Recent Bike Rides

I’m starting to push myself to ride harder! Jeff and I did a longer ride on Sunday to test our stamina. We rode a total of 51.45 miles at an average speed of 16.7 mph. You can see a map and stats from the ride here.

Our ride went past marshes with wading herons, dunes and beaches covered with rocks from the recent storm surge. Other parts of the ride went uphill to open farmlands and followed winding roads through dense woodlands.

Jeff lost his chain on this long hill, so while he stopped to fix it, I pedaled slowly and took out my camera to snap a few pics while rolling. This is a working dairy farm and the cows were all lined up by the barn waiting to be milked.

Sometimes there are breaks in the woodlands for little pastures framed by stonewalls, like this one with some grazing sheep.

We ended our ride with hot fudge sundaes at Gray's Ice Cream. The sugar boost was just what we needed!

The next day, we did a 21 mile ride around Conanicut at an average speed of 18 mph. All the details about this ride are here. Near the start of our route, three deer crossed in front of us and we had to brake hard to stay out of their way! We rode past the osprey nest and I could just see the back of one of the birds sitting on the nest. You get a much better view from the webcam!

Having biked 100 miles in the last three days, I should take a day to rest, but this evening we have a club ride, so I will have to wait until tomorrow to 'recover'. I'm not sure yet if I will do a slow ride or take the day off. I guess it will depend on the weather.

I've started to put links to some of my more interesting ride stats on my sidebar under 'My Cycling Stuff', so check that out once in awhile!

Only 1 week to go!

While most of my bike rides are spontaneous, there are a couple of event rides this year that I am especially looking forward to and require pre-registration due to their popularity.

The first organized bike event I'll be taking part in is the 5 Boro Tour in NYC on May 6th! Jeff and I received our tour registration packets in the mail and here is one of the vests.

It seems most practical to use our mtn bikes on this ride. We won't have to worry about them being tightly packed with other bikes on the train. Also, it will be easier to see the scenery riding in a more upright position and the standard, flat pedals will be better for riding the crowded route.

Looking at my ride log, I noticed we hadn't had the mtn bikes out for a spin since January 14th. So yesterday, Jeff and I got them out of the barn and went over them, cleaned them, oiled the chains and pumped up the tires. We decided to do a test ride in preparation for the Tour! We rode 27 miles of the East Bay Path at an average speed of 14mph. The pace was relaxed, easy and fun. We enjoyed the sunshine and views and shared some snacks as we pedaled along.

Although I haven't followed any specific training program in preparation for the Tour, I have enough miles in my legs that I should have a fun time riding though NYC.

We'll be riding with Debby and Chris!

Show & Tell: Favorite Pottery

I look forward to at least one vanilla latte every day! (Today is gray, rainy and chilly and the coffee is the only thing keeping me from falling asleep!) You can tell I sometimes get carried away steaming the milk. It's fun to do and Silas likes the noises the steamer makes as the milk froths. He sounds just like it when he snores!

The mug is from my small collection of Emma Bridgewater pottery. I think most of her patterns are really lovely, but this robin always makes me smile. The eye gives it a lot of character!

Saffy

This time of year, Saffy gets a bit warm in her winter coat. She likes to crawl into the shade under the brush pile where she's created a den by chewing the branches.



When she's not tunneling under the brush, she frequently rolls. Pretty soon, all that winter hair will start to come out and there will be patches of hair left behind on the lawn where she's rolled!

Primroses

These primroses are some of the first blooms in my garden.

Summery Weather!

Saturday, I had to ask, what happened to spring? The weather changed overnight from cold and raw to *hot*! Jeff and I decided it was time to get some summer bike kit, so we went on a drive to a few bike shops and found quite a bit of gear (some was even on sale!). I got a day-glow vest, jersey and a light blue skirt with built in bike shorts! That will be nice for a change from my usual black shorts. Here's a pic of Jeff in his new summer jersey, shorts and socks.

Sunday, Debby and Chris had invited us to join a ride with the Southern CT Cycling Club in Chester. That is a hilly, largely wooded area with quaint villages complete with white meeting houses, town centers with bakeries and coffee shops, picture perfect old houses and outlaying farms with horses and cows basking in the sun. In addition to all that, there are lovely bubbling, rock strewn streams everywhere you look and many waterfalls like this one near the start of our bike ride.

Near Chester, in the town of Essex, there is a fascinating train museum with this steam engine on display as well other cars and accessories like an enormous snow plow for the front of an engine. Here's Jeff standing next to the engine for scale.

A closer view of all those moving parts.

A detail of the front.

This week, I'm planning to continue my spring cleaning around the house. Fortunately, I've finished getting rid of things for now, so I can concentrate on organizing the things I'm going to keep!

Finally Spring?

At last, the sun is shining and I am hopeful that spring is really here! Despite the gloomy days, plants are sprouting in the gardens (including these poppies). I was glad things didn't get washed out by all the rain!


The Conanicut osprey are tending their nest. I keep checking the webcam and got to see the egg! Here's the pic showing it:


While the weather has been lousy, I've taken the opportunity to spring clean my house. I've gotten rid of over 100 books, many of which went to a book drive for the troops and countless bags of clothing that I donated to the Salvation Army. It's fun to get rid of things and be able to help out some good causes too!

Well, this is just a quick post so you'll know I wasn't washed away by the nor'easter. I promise to have new biking and knitting posts soon :-)