Pair of Weekend Rides

Short ride on Saturday due to sub-freezing temperatures (23F). Met up with Mike for 25 miles out to the LIE and back. Not much wind so, except for fingers and toes, I stayed pretty warm for the ride. Water bottle started to freeze but there was just enough sun on the way back so it didn't freeze solid.

Today (Sunday) was supposed to be warmer, and it was. But windy conditions and overcast skies still made it feel cold. Temperature was above freezing but never made it out of the 30's for the duration of the ride. We did the full 40-mile Brands route but Mike had a mechanical at mile 25 which forced him to do the remaining 15 miles in his 2nd lowest gear. Talk about spinning! We limped back to Brands a later than we had originally intended but were both glad to get the miles.

Spinning Along the Brands Ride Route

Haven't ridden in about a month but Mike sent out an e-mail yesterday that he was planning to do the Brands ride this morning, so I joined him. It was just the two of us with a 7:30am start. It was quite overcast with temperature about 35F, but the rain was forecast to hold off until afternoon. Nice steady pace up until we started to hit the rollers around Bethpage Park. Then steady, gradual climb up Round Swamp Rd. to the LIE. We both felt good after those initial 12 miles so we did the full Brands loop down to exit 52. At the turnaround point, we made a 5-minute pitstop to eat a CLIF Bar and snap a couple of photos.

 
Mike (left) and I at the 20-mile turnaround.

Then headed back, again, surprisingly with no wind. A slight headwind as we headed back south down Round Swamp and back to Brands. Overall, a good spinning ride with a few rollers to make things interesting. I think 41 miles (for me, including the ride back home) was a good length, too. Hopefully we can start to string a few weekend rides together.