Did You Ride Today?

[CAMPYBOB]

Not blurry enough! We are roadies! We have rules! The guns are always shaved and our tan lines are to be kept razor sharp.

Well...I would keep them razor sharp if Ohio had any sun.

55 degrees and sunny this afternoon. The wind was roaring through at 15 to 20 MPH with gusts to 30 MPH.

I hit the gritty, shitty roads for a quick 23-mile workout over lightly rolling terrain. I surprised myself at how well I pulled into the wind and only dropped low on the bars for a mile or two. No speed records were broken, but I did catch and pass an Amish boy giving a trotter a road workout.

It felt great to breathe fresh air and feel the sun...even if I did have tights on.

Only 625' of climbing, but every foot of those little 'real' hills felt good to me. The virtual climbing on Zwift with a dumb trainer just isn't the same workout as real life.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Nice climbing, Mr. B.! Good work.

And how you don't sweat to death in all those clothes in 88 degree air temps and your sunny clear sky is beyond me! My short sleeve jersey would have been unzipped to below my sternum and flapping in the warm breeze.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

70 degrees and sunny, but the damned wind was out of control! 16 to 32 MPH all day with afternoon gusts to 41 MPH.

Thanks to some damaged shingles on the barn roof, I spent most of my planned outdoor ride on the roof putting down new shingles in a gale.

I only had time to hit the trainer for a short 1 hour and 51 minute jam session. Even the I had to crush it from start to finish to get some decent miles in. I chased down everything that was in front of me.

There was only 2000 riders in the game and I flew down into the Jungle, Through the Ruins and climbed back out just about as fast as I could without pulling a muscle on the low-geared track bike. I held off every challenger coming up behind me that I could.

Didn't even have time to look at the numbers, but it was a good effort.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Set out for an easy 15 today. Think it would be that way?

NOPE! One mile from home I get a flat. Ruins the entire ride. 2 spares but now I worry about something hidden in the tire I could not find might puncture again. I did hit an object, a rock hidden in the shadows of the trees so maybe that was it.

A mile from home. Don't want to walk, can't call she's not home but the mood is ruined! So I fix it and continue on hoping it doesn't flat again, *******!

Bad thing is, I had my favorite valve cover, gold cap that I have had for 13 years. Lost it in the grass at the park. That was a long lasting loving relationship!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

83 Freakin' degrees here in Ohio today! Light and sporadic morning rain and then sunshine!

And again, heavy winds! 22 to 25 MPH steady when I headed out this afternoon. Gusts were over 35 MPH. Tough to hold a line sometimes.

23 miles of steep climbs. Just over 1200' of climbing. A nice workout at medium tempo.

 

[jhuskey]

It has been really nice the last 3 days it has been windy. Got a ride in on Thursday and just got off the bike took yesterday off to put finishing touches on the boat and get it in the water runs great. Looks like it's going to be a day on the trainer tomorrow 100% chance of rain and misery.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Windy is right, JH! 12 to 23 MPH steady here with gusts to 31 MPH again today. Hellova week for wind. Roof shingles? Not so much!

It hit 79 degrees today and I'm adapting well enough to the road and wind. The early heat yesterday did get my attention, but for that short of a ride it was no biggee.

32 miles today with right around 1200' of climbing again. Today's hills were less steep and a little longer.

The wind worked me over, but my endurance seems pretty good. I guess those 2 to 3 hour Zwift sessions are paying off. My power is good and the legs are finally getting used to a road bike's power stroke as opposed to the track bike.

Like Tennessee, Ohio will be soaked tomorrow. 100% chance and about an 1-1/4 predicted rainfall total before tomorrow night. Definitely a day to sit on Zwift, maybe climb L'Alpe d'Zwift for the fourth time.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

43 solo miles this morning. Man it gets windy! Warm but the chicks are coming out! On my old 1998 bike.

 

[medelyn]

I will try to ride later this afternoon. It's summer in our country and the weather outside is a little bit of hot. It will be best if I drive later and enjoy it.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

63 degrees and rain all day. Wind at 9 to 12 MPH.

Hit the trainer for 3 hours and 12 minutes. Climbe L'Alpe du Zwift (Huez) using the World Hack to get into Watopia while everyone else was riding London.

Anywhere from 2800 to 3200 riders in the game today and maybe 200 of them were on Watopia. I saw at least 50 going up or down L'Alpe.

Ended up with 54 miles on the Garmin and 41 miles on Zwift.

Hellova trainer workout. I'm beat.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

35 degrees this afternoon after a morning high of 43 degrees. Morning heavy rain gave way to afternoon snow flurries. We're supposed to get anything from a dusting to an inch depending on who you listen to. Winds are nuts at 18 MPH with gusts to 29 MPH.Overcast sky all day.

2 hours on the trainer riding Zwift's London course, the Greatest London Flat. 2 Laps was good for 850' of virtual climbing and I rode around for awhile after finishing the second lap.

A decent workout for a semi-recovery ride. Legs had very little snap left after yesterday.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Yeah...April 17, 2018. Light flurries over night. About 1/2" of snow this morning and a few minutes of white-out conditions several times during the afternoon. The temperature is holding steady at 31 degrees. Wind speed is all over the map. Anywhere from 12 to 24 MPH with gusts to 31 MPH. Sucks.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Still 32 degrees. Still snow in the air. Still overcast. The wind is still going 12 to 15 MPH with gusts to 31 MPH.

I hit the trainer for 1 hour and 36 minutes. Spent too long adjusting my right cleat to alleviate some weird calf cramping in my Polio leg. The muscle is dead or at least the nerves that are supposed to make it move are dead, but it's been getting rock hard and as tight as a drum head.

It felt much butter this afternoon after moving the shoe forward 1/8" on the pedal.

Rode hard and hit a couple of fast bunches of riders going around London. I was dropped like a rock on Box Hill. A good effort! Lots of fun for an indoor session.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

16 miles today 1,427 ft of elevation gain. I sent a text to Gina at 5:00. I will start riding about 6 and I won't be home till after 7:00. I get a call at 6:45 during the most important, toughest climb of the day. I answer cause you never know about emergencies. I stop, dig for my phone, out of breath panting like a dog. Hello! Gina? Hey what are you doing? :-/ Uhhhh! I don't think I should have called you hunh?! ........Anyway felt good today! Trying to get my chubby legs back in shape!

 

[CAMPYBOB]

1400' in 16 miles is steep! Nice job, Mr. B!

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Thanks! It's actually 3 loops around the hood. Kinda like repeats I guess. It's only 3 to 5% grades for the first 3 miles. Down for a couple then repeat the top 2 miles over again twice. Nice little workout for midweek rides.

There is a little kicker at the tip of 10% that gets the lungs burning.

But it's the same course Gina rides with me when she's riding. Also the same course we ride on the tandem on midweek rides. That is a little tougher than the singles!

Here Gina is on the short 10% grade (50 yards long?)

. Where the car is measures 5% and this is the top of the 3 mile climb. Doesn't look steep but once your're at the top, you can see a long ways down.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

49 degrees and overcast with the wind a low 5 to 6 MPH.

Just 18 miles at a medium tempo with a few digs thrown in. Nothing earth shattering, but it felt great to be outside again!

There's still some flooding and I had to detour around one road that was under water.

More rain is forecast for tonight with 1/2" of snow before morning. Tomorrow, a freezing mix with a high of 37 degrees. Sucks to be in Ohio this 'Spring'.

 

[CAMPYBOB]

Doesn't look steep but once your're at the top, you can see a long ways down.

3% is easy peasy. 5% starts to make any amateur rider work. 10% is the start of "My legs are burning!" And last up the hill is still up the hill!

Like I said, 1427' in 16 miles is real climbing. Almost 90' of vertical per mile. That takes effort. Taking a tandem up that has got to be a long, hard grind.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

49 degrees and overcast with the wind a low 5 to 6 MPH.

Just 18 miles at a medium tempo with a few digs thrown in. Nothing earth shattering, but it felt great to be outside again!

There's still some flooding and I had to detour around one road that was under water.

More rain is forecast for tonight with 1/2" of snow before morning. Tomorrow, a freezing mix with a high of 37 degrees. Sucks to be in Ohio this 'Spring'.

49 Sounds pretty cold. Only 62 here but the winds blowing at 13-15 mph made it feel a little cooler. And that doesn't help while climbing.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

3% is easy peasy. 5% starts to make any amateur rider work. 10% is the start of "My legs are burning!" And last up the hill is still up the hill!

Like I said, 1427' in 16 miles is real climbing. Almost 90' of vertical per mile. That takes effort. Taking a tandem up that has got to be a long, hard grind.

Ya know, the tandem is not all that bad when Gina is on and has done some climbing on her single. She has done this ride with us many many times on her single. 8 mile climb with 2300 ft of gain. She even completed a 21 mile climb with 5000 ft a couple times in the past. She's not lightning fast up the climbs but she has beat a few male forum members up the climb on some of our rides. So when she is on, she does very well. We climb faster on the tandem than she does on her single bike so we do OK.

She was doing this ride like once every two weeks for about 3 months. Really improves her fitness.