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Cyclists Do Meetups Just Like Runners

I’ve learned pretty quickly that the cycling community is every bit as nice as the running community despite what I thought as a runner when I occasionally got yelled at by rude cyclists on the W&OD Trail, but as with any group of people, there’s always the occasional bad apple. Cyclist, just like runners, are looking to better themselves with a good workout, getting out into the fresh air, and finding like-minded friends.

I have a couple of different groups of cycling friends and on Sunday my Dawn Patrol friends and I welcomed Heather to join us on our gravel ride. I met Heather on Instagram and when she expressed interest in riding gravel, I invited her to our Sunday ride. We had a great time and I hope that she joins us on future rides!

 

Overview of the Week

Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll down for daily details…

 

Sunday

Cycling: 36 miles
• Average speed: 11.7 MPH
• Bike: Cannondale Topstone
• Surface: mostly gravel
• Elevation gain: 2,979 feet
• Start time: 10:04 AM
• Location: Loudoun and Fauquier Counties
• Weather: 45° and sunny, climbing to 53°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, jacket, ear-warmer headband, fingerless gloves over light gloves

Bill and I joined four other friends for a fun gravel ride in pretty fantastic weather for November. I loved the course Bill proposed, one we’d ridden before and I’d gladly ride again.

 

Monday

Strength Training: 1 hour of total body

Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 15:23
• Start time: 4:09 PM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 64° and sunny
• What I wore: capris, s/s tee, and nylon shell

 

Tuesday

Cycling: 34 miles
• Average speed: 14.1 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,453 feet
• Start time: 7:21 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail and roads to Hamilton
• Weather: 39° and sunny, climbing to 61°
• What I wore: bike shorts, long bike pants on top, l/s jersey, jacket, ear-warmer headband, winter gloves over fingerless gloves (10 miles in changed to winter gloves over fall gloves, then 25 miles in changed to just fingerless gloves

As I mentioned last week, I’m still in the process of figuring out how to dress for cold weather cycling and wore three different glove combinations during my ride (see above). This year I’m hopeful to keep riding outside through my trip to Florida in early January for our epic ride from Miami to Key West. Normally, when the weather turns cold I move to my spin bike (affiliate link) in the basement, but let’s face it, I don’t push myself as hard indoors and need to stay in prime shape for my ride.

 

Wednesday

Strength Training: 1 hour of total body

Running: 3.25 miles
• Average pace: 9:37
• Start time: 4:06 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 67° and overcast, dropping to 64°
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor

Foam rolling: 10 minutes

Stretching: 10 minutes

 

Thursday

Cycling: 38 miles
• Average speed: 13.6 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,877 feet
• Start time: 1:31 PM
• Location: W&OD Trail and roads to Hamilton with Thomas Mill Climb
• Weather: 67° and partly cloudy, dropping to 65°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, arm sleeves, fingerless gloves

It didn’t make sense, but no matter which direction I headed, I was riding into a headwind which made it a slower and tougher ride than usual on my favorite route. Shockingly, I didn’t take any pictures!

 

Friday

Strength Training: 1 hour of total body

Balance and Stretching: 45 minutes

 

Saturday

Cycling: 64 miles
• Average speed: 14.2 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 2,953 feet
• Start time: 8:11 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail and roads around Hamilton, Lovettsville, and Waterford
• Weather: 45° (feels like 43°) and overcast, climbing to 49° (feels like 44°) and sunny with wind gusts up to 24 MPH, with a cold rain in the middle
• What I wore: bike short bibs, s/s jersey, arm warmers, jacket, ear-warmer headband, and winter gloves over lightweight gloves

Bill and I set out with three cycling friends for a fun metric century in celebration my birthday eve. What we didn’t take into consideration was that the 13% chance of rain would hit hard and stay around for eight of our miles. Fortunately, the rain stopped while we were inside a coffee shop drinking hot chocolate. The sun was shining beautifully when we exited, but brought with it 24 MPH wind gusts. Unfortunately, my friends decided they wanted to ride straight home cutting eight miles off of our planned route.

Once home, my Garmin showed I’d only ridden 58 miles so I rode laps on my neighborhood circle to get to 60 miles, which still wasn’t enough for my ever growing birthday number. When my friends drove to The Wine’ing Butcher for my celebratory birthday lunch, I rode my bike landing me at 64 miles after my round trip, just the right number for this girl on her birthday eve!

Highlights of the day were bumping into some lovely friends who were running a virtual half, seeing cycling friends at the coffee shop who we hadn’t seen in a year, and lunch after our ride with our friends.

 

Last Week’s Blog Posts

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past  week, here’s what you missed…

 

 Questions:
  • • Have you met new running or cycling friends through social media?
  • • Have you ever gotten caught in miserable weather while out on a run, walk, hike, or ride?
  • • Did you run in a race this weekend? If so, was it live or virtual?

 

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

 

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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.