Blue Raleigh – Blue F 150 – Blue Oval Ice caffeine water?  Never heard of it Blue sky and cumulus cloud

The Friday of the July 4th holiday weekend brought typical July 4th hot, humid weather to the Washington DC area. On early morning outings Friday I got in a nice 4 mile hike with my wife and her friend and on Saturday a 61 mile road ride along the Chesapeake Bay and Southern Maryland. By … Continue reading "Just Felt Like a Ride Through the Trees: C&O Canal From Sharpsburg to Milepost 92"

A sunny day with temps in the high 60s. So perfect for riding over the next few days. Having had many gray, cloud filled, drippy days recently, how could I NOT ride today. A collection of my day… The sentiment on the banner is one to heed. Especially now. At our local airport which is … Continue reading "JUST A RIDE + A COUPLE OF BLUES"

There is a blue sky in here somewhere.

Blue Bicycle and Blue Oval Down-staters are just delighted to have Chicago’s skyline on our license plates 😉 That’s Mr. Lincoln over to the left of the R

When we moved to Houston a number of family and friends said they would visit. Not one did. When we moved to Den Haag we had to open a reservation book. Especially for March and April, which is when the Keukenhof tulip gardens are open. Keukenhof is about 32km / 20mi from Den Haag. The … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 44: Keukenhof"

I had no intention of posting anything for at least a few days, but how could I possibly pass up this vision of Blueliciousness without taking a picture and sharing it? The answer to my rhetorical question is, I couldn’t. –

By 2009 I had graduated from a hybrid bike to a road bike. With the associated change in attire from baggy shorts and T-shirt to lycra. Thanks to the good folk at West End Bicycles. They told me 1. that I had been sold a bike that was at least two sizes too small for … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 41: Outer Downtown Houston"

In Case You’re Counting Down, This Is The Second Last Day Of My Arduous Journey Through Beforeandafterville I was a little worried this morning. Thunderstorms have been rolling through MY Town since about nine o’clock last evening and are likely to continue almost all day. That’s okay by me. I really like thunder and lightning … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 29"

– Sad to say, the day I was hoping would never arrive HAS arrived. It’s the day I ran out of ideas to replicate old pictures of me or my bike and had to resort to using pictures of G-2. It is an act of desperation, but it’s also an act necessary to complete this … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 27"

– A Whole New World of Cycling Excitement I’ve been waiting for this day since May 28, which is when I placed an order for a new bicycle-related toy. (And NO, it wasn’t the Surly Ogre I’ve been talking about buying since last October but still haven’t actually done so.) Anyway, upon placing the order … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 26"

My best riding buddy Cindy and I finally got an actual (as opposed to virtual) together ride, oh my! We have progressed from ‘virtual together ride & tea’ to ‘meet for tea in the middle of our solo ride’ to now ‘real together riding’! We stopped at a garden at the beginning of our ride … Continue reading "A “REAL” RIDE WITH CINDY!!!!"

“What Are Words Worth?” There aren’t going to be a lot of words in this post even though I like words quite a bit. In exchange for not subjecting you to my wordiness, I’m going to post my favorite “rap” song of all time. It’s a LIVE version, so if you don’t like the words … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 22"

The schedule of family events for Father’s Day, and the weather (mostly), worked out to let me get two days of riding and over 100 miles of biking in this weekend. My daughter and her husband (and two dogs) live about 33 miles away by car in Vienna VA. We decided it would be easiest … Continue reading "Biking-centric Father’s Day Weekend"

We are near the time to return home, but I wanted to let you know that I have been riding and enjoying our time away from home. I do not have strong wifi here at the campground and have had to use my hotspot to do anything. Using that makes it slooooooow to post photos, … Continue reading "RV CAMPING WITHIN THE 100 MILE RADIUS"

The Title of This Piece Is “Father’s Day Daisy Daze.” I’m still hanging in there, but the ideas are fading fast. I am filled with dread that I might have to fall back on what I’ve previously said would be my last resort. That’s right — pictures of G-2. Today, however, things fell into place … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 21"

Some of us were downstairs for breakfast at 7.00 am. We had hoped to start riding at 8.00 am.  W didn’t get away until 8.30 am.  Perhaps the kaoliang the evening before had something to do with it. Day 2 was an 83km / 52mi ride north from Jioxi to the Wufenshan Observatory. Our first stop … Continue reading "Virtual Tour 31: Taiwan Revisited Day 3"

– Of course I have to tell a story from my day’s ride, right? I was cruising along with the wind when I noticed a bicycle rider coming from the opposite direction who pulled over to the side of the road and came to a stop. He got off his bike and bent down near … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 18"

I do mostly road riding and some touring, but over the years I’ve done lots of miles on local rail trails in the Baltimore Washington area – especially during the years when my now adult kids were growing up. As far as serenity, scenery and surface, my all-time favorite has been what used to be … Continue reading "Back on the Rail Trails: Freeland MD to York PA Rail Trail Out and Back"

Beautiful morning here, and the winds subsided at least for the first part of the ride.  Riding partner Dave is back in the game, so with a light to moderate northeast wind, we decided somewhere to the east would be the way to go. Cheneyville is one of those towns located along a railroad about … Continue reading "Back to Cheneyville"

Next week Susan and I will be doing some RVing/camping just south of us for just about the whole week! It is easy to Shelter in Place, and great to get away for a while before another spike hits us. We have drawn a circle on the state map to encompass 100 miles from home. … Continue reading "RIDING NEAR HOME DURING PANDEMIC"

I have been away from you all for a while now and think I am once again ready to rejoin you. I have been well, and have been riding my bike almost every day these past 2-3 months. I take a break from it so not to burn out my passion 😉. Here are a … Continue reading "SLOW RE-ENTRY"

You may have seen the short discussion regarding the wearing of facemasks while cycling. It was on the comments section of Old Grumbleface’s last post. I guess it’s a pretty common practice in his part of the country and I applaud his socially responsible actions. That discussion reminded me that I’ve occasionally worn facemasks even … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 12"

Today’s BEFORE picture involves one of my all-time favorite rest stops. It was a historic general store in Aladdin, Wyoming (population 15). I just wanted something to drink, but I was so enamored by its creaky wooden floors and its quirky ambience, that I hung around there for quite a bit longer than I do … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 10"

This daily project is getting to be a little more difficult than I thought it would be. I’m having trouble finding suitable “before” pictures. Nevertheless, I refuse to quit after only three or four days. That would be pathetic. I will persevere, but I just want to prepare you for how this will inevitably end: … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 9"

Ya know those blow-dry machines that women use to dry their hair after a shower? (Some men too — if they still have hair, which I don’t.) Well, today I had to ride into a gigantic version of one of those things. I just got home and I’m dehydrated and I can’t stop sweating, so … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 8"

Back to doing long rides on Saturday, I did a favorite 61 mile loop from Harwood MD down to Chesapeake Beach and back up again. This is a standard Potomac Pedalers ride called “The Express Train to Chesapeake Beach” but still no PPTC group rides. There was a good number of cyclists out on the … Continue reading "Another Close to Normal Ride: Chesapeake Beach/North Beach MD"

Today’s edition is a very easy one. I quickly chose a picture from a past tour and, unlike yesterday, I knew right away where I’d have to go to replicate the scene. When you see this, please keep in mind that the “before” and “after” pictures only have to meet the fairly low standard of … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: June 7th Edition"

Yup, it happened again; another thought entered my head today. A thinking man’s gotta think, and this morning I was thinking about how I was going to pull off the bold idea I had yesterday. (The one about riding around for 25 straight days and taking a picture when it reminded me of a picture … Continue reading "BEFORE AND AFTER: The June 6th Edition"

I must be a pretty bright dude because an idea comes into my head almost every day. Interestingly, such thoughts only happen when I’m riding my bike. The rest of the day my brain is controlled by other entities — music, the internet, words in print, movies, television, The Feeshko, etc. Yup, when I’m riding … Continue reading "THE JUNE CHALLENGE BECOMES AN EVERY-DAY THING"

The older picture of me referred to in the title doesn’t have a bike in it. Therefore, if you want to get all nit-picky about it, you could say it should not have been posted here. I wouldn’t even argue with you because, using the most strict interpretation of Cycle365 bylaws, you’d be right. However, … Continue reading "JUNE CHALLENGE II: Wanna See An Even Older Picture Of Me Than The One In My Last Post?"

Somewhere in the world there exists a short film of me and a couple friends racing our bikes, hopping up on curbs, riding with no hands, riding wheelies, and speeding down a dirt path to a riverbank from which we launched into the Little Maquoketa Creek. (In Iowa) We made the movie ourselves for a … Continue reading "JUNE CHALLENGE: Wanna See The Earliest Known Photo of Me With a Bike?"

To my knowledge, no photo of youthful me and bicycle exists.  That was many many years ago, and few photos were taken of anything.  Not to mention Mom didn’t like the exploding flash powder.  😉 So, here is a time challenge of sorts: Which clock is from Tiffany’s in New York?  (Don’t get the wrong … Continue reading "Time Challenge"

I’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"

Happy 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"

Doesn’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"

Two 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"

I 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"

Nothing 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"

6 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)"

For 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"

As 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…"

Hi 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"

Today I had some great cycling plans. I was going to ride down to Galena via The Great River Road and take in some nice river scenery. Then when I got back to MY Town, I would get my growler filled up at the local brewery, and I would cap off the day by picking … Continue reading "Down To Galena . . .NOT!"

I have ridden my bike every day for the past 28 days. I have a lot of oom pah pah for that, but not much for writing or posting here (or anywhere). I guess my mind is too wrapped up elsewhere. So I am on a little bit of a hiatus for now. But here … Continue reading "HOLIDAY CHALLENGE: EASTER 2020"

Sad to say, one of my favorite singer/songwriters died last night from Corona Virus related complications. I’ve hated that dirty rotten disease from the first day I heard of it, and now I have another reason. John Prine wrote songs that were sometimes funny, sometimes dead serious, sometimes philosophical, sometimes thought-provoking, and sometimes sentimental. Sometimes … Continue reading "A RATHER SAD POST FOR THE APRIL MUSIC CHALLENGE"