June Biker Chicks Chat
 

:welcome: everyone... Whoa, it's JUNE and biking time for sure... I biked 30k yesterday... No biking today it's raining :tantrum:...

I did it!!! I finally got out on my bike this morning. Fairly slow, and only 9.9 miles but not bad for a tune up ride. Butt is ok, wrists are complaining.

My knees are in heaven though. All the running and they have been feeling a bit stiff, got on the bike and crack crack crack for 20 yards and then happiness. I forgot how much my knees like the biking "chiropractic adjustment"

LOL and here I am proud of myself for my 8 mile beginner ride! :) However (and a BIG however) the first 4 miles are almost entirely uphill... I never thought I could make it that far going up the hill. I did have to stop and rest a few times. It is a very slight hill, just looooooong and actually goes a lot farther up. But coming back sure is a fun trip! I can really feel those muscles pulling!!

Sue

OK, I lied, my butt was sore, it just hadnt developed yet.

Welcome Misti! You should be proud of your 8 mile ride. :D

We all have to start somewhere Misti... :bravo: for doing 8 miles :yes:

I haven't biked in a couple of days it's been raining like crazy, I miss it :(

I just may buy a stand to be able to bike in the winter time ...

We have one Ilene, I have to say, even dh who is an avid biker doesnt use it much. Its worse than the treadmill as far as boredom factor.

Oh gawd, and you know how I hate the dreadmill :faint:

Hi everybody... thanks for the welcome! Today I decided to go farther and rode on up the hill -- I knew when I got to the top there was a town center and neat place to just ride around. LOL there was a dead end street with a big hill so I decided to "hit it" and see how far I could get... ha! NOT far but at least I gave it a try. Riding home is soooooo neat almost all downhill! My butt was just getting over being sore from last time, ha!

And Diva, your 30-40 minutes is a great start! My 8 miles... or 12 today... is neat for me because on the way I am riding almost totally up a very slight hill, which flattens out every once in a while to keep me from passing out LOL. But coming BACK is so easy that I almost feel guilty counting it as exercise!! :) Keep on biking! :bike: :bike: :bike:

I have a stationary bike too but agree.... talk about BORING LOL

I've been biking back and forth to work, which is only 3 miles each way. But I still feel it, due to hills, generally being out of shape, and the other exercise I'm doing... I'm planning to do some longer rides on the weekends.

That is super, Sarah! A great way to get in some exercise! I wish I could bike to work but it is way too far! Keep up the good work! :bike:

12 miles is great Misti :high: ...

Sarah -- Lucky you you can bike to work!!

This morning I did 15k/9.32miles, got caught in the rain at 8k :rain:... But that's ok, the thing that makes me nervous when it rains is the slipperyness, nothing happened though...

The only thing that did happened is that a family of Canada Geese hissed at me because they have about 10 babies and they hate when you ride through them... As I was hurrying to get passed them I stood on my pedals and suddenly got this massive charlie horse in my right calve... Man, it hurt, I had to stop about 20 feet away to rub the knot out!! It still hurts... I'm going to take a hot bath to try and relieve the pain...

Hi everyone!

I've been riding tues, thurs to work part way and for a longer ride on the weekends. It's been going well! Today I did about 12 k, but very up and downhill so it felt like more. I'm training for a duathlon in Sept!

Happy riding everyone! And a special welcome to Misti/Sue. It's nice to see you around here. You'll beat that hill yet. That can be your goal, and boy will you ever feel good when you do it!

Later, gang.

Thanks Boarderchick, for the welcome! And LOL I don't know about that hill! :) Especially since by the time I get to that BIG hill I have already ridden my bike 5 miles mostly uphill LOL. But it is a fun goal to work toward!

Ilene, great job on the 15k! I love the rain so won't mind riding in it but as you said I do have a concern about it being slippery, especially since I am still a bit wobbly on my bike especially when I start out and uphill LOL.

Hello everyone. I've finally used my bike! My car needs new brakes, so it was the perfect opportunity for me to do my first commute to work this morning. Going into work it was really easy as it's mainly downhill, coming back it was a LOT harder, but still not too bad and still faster than the bus. THEN when I got home I realised I neeeded to go to the supermarket, cycled there and then back with my shopping (that's a way to reduce the amount of rubbish I buy!).

In total I think I did 14 or 15 miles, which I'm quite pleased with for a first time out. Although I may be buying some padded shorts tomorrow...

That is SUPER, Helen! Way to go! LOL I know what you mean about the padded shorts. :)

Bike Envy
 

I've only recently bought myself a bike, and while I've been using it to get around town, I still have been getting my 'real' exercise at the gym. This by way of saying that I am *not* a biker-chick :)

Anyway, I met some people last week (I'm a waitress) who are riding their bikes from the Oregon coast to Maine this summer. How amazing would that be? They gave me the address to their blog so that I can read about their travels. Check it out; I think the reading is giving me a life goal :)

http://tomsride.blogspot.com/

Fun!

Wow, Oregon to Maine - that's amazing. I've always wanted to drive cross-country, and haven't even managed to do that yet.

Today I biked along a highway that is closed on summer Sundays for recreational use. There was a great mixture of people, from little little kids to people out for the bike equivalent of a Sunday stroll to some very serious bicyclists whizzing along. The highway is two lanes, though, so there was plenty of room for everyone at their various speeds.

I think I rode about 15 miles - I was glad to test out a longer distance because the triathlon will be 12 miles. I also got a book of day trips in my area that are mostly 25-40 miles, so now that I've gone a longer distance, I'll feel more confident about trying one of them.

Oh, to cycle cross country, that must be fun, someday I'd love to do that ...

Today I was only able to get 15k/9miles in, but I also ran 5k this morning....

You ladies are awesome! i bought a bike last summer at Wal-mart for about $50+. I got it mainly for when i go to the lake because people are always walking or biking around the lake. You have to deal with the cars but the speed limit is like 10mph. :) Anyway, it was bought without realizing that we only go to the lake like 5 times a year. LOL! And even then. . . i get down the road. . .maybe a mile and realize how much my legs are angry at me! So i think i can ride 2 miles but that's all. Guess i'm not a biker chick. :( But you gals really inspire me anyway. Of course, i don't have a nice bike or padded shorts or anything like that. But it's really nice to hear your stories. I live in a small town and there just isn't anywhere to ride. The few people i see on bikes are on the 2-lane roads. Passed a biker one morning riding in the middle of the road and wouldn't get over. I got a little ill because i was on my way to work and was in a hurry! I tooted my horn and waved for me to go around. didn't want to scare him but i wanted to make sure he knew i was coming around him (since he was going with the traffic instead of against). We don't really have sidewalks. the road i live on would be perfect riding for me but the people who drive up and down the road scare me to death! They just can't drive! lol! We do have a bike group and they ride LONG distances and one invited me to go with them but considering i can barely go 2 miles and they are riding double digit rides. . . i had to decline the offer. I think it's mostly men anyway. Anyway, just wanted to tell you ladies how much of an inspiration you are.

Amy

I'm planning to ride into work again tomorrow. I might try coming home the slighly less hilly way though this time! (Also if I go round the other way it's mainly left turns rather than mainly right turns which might be easier).

:welcome: Amy, you're a biker chick no matter how much mileage you do, we all had to start somewhere...

Today I did 20k/12miles...

I made it into work OK. Why did it stop raining just as I got here though? Never mind, I actually quite like cycling and running in the rain.

bike rack question
 

Amy - You are a biker chick! I go just 3 mi at a time most days...

Does anyone use a bike rack? I've been using mine, but I can't find the instructions for it. It has four brackets, two that hook onto the top of the trunk, and two that hook onto the bottom. My two questions are - once I've tightened the straps, do I need to tie them so that they don't loosen? And, there's tons of strap left over once I've tightened. Should I just bind the extra up in a rubber band? These two questions are related, because I've been tying the straps and then wrapping them to get rid of the extra, and it would be much faster to just tighten them and have the extra length already bound up.

Thanks!

I made it home safely, I definitely prefer the route I tried today. Next biking day is meant to be Thursday, I'm keeping it at two days per week for now.

I agree with Sarah! Anyone biking is a biker chick here! :) It's not about how far we go. LOL even though I usually go about 10 miles I can't begin to keep up with a lot of the chicks here! I am so wobbly when I start off I am sure it is comical, especially on the hills! :)

I don't use a bike rack but have thought about going to Craigslist and looking for one. My bike will fit into the trunk of my car but also I live on a bus route so am planning to pop my bike onto the bus and take it down to the big bike trail we have here. Also I was reading on the Internet and apparently there is a park just down the street from my house with a trail that I had no idea was there... it is kind of "hidden" down a back street. I am going to check it out tonight and see!

Happy biking!

Well, I could not believe it... I took my brand new bike out for the fourth time yesterday... and blew a tire! Had to bring it home on the bus! Then I got on the wrong bus and it only went halfway home so I got off and walked it back about two miles instead of waiting for another bus. Decided it was good exercise! Now I am bikeless again!

But I did ride down to what was supposed to be a bike trail but turned out to be only a walking path... went down a big hill and thought I would end up pushing it back up but I didn't. I was amazed as I rode all the way up the hill!! :bike:

Sorry to hear that Misti, hope you get it sorted out and back on the road. I did my third bike commute to work, why is it that every day I've got scheduled to cycle in it pours with rain? I don't normally mind exercising in the rain, but it's getting a bit repetitive now! Today I was a bit naughty and went for free drinks with work before cycling back, but I was careful to make sure that I didn't end up too wobbly, and I suppose cycling was a good reason not to do my normal "just one" then wobble out of the pub four hours later routine...

I've done my two cycling days for the week now. Two is my target at the moment, but next week I might do three if I feel OK on Friday. And if it's not raining ;)

Good for you, Helen, for biking to work! Hope all the rest of you are getting in some biking!

I am back in business! Took the bike in and obviously I had hit glass or something as there was a big gash through the tire and tube. LOL had to replace both after having ridden the new bike a week but hey, that's life. I bought it to ride, and ride it I shall... new tire here and there or what. :bike: Actually it was only $22 total so that was not bad. I just got back from a 78 minute ride. Wow felt good to be out there again! :)

I could not believe... when I got it out of REI I decided since it was already in the car to go to the bike trail. Got down there, got it out and duh.. helmet at home! So back into the car, came home and just rode my usual route with some side jags.

Blessings to all
Sue

I've been out for two half hour or so "fun" rides today. The first I just went round the park on my way to get the newspaper this morning rather than straight to the shop and back, then it turned into quite a nice evening so I decided to head out for another shortish one. I did about half an hour each time, although I didn't time them or work out how long they were. I am trying to hit some of the nasty hills in the park to get some practice on them, I'm really not a hill fan at all, but at least I haven't yet come across anything that I need to walk the bike up, I remember when I used to cycle as a kid there used to be plenty of those!

Way to go, Helen! Those were great rides! I'm not a hill fan either but living i the Pacific NW they are definitely a part of life. :) That was one nice thing about Fort Lauderdale when I lived there... FLAT and easy bike riding!! :bike:

arrrgh - back problems!
 

Hi all -

The weather is absolutely beautiful here, but I can't bike, because of my back. :cry:

Things are getting better, but essentially I overdid it last weekend, and by Wednesday night I was having trouble standing up straight and felt as though my back was close to going into spasms. This was very scary, because last summer I threw my back out and had a couple of episodes of spasms that left me pretty much immobilized for the rest of the summer and into the fall. So I took muscle relaxants and took off Thursday and Friday completely. The good news is that my careful balance of aleve, ice, rest and gentle, gentle movement and short walks seems to be working.

But I'm going to have to take some time off from vigorous exercise, and I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to bike again or whether I'll be able to train for the triathlon that I'd planned to do in five weeks. I'd already found another triathlon in mid-September, though, so I'm thinking that if I can't do it by the end of July, that maybe I could work towards doing that one, either by myself or as part of a relay team.... And I think that I'll try to get a referral to a physical therapist for some information about how I can strengthen my back and better protect myself from these injuries.

It's good to have a long term plan, but for right now I feel frustrated and disappointed, because I was so happy :) to be biking regularly again.

Sarah I am sorry about your injuries -- I know you must be disappointed! Hope you are feeling better soon and find the medical care you need!

Sorry to hear of your injury Sarah :hug: get well soon!!

I was reading my bicycle odometer last night and sine Mid-May
I've biked over 600k :D... I'm so proud of myself ...

Today I biked 16k, yesterday it was 30k...

Hmm... decision time. So far I've been doing 2 bike commutes per week. It's not hard (5 miles each way), and the new muscles are getting used to it. I'm wondering whether it's time to start adding in extra commutes on running club nights. It would be a bit more mileage - 5 to work, 3 from work to running club and then about 4 from there to home after the run. It would also involve running and cycling on the same day, but I did that today for a 10k run without any noticeable ill effects. There's a nasty hill between running club and home though, which would be right at the end of the day after the run...

(Although on the plus side, a quick transition from bike to run would be good triathlon training ;) )

Helen -- Try it out a couple of times and see if you like it... I love biking and running on the same days, sometimes back to back too...

Today I didn't bike nor run... I weight trained...

I've brought the bike in today to try it. Unfortunately the weather is absolutely foul. But then if I'm going to get wet running anyway, getting wet for a bit longer on the bike before and after isn't going to make too much difference...

Good point, Helen! Personally I love the rain but with biking one does to be very cautious as it could be slick. Can't wait to hear how the bike works for you

Hi all--

Helen-sounds like a good plan to run and bike in the same day. Great triathlon training! Nothing like a brick workout...

Misti-How is riding working for you? Conquer that hill yet?

Well, I've spent last weekend riding cross country at Whistler. With my 8 year old son! I just got him a new Giant hardtail, and he's loving it. We did some fairly technical trails (blues). Very fun. Plan is for more riding next weekend.