She Cycles by the Seashore

Rhode Island Rides -- Tiverton to Little Compton

The Tiverton-Little Compton route is one of my absolute must-rides, or else it is not really summer. Sometimes, in the winter, I ache for it so much that we do the route in my car, just to get a taste until it's warm enough to get back on the bike.

Our typical route is found in Short Bike Rides in Rhode Island. There is a 17? mile loop with a 23 mile option. This year our friend Sarah introduced us to a longer, more inland route (on the way back), approximately 32 miles. She and her husband have a route map for a 50-miler that they did with the NBW, but we didn't have time to do it this day since Mr. Suitcase had raced that morning at the Ninigret Wildlife Preserve (also in RI). Photos of our ride by Chris.

Debby and Sarah head for the water.

A view from the lane.

Green fields, blue waves, and white clouds...

and boats...

and rocks...

There are no words to describe the beauty that is here.

Rhode Island Rides -- Portsmouth to Newport

Just before we moved, Mr. Suitcase and I went on a beautiful ride in Newport with our friends Sarah and Jeff, but I haven't had a chance to post about it until now. The ride was about 26 miles, with so many different scenes that took my breath away. Here are some of the photos Mr. Suitcase (Chris) took during the ride.

A windmill (Sarah, what is the name of the park?)

Chris and I (photo courtesy of Sarah)

A gorgeous Rhode Island beach

St. George's school

Newport! Tall Ships, and a sweet dog diving in the waves for his ball...

...and retrieving it.

Jeff, Sarah, Chris, and Debby (taken by a passerby).

Why RI is my favorite place to ride (but I'd like to try the Pacific Coast Highway and Tuscany, just for comparison purposes!).

One more view from along Ocean Drive. Heaven.

It was that most perfect of rides, sunny with a slight breeze near the ocean, and a minimum amount of hills. The kind of day you want to last forever, if your legs could too. Luckily for us, we went back last Saturday, to another favorite part of Rhode Island...

On the Saddle Again!

I'm sorry for the long absence. Moving & setting up house really eats into riding time!!

Here is a photo taken by Chris, on our first evening bike ride in our new town:

In true lazy summer spirit, I've been out an hour at a time here and there, but haven't kept track of any heart rates or miles or speeds...just looking at the pretty views and being thankful that almost all the boxes are gone now!!But I do need to find more discipline, as the Tri-State Seacoast Century is coming up soon. This article from Bicycling magazine should help.

Race season is beginning to wind down; the Tour de France is over and also some of the important pro races not covered in mainstream sports news. If you missed it like I did, here is re-cap of the Tour de 'Toona (PA) with congratulations due to Kristen Armstrong of TEAm Lipton! Tina Pic of Colavita-Sutter Home won the Presbyterian Invitational Criterium in Charlotte, North Carolina this past weekend (formerly known as the Bank of America Criterium). You can read the story at VeloNews.com.

There is one major road race left to look forward to, the Vuelta A Espana. Not as well known as the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France, it starts on Sept. 1 this year and finishes on Sept. 23. The homepage has a tiny UK flag for English translation (I hope the link I attached is in English for you already!). I am not sure where the best race coverage can be found. Cycling TV offers a fee-based coverage of all the stages, but it looks like the Versus channel only has a summary on Sept. 30 from 6-7pm. If anyone has more information, please post it in the comments. Happy Riding!