First Good Fall Ride

[MrSteve]

It's been raining recently.
On top of that, my knee needed the rest, so, this was my first real ride on the road in a few weeks.

Hopped on the bike, intending to just putter around a few miles, going through the gears
and just enjoy a nice Sunday afternoon on the road.
After a few miles, the knee loosened up and ... and three road bikes passed me while I
was resting on the side of the road, playing with the bike computer and sipping water.
Um, that was the end of my rest!
I turned the bike around, checked the mirror, put the water bottle away and gave chase.

Unlike you actual racers... or fast guys, my top speed for a prolonged pursuit is only about
24mph. which is where I pegged the speed.
I actually caught up!
It only took me two miles... they were puttering along at around 18mph when I caught 'em.
I turned around, without passing anyone.
A sort of catch-and-release.

Ten miles later, I passed the same trio of riders going the other way: we were riding same same route,
but traveling in opposite directions.
Heh.
Fun.

My little afternoon ride ended up totaling 22 miles at an average speed of 18.5mph.
That's moving pretty quickly, for me, in these rolling hills!

 

[MrSteve]

Second Fall ride.
It was sunny, about 65 degrees F. and windy.

Sunday is my favorite day to ride. Not much traffic and not as much road rage to deal with.

Just a short ride, but enough of a workout to make climbing stairs a little bit more interesting after the ride.

The crosswind did not affect my rear disc... or maybe I'm so accustomed to riding with rear
wheel covers that I just don't notice any effects.

Fortunately, just as I was considering cutting the ride short, because slogging upwind alone is
not much fun, along came a pair of roadbike riders.
All for me!

For the cool weather, I wore the BMX helmet and full-finger gloves.
The chin bar on the helmet deflects the slipstream, keeping the cold air out of my eyes and
the gloves deflect the slipstream off my shoulders, while keeping the fingers warm.

The roadies were clad in their warmies and riding their hoods... not very aero at all.

Passing those two was easy, very easy: upwind.

It's a good thing that those two bicyclists showed up when they did... they inspired me to work a little bit harder.