Cycle365 Recognizes New Poet Laureate According to a press release issued by the highly esteemed Cycle365 website this morning, Gregory S. (Gregblood) Garceau has been recognized as the official Poet Laureate of the bicycling world. The announcement was a MAJOR disappointment to 95% of the readership who backed the more mature works of “Suzanne” and … Continue reading "AN ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES’ ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT SECTION"

It doesn’t look like I will be getting on my bike any time soon. The winter weather continues and it is seldom is warmer than +1°C during the day. That is fine for walking, although if I had my druthers +10° would be more to my liking. But then I probably wouldn’t walk but ride. … Continue reading "Gon for a Walk"

My appreciation goes out to Rocky for expanding the scope of Cycle365 to include hiking and other outdoor activities. In return, my pledge to her (and to everybody else) is to not take advantage of the new rules by posting frivolous junk every time I go out of the house. EXCEPT FOR TODAY! I’ve been … Continue reading "Hiking With My Heroes"

A couple of days ago I noticed that the Reckless Mr. Bing Bong’s steering was kind of sluggish. At the time I thought maybe the reason for that was the heavy load of groceries I was carrying. All the weight was on my right side in a single pannier. I had no doubt that lop-sidedness … Continue reading "It Was Such A Nice, Pleasant, Uneventful Bike Ride . . . At First"

One could argue that I titled this post “Really, Really, REALLY Bad Polygon Pictures and Puns” as a cynical ploy to get people to read it. Can anybody really resist looking at something THAT bad? Probably not. Look how many truly awful movies have gone on to become huge cult classics. “Plan 9 From Outer … Continue reading "Really, Really, REALLY Bad Polygon Pictures and Puns"

Octa (or Octo) is a prefix that comes from the Greek language and it means “eight.” Sometimes people refer to “eight” as “8,” but for the purposes of this article I’m going to use the “eight” option because it will make this post look longer. That’s one of the tricks I used in the fourth … Continue reading "Gon Crazy (OCTAgon That Is)"

This is a continuation of the previous discussion about what changed when we upgraded to the latest WordPress version.  First, the good news: I found a plug-in that adds next and previous page links to the bottom of the post, and replaces functionality that we lost with the upgrade.  It looks like it works fine. … Continue reading "Previous Post / Next Post"

Okay, I’m a polygonist. I know a lot of people look down on the practice of polygony, but those folks just don’t understand my religion. Like Joseph Smith, I too invented my own religion. It’s called The Church of the Great Outdoors. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? The only thing most people know about The … Continue reading "POLYGONY: Having Two or More Polygon Photos in One Post"

It’s a New Year and even though we’re only half of a day into it, I’m already liking it. I guess that’s because I just got back from a refreshing 90-minute bike ride. I’m going to back up a little and tell you about my exciting New Year’s Eve. For the first time in several … Continue reading "Fun With Frozen Water (Featuring a Performance By The G-2 Comedy Troupe)"

It’s been a strange ten days for this bike rider. Allow me to provide a recap: There was the freezing rain of Dec. 18 followed by the embarrassing bike crash of December 19. There was the nice weather and the cycling rebound on December 20th, during the middle of which most of my aches and … Continue reading "Mountains Of Snow"

Did you hear about the blizzard we had last night? If you were tuned in to Storm Chaser Greg’s reports you did. I think it was the first official BLIZZARD we’ve had in MY Town in several years. (I’m not going to look up when we had the last one though, because I’m afraid Google … Continue reading "Season’s Greetings, Blizzard Aftermath, White Christmas In MY Town, Tough Guy Isn’t So Tough After All, and Some Other Observations"

A major change is taking place on the Minnesota weather scene. The possibility of a brown Christmas is becoming the certainty of a white Christmas, or, as Storm Chaser Greg put it on his last weather alert: “People who were singing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” this morning can quit dreaming and start singing … Continue reading "It’s A Whole New Ballgame"

I thought it might be nice for those of you currently experiencing warm weather, either in the southern hemisphere or in the southern part of the northern hemisphere, to see what you all are missing. The hill coming out of my neighborhood is still a bit sketchy for bike riding, so the last couple of … Continue reading "Snow"

Welcome viewers and thank you for tuning in to this Greg News Channel special report. We know the world has many questions about the state of Christmas Shopping in Hastings, Minnesota during the world-wide Corona Virus pandemic. How is the “shop local” initiative working out? Is business up or down? Will the restaurants and bars … Continue reading "SPECIAL REPORT: Christmas Shopping In MY Town"

Headed west on Sprague Road A brief break in the clouds allowed a quick shadow shot No need to look up this street on Google street view — when they came thru town very few routes were taken — I think they concluded the best way to see Hoopeston is in the rear view mirror  … Continue reading "Solstice Shadows de Hooterville"

After a full day of convalescing, I couldn’t wait to get out for a LEGITIMATE bike ride. I felt much better today and the only significant pain I still had was the one in my lower part of my left leg. I think the worst of yesterday’s pain came from the bike parts I fell … Continue reading "My Most Cautious Bike Ride EVER"

“My Shortest Bike Ride EVER” isn’t exactly the catchiest title I’ve ever come up with, nor is the featured photo anything worth looking at. Therefore, I definitely want to thank anybody who ventured to read this post despite those immediate shortcomings. Come to think of it, a more sensational title might have been “My First … Continue reading "My Shortest Bike Ride EVER"

I just finished writing a different post a few minutes ago. It was from yesterday’s ride, but it didn’t have any collections. Scott is very inspirational and his inspiring post this afternoon inspired me to add another post from today’s ride in which a few collections are the ONLY redeeming quality. That’s all I have … Continue reading "Am I Giving Up On Collections Too Soon? No Way!"

“A bicycle does not live by one sport alone.” -The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong Those are words my bike believes deep down into the core of his drive train, and he practices what he preaches. Sure, The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong has gotten most of his worldwide fame for having his pedals turned by my … Continue reading "THE RECKLESS MR. BING BONG: Athlete Extraordinaire"

You may have heard that the East Coast is receiving just a little bit of snow today. I don’t think even my studded tires are going to do the trick. I guess sometimes the ‘bicycle in daily life’ means the bicycle has to stay in the garage for a day. This might be a day … Continue reading "Time for a ‘no ride’ day"

When I was watching Storm Chaser Greg’s special report this morning I pretty much blew it off as another one of his exaggerated and irrational “dangerous” weather alerts. Like most forecasters all over the country, he thrives on sensationalistic weather reporting to keep the viewers watching, and he’s usually wrong. This time, however, I should … Continue reading "Hastings’ California"

I really didn’t know what to expect when I headed toward Oregontown this morning. I had never actually been to that sector of MY Town because it always seems to be plagued by either forest fires, street riots, or crazy militia groups occupying wildlife refuges and having standoffs with federal agents. I tend to stay … Continue reading "Oregontown: Lumber Heaven"

Those of us who are experts in urban classification terminology know that the area that surrounds Baltimore and our nation’s capitol is technically called the Washington-Baltimore-Arlington, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area. (It’s true, look it up.) Good god, I can’t be repeatedly typing that ridiculously long name here. I’d be writing all day and I’d get … Continue reading "Minnesota’s Baltimore-D.C. Corridor"

Hi folks, I only came back today for one reason: To show off my latest photos of collections. HA! That’s not true! Well, it IS true in that I do plan to show off some pictures in my typically narcissistic Gregblood fashion, but that’s not the ONLY reason I’ve come back for a fourth consecutive … Continue reading "Today’s Comeback Collections"

I’m worried about myself. At first I posted here maybe once a week. Then a couple times a week. Recently I’ve been writing stuff on Cycle365 almost every other day, but today marks my third day in a row. What next? Two or three times a day? I promise to back off before that happens. … Continue reading "Wearing Out My Welcome With A Few Insignificant Collections"

Part One: The Bad News It is with great embarrassment that I must start this post with a couple of confessions. First, my bike trip to “Little Louisville” wasn’t nearly as exciting as I made it sound in the title. Second, there IS no “Little Louisville” in MY Town. I guess I got too caught … Continue reading "The Exciting Visit To MY Town’s “Little Louisville” And The Collections That Resulted From It"

Even though they are a thousand miles apart, Vermont and Minnesota might as well be the same state. They’re both landlocked states that nobody really cares about. They’re northern states with cold, snowy winters and some very fine weather in the other five months. They are very GREEN states in that they are very ecology-minded … Continue reading "Vermontisota"

Out for a somewhat chilly (30’s F) ride this morning looking for collections of stuff which turned out to be successful This submission is for the empty challenge I present empty beverage containers along 1550E  aka south 7th Street aka Hospital Road The least they could have done is arrange the containers in tidy fashion … Continue reading "Cycle Life Challenge Ride #10 Untidy Emptyness"

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been taking you along to various scenic and ethnic districts located in MY Town. Unfortunately, I’m not particularly familiar with the ACTUAL places they represent. I’ve been to Death Valley and eastern Illinois, but not enough times to say that I truly know the character and depth of … Continue reading "Riding Around Small Seattle"

Up to this point in my series, I’ve only shown some of the international neighborhoods of MY Town. There are, however, several officially-recognized United Statesian areas. Today I’ll be touring one of them, and I hope you’ll join me. There is a vast area on the outskirts of MY Town that looks almost exactly like … Continue reading "Happy Thanksgiving From The Illinois of the North"

‘ello lords and ladies of Cycle 365. I’m bloody well privileged to present the fourth installment of the Diversity Tour of MY Town. This one is dedicated to DJG — from whom I’ve learned almost everything I know about England. Obviously, there is no way MY Town’s British enclave could be as great as Great … Continue reading "This Old Chap Tours Good Britain"

My ace support crew, bless her heart, couldn’t bear the thought of Thanksgiving without the grandkids. She decided that heading to Siskiyou County and celebrating the Feast of the Turkey the weekend ahead of the actual holiday would allow us to avoid the virus and the wrath of Dr Fauci. To that end, she rented … Continue reading "Iron Gate"

This is the third installment of what will prove to be an excessively bizarre series of visits to the various ethnic areas in and around MY Town. I discussed our amazing diversity in my Little Australia post, so I’m not going to elaborate further here. We have a German Quarter and it’s got pretty much … Continue reading "MY Town’s German Quarter"

To say that I wanted to go back to Death Valley after viewing Old Grumbleface’s recent posts would be a gigantic understatement. If we weren’t living in the time of Covid, I might have booked a flight to Las Vegas, like, YESTERDAY. To say that I wish I had as big of a beard and … Continue reading "Grumbleface Jr. Goes To Barely Alive Valley"

My main goal for today’s ride was to verify that those things in Arborus Nesticus were actually nests and not mistletoe, as some people have suggested after viewing my post yesterday. I thought the zoomed-in picture at the top of this page would settle the controversy once and for all, but I have to admit … Continue reading "Part Two Of The MY Town Hare-Brained Tree Quest"

Perhaps you know that the city of Portland, Oregon has a Heritage Tree Program in which over 300 trees have been recognized for their size, age, historical, and/or horticultural significance. Perhaps you’ve also seen that one of our Cycle365-ists has written about his own “Portland Heritage Tree Quest” on his Cycleblaze blogs. If I remember … Continue reading "The MY Town Hare-Brained Tree Quest"

Let me tell you, after seeing Storm Chaser Greg’s frightening weather report on the news this morning, I thought maybe I should skip going out for a bike ride in that stuff. There is no glory in being found in the snow, curled up in a frozen fetal position. Even so, I still had to … Continue reading "The Big Empty (Empty of Anything Meaningful That Is)"

Prefatory Remarks Earlier this summer when I was in Spokane I watched a few stages of the Tour de France on television. It was surprisingly exciting. I was fascinated by the strategies involved in racing as a team. In particular, I was impressed by the hard work and sacrifices the second-string riders made to ensure … Continue reading "THIS ROADIE AIN’T WHAT HE USED TO BE: An Essay"

It’s another post featuring the only featureable feature worth featuring in MY Town. Sorry. Get over it. The good news is this isn’t going to be just another story of me riding my bike and taking pictures along the river. Nope, I’m going to delve into the HISTORY of America’s greatest river. Lest you think … Continue reading "A Complete History of the Mississippi River (As I Know It Without Looking Up a Bunch of Stuff)"

Storm Chaser Greg here, and a big “HELLO” goes out to my many fans and fellow Cycle365ers. As you can see, I’m not very happy today. That’s because I’m not out doing live reports on blizzards, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other horrific weather events. Nosiree. Only three weeks after MY Town got the second heaviest October … Continue reading "ELECTION DAY COVERAGE (Featuring Storm Chaser Greg)"

After a big night of Halloween celebration, I began November with a six-pack of empties. HOLD ON! Don’t be thinking I celebrated last night’s holiday by drinking a six-pack of beer. Despite the title of this post and the featured photo, my celebration involved nothing more than handing out candy to kids and scaring them … Continue reading "A Six-Pack of Empties"

I’m a tough guy, so obviously I don’t scare easily. I mean, I’ve watched such movies as Rosemary’s Baby, The Excorcist, and Young Frankenstein and made it all the way to the end without hardly screaming at all. But on the last day of October, the ghosts and witches and zombies and mummies and vampires … Continue reading "Halloween is Scary"

Isn’t life challenging enough right now?  Who needs more challenge than we’re already dealing with this month? It’s enough of a challenge to just keep your sanity and your health.  Isn’t that quite enough?  Just be happy if you manage to get outside on your bike, and show us your ride – any ride, anywhere, … Continue reading "November’s challenge is to ride!"

I had commented in one of Greg’s posts a few days ago that I loved getting some early snow before Halloween, but that it rarely happened here. Well, 2020 has spoken one more time to tell us that it’s an unusual year. During the height of the snowfall this morning, we had about 3 inches … Continue reading "First Snow"

A Recipe for a Successful Bike Ride (With Illustrations From Today and From Yesteryear) Dress appropriately Don’t take yourself too seriously Use your gears often and use your brakes when necessary Groove out on nature Don’t get bummed out because of wind, hills and view-blockers Stop and smell not just the roses, but also the … Continue reading "Two Recipes for Success"

While riding my bicycle around this morning I had a different title in mind for this post. It was a really good one too, but I can’t remember what it was. So I was ready to go with “Riding By The River On A Snowy Day.” Then I noticed that most of the pictures I … Continue reading "A Cycle365 Post With Attention Deficit Disorder"

I wish I lived in an exotic cycling locale like coastal California, the Pacific Northwest, England, New England, Bavaria, the Chesapeake Bay area, northern Kentucky, anyplace in Australia, Illinois farm country, etc., etc., etc. It would also be nice to have no permanent home at all and bike my way through such interesting places as, … Continue reading "More Weather-Related Facts, Opinions and Boasts"

The Gregorian Calendar does not designate an official date for The Most Exciting Day of the Year because, historically, it tends to fall on a different day every year. In that way, it’s kind of like Easter — except it can’t be predicted by the phase of the moon. Some years, we don’t even know … Continue reading "The Most Exciting Cycling Day of the Year"

Yesterday was a cold and rainy day here. Just an all-day rain. I did sneak out for a two mile ride around the neighborhood just to keep my current streak alive, but it was just too wet to have my phone out for even a single picture. Today however, is a gorgeous fall day with … Continue reading "Pretty dead leaves (as in dead leaves that are pretty, not just pretty dead)"

It was windy today. I don’t know exactly HOW windy, but my extensive experience in weather-related subjects tells me it was coming out of the west-north-west at approximately 95-miles per hour. (See Footnote) That incredible wind speed comes as quite a coincidence since, just yesterday, Old Grumbleface, The Navigator, and I were discussing the rare … Continue reading "Storm Chaser Greg Battles The Wind"

Yup, I was in Iowa this weekend. I hadn’t been down there to see my dad since Christmas on account of this Covid-19 thing. He’s 85 years old, lives all alone, and, like many Americans, hasn’t been going anywhere or visiting anybody. And that’s particularly hard on him because he’s a way more social person … Continue reading "Iowa Farm Structures"

As I’ve mentioned a few times in previous posts I, like many people, have been riding the same old routes all spring and summer, sticking nice and close to home. Yesterday, I decided I was really in the mood to get away and do something a little different. In other times, I might head over … Continue reading "Head North!"

While riding around and taking pictures of Halloween decorations in people’s yards today, two great things happened: 1) Nobody came running out their front door with a loaded shotgun to question what I was doing. 2) I invented a new, exciting and challenging game. I called the game Scary? Or Whimsical? It’s a great game … Continue reading "HALLOWEEN: Scary? Or Whimsical?"

I know I’ve been kind of hard on Wisconsin in the past, but I believe every word I’ve written about the state is justified. And I’m not just saying that because Wisconsin’s college and professional sports teams are the hated rivals of Minnesota teams. Wisconsin is also our nemesis in politics, in agriculture, in tall … Continue reading "Wisconsin Is Weird"

Last week, for the third time in four years, we received evacuation orders due to approaching wildfires. In 2017 and 2019 my ace support crew and I loaded her car with photo albums and other important items. She and our elderly dog took off for safer venues. I stayed behind, deployed hose lines, and rode … Continue reading "It’s a wonderful place to live when not engulfed in flames"

There are many ways one can tell October has arrived in MY State besides looking at a calendar. The most obvious indicator is the weather, which was in the 40-degree range this morning. I had to wear a lined jacket for the first time since April, but I’m still stubbornly wearing shorts. Also since April, … Continue reading "A Few Of The Ways October Introduces Itself To Minnesota"