Monthly Archives: February 2012

Lunchtime ride like the wind

Posted on by

With temperatures close to 60 and sunny, and with an actual hour for lunch, going for a ride was a no-brainer.  I rode from Grover down to Casa Lopez.  I was tempted to extend the round trip by two miles by going to Holzer and back, but I’m glad I didn’t.  The ride down to Casa Lopez was fast and I felt like I was flying.  After a quick swig of water, I turned around and headed back, only to find myself facing a massive headwind.  No wonder I was hauling earlier.  On the way back, it was all I could do to roll at 10-12 miles an hour, and I bet at times I dipped into the single digits.  The picture of the flag doesn’t really do the wind justice, as it was really whipping around today. While only a brief 34 minutes on the bike, it felt great. An yes, that makes two days in a row on the bike!

The details:

8.14 miles
34:32
500 calories burned
14.1 mph average speed

Inaugural kiddie ride of 2012

Posted on by

First a little math:
image

With 50 (ish) weather, the boys and I took the opportunity to meet Mac and E for a Sunday ride out to Eclipse. The kids had a great time, though the got a bit chilly in the shady parts of the bike path. My boys each wore long sleeve shirts and sweat shirts, and could have used full-fingered gloves. While Scalia said it was 48 degrees, Mac and I estimated an 8-10 degree drop in the shade. So next time we should bring an extra layer. Carter seemed cozy in the trailer and even managed a nap on the way back.

Clay lost his chain about 3 miles from the car. I need to remember to pack a crescent wrench for his wheel, as the Crank Brothers multitool wasn’t made for servicing a fixed wheel. Fortunately I was able to massage the chain back on and we made it back to the car without any other problems.

I also found I’m a bit out of practice putting together the bike train, as it took me 20 minutes to assemble the rig. It will get easier with more practice, though by summer, Cole should be riding on his own. That should shorten the rig to just a trailer.

20120226-185009.jpg

When we got home, we refueled with this:
image