# Summer's here!



## 633 (Feb 10, 2004)

Oh, yeah, baby. Gotta love those Sunday afternoon rides!


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## innergel (Jun 14, 2002)

*Amen brother!*



633 said:


> Oh, yeah, baby. Gotta love those Sunday afternoon rides!


But I was not ready for this yet. I went out to White Rock Lake on Sat afternoon and bonked after 45 minutes. I felt HORRIBLE. And I was well hydrated. At least I thought I was!

We need to post some ride reports for the hot weather. There are plenty of them where guys up north are riding in the snow. I'd say the 102 degree days where we go 3+ hours are just as difficult. Even if they are not as visually interesting on a ride report


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## 633 (Feb 10, 2004)

innergel said:


> But I was not ready for this yet. I went out to White Rock Lake on Sat afternoon and bonked after 45 minutes. I felt HORRIBLE. And I was well hydrated. At least I thought I was!
> 
> We need to post some ride reports for the hot weather. There are plenty of them where guys up north are riding in the snow. I'd say the 102 degree days where we go 3+ hours are just as difficult. Even if they are not as visually interesting on a ride report


Ride reports:

55 miles Saturday morning. It was hot.

51 miles Sunday afternoon. It was even hotter.

We've reached the point where stopping to rest is counterproductive - the heat coming off the pavement makes being stopped more uncomfortable than just riding on.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

633 said:


> Ride reports:
> 
> 55 miles Saturday morning. It was hot.
> 
> ...


Saturday- 30 miles
Sunday- 55 miles 
Tonight- 30 miles

I love this time of year. The hotter the better


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## innergel (Jun 14, 2002)

Dave Hickey said:


> Saturday- 30 miles
> Sunday- 55 miles
> Tonight- 30 miles
> 
> I love this time of year. The hotter the better


For this first time on Saturday, I heard my tires sticking to the pavement. Maybe it was an auditory allusion caused by my situation, but it sounded weird. 

Break out the sunscreen!


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

innergel said:


> For this first time on Saturday, I heard my tires sticking to the pavement. Maybe it was an auditory allusion caused by my situation, but it sounded weird.
> 
> Break out the sunscreen!


Funny you mentioned that. I noticed the same thing on Saturday. I was on my LOOK single speed. This bike is super quiet and all I could hear was the tires sticking to the pavement


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## 633 (Feb 10, 2004)

Dave Hickey said:


> Saturday- 30 miles
> Sunday- 55 miles
> Tonight- 30 miles
> 
> I love this time of year. The hotter the better


Well, there is a kind of masochistic pleasure in it. We don't have any mountains to climb, but boy do we have heat. I kinda like riding it in, but I do sometimes long for long, cool rides with trees all around. 

My wife just got back from a four-day getaway with her sister in a cabin outside of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and she was enthralled. While she's still experiencing the afterglow, I'm hitting her with the idea that we pack up the kids, the dogs and the bikes and just move there. Those native Texans are tough to transplant, though. (I've only been here 20 years, so I'm just barely out of the "Yankee carpetbagger" classification.)


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## Toothpick (Oct 14, 2002)

During the summer, ride early Sat. morning till early afternoon. Then hit the pool......ahhh

Rode the Wild Ride Sat. morning and then rode some Sunday afternoon at White Rock before going home to do yard work. The heat didn't surprise me, but that much heat surely did!


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## El Cheapo (May 13, 2005)

Can't wait for Hotter 'N Hell. If it's this warm now the temps will be smokin' in August.


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## harvey (Feb 27, 2005)

*Too hot?*

If it's too hot for any of you, come up to New England. Today the high temperature here was 46 degrees!


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## liu02bhs (Dec 30, 2001)

*Global Warming. Yeah, Baby !!!*

I'm all about that global warming. Who cares about the environment? It's getting hotter ever year. Used to snow here, but haven't snowed in a long long time. 

Oh well, my advice is to ride in the shade, it helps a lot. I ride around in a criterium course in a park with lots of trees. I doesn't feel that bad. But I can image how it feels biking on the highway. I was almost getting heat exhaustion from painting my fence.


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## psycho_on_bianchi (Mar 3, 2004)

*That weekend was brutal*

We rode from Willow Park to Springtown and back on Saturday. We paid a visit to every single radio transmission tower in Parker county as well. After 72 miles and about 4000' of hills, the old body was feeling ready for the glue factory.

Stupidly, we embarked on a trail ride at 11:00 am on Sunday and rode from Weatherford to Mineral Wells and back. The part of my butt that wasn't whooped after Saturdays' ride was taken care of after 30 miles on Sunday. That made the last 10 miles extremely brutal. The whole time though, I was just thinking about how those poor golf fans were suffering at the Colonial. argh!

I love riding Summers in Texas. I do like the option of a little transition period though. 20 degrees in a week can be a little unkind.


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## Dallassite (Sep 14, 2004)

*Tell Me about it !*



633 said:


> Oh, yeah, baby. Gotta love those Sunday afternoon rides!


...I went om My usual downtown Dallas Sunday bike ride, Man I thought I was going to collapse on Mckinney Ave..I had to take a short break @ McCommas and Homer (near 75) there is a nice litttle shaded place there..


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## steve-z (May 29, 2002)

*Downtown*



Dallassite said:


> ...I went om My usual downtown Dallas Sunday bike ride, Man I thought I was going to collapse on Mckinney Ave..I had to take a short break @ McCommas and Homer (near 75) there is a nice litttle shaded place there..


Sounds fun. Is this a group ride?

I used to live in deep ellum, and loved to cruise around downtown on Sundays.


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## Dallassite (Sep 14, 2004)

*Urban route*



steve-z said:


> Sounds fun. Is this a group ride?
> 
> I used to live in deep ellum, and loved to cruise around downtown on Sundays.


 Actually, this is not a group ride but, I could see the making of several group rides in the near future. I live near White Rock Lake and prefer to ride there strickly during the week in order to improve My overall timing (somewhat of My own TT). I tend to stay away from White Rock on weekends in order to avoid to many Pedestrians on foot and overall traffic presence as well. The same thing also applies to My weekend trips through The "Urban Jungle" I will not do that ride during the week due to the abundance of motor vehicle traffic also. The route that I take is Through the ' M ' streets, across McCommas to Mc Kinney, Then to Cole Ave. to Blackburn, Blackburn to Turtle Creek left of Maple Ave.(climb the stout hill in front of the Stoneleigh) left of Wolf, left on Harry Hines, Harry Hines to Field, Field to Griffin, Griffin to Young, Left of Young, Right on St. Paul to Farmers Market, Farmers Market to Good Latimer to Ellum, Elm to Pearl, Right on Pearl, Left on Mc Kinney. Riding on the "cobbles" on Mc Kinney is cool !! Checking out the "Babes" along the way is AWESOME !!! You can smell everything on this ride from the fresh food on Knox - Henderson to the old historic smell of the houses in the ' M ' streets district. This whole area was specifically designed as a "bicycle friendly" area in order to cater to the needs of the Student population near SMU. There are not too many hills and that makes for a more enjoyable ride. The only hang up is this ride will kill Your AVG. MPH due to the crossing of numerous intersections along the way..let Me know one of these weekends I would love to show anyone this Fun route !


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## culdeus (May 5, 2005)

*Sounds good*

M-Street resident here. I'd like to pick up some riders to build some group riding skills.

Also, that heat last weekend had me scared I had a flat or was going flat. I didn't know what the sound was and I freaked out and rolled to a stop. Wild.

Good training for Witchita.


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## Dallassite (Sep 14, 2004)

culdeus said:


> M-Street resident here. I'd like to pick up some riders to build some group riding skills.
> 
> Also, that heat last weekend had me scared I had a flat or was going flat. I didn't know what the sound was and I freaked out and rolled to a stop. Wild.
> 
> Good training for Witchita.


 You now what that may not be a bad idea at all ! I see the start of a new "trend" here. Let Me know !


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## innergel (Jun 14, 2002)

*Count me in!*



Dallassite said:


> You now what that may not be a bad idea at all ! I see the start of a new "trend" here. Let Me know !


I live on the north side or WRL near Skillman and Abrams. I can make it to the M streets in no time. And that downtown route sounds great! It kind of follows some of the Tour Dallas route.


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## wzq622 (Aug 3, 2004)

I can handle the heat, but this recent humidity and dew point kills me. The air suffocates my lungs and it becomes very hard to breathe. Can't wait till real summer is here...


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## Dallassite (Sep 14, 2004)

innergel said:


> I live on the north side or WRL near Skillman and Abrams. I can make it to the M streets in no time. And that downtown route sounds great! It kind of follows some of the Tour Dallas route.


 I took My wheel to RBM today and talked to Sean in the shop and told him about this and he said that the owner of another bike store does these same group rides but with Mountain Biker's only. This would be the 1st time a bunch of Roadies did this ride on a continuous basis. Let Me know I'am ready to do this !!! I also live at the north end of WRL Myself being at Abrams and Lovers.


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## Soldier-of-Rome (Jan 22, 2004)

*Possible New Ride*

I live in West Lake Highlands @ Royal and Skillman and I think it is a great idea as well. A while back (last October) I was riding to WRL on my own and met up with this bloke that was trying to get a "Lake Highlands Cycling Club' together for people in Lake Highlands, M-Streets, Merriman Park, East Dallas and L Streets (et. al.). I think it ended up too much work for him but he did say he polled people and they had positive responses. He had a similar Sunday route in mind (downtown, slower, more social) but though an EARLY Saturday ride (to beat the heat) would go over better than the 9:AM RBM rides. I encouraged him (I think his name was Paul), gave him my contact details and did google searches. Nothing. I never saw him again after Thanksgiving but it sounds like the idea is rising. 

Good luck on getting this off the ground. Try to get Bill Sadowski to post it on his www.bicycle-stuff.com website (get participants to slip him a few quid for website upkeep).

Cheers.


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## wzq622 (Aug 3, 2004)

if ya'll wanna beat the heat AND are looking for a fun-tastic ride, then drive on down to Cedar Hill on Saturday mornings. 

The ride starts at 8-ish at the B&B Bicycles parking lot. It's around 35 miles of nice rolling climbs, nothing too hard. Cedar Hill has some great scenery and the drivers are more tolerant of cyclists. The ride is a social event so dont' worry about getting dropped. Everyone rides the same pace and stick together for as long as possible.


If Saturday isnt enough, then come Sundays for a longer distance ride of around 60 miles. It's mostly flat w/o any tough climbs and there is a pit stop at a gas station in Venus. 



COME GIVE IT A TRY


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## steve-z (May 29, 2002)

*Lake Highlands*

S-o-R,
I'd love to see this happen. There are a ton of fit, non-racing adult riders in the area (I'm on the east side of WRL, near Lake Higlands and Buckner). I'll definately participate, although I'm not sure how much I can do as my wife and I are expecting our first child this summer and I'm in full nesting-mode. I'll show up for some rides, though. Keep me in the loop at space2k at gmail dot com.


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## culdeus (May 5, 2005)

*Still interested*

I'm still game if you don't mind riding with a certified Fred.


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## Toothpick (Oct 14, 2002)

I'll usually do 50 miles or so at WRL on Wed. afternoons. Yesterday, I was only good for 41 - and I was toast 10 miles before I stopped. Yes, summertime is here (and I gotta get acclimated).


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## Soldier-of-Rome (Jan 22, 2004)

*Don't let this idea die*

There are a lot of people riding solo on Monday and Wednesday afternoon/evenings. Does anyone want to make a motion for a group ride on those days?


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## culdeus (May 5, 2005)

I have made a few attempts at the heat and I'm probably going to change my schedule around and roll towards the mornings. It gets to the point where I can't even concentrate on keeping a good pace/line and just think about how I'm just breathing hot air. I'm supposed to do the HHH this year so eventually I'll have to acclimate. But WOW is it hot for June.


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## crankee (Aug 2, 2003)

633 said:


> Oh, yeah, baby. Gotta love those Sunday afternoon rides!


Today in Austin the temps hit 102. Too freakin' hot! I had the day off so I rode. I left the house around 7am-ish. It was definitely warm, but nothing out of the ordinary. Still, by the time I finished (after 11am - 73 miles) I felt totally drained. And I didn't even ride that hard. The heat, sneaky bastard that it is, just sapped the energy right outta me. The last few miles were a bit of a struggle.

This time of year, with the heat and all, I've got to limit the miles and effort.


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## wzq622 (Aug 3, 2004)

is it me or is this summer more humid than the previous summers?

I rode the century at the Cow Creek Classic last Saturday and it was almost unbearable around noon. I saw riders go down one by one as those needing aid sat under the shade and waited for the SAG wagon. I don't know how i finished in one piece...



...but this humidity sucks.


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## Schneiderguy (Jan 9, 2005)

*Help I need Gills!*

I'm in Huntsville, 70 miles north of Houston. It has been 98-102 for days with high humidity. Terrible weather. Almost enough to keep me off the bike and I just got a new bike!


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## culdeus (May 5, 2005)

culdeus said:


> I have made a few attempts at the heat and I'm probably going to change my schedule around and roll towards the mornings. It gets to the point where I can't even concentrate on keeping a good pace/line and just think about how I'm just breathing hot air. I'm supposed to do the HHH this year so eventually I'll have to acclimate. But WOW is it hot for June.


Gotta say 6am at WRL is where it's at. Totally free of strollers and kiddos. All people serious about getting exercise before work. There is one race team that hauls much butt out there. Good lord they must cruise at 30-32 or something. And did I mention temps in the 70s?


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## Dallassite (Sep 14, 2004)

*Let's do this !*



culdeus said:


> Gotta say 6am at WRL is where it's at. Totally free of strollers and kiddos. All people serious about getting exercise before work. There is one race team that hauls much butt out there. Good lord they must cruise at 30-32 or something. And did I mention temps in the 70s?


 I finally am able to get up at 5am and ready to do the WRL ride @ 6am. This is one of the greatest feelings that I have being able to get in a good ride before work. I actually have this weekend off (first Saturday off in 2 months) and will be ready to do My downtown ride early Saturday morning @ 6am. If anyone is still interested let Me know this week,We all can meet up @ the Chevron station at the corner of Mc Commas/Greenville Ave. say around 6:30am (beat the heat).


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## crankee (Aug 2, 2003)

*Weekend of August 6-7, 2005*

The weather lately has taken a turn for the milder (or at least less hot). In the Austin area, we've been in a wet weather pattern for the last few weeks. The clouds have kept temps around or below seasonable averages. I can't remember the last time I watered my lawn; we've had a lot of rain recently. It's nice to have some rain this time of year. However, I'm hoping it will be dry in the AM Sat and Sun. I've planned to spent a lot of time on the bike, but on the road - NOT on the rollers. I won't ride in the rain if I can help it. If it's gotta rain, rain in the afternoon!


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