I am completely unscathed. I don’t think I have a bruise or a scratch or anything like either. I did get scared. But, I learned something.
It’s a narrow walk area. When I walk there with the dogs I keep them tightly near me for fear that Bailey will suddenly decide that she needs the stick in the middle of the road and tear off after it. So, when I found my front tire a little too close to the edge, I over corrected and rammed into the guard rail. It was the correct direction to over correct into. It smushed my front brake a bit so that it’s not releasing properly. Everything else is just fine.
I have decided that I’m going to walk across the bridge at Wilcrest for the rest of my bicycling life. I’ve always been afraid of it and now I have good reason to be afraid of it. So, there you have it.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Toughest ride ever (for me)
Despite the weather forecast (50% chance of rain), Erin, Stephen and I headed out on Saturday morning to Cat Spring, Texas. (Nathan had his last weekend Band responsibility for the season.) First we dropped Stephen’s car off at the McDonald’s in Sealy. He had a Boy Scout campout obligation for Saturday afternoon – Sunday afternoon. Then we headed up to the Cat Spring Social club. We parked in a field and made our preparations. It wasn’t terribly cold, but it wasn’t exactly Texas warm either. We all started out in our tights, jackets and various under-layers.
At the first rest stop, we all peeled off our top layers. This was our first “real” hill ride. The trail out by Buffalo Bayou doesn’t count. Those hills are short, steep and over within 6 miles from home. So, by 12 miles (since much of it was up and down) we were pretty hot. I’ve attached a map of the ride with the elevation change shown at the bottom. We used the facilities, ate a couple cookies and a banana and headed back out.
Stephen rode with Erin until the second rest stop – I’d ridden with her for the first leg. I enjoyed being free to set my own pace. During one section (between 20 and 22 miles) I was proud that I didn’t have to shift off my middle chain ring for a pretty long climb – about 1.5 miles. Of course, there was also a period where I was less pleasantly surprised when I realized I was in the wrong gear to make it up a much steeper incline. That was tough. I was thinking at that time that since we were in East Texas and it seemed that we’d been going uphill an awful lot that we should really have been at “the top” wherever that was. I was wrong.
So, we met back up at the second rest stop. While there, I heard someone say “The rest of the ride is downhill except for the uphill part.” I looked around for who had spoken such words of wisdom so that I could let the air out of his tires. But it wasn’t clear. We had another banana, a couple more cookies and set back out. Stephen and Erin had pulled ahead of me. I was beginning to feel some regret about pushing so hard on the middle of the ride. Then it started to rain. At first it was just a few drops here and there, easily ignored. But, any of you who have been in Texas knows that that kind of rain isn’t long lasting. About 10 miles from the finish line the sky opened up. Shortly after that point, I passed Erin and Stephen pulled over and putting their coats back on. Stephen advised me that I didn’t want to get cold (when, oh when will I learn to listen to him??).
I seriously thought about sagging once I was good and wet. But, when I stopped to put my coat back on I realized exactly how much wetter I would get if I were to stand still and wait for a SAG wagon. I decided to forge ahead. Occasionally, the rain would subside, which is what made it possible for me to pull off and wait for Stephen and Erin as we made our second to last turn in toward the start point. That was about 5 miles out…all uphill. And inexplicably, against a driving headwind – and…more heavy rain.
We pulled back in to the Cat Spring Social Club parking lot and the sun came out. We wrung out our clothing, covered our bike seats and changed our clothes (as best we could). We had a barbeque lunch and sent Stephen off to camp with the Boy Scouts. Erin and I spent the rest of the day trying to get out of our own ways. It was probably quite comical from someone else’s viewpoint as two, reasonably intelligent women spent 40 minutes inside Target trying to find a notebook suitable for a Pre-Cal project. A trip to Petsmart was equally amusing (from the outside, at least). Poor Erin had to babysit some of her favorite charges – boys who like to wrestle – while I sat on the couch and allowed my brain to turn to mush. I slept like a rock until Riley decided I was late for our walk (at 5:45 AM) and barked until I got up and let him out.
http://www.conocophillipsbikeclub.org/maps/5_2009.pdf
Next week, we’re riding more hills. I’m hoping without the rain and the wind.
At the first rest stop, we all peeled off our top layers. This was our first “real” hill ride. The trail out by Buffalo Bayou doesn’t count. Those hills are short, steep and over within 6 miles from home. So, by 12 miles (since much of it was up and down) we were pretty hot. I’ve attached a map of the ride with the elevation change shown at the bottom. We used the facilities, ate a couple cookies and a banana and headed back out.
Stephen rode with Erin until the second rest stop – I’d ridden with her for the first leg. I enjoyed being free to set my own pace. During one section (between 20 and 22 miles) I was proud that I didn’t have to shift off my middle chain ring for a pretty long climb – about 1.5 miles. Of course, there was also a period where I was less pleasantly surprised when I realized I was in the wrong gear to make it up a much steeper incline. That was tough. I was thinking at that time that since we were in East Texas and it seemed that we’d been going uphill an awful lot that we should really have been at “the top” wherever that was. I was wrong.
So, we met back up at the second rest stop. While there, I heard someone say “The rest of the ride is downhill except for the uphill part.” I looked around for who had spoken such words of wisdom so that I could let the air out of his tires. But it wasn’t clear. We had another banana, a couple more cookies and set back out. Stephen and Erin had pulled ahead of me. I was beginning to feel some regret about pushing so hard on the middle of the ride. Then it started to rain. At first it was just a few drops here and there, easily ignored. But, any of you who have been in Texas knows that that kind of rain isn’t long lasting. About 10 miles from the finish line the sky opened up. Shortly after that point, I passed Erin and Stephen pulled over and putting their coats back on. Stephen advised me that I didn’t want to get cold (when, oh when will I learn to listen to him??).
I seriously thought about sagging once I was good and wet. But, when I stopped to put my coat back on I realized exactly how much wetter I would get if I were to stand still and wait for a SAG wagon. I decided to forge ahead. Occasionally, the rain would subside, which is what made it possible for me to pull off and wait for Stephen and Erin as we made our second to last turn in toward the start point. That was about 5 miles out…all uphill. And inexplicably, against a driving headwind – and…more heavy rain.
We pulled back in to the Cat Spring Social Club parking lot and the sun came out. We wrung out our clothing, covered our bike seats and changed our clothes (as best we could). We had a barbeque lunch and sent Stephen off to camp with the Boy Scouts. Erin and I spent the rest of the day trying to get out of our own ways. It was probably quite comical from someone else’s viewpoint as two, reasonably intelligent women spent 40 minutes inside Target trying to find a notebook suitable for a Pre-Cal project. A trip to Petsmart was equally amusing (from the outside, at least). Poor Erin had to babysit some of her favorite charges – boys who like to wrestle – while I sat on the couch and allowed my brain to turn to mush. I slept like a rock until Riley decided I was late for our walk (at 5:45 AM) and barked until I got up and let him out.
http://www.conocophillipsbikeclub.org/maps/5_2009.pdf
Next week, we’re riding more hills. I’m hoping without the rain and the wind.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sunday Ride for the Girls
On Friday evening, we decided that we didn’t want to ride on Saturday morning. The weather forecast called for rain and cold wind. So, we ran around all day on Saturday. (Nathan had a commitment with his baseball team to prepare the field for play this season. So, he couldn’t have ridden with us anyway.)
We planned on riding on Sunday morning. But we woke up to a drizzly rain and gray skies. We waited it out and saddled up around 10. There was wind. Nathan’s bike has not grown with him. His knees ride closer to his chin every week, it seems. He and Stephen turned around and headed back home at Highway 6. Erin and I continued on toward Fry Road – a repeat of the ride that Stephen and Nathan and I had done last week. No dog-bike accidents this week. Just more wind and a tired girl who hadn’t ridden for two weeks.
We slogged it out. I think, in the end, that I didn’t hydrate well. It seemed as if every push of the pedal was hard this time. But, we made it home with 40 more miles behind us. I was truly useless the rest of the day. (And I really didn’t have the luxury of being useless!) So, I think my lesson is to focus more on making sure I’m drinking enough water throughout the ride. Stephen has told me that many times, and once again, he’s proven right! Darn it!
We planned on riding on Sunday morning. But we woke up to a drizzly rain and gray skies. We waited it out and saddled up around 10. There was wind. Nathan’s bike has not grown with him. His knees ride closer to his chin every week, it seems. He and Stephen turned around and headed back home at Highway 6. Erin and I continued on toward Fry Road – a repeat of the ride that Stephen and Nathan and I had done last week. No dog-bike accidents this week. Just more wind and a tired girl who hadn’t ridden for two weeks.
We slogged it out. I think, in the end, that I didn’t hydrate well. It seemed as if every push of the pedal was hard this time. But, we made it home with 40 more miles behind us. I was truly useless the rest of the day. (And I really didn’t have the luxury of being useless!) So, I think my lesson is to focus more on making sure I’m drinking enough water throughout the ride. Stephen has told me that many times, and once again, he’s proven right! Darn it!
My Thursday Morning Rides
On Thursday mornings, I ride alone. Stephen often reminds me when we’re riding together that however far “out” I go, I have to return too! Without his wisdom, I can push myself and ride as far out as I think I can get back from. So, I do. For the last two Thursdays, I’ve ridden from our house to Highway 6, which is roughly 9.75 miles away. Then I turn around and head back. Once I get back into the north side of our neighborhood, I loop around the neighborhood enough to get my odometer all the way to 20 miles.
When I get back to the house, I drink a glass of Ovaltine, shower and take myself off to work. The first time I did it, I barely made it through my evening class. But I did better last week. I’m planning on adding 5 miles to my route this week and seeing if I can break the average 13 mph mark.
I’ll let you know how it turns out!
When I get back to the house, I drink a glass of Ovaltine, shower and take myself off to work. The first time I did it, I barely made it through my evening class. But I did better last week. I’m planning on adding 5 miles to my route this week and seeing if I can break the average 13 mph mark.
I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
On our own this week
So, this week, we had a choice to make. We could repeat the ride we’d done three weeks in a row or we could make up our own ride. The choice was pretty easy for me. I was bored with Katy. I think it was also pretty easy for Stephen. I explained to Nathan that we wouldn’t have SAG support or rest stops. He informed me that we didn’t need SAG support. All right then. We mapped a 20 mile out and back route from our house out to Fry Road (which is in Katy – but it’s not as far out as all the other riders were going to be – and it was on the hike and bike trail that we like so much.
Erin was fighting a bad cold and had an opportunity to attend an AP test prep session for Biology. So, this week, it was just me and Stephen and Nathan. Nathan had last ridden on Wednesday night when Stephen and he did some interval training in the neighborhood. I’d last ridden on Thursday morning before work (which made for a very long Thursday). While Stephen and I had logged 36 miles last weekend, Nathan had been playing baseball. So, his longest ride so far had been 28 miles. This weekend we were hoping to do 40 miles.
We set out from the house around 8AM. We rode up through the neighborhood and onto the bike trail. On Thursday, I’d gone out as far as Highway 6, a 10 mile out and back route. We continued on past the dam at Highway 6 and paralleled I-10 for a few miles. Then we headed south into George Bush (the less disastrous one) Park. This was the windy leg and Stephen and I worked to keep Nathan protected and spinning along as best we could. Stephen really did most of the work on this leg. I don’t think I was in front more than a mile or so. Then we headed back west. We rested at the FFPS soccer fields, where Nathan had some of his custom-made trail mix (cashews, plain m&ms and goldfish). I was glad I had my camelback (a purchase a couple weeks back). The day was the warmest we’d had for riding thus far. All four of us were in single layers by the time the ride was over.
Once we got out to Fry Road, we turned back and headed toward home. We witnessed a bike-dog accident shortly into our return trip that was SO preventable that it made me boil. The dog was on a leash attached to a kid (maybe 10, no helmet) on a bike. As the cyclist approached, the dog saw something on the other side of the trail that just had to be investigated. So, the leash tripped up the cyclist and she went pinwheeling. She ended up with a flat, a very sore leg and a REALLY achy week ahead. I confess that I scolded the child’s mother when she appeared.
When we got back to the north-south leg, the wind was at our backs, so I pushed Nathan to ride in front of me and told him he had to go between 15 and 18 mph for the whole leg. He LOVED it. Unfortunately at the end of that leg, when the wind was on our side and pretty strong, we still had about 13 miles to go before we got home. So, we reorganized and Stephen took the brunt of the wind for the team.
We made it home some time around noon. It was a great ride. Pretty scenery, (great company) and 40 miles accomplished. Nathan has another baseball commitment this weekend, so it’s Erin and Stephen and me out in Sealy, Texas. The long ride is 41 miles. We’re planning on doing that one. The short one (30 miles) is for wimps! Shoot, now I’ve set myself up, haven’t I?
Erin was fighting a bad cold and had an opportunity to attend an AP test prep session for Biology. So, this week, it was just me and Stephen and Nathan. Nathan had last ridden on Wednesday night when Stephen and he did some interval training in the neighborhood. I’d last ridden on Thursday morning before work (which made for a very long Thursday). While Stephen and I had logged 36 miles last weekend, Nathan had been playing baseball. So, his longest ride so far had been 28 miles. This weekend we were hoping to do 40 miles.
We set out from the house around 8AM. We rode up through the neighborhood and onto the bike trail. On Thursday, I’d gone out as far as Highway 6, a 10 mile out and back route. We continued on past the dam at Highway 6 and paralleled I-10 for a few miles. Then we headed south into George Bush (the less disastrous one) Park. This was the windy leg and Stephen and I worked to keep Nathan protected and spinning along as best we could. Stephen really did most of the work on this leg. I don’t think I was in front more than a mile or so. Then we headed back west. We rested at the FFPS soccer fields, where Nathan had some of his custom-made trail mix (cashews, plain m&ms and goldfish). I was glad I had my camelback (a purchase a couple weeks back). The day was the warmest we’d had for riding thus far. All four of us were in single layers by the time the ride was over.
Once we got out to Fry Road, we turned back and headed toward home. We witnessed a bike-dog accident shortly into our return trip that was SO preventable that it made me boil. The dog was on a leash attached to a kid (maybe 10, no helmet) on a bike. As the cyclist approached, the dog saw something on the other side of the trail that just had to be investigated. So, the leash tripped up the cyclist and she went pinwheeling. She ended up with a flat, a very sore leg and a REALLY achy week ahead. I confess that I scolded the child’s mother when she appeared.
When we got back to the north-south leg, the wind was at our backs, so I pushed Nathan to ride in front of me and told him he had to go between 15 and 18 mph for the whole leg. He LOVED it. Unfortunately at the end of that leg, when the wind was on our side and pretty strong, we still had about 13 miles to go before we got home. So, we reorganized and Stephen took the brunt of the wind for the team.
We made it home some time around noon. It was a great ride. Pretty scenery, (great company) and 40 miles accomplished. Nathan has another baseball commitment this weekend, so it’s Erin and Stephen and me out in Sealy, Texas. The long ride is 41 miles. We’re planning on doing that one. The short one (30 miles) is for wimps! Shoot, now I’ve set myself up, haven’t I?
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