That was exactly what I needed to hear! Great job. I am doing a 21 miler tomorrow and that too is 7 miles longer than my farthest. I am very motivated now. I have only been riding a 36 for 3weeks so we will see. I will post the victory tomorrow night. Thanks again for sharing yours. I was also considering painting my Nimbus (but not the same color. Ha!) My daughter is going to love the picture or yours!
Thanks cathy! im only just learning to ride, but you have really inspired me to give this a fair dinkum awesome shot! i think im gonna spend all day tomorrow riding until i can do it without a rail!
thanks again!
Excellent ride Cathy. You richly deserve to be pleased with yourself. And thank you for telling us about it.
Which river is it? And in the fifth picture: is that a bore? Or just a transition from deep to shallow water? The river looks to have been dredged and straightened (sadly), so I am guessing a bore?
Nao
Thanks Nao.
The river is the river Dee from Connah’s Quay to Chester.
With regards to the fifth picture, I’m not quite sure what a bore is, but my interpretation was that it was the tide coming in. It was definitely a tidal part of the river and on my ride to Chester the river was peaceful and low. After the tide came in (or whatever it was) the river ran much faster up from the sea towards Chester and became much fuller.
It was quite an amazing site actually. I just happened to be riding along with my camera out. This was the first time that I have taken any photos when I was riding because I wanted to take a photo of the wing of the Air bus on a ferry ready to be taken down the river and I didn’t want to dismount at that time. Then I just saw this kind of wave coming towards me. It was like a very mini tsunami.
I didn’t notice that before.
Groovy.
Cheers, that is a bore: the River Severn has a huge one that goes for miles.
People have surfed along it. The Dee looks to have a much smaller wave height from your photo. It think it is generated by a conbination of tide, and narrowing of the river channel. These can sometimes mix in such a way as to generate a wave that rushes upstream. Don’t know much more than that I am afraid, but google probably does.
Great job, Kath! And to think we knew you back when!!!
Keep up the great riding!
David, Shirra, and the kids (3 now)
Oh Cathy, I went out to today, hit the Harlem Valley Rail Trail here in NY, thinking if Cathy can do 30 I can do 20 miles. The rail trail is nearly level ride, so it seemed like would be a piece of cake.
We’ll I made 15 miles, that was it. The ride was great, perfect weather, and not crowded. But after 13 miles my legs just got rubbery, and the riding became difficult those last 2 miles. After one dismount it took 6 tries to remount. I had to call it quits.
I not giving up, next time I’m gonna eat more than toast for breakfast, and a chocolate bar on the trail. My muscles were not sore and tired, it was like I ran out energy. Maybe that will help.
So thanks Cathy, although I didn’t make my 20 miles, I got out an had a great ride. I’ll be trying to improve this.
Your 30 miles is a great success, one that I’m appreciating even more today.
Thanks Crashing.
Yes, eat, ride, eat, ride, rest and eat, ride, eat, ride. Eating is very important. 
My energy challenge on long rides is electrolyte balance and not so much food. Though starting the day with good carbs for breakfast and eating energy foods during the ride is important too.
Getting low on electrolytes will make the legs feel rubbery and feel like they’re only able to work in slow motion.
Try using something like Gatorade in the water bottles or hydration pack. Just be sure to rinse the bottles or bladder out well after the ride so the sugars don’t start to grow nasty things.
I take electrolyte tablets (salt tablets) during a ride and use plain water in the hydration pack. I might keep a bottle of Gatorade stuffed in the hydration pack just in case. You can find electrolyte tablets at shops that specialize in triathletes or runners. I use Lava Salts because that’s what the local triathlon oriented shop carries. But there are others. Start the ride with one tablet. Take an additional tablet every 45-60 minutes. If it’s a hot day where you are sweating a lot then adjust the frequency and amount to suit the conditions.
The gel packs from the likes of Cliff or Power Bar are also good quick boots of carbs. They’re good emergency fuel supplies. Some are even adding extra electrolytes.
Everyone is different in terms of how much fueling and electrolytes they need during a ride. Find the combination and amounts that work for you. Just because a riding partner may be able to do the ride fueled by nothing but plain water and a granola bar doesn’t mean you’ll be able to do the same.
Thanx for sharing Cathy, those pics look absolutely stunning.
I still have a semi-perma-loan Coker lying around my house.
I really should ride it.
Mmmm.
Thanks GILD, for bringing that to the fore. I can add my experience regarding different leg length…since getting therapy in the early 1990s for low back pain I discovered that due to an old injury (with consequent arthritis in the spine there), my entire pelvic area tends to be tilted so that the left side is lower than the right. This results in the left leg appearing to be longer than the right, but it’s actually just that the pelvis is not level.
I am sure this affects my riding, I get some of the same complaints that Cathy mentioned in that old thread. There is not much I can do about it, but if I keep at it by doing some yoga and other things I can bring the pelvis to a more level position. It requires constant attention to keep it aligned. I am hoping that a fuller riding schedule will help me keep that pelvis aligned. (it’s why I sometimes think of unicycling as physical therapy)
Since you brought this up…
I noticed on this ride that, without my T7 handle, I tend to hold my right arm out in front of me and I felt that I was twisting a little bit on the ride. Having the handle to hold on to reduces the twist.
Well done, Cathwood! I dunno, I take a few weeks out of riding and someone steps into my place with tales of the riverbank!
30 miles is further than any day’s ride I’ve done this year. 22.5 miles is my longest in 2007. 30 is a serious distance, and enough to hurt.
A “bore” (sometimes “boar”) is a surge of water up a tidal river. The tide rises, and meets the water that is flowing down the river. The result is a wave of water rushing up the river. It happens on every incoming tide, but is most spectacular when there is a high tide. The most famous one in England is the Severn Bore. Here’s a link to a picture of it.
That kind of arm position can cause you to twist your shoulders. One shoulder will lead the other. That will cause the rest of your trunk to twist and may cause your hips to twist.
When you have one arm out front for balance you should try to make sure that the rest of your lower trunk and your hips stay square. I have a bad problem with that myself. I always lead with my left shoulder. Sometimes I find that it causes my left hip to lead as well and that causes a strange twist or lean to the unicycle and poor pedaling.
I will attest to that, I have witnessed it. It also makes him tell bad jokes when he rides.
Yeah, next time I take a swing at you just remember that I lead with my left. 