We’re still probing the burning issue of the moment: To like, or not to like? That is the question. Actually, that’s not accurate. The question really is whether we should be required to have a Facebook account in order to vote, and whether it’s worth paying for an unrestricted alternative. As it happens, there is … Continue reading "What’s not to like?"
Can we hit 1000 kms on the bike this weekend? Can we beat developing storms to our overnight camp? Will the dreaded mozzie virus cause us troubles? Will the turtle and frog abandon me if we don’t start doing overnights? Find out at this link: Plan B – Feb Ride 3 – Into the trough
My ace support crew needed to drive out to St Francis Winery in order to pick up her wine club allotment today. I decided to pedal out to Kenwood, then meet her at the winery for a sip or two. I didn’t quite get into Kenwood before I was distracted by a big yellow field. … Continue reading "St Francis: Yellow and wine"
The Coffeeneuring craze is nearly upon us, and I’m badly out of training. Between PIFF madness, the Big Move, and some unfriendly late winter weather, I’ve hardly been on my bike for the last few weeks. It’s way past time to start spinning those pedals. Today is cold, but bikeable – just above freezing, slightly … Continue reading "Back at the JoLa Cafe"
Last year I rode from Winters to Davis, but I haven’t bicycled in Sacramento since Jeff and I pedaled the American River Parkway in 2015, and I’ve never biked the stretch from Davis to Sacramento, including the path on the Interstate 80 causeway. Just for the heck of it, I decided to fill in that … Continue reading "Sacramento, capital of the Independent Republic of California"
A couple of photos in recent posts prompted me to activate a plugin for a ‘Like’ button on posts. I considered a heart, or a thumbs up icon, but settled for a simple box/counter because I’m pretty square; and because it was free, and I’m pretty cheap; and because it didn’t take much thought, and … Continue reading "Like like?"
Of course, everything is relative, but by my standards it’s pretty cold out. We are having a grand finale for the winter with lots of sub-freezing days and nights. With the help of my little hand warmer, I can handle a camera, but my bike stays home. Here are a couple of shots from my … Continue reading "The Lone Bike Series – 2"
The bitter, bone-freezing chill of Hastings, Minnesota settled upon our fair California county this week. When the temperature never climbs above 55° F (which is about 13° C), how can anyone possibly survive outdoors, let alone ride a bike? It seems like frostbite lurks around every corner, and a cold, frozen death remains a constant … Continue reading "Annadel Chill"
One of these days I’ll get out for a real ride again, but there’s too much working against it right now – the film festival, the house move, and now the snow and ice. The weather is the biggest issue now – it’s too white and slick in the morning, and by the time it … Continue reading "Some work bikes"
I saw Jeff (not my local buddy Jeff) standing on the corner down by the Safeway supermarket with a touring rig and a cardboard sign asking for help. Jeff, his Surly Disc Trucker, Brooks saddle, Ortlieb panniers, Topeak Road Morph pump, and other gear all look like they’ve been on the road for a very … Continue reading "Pedaling north for work"
It looked as though Portland was going to escape winter completely this year, until yesterday. We got a light dusting of snow in the night – just enough to brush back the early bloomers. I rode my bike to the coffee shop, mostly just so I could take a photo of Rodriguez braving the great … Continue reading "First day of winter"
Our local weather prognosticators agreed that today would be the last before daytime high temperatures plummet to the unbearably low 50s F (that’s about 11 brutal degrees Celsius), so I hopped on the Ogre for a quick run out the Greenway and back, with a couple of short detours onto dirt, before I needed to … Continue reading "Before the Arctic blast arrives"
Suzanne’s new Lone Bike Series reminded me of this photo of Rodriguez I shot a few weeks back and posted without saying much about it. I was reminded of it by her comment that she framed the cars out of the composition. in my case, I cleared the deck to get the shot I wanted. … Continue reading "One way or another"
I have been photographing bicycles like crazy this winter, as a kind of surrogate for not riding them. I have already posted a bunch of bicycle bells. Below are two photos from my series of the Lone Bicycle. I have an album with a few more on Flickr, but I will be posting some more … Continue reading "The Lone Bike Series"
It was about 2 months ago that I started feeling poorly. It was about 3.5 weeks ago that I finally stopped feeling like death. My muscles and joints still continued to hurt and I was still very tired, but I knew the worst was behind me. Well, things still hurt and I still get tired … Continue reading "The first long test rides of 2018"
No biking today, because I’m wheelless for the moment. Rodriguez is in the shop for his annual physical and I’ve never bothered reassembling the Friday since we returned from Hawaii. This bike parked outside Powell’s Books seemed noteworthy though. Sorry it’s a bit blurry – all I had handy was the iPad, which isn’t a … Continue reading "The greening of Portland"
Not much to say. Beautiful weather. Free time. Pedaled over to Annadale and into the park to try some rough singletrack with the Ogre. It’s not really a mountain bike, and (except on foot) I haven’t been on some of those steep, rocky trails in more than twenty years, but it was a good experiment … Continue reading "Annadel trails, rocks, and mud"
This has been the most exceptional winter here in Portland, with day after day of fine weather, excellent for biking. We’re enjoying it now, but I imagine there will be hell to pay come late summer – the snowpack for most of the state is about third of normal. Today fits the pattern: dry, windless, … Continue reading "A day for the birds"
Given a spell of warm, sunny weather during what is normally a cool, wet month in this part of the world, my ace support crew and I decided to scoot down the coast to the Monterey area for a few days. We would do some hiking and I would have the opportunity for a quick … Continue reading "Monterey Bay without golf clubs"
Now that we’ve moved ourselves out of our condo and into Stacey’s Air B&B, our lives have slowed down enough that I can start fitting some rides in again. Life is still pretty hectic, but most days now we’re getting thirty or more miles in. We’re making the rounds of our favorite local rides, enjoying … Continue reading "Life at Stacey’s, week one"
It was easy to cycle 100k+ this week ‘cos I took an overnight camp trip south to Ross. Well, I’ll re-think that – the ride back from Ross was not easy at all ! The trip south is documented here : https://tonyscycling.blog/2018/02/08/week-6-part-1-a-ride-to-ross/ The trip north here : https://tonyscycling.blog/2018/02/10/week-6-part-ii-the-way-home/ It’s raining and thundery here this evening and people … Continue reading "2018. Week 6. To Ross and Back in two parts"
Remember the old knock-knock joke? – Knock, knock – Who’s there? – Is a bell – Isabel who? – Is a bell necessary on a bicycle? (groan) Well, the answer is yes, at least in Germany. According to traffic regulations here a functioning bell as well as front and tail lights are compulsory. Over the … Continue reading "Is a Bell Necessary?"
I awake early this morning, feeling the most at ease that I have since we returned from Hawaii and started in on this crazy project. Rachael has gotten out on her bike nearly daily though all this, but I just didn’t have it in me – I know riding would have been good for me, … Continue reading "Movin’ Out"
The forecast called for another day of brutal winter weather in Northern California, with the temperature hitting about 65° F in the sunny Marin Headlands. Given plenty of sun but no rain over the past few days, I expected the trails would probably be dry. All in all, it seemed like a good opportunity to … Continue reading "Tennessee Valley"
In case you had followed Chris’ journey around the world without ever using a vehicle (except boats), the last few posts have been pretty amazing. He’s a few hundred km from completing it, but it’s dicey. Well worth your time if you’ve read any of his previous writing now that he’s days away. The whole … Continue reading "Chris and Dea Are Almost There"