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Ride #93
Saturday, August 6th
30 miles on the American River Bike Trail

with the Recumbent Riders of Sacramento.

Yes. It is good to be back. And yes, I was mostly in back of the pack also. Back. Heh heh. Get it?

BUT this month I could see most of them most of the time, I think my average for the first 1/2 of the ride was 12-13 mph. So now I know I can do that for about 15 miles.

My view for most of the ride.

I don't know what my average for the second half was, but I'm betting my over all average was less than 10. 'Cause I was one tired puppy at the end of the ride.

So, why DON'T I know my average?

Because my speedometer sensor was knocked askew.

Why askew?

Because of removing and replacing my rear wheel, of course. (This is starting to sound like a conversation with a 5 year old).

Why mess with the rear wheel?

Because of this!

The Goathead thorn I found sticking out of my poor abused tire.

These little buggers are EVERYWHERE this year since we had such a wet spring. They are like caltrops: no matter how they land, there is always a point sticking up.

Here is an extremely amusing video about this horrid little scrap of vegetation. I had nothing to do with this video but I find it hilarious. No really. I do.

The Goat Head Thorn and You!

I had no problem removing the rear tire and getting a new tube in and inflated. I had a little trouble getting the wheel back in the dropouts while managing the chain. So a kind passerby held the back of the trike up while I cut loose with some language and got the wheel all settled in place.
I love my RoadMorph pump. It was easy to use and the trick a friend of mine discovered of unscrewing the collar on the business end of the pump a little bit prior to attaching the pump to a Schrader valve made it much easier than the first time I tried the pump.

I was remarkably nervous riding the last 10 of the 30 mile ride, knowing that I had only ONE spare tube and no patch kit.

Why no patch kit?
(Oh, for crying out loud! Not the five year old again!)

I probably picked up the goathead when I pulled over earlier to give a pack of cyclists my patch kit. Which I had never used. So much for the Good Samaritan act.
Who am I fooling, I'd do it again in an instant, but I might check my tires before scooting off.

I tried using the Tracks app on my phone (android). It did not seem to record anything ridewithgps can use, so I'll try again another day. The app ran for 5 hours and ran my battery down almost to nothing. So I think it might be a fun thing to play with, but only good for recording short routes.

The To Do List:

• I really really need to see if I can tighten up the seat mesh where my pokey shoulderblades have caused it to sag. 
• I also want to fix up my speedometer and make sure my pepperspray is attached to the bike securely.

Yes I have a little can of Fox strapped to my bike. There have recently been some unsavory characters (gang members, so I've heard) hanging out at the Sacramento end of the bike trail, attempting to separate people from their stuff. So I figured the spray is better kept where I can reach it rather than buried in the depths of my bag. And yes, I've practiced getting it in my hand and facing the right direction (easy with the type I bought).

• And it might be time to check the rear derailler for lumps of crud and maybe to lube and wipe down the chain.
• Oh. and check various bolt for tightness, since I'll have the seat off anyway.

Out for an early ride on Monday: Up up and away!

Roll your own (ride)

Ride #69
Saturday, May 7th
19 miles on the very busy and very lovely American River Trail

The meetup.com site (where two of the bicycle groups I belong to reside) has a feature where a member of a group can suggest a ride, and when enough people also think the ride is a Good Idea, then it becomes 'active' and we can all pile on on and decide the details.
Last September, someone suggested early morning weekend rides, and we finally did it, eight months later. Since I was not in charge (no one was - quite refreshing) I'm not sure how many folks we had: 8 I think?

Anyway, we wandered along the path, chatting, sightseeing, chatting, munching, and having a great time. I missed seeing the deer, but there was at least one. And I got gobbled at by a turkey. I think I was being cussed at by next year's Thanksgiving dinner. Just you wait! Revenge is sweet with a side of cranberries.

The weather was cooler than yesterday, but as we got later in the morning the pesky wind picked up. I am still tired from Thursday's long ride, so the wind was not my friend! Especially when I was slogging up a little hill, on the steepest part, and the wind up and slaps me in the face! Hrmph!

Now, regular readers of this blog might wonder where, on this 1st Saturday, the Sacramento Recumbent Riders were. Well, they were there at William Pond as usual, and I got a little bit of flack for showing up at the meeting place and time but not riding with them.

It was a lot of fun watching our little band of casual bikers checking out all the different recumbents there today.

Most of the folks in the casual bike group ride either mountain bikes, or bikes like this one: a hybrid or fitness or comfort bike.

Hybrid bikes are quite popular: the rider's position is quite upright so there is less strain on the neck and shoulders and wrists and back. I used to ride something like this, but my body can't tolerate even that much.

I have a wonky knee, so I'm always checking out other people's bio-mechanical form as they pedal along. And today I did a little good in the world and helped two of today's riders adjust their saddles a bit higher.

Starting and stopping on a bicycle (a conventional or "safety bicycle") can be nerve wracking if you have always ridden a bike with the seat too low. "But I want my feet on the ground!". So a couple of folks worked on that as well.
Nothing like an impromptu bike clinic under a shady tree by a lovely river!

Me, I can lie down on the job.

We started at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery, a popular parking place for bike riders. It is, wonder of wonders, Free! so I was expecting a very crowded lot. However, it was not too bad. And it has been repaved with beautiful smooooooooth pavement. The old surface was like riding around attached to a paint shaker.

I experimented with the most reclined seat position available to me on my trike.
I like it.
I'm keeping it.

CU

Clean shiny lungs

Ride #57
Saturday, April 2nd
30 miles with the usual suspects, from Folsom to William Pond and back again, American River Bike Trail and Nimbus trail.

Time once again for the 1st Saturday ride with the recumbent folks. I am getting faster although my average speed is up by just half a mile. BUT (and this is a big but - kind of like mine. Urk. Nevermind) today I managed an average speed for 8 miles of 13mph. Whoo! What does this mean? That I could see ahead of me the rest of the group. Like a carrot dangling ahead of me. AND that I was huffing and puffing like nobody's business. AND that I was pretty sure I'd die. But I did not. I do have well exercised lungs. Of course after that I was all tuckered out.

The turkeys were tuckered as well since all the toms were in display mode.

They did deign to move. Eventually.

Turkeys are about eye-level on a recumbent. Interesting and a little creepy. Do I want to know that much about turkeys? Maybe not.

Boaters out as well today.

Today's ride officially starts and ends at Wm. Pond (Discovery Park is still flooded from spring rains (a normal thing) so we've been going to Folsom the last few months. I decided today to START in Folsom and meet the group at Wm. Pond. It worked out OK since I was warmed up when the pack took off at about 15mph.
So this means I parked in Folsom. In the parking structure (yes, there is only one structure in Folsom). It was very full, as full as I've seen it yet, so I got to park at the very top level. And ride down down down and around around around to the exit. Going up was fun also. Normally I won't do that, but ... it was fun.

It turns out the Sacramento Fit folks were out in force today: they decided to come down to my neck of the woods to run/powerwalk around Lake Natomas, a nice 12 mile route. And that's why the structure was full! So there were packs of peds and aid stations and everything. They are a really nice and well organized bunch of people.

On Thursday I took off my chain, cleaned it, added a section to make it a little longer, and moved my boom out 1/2 an inch. My knees were happier than the last time I rode but still tired today. I'll take it easy for a few days and see how they do.

I had another incident of my chain dropping between the rings when shifting. Everybody tells me "that shouldn't happen, the chainrings should be close enough together to prevent that". Duh. Well, folks. It does. Comes of swapping out parts here and there. But it happens ONLY when I am not paying attention and this is ONLY the third time. The first time I had no clue how to fix it and had to spend 15 minutes scratching my head. Today it took longer to get my latex gloves on then it did to move the chain. So I ain't gonna worry 'bout it right now.

Riding with a crowd

Ride #51
Saturday, March 5th

30 miles on the American River Parkway

14 riders today on the monthly Sacramento Recumbent ride. A whole variety of 2 wheels, a tandem, and finally another tricycle - a spiffy and speedy Catrike Speed. In orange. I approve.

I hung out at the back of the pack as usual, chatting with another slow rider. And on the way back from a lovely lunch of salmon pasta salad, I chatted with a different laid back person. So it was a great day on the trail. I'm glad the rain held off until this evening since I do enjoy these rides very much.

Despite my laid back pace, I was pretty wiped out after the ride - took a nap when I got home!

Got an upclose view of a Very Large Squirrel, saw an egret, lots of songbirds, a bunch of circling raptors, and many many many people out enjoying the break in the winter rains. I was very happy to see lots of smaller children out riding their bikes or being towed by their parents. Got several "that looks like fun!" comments and saw other recumbent riders (two wheels, three wheels, and some handtrikes) out as well. One charming small girl wanted desperately to try sitting in my trike so she did. She could not come close to the pedals but she seemed pleased.

There has been a lot of construction on the trail lately, so the ever changing detours are, well, changing. I finally got to see some of the really nice new stone wall construction and other trail improvements. But no pics today since as usual I spend most of my time trying to keep up and juggling a camera slows me down quite a bit.

I think the rides later this week might fit between the storm fronts moving through, so stay tuned!

This is more or less the route I took today.

King of Squirrel Hill

Ride #40
Saturday, February 5th
29.6 miles on the lovely American River Parkway

It's the first Saturday of the month, so the Recumbent Riders of Sacramento gathered this morning to ride and this month I could finally join them again.

I thought for a moment I might not find parking since there was a very large race event finishing up when I arrived. Fortunately, the RRS tend to run a little late in their departures, so I had time to show exactly how bad I am at names and faces. Honestly, if people would just wear the same clothes, the same helmet, and ride the same bike every time I see them, I'd be fine (not).

The bunch of recumbents set off through swarms of runners, walkers, cyclists, and squirrels. Gray squirrels everywhere, on fence posts, on trees, dashing madly across the pavement. As I was creeping up a hill, I looked to my right, directly into some beady squirrel-eyes. For a minute, I thought the critter was going to leap on to my trike and hitch a ride. He went up the tree instead, and scolded me. The nerve! What does he, rule the place?

Although I trailed along in the rear as usual, I did try really really hard to keep up for about the first 7 miles, and my average speed was 12mph. Pretty smokin' for poor old me. Then after 15 miles it was 11mph average. By the time I got back to the car at the end of the ride, it was just over 10. I'm pleased anyway. I managed to stay in the middle chainring unless I had to get up some little stinking rise. I even batted along at 16mph for a while. I am slowly getting my chutzpah back on cornering, but I did still do some braking.

I need to check the directions for my brakes: I'm pretty sure I can move the left pad in a little bit, since the right brake is grabbier than the left. I stayed out of the "little little" combination of gears (in which the chain is the slackest) and I had no shifting problems at all.

No pics today (too busy pedaling like a maniac) but might have some after tomorrow's ride. Yes, two rides in a row! Whooo!

Tomorrow I'll whine

Ride # 21
Saturday, December 11th. 29 (not 27 - actually, almost 30!) miles on the American River Trail

I finally, finally got to meet up with the Recumbent Riders of Sacramento. Yay! Lovely people, cool bikes. Can't wait for next month to do it again.

It is fall, for sure, no fooling, yessiree bob, ya sure you betcha (I suppose Sacramento area natives would call it winter). Leaves all over the trails. I picked eight leaves out of various bits of my trike today. Some of the leaves were very large - the size of my hand. I expected to find them between the fender and the wheel, but most of them got picked up underneath my trike. One enterprising leaf made a semi permanent home in my rear derailluer. I evicted it. Out, damn'd leaf! out, I say!

I slathered up with sunscreen this morning at home but drove down through the low cloud layer to meet up with the other riders. So it was perfect (in my mind) 'cycling weather: calm, about 60 degrees F, overcast. The group left from William Pond and rode all the way to Old Sacramento, for lunch, and then back. My average speed was about 9.5: respectable for me (and a 1/2 mile off from shorter rides) but I was pretty tired at the end of the trip. Hoisting myself up the stairs to write this entry was quite an effort. I'd better stretch some more in a little bit.

28 miles in one day was my record on my old Trek bike, and that was after months and months of steady riding. I'm so glad I can go almost 30 miles on my trike and still move my arms and neck at the end of it!

I spent most of the time in the back of the group, although I did cave in and lead the group for a little while (my ego was averaging 13mph for that section). Lots of lovely conversation as folks filtered up and down the group. I collected some opinions about lights which will help me decide what to get when my front light battery no longer accepts a charge.

I had moved the switch for my front light lower on the steering mechanism, so needed to rescue the cable from scrubbing on the pavement. I'll add a few more turns to the cable and maybe move some of the velcro strips around. I'll also check for leftover leafs parts before I ride again. I had a local shop (not where I bought my ride, but good folks) true up my rear wheel a bit. No more scrubbing (the clearance between fender and rear wheel is tight tight tight). I had no shifting problems and my brakes were fine also (I adjusted them after the last ride).

I hope to get back on the horse that made my glutes really really tired tomorrow, but that depends on if my sweetheart can be persuaded to leave the computer! (I was ill most of the last two weeks, so that's why no post until now).

I've switched to ridewithgps.com to record my routes and, if there is a way to embed a button-link I have not found it, so here's the map. It is not quite accurate, but is generally OK.