Bill Maybe the cable shroud has shrunk a bit due to the cold weather need to make an adjustment - or you might just have road grime packed in there and its hindering the shifting. this time of year lots of dirt and grime accumulates if your riding into snow and ice. Im in CS too, its been nice this week
COLD WEATHER RIDING - I was riding my bike this morning to work in Colorado with a temperature approximately 14°. I had difficulty shifting. At times it seemed as though something along the shifting process (either the rear derailleur or the cable) is frozen. At other times both the front and the rear derailleur shifter would not catch (meaning that I could move it back and forth without having any effect). The bike has not been exposed to moisture within the last week. I currently use Shimano XT shifting lever and have Shimano XT and LX rear and front derailleurs respectively. In the last couple I wrote to as low as 37 below 0. They recommended therapy that I used grip shifter's. I was hoping not to have to do that again in Colorado since the temperature rarely goes below 0 in Colorado Springs. Does anybody have any recommendations for preventing this freezing or ineffectiveness of the shifting levers?
Gee, no thanks to the "Endomondo employees (who supposedly) are here to help"--after over 24 hours with no updating occurring, I ended up deleting what I uploaded yesterday and re-entered the info. Voila! It actually worked within minutes tonight. What's your problem, Endomondo? How many times does a user have to enter/re-enter information for the system to update it?
On the Leaderboard, what does it mean "updated: in the future"? Are you no longer going to continue the count through the end of the year as you did in 2012? Or is the system having problems tracking and uploading the input? Please help.
I must not be too bright. Pati and I went out this morning and rode up to Pinewood Reservoir and Carter Lake. AGAIN. 63.5 miles with that hard climb up to Pinewood Reservoir and then up the north side up Carter Lake.
.
We have decided to make this a weekly ride, weather permitting.
Two of us from the CSCC team were riding together on the Club's Fitness Ride this morning. We didn't like the clouds as we came out of the Garden of the Gods. It started raining as we got to the top of Mesa Road, and continued all the way back to downtown Colorado Springs (took shelter for a bit in Monument Valley Park). It hasn't rained much in C Springs, but at the end of the ride we had 40 miles and can check off the LAB Bike Month BINGO card for "Ride in the Rain".
Now I know why my bike was being disobedient and fighting me in the last couple of weeks. When it was time to ride home, my bike refused to make the turns to ride home. It insisted that we had to continue to ride. It would only let me ride home after I ran out of liquids and food. It must have know that it was reaching the end of its life.
don't know if it is good or bad that the Tour de France is on now. The good is that I can watch it without figuring out how to fit into my schedule. The bad is as I sit here watching the tour I miss being our riding my bike even more
I'm glad youre starting feeling a little better Jerry.
Sorry to hear about your accident Jerry. Get better soon! :)
@David. If I can't ride I plan on volunteering if I am physicaly able. I am improving each day. It seems slow but I do see progress. The bad days are the ones when the pain levels are much higher than normal. But the doctor told me that would be days like that. For the most part I'm slowly getting better. I can do a little more each day.
@Jerry We're happy to still have you in the community even if you can't ride at the moment.
@Jerry Bengton: Hang in there and get better soon! And consider volunteering at those rides that you'd normally be at: if you can't be on your bike, it is pretty fun helping out those who are on their bikes for a good cause! Keep the faith, brother!
Happy Bike to Work Day, Colorado!
I am sorry I missed Bike to Work day today, but I am back on my bike after my accident. That is my new bike a beautiful white Giant..
Thank You all for your support..
Vern Pitcher
If only this wind would die down Biking would be so much more enjoyable, but tonight looks good. so bike i will
@Timothy Sullivan. Thanks for words of encouragement. I have to keep making comments to keep my spirits up. At least I know I will be riding again. Even if it will be 6-8 weeks if I am lucky.
I'm hoping that with Bike-to-Work Day today, Colorado can continue to add on the points to get further ahead of Iowa and D.C. Hard to believe a bicycling state like ours isn't way ahead in the standings. I don't, however, see us ever being able to catch up with the top three, unfortunately. So, how does that formula work again?? Ha! Don't tell me...I was not a math major in college, so even with an explanation, I doubt I would "get it"!
Today is Bike To Work Day in Colorado Springs. I joined the 6:30am City Council Ride from City Hall to the downtown Pioneer Museum. The ride was organized for the Council by one of our Club members. We had breakfast on the Museum lawn (and 2 other locations in Colorado Springs). I (as president of Colorado Springs Cycling Club and team captain of the CSCS NBC team) was asked to speak about the National Bike Challenge. I pointed out that Endomondo shows 281 riders from the city in the challenge, CSCC has 106 on our team, and there were more than that number on the lawn enjoying breakfast. I spoke briefly to the Challenge's goal of 50K riders and 20M miles. I invited all to visit our website and read the #2 news story that has links to the NBC challenge, rules, and sign up page. We'll see if there is spike in official riders.
@Julie. Everyone is being mean to me. My wife won't let me participate in bike to work day. My friends won't ride their bikes with me. When my wife took me for a drive on Sunday, there were all these bicyclist on the road rubbing it in that they were riding and I wasn't. Do you get the idea I miss riding my bike? Even my bike is being mean to me. It just sits there in the garage, looking all dejected and broken, And blaming me for its current condition.
It's Bike to Work Day. Sing the Bike to Work Song. https://www.youtube.com/watch
Except for you, Jerry, You just keep recovering and bike to work next year! Best!
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and support as I am recovering from my injuries. I am finally home from rehab. It is great to be back in my own home with my wife. Had my first home visit from my physical therapist yesterday. I don't know how she expects me to recover. When she arrived at my house she did't even bring me a new bike to replace my destroyed one.
Colorado ride your bike to work day brothers and sisters!!
There's a lot less smoke in the mornings and through lunchtime, if you can find a way to ride then. =)
Why 9 hours without any updates?
Dang this smoke. I am 6 miles away from a 500 mile month, just can't breath out there. Leaving for vacation Wednesday, and won't be back until July 12. There will be some biking where I'm going. @Jerry - thanks for all the updates. I'm having rotator cuff surgery in July (moved it up from Sept. it is getting very annoying) and you are inspiring me to get over it and get back on the bike ASAP. I sincerely hope you are riding again by the end of the summer!
thanks for the valuable insight Jerry. Hope you have a speedy and full recovery.
@Jerry B, I see you comments from time to time on the site - Sorry to hear about your crash and thanks for sharing some of your experiences about it. Take care and hope you are riding soon!!!
Two more lessons I learned from my accident. I was riding with a good friend. But she did not have my wife's cell phone number in her phone. And I didn't have her sister's phone number in my phone. I was conscious, so she was able to ask me how to contact my wife. I had the interactive road ID. Which I did not need since I was conscious. But they would have been able to use it to contact my wife had I been unconscious. It is a good idea to have cell phone numbers of family and friends of those you ride with constantly.
The second lesson that I learned, was having access to my phone. I keep my phone in a small bag just behind the handlebars. Had I been riding by myself on an isolated road, I would not have been able to get to my cell phone to call for help. My bicycle was 30 to 40 feet away from me. And I would not have been able to crawl to my bike to get to my phone if I needed it. So it is a good idea to carry your phone in jersey pocket.
Not riding much outside because of the smoke, so I am doing short trips around the neighbor hood in the evening when the wind dies down.
I am back home finally from rehab. It has been 15 days since my accident. I was told I might be able to start riding in 6-8 weeks. Only 57 more days until to Tour de Cure ride for diabetes which I do ever year. I definitely won't be able to do the 100 miler. I will probably have to settle for the 30 mile ride. I sure hope I can ride in it this year.
@Mark Noble. Not to bad Mark. Only a broken shoulder, broken arm, and a broken pelvis in two places. I don't know if I can ride in this years Tour de Cure. If I do it will have to be the 30 mile ride. I have only 57 days to get back on my bike again to ride in the tour.
Have a great trip, Ronaele. Be safe.
Leaving for Calif tomorrow to do the Gold Rush 1200K. Hopefully will be posting good mileage for the team. :)
Jerry, I'm so sorry about your accident. You will probably heal quicker than most since I'm assuming u r in good physical shape. I really wish you quick recovery, & i'm sorry you missed the Ride the Rockies. Heal quick
I hope you are able to start riding again soon Jerry and that you were not injured severly. FYI I use Tegaderm dressings on road rash and I really like them. You can see through them and they keep them clean and even permit air through.
When you check with your insurance company, get it in writing.
The frustrating thing was I checked with the insurance company to make sure that I was insured. I have replacement cost insurance for everything.
Sorry to hear about your bike Jerry. I hope you're feeling better soon. Insurance covers most "stuff" up to a limit of $1000, then it's extra cost.
I don't know about computers or TVs, but if you have any sort of hobby the equipment is likely not covered.
Thanks for the reminder, we should review our insurance policy. With inflation raging away it's easy for your policy to become inadequate in a few years.
Warning to everyone who think their bicycles might be insured. I have homeowners insurance on my bicycle. I called my insurance company to ensure my bike would be covered in case I had an accident. I was assured that I was covered if I wreaked my bicycle. Now the insurance company is refusing to reimburse me for my bicycle. They are saying I needed a separate rider on my policy. Even though I was told in the phone call that I did not need one. Make sure your bike is covered by your insurance policy. Get verification from your insurance company in writing. I am out $5,000 for the cost of a new bicycle because the insurance company won't pay out now. On top of the cost of all my medical expenses.
Good news...my points were finally updated as of 3:32 p.m. (MST) when I checked. At the same time, I looked at the points for the States, and Colorado has just passed Iowa in total points/1000 and we're now #4 !!
Is there a problem today with the updating on Leaderboard? Posted my mileage about 15 minutes ago, and although it shows that both the Local and National sites have updated, nothing's being added to my total from when I last rode on Saturday, June 15.
Wow Jerry! One I am an X-ray/CT tech so I am sure you looked quite banged up when you got to the hospital. Second I road and mountain bike ride and always empathise with my patients when it's a bicycle accident. Third took myself a pretty hard digger mountain biking this weekend( worst one for me). Went down fast and furious and saw the ground coming at my face way to fast. Cracked helmet in 2 places, large hematoma on side of head from the helmet. I decided I should probably get checked out....which as a healthcare worker was tough for me! All is well just dealing with head injury tiredness. Glad you are doing well , stay positive and keep moving!!
Thanks Doug. Felt much better today (Monday).
Ouch Jerry, best wishes for a speedy recovery!
I am so sorry to hear this, Jerry. I had sent your earlier posts to my two nephews-in-law who did Ride the Rockies last week, and they couldn't believe your luck (or lack thereof). All of us are sending good thoughts your way. You sound like a strong character, which should get you on your bike sooner rather than later since you are so determined!
@Meg. No it was my last ride before Ride the Rockies. The groove in the middle of the turn lane was not very visible and with watching traffic I missed it. Or actually did not miss it. I remember most of the fall. Fell left, hit my hip, then my shoulder, then felt my helmet bounce off the pavement. I must have blacked out for a few seconds, because the next thing I remember was laying on my right side facing south instead of north like I was riding. Pati who was riding with me told me I bounced when I went down. I have very little road rash due to bouncing versus sliding on the pavement. It could have been a lot worse. There were two first responders there on their day off. The state trooper was only a mile down the road. The ambulance was close by so I didn't have to wait long for it. Broken shoulder broken arm broken pelvis in two places. After initial x-rays I was told I would be flat on my back for eight weeks. Since I could not support myself with my left side at all. But after CT scans, They decided my pelvis could be weight-bearing. So I have been walking. Started stairs yesterday. Therapist said I would do one flight. I did three flights of stairs. I was told today I might get to go home on Friday. I may be able to start riding in six weeks.
So, Jerry, did this happen during Ride the Rockies? Take care of yourself as you go through rehab.
So sorry Jerry! Such a bummer. may you heal well!
My bike riding came to a screaching halt on Jun 13th. Hit a hidden 1.5" groove in a turn lane while riding at 30mph. Broken shoulder, broken arm, broken pelvis in two places. It is a bummer being in the rehab facility instead go being out riding.
@Salvador, yes be careful with the smoke, even when it looks clear, take extra time and go easy, the smoke can cause damage to your lungs. I've taken a couple of days off and am checking wind directions and weater before setting out. I want to be riding my whole life (and hoping for a long one).
I commute 20 miles/day in south Denver and I think the smoke is really getting to me. I've been feeling tired, nauseous, short of breath and feeling some pressure in my chest during and immediately after bike rides...and today I began feeling a little dizzy at the end of my commute. At first I thought it was something I ate, but today it just hit me that it might be the bad air quality. Anyone else been feeling symptoms?
Rode my bike into work this morning. Somehow managed to pack two pairs of socks but no pants. Its going to bring a whole new meaning to the term "casual day".
S
Those of us in CO who participated in the Elephant Rock Bike festival a couple weeks ago know the Black Forest area well. Best wishes, thoughts, and prayers . . .
Ronale be careful. Corey, you're probably right. But someone might have enjoyed a little comic relief as well. I rode to work - no wind in the morning and a wind out of the south pushed me all the home this afternoon. no smoke.
Able to ride this AM. The smoke wasn't to bad. Just took it easy. I can definitely feel the heaviness in my chest. Really feel bad aboutfor the peooin Black Forrest.
I was incredibly tempted to weave all over Voyager, but discretion got the better of me.
I figured it wouldn't foster much goodwill to all the motorists being diverted away from the road.
Janine, the smoke is definitely something with which to be careful.
It wasn't to bad for me but I did keep a close eye on the prevailing winds
and made sure I got on the road when it was mostly clear. That said I am flirting with the edge of that smoke column.
Corey, how was the smoke? I'm a little leery about riding to work and getting into heavy smoke. Waldo canyon messed up my lungs last year.
Nice that you got the open road! Did you do a few figure 8s?
Well I had quite the eventful commute home. The wind out of the South helped quite a bit with the climb from Briargate to Monument. The air was pretty clear. But at Interquest the police had just shut down Voyager's incoming traffic to help aid with people trying to evacuate. So there was a time when I had a couple hundred yards of road and four lanes of traffic with no cars on the road!
I agree Janine. Nice dinner ride tongight.
You know what's nice about riding right now? NO MILLER MOTHS!
Did another night time training ride, than off the bike for 4 hrs and back on for another 4 hrs. The last 4 hrs I started at 6am. I ended up over in Falcon and than decided to ride on Woodman Road all the back past I25. I didn't think I would be riding the indy 500 6 or 7 miles. No shoulder. Made it in 1 peace though. :) Jerry I'm glad you only have to be off the bike about 3 wks. Not to bad.
@Robert, hope rampart went we'll need to go do a lap sometime soon. Headed out on a longish road ride to prep for the ADA century, took in some of the route, going to be fun.
Who in this illustrious group is a Mountain Biker? well we are hitting Rampart Reservoir tomorrow, and wanna do two laps. Anybody wanna join up?
Larry Davis is sure falling down in the rating. But of course after he gets back from riding to Telluride for Ride the Rockes, riding in Ride the Rockies, and than riding in the Bicycle Colorado, than getting home and entering all those mile he will be ahead of me again.
@Sue. I will be wearing a neoprene sleeve on my left elbow. And my Red Rider jersey for diabeties. So say hi when you see me.
Hello Everyone - I recently found out that each "workout" you enter is either flagged as "Include in statistics" or not. When you click on a workout in the calendar view (My Profile -> Workouts) you may see a comment uder the date of the workout down in the summary section that states "Not Included In Statistics". If you see this, click on "Edit" on the right and check the box that says "Include in statistics". I had 3 rides with over 100 miles rode that weren't being included!
Jerry! That is great news. Should I look for a guy with a cast or a splint pedaling along RTR with a smile on his face?
Good news. After breaking my arm on Friday I saw the specialist today. He said no riding for three weeks. But after my exam, he told me I could go on Ride the Rockies since I am dealing with the pain well. Should be an interesting seven days riding with my broken arm.
Doh! I'm one mile short of 1000 for the year (2013)...
Jerry, I am sory u broke your arm. I really really hope it heals quickly. Broken bones hurt so much. My heart goes out to you.
eThank you Jeannine. Actually it turned out that it took 11:15 on Friday with brutal head wind for about 65 miles. I did ride home from BV going down the AR river. It was beautiful. 110.7 miles in 8:40 hrs. Even stopped for lunch w/Paul in Canon City. It was really fund today!!!!
@Jerry. I am wishing you the very best with your arm. I hope you make it to Ride the Rockies (I am doing it too!) Let us know how you are doing, please!
To Koy: Congrats on your first BVBF metric! I wasn't sure I could but with lots of help from friends, I did the century. The Mineral Belt Trail is beautiful, if you have never been on it. You gotta try that next year!
To Ronale: Girl, I admire your guts and stamina. YOU Rode from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista on Friday, rode the century plus 12 on Saturday, and then rode back to Colorado Springs today. You amaze me!
To Jerry: I am bummed for you, too. I'm dealing with a torn rotator cuff, WILL NOT have surgery this summer, waiting 'til fall. Cannot give up the summer of riding since my doc told me at this point it's okay to ride. I hope you can continue too.
Friday Ride. We had planned to ride to Ward and Brainard Lake. But we aborted the ride due to winds. They were brutal. They stopped us in our tracks while riding uphill. When we got to Peak to Peak Hwy the wind gusts were so bad they almost blew us over standing there. Decided it was to dangerous to ride Peak to Peak Hwy. We had to wait for the winds to die down just to start down the hill. I normally ride down the hill at 45-50mph. Today I had to ride down the hill at 20-25mph due to the winds. And to top everything else off, I broke my arm 1 hour into the ride. So I rode three more hours with a broken arm. I am supposed to ride in Ride the Rockes next week. I see the specialist tomorrow to see if I can do the ride. I am so bummed.
Congratulations to Koy Rehme for your 1st Metric Century. I also did the BVBF, I did the century & also did the ride out to twin cities. I thought that was part of the century, so I ended up w/extra miles. 112 total.
Buena Vista Bike Fest was awesome! Thanks, Colorado Springs Cycling Club, for a great ride.
I was planning on the 50 mile route, but got to the first rest stop and figured I might as well make it my FIRST METRIC CENTURY. 62 miles in 3:50.
Linnie. Only June data showing, but you can use the drop down list above the leader boards and select "entire period" to see cumulative data.
What is going on with the Leaderboard rankings? Colorado is now 15???
Breckenridge is no longer even listed? HMMMM~
Summertime, and the Biking is Easy: During BoneDale Bike Week, I cornered the lovely and talented lead singer of All The Pretty Horses, Olivia Pevec, shoved a little bicycle poem under her nose and asked her to sing it to the tune of Gershwin's Summertime. She styled it on the spot. YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch or on FB https://www.facebook.com/photo.php
Health District of Northern Larimer County is rocking the Workplace Challenge! Does any other workplace have 40% of employees signed up for the Challenge and 34% with points on the board for the month of May? I doubt it! Perhaps the Leaderboard should be based on POINTS per EMPLOYEE to recognize the workplaces where the Challenge is really having a positive impact. If it was – this would be the workplace Leaderboard in Colorado today : 1st – Health District with 87.3 points/employee. 2nd – Town of Breckenridge with 19.5 pts/emp 3rd New Belgium Brewing with 13.1 pts/emp 4th Tri State Generators with 7.9 pts/emp 5th is NREL with 7.0 pts/emp 6th Colo Springs Utilities at 5.1 pts/emp 7th Fort Carson with 3.9 pts per employee. Texas Instrument has just 0.3 points per employee.
@Ronaele Foss. You must like to suffer. I skipped today due to the winds. Other than a wimpy one mile ride.
Very windy, but went ahed and did my hill climb workout. My legs felt a little tired.
@Ronaele Foss. Sounds like you had an interesting ride.
Did a 200K strting at 9pm last night out of Louisville for traing for a ride I'll be doing in Ca next month. On the way out to Plattville had quite the lignting show & of course it was on top of Platteville. Ended up riding into quite a thunderstorm. After Plattville it stopped for awhile than I had to stop at Johnsons Corner to take of rain gear & put on another layer of clothes. Had a lot of wind at different times and when it wasn't raining you could see city lights really well under the clouds. It was beautiful. The wnd calmed down after leaving Masonville which was great, but on the way to Lyons had to stop & put rain gear back on. No thdner storms this time. just raining on & off. About 15 miles out of Louisville it started raining really hard & pretty much staryed that way until the end of the ride. The birds started chirping just when the light from the sun was showing, it was great. I was very iimpressed how many commuters the:re were even in the hard rain during rush out. I finished about 8:15am. Not to bad for night cycling, rain, wind. At nite * can't ride as fast due to safety reasons. Overall I did enjoy the ride. It was so peaceful most of the time.
I was going to do this until I saw it is sponsored by Kimberly-Clarke. Seems like a massive contradiction. Won't do it, but I'll keep riding.
Hey CSCC team - log your miles before the end of the month please. I KNOW some of you have more miles than what's showing up - cuz I have been riding with you. We could place third (maybe better) nationally if everyone takes a few minutes to log their miles. Remember at the end of the month, everything gets set back to zero.
Marvelous ride home from work. Tailwind from the south, averaged 15.3 mph.
Awesomeness
Rode up to Gold Camp Road 2X for hill climbing training, Really got breezy last half of ride, but temp was great.
Memorial Weeekend in the Black Hills. On Sunday rode the Mickelson trail from Deadwood to Custer. Great ride and scenery especially the last 5 miles into Custer.
Did that round trip to Palmer Lake along the Sante Fe Trail again today. That sure is a pretty ride, a great way to do a metric century on a 29er. Besides, there's good icecream up there, they make a great malted shake.
Memorial Day Weekend cycle tour from Longmont to Fort Collins to see friends on Saturday. Stayed the night, rode to Windsor on Sunday stayed overnight back in the Fort, then rode back to Longmont on Monday. A mini-tour and loads of fun. Also rode to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Fort Collins. Great way to see the area.
3 of us from the CSCC team went skiing at A-Basin last Thursday. Considering it is almost June, the skiing was great. But in the afternoon it was a lot of work. 2 of us still got NBC miles that day. So we declared winter to be over, put our boots away, and we'll ride our bikes a little more often. Buena Vista Bike Fest http://bvbf.org/ is this Saturday there will be a lot of "supported" miles. This will be my 50th century. Ride safe :-)
Yes indeed Ronale. Fun riding with you yesterday! And more to come - see you at Buena Vista.
Another great day of cycling.
Rode round trip from S. Academy & Rt. 115 to Palmer Lake along the Sante Fe Trail. Great ride. Looking forward to doing it again this week.
Bingham Hill on my single speed. bam. :)
Grate ride today. Really felt good to have warmer temps. Really nice day out.
@Sue. Glad it did not end up in your spokes.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/6/76039319_f5e81e4f93.jpg
A couple of weeks ago I had to miss a herd of deer running across the road just above Lyons.
That was too exciting.
It happened. I hit a prairie dog on my commute home! I had a tail wind and was going at a pretty good clip and all of a sudden about 10 ran across the path. I missed all but one, one that literally aimed for my rear wheel. Squeak! And then "thunk" as its leg and my tire met. . It survived and ran off. If it lives, it learned a lesson!
@Ronaele. Congratulations on your 600K.
I had a great 600K ride this past weekend. Did it in 35.15 hrs. Had about 15,000' of elevation gain. Also had beautiful scenery. I earned my 5th Super Randoneer Medal.:)
I wish we had the option of re-sorting the leader board by miles ridden...
University of Colorado Health North (formerly Poudre Valley Health System) will be using the 2013 National Bike Challenge as the platform for its June Bike to Work Month Challenge.
1st Ascent Ride on Saturday. Practice ride for Ride the Rockies. This is the hardest bike ride I have ever done. Harder than Ward. Harder the Glen Haven. 1.5 miles from the start we have to climb a 12% hill. With one of the course marshals at the base of the hill telling us "This is your wakeup call." Then the climb was mostly 6-8% or greater for the first 20 miles. With another 13% and a 12% hill tossed in to test our limits. The next 20 miles were not as bad but hard. At least after mile 39 is was mostly downhill.
I just went out to do a short 10 mile ride to make sure my bike was fixed before this evenings ride. But when I got to Hygiene my bike refuse to turn left to go home. It fought me and make me continue riding. My bike finally took pity on me and let me ride home after it realized I only brought one water bottle with me and I was running low on liquids.
An interesting ride to Jamestown with Pati. Riding up the canyon in rain. And back down in rain. And neither of us brought jackets or vests. We were talking earlier how nice it was to not have to wear or carry cold weather gear. It was cold. And wet. It is amazing how fast Pati can ride up the canyon in the rain so she can get inside to warm up.
Does anyone know how to get registered for the 2014 Challenge? Is there one? I keep logging my miles but there seems to be no leaderboard for 2014 that I am seeing. I have emailed the "contact us", but have not heard back from anyone. Help please?
Does anyone know how to get registered for the 2014 Challenge? Is there one? I keep logging my miles but there seems to be no leaderboard for 2014 that I am seeing. I have emailed the "contact us", but have not heard back from anyone. Help please?
I was able to get out today. Managed to miss all wet rain while dodging thunderstorms. But got rained on with rock. In on section of the ride I was near a rock crusher. And the wind must have blown tiny rock in the sky. For about a mile I had tiny rocks falling from the sky on me.
Hi Warren - You can log miles back in time. Hit the "log miles" button and then hit the "monthly" view. This will allow you to enter miles from last week.
I entered the website to log on my miles from May 1 and found that I cannot, As I will not likely be accessing this site daily you will not have an accurate record of my miles.
One problem is coworkers can't see who else has signed up during the kick off and during these first weeks when we are trying to get employees (in 4 different buildings) to encourage each other, form groups to ride, organize bike related seminars etc. We did a good job, with 21 of 26 (more than one quarter of entire workforce) signed up during the warm up. Most are now hidden from the leaderboard now and it may be a few weeks until most of them get a ride logged. Yes, I can find other ways to encourage networking, and search both warm up boards and the challenge period boards to look for staff who got the workplace name wrong. It happens. Found 2 today and it was not easy. But really? Someone who signed up April 30 with zero points is not treated same as coworker who signs up May 1 with zero points? Sorry I don't like it. And yes I do have to do extra stuff because of this silly new rule. I will get over it and it will be a fantastic 5 months of biking!
Sue, not sure I can see the problem. As soon as a rider logs some mileage starting May 1st he appears back in the listings. The rider hasn't got to register again, the team captain does not have to do anything extra, the rider just has to enter some mileage from my own and colleagues experience. Any warm up points earned are irrelevant.
@Matt Young. Are you a challenge administrator for a workplace? It is an issue as an administrator and I still feel it was not good timing if it was intended to "weed out" non riders.
Sue - This really is a non-issue. Everyone is still registered. They will show up as soon as they log miles. I'm guessing endomondo or NBC did this to weed out those who join but never log miles which then counts against the community in the communities leaderboard. Chill - it shouldn't be too hard with all of that snow.
Thanks Chris. That is a major a PAIN in the you know where. One more thing now I have to communicate to the folks who have signed up because of a design flaw. This didn't happen last year, and from the looks of it, is only happening to some workplaces. Sorry - but I have a LOT to do to get the challenge up and running and I really don't need this today! I've sent a message asking administrators to correct it.
Sue, Doug is correct, as soon as you log a ride, you will show up on the HDNLC workplace. I manually added a commute waited 5 minutes, then deleted the commute and am now part of the workplace.
So brand new people show up with zero miles, and as the only "riders" with my workplace and people who signed up ahead of time are penalized with not showing up until they record a ride? We are getting a foot of snow today in Fort Collins, not everyone has a smart phone or application AND that is a stupid design for the workplace captain to manage. I see this not putting warm-up riders into the challenge period automatically as a giant FAIL!
Hopefully things dry up tomorrow so I can get back on the bike!
Sue - People/places/teams etc will show up once they have logged their first miles.
Sue - I'm guessing as soon as your coworkers log miles they will show up on the leader boards. NREL only has 2 people today - and we both rode today without signing up again. We both use the endomondo app on our smart phones. I hope this was helpful.
We had 20 plus employees signed up as of April 30. We are all GONE from leader boards for May now. Our workplace riders have been stripped from the challenge. A mess. Why didn't those who rode the warm- up get rolled over?
Couldn't let a little snow stop me from kicking off the Challenge!
4" of snow as of now and still snowing. Don't think I will be riding today here in Colorado.
Thanks, Mother Nature, for squashing my hopes and dreams. Oh well.
The usual Mayday in Boulder, CO; snow!
Going out for the first day of the challenge 90 degrees here in Scottsdale, at home 37 today.
Wow, shorts and 70 yesterday, 30's and icy rain today, felt good. Go Colorado
The challenge starts tomorrow. And the forecast for Colorado is 4-10" of snow on May 1st.
I am ready to hit the road! This challenge will help motivate me between my volunteer bike events this summer. :)
Just got back from a great four days in Fruita at the Fat Tire Festival! That was my first and it was amazing. Logged some good miles with impressive views!
Not too many gals listed, so I challenge each of us to recruit at least one more woman and mentor her!
Got the bike tuned and rode the trails Saturday. Everything tested out okay. Now I'm ready to start the 20.1 one-way commute. That is as long as it doesn't snow this week. Sorry Bryan, studded tires is not in my inventory.
updated my warmup stats to the start of the 2013 year
Getting tired of Winter's death grip on COS. 13 degrees and studded tires is harshing my Spring buzz. Keep promoting the National Bike Challenge to all your compatriots so May starts off with a ton of Colorado riders.
yhea!
Bill, may have to get in touch with the endomondo help to get back your access. Thanks for getting the ball moving at Ft Carson!
Doug, Tried to delete the first one, but can't get back in. Must have typed my email wrong.
Ok Doug, looks like I'm at least on the right year now! Pedal On into 2013 with the National Bike Challenge :)
I am in and will try my best! Thank you Bill
Bill, looks like your entered twice, may want to delete one of your logins unless you have a twin :O)
I'm in! Thanks Bill
Thanks Bill, Great to have you onboard, looking forward to the local competition!
Thanks to Doug Bursnall who passed on the info about this Challenge. Fort Carson MEDDAC is participating!
I will be training for the Leadville 100 MTB Race, so I will get in a lot of miles with a lot of climbing!
First Ride of the year went well. Left knee hurts a little but I expected that. Just a few groing pains and adjustments to go through before I feel I have my legs under me again. Ride On Everyone!! =)
Hola, everyone. Excited to do this again this year. Gonna try and do better than last year. I'm from Aurora, work in the DTC. Commute 8.5 miles one way. Anyone else gonna do Elephant Rock?
I wanted to do this last year but had to have back surgery :( so I will be the slowest person biking to work, just so you all know!
I'm giving a quick 101 on the Challenge to our local military and any member of the public would like to listen on April 10th 7:30 at CSU's Conservation Center on Mesa Rd.
Please encourage all cyclists you know to participate, as I see this as a great data point to encourage more bike infrastructure within our city.
Points are reset May 1st.
Many more catagories this year, but teams can be as big as you want!
Jacalyn, Hello, Jo and I aren't on the "same" team as last year we have joined up with the "SloPokes" team. My understanding is that TEAMS can be as BIG as you want this year, they've got different size catagories for 2013! Have a most excellent day! :)
When does this year's challenge begin? Do we have room for any more team members?
If you just log your ride on the reg. endomondo member area, will it automaticlly load the miles on this National Bicycle Challenge Pages??
Don't think they will add points till it becomes "official" in May 2013, I've got almost 40 miles this week and ZERO points, FYI.
I posted my 6.38 miles yesterday, but still have only "6" listed as far as points. Will Endomondo be adding 20 points per ride day to the 6 miles to come up with a total number of "points" rather than just "miles" as was calculated last year?
Well looks like the "unoffical" 2013 National Bike Challege is underway, (March to May), Ride Safe and have FUN!! :)
Bill Maybe the cable shroud has shrunk a bit due to the cold weather need to make an adjustment - or you might just have road grime packed in there and its hindering the shifting. this time of year lots of dirt and grime accumulates if your riding into snow and ice. Im in CS too, its been nice this week
Bill Maybe the cable shroud has shrunk a bit due to the cold weather need to make an adjustment - or you might just have road grime packed in there and its hindering the shifting. this time of year lots of dirt and grime accumulates if your riding into snow and ice. Im in CS too, its been nice this week
COLD WEATHER RIDING - I was riding my bike this morning to work in Colorado with a temperature approximately 14°. I had difficulty shifting. At times it seemed as though something along the shifting process (either the rear derailleur or the cable) is frozen. At other times both the front and the rear derailleur shifter would not catch (meaning that I could move it back and forth without having any effect). The bike has not been exposed to moisture within the last week. I currently use Shimano XT shifting lever and have Shimano XT and LX rear and front derailleurs respectively. In the last couple I wrote to as low as 37 below 0. They recommended therapy that I used grip shifter's. I was hoping not to have to do that again in Colorado since the temperature rarely goes below 0 in Colorado Springs. Does anybody have any recommendations for preventing this freezing or ineffectiveness of the shifting levers?
COLD WEATHER RIDING - I was riding my bike this morning to work in Colorado with a temperature approximately 14°. I had difficulty shifting. At times it seemed as though something along the shifting process (either the rear derailleur or the cable) is frozen. At other times both the front and the rear derailleur shifter would not catch (meaning that I could move it back and forth without having any effect). The bike has not been exposed to moisture within the last week. I currently use Shimano XT shifting lever and have Shimano XT and LX rear and front derailleurs respectively. In the last couple I wrote to as low as 37 below 0. They recommended therapy that I used grip shifter's. I was hoping not to have to do that again in Colorado since the temperature rarely goes below 0 in Colorado Springs. Does anybody have any recommendations for preventing this freezing or ineffectiveness of the shifting levers?
Gee, no thanks to the "Endomondo employees (who supposedly) are here to help"--after over 24 hours with no updating occurring, I ended up deleting what I uploaded yesterday and re-entered the info. Voila! It actually worked within minutes tonight. What's your problem, Endomondo? How many times does a user have to enter/re-enter information for the system to update it?
Gee, no thanks to the "Endomondo employees (who supposedly) are here to help"--after over 24 hours with no updating occurring, I ended up deleting what I uploaded yesterday and re-entered the info. Voila! It actually worked within minutes tonight. What's your problem, Endomondo? How many times does a user have to enter/re-enter information for the system to update it?
On the Leaderboard, what does it mean "updated: in the future"? Are you no longer going to continue the count through the end of the year as you did in 2012? Or is the system having problems tracking and uploading the input? Please help.
On the Leaderboard, what does it mean "updated: in the future"? Are you no longer going to continue the count through the end of the year as you did in 2012? Or is the system having problems tracking and uploading the input? Please help.
I must not be too bright. Pati and I went out this morning and rode up to Pinewood Reservoir and Carter Lake. AGAIN. 63.5 miles with that hard climb up to Pinewood Reservoir and then up the north side up Carter Lake.
.
We have decided to make this a weekly ride, weather permitting.
@Cheryl. Hope you had a great ride. My first day back on the bike (Aug 10th) after my accident on Jun 6th was fantastic. Even if it was only three miles. I still have a long way to go to get back my endurance and speed. But I hope to be fully recovered by May. Enjoy riding again. Too bad we missed most of the summer.
I must not be too bright. Pati and I went out this morning and rode up to Pinewood Reservoir and Carter Lake. AGAIN. 63.5 miles with that hard climb up to Pinewood Reservoir and then up the north side up Carter Lake.
.
We have decided to make this a weekly ride, weather permitting.
@Cheryl. Hope you had a great ride. My first day back on the bike (Aug 10th) after my accident on Jun 6th was fantastic. Even if it was only three miles. I still have a long way to go to get back my endurance and speed. But I hope to be fully recovered by May. Enjoy riding again. Too bad we missed most of the summer.
Finished the challenge with one last commute to UCCS. Finally hit the DIAMOND -- Woo Hoo
As an end of the challenge ride, I got one of my teammates together and we did a loop around Garden of the Gods and then into Maintou Springs. No better way to finish out the challenge than with a climb up Ridge road!
Finished the challenge with one last commute to UCCS. Finally hit the DIAMOND -- Woo Hoo
As an end of the challenge ride, I got one of my teammates together and we did a loop around Garden of the Gods and then into Maintou Springs. No better way to finish out the challenge than with a climb up Ridge road!
Cheryl it is good to see that you are back. You are still the only CSCC member to win one of the monthly NBC prizes!!! You'll be back in shape for the Oct 20th Progressive Dinner Ride. Most of it will be in our hilly NW side of C Springs.
First time back on my bike since my 6/17/2013 shoulder surgery. Logged 12 miles. Felt great, but quite a bit slower than my century ride in June.
Cheryl it is good to see that you are back. You are still the only CSCC member to win one of the monthly NBC prizes!!! You'll be back in shape for the Oct 20th Progressive Dinner Ride. Most of it will be in our hilly NW side of C Springs.
First time back on my bike since my 6/17/2013 shoulder surgery. Logged 12 miles. Felt great, but quite a bit slower than my century ride in June.
It was 37 degrees when I left this morning. Fall is here. I want summer back. Especially since I missed most of it.
It was 37 degrees when I left this morning. Fall is here. I want summer back. Especially since I missed most of it.
Well, went for a short ride today to help attain the DIAMOND level - only a few more points to go. It was COLD. Temp was in the low 40's at 11AM. Guess it's time to dig out the winter cycle gear. ALSO time to separate the true cyclists from the "Summer Only's".........
Well, went for a short ride today to help attain the DIAMOND level - only a few more points to go. It was COLD. Temp was in the low 40's at 11AM. Guess it's time to dig out the winter cycle gear. ALSO time to separate the true cyclists from the "Summer Only's".........
It ends on Sep 30th.
It ends on Sep 30th.
Great letter, @Jerry Bengtson
I wanted to give out participation certificates to my team members. Are those available?
Also, when does the contest end? When you check the leaderboard under the period section there are months out to Dec. It used to only have to Sep.
Thanks!
Great letter, @Jerry Bengtson
I wanted to give out participation certificates to my team members. Are those available?
Also, when does the contest end? When you check the leaderboard under the period section there are months out to Dec. It used to only have to Sep.
Thanks!
Thanks for your well-written thoughtful response to the "T-C Line". It will help drivers who listen openly to understand and heed your words.
Thanks for your well-written thoughtful response to the "T-C Line". It will help drivers who listen openly to understand and heed your words.
Photos of some of your washed out roads and the Greenway in Longmont.
.
http://tinyurl.com/l66cy64
Our local paper has a "T-C Line" where people can call in and leave a short message. Which is usually complaints about something. This last Monday this was in the paper.
.
How are motorists supposed to cpy with arrogant bikers who refuse to get over to the right and dare you to pass them if they don't, even on a street where there's a bike lane.
.
My response which was published in Saturday's paper.
.
Cars, bikes can share roads
.
There was a TC Line complaint about bicyclists who won’t get over to the right and “dare you to pass them” even with streets with a bike lane.
.
Why don’t bicyclists ride in the bike lane. It is not arrogance. It is for our safety.
There are several reasons bicyclists don’t ride in the bike lane. Many times there is debris that you can’t see from your car in the bike lane that makes it unsafe to ride there.
.
When we are riding next to parked cars we ride far enough out in the lane so that if a driver opens their car door we don’t hit the door. Hitting a car door will cause at the least serious injury and has killed bicyclists.
.
When approaching a red light I will move over to be in the line of cars. I will not ride next to the cars due to the danger of a car making a right turn when I am going straight.
.
Another reason for riding out in the lane is to keep a car from passing us without enough clearance. If a car is approaching from the other direction, on many roads there is not enough room for both cars and a bicyclist.
We don’t want to be hit by the car coming up behind us. Many times a car will pass a bicyclist with a car in the other lane. Missing the bicyclist by inches. Risking their life. You are required by law, and common courtesy
to give a bicyclist three feet of space when passing them. Even if the bicyclist does not ride out in the lane, don’t pass a bicyclist until it is safe to do so. It is not worth hitting a bicyclist to save a few seconds. I a sure you
don’t want to hit the bicyclist.
.
Yes there are bad bicyclists. There are bad drivers. I have had two drivers in the last two weeks create dangerous situations. One driver passed me when I was in the lane as a car was approaching from the other direction.
He almost hit that car head on. To save a few seconds At the next intersection I was right behind his car. Just where I would have been if he had waited ten seconds to pass me when it was safe. Another driver deliberately
tried to hit me with his car when I was not blocking him at all. He yelled at me to ride on the sidewalk. Which is much more dangerous than riding on the street.
.
We have to share the roads. Bicyclists are husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters. Don’t risk our lives to save a few seconds. And bicyclists need to ride safely. Don’t judge all bicyclists by the ones who don’t
ride safely. As I don’t judge all drivers by the ones who drive dangerously. And if you do come across a bicyclist who does not ride safely, call the police, don’t risk his life to teach him a lesson. It comes down to what we were
taught in kindergarten. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
.
Jerry Bengtson is a Longmont resident
@Anne Smith. I am jealous.
Photos of some of your washed out roads and the Greenway in Longmont.
.
http://tinyurl.com/l66cy64
Our local paper has a "T-C Line" where people can call in and leave a short message. Which is usually complaints about something. This last Monday this was in the paper.
.
How are motorists supposed to cpy with arrogant bikers who refuse to get over to the right and dare you to pass them if they don't, even on a street where there's a bike lane.
.
My response which was published in Saturday's paper.
.
Cars, bikes can share roads
.
There was a TC Line complaint about bicyclists who won’t get over to the right and “dare you to pass them” even with streets with a bike lane.
.
Why don’t bicyclists ride in the bike lane. It is not arrogance. It is for our safety.
There are several reasons bicyclists don’t ride in the bike lane. Many times there is debris that you can’t see from your car in the bike lane that makes it unsafe to ride there.
.
When we are riding next to parked cars we ride far enough out in the lane so that if a driver opens their car door we don’t hit the door. Hitting a car door will cause at the least serious injury and has killed bicyclists.
.
When approaching a red light I will move over to be in the line of cars. I will not ride next to the cars due to the danger of a car making a right turn when I am going straight.
.
Another reason for riding out in the lane is to keep a car from passing us without enough clearance. If a car is approaching from the other direction, on many roads there is not enough room for both cars and a bicyclist.
We don’t want to be hit by the car coming up behind us. Many times a car will pass a bicyclist with a car in the other lane. Missing the bicyclist by inches. Risking their life. You are required by law, and common courtesy
to give a bicyclist three feet of space when passing them. Even if the bicyclist does not ride out in the lane, don’t pass a bicyclist until it is safe to do so. It is not worth hitting a bicyclist to save a few seconds. I a sure you
don’t want to hit the bicyclist.
.
Yes there are bad bicyclists. There are bad drivers. I have had two drivers in the last two weeks create dangerous situations. One driver passed me when I was in the lane as a car was approaching from the other direction.
He almost hit that car head on. To save a few seconds At the next intersection I was right behind his car. Just where I would have been if he had waited ten seconds to pass me when it was safe. Another driver deliberately
tried to hit me with his car when I was not blocking him at all. He yelled at me to ride on the sidewalk. Which is much more dangerous than riding on the street.
.
We have to share the roads. Bicyclists are husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, sons, and daughters. Don’t risk our lives to save a few seconds. And bicyclists need to ride safely. Don’t judge all bicyclists by the ones who don’t
ride safely. As I don’t judge all drivers by the ones who drive dangerously. And if you do come across a bicyclist who does not ride safely, call the police, don’t risk his life to teach him a lesson. It comes down to what we were
taught in kindergarten. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
.
Jerry Bengtson is a Longmont resident
@Anne Smith. I am jealous.
Rode 51 wonderful miles on Marthas Vineyard.
Rode 51 wonderful miles on Marthas Vineyard.
Jerry thanks for posting the pictures and videos; it's just devasting to see what has happend to our beautiful state.
Jerry thanks for posting the pictures and videos; it's just devasting to see what has happend to our beautiful state.
I was out riding today exploring to see what roads are open.
.
Lefthand Canyon toward Jamestown 1.3 Miles from Hwy 36
.
http://tinyurl.com/l94q5wn
.
Note you see the bike lane and the right lane. The left lane is gone.
.
http://tinyurl.com/lsg5r4j
.
Video of Lefthand Canyon
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch
.
I will never be able to do this again. Hwy 36 between Boulder and Lyons. No traffic due to flooding.
.
http://youtu.be/jJ994nM2ZQc
.
Approaching Lyons on Hwy 36
.
http://tinyurl.com/msuhhlh
2.8 miles with my trail bike and camping shovel. Did some flood maintenance on the upper Rockrimmon Trail.
I was out riding today exploring to see what roads are open.
.
Lefthand Canyon toward Jamestown 1.3 Miles from Hwy 36
.
http://tinyurl.com/l94q5wn
.
Note you see the bike lane and the right lane. The left lane is gone.
.
http://tinyurl.com/lsg5r4j
.
Video of Lefthand Canyon
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch
.
I will never be able to do this again. Hwy 36 between Boulder and Lyons. No traffic due to flooding.
.
http://youtu.be/jJ994nM2ZQc
.
Approaching Lyons on Hwy 36
.
http://tinyurl.com/msuhhlh
2.8 miles with my trail bike and camping shovel. Did some flood maintenance on the upper Rockrimmon Trail.
People need to check their rides. Two eight hour rides in one day, for multiple days in a row just doesn't pass the common sense rule. I understand wanting to meet the challengess but c'mon now.
People need to check their rides. Two eight hour rides in one day, for multiple days in a row just doesn't pass the common sense rule. I understand wanting to meet the challengess but c'mon now.
Took a short ride around town. Lots of mud, many bike paths and bridges still closed. It's been quite a week. A lady died on Terry Lake Road Tueday and now the town is flooded out.
Took a short ride around town. Lots of mud, many bike paths and bridges still closed. It's been quite a week. A lady died on Terry Lake Road Tueday and now the town is flooded out.
@Willam. Sorry to hear about your accident. It is tough not to be riding while you are healing. At least I was able to start riding six weeks earlier than the most optimistic estimate after my accident.
@Willam. Sorry to hear about your accident. It is tough not to be riding while you are healing. At least I was able to start riding six weeks earlier than the most optimistic estimate after my accident.
I just started to commute to UCCS regularly and that gets me about 45 for each commute day. PLUS, I really want to hit that DIAMOND level just for the fun of it.
This National Challenge is a blast.
On a more positive note: There is quite the competition shaping up for the second most active rider from Monument. Al Mundy has first wrapped up. But less than a hundred points separate 2nd through 4th.
On a more positive note: There is quite the competition shaping up for the second most active rider from Monument. Al Mundy has first wrapped up. But less than a hundred points separate 2nd through 4th.
Wow! Sorry to hear William.
It seems like we have had a lot of injuries this year.
Crashed Thursday. Broke 4 ribs and collar bone.
Wow! Sorry to hear William.
It seems like we have had a lot of injuries this year.
Crashed Thursday. Broke 4 ribs and collar bone.
May I suggest a lovely way to celebrate the close of this challenge that has brought cyclists of all abilities together as a community? Please consider Wanda's Ride in Fort Collins on September 28. This ride, hosted by the Fort Collins Cycling Club is raising money for Wanda Roche, who is now paralyzed and needing to make her life wheel chair accessible. An out of control cyclist crashed in to her on a mountain descent this past June. 100% of the proceeds goes to help her, the club is donating all expenses. A minimum donation of $60 is requested. Beginner ride of 6 miles, intermediate flat ride of 26, and a longer ride with some climbing 56 miles. Other ways to help, such as volunteering are available here http://www.fccycleclub.org/resources/Documents/PDFs/Wanda%27s%20Ride%20flyer%20-%20final%20version.pdf
May I suggest a lovely way to celebrate the close of this challenge that has brought cyclists of all abilities together as a community? Please consider Wanda's Ride in Fort Collins on September 28. This ride, hosted by the Fort Collins Cycling Club is raising money for Wanda Roche, who is now paralyzed and needing to make her life wheel chair accessible. An out of control cyclist crashed in to her on a mountain descent this past June. 100% of the proceeds goes to help her, the club is donating all expenses. A minimum donation of $60 is requested. Beginner ride of 6 miles, intermediate flat ride of 26, and a longer ride with some climbing 56 miles. Other ways to help, such as volunteering are available here http://www.fccycleclub.org/resources/Documents/PDFs/Wanda%27s%20Ride%20flyer%20-%20final%20version.pdf
Jerry, I'm you doing better. It is definitely a process.
Jerry, I'm you doing better. It is definitely a process.
@Randy. It is terrible to be off the bike. I was off for 10 weeks this summer due to a broken pelvis, two places, broken arm, and broken clavicle. I have only been back on the bike to three weeks now. Started out with 3 miles a day. Up to 30 miles a day five days later. I am only doing about 200 miles a week while I am still healing and trying to get back into shape.
@Randy. It is terrible to be off the bike. I was off for 10 weeks this summer due to a broken pelvis, two places, broken arm, and broken clavicle. I have only been back on the bike to three weeks now. Started out with 3 miles a day. Up to 30 miles a day five days later. I am only doing about 200 miles a week while I am still healing and trying to get back into shape.
Congrats Randy!
That's better than me. I get winded in less than 3 miles! ;)
back on the bike after a 2 week recovery time, from cardi version, hopefully i can stay in rhythm and keep riding more, only went for a short ride today to see if i would get winded, for only 4 miles, i did not,
Congrats Randy!
That's better than me. I get winded in less than 3 miles! ;)
back on the bike after a 2 week recovery time, from cardi version, hopefully i can stay in rhythm and keep riding more, only went for a short ride today to see if i would get winded, for only 4 miles, i did not,
Milestone Victory!
I just patched my tube and replaced a tire for the first time.
Fun stuff. I can definately see how, after doing it once there are ways to do it better!
Milestone Victory!
I just patched my tube and replaced a tire for the first time.
Fun stuff. I can definately see how, after doing it once there are ways to do it better!
Milestone Victory!
I just patched my tube and replaced a tire for the first time.
Fun stuff. I can definately see how, after doing it once the are ways to do it better!
Ride up on the right of the line of traffic, then nonchalantly use the front car to keep you steady as you wait for the green light. Never fails to alert the driver to your presence. You can even start a polite and fun conversation with the travelers through the passenger window.
i have that situation in my daily commute and it does confuse drivers when I go to the front and stay on the right side of the left turn lane. I'll try staying inline and seeing if that works better. My only issue is that the light seems to have some sort of sensor that only triggers a green light if a car (not a bike) gets close enough to the stop line. so if I happen to be the first in line, we simply don't get a green light until a car drives up on the non-turning lane.
Ride up on the right of the line of traffic, then nonchalantly use the front car to keep you steady as you wait for the green light. Never fails to alert the driver to your presence. You can even start a polite and fun conversation with the travelers through the passenger window.
i have that situation in my daily commute and it does confuse drivers when I go to the front and stay on the right side of the left turn lane. I'll try staying inline and seeing if that works better. My only issue is that the light seems to have some sort of sensor that only triggers a green light if a car (not a bike) gets close enough to the stop line. so if I happen to be the first in line, we simply don't get a green light until a car drives up on the non-turning lane.
Seems the consensus is to stay INLINE with the cars. I'll start that approach. ALl the comments are good. This is a good mini-forum.
Al - I have done both but I feel that taking a place in line is safer as you are not changing which drivers are around you. This makes you more likely to be seen and recognized. Also I think it fosters better will with drivers, as they may see sliding upto the fron as cutting them off. Also when I am moving slower through a light than the cars around me, I am not slowing down the entire lane behind me.
Just my two cents.
Seems the consensus is to stay INLINE with the cars. I'll start that approach. ALl the comments are good. This is a good mini-forum.
Al - I have done both but I feel that taking a place in line is safer as you are not changing which drivers are around you. This makes you more likely to be seen and recognized. Also I think it fosters better will with drivers, as they may see sliding upto the fron as cutting them off. Also when I am moving slower through a light than the cars around me, I am not slowing down the entire lane behind me.
Just my two cents.
Koy, I would heed your final recommendation but I find it difficult to ride while talking on the phone, combing my hair and texting while changing lanes. Perhaps I should practice.
Ride in the center of the lane any time you're not at the far right of the road. Drivers don't know how to deal with cyclists (especially in more rare situations like a left turn), but they know how a car behaves. Ride like a car.
Koy, I would heed your final recommendation but I find it difficult to ride while talking on the phone, combing my hair and texting while changing lanes. Perhaps I should practice.
Ride in the center of the lane any time you're not at the far right of the road. Drivers don't know how to deal with cyclists (especially in more rare situations like a left turn), but they know how a car behaves. Ride like a car.
Safer to stay in line. Especially with two left turn lanes. The problem with riding to the front is the car making a left turn may then turn right into a parking lot, gas station, etc. The car will not expect you there. Almost like a right hook. Except this time you are at fault. Even if there is no area for them to turn right after the turn the car may go all the way to the curb. With two left turns lanes sometimes the car in the far left lane makes a wide turn and forces the car in the right left turn lane toward the curb.
Ok - so coming to a LIGHTED (meaning turn on the arrow), intersection i want to turn LEFT with a left turn lane (or two). Do I ride to the front of the cars and then stay rightmost in my turn letting cars go by, all with the light, OR, do I take a full spot right along with the cars and then move to the right after the turn??
Which is SAFER, BETTER, ????? This topic came up on a recent ride.
Nope. Rode in the morning.
Safer to stay in line. Especially with two left turn lanes. The problem with riding to the front is the car making a left turn may then turn right into a parking lot, gas station, etc. The car will not expect you there. Almost like a right hook. Except this time you are at fault. Even if there is no area for them to turn right after the turn the car may go all the way to the curb. With two left turns lanes sometimes the car in the far left lane makes a wide turn and forces the car in the right left turn lane toward the curb.
Ok - so coming to a LIGHTED (meaning turn on the arrow), intersection i want to turn LEFT with a left turn lane (or two). Do I ride to the front of the cars and then stay rightmost in my turn letting cars go by, all with the light, OR, do I take a full spot right along with the cars and then move to the right after the turn??
Which is SAFER, BETTER, ????? This topic came up on a recent ride.
Nope. Rode in the morning.
Now that the joking is out of the way. Did anyone else get caught in Thursdays storm?
Now that the joking is out of the way. Did anyone else get caught in Thursdays storm?
It's really disheartening to see how little consideration drivers give to bicyclists. The other day there were a couple bitches screaming out the side of their SUV at me. But I guess that is as much as I can expect from Doberman Pinchers. :)
It's really disheartening to see how little consideration drivers give to bicyclists. The other day there were a couple bitches screaming out the side of their SUV at me. But I guess that is as much as I can expect from Doberman Pinchers. :)
Balaclava, Clear/yellow sunglasses (or I guess you could do goggles), and toe warmers get me through morning winter commutes.
Balaclava, Clear/yellow sunglasses (or I guess you could do goggles), and toe warmers get me through morning winter commutes.
I also ride all year. Its no different than when u go snow sking. If you've got the clothes you can just about do most anything in the cold. You just layer a lot that way you can peel it off. If you don't haven't with you, u can't put it on. I use Merino Wool undershirts and Merino Wool cycling pants. It works great & is machine washable & dryable.
I also ride all year. Its no different than when u go snow sking. If you've got the clothes you can just about do most anything in the cold. You just layer a lot that way you can peel it off. If you don't haven't with you, u can't put it on. I use Merino Wool undershirts and Merino Wool cycling pants. It works great & is machine washable & dryable.
I will start using my long sleeve jersey. NExt, I'll add a T-shirt underneath. Then long finger gloves. Then added cheap flannel undergloves. Get a pair of LOOSE women's long leotard pants to wear under your cycle bib. Long socks will cover your anklesFinally, on those really cold days, add a cheap flannel face mask and your sunglasses over thise. Lastly, don't forget the toe covers or they will absolutely FREEZE.
I have worn the above on rides as low as 10 degrees (on new years no less...) and now I ride nearly all year long. Still freeze my A off at higher speeds but what fun and it's at least bearable. Be prepared for a post ride warmup followed by a post ride CHILL.
Koy,
I leave for my commute around sunrise so even in the summer I sometimes need arm warmers. When it starts to get cooler I add a wind jacket. The jacket sleeves are removable if I just need the vest. I do add knee warmers and toe covers when it gets chilly. If I need more than that I am starting indoor spin classes again until Spring.
I will start using my long sleeve jersey. NExt, I'll add a T-shirt underneath. Then long finger gloves. Then added cheap flannel undergloves. Get a pair of LOOSE women's long leotard pants to wear under your cycle bib. Long socks will cover your anklesFinally, on those really cold days, add a cheap flannel face mask and your sunglasses over thise. Lastly, don't forget the toe covers or they will absolutely FREEZE.
I have worn the above on rides as low as 10 degrees (on new years no less...) and now I ride nearly all year long. Still freeze my A off at higher speeds but what fun and it's at least bearable. Be prepared for a post ride warmup followed by a post ride CHILL.
Fall will be here soon. Any clothing suggestions for extending the cycling season through October? I'm mostly concerned about the morning commute, not long rides, and only days with relatively fair weather. Gloves are a must, of course, but what about leg warmers? Knee warmers? What do _you_user when the weather turns cooler?
Koy,
I leave for my commute around sunrise so even in the summer I sometimes need arm warmers. When it starts to get cooler I add a wind jacket. The jacket sleeves are removable if I just need the vest. I do add knee warmers and toe covers when it gets chilly. If I need more than that I am starting indoor spin classes again until Spring.
Fall will be here soon. Any clothing suggestions for extending the cycling season through October? I'm mostly concerned about the morning commute, not long rides, and only days with relatively fair weather. Gloves are a must, of course, but what about leg warmers? Knee warmers? What do _you_user when the weather turns cooler?
Yep, chip seal is all the rage in monument and palmer lake. Also lots of rough scraped road sections. I do NOT like the chips. They seem to fly all over the place.
Yep, chip seal is all the rage in monument and palmer lake. Also lots of rough scraped road sections. I do NOT like the chips. They seem to fly all over the place.
What just happened? I went on vacation and came back to find all of my commuting roads are torn up and under construction.
What just happened? I went on vacation and came back to find all of my commuting roads are torn up and under construction.
Al: I didn't realize motorized cyclists felt such solidarity with their non-motorized brethren! That's good to know. I've had some bizarre conversations with some Harley groups, however . . . thankfully not at 35 MPH downhill...
This is a correction; The El Gain for the Stonewall Century was 10,704'
Al: I didn't realize motorized cyclists felt such solidarity with their non-motorized brethren! That's good to know. I've had some bizarre conversations with some Harley groups, however . . . thankfully not at 35 MPH downhill...
This is a correction; The El Gain for the Stonewall Century was 10,704'
I had a great ride on the Stonewall Century. My personal best. 102 miles. 1070' El Gain. Did it in 8:23 mins. It was a great day. Good support & no thunderstorms. This was the 4rth time I had ridden this.
So was out riding a century with a buddy. After about 70 Miles, he bonked and we decided I'd do the remaining 30 and come back to pick him up in my truck. After only about 5 of the extra 30, some motor-bikers came along side me and asked if I was with a stranded biker. I said he's with me and I was going to double back with truck. (all words said while going downhill about 35mph). They said cool and just watching out for fellow bikers............
So Kudos for the Motor-Cyclists out there who are keeping our bicycle backs!!!!!!!!!
Al
I had a great ride on the Stonewall Century. My personal best. 102 miles. 1070' El Gain. Did it in 8:23 mins. It was a great day. Good support & no thunderstorms. This was the 4rth time I had ridden this.
So was out riding a century with a buddy. After about 70 Miles, he bonked and we decided I'd do the remaining 30 and come back to pick him up in my truck. After only about 5 of the extra 30, some motor-bikers came along side me and asked if I was with a stranded biker. I said he's with me and I was going to double back with truck. (all words said while going downhill about 35mph). They said cool and just watching out for fellow bikers............
So Kudos for the Motor-Cyclists out there who are keeping our bicycle backs!!!!!!!!!
Al
@Ronaele. Hope you are feeling better. Have a safe ride on your century.
I had a bad week. It started off with a bad Siezure & spent a day in the hospital, & then with whatever they gave me, I slept for 2 1/2 days. There were a lot of issues with the grandchildren that live with us. It just seemed like it was one thing after another. Tomorrow I'm doing the Stonewall Century & just going to try to forget everything & enjoy the ride. It should be nice & green.
@Ronaele. Hope you are feeling better. Have a safe ride on your century.
I had a bad week. It started off with a bad Siezure & spent a day in the hospital, & then with whatever they gave me, I slept for 2 1/2 days. There were a lot of issues with the grandchildren that live with us. It just seemed like it was one thing after another. Tomorrow I'm doing the Stonewall Century & just going to try to forget everything & enjoy the ride. It should be nice & green.
I hate to ask for your help on this forum. But I did not know if I would be able to ride in this years Tour de Cure for diabetes on Aug 17th so I have not been trying to raise support. Now that I know I will be able to ride I need to raise my support. If anyone is willing to help me I would greatly appreciatie the help.
.
http://tinyurl.com/mtqbq4z
I hate to ask for your help on this forum. But I did not know if I would be able to ride in this years Tour de Cure for diabetes on Aug 17th so I have not been trying to raise support. Now that I know I will be able to ride I need to raise my support. If anyone is willing to help me I would greatly appreciatie the help.
.
http://tinyurl.com/mtqbq4z
Summer Contrail Day 8. Rode from Walden to Ft. Collins. Had a great day of riding. Started feeling sore muscles the last 30 miles or so. Really had a great ride for the 8 days. Had a lot of fun, beautiful and just plain awesome.
Summary for the 8 days of riding is as follows:
Total Mileage = 835.41
El Gain = 54,551'
Calories = 36,323
Summer Contrail Day 8. Rode from Walden to Ft. Collins. Had a great day of riding. Started feeling sore muscles the last 30 miles or so. Really had a great ride for the 8 days. Had a lot of fun, beautiful and just plain awesome.
Summary for the 8 days of riding is as follows:
Total Mileage = 835.41
El Gain = 54,551'
Calories = 36,323
RAGBRAI was an amazing adventure, great weather, met great people. Met people of all ages and walks of life. If not on your bucket list, you need to add this. So glad I did.
RAGBRAI was an amazing adventure, great weather, met great people. Met people of all ages and walks of life. If not on your bucket list, you need to add this. So glad I did.
RAGBRAI was glorious - my first one. Great weather, good time, great people. Iowa rocks! A seven day, rolling Woodstock on wheels.
RAGBRAI was glorious - my first one. Great weather, good time, great people. Iowa rocks! A seven day, rolling Woodstock on wheels.
Do miles that you ride AFTER "hitting the bonk" count for double? They should. Well, at least I finished my first century ... limping across the finish line. If you're looking for a good ride next year, I highly recommend the Colorado Eagle River Ride in Avon. Beautiful ride, and really fun. (Although I might only do the metric next time...).
Do miles that you ride AFTER "hitting the bonk" count for double? They should. Well, at least I finished my first century ... limping across the finish line. If you're looking for a good ride next year, I highly recommend the Colorado Eagle River Ride in Avon. Beautiful ride, and really fun. (Although I might only do the metric next time...).
Summer Contrail Day 7 - Rode from Steamboat Springs to Walden. We went over Rabbit Ears pass. The valleys & rolling hill country side was beautiful. Very green. Rabbit Ears Pass was challwnging but no real problem getting 0ver the pass. Another great day of cycling.
First Time up Pikes Peak this last week. What a Blast!!! Now I have a mark to shoot for nextyear.
Summer Contrail Day 7 - Rode from Steamboat Springs to Walden. We went over Rabbit Ears pass. The valleys & rolling hill country side was beautiful. Very green. Rabbit Ears Pass was challwnging but no real problem getting 0ver the pass. Another great day of cycling.
First Time up Pikes Peak this last week. What a Blast!!! Now I have a mark to shoot for nextyear.
Day 6 of the Sping Contrail. Rode from to Spring Boat Springs. Had a great ride.
Day 6 of the Sping Contrail. Rode from to Spring Boat Springs. Had a great ride.
Hopefully everyone are having great rides Our country has so much to offer. We are having a great time so far on our Contrail. Paul is doing a great job sagging for everyone.
Summer Contrail day 5. We rode from sleepy Cat to Eagle, Co. Rode up Glenwood Canyon. Really great ride today.
Congrats to Doug Bursnall for reaching patinum. That's great, I know u worked hard at it.
Summer Contrail Day 3- Rode from Craig to Sleepy Cat. We stayed in a beautiful log cabin. I accidently had about 28 bonus miles. The cue sheest aren't to good. Really easy to lost. Great ride so far.,
Hopefully everyone are having great rides Our country has so much to offer. We are having a great time so far on our Contrail. Paul is doing a great job sagging for everyone.
Summer Contrail day 5. We rode from sleepy Cat to Eagle, Co. Rode up Glenwood Canyon. Really great ride today.
Congrats to Doug Bursnall for reaching patinum. That's great, I know u worked hard at it.
Summer Contrail Day 3- Rode from Craig to Sleepy Cat. We stayed in a beautiful log cabin. I accidently had about 28 bonus miles. The cue sheest aren't to good. Really easy to lost. Great ride so far.,
Woohooo, finally got to platinum, need a longer commute to get to diamond.
Woohooo, finally got to platinum, need a longer commute to get to diamond.
Summer Contrail - Day 3. Rode from Saratoga, Wy to Craig, Co Good ride today
@ Matt Young, Ken England,
The TI score for Colorado comes from about 26 riders based here in Colorado.
@ Ken England - I'm not sure but I'm going to guess that the TI people are across the country and the local leaderboard only includes those in Colorado. If not, I have no idea what is happening.
Can someone explain how the Workplace points work? The University of Denver and Texas Instruments are neck-and-neck for 2nd place, but it looks like TI should be way ahead. All of DU's approximately 30 riders seem to be counted in their total, but it looks like only the first 10 of TI's approximately 100 riders get counted.
I guess it makes sense to compute the totals based on some average just so big companies don't have an advantage, but I can't find anything that says that's what's happening.
Thanks.
Summer Contrail - Day 3. Rode from Saratoga, Wy to Craig, Co Good ride today
@ Matt Young, Ken England,
The TI score for Colorado comes from about 26 riders based here in Colorado.
@ Ken England - I'm not sure but I'm going to guess that the TI people are across the country and the local leaderboard only includes those in Colorado. If not, I have no idea what is happening.
Can someone explain how the Workplace points work? The University of Denver and Texas Instruments are neck-and-neck for 2nd place, but it looks like TI should be way ahead. All of DU's approximately 30 riders seem to be counted in their total, but it looks like only the first 10 of TI's approximately 100 riders get counted.
I guess it makes sense to compute the totals based on some average just so big companies don't have an advantage, but I can't find anything that says that's what's happening.
Thanks.
@Randy.
Ditto Jerry. Start out with 10 to 15 minutes of easy spinning. This means you keep a cadence of 60 to 90 rpm with little resistance so that your heart rate stays in your recovery zone. You can monitor your cadence by counting the strokes in 15 seconds so 60 equates to 15 and 90 to 22. You will need a heartrate monitor to keep track of your pulse. I use a Garmin 500 bike computer with HR monitor. This allows easy tracking of my speed, heart rate, mileage, elapsed time of ride, HR zone and much more. My only complaint of the Garmin is that the screen can be hard to read in many light situations. I recently added a power meter sensor which I would not recommend unless you are really serious about training and getting the most from your body. The PM added cadence, torque, power (watts), and more to the equation. I use it in training and pacing on rides and races.
I raced Pikes Peak yesterday placing 5th of 8 starters in the SM65+ class.
Raced in Mt Cheyenne State Park Saturday, then rode the Peak Sunday, I need a beer!
@Randy.
Ditto Jerry. Start out with 10 to 15 minutes of easy spinning. This means you keep a cadence of 60 to 90 rpm with little resistance so that your heart rate stays in your recovery zone. You can monitor your cadence by counting the strokes in 15 seconds so 60 equates to 15 and 90 to 22. You will need a heartrate monitor to keep track of your pulse. I use a Garmin 500 bike computer with HR monitor. This allows easy tracking of my speed, heart rate, mileage, elapsed time of ride, HR zone and much more. My only complaint of the Garmin is that the screen can be hard to read in many light situations. I recently added a power meter sensor which I would not recommend unless you are really serious about training and getting the most from your body. The PM added cadence, torque, power (watts), and more to the equation. I use it in training and pacing on rides and races.
I raced Pikes Peak yesterday placing 5th of 8 starters in the SM65+ class.
Raced in Mt Cheyenne State Park Saturday, then rode the Peak Sunday, I need a beer!
Summer Contrail - Day 2. Road from Walden, Co to Saratoga via the Snowy Range Mtns. Lot of climbing. Over 8900'. Had strong heads the last 70 miles or so.
First Time EVER for me on Pikes Peak - That was FUN!!! I look forward to next year!
Summer Contrail - Day 2. Road from Walden, Co to Saratoga via the Snowy Range Mtns. Lot of climbing. Over 8900'. Had strong heads the last 70 miles or so.
First Time EVER for me on Pikes Peak - That was FUN!!! I look forward to next year!
@Randy. The only thing I know of is riding. Just start out at a speed that allows you to warm up but is not pushing your muscles too hard until you have warmed up.
Day 1 of the Summer Contrail. We rode from Ft. Collins to Walden, Co. Cameron Pass. The scenery could not have been better. Rode up through Cache Le Poudre canyon. Everything was so green, the river was flowing a lot. Saw some moose.
took another ride this morning, but riding "cold" make it harder, what is a good exercises to get the legs warmed up in the morning before riding?
@Randy. The only thing I know of is riding. Just start out at a speed that allows you to warm up but is not pushing your muscles too hard until you have warmed up.
Day 1 of the Summer Contrail. We rode from Ft. Collins to Walden, Co. Cameron Pass. The scenery could not have been better. Rode up through Cache Le Poudre canyon. Everything was so green, the river was flowing a lot. Saw some moose.
took another ride this morning, but riding "cold" make it harder, what is a good exercises to get the legs warmed up in the morning before riding?
I went for a bike ride this morning. I woke up, went out to the garage, and decided to do one last ride on my destroyed bicycle. See photos.
.
http://s1034.photobucket.com/user/JerryBN/library/Bicyle
.
So I decided to ride two blocks on my bike. It was hard. The handle bars were hard to hold onto. I could not shift. Only one brake was working. I could only clip in with my right foot. The left foot would not clip in the pedal. And I could here the frame creaking as I rode. The pain was not too bad. I turned around after two blocks to ride home. And I was lost. I could not find my way home. I was riding on strange streets. Over an hour went by while trying to find my way home. Really confused. Forgot to bring my phone so I could not use the GPS to navigate home or call my wife. And I was thinking, Karen is going to kill me for this.
.
And then I woke up.
Here are photos of what is left of my bicycle.
.
http://s1034.photobucket.com/user/JerryBN/library/Bicyle
I went for a bike ride this morning. I woke up, went out to the garage, and decided to do one last ride on my destroyed bicycle. See photos.
.
http://s1034.photobucket.com/user/JerryBN/library/Bicyle
.
So I decided to ride two blocks on my bike. It was hard. The handle bars were hard to hold onto. I could not shift. Only one brake was working. I could only clip in with my right foot. The left foot would not clip in the pedal. And I could here the frame creaking as I rode. The pain was not too bad. I turned around after two blocks to ride home. And I was lost. I could not find my way home. I was riding on strange streets. Over an hour went by while trying to find my way home. Really confused. Forgot to bring my phone so I could not use the GPS to navigate home or call my wife. And I was thinking, Karen is going to kill me for this.
.
And then I woke up.
Here are photos of what is left of my bicycle.
.
http://s1034.photobucket.com/user/JerryBN/library/Bicyle
Good Luck to my pal, Jim Stockbridge, and all the others headed to RABRAI this weekend!
Good Luck to my pal, Jim Stockbridge, and all the others headed to RABRAI this weekend!
@Al Mundy I agree. Monument was in the top ten of Colorado communities, but recently we only have half of our riders putting miles up for the challenge. I'd be happy to join but scheduling might be a little difficult.
Heat and Wind, not a good riding combination, but I ride in the mornings on my days off
@Al Mundy I agree. Monument was in the top ten of Colorado communities, but recently we only have half of our riders putting miles up for the challenge. I'd be happy to join but scheduling might be a little difficult.
Heat and Wind, not a good riding combination, but I ride in the mornings on my days off
@ Jerry, it's good to see your sense of humor intact even if your clavicle isn't. Best wishes for continued progress toward fully healing. ~ Bernie
@ Jerry, it's good to see your sense of humor intact even if your clavicle isn't. Best wishes for continued progress toward fully healing. ~ Bernie
Good Luck to my pal, Jim Stockbridge, and all the others headed to RABRAI this weekend!
@Al Mundy I agree. Monument was in the top ten of Colorado communities, but recently we only have half of our riders putting miles up for the challenge. I'd be happy to join but scheduling might be a little difficult.
Heat and Wind, not a good riding combination, but I ride in the mornings on my days off
Hey Monument Co. Riders, - Let's see what we can do for the national challenge. Let's do a group ride or something and get us on the MAP!!!! The more the merrier...
Interest???
Hey Monument Co. Riders, - Let's see what we can do for the national challenge. Let's do a group ride or something and get us on the MAP!!!! The more the merrier...
Interest???
Went to the doctor today. Good news and bad news.
.
Good news. I can drive a vehicle. Bad new. I cannot ride my bike. But I already knew that.
.
Good news. The arm, and the two breaks in my pelvis are healing well.
Bad news. The clavilce bone shows no sign of healing. Two options are still open. The doctor will x-ray again in four weeks. If no improvemen, the two options are surgery or no surgery. If there is no pain, then he will not operate. If it is painful. he will have to operate. Based on todays exam, he is optimistic surgery will not be required. The big test will be if I can ride a bike without pain.
.
Karen let me drive home. After trying to get the van to go with the pedals, Karen informed me I needed to use a key to start it. Only took 15 minutes to remember where to insert the key. I prefer my bicycyle.
Went to the doctor today. Good news and bad news.
.
Good news. I can drive a vehicle. Bad new. I cannot ride my bike. But I already knew that.
.
Good news. The arm, and the two breaks in my pelvis are healing well.
Bad news. The clavilce bone shows no sign of healing. Two options are still open. The doctor will x-ray again in four weeks. If no improvemen, the two options are surgery or no surgery. If there is no pain, then he will not operate. If it is painful. he will have to operate. Based on todays exam, he is optimistic surgery will not be required. The big test will be if I can ride a bike without pain.
.
Karen let me drive home. After trying to get the van to go with the pedals, Karen informed me I needed to use a key to start it. Only took 15 minutes to remember where to insert the key. I prefer my bicycyle.
Jerry you feeling better? What is the prognosis?
Jerry you feeling better? What is the prognosis?
@Corey, who's Lance Armstrong?
@Corey, who's Lance Armstrong?
James -- I heard about the heat last year! This is my first. I'm an Iowa native, looking forward to re-connecting to my home state this way.
Eric: I'll be going. I'm a handcyclist and this will be my 9th. Went last year but left after Monday, just too hot and I would be on the pavement too long.
James -- I heard about the heat last year! This is my first. I'm an Iowa native, looking forward to re-connecting to my home state this way.
Eric: I'll be going. I'm a handcyclist and this will be my 9th. Went last year but left after Monday, just too hot and I would be on the pavement too long.
@Eric. Wish I could go. I wish I could ride at all. Four broken bones and broken bike makes that difficult at the moment.
@Ronaele. Yes I will buying a new bike. I will be getting the same bike I had. A Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 Ultregra.
Jerry u getting a new bike?
@Eric. Wish I could go. I wish I could ride at all. Four broken bones and broken bike makes that difficult at the moment.
@Ronaele. Yes I will buying a new bike. I will be getting the same bike I had. A Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 Ultregra.
@Eric I hear Lance Armstrong is going to be out there.
Jerry u getting a new bike?
@Eric I hear Lance Armstrong is going to be out there.
Leaving for RAGBRAI in a week. Who's going?
To the Jeep that had a right turn in a dedicated lane @ Briargate and 83:
Thank you for waiting for room to pass the bicyclist who had just made a left hand turn onto the edge of your lane. Your courtesy was appreciated, particularly given the traffic behind you honking for you to proceed in lane.
Leaving for RAGBRAI in a week. Who's going?
To the Jeep that had a right turn in a dedicated lane @ Briargate and 83:
Thank you for waiting for room to pass the bicyclist who had just made a left hand turn onto the edge of your lane. Your courtesy was appreciated, particularly given the traffic behind you honking for you to proceed in lane.
I just took my bike to my bike shop to be evaluated from my crash.
I killed my bicycle. It is dead. Very dead. Never to experience the joy of being out on the road anymore. Poor bike.
I just took my bike to my bike shop to be evaluated from my crash.
I killed my bicycle. It is dead. Very dead. Never to experience the joy of being out on the road anymore. Poor bike.
Pics are up from my self-supported trip from Denver to NW Iowa. Sure helped my mileage points... http://www.motate.org/biketour/
Pics are up from my self-supported trip from Denver to NW Iowa. Sure helped my mileage points... http://www.motate.org/biketour/
Okay, so the math from my last ride just about killed me. I rode upto the base of Mount Herman and then realized dirt road + rain = mud. Then on the decent I remembered the other equation: Dirt road + rain = washboard. My cyclocross bike doesn't quite have the shocks to make that enjoyable. Even my water bottle got shaken out of the cage!
Okay, so the math from my last ride just about killed me. I rode upto the base of Mount Herman and then realized dirt road + rain = mud. Then on the decent I remembered the other equation: Dirt road + rain = washboard. My cyclocross bike doesn't quite have the shocks to make that enjoyable. Even my water bottle got shaken out of the cage!
http://rkline.smugmug.com/People/just-me/30393599_2rmw6H#!i=2618658358&k=qcRcbZn
Most of us know that NBC has levels at 100, 250, 750, 1500, 2500, and 5000 points. At the end of each month NBC has prize drawings for the people in each level. You can see the winners from the PRIZES "pulldown menu" on top of this page. For June CSCC's own Cheryl Lynn Mahon won a Planet Bike bike light. Unfortunately she had rotator cuff surgery in early June and probably won't be able to ride any more for the team. That is at least the 3rd cuff surgey this year for CSCC members?
Most of us know that NBC has levels at 100, 250, 750, 1500, 2500, and 5000 points. At the end of each month NBC has prize drawings for the people in each level. You can see the winners from the PRIZES "pulldown menu" on top of this page. For June CSCC's own Cheryl Lynn Mahon won a Planet Bike bike light. Unfortunately she had rotator cuff surgery in early June and probably won't be able to ride any more for the team. That is at least the 3rd cuff surgey this year for CSCC members?
@Randy. Upload a photo to a photo sharing site such as Photobucket, Smugmug, etc. Post the link in your comment.
@Randy. Upload a photo to a photo sharing site such as Photobucket, Smugmug, etc. Post the link in your comment.
Someone, tell me how to post a pic and i will.
had a flat tire this morning on my ride, had to walk back to my starting point and get a new tube. ready to try again tomorrow
Rode the Garden of Gods Loop than went & visited my daughter & my 8 yr old granddaughter wanted to ride with me. So, I escorted her to my sons house , visited them & played w/my latest granddaughter (4mos old) & left Aryn there to play with her cousin Ashley. She did real well on her bike, just needs to get her speed up a little. We rode part way down Centennial in order to get to my sons house. I was proud of her. I've been working with her cycling in residential areas, but this was the 1st time she rode on a busy road. he did great. Of course I kept her on the right side of me to give her some protection , since cars can see me much better. She held her line really well. She wants to ride the social rides, but I told she needs to get her speed up. It was fun.
Rode the Garden of Gods Loop than went & visited my daughter & my 8 yr old granddaughter wanted to ride with me. So, I escorted her to my sons house , visited them & played w/my latest granddaughter (4mos old) & left Aryn there to play with her cousin Ashley. She did real well on her bike, just needs to get her speed up a little. We rode part way down Centennial in order to get to my sons house. I was proud of her. I've been working with her cycling in residential areas, but this was the 1st time she rode on a busy road. he did great. Of course I kept her on the right side of me to give her some protection , since cars can see me much better. She held her line really well. She wants to ride the social rides, but I told she needs to get her speed up. It was fun.
What is Lab bike month Bingo Card? Send me a link if there is one. Thank you
What is Lab bike month Bingo Card? Send me a link if there is one. Thank you
Two of us from the CSCC team were riding together on the Club's Fitness Ride this morning. We didn't like the clouds as we came out of the Garden of the Gods. It started raining as we got to the top of Mesa Road, and continued all the way back to downtown Colorado Springs (took shelter for a bit in Monument Valley Park). It hasn't rained much in C Springs, but at the end of the ride we had 40 miles and can check off the LAB Bike Month BINGO card for "Ride in the Rain".
Now I know why my bike was being disobedient and fighting me in the last couple of weeks. When it was time to ride home, my bike refused to make the turns to ride home. It insisted that we had to continue to ride. It would only let me ride home after I ran out of liquids and food. It must have know that it was reaching the end of its life.
don't know if it is good or bad that the Tour de France is on now. The good is that I can watch it without figuring out how to fit into my schedule. The bad is as I sit here watching the tour I miss being our riding my bike even more
I'm glad youre starting feeling a little better Jerry.
Sorry to hear about your accident Jerry. Get better soon! :)
@David. If I can't ride I plan on volunteering if I am physicaly able. I am improving each day. It seems slow but I do see progress. The bad days are the ones when the pain levels are much higher than normal. But the doctor told me that would be days like that. For the most part I'm slowly getting better. I can do a little more each day.
I just got some great news. I missed Ride the Rockies this year due to my accident. I've just been informed I get to ride in next years Ride the Rockies. Now I really have something to look forward to.
@Jerry We're happy to still have you in the community even if you can't ride at the moment.
@Jerry Bengton: Hang in there and get better soon! And consider volunteering at those rides that you'd normally be at: if you can't be on your bike, it is pretty fun helping out those who are on their bikes for a good cause! Keep the faith, brother!
Happy Bike to Work Day, Colorado!
I am sorry I missed Bike to Work day today, but I am back on my bike after my accident. That is my new bike a beautiful white Giant..
Thank You all for your support..
Vern Pitcher
If only this wind would die down Biking would be so much more enjoyable, but tonight looks good. so bike i will
@Timothy Sullivan. Thanks for words of encouragement. I have to keep making comments to keep my spirits up. At least I know I will be riding again. Even if it will be 6-8 weeks if I am lucky.
I'm hoping that with Bike-to-Work Day today, Colorado can continue to add on the points to get further ahead of Iowa and D.C. Hard to believe a bicycling state like ours isn't way ahead in the standings. I don't, however, see us ever being able to catch up with the top three, unfortunately. So, how does that formula work again?? Ha! Don't tell me...I was not a math major in college, so even with an explanation, I doubt I would "get it"!
Today is Bike To Work Day in Colorado Springs. I joined the 6:30am City Council Ride from City Hall to the downtown Pioneer Museum. The ride was organized for the Council by one of our Club members. We had breakfast on the Museum lawn (and 2 other locations in Colorado Springs). I (as president of Colorado Springs Cycling Club and team captain of the CSCS NBC team) was asked to speak about the National Bike Challenge. I pointed out that Endomondo shows 281 riders from the city in the challenge, CSCC has 106 on our team, and there were more than that number on the lawn enjoying breakfast. I spoke briefly to the Challenge's goal of 50K riders and 20M miles. I invited all to visit our website and read the #2 news story that has links to the NBC challenge, rules, and sign up page. We'll see if there is spike in official riders.
@Julie. Everyone is being mean to me. My wife won't let me participate in bike to work day. My friends won't ride their bikes with me. When my wife took me for a drive on Sunday, there were all these bicyclist on the road rubbing it in that they were riding and I wasn't. Do you get the idea I miss riding my bike? Even my bike is being mean to me. It just sits there in the garage, looking all dejected and broken, And blaming me for its current condition.
It's Bike to Work Day. Sing the Bike to Work Song. https://www.youtube.com/watch
Except for you, Jerry, You just keep recovering and bike to work next year! Best!
Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and support as I am recovering from my injuries. I am finally home from rehab. It is great to be back in my own home with my wife. Had my first home visit from my physical therapist yesterday. I don't know how she expects me to recover. When she arrived at my house she did't even bring me a new bike to replace my destroyed one.
Colorado ride your bike to work day brothers and sisters!!
There's a lot less smoke in the mornings and through lunchtime, if you can find a way to ride then. =)
Why 9 hours without any updates?
Dang this smoke. I am 6 miles away from a 500 mile month, just can't breath out there. Leaving for vacation Wednesday, and won't be back until July 12. There will be some biking where I'm going. @Jerry - thanks for all the updates. I'm having rotator cuff surgery in July (moved it up from Sept. it is getting very annoying) and you are inspiring me to get over it and get back on the bike ASAP. I sincerely hope you are riding again by the end of the summer!
thanks for the valuable insight Jerry. Hope you have a speedy and full recovery.
@Jerry B, I see you comments from time to time on the site - Sorry to hear about your crash and thanks for sharing some of your experiences about it. Take care and hope you are riding soon!!!
Two more lessons I learned from my accident. I was riding with a good friend. But she did not have my wife's cell phone number in her phone. And I didn't have her sister's phone number in my phone. I was conscious, so she was able to ask me how to contact my wife. I had the interactive road ID. Which I did not need since I was conscious. But they would have been able to use it to contact my wife had I been unconscious. It is a good idea to have cell phone numbers of family and friends of those you ride with constantly.
The second lesson that I learned, was having access to my phone. I keep my phone in a small bag just behind the handlebars. Had I been riding by myself on an isolated road, I would not have been able to get to my cell phone to call for help. My bicycle was 30 to 40 feet away from me. And I would not have been able to crawl to my bike to get to my phone if I needed it. So it is a good idea to carry your phone in jersey pocket.
Not riding much outside because of the smoke, so I am doing short trips around the neighbor hood in the evening when the wind dies down.
I am back home finally from rehab. It has been 15 days since my accident. I was told I might be able to start riding in 6-8 weeks. Only 57 more days until to Tour de Cure ride for diabetes which I do ever year. I definitely won't be able to do the 100 miler. I will probably have to settle for the 30 mile ride. I sure hope I can ride in it this year.
@Mark Noble. Not to bad Mark. Only a broken shoulder, broken arm, and a broken pelvis in two places. I don't know if I can ride in this years Tour de Cure. If I do it will have to be the 30 mile ride. I have only 57 days to get back on my bike again to ride in the tour.
Have a great trip, Ronaele. Be safe.
Leaving for Calif tomorrow to do the Gold Rush 1200K. Hopefully will be posting good mileage for the team. :)
I hope you are able to start riding again soon Jerry and that you were not injured severly. FYI I use Tegaderm dressings on road rash and I really like them. You can see through them and they keep them clean and even permit air through.
Jerry, I'm so sorry about your accident. You will probably heal quicker than most since I'm assuming u r in good physical shape. I really wish you quick recovery, & i'm sorry you missed the Ride the Rockies. Heal quick
When you check with your insurance company, get it in writing.
The frustrating thing was I checked with the insurance company to make sure that I was insured. I have replacement cost insurance for everything.
Sorry to hear about your bike Jerry. I hope you're feeling better soon. Insurance covers most "stuff" up to a limit of $1000, then it's extra cost.
I don't know about computers or TVs, but if you have any sort of hobby the equipment is likely not covered.
Thanks for the reminder, we should review our insurance policy. With inflation raging away it's easy for your policy to become inadequate in a few years.
Warning to everyone who think their bicycles might be insured. I have homeowners insurance on my bicycle. I called my insurance company to ensure my bike would be covered in case I had an accident. I was assured that I was covered if I wreaked my bicycle. Now the insurance company is refusing to reimburse me for my bicycle. They are saying I needed a separate rider on my policy. Even though I was told in the phone call that I did not need one. Make sure your bike is covered by your insurance policy. Get verification from your insurance company in writing. I am out $5,000 for the cost of a new bicycle because the insurance company won't pay out now. On top of the cost of all my medical expenses.
Good news...my points were finally updated as of 3:32 p.m. (MST) when I checked. At the same time, I looked at the points for the States, and Colorado has just passed Iowa in total points/1000 and we're now #4 !!
Is there a problem today with the updating on Leaderboard? Posted my mileage about 15 minutes ago, and although it shows that both the Local and National sites have updated, nothing's being added to my total from when I last rode on Saturday, June 15.
Wow Jerry! One I am an X-ray/CT tech so I am sure you looked quite banged up when you got to the hospital. Second I road and mountain bike ride and always empathise with my patients when it's a bicycle accident. Third took myself a pretty hard digger mountain biking this weekend( worst one for me). Went down fast and furious and saw the ground coming at my face way to fast. Cracked helmet in 2 places, large hematoma on side of head from the helmet. I decided I should probably get checked out....which as a healthcare worker was tough for me! All is well just dealing with head injury tiredness. Glad you are doing well , stay positive and keep moving!!
Thanks Doug. Felt much better today (Monday).
Ouch Jerry, best wishes for a speedy recovery!
I am so sorry to hear this, Jerry. I had sent your earlier posts to my two nephews-in-law who did Ride the Rockies last week, and they couldn't believe your luck (or lack thereof). All of us are sending good thoughts your way. You sound like a strong character, which should get you on your bike sooner rather than later since you are so determined!
@Meg. No it was my last ride before Ride the Rockies. The groove in the middle of the turn lane was not very visible and with watching traffic I missed it. Or actually did not miss it. I remember most of the fall. Fell left, hit my hip, then my shoulder, then felt my helmet bounce off the pavement. I must have blacked out for a few seconds, because the next thing I remember was laying on my right side facing south instead of north like I was riding. Pati who was riding with me told me I bounced when I went down. I have very little road rash due to bouncing versus sliding on the pavement. It could have been a lot worse. There were two first responders there on their day off. The state trooper was only a mile down the road. The ambulance was close by so I didn't have to wait long for it. Broken shoulder broken arm broken pelvis in two places. After initial x-rays I was told I would be flat on my back for eight weeks. Since I could not support myself with my left side at all. But after CT scans, They decided my pelvis could be weight-bearing. So I have been walking. Started stairs yesterday. Therapist said I would do one flight. I did three flights of stairs. I was told today I might get to go home on Friday. I may be able to start riding in six weeks.
So, Jerry, did this happen during Ride the Rockies? Take care of yourself as you go through rehab.
So sorry Jerry! Such a bummer. may you heal well!
My bike riding came to a screaching halt on Jun 13th. Hit a hidden 1.5" groove in a turn lane while riding at 30mph. Broken shoulder, broken arm, broken pelvis in two places. It is a bummer being in the rehab facility instead go being out riding.
@Salvador, yes be careful with the smoke, even when it looks clear, take extra time and go easy, the smoke can cause damage to your lungs. I've taken a couple of days off and am checking wind directions and weater before setting out. I want to be riding my whole life (and hoping for a long one).
I commute 20 miles/day in south Denver and I think the smoke is really getting to me. I've been feeling tired, nauseous, short of breath and feeling some pressure in my chest during and immediately after bike rides...and today I began feeling a little dizzy at the end of my commute. At first I thought it was something I ate, but today it just hit me that it might be the bad air quality. Anyone else been feeling symptoms?
Rode my bike into work this morning. Somehow managed to pack two pairs of socks but no pants. Its going to bring a whole new meaning to the term "casual day".
S
Those of us in CO who participated in the Elephant Rock Bike festival a couple weeks ago know the Black Forest area well. Best wishes, thoughts, and prayers . . .
Ronale be careful. Corey, you're probably right. But someone might have enjoyed a little comic relief as well. I rode to work - no wind in the morning and a wind out of the south pushed me all the home this afternoon. no smoke.
Able to ride this AM. The smoke wasn't to bad. Just took it easy. I can definitely feel the heaviness in my chest. Really feel bad aboutfor the peooin Black Forrest.
I was incredibly tempted to weave all over Voyager, but discretion got the better of me.
I figured it wouldn't foster much goodwill to all the motorists being diverted away from the road.
Janine, the smoke is definitely something with which to be careful.
It wasn't to bad for me but I did keep a close eye on the prevailing winds
and made sure I got on the road when it was mostly clear. That said I am flirting with the edge of that smoke column.
Corey, how was the smoke? I'm a little leery about riding to work and getting into heavy smoke. Waldo canyon messed up my lungs last year.
Nice that you got the open road! Did you do a few figure 8s?
Well I had quite the eventful commute home. The wind out of the South helped quite a bit with the climb from Briargate to Monument. The air was pretty clear. But at Interquest the police had just shut down Voyager's incoming traffic to help aid with people trying to evacuate. So there was a time when I had a couple hundred yards of road and four lanes of traffic with no cars on the road!
I agree Janine. Nice dinner ride tongight.
You know what's nice about riding right now? NO MILLER MOTHS!
Did another night time training ride, than off the bike for 4 hrs and back on for another 4 hrs. The last 4 hrs I started at 6am. I ended up over in Falcon and than decided to ride on Woodman Road all the back past I25. I didn't think I would be riding the indy 500 6 or 7 miles. No shoulder. Made it in 1 peace though. :) Jerry I'm glad you only have to be off the bike about 3 wks. Not to bad.
@Robert, hope rampart went we'll need to go do a lap sometime soon. Headed out on a longish road ride to prep for the ADA century, took in some of the route, going to be fun.
Who in this illustrious group is a Mountain Biker? well we are hitting Rampart Reservoir tomorrow, and wanna do two laps. Anybody wanna join up?
Larry Davis is sure falling down in the rating. But of course after he gets back from riding to Telluride for Ride the Rockes, riding in Ride the Rockies, and than riding in the Bicycle Colorado, than getting home and entering all those mile he will be ahead of me again.
@Sue. I will be wearing a neoprene sleeve on my left elbow. And my Red Rider jersey for diabeties. So say hi when you see me.
Hello Everyone - I recently found out that each "workout" you enter is either flagged as "Include in statistics" or not. When you click on a workout in the calendar view (My Profile -> Workouts) you may see a comment uder the date of the workout down in the summary section that states "Not Included In Statistics". If you see this, click on "Edit" on the right and check the box that says "Include in statistics". I had 3 rides with over 100 miles rode that weren't being included!
Jerry! That is great news. Should I look for a guy with a cast or a splint pedaling along RTR with a smile on his face?
Good news. After breaking my arm on Friday I saw the specialist today. He said no riding for three weeks. But after my exam, he told me I could go on Ride the Rockies since I am dealing with the pain well. Should be an interesting seven days riding with my broken arm.
Doh! I'm one mile short of 1000 for the year (2013)...
Jerry, I am sory u broke your arm. I really really hope it heals quickly. Broken bones hurt so much. My heart goes out to you.
eThank you Jeannine. Actually it turned out that it took 11:15 on Friday with brutal head wind for about 65 miles. I did ride home from BV going down the AR river. It was beautiful. 110.7 miles in 8:40 hrs. Even stopped for lunch w/Paul in Canon City. It was really fund today!!!!
@Jerry. I am wishing you the very best with your arm. I hope you make it to Ride the Rockies (I am doing it too!) Let us know how you are doing, please!
To Koy: Congrats on your first BVBF metric! I wasn't sure I could but with lots of help from friends, I did the century. The Mineral Belt Trail is beautiful, if you have never been on it. You gotta try that next year!
To Ronale: Girl, I admire your guts and stamina. YOU Rode from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista on Friday, rode the century plus 12 on Saturday, and then rode back to Colorado Springs today. You amaze me!
To Jerry: I am bummed for you, too. I'm dealing with a torn rotator cuff, WILL NOT have surgery this summer, waiting 'til fall. Cannot give up the summer of riding since my doc told me at this point it's okay to ride. I hope you can continue too.
Friday Ride. We had planned to ride to Ward and Brainard Lake. But we aborted the ride due to winds. They were brutal. They stopped us in our tracks while riding uphill. When we got to Peak to Peak Hwy the wind gusts were so bad they almost blew us over standing there. Decided it was to dangerous to ride Peak to Peak Hwy. We had to wait for the winds to die down just to start down the hill. I normally ride down the hill at 45-50mph. Today I had to ride down the hill at 20-25mph due to the winds. And to top everything else off, I broke my arm 1 hour into the ride. So I rode three more hours with a broken arm. I am supposed to ride in Ride the Rockes next week. I see the specialist tomorrow to see if I can do the ride. I am so bummed.
Congratulations to Koy Rehme for your 1st Metric Century. I also did the BVBF, I did the century & also did the ride out to twin cities. I thought that was part of the century, so I ended up w/extra miles. 112 total.
Buena Vista Bike Fest was awesome! Thanks, Colorado Springs Cycling Club, for a great ride.
I was planning on the 50 mile route, but got to the first rest stop and figured I might as well make it my FIRST METRIC CENTURY. 62 miles in 3:50.
Linnie. Only June data showing, but you can use the drop down list above the leader boards and select "entire period" to see cumulative data.
What is going on with the Leaderboard rankings? Colorado is now 15???
Breckenridge is no longer even listed? HMMMM~
Summertime, and the Biking is Easy: During BoneDale Bike Week, I cornered the lovely and talented lead singer of All The Pretty Horses, Olivia Pevec, shoved a little bicycle poem under her nose and asked her to sing it to the tune of Gershwin's Summertime. She styled it on the spot. YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch or on FB https://www.facebook.com/photo.php
Health District of Northern Larimer County is rocking the Workplace Challenge! Does any other workplace have 40% of employees signed up for the Challenge and 34% with points on the board for the month of May? I doubt it! Perhaps the Leaderboard should be based on POINTS per EMPLOYEE to recognize the workplaces where the Challenge is really having a positive impact. If it was – this would be the workplace Leaderboard in Colorado today : 1st – Health District with 87.3 points/employee. 2nd – Town of Breckenridge with 19.5 pts/emp 3rd New Belgium Brewing with 13.1 pts/emp 4th Tri State Generators with 7.9 pts/emp 5th is NREL with 7.0 pts/emp 6th Colo Springs Utilities at 5.1 pts/emp 7th Fort Carson with 3.9 pts per employee. Texas Instrument has just 0.3 points per employee.
@Ronaele Foss. You must like to suffer. I skipped today due to the winds. Other than a wimpy one mile ride.
Very windy, but went ahed and did my hill climb workout. My legs felt a little tired.
@Ronaele Foss. Sounds like you had an interesting ride.
Did a 200K strting at 9pm last night out of Louisville for traing for a ride I'll be doing in Ca next month. On the way out to Plattville had quite the lignting show & of course it was on top of Platteville. Ended up riding into quite a thunderstorm. After Plattville it stopped for awhile than I had to stop at Johnsons Corner to take of rain gear & put on another layer of clothes. Had a lot of wind at different times and when it wasn't raining you could see city lights really well under the clouds. It was beautiful. The wnd calmed down after leaving Masonville which was great, but on the way to Lyons had to stop & put rain gear back on. No thdner storms this time. just raining on & off. About 15 miles out of Louisville it started raining really hard & pretty much staryed that way until the end of the ride. The birds started chirping just when the light from the sun was showing, it was great. I was very iimpressed how many commuters the:re were even in the hard rain during rush out. I finished about 8:15am. Not to bad for night cycling, rain, wind. At nite * can't ride as fast due to safety reasons. Overall I did enjoy the ride. It was so peaceful most of the time.
I was going to do this until I saw it is sponsored by Kimberly-Clarke. Seems like a massive contradiction. Won't do it, but I'll keep riding.
Hey CSCC team - log your miles before the end of the month please. I KNOW some of you have more miles than what's showing up - cuz I have been riding with you. We could place third (maybe better) nationally if everyone takes a few minutes to log their miles. Remember at the end of the month, everything gets set back to zero.
Marvelous ride home from work. Tailwind from the south, averaged 15.3 mph.
Awesomeness
Rode up to Gold Camp Road 2X for hill climbing training, Really got breezy last half of ride, but temp was great.
Memorial Weeekend in the Black Hills. On Sunday rode the Mickelson trail from Deadwood to Custer. Great ride and scenery especially the last 5 miles into Custer.
Did that round trip to Palmer Lake along the Sante Fe Trail again today. That sure is a pretty ride, a great way to do a metric century on a 29er. Besides, there's good icecream up there, they make a great malted shake.
Memorial Day Weekend cycle tour from Longmont to Fort Collins to see friends on Saturday. Stayed the night, rode to Windsor on Sunday stayed overnight back in the Fort, then rode back to Longmont on Monday. A mini-tour and loads of fun. Also rode to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Fort Collins. Great way to see the area.
3 of us from the CSCC team went skiing at A-Basin last Thursday. Considering it is almost June, the skiing was great. But in the afternoon it was a lot of work. 2 of us still got NBC miles that day. So we declared winter to be over, put our boots away, and we'll ride our bikes a little more often. Buena Vista Bike Fest http://bvbf.org/ is this Saturday there will be a lot of "supported" miles. This will be my 50th century. Ride safe :-)
Yes indeed Ronale. Fun riding with you yesterday! And more to come - see you at Buena Vista.
Another great day of cycling.
Rode round trip from S. Academy & Rt. 115 to Palmer Lake along the Sante Fe Trail. Great ride. Looking forward to doing it again this week.
Bingham Hill on my single speed. bam. :)
Grate ride today. Really felt good to have warmer temps. Really nice day out.
@Sue. Glad it did not end up in your spokes.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/6/76039319_f5e81e4f93.jpg
A couple of weeks ago I had to miss a herd of deer running across the road just above Lyons.
That was too exciting.
It happened. I hit a prairie dog on my commute home! I had a tail wind and was going at a pretty good clip and all of a sudden about 10 ran across the path. I missed all but one, one that literally aimed for my rear wheel. Squeak! And then "thunk" as its leg and my tire met. . It survived and ran off. If it lives, it learned a lesson!
@Ronaele. Congratulations on your 600K.
I had a great 600K ride this past weekend. Did it in 35.15 hrs. Had about 15,000' of elevation gain. Also had beautiful scenery. I earned my 5th Super Randoneer Medal.:)
I wish we had the option of re-sorting the leader board by miles ridden...
University of Colorado Health North (formerly Poudre Valley Health System) will be using the 2013 National Bike Challenge as the platform for its June Bike to Work Month Challenge.
1st Ascent Ride on Saturday. Practice ride for Ride the Rockies. This is the hardest bike ride I have ever done. Harder than Ward. Harder the Glen Haven. 1.5 miles from the start we have to climb a 12% hill. With one of the course marshals at the base of the hill telling us "This is your wakeup call." Then the climb was mostly 6-8% or greater for the first 20 miles. With another 13% and a 12% hill tossed in to test our limits. The next 20 miles were not as bad but hard. At least after mile 39 is was mostly downhill.
I just went out to do a short 10 mile ride to make sure my bike was fixed before this evenings ride. But when I got to Hygiene my bike refuse to turn left to go home. It fought me and make me continue riding. My bike finally took pity on me and let me ride home after it realized I only brought one water bottle with me and I was running low on liquids.
An interesting ride to Jamestown with Pati. Riding up the canyon in rain. And back down in rain. And neither of us brought jackets or vests. We were talking earlier how nice it was to not have to wear or carry cold weather gear. It was cold. And wet. It is amazing how fast Pati can ride up the canyon in the rain so she can get inside to warm up.
I was able to get out today. Managed to miss all wet rain while dodging thunderstorms. But got rained on with rock. In on section of the ride I was near a rock crusher. And the wind must have blown tiny rock in the sky. For about a mile I had tiny rocks falling from the sky on me.
Hi Warren - You can log miles back in time. Hit the "log miles" button and then hit the "monthly" view. This will allow you to enter miles from last week.
I entered the website to log on my miles from May 1 and found that I cannot, As I will not likely be accessing this site daily you will not have an accurate record of my miles.
One problem is coworkers can't see who else has signed up during the kick off and during these first weeks when we are trying to get employees (in 4 different buildings) to encourage each other, form groups to ride, organize bike related seminars etc. We did a good job, with 21 of 26 (more than one quarter of entire workforce) signed up during the warm up. Most are now hidden from the leaderboard now and it may be a few weeks until most of them get a ride logged. Yes, I can find other ways to encourage networking, and search both warm up boards and the challenge period boards to look for staff who got the workplace name wrong. It happens. Found 2 today and it was not easy. But really? Someone who signed up April 30 with zero points is not treated same as coworker who signs up May 1 with zero points? Sorry I don't like it. And yes I do have to do extra stuff because of this silly new rule. I will get over it and it will be a fantastic 5 months of biking!
Sue, not sure I can see the problem. As soon as a rider logs some mileage starting May 1st he appears back in the listings. The rider hasn't got to register again, the team captain does not have to do anything extra, the rider just has to enter some mileage from my own and colleagues experience. Any warm up points earned are irrelevant.
@Matt Young. Are you a challenge administrator for a workplace? It is an issue as an administrator and I still feel it was not good timing if it was intended to "weed out" non riders.
Sue - This really is a non-issue. Everyone is still registered. They will show up as soon as they log miles. I'm guessing endomondo or NBC did this to weed out those who join but never log miles which then counts against the community in the communities leaderboard. Chill - it shouldn't be too hard with all of that snow.
Thanks Chris. That is a major a PAIN in the you know where. One more thing now I have to communicate to the folks who have signed up because of a design flaw. This didn't happen last year, and from the looks of it, is only happening to some workplaces. Sorry - but I have a LOT to do to get the challenge up and running and I really don't need this today! I've sent a message asking administrators to correct it.
Sue, Doug is correct, as soon as you log a ride, you will show up on the HDNLC workplace. I manually added a commute waited 5 minutes, then deleted the commute and am now part of the workplace.
So brand new people show up with zero miles, and as the only "riders" with my workplace and people who signed up ahead of time are penalized with not showing up until they record a ride? We are getting a foot of snow today in Fort Collins, not everyone has a smart phone or application AND that is a stupid design for the workplace captain to manage. I see this not putting warm-up riders into the challenge period automatically as a giant FAIL!
Hopefully things dry up tomorrow so I can get back on the bike!
Sue - People/places/teams etc will show up once they have logged their first miles.
Sue - I'm guessing as soon as your coworkers log miles they will show up on the leader boards. NREL only has 2 people today - and we both rode today without signing up again. We both use the endomondo app on our smart phones. I hope this was helpful.
We had 20 plus employees signed up as of April 30. We are all GONE from leader boards for May now. Our workplace riders have been stripped from the challenge. A mess. Why didn't those who rode the warm- up get rolled over?
Couldn't let a little snow stop me from kicking off the Challenge!
4" of snow as of now and still snowing. Don't think I will be riding today here in Colorado.
Thanks, Mother Nature, for squashing my hopes and dreams. Oh well.
The usual Mayday in Boulder, CO; snow!
Going out for the first day of the challenge 90 degrees here in Scottsdale, at home 37 today.
Wow, shorts and 70 yesterday, 30's and icy rain today, felt good. Go Colorado
The challenge starts tomorrow. And the forecast for Colorado is 4-10" of snow on May 1st.
I am ready to hit the road! This challenge will help motivate me between my volunteer bike events this summer. :)
Just got back from a great four days in Fruita at the Fat Tire Festival! That was my first and it was amazing. Logged some good miles with impressive views!
Not too many gals listed, so I challenge each of us to recruit at least one more woman and mentor her!
Got the bike tuned and rode the trails Saturday. Everything tested out okay. Now I'm ready to start the 20.1 one-way commute. That is as long as it doesn't snow this week. Sorry Bryan, studded tires is not in my inventory.
May 1st is bike to school day. I good way to start my challenge.
updated my warmup stats to the start of the 2013 year
Getting tired of Winter's death grip on COS. 13 degrees and studded tires is harshing my Spring buzz. Keep promoting the National Bike Challenge to all your compatriots so May starts off with a ton of Colorado riders.
yhea!
Bill, may have to get in touch with the endomondo help to get back your access. Thanks for getting the ball moving at Ft Carson!
Doug, Tried to delete the first one, but can't get back in. Must have typed my email wrong.
Ok Doug, looks like I'm at least on the right year now! Pedal On into 2013 with the National Bike Challenge :)
I am in and will try my best! Thank you Bill
Bill, looks like your entered twice, may want to delete one of your logins unless you have a twin :O)
I'm in! Thanks Bill
Thanks Bill, Great to have you onboard, looking forward to the local competition!
Thanks to Doug Bursnall who passed on the info about this Challenge. Fort Carson MEDDAC is participating!
I will be training for the Leadville 100 MTB Race, so I will get in a lot of miles with a lot of climbing!
First Ride of the year went well. Left knee hurts a little but I expected that. Just a few groing pains and adjustments to go through before I feel I have my legs under me again. Ride On Everyone!! =)
Hola, everyone. Excited to do this again this year. Gonna try and do better than last year. I'm from Aurora, work in the DTC. Commute 8.5 miles one way. Anyone else gonna do Elephant Rock?
I wanted to do this last year but had to have back surgery :( so I will be the slowest person biking to work, just so you all know!
I'm giving a quick 101 on the Challenge to our local military and any member of the public would like to listen on April 10th 7:30 at CSU's Conservation Center on Mesa Rd.
Please encourage all cyclists you know to participate, as I see this as a great data point to encourage more bike infrastructure within our city.
Points are reset May 1st.
Many more catagories this year, but teams can be as big as you want!
Jacalyn, Hello, Jo and I aren't on the "same" team as last year we have joined up with the "SloPokes" team. My understanding is that TEAMS can be as BIG as you want this year, they've got different size catagories for 2013! Have a most excellent day! :)
When does this year's challenge begin? Do we have room for any more team members?
If you just log your ride on the reg. endomondo member area, will it automaticlly load the miles on this National Bicycle Challenge Pages??
Don't think they will add points till it becomes "official" in May 2013, I've got almost 40 miles this week and ZERO points, FYI.
I posted my 6.38 miles yesterday, but still have only "6" listed as far as points. Will Endomondo be adding 20 points per ride day to the 6 miles to come up with a total number of "points" rather than just "miles" as was calculated last year?
Well looks like the "unoffical" 2013 National Bike Challege is underway, (March to May), Ride Safe and have FUN!! :)
A buddy put his used studded tires on my Xtracycle. Now, where did that snow and ice go........
A buddy put his used studded tires on my Xtracycle. Now, where did that snow and ice go........
I had my road bike stolen last Tuesday, Nov. 6. I was with some friends having dinner at the Wynkoop Brewing Company. We only used a cable lock for 3 bikes and made it easy for the thief (thieves). I had gotten complacent. Let this be a reminder to everyone to lock your bikes well. And, if you see a black Giant TCR Composite with a 53/39 crankset, please let me know!
Bike thieves - the lowest of the low.
I had my road bike stolen last Tuesday, Nov. 6. I was with some friends having dinner at the Wynkoop Brewing Company. We only used a cable lock for 3 bikes and made it easy for the thief (thieves). I had gotten complacent. Let this be a reminder to everyone to lock your bikes well. And, if you see a black Giant TCR Composite with a 53/39 crankset, please let me know!
Bike thieves - the lowest of the low.
Looks like our outdoor cycling season is coming to an end possibly tomorrow. Back on the roller! It was a great season and I'm looking forward to the Bike Challenge next summer!
Looks like our outdoor cycling season is coming to an end possibly tomorrow. Back on the roller! It was a great season and I'm looking forward to the Bike Challenge next summer!
Caught up with a friend last week at a professional conference. She lives in Chicago. I was upset to learn that over the summer, while bike commuting to her job, she was struck broadside in an intersection by a car driven by a woman who ran a red light. Fortunately her helmet did exactly what it needed to do as she was flung into the windshield and then bounced off to the pavement. She had a mild and survivable concusion while her helmet was smashed and crushed on the side and the back from absorbing the forces of the crash. I am certain she would either be dead now or suffering major TBI if she had been helmetless. So please folks WEAR HELMETS every single time! They really are life savers! The dark side of this tale is that the car driver, in spite of the victim and 2 objective witnesses reporting that the biker had the green light and the driver of the car the red, the police chose to believe the driver's version that she had a green light! No ticket even though this terrible driver nearly killed someone. Then, my friend was subjected to being berated and blamed by the paramedics and the hospital ER staff for her injury, because she "should have known better that bike riding is dangerous." How shameful that Chicago's bicycle injury prevention stratgey seems to be "Don't ride!" instead of making the roads safer for everyone.
Caught up with a friend last week at a professional conference. She lives in Chicago. I was upset to learn that over the summer, while bike commuting to her job, she was struck broadside in an intersection by a car driven by a woman who ran a red light. Fortunately her helmet did exactly what it needed to do as she was flung into the windshield and then bounced off to the pavement. She had a mild and survivable concusion while her helmet was smashed and crushed on the side and the back from absorbing the forces of the crash. I am certain she would either be dead now or suffering major TBI if she had been helmetless. So please folks WEAR HELMETS every single time! They really are life savers! The dark side of this tale is that the car driver, in spite of the victim and 2 objective witnesses reporting that the biker had the green light and the driver of the car the red, the police chose to believe the driver's version that she had a green light! No ticket even though this terrible driver nearly killed someone. Then, my friend was subjected to being berated and blamed by the paramedics and the hospital ER staff for her injury, because she "should have known better that bike riding is dangerous." How shameful that Chicago's bicycle injury prevention stratgey seems to be "Don't ride!" instead of making the roads safer for everyone.
Why aren't my points being credited? I logged my miles hours ago but still have 0 points.
Rode the Pikes Peak Highway on Sunday. One tough ride. The City of Colorado Springs has a pilot program going during September to determine if unescorted cyclist should be allowed on the toll road in the future. The weather was about as good as it could have been and there many, many cyclists on the peak.
Rode the Pikes Peak Highway on Sunday. One tough ride. The City of Colorado Springs has a pilot program going during September to determine if unescorted cyclist should be allowed on the toll road in the future. The weather was about as good as it could have been and there many, many cyclists on the peak.
And again hqshfiythryhfyhrsgugjdhki. Ff,tffoakjrnhttduyhymjukhdthhkfkfkfkfkdkdkdkskfkykhfrfhfyfuj ghffhfhgfhc
And again hqshfiythryhfyhrsgugjdhki. Ff,tffoakjrnhttduyhymjukhdthhkfkfkfkfkdkdkdkskfkykhfrfhfyfuj ghffhfhgfhc
Thanks Matt! We appreciate your kudos! Not as many folks at work logging but there is still a lot of riding at the Health District everyday!
Rhiicifhrtjbuioewfuetrfhjkhlfhiulhnhrflehrflkjiflnerrlifeeiluhtrlgeirh
I know I'm having a good month because I have more points than anyone from Health District of Northern Larimer County.
This is no easy feat! Or perhaps they're not logging all their miles.
I have no doubt that if there was a leaderboard category for miles/person at workplaces that Health District of Northern Larimer County would win hands down (at least for Colorado). They have 80 employees and over 45 of them registered here and they have been near the top the whole challenge competing against much bigger workplaces. I've said it before and I say it again: Kudos to Health District of Northern Larimer County! Way to lead by example.
eh fbuvykqeshcfiukw rgfkrgwjfycv rj,hjrgv dhjg dhg ,dmhjbcfg ejgf jfhvbkend .fkjaoo iefjdofne ife noahef .aejf vhkfhsjkrj rjf;.siifhkjhf r f,hfdhgskjgk suifgm
Go Larry! Hope you keep us posted.
Getting ready to start a ride from Atlanta to Portland, Maine. 1750 miles in 17 days.
Getting ready to start a ride from Atlanta to Portland, Maine. 1750 miles in 17 days.
I'm glad I did this, because It was a good motivator. But it's good to close the curtain on it, too. Garmin Connect already has a record of the rides where I used my Edge 500. And my own personal spreadsheet has 29 years of daily mileage. So I don't need to record miles here. I agree with Kevin. Mid-September through mid-November is far more suitable for riding than the horrendously hot summer we just had. I'd add mid-April through mid-June to that for the four best cycling months of the year.
The next couple months are actually the best for riding in Colorado. Get out there and crunch miles of leaves
Cool! They added September through December on the leader boards, rides are being added and the button on Endomondo is back up! I think this means we can keep this bike love fun going a little longer. I don't care if there are prizes or not, just happy we can keep the momentum going ahead. Lots of great biking weather this fall and, with planning, great cold weather rides too.
Way to go everyone! Look forward to the cool fall bike rides!!!!
It's been a great ride Colorado, thanks to you all for the memories.
What fun this was! I hope the challenge comes back next summer, I'm a little sad to see it go. Congrats to all of you who achieved goals and just got out there and rode! In spite of all the weirdness with the fires in Colorado, it WAS a great summer for riding. I'm going to write an article for the newsletter where I work - hopefully I can muster some interest and a team or two for next year. Keep biking everyone and thanks for the encoraging words!
@Sue J Hewitt. Congratulations on your triple platinum. It's been a great summer for riding.
Really need to crank it up today and go out with a bang. Time to get rolling down the road so I can get my 100 miles in for the week. RIDE ON!
Louis. Tomorrow is the last day.
This has been a wonderful experience, even as someone whose rides are short, and opportunities are limited! I have had so much fun participating this summer. Thanks to all of you who worked so hard keeping this going, and thanks for making it equally amazing for those who don't ride 50 miles at a time, mountain bike, and so on. I feel like a winner, just making a few more trips on my cute cruiser! Bike on everyone, and see you next year!
Yeah Lin!!! I want to see your new bike, and I am looking that direction myself. Isn't it great that bikes are affordable enough that it is possible (eventually) to have an assortment of bikes for a family to use depending on the task/trip at hand!
awwwwwwww it's the last day
Glad to hear that it's coming back next summer!! I'll get to start logging miles from the start instead of trying to play catch up!
So my reward for meeting my national bike challenge goals, and bike commuting most days this summer is, yep, a new bike! Went from a heavy, totally non-cool hybrid to a light, speedy cyclecross bike that my husband put together for me (he gets to race on it, I get to commute and use it recreationally - win win all around!). Took 10 minutes off my 30 minute commute this morning earning the (blue) bike its name - "the blue streak."
Hey Chris,
Yep! A great day to be on a bike! I rode a short block over to Colllege Ave. just to see what I could see. I pulled right up to the front of the street. I waited a minute and sure enough, got to see the entire motorcade! I couldn't have planned it better and it never would have happened if I was driving my car.
Suzanne - Good question. The National Bike Challenge will likely return next summer. Glad to hear you enjoyed riding in the Challenge this year!
Awesome job Sue and Lin!
Yesterday was one of those days where commuting on a bike was so worth it. Since President Obama was in Fort Collins, many of the major roads were blocked and car traffic was horrible. I only had a 0.5 mile detour around the road closures and was able to use bike paths - still made it home in 35 minutes. My wife's 5 mile car commute was 1 hour. Viva la bike!
Does anyboby know if the National Bike Challenge is coming back next summer?
I have really enjoyed this summers challenge.
Yay Sue! You are an inspiration! I also made my less lofty goal of platinum + 1,000, but that seems downright shabby in comparison to triple platinum! :) You totally rock...AND you've been an inspiration to our whole workgroup to get out there and ride. Thanks for all your work on the national bike challenge.
Good for you Sue! I will miss triple, but there's always next year. Your posts are inspiring!
I did it! 4500+ points = triple platinum! Thanks to the National Bike Challenge for adding fuel to my fire to push this aging baby boomer body to the best mental and physical shape it’s been in for years. In early April, coming off of a grueling winter of foot surgery, I was hauling around about 12+ extra pounds and ready to commit to riding as much as possible. Since the NBC started four months ago, I’ve gone over 2,500 miles with Clyde (my tank of a commuter bike) and Bonnie (my sweet road bike). Those 12 pounds of flab around my middle are long gone with no dieting! Although I bet I would have biked a lot this summer anyway, the NBC was often that extra nudge to get me in the saddle almost every day (106 out of 123 NBC days). I think data tracking is cool, so that part appealed to me, but mostly I wanted to help our Team, my community, my state, and bike advocacy groups like the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong, and Bicycle Colorado. But truly, I helped myself become a much healthier woman. With Bonnie and my increased leg strength, I now feel like I am flying up climbs that once had me sucking on my inhaler and gasping for air. My exercise induced asthma is gone and I enjoyed every inhaler free minute going up Independence Pass on June 12, 2012 with Ride the Rockies and had plenty of extra energy to dance in celebration at the summit. I am also proud to say I have embraced the Fort Collins commuter lifestyle fully and my Prius rarely leaves the garage these days, saving me hundreds on gas and reducing local CO2 emissions by several thousand pounds. Indeed, I’ve found that “biker’s high” and I feel so much better, mentally and physically, every day I ride. And the converse is true – a day with no bike ride is just a bummer!
I just did the slowest 6 mile loop of my life, but one of the most fun; since it was with my 6 year old and we stopped for ice cream.
The parade of bikes coming down from Flagstaff was better than seeing the race.
What a fun day!
Rode up to Ward to see the USA Pro Challenge. Then rode down to Lee Hill to watch the race again. Up at Ward we were at the feeding station. It was great to watch the bike racers come by only a couple of feet from us.
And for those who say you cannot climb the mountains, I saw two children today, about five and six years old who rode their little single speed bicycles over six miles up Lefthand Canyon to Lee Hill with grades up to six percent to watch the race.
I rode 11 round trip. Yes they were flying! That was fun, fun, fun to watch. And nice that they set up the big screen TVs on Tejon Street so you could watch the bikers screaming down Ute Pass at 55 MPH before they got to the Springs. The avg speed today was 29.1 MPH. Overall, a pretty good day for the bicycle in Colorado Springs.
I did 14 miles to go see the USPro Challenge in downtown Colorado Springs.
Man those guys can fly after doing 100 miles.
@Jerry, Mine didn't last quite that long. I had about 1,000 miles on it. Fortunately it broke when I was only a couple miles from my house.
I finally got out to ride today. Recovered from my wasp stings on Saturday. Of course it was windy. And one of the roads was a mile of unpaved. And they must have just watered the road before I came through. My poor road bike looked like a mountain bike after a day of riding in the mud.
@Corey. Bummer. How old was your chain? When I had my bike tuned up this year, they replaced my chain. It had about 3,500 miles on the chain.
I just broke my first bike chain.
USA Pro Challenge. I am leading a group from Longmont to watch the USA Pro Challenge. We will be riding to Ward via Lefthand Canyon. Come join us either starting in Longmont at 7:30am, or meet us at Hwy36 and Lefthand Canyon at 8:15am.
We will watch the race in Ward, and than ride down to James Canyon Drive and watch the race again as they race up the hill.
Sign up here.
http://www.meetup.com/bicycle-longmont/events/73798262/
or send me a message that you are joining us.
Rode the 100 mile route in Colorado's Tour de Cure on Saturday. It was a great day. Good weather. Great people to ride with. The only flaw of the day was the wasp that had to sting me multiple times in the neck with only one mile to go. Today my neck is very swollen. And painful.
Road the 100 mile route in Colorado's Tour de Cure on Saturday. It was a great day. Good weather. Great people to ride with. The only flaw of the day was the wasp that had to sting me multiple times in the next with only one mile to go. Today my neck is very swollen. And painful.
To all of you who bike in Jefferson County, particularly roads like Deer Creek Canyon, High Grade, Pleasant Park, Bear Creek Canyon, Lookout Mountain: it looks like the seemingly annual effort to ban cyclists from these roads is afoot again. Your attendance and respectful voice would be helpful at these meetings (one has passed, two are upcoming). See: http://jeffco.us/news/news_item_np_T9_R2672.htm for details.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
We got to ride with the Jelly Bellys and Team Prestige Audio for a warm up ride before the Vuelta A Salida tomorrow. Just a nice group ride this morning. We hopped on our tandem! Those guys were super fun and wow so nice.
@Jerry - Baseline Road cuts across Boulder east to west with good bike lanes... just keep following it right up Flagstaff.
What is the best way to ride through Boulder from Hwy 36 and Broadway to get to Flagstaff Mountain?
Todays' Bike Challenge tale from our workplace effort is long, but I just could not cut much out!
"I love biking. Getting on my bike makes me feel alive, it brings a smile to my face and the wind on my cheeks makes me feel young again. I always smile and often giggle on my bike, just because it bubbles up in me. I love those moments in time. I am the proud owner of a mint green and white cruiser, with a basket covered with flowers. I also live with a debilitating pain and fatigue syndrome. This makes it very challenging for me to bike as often as my heart desires, or as often as I am inspired to bike. My daily commute is about 6 miles round trip. I actually made the entire ride a few times! That is so incredible, because many days I start my day feeling strong, and by the time I am heading home there is just not enough steam left in me to make it back to the west side of town with that sneaky gentle incline few others probably even notice.
I also had a rare wonderful day when I could participate on Bike to Work Day, riding in with my friends here. It was absolute bliss! While everyone else was riding and getting breakfast as a treat, I felt like the morning was magical, because I could ride with the pack, slip in and be a biker, with the stamina to keep up. It was a huge day for me! I actually have accrued 275 points on the Bike Challenge, more than I would have ever anticipated. I helped the Team! Because I have participated in the fun this summer, and have been inspired and supported by my Team here at work, even though I can’t ride right now, it has just fed my passion and helped me feel like the part of my soul that wants me to be a biker is enough to really make me a biker. "
Today's contribution about the NBC and how it has found a place in our workplace culture. "Our workplace mission of improving community health (which I took to heart), is what got me started bike commuting and I haven’t looked back since. I’m proud to say that most years I can count on one hand the number of days in a year that I drive my car to work. I HATE DRIVING! Riding my bike across town every day, rain or shine, is the best part of my day. The Bike Challenge has only served to reinforce and expand my commitment to leave my car in the garage and instead bike to doctor appointments, errands, etc. Roads I used to avoid at all costs I now take on with confidence and a sense of belonging. The National Bike Challenge has given me the knowledge that there’s power in numbers. Nationwide cyclists are showing the country that bikes do matter and make a difference on many levels: economically, environmentally and personally. Riding my bike = pure joy."
To Billy Joe and Jackie on Team Screaming Turtles: if you guys ride just 15 miles a day every day, until the end of August, you'll be double platinum! Go Team! I am so proud of everyone, keep up the great work. Did the Stonewall Century yesterday, whew, what a hill to Cucharras Pass. I'm going to do the CSCC Social ride today, hope to see some of you there ::-)
Today's NBC tale from the workplace is from "Mr. French Fry" and is based upon a 6 word memoir: "Chafed rear from riding with gusto."
1 year ago today I started bicycling. I have tracked over 900 miles in that course of time. Happy Anniversary to my bike. Take the day off while I go run a 5-K.
After many interruptions with out of town work trips and such, I finally had a week where I could fully commit to commuting on the bike every day. Since it was to the lab and back, I picked the Kona Ute out of the pack of 4 bikes so that I could grab supplies on the way when needed or pick up groceries on the way home - little limiting what one can put on that bike. What a blast! Wed it was a stop at Home Depot on the way to pick up welding wire and then a stop at our farm share distribution on the way home. Friday was out, work, back to let the dogs out and then over to p'up Leffe and pizza, followed by a run to meet my SO at Botanic Gardens so that we could ride home together after her attendance at the Shawn Colvin show 'love these kinds of weeks and highly recommend the long-tail bikes for commuting. 150 plus miles on the heavy bike in 5 days not bad training for the upcoming Tour of the Moon ride either :>.
Happy to be back on the bike and commuting today! Tuesday night on the way home from work I collided with a dog that bolted from its owner and went over the bars at close to full speed (a little over 10 MPH)! I had some good road rash and super sore muscles but overall the bike, the dog and my self were all OK. Bonus out of it was that I learned how to wrap my bars with new tape and work on my derailers. Still sore but working it out and happy to be back on my bike.
We all know that this bike challenge has been fun and motivating for bicycle commuting veterans and accomplished road and mountain bikers. But, it's true benefit will be realized if it gets a few more folks outdoors pedaling. Today my worksite wellness submission shows that it is not just about wracking up miles and points. My coworker here is overcoming physical chalenges and has made silver medal status one mile at a time!
"This spring I fell and hurt my knee. Part of my physical therapy was riding the stationary bike. But with the National Bike Challenge happening at work, I was motivated to take out Lily, my three-wheeled adult coaster trike (no gears). Since I have vertigo I don’t ride a regular 2-wheeled bike. Lily and I do OK riding 1 – 3 miles when we go out. Anymore than that involves knee swelling and ice packs. We like to ride around the neighborhood checking out the beautiful flowers and greeting neighbors. Last week we took a new route and encountered my first uphill climb! I almost made it, but I had to get off and push poor Lily, she just couldn’t make it. About that time two little boys (6ish) on bicycles with 10 inch wheels came racing by us, looking back in distain at our humiliating lack of strength. But we still go out and enjoy the time together, the beautiful Colorado sky, and our friends and neighborhood."
Another story from my medium sized workplace that is using the NBC as our summer physical activity wellness program. This is from someone in upper management who jumped at the chance to particpate in our workplace effort and then signed up her friends and family on a Team. "Both my husband and I bike commute, and we estimate that we save about $1,600 a year by commuting. (Hey, cool, that’s enough to buy a new bike!) But more important are the health benefits, which are hard to tally costs for. And even beyond that are the psychological benefits which are, as the Mastercard commercial says, “priceless”. When I bike to work I arrive energized. I have spent time outside, seen wildlife, waved to neighbors and friends, passed through the world at a pace that allows me to notice the new paint job on that house, and how the garden is blooming at the next house, and so on. I have moved my body and my mind. The days I ride to work start better and stay better throughout the day. Bike commuting is the ultimate attitude adjuster."
Yay! Double platinum! The Copper Triangle was fantastic. I finished my first Copper in 2008 in 6 hrs 20 minutes, this year 5 hrs 27 minutes (rolling time). I feel great, riding tonite was really fun. Some things do get better with age. I am now considering the Stonewall Century...
@Midhun Mohan. Congrats on your 1st century.
Did my first ever Century Ride around Denver metro area. It was so satisfying. Next goal - the harder climbs.
Trails used - Cherry Creek, C-470 trail, Bear Creek, Marry Carter Greenway and back on Cherry creek.
My workplace adopted the National Bike Challenge as our main physical activity wellness program this summer. And it has been a tremendous success for our smallish (medium sized) workplace. As our organization's program evaluator I want to know what has worked and how to improve it as we've supplemented with our own internal incentives and a leader jersey contest. I've asked staff to submit stories about what the bike challenge has meant to them. Here is one.
"I have used biking and the Bike Challenge as my major motivation for losing weight. When I returned from my last major vacation I weighted 214 lbs. I knew that the only way to lose this weight was to do a combination of dieting (as little as possible) and biking (as much as possible). I’ve been a bicyclist for years but I’m not always motivated to put the miles in to really make a difference on my weight control. That’s where the Bike Challenge comes in. Participating in this program and tracking my miles has really helped me to stay on track. I also have to admit that I like the competition part of this program and I’m proud to have earned the Sport Points Leader jersey. The best part however, is that over the course of the summer so far I’ve lost 26 lbs! I still have a few to go to meet my goal but I’m sure I’ll pull it off. The program has been great. Let’s do it again next year!"
The intervals are working. My fastest time to Jamestown was 2:50:02. That was a ride when I was trying to ride as fast as I could. Today was 2:39:02. And today was a relaxed ride. When I ride up to Jamestown my cadance in the climb was 50-55 with a heart rate of 155-160. Today my cadance was 85-90 with a heart rate of 140. I shaved 10 minutes:30 seconds off my best time. And I wasn't even working hard. The intervals are working even though I have only been doing them for three weeks.
Time lapse photos of my ride to Jamestown.
Copper Triangle done! I finished the 78 mile loop and 5,981 feet ascension in 8:45 hours.
If you are riding the Rio Grande bike path near the Wingo Bridge keep your eyes out for a pretty good sized bear. Saw him yesterday, he likes to meander along the path...right down the middle, he doesn't stay to the right and he's NOT on a leash! (That's kind of a local joke, we have an abundance of dogs off leash).
I did a ride with the Denver Front Range Cyclists Meetup group on Saturday: Bergen Park to Idaho Springs to Echo Lake to Bergen Park. For much of the climb to Echo, we had clouds and a touch of rain. Started our descent maybe 1pm with more drizzle. Then today, see in the Denver Post that a rare mountain tornado actually touched down on Mt. Evans just a little later that afternoon, at an elevation around 1000 feet higher than Echo. National Weather Service says this is the 2nd highest documented tornado.
Corey, I am sure you will do fine. The sinkhole is only on the shoulder of the road, you can se more about it: http://mountainstates.construction.com/mountainstates_construction_news/2012/0719-us-24-tennessee-pass-sinkhole-repairs-are-under-way.asp
@Janine I wouldn't know. This will be my first Copper, and I am probably not as prepared for it as a I should be. I did do a 30 mile ride today with an overal 25 mile climb, I think I will be able to finish but I am not expecting to set any records.
Note to organizers: out of curiosity, I'd like to see a distribution of the length of rides reported. It could be reported by decade (i.e. rides of length 0-10, 11-20, 21-30 ... etc.). Ideally this would be a display option in any leaderboard, but at minimum, it could be an overall statistic for the project as a whole. Thanks!
@Jerry - thanks for sharing! Fantastic story, you have inspired me. My son is diabetic, and so is a very good friend. I will share this with them for sure.
@Corey - I am riding the Copper, I'm happy to say it is my fifth. Did a metric century+ today and feel okay. I think I'm ready. Should be interesting riding single file on Tennessee Pass huh?
Kudos to you Jerry. What a great, inspiring story. Thanks for sharing.
This is an article I wrote two weeks ago for the Amercian Diabetes Tour de Cure website about how the Tour de Cure changed my life.
How the Tour De Cure Helped Me to Ride and Changed My Life.
I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes two years ago at the age of fifty-five. I was an Air Traffic Controller which requires me to have a Class-II medical certificate. When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I lost my medical certificate. It usually takes about a year to get a medical certificate back after being diagnosed with diabetes. I started a program of diet, exercise, and medication. Three weeks later I had my follow up test. The next day the flight surgeon called me and offered me my medical certificate back. He was impressed with the changes I had made in three weeks, which was a real boost to my confidence.
I have ridden a bicycle for several years, but my riding was an easy seven mile ride, one to three times a week. I rode about 100 miles a year. I enjoyed riding a bicycle but did not do a lot of riding.
I had several friends who rode their bicycles on long rides. I needed to exercise more and did not really enjoy working out indoors. I enjoyed riding a bicycle, so I decided to buy a nice road bike. I did some research and narrowed my choices down to four bicycles. I test rode each bike about 10-15 miles, and I bought a Cannondale Synapse Carbon Three Ultegra bicycle. I had the bicycle custom fit and bought a Garmin GPS with a heart rate monitor. With the loving support of my wife, Karen, I started my new routine of bicycle riding to get in shape.
I started riding my new bicycle at the end of July 2011. My first week I rode 102 miles, more than all of last year. My second week was 65 miles. Third week 128 miles. I was riding 15-30 miles when I was out riding. I was riding three to five days a week. In my fourth week of riding, I read an article in our local newspaper about the Tour de Cure bicycle ride that was scheduled for Saturday, four days away.
I decided to sign up for the Tour. Since I had many questions, I emailed the event organizers with my questions. The support I received was fantastic. They answered my questions and gave me a free registration, so all I had to do was raise my support.
I signed up for the 100K ride (62 miles). Since my longest ride to date had been thirty miles, I went out and did a 40-mile ride. My wife Karen and I went out and drove the route I would be riding. It had a steep hill up to Carter Lake, another steep hill further into the ride, and rolling hills for the ride back to Longmont. I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into. I had doubts I would be able to ride up the two steep hills.
On the day of the Tour de Cure, I watched the 100-mile group leave and was getting more nervous. When it was time for my ride I lined up with several hundred people near the front of the line. All my riding had been solo riding, and here I was in the middle of this large group of riders. Did I mention I was nervous? Try very nervous. The tension continued to build up while I waited to depart.
After what felt like hours, we started the ride. Once I made it past the first turn without any problems, I was fine and started to enjoy the ride. Right away, I was passed by about 20,000 riders. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that many, but it was still a lot. About two miles into the ride, I had a three riders right behind me. About a mile later, they pulled up beside me and introduced themselves as Alan and Mark (brothers) and Scott, Alan’s son. I rode with them the rest of the ride. It made for an enjoyable ride to have someone to talk with and get encouragement from. I was impressed with the police support at the intersections and the support at the Aid stations.
And then THE HILL at Carter Lake. I had been dreading this part of the ride. Alan told me they would wait for me at the top. I started up the climb. Pain, agony, and exhaustion assaulted my legs as they let me know their displeasure with this climb. At the first switchback, I had to stop and recover. I was one third of the way up the hill. I started out again and passed someone. How did that happen? I made it to the next switchback and didn’t have to stop. I felt like I had a boost of energy. I made it up the rest of the hill going faster than I did at the easier portion at the bottom.
I met back up with Alan, Mark, and Scott at the Aid station up by the lake. After a brief break, I got back on the bicycle to continue, having a great ride and enjoying myself.
And then THE SECOND HILL I started up this hill and, about half way up, I needed to stop because my legs were voicing their displeasure again. I unclicked my left foot, stopped, and leaned right. My right foot was still clicked in, and down I went. I wasn’t hurt, just embarrassed. Several riders stopped to make sure I was okay. One of them rode the rest of the way up the hill with me to make sure I was ready to continue. I joined back up with Alan and his family and continued the ride. The rolling hills and the way back to Longmont were hard but not as hard. When we arrived back at the fairgrounds, I was surprised to find out I was not tired or sore. It was a great day, even with the hills.
By participating in the Tour de Cure, I found out I could ride longer distances. After the Tour, I continued to ride. I rode 511 miles for August and 475 mile for September. I started to ride up in the mountains with rides to Jamestown and then finally made it up to Peak-to-Peak Highway, which was not even remotely possible back in August. I only rode 375 miles in October and 233 miles in November because the weather started to impact my riding. I didn’t ride in December. Then in January and February I was riding about 100 miles per month. Then as the weather improved, I was back up to 366, 496, 1,058, and 790 miles from March through June respectively with more riding in the mountains. I rode a couple of centuries on my own; plus I rode the Denver Century and, six days later, the Boulder Sunrise Century. Some of the rides I like to do are rides up to Estes Park, Ward, Brainard Lake, Jamestown, and Peak to Peak Highway.
As I keep riding I keep pushing myself to improve and accomplish things that I would have never believed I could do a year ago. Since I bought my bike I have ridden 5,089 miles in less than a year with an elevation gain of 196,127 feet (that’s 37 miles above sea level and where meteors burn up in the atmosphere) and fourteen days, 14 hours, and 4 minutes on my bicycle.
None of this would have happened if I had not been diagnosed with diabetes and ridden in my first Tour de Cure. While I wish I did not have diabetes, it has been a blessing in disguise. I am in better shape than I have been for years and have made some great friends. I have some goals to accomplish that I never would have made if I did not have diabetes. My goals for 2013 is to participate in Ride the Rockies, Pikes Peak Climb, ride up Mount Evans, ride Trail Ridge Road, ride further than my first year, and complete more century rides.
So for those of you who have just been diagnosed with diabetes, don’t be discouraged. Your life is just starting. It is up to you to make the most out of your life.
On a lighter note! I will be riding in the Copper Triangle next weekend! Anyone else planning on being there? Also I am considering taking bets on where during the ride Endomondo will completely drain my cell battery (if I decide to run it).
It has definately been a hard summer in Colorado for lots of people. Thanks for sharing @erinplant. My family's (and countless more) thoughts and prayers go out to all those suffering loss.
Officer Tyner, you are gone but not forgotten. Your friends here at CSPD will always remember the smile on your face. The joy you brought to so many. Your dedication to those you worked with and those you served. Your energy was contagious, we couldn't help but smile when around you. Those of us who share your passion for cycling, will think of you often as we push out the miles. RIP Matt, we will always miss you!!
On bike trails I call out for both pedestrians and bicyclists. On the road I never call out but pass with plenty of room. Of course most people are faster than me.
Chris, some will thank you some will look at you like your a NUT! ;) Happens to me on the Road or on the Trail! I got CUSSED out big time for saying, Passing on the left by one older couple saying I scared the crud out of them! On the same day, I got YELLED at for not saying, passing on the left LOUD enough for a couple to hear over their headphones! SIGH, sometimes you just can't WIN for LOSING! Have a most excellent day!
Thanks for the feedback. Since I work with Dee we just researched the Colorado bike law and discovered that an audible signal is required when overtaking a pedestrian. No mention of bike to bike audible signals except for the 42-3-1003-1-c statute where I interpret that the slower vehicle uses an audible signal to signal a pass and this doesn't really apply to the situation. I will certainly start hollering out when passing on the road and will report back with how many people I startle.
I always ring my bell to let other bike path users know that I am going to pass them. All it seems to do is make them salivate, no one seems to know what the bell means.
One minute ago
Hey Chris,
Colorado Bike Law says that you have to give an audible signal when passing. I have not heard anything about a "far enough away space" to NOT have to signal. Some suggest that you call out "passing" so that folks don't think that you are telling THEM to move to the left. You can also use more cowbell. . .
@ Chris Roth - yes, please. I always appreciate faster cyclists announcing themselves as they approach.
My thoughts about the Kilgores counting two riders under one name. It takes 5-10 minutes to sign someone up for a free email address that you could use. So why bend the rules? If others are doing this, it makes the whole leaderboard and the monthly prize drawings a farce. I've got an older woman training partner with several thousands miles already this summer - but she doesn't do computers or email. It never occured to me for a minute to enter her miles as mine and instead she just doesn't do this Bike Challenge. Officials at the Bike Challenge should disqualify "doublers" from any of the prizes, IMO.
Question of the day: If you are riding on a road with bike lane and overtake a slower cyclist using the road (i.e. No cars coming and give 6-8 feet of space), should you say "On your left"?
Only 49 more weeks until the Tour de France.
@Kevin Kincaid...Glad you have joined the Challenge and welcome. Congratulations on undertaking your epic personal challenge. That is truly what this challenge is all about. Don't forget to pick up your virtual "Green Jersey" while virtually in Augusta! (golf referrence) Continued safe riding and don't forget to exceed your goal by "just that much"!
It's funny that I found this challenge by accident from browsing Bicycle Colorado.com.
I had already challenged myself to go for epic miles this year. A friend at work tracks his local miles as if he were riding cross country. So I decided to mock a ride from Long Beach, CA to Long Beach NY and ride 3000 miles for my gole.
If I were riding x-country I'd be near Augusta GA, now and starting my trek north to NY. I have 2280 miles so far and looks like I'll eclipse my gole by a bunch at this pace. Maybe I'll shoot for 4000.
Jan Kilgore said on Friday July 20th at 17:00:
I am keeping the numbers for both my husband and I on one day because we only have one e-mail address that is why the numbers are so big. We did an 8 day ride across South Dakota with two centuries, 109 miles and 117 miles for each of us. And Yes, they do have hills in SD, especially in the Black Hills area..Thanks for asking. Jan Kilgore and Larry Kilgore
(Comments posted here) http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/73218362
Jan Kilgore, are there exciting stories to go with all the Double Centuries you've ridden recently? Where do you ride? Any climbing involved?
@ Jerry, that's an impressive first year of riding - including tough rides like the Sunrise Century.
So, I've left this "problem" notice on the "help" boards numerous days ago along with many others, and no Endomondo action. So I'll try here? Not sure where those "Endomondo staff are here to help" folks lurk... Anyways, have a friend who would like to join the challenge. Its late but it seems they should still be able to do so. Gets this message:
Error
Oops! An internal server error occurred. We'll look into it right away.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
The Endomondo Team
Please "look into it right away" and fix it Endomondo! Thanks.
I used to ride 100 miles a year. But last July 25th I bought a new road bike and started serous riding. Today I went over 5,000 miles since I bought my bike. In slightly less than a year.
Not much compared with Michael Lemuel, Leonard Wright, and the others at the top of the leaderboard. But a major accomplishment for me.
Don't forget about those who ran the Assault on the Peak...errr...rather...the Pikes Peak Cycling Hillclimb. Also a very big challenge! The air was mighty thin up there on the "final approach" to the summit!
Nice work, to everyone who rode either the Triple ByPass or the Double Triple this weekend. No rainstorms were going to stop our quest!
I can't believe I just learned about the Reve Women's Tour Project - our own Kate Powlison and five other women doing the TDF course one day ahead of the race. Way to go, ladies! That's a ton of miles. John Mangin may hold onto first place for the entire period, but Kate should pass the rest of us easily. No doubt Heidi Swift will write eloquently about the experience. I look forward to reading about their trials in the Alps and Pyrenees.
Charlie, glad you and the Mrs. are ok and back in your home! Hope others can get life going in the right direction soon! Have a most excellent day! :)
We returned home to Colorado Springs Rockrimmon suburb on Sunday. The house was unouched by the Waldo Canyon fire. We know at least 5 families who lost their homes. My bike was handy to get around the neighborhood Saturday and Sunday and visit with friends. The Colorado Springs Cycling Club rides mostly remain "Show and Go". I led a ride Monday evening, and will lead Tuesday night's Full Moon Ride. Janine Hegeman is leading a special "4th of July Shady Lane Ride" this Wednesday. We've had to postpone our annual Club Picnic which was scheduled for 7/8. Life is getting back to normal, but it will take a while.
The flowers were particularly colorful this morning and the birds sounded especially cheerful as I rode in. I think they liked my brand new red, white and blue handlebar streamers. Maybe they just haven't seen a girl in her thirties riding to work with snazzy handlebar streamers!
@ Shelley - you keep riding too! This nice clear days make one reallly appreciate our (usually) clear dry Colorado air.
@ Sue - Never did ride to work once last week, it was too smoky. Escaped to a friends house out east for 2 days just to breathe. But back on the bike today, clear skies! It was so much fun. Joined the crowd who cheer on the firefighters on their way out to do battle with the fire this morning while starting my ride. That started the day off perfectly!
Alright! Just got my gold on a little 3 mile ride with my 6 year old. Now I just need to gold in both July and August and I will have that platinum.
We got out of Rockrimmon (C Springs) about 7 last night right after the mandatory evac notice. We packed most stuff last Sat. My Trek 520 was 1st thing in the van. Yesterday broke my 44 straight days of ridiing. I am president of the Colorado Springs Cycling Club and only 2 hours earlier cancelled the 7pm Board of Directors meeting at our house. We are in Black Forest at my sister's house and still cannot see across the valley to our neighborhood because of the smoke. I hope to start another string of rides starting this afternoon.
@Janine - thanks Janine. I feel so very fortunate compared to others impacted by the fires in Larimer County, and now what is happening in Colo Springs & Boulder too is so very sad, scary, terrible. My heart goes out to everyone in C Springs. Any one of our fires would be big news and its so overwhelming. Hopeful that things go well in Boulder and for the firefighters everywhere.
@Timothy. Wasn't the top of Indiana fun? How often do you get to ride in 50mph cross winds in high temperatures?
Yeah...106 F today in Pueblo!!... However, I leave before 6AM for work and it was about 70 F this morning...felt like heaven! So...heaven to start the day...hell to end the day...about par for the corse. No complaints...just challenging!
@john bump- remember the top of indiana street with the cross wind? People walking and others vomiting at the top! yhea, not your everyday morning ride.....
My bike computer said it was 113 at the end, average ride temperature was 96. It should really have been called the Frying Pan 100, extra crispy.
Vicki, you must have finished earlier in the Denver Century than I did. When I was on the bike path the temp got up to 115 degrees. I was sure glad they had ice at the last two Aid Stations.
I *got* heatstroke on the Denver Century. Still a great ride. Dump some of your water on you to cool your body.
Wow Janine, you're really stacking up the miles! Keep it up girl! Go for the big prize! I rode last night inspite of the smoke. The wind was in our favor so, we weren't affected by it.
....haven't been blogging, but I agree with the group. This heat and poor air conditions is putting a damper on some planned long distance rides. My husband and I rode in the Denver Century on fathers day and by the time we got finished it was 96 degrees. I thought I was going to have heat stroke, even though I was well hydrated.
These 100+ Colorado days got a +ive effect on me :-). I started getting up early to bike to work before it gets hot enough to sweat by body. And I never been a morning person. Today, got up at 5:45 AM for work. First time ever in my 7+ years of professional life ;-).
I know, I know.. this is nothing for the morning folks out there... But, i guess it is a good thing. Happy biking!!
@Sue, Wow lady you are managing a LOT. You are an inspiration to me. I'll give the ride into work a shot, wrap a wet bandanna around my face and go for it. Tomorrow's Ride to Work Breakfast is cancelled here in the Springs, but we ought to make a showing.
One way I deal with the heat we are having is to mix half my drinks the night before and freeze them. Before I leave I add the rest of my drink to my water bottles. It helps keep the water cooler longer than ice cubes.
@Sue - Hang in there.
It's been hot in Colorado...104.5 F on my ride home...yeah baby! In the last two weeks more 100 F+ days than not...
@Sue: Our thoughts are with you. Be strong, and good luck to you, your family, and your home!
@Janine don't mess around with smoke inhalation. If you can take your bike out of the cloud to ride, it will be a lot better for you.
The High Park Fire began the same day as Ride the Rockies. It seems like ages ago that I experienced those 6 days of road biking paradise. Since then I've juggled work, pre evacuation from my home in Glacier View Meadows, duties as a volunteer fire fighter with Glacier View FD, then full evacuation on Friday and then the loss of 57 homes and 26 other structures in the fire district. I am very fortunate that my home is not in the burn area (yet) and that I have a rental house in Ft Collins to evac to. Have not managed any road rides which is what keeps me sane. At least I can manage bike commuting a few days a weeks even with the heat and smoke in the air.
What to do? Ride to work in the morning through the smoke and ashes, or drive and take the bike with me? I'm pretty close to the fire in Colorado Springs and its a bit scary. Haven't been evacuated yet but I'm ready. The bike, helmet, shoes and gloves are in the car...
When I rode the Boulder Sunrise Century yesterday I made sure I left in the first bunch of riders so I would have a chance of finishing in the top 95%. I think I made it. At least 40 riders finished after me.
Riding in the heat is too draining for me. On hot days off I take the bus to Nederland, then ride the MTB to a trailhead somewhere - and return home when the sun's low. Today I'll shoot for the Fourth of July campground and return via James Canyon.
@Jay: yes.
@Jay. It's killing me. Last Sunday with the Denver Century with temps up to 115 degrees. And then today on the Boulder Sunrise Century with hot temps at the end of the ride. I wasn't tired on either ride until I had to ride in the hot temps.
Anyone else thinks this Denver heat sucks ass?
I have a 22 mile commute (each way) and will be participating in Bike to Work Day.
Bike to Work every day!
Wednesday is regional Bike to Work Day (http://www3.drcog.org/biketowork). Sound off, who's registered and riding that day?
@cory I am working on the same thing right now. I just did a trial run yesterday after work. I twas easier than i thought and it was there and back non-stop. I am starting to agree w/ @doug on why i ever thought I could not do it!
@Corey, you'll soon be wondering why you ever thought you couldn't.
1 commute in the books. I didn't set any PR's but, it's nice to know it is within my ability to do. I aim to do another one next week.
Wish me luck! I'm doing 1/2 of my commute tonight. A solid 12+ miles from the Springs up to Monument.
Remember back in February when your breath fogged the frigid air, and I said 20° is sure better than 90°? You all said you'd rather have it hot, well... here it is, you got what you asked for :-P
No doubt, been real toasty around here (I think that pretty much applies anywhere in Colorado). I see it cools off Wednesday and Thursday (when it turns out I'll be out of town), then heats right back up. Guess summer is here...
A bottle of water normally lasts me 1 hr 15 min. Today a bottle every 40 minutes.
Make sure you bring your water today! I just did 8.3 miles on the Santa Fe Regional Trail without water and it is toasty.
@Patrick. I went 1,800 withoujt flats. Then I was getting one every 100 mikes. Then every ride. I had about 18 flats last month. I could not find anything on my wheel or tire to cause the flats. The bike shop tore by rear tire apart and finally found the problem. I'm not sure what it was, but it was subtle. It took them a while to find the cause. Of course after my rear tire was fixed, I got a flat on my front tire the very next ride.
@ Jerry. I carried my bike a couple of miles and got my wife to pick me up. Bike shops were closed so next day bought new tubes for all my bikes, spare pump and promised myself to never ride without them again. Glad I did b/c I got another flat the next day. I've gone over 2 years without a flat and I ended up having 3 in less than 2 weeks.
@Corey. That blood donation will take about a month to fully recover from. It's great to donate, but the time to recover fully hurts. Though the worst of the effect is not too noticable after a couple of days unless you are riding 60+ miles per day.
Okay time to get back on track. I was hoping to be gold every month of the challenge. But then some unforeseen circumstances arose and I fell drastically short in May. Now 1/2 through June I am facing an uphill battle again. My son is recovering nicely from his Tonsillectomy, and losing another day to donate blood hurt. Now all of that is out of the way, and I can still do this. 285 points to go in 16 days.
So, because my commute is about 25 miles each way, (and also because we don't have a shower at work!), I usually use RTD for part of my morning commute. As you Denverites probably know, the buses have a rack for two bikes in front. Well, today was a record for my experience on Route 21 --- we had five bikes going westbound from Evans Station. Thanks to the driver for letting us "extra" three bring the bikes in (when the rack is full, it is at the driver's discretion whether bikes can come in. And this route is usually a crowded bus, luckily today was a bit lighter...) Guess those rising gas prices --- and maybe this Challenge! --- are affecting lots of people's commuting habits!
@Patrick. So what did you do?
Of all the days NOT to bring a pump and a spare tube...
@Christina Haley, the smoke was bad in Longmont this morning. But after I rode west toward Lyons it mostly cleared up. So I had a nice ride up Hwy 7 for a few miles.
@David Brock, good idea! I have friends who do that too. I keep my fingers crossed and am flexible with when I leave work. It's not a hard thing when there are several breweries near work where I can wait out storms. :)
@Jerry Bengtson, the smoke is really strong this morning! If I ride today, it's only going to be a couple miles to quiz night.
My wife and I took a vacation for a week. Had one good ride while I was gone. We were in Chama, NM to ride the train. The Cumbres & Toltec. On the day of the ride we chased the train up the road in ou rvan until we could not follow it anymore. Drove back down the mountain and had lunch. I gave the train a 2 1/2 hour head start before I started my ride from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO. I beat the train in by 1 1/2 hours. Beautiful ride over the passes. And than a descent in the high desert country. It is good to be back home, though the smoke from the fire up here is strong this morning.
@Jim Petrarca, @Michael Moir, thank you very much for you comments, happy miles!
John M
@Michael Moir: good smile at your climbing comments --- but hey, just for the record, that climbing ride, even with the descending, is still much more exertion than a flat ride of the same mileage!
I have shocked myself over the last couple years that I actually now prefer climbing rides... I used to hate that feeling of pushing as hard as I could just to barely go uphill at 4 mph --- but now it's kinda Zen, just push and crank up that hill, see how long I can just zone out and push! And of course the speed going back down is doubly sweet because it was EARNED!
So I'm riding home today thinking: I climbed 5600 feet today, more than a mile straight up. There should be bonus points for that. Then I thought: Yeah, you also coasted downhill the same amount. So I get the bonus at the top, and a penalty the bottom. The whole thing ends up a wash. I was too tired to actually laugh, but I thought it was funny.
Hey fellow Coloradoans, I wanted to share a commuting hint. As with much of the front range (and maybe the whole state?), this is the time of year where there is often a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. I used to miss a lot of days where I'd get up early, see the forecast of possible afternoon thunderstorms, and call off the bike commute, only to find later that the afternoon weather was fine, at least at my commute time.
So what I do now is a reverse commute: I drive in with my bike and my gear. In the afternoon, I just look at the sky (and maybe the radar) and make the decision to ride home. Then ride back in the next morning (since the mornings are usually fine). Seems like a small thing, but it's made a big difference in the number of commutes I am getting in this year!
I'm just a bicycle commuter and weekend club rider who is never going to set any records, yet I'm still curious who racks up all these miles. Today I learned about the Rêve TDF, and I am humbled again. http://www.reve.cc/
@John Mangin - that's incredible! The mind simply boggles over such an achievement.
Help how can I get my battery to last during long rides
Learn something new everyday...
http://www.rusa.org/faq1.html
@Bill T, nope, no 600km this year, I will be en-route to NC, so June will be a big month.
@Timothy Sullivan, thanks!
Happy riding everyone!
JM
@John Mangin, are you planning on doing the 600k as well? Imagine the response that will bring.
Wish I was doing the brevets this year.
Who's the angry guy?
DB
@John Mangin - nice ride! wow, and it included lefthand! You guys should try that route in reverse next year...!!
Hi Mark Q-
Not sure if I am the rider you are referring to, I am not from Colorado Springs, but I did post the ride of 246 miles on Saturday June 2. Here is a link to the ride: http://www.rmccrides.com/brevet20100605-map.pdf
Rest assured, I NEVER indulge in my mileage. My ride will be verified by RUSA, and if you would like I can send you my Garmin GPS info. So it was not an oversight, but I will take your comment as a compliment!
Happy riding to all!
Hi cyclists,
I put together an event on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/events/346320818774792/
It's a tour to follow along with the Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado this August.
I've put this together for very modest $$, just looking for a few people to ride along.
Hello fellow Colorado Bikers, I just started 'road' biking and excited to be part of this challenge.
Let's push Colorado up the leaderboard. Wishing you all the best!!
P.S: I use MapMyRide for tracking @ http://www.mapmyride.com/profile/midhunmohan/ and then, manually sync with Endomondo. So used to Mapmyride....
PEOPLE!!! Please police yourselves with respect to the manual entries that you make in the system. The legitimacy of this challenge and its participants goes RIGHT out the window when outrageous entries are made and then left to stand as if an "oversight"! A Colorado Springs rider made an entry for Saturday June 02 of 246 miles...REALLY! Check yourselves people!
Doug, Here's what I actually said, since you seemed to ignore it. “Find any two people who have ridden every day ...” For the whole month of May, that's an identical 620 points for each person who never missed a day. On the Colorado leaderboard for May only, that includes David Lehmann with 1489 miles and 2108 pts.), myself with 1402 miles and 2001 pts. (should be 2022 pts.), Ric White with 1368 miles (plus 50 miles of step counter) and 1987 pts., and Brag Mugg with 1256 miles and 1876 pts. Some of these are off by one point, and I won't quibble about those. Mine is off by about 20 pts, as if I missed a day. There are many others who rode every day and did great mileage, and some of them have discrepancies, too. Ease up, guy. We have the right to voice our opinions. Don't ever presume you have the right to squelch them.
@Jim Petrarca, Don't forget you get 20pts for getting on your bike, so someone who has ridden ten 10 mile rides will have more points than someone who just road 100 in one go. I think the intention is to get people on their bikes often, not just for epic long rides.
It does take a little while for updates to work through, so stow your instant gratification and chill for a little :O)
Longmont cyclists. Looking for someone to carpool with to the Denver Century on
Jun 17th.
My wife has our van that day and I need a ride. I will help out with gas money.
I'm back!
Mark, the leaderboards have a drop-down listbox for period. It lets you select the month or entire period. May totals still have not been updated, though.
@Kimberly-Clark...Maybe you should consider using a different/Better more reliable Stat-Tracking agent for next years challenge. This is really starting to become a JOKE!
Wow!!! This is nice!!!! Every rider, Every Team, Every Workplace, EVERY Community has been reset to 0 (Thats ZERO) points!!!!!!!! AGAIN, This is why I do not use EndoMondo for my sprts/workout tracking!!!!
Same here, my points didn't update but it shows the updated workouts...
My workouts show, but neither the total mileage nor the points reflect today's 50 miles. Has anyone noticed that point totals are inconsistent. Find any two people who have ridden every day. If one of them has done 50 miles more than the other , the point total should also be higher by 50. There are numerous discrepancies in that department.
Yep, same here. I'm should be above the 500 point mark - the workouts show up but no change in points
Mine says updated x minutes ago, but my point remained the same also.
Anyone having a problem with their points for today no updating. Thursday. I entered my ride in several hours ago and it shows up in my workouts. But my points never updated.
Bryan, hope your BB, heals quickly and the bikes not to expensive to repair! Yes, Colorado Springs does have some nutball drivers, you need "swivel head" just to stay alive! Sometimes it's hard to believe we've been given a "Silver" Bicycle City award! Keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up! Team Screaming Turtle.
Bryan, that's horrible! So glad your friend wasn't killed as too many cyclists have been recently in Colorado. I have always felt I need to ride my bicycle and my motorcycle defensively! Wish my husband would always do that, too.
My biking buddy got plowed over by a truck merging from a cross road three weeks ago in Colorado Springs. He is slowly recovering (thank God) but will miss all of our June centuries. I have a sign on my wall at work to remind me to keep constant vigilance and grab brakes when in doubt. "Cycle like every car wants to kill you."
I hurt my back last week and I'm thrilled that I still was able to put some miles in.
Team Screaming Turtles, out of Colorado Springs, CO. still needs 7 members!! If you don't have a team, pls. join us, thanks! :)
Wow, that's amazing Stuart!
Passed 1000 miles today. May not seem like much to some of you but it's day 24 of a 27 day self-supported tour of Appalachia. The Rockies may have the height but thy are no match for the Appalachian ruggedness. I've done around 80,000 feet of climbing. And Appalachia's favorite grade is 8% which can go on for miles and miles.
fantastic tailwind on the 18 mile commute to work north, was hoping it would change for my ride home; but no such luck
I nearly got hit by some woman blowing through a stop sing in Littleton. I had already stopped and I was starting to go and right about the middle of the intersection she came up and rolled on through the stop.
Had my life threatened for the first time for riding my bike in a 3 foot bike lane on a public road. Two teenage punks rolled up next to me and said "2 claps nigga!" while making a pistol motion with their hands. Ironically this was on 46th St in the Highlands.
Brandon, your right my friend, I just got missed by a clown blowing through a stop sign, yesterday!! And they say we are dangerous! :(
I got hit by a car yesterday in downtown Denver. Luckily no damage to myself or the bike. Some people still don't look out for bikes.
I heartily second Michael Moir's comments about the NOAA/National Weather Service website, particularly the "Hourly Weather Graph". I don't plan my commutes without it!
Amazing sunset ride out here on the prairies. The deer were in the wheat field. Got chased by a farm dog who thought I was great sport. Road past a coyote den full of pups. Amazing! P.S. thanks for the weather site. I am not very good at reading the clouds, yet. :-)
If you spend a lot of time outdoors, or just have a compulsive curiosity about local weather conditions, you probably already know about NOAA's website. Here it is for those that don't: http://forecast.weather.gov/
Enter your Zip at the top, then Hourly Weather Graph at the bottom. I don't know how I'd get by without it.
Raining during our local cycling race last night, woke up to snow, so decieded to swim! Once out of the pool had to ride it was so beautiful outside, a little chilly, but what can you expect at 8,000 feet!
WOW!!!! I see that one of the top ten Colorado riders had a 190 mi. ride on Saturday, May 12th. Thats impressive. I've never heard of anyone doing that in a single ride in Colorado, given the terrain. Thats AT LEAST 12 hours in the saddle, probably closer to 16 hours!
Wet ride home today. Missed that forecast.
Sue, I envy you for getting to Ride the Rockies. I wanted to do it this year. But they scheduled it for the only week of the year I could not participate. I hope to get selected next year. Good luck on the ride.
Awesome ride to work this morning! My commute includes single track, bike path and road. Got to love it!
woohoo! Had time today to go on a nice relaxing ride out to Bellvue for coffee. Glad to get in some miles before heading to the office.
I woke up this morning to find my front tire was flat! I'm so bummed I'm not able to ride today! Must get that tube replaced soon so I can get back in the saddle!
I can't wait to be in Gunnison for the start of Ride the Rockies in just 3 weeks! I love that part of our beautiful state!
If you're traveling through Gunnison, stop into a bike shop and get your Out and Back passport from Gunnison Nordic. A great way to explore and get more miles. Happy spinning.
I'm excited about starting to bike again this month with some real cycling goals for the first time in 15 years and my big rides on the weekend have felt so good after getting my new Trek Madone 4.6 bike at three weeks ago. Can't wait to see how many miles I have at the end of the summer.
We have together saved almost $20,000! Joy!
Really bummed I didn't get more miles in this week. I came down with a stomach bug Monday night! Blech! I'll get back on the saddle next week!
Sue - Thanks for the suggestions. If I buy a garmin I'd like to get one with maps that would help with touring. My little Sigma computers are pretty accurate and it's not that hard to enter the miles manually.
I’ve had a cold all week as well some bike issues, but if I ride to work tomorrow I will have over 100 miles in May. Mental note* Do some bike maintenance this weekend. Without this program I would have most definitely skipped some days this week. Thanks!
I checked my history and found I did have one double entry so I fixed it. Sorry about that! Yesterday I rode the Monument in the morning and then the group ride in the evening - barely hung on with the stragglers. This morning I did a valley loop with a friend, to a coffee shop in Fruita. Grand Junction is a great place to road bike!
Why does this Bike Challenge Page show me as, Riding Solo, I'm a member of Team Screaming Turtles, out of Colorado Springs, CO. It shows on the Endomondo profile page but NOT on the Bike Challenge Page?? I've clicked "Create or join a team", several times now and still the status on this page isn't changing??
Rode my bike to work today for the first time this year. It was also my first time with panniers and using my Cross Check set up as a commuter. Bike worked great, panniers felt much heavier, but more stable and comfortable than a messenger bag. I feel awesome and can't wait for the ride home!
David - I've found it is much better, if you manually enter your miles to do it from your home page on endomondo and not the rather flimsy manual logging through the home page of the challenge. From your list of workouts in e.m., you can edit each workout by clicking on it and then using the form on the right hand side. Better yet, with all the riding you are doing, spend $150 and get the Garmin 200 Edge cyclocomputer. You can download your data from Garmin to e.m. and the bike challenge flawlessly. When I road ride now, my iPhone get's a break from running the battery hogging GPS of the app while I get much, much better feedback and stats from Garmin.
That's a pretty amazing regimen there David. I dream of riding the National Monument that much! Ha, ha... I have no idea what you can do with the iPod for more detail, but if you have a phone, the free app on this Web site works very well and is very easy to use. I quit manually logging as soon as I downloaded it. I love the GPS mapping capability. I've taken to roaming around town randomly and find out where I went later... One interesting point, I would have bet my commute to work was 10-15 miles. GPS 6.75. Keeps it real.
I have been logging my miles manually on my iPod. I would be glad to enter more details if someone would explain how to record my daily history (Should I just explain my miles daily miles in comments?). I just finished a three day tour to Natural Bridges National Monument from Grand Junction and last week I did a two day out and back tour to Gateway. I go over the Colorado National Monument a few times a week. On Tuesdays I've been doing the Monument in the morning and then a group ride in the evening. Also I've run errands around town on a couple of days. I've been keeping a paper log of my miles for years, and this online challenge perhaps has motivated me to do a few more miles than usual. I'm training for the Teva Mountain Games hillclimb in early June, and I've found that long distances with a touring load makes my legs stronger. I'll be doing more intervals the next couple of weeks to try to improve my cardio. I don't have a phone app to record my stuff. My miles will probably drop quite a bit this summer when it gets hotter. I set aside May to do lots of touring and training, and I know I can't keep this schedule up for more than a few weeks - I tend to burn out and there are lots of other things I enjoy doing. I am retired.
To encourage bicycle commuting, I love the tag phrase, "Get off your gas and ride!"
Not everyone has a phone or mobile device capable of running the app. There definitely is a learning curve to both the app & manual entry and there are several things that make double entry of workouts possible. Glad I worked out my own kinks during the warm-up period so that I can help others at my workplace. Everyone who is ethical should take it upon themselves to review their workout history in e.m. periodically to remove duplicate entries. Example. I used the iPhone app, but also tried the import from my Garmin and got a double entry. Deleted the duplicate as soon as I could. Also, if one manually logs a ride on the Challenge side (like a commute), that workout does not go over to the e.m workout history. One could therefore re-enter manually the same ride into e.m, which does send rides over to the Challenge leaderboard. DAVID LEHMANN should clean up his workout history, but I bet there are many others with accidental (not intentional) extra entries.
Bike on Ladies and Gents....Colorado bikers are going to log way over a million miles...that's just small potatoes.
Carol Greenlee - you're a biking queen!
Yesterday's ride was easy-cheesy! AND-- I got to lead the ride, which was way fun!
But for such an easy ride, I sure had a pretty bad asthma attack later that evening! (Exercise-induced asthma.) I usually only get them after the really difficult rides. So, I'm wondering what's up.
Gunnison Team - love bicycling!!! "Bike for the health of it!"
999 riders! Way to go Colorado!
Thanks Matt Young for kudos for Health District - we have great organizers here (thanks Sue Hewitt and Nancy Stirling!) and are lucky to be a health focused organization, so that helps. Keep working to get the word out, and good luck!
Gunnison Team - Gunnison Country Shopper - riding strong in the first week :)
Kudos to Health District of Northern Larimer County! They only have 75 employees and have 31% of them signed up for the challenge. 20% of whom have points!
I work at NREL and we have ~2,500 employees and only 2 more signed up for the challenge and the same number logging points as Health District of Northern Larimer County. That's 1.3% and 0.8%. I will continue to try and get the word out.
There ought to be challenges for most elevation gained, feet climbed, or something like that. Colorado may be in 5th place for miles logged in the National Bike Challenge, but we'd probably be tops in the altitude category!
If you live in Fort Collins and are looking for a team, join mine: FoCoNoColo.
TEAM Screaming Turtles, out of Colorado Springs, CO., still NEEDS 7 Team Members, if your homeless, join on up, thanks! :)
Suzanne, your not alone, had to take my Mom to Funeral in KS. 20 hrs. in a car is a PIA! Hoping to get caught up asap! Have a most excellent day! :)
No fair! I've been sick at home the first 2 days... I will bounce back tomorrow! :)
Corey - Haha, better get out and ride my bike!
@Mark Erickson Oh-oh! I just tied you on the local leaderboard!
@Mark erickson - Mark, Thanks for your diligence in working with Endomondo. It will be interesting to see my own numbers but, more importantly, impressive to see the cumulative numbers.
I have endomondo on my android phone and it won't sync up with the bike challenge. Any ideas? For manual entries, it seems that my counts of miles, points, etc. are different each place I go on the website. And I rode 2 days, 14.5 miles total and have 24 points...seems like it should be 54 pts... (20 pts/day plus 14 for miles)...or am I getting the math wrong? Maybe it just takes a while to sync up with all the website traffic?
Mark - The calorie calculation is not working for manual trip entries. Endomondo is aware of this and will be addressing this as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience and for bringing this issue to our attention.
Mark - I share your frustration. I have contacted someone I know at the National level to see if we can sort out the calorie issue. I'll let you know what I hear. Thanks again for your participation!
@ Mark Erickson. So...my calories are STILL not registering! I know that you have submitted some sort of request with endomondo for this issue. I have now submitted 3 (thats three!) without even a HINT of a response. Does ANYONE have any pull with them as it relates to NBC issues? They had plenty of time during the warm-up to fix these problems and I think it disgraceful that they virtually ignore inquiries without even so much as an acknowlegement! This is why I use competing products such as Strava and MapMyRide...
What a great morning for a ride.
Jan & Christian - It only takes a few minutes to get a free email account at gmail, hotmail or yahoo or many other providers. If you really want to particpate, that would be an easy way to go!
Jan and Christian - Good questions. Endomondo's system requires that each individual have an email address. Your email address serves as your unique identifier for EndoMondo. There is no way around this unfortunately.
Sue, also remember to turn the iPhone off (not shut down, just off). The Endomondo App keeps the display on which will use a lot of battery life. I actually prefer this over the auto-pause because the phone keeps buzzing when I stop (which probably uses a lott of battery life too). Last week I had my iPhone 4gs tracking via Endomondo for 5+ hours straight and it only took the battery down to 48%. Give it a try.
I'd like to sign up my family as a team. How can I register multiple individuals with the same email address?
Why can't I register my husband who has the same e-mail address
HOW CAN i JUST ADD SOMEONE TO MY TEAM. WE HAVE THE SAME E-MAIL ADDRESS.
Thanks Corey. Glad I started a few weeks early to learn the app and the challenge!
@Sue also the 20 points is awarded per day that you ride, not per trip. So it shouldn't make a difference to your total count.
@sue check your settings for auto-pause. I used to have similar issues until I turned it off entirely.
The "join a team" page is a little hokey. You should be able to view all teams without having to type something in the search box. Unless of course you're trying to avoid having people join teams just willy-nilly without prior approval or nuthin!
I've been giving this a try for several weeks now and I am truly impressed and doing what I can to spread the word. Has anyone else encountered this? When using EndoMondo on my iPhone, on longer rides (+40 mi) I try to pause it or stop it when we break for coffee or lunch (otherwise my phone battery will crash). Sometimes (not all) I can't get back to the workout screen without hitting "done." So I have to start a new workout for the trip home. I'd like to know the tricks, and also is there a way to merge it into one workout later in the edit mode? I don't want to unfairly claim two rides (for 20 points each) when technically it is just one long ride.
@Mark Q - I submitted the issue to Endomondo through their support site. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I will pass on information as I receive it.
Had a nice ride with my grandson yesterday! Weather was beautiful in Fountain, CO and he had a blast.
@Mark Erickson. I input the height and weight stats at registration. So, some piece of the calculation is not occuring. All other data elements are calculating and reporting as they should. If this issue is pervasive, and I have seen the same issue for a number of other riders and for entire teams, then those stats for the Challenge will be effectively flawed. The fix for this SHOULD BE a priority!
Thanks Billy Joe. I thought that team looked (or sounded) like one I would fit into! Love the name and I am a slow, long distance rider. I would love to be a part of your team. I am in Woodland Park, so that's perfect. THANKS!
Jacalyn, my wife JoLynn and I are TEAM Screaming Turtles, out of Colorado Springs, CO. If you can't find a specific team, pls. feel free to join us, we NEED 8 more members, thanks and have a most excellent day! :)
@Mark have you put in your weight? I think the calories burned calculation (through Endomondo) is a function of weight and distance.
@Tracey Glad to have Salida represented! The Challenge puts you in community groupings as defined by the US Census. The FAQ section can explain better than I can (http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national/faqs). Let me know if that doesn't answer your question.
@Kevin I apologize about the confusion. Endomondo has assured us they are working to make the site more user friendly. It would be worth bringing your to questions Endomondo using their support page (http://www.endomondo.com/campaign/national/support). I've found it best to book mark this page (endomondo.com/campaign/national) and entering miles here.
Thank you everyone for participating!
Still no calories showing for my rides. I would like to see this corrected prior to the official start of the campaign. There are other riders/teams for whom this feature is not working as well!
How come my town is not showing up....saying not specified. Our team is in Salida and I would like it to show up as such. Just wondering.
This website is pretty confusing. What is the difference in Endomondo and Wicket;interface? And why can't I get back to Wicket from the other?
Why is my ride total different in 3 different places on these sites. Why can't I list details when I log my ride? I have to go tto workouts to log time and comments.
NOT a very smooth set up.
Anyone in the Littleton area interested in forming a team? Might be a good way to hook up for some rides in Deer Creek Canyon!
Seems there are a few of us from the Colorado Springs area. Has anyone made a team? Anyone interested in forming a team?
Hey, Ross! I'm also from Aurora, 80015.
Glad to be part of challenge, representing Aurora, Colorado 80017
Happy to hear you are getting out for rides on your two wheeled horse William!
I live in ZIP 80601 & work in ZIP 80001. I just signed up yesterday and it's great to be able to log miles that will be used for other puposes, besides my health and wallet. Normally, I try to commute to work once a week, 15 miles each way. I drive to trailhead -ten miles, then ride my two wheeled horse. It's a great ride mainly on a nice concrete path, the width of one car lane. AWESOME JOB PARK PEOPLE!!! This summer I plan to do the whole distance a few times as I prepare for Ride the Rockies...it should be an adventure! P.S. Having a gym & locker room w/ showers at work is great! Ride Baby, but RIDE!
First ride of the season..... felt good :-)
Mark - Thanks for participating! Glad to have Colorado Springs represented! Agreed, we hope the National Bike Challenge will give people a little extra motivation to ride this summer and provide visibility to bicycling as a means of transportation, recreation and fitness. All this and all we have to do is ride our bikes!
Happy to be on board. Hello from Colorado Springs. It is projects like these, and the visibility that they provide, that will be instrumental in improving cycling infrastructure, as well as safety measures, for cyclists. I am already a commuter and a sport cyclist, so I am happy to see all of my miles count for something other than my personal health and quality of life. Oh, and my wallet!
Mark - I'll do what I can!
Matt - Glad your participating! Get everyone at NREL fired up! I think that Lakewood being included in the Denver/Aurora community grouping has something to do with Endomondo using census metropolitan area definitions to place people in communities.
Jacalyn - Log those miles! Glad to have you on Team Colorado!
I am planning a trip from Woodland Park, CO to Lake Geneva, WI from Aug.15-Sept 10 to atttend my 40th class reunion! Can't wait to log those miles!!!!
I live in Lakewood, CO, and my zip is 80228. The system is listing me as Denver/Aurora, CO. I don't mind being associated with Denver - but Aurora... Insert Homer Simpson shuddering sound here.
Billy, we're happy to have you participate! Doing errands by bicycle counts as commuting as far as we are concerned. The Challenge officially starts May 1, but please log miles before then too! Let's show the country that Colorado has the most dedicated cyclists!
Hello, as I'm a medically retired house husband, I don't COMMUTE but since we are Car-Free, I do all my errands by bicycle and ride for recreation and fitness. So if I'm doing errands, I'll put in into "commute" if I'm just riding I'll list it as "Sport" although I'm more FRED than LANCE, LOL! ;)
Thanks Jean. We will begin the Challenge on May 1st. I look forward to having you participate!
Thanks and I am excited and want to do the challenge
I will welcome any help to get started.
I hate to ask for your help on this forum. But I did not know if I would be able to ride in this years Tour de Cure for diabetes on Aug 17th so I have not been trying to raise support. Now that I know I will be able to ride I need to raise my support. If anyone is willing to help me I would greatly appreciatie the help.
.
http://tinyurl.com/mtqbq4z
Couldn't let a little snow stop me from kicking off the Challenge!
Awesomeness