if I manage to get faster, I'll reserve some time for the pure pleasure of riding and looking around.
I teach at a university and also am a nature photographer (so looking around definitely will be integrated into my future off-road riding). Before entering academe, I was a journalist for 18 years and at one time wrote a newspaper column on bicycling.
I'm glad to be here. I look forward to getting to know many of you.

Originally Posted by Van Hilliard

Hi Folks,
I have been riding (off and on) for several decades. In 1975, I retired from racing and spent some time competing as a runner and race walker. I made a cycling comeback of sorts in the 1980s (local and regional races) and directed a racing team (all men) for several years. In the late 1980s, I discovered throwing in track and field (athletics) and began to compete there. My specialty was the heavy weight and the hammer throw. I managed to win a world championship in the weight pentathlon in 1995 and set a few national and world records during that time. Unfortunately, I discovered kayak racing in the late 1990s. I say unfortunately because I managed to end two activities with one set of injuries. I damaged my shoulder, had surgery and was unable to come back from it so I quit competing in both kayaking and throwing in 2001. The next year, I tried cycling again and a year later managed to win a couple of age-group state titles but health once again took me off the bike. I'm now in what I consider to be my fourth cycling comback. I started riding again in July. I'm much too heavy -- great for throwing but bad for cycling. My challenge now is to find a group slow enough for me. Our local club has a group called the "daisy pickers". It's a great group of people who understand that looking around can be part of the pleasure of riding. I still feel the urge for speed but even if I manage to get faster, I'll reserve some time for the pure pleasure of riding and looking around.
I teach at a university and also am a nature photographer (so looking around definitely will be integrated into my future off-road riding). Before entering academe, I was a journalist for 18 years and at one time wrote a newspaper column on bicycling.
I'm glad to be here. I look forward to getting to know many of you.