A Likely Story
I had invited two new-to-gravel-grinding friends to join my husband and me for an introductory ride on a relatively easy gravel route (20 miles with only 1,019 feet of climbing). Neither were able to make, but we wanted a chill ride so we decided to ride the course anyway. After driving about 30 minutes for the start of our ride, we unloaded our bikes, and after chatting with a lady whose dogs had run across the street to say hello, we started our ride.
About a quarter mile into the ride we approached a small hill, and when I tried shifting, nothing happened so I stood for more leverage. After cresting the top I tried shifting again, but both my front and rear Di2 shifters were dead. I had charged them a week ago (I have a reminder set up on my calendar to charge them every two months), but something must have happened and they hadn’t charged properly.
I love the ease of shifting with electronic shifters, especially after a wrist injury in 2020 that made it nearly impossible for me to shift the front derailleur, but when the battery goes dead they’re inoperable. Mine were stuck in a high gear which made climbing even the smallest of hills difficult and steep hills impossible. I made the best of it and rode a bunch of laps on a flatter section and called it a day.
When we returned to our car, the lady we’d spoken with earlier was standing in her driveway and commented that we hadn’t been gone very long. When I told her I’d had a mechanical problem, she replied, “A likely story.” I chuckled and told her I liked her sense of humor.
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Walking: 3.09 miles
• Average pace: 15:08 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 94 feet
• Start time: 8:28 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 83° (feels like 91°) and partly cloudy, climbing to 87° (feels like 95°)
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor
After Saturday’s extremely hot 42-mile gravel ride with lots of climbing, Garmin told me I needed 62 hours rest. For once I listened and took a walk instead of another ride in the heat.
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of full body
Walking: 3.07 miles
• Average pace: 15:10 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 204 feet
• Start time: 12:32 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 84°, sunny, and breezy with lowering humidity, climbing to 85°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
I needed to pick up a few items from the grocery store so I grabbed my backpack and combined my walk with running an errand. I miss the days when I literally “ran” errands. A delightful breeze was bringing in lower humidity, and in the shade it felt absolutely wonderful.
Tuesday
Cycling: 30.29 miles
• Average speed: 12.9 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,460 feet
• Start time: 7:52 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Leesburg loop with Thomas Mill and Woodburn climbs
• Weather: 73° and sunny with low humidity, climbing to 87°
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
After getting downright chilly when I stepped out onto our deck to water my flowers at 5:30 AM I added arm warmers to my bike kit, but the temperature warmed up quickly and I didn’t need them by the time I was able to get out for my ride. The weather was amazing and very much appreciated after last week’s high heat. I was happy to be back climbing my Tuesday hills and took a picture from near the top of Woodburn, the second hill, but it doesn’t have a sweeping view like Thomas Mill.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of full body
Walking: 3.05 miles
• Average pace: 16:52 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 76 feet
• Start time: 12:39 PM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 98° (feels like 105°) and mostly sunny
• What I wore: shorts, tank, and visor
In order to beat the forecasted storms, I headed out for my walk mid-day, and to beat the heat I stayed mostly on the shaded trails. The storms didn’t arrive until 9 PM, though.
Thursday
Walking: 4.24 miles
• Average pace: 16:11 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 114 feet
• Start time: 5:34 AM
• Location: neighborhood trails
• Weather: 70° and partly cloudy with 100% humidity
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Cycling: 26.2 miles
• Average speed: 14.6 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 761 feet
• Start time: 9:43 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Sterling/Leesburg loop
• Weather: 75° and partly cloudy with 86% humidity, climbing to 85° and mostly sunny with 57° humidity
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Planning ahead for the collage theme for our weekly virtual cardio workout, Kim let me know that it was National Sunglasses Day. I wear prescription sunglasses and didn’t want to bring two pairs of glasses on my walk so I donned my favorite sunnies even if it was just barely getting light out when I left my house.
Collage credit: Kim
A little later I headed out for a ride, keeping it shorter since I had plans to ride again the next day. Seeing that I’d ridden exactly 26.2 miles brought a smile to my face.
Friday
Cycling: 41.15 miles
• Average speed: 14.2 MPH
• Bike: Specialized Roubaix Comp
• Surface: paved
• Elevation gain: 1,598 feet
• Start time: 5:29 AM
• Location: W&OD Trail Ashburn/Reston loop with Hunter Station loop
• Weather: 67° and clear with low humidity, climbing to 73°
• What I wore: bike bibs, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
Balance and stretching: 45 minutes
My Friday 6:30 AM client was on vacation so I jumped at the chance of joining my Dawn Patrol friends for their Friday morning ride. The weather was fabulous and I was so happy to be outside enjoying it.
Saturday
Cycling: 6.13 miles
• Average speed: 12.3 MPH
• Bike: Salsa Warbird
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 217 feet
• Start time: 9:48 AM
• Location: Unison loop
• Weather: 74° and cloudy with high humidity
• What I wore: bike shorts, s/s jersey, and fingerless gloves
With our ride cut drastically short (see opening paragraphs), we spent a little time taking pictures before loading up our bikes and driving home.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: June 16 – 22 / Summer’s Here and it’s Hot, Hot, Hot
- • Tuesday – Sunrise over Haleakala Followed by an Epic Bike Descent off the Inactive Volcano
Questions:
- • Do you have any mechanical or equipment failure stories to shore? ~ I once had a shoe lace come untied at a 5K that I was racing hard. I was so bummed and it probably took me longer to tie it because I was rushing so much.
- • Did you know about National Sunglasses Day? ~ I’d forgotten until Kim texted to tell me. Back when our sons were in college my husband and I posted a selfie of us in sunglasses and it cracked them up. LOL
- • Did you run in race this weekend? ~ no
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!
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I’ve had my share of mishaps on the run and the bike–most commonly, flat tires lol. I don’t know how to change my tire, so I always have to call my hubs for a rescue ride home. There’s just a lot of debris on sections of the bike path. I don’t have an electronic shifter–my bike is really basic-but it sounds like a nice thing to have!
Luckily, both of my flats have happened while riding with my husband; otherwise, I would have called him to come rescue me, too. Electronic shifters are great when they have battery power. The gears change with just the lightest touch of the finger, but if the battery is dead they don’t work at all. 🙁
That’s one thing I DON’T like about cycling- so much equipment that could go wrong. Of course, people could argue that I have plenty of equipment (i.e. body parts) that go wrong with running as well. That is funny, what that woman said to you.
The photos from your rides are absolutely beautiful!
Thanks, Jenny, and yes, I loved that lady’s dry sense of humor. I’m not running these days because of a major piece of equipment failure – my back!
I love that photo with the hay bales and your bike in front of it!
So annoying with the electronic shifters! My bike is very mechanical, but it still has plenty that can go wrong – from broken chains to flat tires.
Walking errands are great because you can carry more!
Thanks, Catrina – I have a thing about hay fields. 🙂
I have a beach cruiser bike with a huge basket in front, but my grocery store doesn’t have a place to lock up bikes or I’d ride it to the store…
What a bummer about the shifters. It’s only now I’ve realised how much gear is involved in cycling, after my husband got i to it. He had some different issues during his long ride recently, including a dead light battery, failing cleats, and more. I’m happiest just having weights to worry about!
Nice fitness work this week however, what balance exercises do you do?
Yes, there’s a lot of gear involved in cycling (a lot is optional, but fun to have). You’re right, I never have equipment failures with my dumbbells. LOL
I teach a 45-minute balance and stretching class on Fridays. I have my students do a lot of single-leg work, walking on a pretend tightrope or balance beam, etc. Single leg work includes things like standing on one leg and writing 1, 2, 3 in the air with their other foot; or pretending one leg is the arm of a clock and telling them what time to point to, etc. I also incorporate some yoga poses like Warrior I and II, tree pose, chair pose, etc. I referenced and went into the detail on the yoga moves on the previous week’s RunDown if you want to check it out. On my own, I use a BOSU and balance pads/boards.
I don’t know how to ride a bike so I guess I never have biking mishaps? But that is too bad – who needs another thing to worry about? I love walking errands! I have a few places near me that I can walk to including a bakery, coffee shop and library so I often walk there to get bread, return library books, buy coffee, etc. There’s a grocery store a little further away so I’ve only walked there when I have much more time to kill and don’t need as much stuff.
I love multi-tasking which is probably why I enjoy walking errands. You’re a busy momma so I can see you enjoying the same thing! 🙂
That shifting mishap would be so frustrating! The hills Jim took me on today were relentless. Had I been stuck in an unwanted gear, I may have had a meltdown, LOL. Biking does bring with it some unique situations, though, if there’s a mechanical failure. I have only had one flat, and it was within a mile from my house (in my former town). I’m always paranoid it could happen again, but I know the odds are slim-to-none.
And I’m learning that bike parts wear out quickly when you ride your bike a lot. My road bike already has 7,248 miles on it and needs a new cassette and chain. Bill just picked those up yesterday so he can replace them. I would have never thought to check… Oops!
I’ve had my shoe lace untie during a race and my bib rip off too. I’ve broken my foot and fallen (a mishap but not technical LOL)
This weather is so hard to predict and the forecast never seems accurate.
No race but I do have one Thursday.
Oh no, did your bib fly away in the wind or did you carry it the rest of the way in the race? And I guess more importantly, was the timing chip on the back of it?
Great week! You always have the most beautiful farm themed photos!
I did know about national sunglasses day but with my stepdad being in the hospital, I just sort of forgot. I’m giving myself grace on that one.
So scary about your equipment failure! I hope it’s all charged up for next time!
Jealous that you can just walk to the store. Ours is about two miles away and it’s hot walk 🙁
Jenn recently posted…Braced For Stormy Weather
The western half of our county is rural and we do a lot of our riding (especially gravel) out there so I get my farm girl fix on those rides. 🙂
As always you take the BEST photos! Sorry about the gear trouble for that Saturday ride – that would have been quite the workout! A similar thing happened to my husband’s friend during a race. The gears, also electronic, just wouldn’t budge and he had to battle up a few hills. It was a 70km race and he was way out when he discovered so he says he swore the whole time he was out there!
Thanks, Shathiso! I feel for your husband’s friend’s pain! I’m paranoid now that something like that will happen again on a race or one of our organized tours. At least in this case it was just my husband and me and we were able to just drive home.
Oh yep, I’ve had one of those malfunctions. I need to start charging mine on a regular schedule. Did you say you are using sequential shifting? (maybe I saw on Insta?). If so, how do you like it?
Lisa @ TechChick Adventures recently posted…Weekly workouts – ups and downs
I have charging my gravel bike’s batteries set up in my calendar to reoccur every other month and my road bike every three months. My gravel rides have a lot of elevation changes so I’m changing gears a lot more on those rides, and interestingly, it’s the gravel bike that I’ve had issues with twice now. My road bike had synchronous shifting until about a month ago when we changed it back to regular. Synchronous shifting was great for me when I first started riding again and wasn’t as comfortable changing gears, but with it you lose a lot of control when going into climbs. I’m so happy I switched to regular shifting. I’ve always had regular shifting on my gravel bike.
Great roundup of last week’s activities and weather! Your adventures with walking and cycling are truly inspiring. Can’t wait to read more!
Thanks!