Not everyone has an alley behind the home these days. Years ago, every block had an alley, and in the older parts of town they still do. Newer subdivisions have completely left alleys out. Now everything goes to the street: refuse pickup for example and even power and phone/cable lines in many instances (although they … Continue reading "Alley Loops"
Read MoreI’m looking forward to the upcoming challenge because before-and-after pictures have always interested me, because I like reading people’s stories (and extra credit has been offered for stories), because I like TELLING stories, and because . . . just because. This morning I was going through some old pictures and scrapbooks in preparation. I had … Continue reading "PREPARING FOR THE JUNE CHALLENGE"
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Another month that rushed past before we knew it. Delicate green turned to a lush green in the woods, in the fields and wherever you looked – green green green. It was a good month for riding, I didn’t miss a day. Janos and I discovered some new destinations for our outings. We have pretty … Continue reading "Cycle Days Challenge: May 2020"
Read MoreRegular readers know that I lived in the Netherlands for about two years. I miss it. The Netherlands really is a cyclist-friendly country. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly a form of strict liability is the law in the Netherlands for bicycle-motor vehicle accidents. If a car collides with a cyclist, the driver’s insurer is … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 12: Getting from A to B on a Bicycle in the Netherlands"
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I am a bit late posting this, but I did participate in the Ride of Silence on the southern hemisphere date of 23 May. I had planned to take flowers to the site but didn’t plan ahead enough to make it happen. The local florist is still only doing phone orders and deliveries, so I … Continue reading "Ride of Silence – Milawa, VIC"
Read MoreMarina Bay is a bay located on the southern side of the island of Singapore. The area surrounding the bay itself, also called Marina Bay, is 360-hectares of prime waterfront built on land reclaimed from the sea. Those of you who are F1 fans will recognize Marina Bay as the site of the street course … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 11: Marina Bay Singapore"
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Sonoma County gradually emerges from lockdown. Since the beginning of March, I’ve only undertaken one bike ride that didn’t involve starting at my front door and returning to the same spot. I was about ready to return to some rides requiring a drive to the trailhead, but that was slow to get going. We had … Continue reading "Emerging"
Read MoreMy entry is marginal- my photos are taken about a year apart, on McKenzie Pass in Central Oregon.
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This month’s challenge was inspired by this comment from Old Grumbleface on one of my posts a few weeks ago: Pardonnez-moi, s’il vous plait. If I may butt in for a moment, I would like to propose, for your consideration, a Challenge, if not for June, then perhaps for another month, or perhaps just a … Continue reading "Challenge of the month: Time, for a change"
Read MoreDen Haag (The Hague) in the Netherlands was my home from 2010 to 2012. The Belgian border is about 100km / 62km to the south. Belgium is home to some of the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races. Including one of the five biggest, collectively known as the Monuments. The Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders).is … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 10: The Ronde van Vlaanderen"
Read MoreSo, I’ve been following along here on cycle365 for awhile, but decided it’s about time that I leap into posting. It’s been a little while since I’ve used WordPress, so bear with me while I get my feet wet. Let me start out with a little bit of an introduction. My name’s Bob, and my … Continue reading "13 Mile Daily Loop"
Read MoreI’ve been three times to Southern Thailand to cycle. In 2013 to ride in the Samila Century. In 2016 to do the Satun Century and a two-day bikepacking tour. And in 2017 to ride in the Satun Century and some more touring. For the Samila Century, six of us drove from Kuala Lumpur to Songkhla. … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 9: Southern Thailand"
Read MoreI had one more stop after Chico before I flew home. Los Gatos, in Silicon Valley, to visit a college friend. It was an easy drive from Chico to Los Gatos by way of the Rapha Cycle Club San Francisco. My friend mentioned the trail that runs through Los Gatos. A quick look at Google … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 8: Los Gatos Creek Trail"
Read MoreHappy Memorial Day everybody! Or at least be as happy as possible on a day dedicated to the remembrance of American soldiers who have died while in service to our country. I was always pretty happy on Memorial Day because, for at least 30 consecutive years I’ve gotten together with a couple of college buddies … Continue reading "HOLIDAY CHALLENGE: Memorial Day"
Read MoreI went to university in Chico, California, many years ago. In 2016 I was in the United States to participate in the BP MS150 ride from Houston to Austin. On the way back to Malaysia after the BP MS150, I drove from San Francisco to Chico to visit old friends. My flight into SFO arrived … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 7: American River Bike Trail"
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Flag at Floral Hill Cemetery Normally, a Memorial service would be held here, but not this year Crosses and flags have been placed behind the WW II tank Wreath adorns the M3 tank Many flags to be seen town-wide Our National Bird Symbol At the time I wondered why they would leave a tree trunk … Continue reading "Memorial Day"
Read MoreDoesn’t seem like patriotic spirit is up very much around here. I found only two items of “decoration”. I am posting those today, as even though I will get out for at least a short ride tomorrow, we are expecting rain for much of the day. I continue my habit of riding but not writng. … Continue reading "HOLIDAYS: MEMORIAL DAY USA 2020"
Read MoreDay 4. My legs were sore from the cumulative effects of climbing every day. I wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of 1,100m / 3,608ft of elevation over the course of the next 80km / 50mi. 35km / 22mi into the ride we rode onto the Mayhoffer Singletree Trail. The Mayhoffer turned into the Meadowlark Trail. t … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 6: Around Boulder Part 2"
Read MoreIn 2015 I went on a cycling vacation in and around Boulder organised by Cognoscenti. A week of riding, dining, and spectating. We stayed at the excellent St. Julien Hotel. The view from the patio was a sampler of things to come. What was described as the Day 1 “acclimatization spin” was a 57.5km / … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 5: Around Boulder Part 1"
Read MoreI have done a number of rides in Melbourne. These are some of the sights from those rides. The Melbourne City Baths first opened in 1860, with swimming pools and bathing facilities. It continues to provide health and fitness services to the community. It has the largest swimming pool in the Central Business District, as … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 4: Melbourne"
Read MoreI lived in The Hague in the Netherland for two years or so. What a country for cyclists. Here are two posts about public art I saw from my bicycle while riding in Holland. As I said in the first of these posts, I am sure I missed more than I noticed. The first link … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 3: Public Art"
Read MoreTwo years ago I joined the ride sponsored by the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition. Last year’s Ride of Silence was washed out by heavy rain. This year, with group rides on hiatus, individuals were left to their own devices. I slipped away from chores for a couple of hours for my usual trip out the … Continue reading "Ride of Silence: Santa Rosa"
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Remembering all who lost their lives doing what they loved And particularly our counselor and colleague John M. (whose bicycle was also blue) Hope you all are enjoying tail winds in the Great Hereafter Thanks to Suzanne for the reminder this year, and to Bill for acquainting me of the Ride
Read MoreI did it! I did my Ride of Silence and managed to follow all of the official rules. The only thing that gave me a little trouble was the “SILENCE” rule. One would think that part would have been pretty easy since I was riding solo, but not so fast there. For one thing I … Continue reading "THE RECKLESS MR. BING BONG TAKES ME ON A RIDE OF SILENCE"
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Our Ride of Silence was more or less like most of our rides. It was short, it was slow, we wore our helmets and obeyed the traffic laws. I bought some flowers to lay down at the spot where a ghost bike had been placed to remind us of the death of cyclists in traffic. … Continue reading "Ride of Silence – Munich"
Read MoreI will post one link a day until I run out. I have seven years of blog posts to choose from 😄. In May 2013 I was in Manhattan for the TD Five Boro Bike Tour. It was and still is America’s largest cycling event, with participation capped at 32,000 riders. The 40-mile / 64-kilometre … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 2: Nyack"
Read MoreMy friends and I are very happy to be back on our bikes again. The ‘new normal’ does have a silver lining. Falling behind other riders no longer counts as being dropped. Now it is social distancing 🤣 We still have a restriction on interstate travel so extended bike tours have to wait. In the … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 1: Golden"
Read MoreNothing outstanding here — no theme, no particular topic, just photos of a few rides so far this May. We are under no restrictions in the ‘Current Situation’ so far as cycling is concerned. Kind of a dichotomy that we shouldn’t drive on rural roads without an essential reason, but cycling them is ok. ?? … Continue reading "Miscellaneous May Rides"
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I am honored to be speaking to you about trees again today. This makes two consecutive posts from me on Cycle365, (unless somebody sneaks one in before I can click the “Publish” button) and they both feature my least favorite subject. So, I was visiting the Cycleblaze website this morning and I was surprised and … Continue reading "View-Blockers vs. Views"
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Today’s bike ride turned out to be something much different than I had originally planned. I intended to take a longer ride northward along the St. Croix River and — who knows? — maybe even ride my age. But I changed my mind when I saw all the crabbiness going on in MY Town, and … Continue reading "CYCLING IN AMERICA’S CRABBIEST CITY"
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No biking today. We took a day off from the bikes and just took a walk in the state park around the cabin on Coeur d’Alene Lake. The photo is from yesterday’s beautiful ride to Tekoa. Today’s walk was nice too, if less dramatic. The main point to posting it here though is to invite you … Continue reading "Rage Against the Machine"
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Yearning to be able to return to Swansea on Tasmania’s east coast. However, it was my birthday and I was on a ride. Towards the end I realised I could make it a ‘ride your age in kilometers’ ride. The story is HERE.
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Nature has decided to liven up my rides this past month. It may have been the same roads over and over in different combinations, but the autumn leaf show has more than made up for the mundane routes. It’s been truly spectacular this year. There have been some dandelions for Suzanne, too, whole fields of … Continue reading "May Challenge: Spectacular changes"
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Sometimes I get confused where home is. Where I live now is home, where I used to live was home. Is Bavaria my home, or Germany or Europe? Or is it where I come from, West Orange, or New Jersey or the United States? I guess home is where I hang my helmet. I had … Continue reading "Home: A bicycle ride"
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Rachael has some problems with allergies that seem to affect her more over time. Given that, she was a bit skeptical about my recommendation for today’s ride: a loop from Dusty to Hay and back. It doesn’t sound that promising, when you think about it. It was fine though. Dusty and Hay, towns from the … Continue reading "The Allergy Ride"
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Yesterday was the 11th anniversary of our 30th year together! So of course we had to get out for a ride. Nothing like last year’s celebration in Utah but nice just the same. That’s it…..we are still SIP in Monterey County with limited exceptions. Some business/restaurants open with curbside only operation. We are going to … Continue reading "Anniversary Ride"
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So many things go through my head that I want to post here – but then the days pass, time seems to be going so fast these days, and the entries and pictures and comments don’t make it onto the page. So this will be a kind of pot pourri of different things. I’ll start … Continue reading "Loose Ends"
Read MoreI took a ride that stayed even closer to home than usual. I regularly ride some of these roads. Others not so much. The numbers on the ride map below correspond to the photographs you will see. The photographs are arranged in order from the start of my ride to the finish. Less than 2km … Continue reading "Another City Tour"
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Today’s loop through the beautiful Palouse takes us across the Idaho border to a spot I’m sure you won’t want to miss: Viola. Miles from anywhere, tiny Viola features several blocks of gravel streets, a few houses, some rusty implements, the usual. Probably there’s a barking, vicious dog loose there too if we explored it … Continue reading "Voila: Viola!"
Read MoreIt is a public holiday in Malaysia today for Wesak. This Buddhist festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha. I rode east from home to meet KS at 6:30 am. There were not many people on the roads. We decided to hit the highways and ride uninterrupted by intersections and traffic lights. … Continue reading "Further From Home"
Read More6 May 2010 marked the first day of my first long bike tour. I had always been into bikes since I first learned to ride at age 5, so it was just the realisation of a lifelong dream. Granted, when I was a kid, I dreamed about riding my bike to California to go have … Continue reading "May Challenge – Fabric-based Changes (at 10 years)"
Read MoreFor those interested: I got this mail from the organizers of the Ride of Silence, which will be held on May 20 this year, or May 23 in the southern hemisphere. The Board met last evening and made a few more decisions to help give you some guidelines for this unusual year for us all. … Continue reading "Ride of Silence 2020"
Read MoreThis is the route I ride if I don’t want to go too far from home. The furthest away from my apartment I am on this route is about 8km. I add extra loops or diversions down side streets if I want to cover more distance. The numbers on the map correspond to the photographs … Continue reading "No rain today"
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With Annadel State Park reopened—for those who can reach it by foot or bike—I hopped on the Ogre and headed up on a lovely Monday afternoon. A few hikers and bikers on the trails, but not many. Within one minute of arriving at Ilsanjo, I noticed two figures approaching on foot from the other direction. … Continue reading "Ilsanjo"
Read MoreAs I say, I have been riding. In fact I get out just about every day even if for a very short ride. It is the only time I get out of the house. Cindy and I have been doing ‘virtual ride & tea party ‘together’ for a few weeks now. We have one today, … Continue reading "Looking at life from every side — mostly inside…"
Read MoreThe Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented on 18th March. Non-essential outdoor activities were banned. I snuck out for a ride on 26th March, but then people started being arrested for breaking the MCO. I took to walking up and down the multi-level car park where I live for exercise. To date, Malaysia has had … Continue reading "On the Road Again"
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I didn’t really see what the May challenge was supposed to entail, so I have come up with my own challenge that reflects what we call ‘the current situation’ at work. We are not allowed to say anything like coronavirus or COVID-19 or ‘the virus’ in ANY of our work communications (including the many emails … Continue reading "May challenge: The current situation – Changes, changes"
Read MoreHi folks, it’s your favorite cycling philosophizer here. I’m going to do something a little different today. Actually, it’s not all that different because I did it in one of my touring journals. And James Joyce did it for something like 900 pages in “Ulysses.” You guessed it, this entire post is going to be … Continue reading "A MINNESOTAN RESPONDS TO THE “MAY I GO OUTSIDE YET PLEASE?” CHALLENGE"
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Staying Close to Home A month of mostly beautiful spring weather, but we don’t have the choice of where to ride. We ride loops and out-and-backs, connecting up different sections of the available roads and trails near home. Although we miss being able to take off heading for distant horizons, riding within a limited radius … Continue reading "Cycle Days Challenge: April 2020"
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It’s difficult thinking of an appropriate theme for the month at this unprecedented time. We’re all stuck to one degree or another, some of us really severely – unable to make meaningful plans, unable to tour, unable to leave our home, or unable even to get home. I’m thinking especially of folks like Mike and … Continue reading "Challenge of the month: MAY I go outside now, please?"
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