Hi all, So, what’s it gonna be? My vote for old and abandoned things, no selfies allowed. Cheers, Keith
Read MoreMonth: June 2018
A meet up with a touring celebrity!
I have followed Karen Cook for years. She always takes interesting tours and has even more interesting journals. When I read on Cycle Blaze that she was heading out on a Coastal tour I connected with her to see if she was coming through Monterey. Yes…..she was. However, the day she was to be here … Continue reading "A meet up with a touring celebrity!"
Read MoreOne final tree before July
We were riding River Road at Deloraine after overnight rain. The colours in the eucalypts really stood out in the sun that had just appeared. The picture also contains the bike in shadows in the middle at the bottom. The colours did not transfer to pixels too well but you will get the idea.
Read MoreMAYFLIES ATTACK SMALL TOWN ON HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR (Area Cyclist Rides Anyway)
Hi, I’m the area cyclist who ventured out into the mayfly swarm and the heat in order to present the other side of MY State’s crazy weather. I’ve written extensively about my biking exploits in the snowstorms and frigid temperatures of Minnesota’s winter. Some might even call it bragging. They’re right. Now I’m going to … Continue reading "MAYFLIES ATTACK SMALL TOWN ON HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR (Area Cyclist Rides Anyway)"
Read MoreArboreal Dream of Oz
Did I really have the Ogre with me when I wandered half-naked around Australia in 1984? Or was it all a dream? Or a vision of a future time out of time yet to come? And why isn’t my hair still thick and red? All these questions remain unanswered as the Challenge of the Month … Continue reading "Arboreal Dream of Oz"
Read MoreA sub-lime submission
I’ve nearly waited too long for the June challenge; and now that I’m ready to post, I see that Keith has beaten me to it with his submission of a much more impressive instance of the species. Well, there’s nothing in the challenge excluding multiple submissions for the same tree, so I’ll plow ahead as … Continue reading "A sub-lime submission"
Read MoreRoyal-Tree
Hi folks. I’ve been absent for a while doing some touring in the southwest near Bordeaux. Yes, I know that’s not necessarily YOUR southwest, but it’s mine, so that’s what I’m gonna call it. Anyway, you can find that on another website (Cycleblaze) along with the exploits of Scooter and Rocky and many of you … Continue reading "Royal-Tree"
Read MoreOakmont – Lawndale – Kenwood
First ride up Lawndale since the fires. Almost all the homes on Schultz Road burned down. Stopped by Kunde Winery and Kenwood Winery. My ace support crew and some of her wild gang were causing trouble and propping up the local economy in Kenwood, but I just missed them. Didn’t stop to pick up strawberries … Continue reading "Oakmont – Lawndale – Kenwood"
Read MoreLoop East-South-North
Two Raleighs east of town at the North Fork river. The black one is a real-deal-made-in-Nottingham, England. Heating up big time here, Heat Indexes of 110 are predicted — but at least its humid 😉 So time for a morning ride before all that hits. Anyone riding the Trans Am or Northern Tier is in … Continue reading "Loop East-South-North"
Read MoreRiver, sloughs, marshes, grapes, trees, boats, railroad, and bridges
I like exploring terra incognita whenever possible, but I also enjoy returning to some of my favorite haunts over and over again. So it is with riding through the wetlands and sloughs of the Carneros wine region between the towns of Sonoma and Napa. (Those are also the names of the counties in which each … Continue reading "River, sloughs, marshes, grapes, trees, boats, railroad, and bridges"
Read MoreChallenge of the month- Trees of June.
Ta…da….Here’s my tree of the month complete with bicycle. What… it isn’t a real tree you say, just metal and stuck in a block of concrete OK….I’ll go riding with the camera, don’t want the CLC disciplinary council after me. For some nice trees and a cute puppy click this
Read MoreA bit like 2006
More sunny, dry weather allowed the guys and I to get out for rides on both Sunday and Monday. We are edging closer to 2700 kms for the year – only 600 kms behind where we need to be by the end of June. Oh well…. at least we are really enjoying these rides under … Continue reading "A bit like 2006"
Read MoreSummer Solstice in Southern Germany
On June 21 my husband, Janos, and I were on tour, traveling the Romantic Road. Bad Mergentheim was on our route and was memorable in many ways. For one it was a very windy day. But then we had many windy days. I will remember the Summer Solstice in Bad Mergentheim for other reasons. My … Continue reading "Summer Solstice in Southern Germany"
Read MoreChallenge of the month – Many many trees along Tolo Harbour
Date: 2018/06/24 (Sun) Place: Tolo Harbour, Taipo / Twin Bridge, Shatin, Hong Kong Remark: Minor accident with one of my buddies and we ended up with one rider handling two bikes. Photos taken on the return trip along after the accident. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed our ride. ?? … Continue reading "Challenge of the month – Many many trees along Tolo Harbour"
Read MoreRandom Photos
Just a few photos over the last several days. No Solstice photos from here due to rain in the morning and clouds for the remainder of the day. The Featured Image was at one time a very well kept home with a beautifully kept garden. What time and gravity can do. Just down the road … Continue reading "Random Photos"
Read MoreNext Challenge of the Month?
It looks like our first two monthly challenges have helped inspire some interesting rides and photos. Now it’s almost time for the Challenge of the Month for July. I have plenty of possibilities in mind, but I thought I would solicit ideas. If you have anything you’d like to see as the subject for July, … Continue reading "Next Challenge of the Month?"
Read MoreSummer Solstice in Northern California
The longest day of the year really was a long day for Old Grumble-Face! Read more at Bill Bikes
Read MoreWinter Solstice in New South Wales
Like Tony’s, the weather in my part of Australia was divine today. We started cold at -2C but made it to 16C. Of course, I was inside working. But I was determined to get in a solstice ride. When I was at university, I rode with a group of mountain bike guys. We rode most … Continue reading "Winter Solstice in New South Wales"
Read MoreWinter Solstice in Tasmania
Scott asked for it – so here it is. Today (or maybe tomorrow depending on offical Astronomical reckoning) is the Winter Solstice. The weather has recently returned to being around 0°C overnight and 10-12°C during the day and sunny once the early morning fog goes. So today the sun is out and there is no … Continue reading "Winter Solstice in Tasmania"
Read MoreGreenway Arson
On Saturday night some idiot started almost a dozen fires along the Greenway trail, burning a couple of fences and a lot of grass and weeds. The photo here shows the smallest spot. Fortunately, firefighters and alert neighbors managed to douse all the flames before they spread to homes along the trail. We’re already into … Continue reading "Greenway Arson"
Read MoreRIDE #90: 19 JUNE 2018
A favourite ride includes loops around the Kelab Darul Ehsan golf course. At the top of the loop, between the mosque and the Tamarind Springs restaurant, the jungle comes right up to the edge of the road. The rain forest is pretty dense. Humans would have a tough time in tropical jungle. Not so for these pig-tailed macaques. … Continue reading "RIDE #90: 19 JUNE 2018"
Read MoreJune Challenge: River red gums
Riding over the weekend was thwarted by cold, wet, windy weather. We only reached a high of 9C and 8C on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. That’s as wintry as it gets here, but I used that as an excuse to sleep a lot instead of ride. Monday brought clear skies, but I needed to call … Continue reading "June Challenge: River red gums"
Read MoreFolsom Prison Blues
Three years ago this month, Jeff and I biked 40+ miles on the paved Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail. We started in Sacramento’s Old Town and rode east until we decided to turn around. The trail actually goes all the way to its nominal end at Folsom Lake (although other trails continue onward) for a total … Continue reading "Folsom Prison Blues"
Read MoreMay and a half: the Ottoman bridge at Benje thermal springs
Trees are nice enough, but I seem to still be stuck back in May. Here’s one really final entry for the May bridge challenge: the Ottoman Bridge that provided access to the adjacent thermal springs in the Middle Ages. For a refreshing change, I took the extra effort to include my bike in the photo, … Continue reading "May and a half: the Ottoman bridge at Benje thermal springs"
Read MoreA couple of trees
Cycle Days with Victoria – I Love Bavaria
I’ve added a couple new pictures since I last posted here for my 100 Cycle Days Challenge. Some you might have seen before, but you can scroll down for the newer ones. What a day to be out on our bicycles! We had a date out in the country with a group of friends from … Continue reading "Cycle Days with Victoria – I Love Bavaria"
Read MoreRIDE #86: 16 JUNE 2018
Today’s ride along the west coast from Morib to Port Dickson included 153kms on the bike and too much time spent in the sun. It also included a couple of short ferry rides at Sungai Pelek. The 75 metre ferry crossing, for pedestrians and bikes only, cuts 6km each way off the length of the main … Continue reading "RIDE #86: 16 JUNE 2018"
Read MoreChallenge of the month – Trees along the Bank of Shing Mun River
Date: 2018/06/16 (Sat) Place: Siu Lek Yuen Playground, Shatin, Hong Kong Remark: My bike in front of a series of trees along the bank of Shing Mun River. Photo taken on the return trip of my group ride between FoTan and Taipo.
Read MoreQueen’s Birthday Party
How do three Yanks celebrate the Queen’s Birthday public holiday in Australia? Well, we went for a ride, of course. We picked up our remaining unridden tracks in one section of the Chiltern-Mt Pilot National Park. We also enjoyed the last of the sunny, clear weather for the week. Read more at the link below. … Continue reading "Queen’s Birthday Party"
Read MoreChecking on the Corn & Roadside Weeds
Ride south on 7th to see how the corn is progressing — it is — the Raleigh makes a stop where photos of the growing corn have been made since planting. While that field is prone to flooding, the good news is, it also gets some of Illinois’ finest silt and soil each time it … Continue reading "Checking on the Corn & Roadside Weeds"
Read MoreGreenway morning
Just the usual quick run out the Greenway this morning before the day heated up. Plenty of other cyclists enjoying the cool morning. No excitement on the trail and very quiet along Santa Rosa Creek, but that’s good. Read more at Bill Bikes
Read MoreChallenge of the month – Tall Old Tree next to the Tam Mei Barracks
Date: 2018/06/10 (Sun) Place: Shek Wu Wai Road, Ngau Tam Mei, Yuen Long, Hong Kong Remark: Group ride from FoTan to Fairview Park near Yuen Long. This tall old tree is next to Tam Mei Barracks. You may click here for full details of my ride on my blog.
Read MoreArmstrong Redwoods
While the hills of western Sonoma County were being systematically denuded of old-growth redwood trees in the second half of the 19th Century, Colonel Armstrong set aside this small area to preserve a few giants. Eventually it became a popular state park, named after the colonel. It’s especially popular in the summer, when the temperature … Continue reading "Armstrong Redwoods"
Read MoreNot your average goat rodeo
Here’s the entry for the epic goat drive on Logara Pass that I promised in the earlier post. Totally amazing, worth coming to Albania for this alone.
Read MoreFour Bike Paths
Warming up today. I wanted to get a few miles on the pedals, but couldn’t roll out until lunchtime. Ended up hitting four paved bike paths. The Joe Rodota Trail has suffered some problems lately: a large tent encampment blocking the trail, bloody assault on a passing bicyclist, trail closure during forcible eviction and cleanup, … Continue reading "Four Bike Paths"
Read MoreCycle Days Challenge, #43
Today’s ride from Himara to Saranda is the reverse of the ride we took two days ago. It’s dramatic and beautiful route along the Albanian Riviera, but we enjoy it much more than the first time, when it was an unbearably hot and humid 95. Today it’s milder, much more bearable. The route impresses for the … Continue reading "Cycle Days Challenge, #43"
Read MoreDowntown – Campus – Fountaingrove
My ace support crew had plans for me today, but I managed to get up for an early ride downtown, to campus, and over the hill through the burned out Fountaingrove subdivision. It felt too ghoulish to pull out the camera for photos of the burn zone where so many home were destroyed and so … Continue reading "Downtown – Campus – Fountaingrove"
Read MoreJune Challenge – More Trees
June 10, 2018 We were up early on this sunny Sunday and after a breakfast in Cafe Münchner Freiheit, we rode through the English Garden with an eye out for photogenic trees. The English Garden has an old and venerable tree population, no dearth of subjects here. The trees don’t block the view, they are … Continue reading "June Challenge – More Trees"
Read MoreJune Challenge: Resilient Tree
Yet another perfect and beautiful day – 17C, sunny, no breeze, no haze. Yet it is a long weekend (Queens Birthday), and it is Rutherglen’s Winery Walkabout, so there are thousands and thousands of extra people on the roads up here this weekend. So our short ride to save energy for a longer Monday ride … Continue reading "June Challenge: Resilient Tree"
Read MoreFogs and Frosts and weekly challenge met
127 kilometres cycled this week – my personal weekly challenge met. Next week maybe not as a lot of rain is scheduled. To read about it hop over to here : tonyscycling.blog
Read MoreRIDE #81: 10 JUNE 2018
The turnaround point on this morning’s ride was at the Fatt Hwa Gong Temple in Semenyih. Set into the upper level of the stairway is a dragon frieze flanked by two penzai or penjing trees. Penzai or penjing is the Chinese tradition of the Japanese bonsai.
Read More‘Snow’ at Party Bridge
(That is the now World Famous Party Bridge in the distance beyond the rapidly growing corn field.) It is said you can almost hear the corn growing at this stage. It wont be long before the bridge is obscured by the corn. It also presents a problem at rural intersections where visibility is blocked — … Continue reading "‘Snow’ at Party Bridge"
Read MoreCycle Days Challenge, day 42
I’ve given up for the moment on posting photos for each daily ride. We’re riding nearly every day, and blogging it on CycleBlaze. I can’t keep up. i can still count though, and I’m still on track to meet my personal goal of 150 riding days this year. From time to time I’ll post an … Continue reading "Cycle Days Challenge, day 42"
Read MoreRIDE #80: 9 JUNE 2018
This morning I rode through yet another township being developed outside Kuala Lumpur. The Bandar Rimbayu development is so big that it has three show galleries. This is one of them, known as The Arc. It will form the centrepiece of a residents’ clubhouse with the addition of dining and additional recreational facilities around it. … Continue reading "RIDE #80: 9 JUNE 2018"
Read MoreThe Quest for the Lone Cypress
A request was made by “Old Grumble Face” for a picture of the “Lone Cypress”. For those of you unfamiliar this is the famous cypress that resides on 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. Now, if we find it and take a photo of it we can only share it and appreciate it ourselves, as … Continue reading "The Quest for the Lone Cypress"
Read MoreTour de Heaton
Bright and beautiful calm wind morning was the perfect for a nice long ride. Not having a destination Dave and I let serendipity do its thing. The corn continues to grow near Party Bridge. View of typical ‘swell and swale’ topography atop the Ellis moraine. Three closely spaced glacial moraines cross northern Vermilion county, Illinois. … Continue reading "Tour de Heaton"
Read MoreANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON TREES: A Catalogue of View-Blockers
In my ode to trees post last week, I sang the praises of those gigantic plants composed of wood, bark, branches, twigs, leaves, and bird nests. It’s easy to appreciate the beauty of those features, but it’s not so easy to love raking those damn leaves up from your lawn, or gathering those stinking … Continue reading "ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON TREES: A Catalogue of View-Blockers"
Read MoreTree In A Truck
Or, is that a truck around a tree? Truck is circa 1952. Nice ride southeast of town this morning to Heaton, Illinois, which is comprised of a grain facility and a church, — maybe 2 houses. A mile to the west I came across this interesting sight. (Note the upgrade to Ice Mountain water from … Continue reading "Tree In A Truck"
Read MoreCycle Days with Victoria – In a Rose Garden
Munich Westpark June 6, 2018 What a treat the Rosengarten in Munich’s Westpark is this year. It seems everything is in full bloom at the same time. The perfumes of the different varieties of roses compete with each other, and if you walk a few meters away towards the linden trees, you are overwhelmed by … Continue reading "Cycle Days with Victoria – In a Rose Garden"
Read MoreAnnadel Trees and Fire
The Challenge of the Month for June involves photographing tree(s) and bicycle. Trees? Quite a lot of those at Annadel State Park, adjacent to Spring Lake (where I was a couple of days ago) and just a few miles from home. About half of Annadel was severely burned during the October wildfires that devastated this … Continue reading "Annadel Trees and Fire"
Read MoreLoop de Loop – A wander around the Whitfield area
We needed to go ride. You cannot stay at home when it is sunny and 17C with light winds in June. But we also needed something that would not push my body too hard. So we did a route that was a figure-eight with a spur and an elongated middle. See more pics and the … Continue reading "Loop de Loop – A wander around the Whitfield area"
Read MoreJune Tree Challenge – a tree end-of-life solution
Back in the day in Tasmania there was a passenger rail service. In 1978 the last trip of the Tasman Limited took place and I believe this is the train that would have stopped at the Perth Railway Station.
Read MoreMonterey Cypress…….
Wind!! Can we say wind!! It’s been so windy that this years Great Pacific Race has been delayed twice. If not the poor crews might be stuck in Monterey Bay for weeks. You might recall this is a rowing race from Monterey to Hawaii that’s held every other year. These ladies that are part of … Continue reading "Monterey Cypress……."
Read MoreSpring Lake Trees
The Challenge of the Month for June involves photographing tree(s) and bicycle. Once again, I’m scouting around for interesting trees for practice before I tackle some impressive timber I have in mind. This kind of challenge is actually quite inspirational. I find myself riding familiar routes, but looking at the scenery with fresh eyes. Today … Continue reading "Spring Lake Trees"
Read MoreJune Challenge: It was a tree
My first tree of the month: I saw this photogenic tree motif on our ride through Munich’s English Garden. We are taking advantage of the beautiful weather by cycling to a beer garden for our picnic lunch as often as possible. Our ride to the Aumeister Biergarten at the northern end of the park is … Continue reading "June Challenge: It was a tree"
Read MoreFYI- TransAm race started June 2nd 6AM
And…..the leader has already gone 406 miles?? just a bit faster than we tour!! In second is a woman from Austria…..follow along here: http://trackleaders.com/transam18
Read MoreA young gum tree
After a crap week I had a ride along the Perth to Breadalbane cycle path looking for a suitable tree to use in the Challenge. Previously I had taken bridge pictures but the realised I took them on June 1 so they were now just so yesterday. Why was it a crap week? did I … Continue reading "A young gum tree"
Read MoreJune Challenge: Leaning Tree
I planned our Saturday ride with three things in mind: 1) Needs to be short and easy to save energy for a larger ride on Sun or Mon; 2) Needs to pick up some new roads; 3) Needs to include a floatie session for the guys. So we drove down to Chiltern, parked the car … Continue reading "June Challenge: Leaning Tree"
Read MoreGreat Redwood Trail
Not a ride, but I thought folks might find this interesting. There is still a long way to go—passage by the California Assembly (lower house of the state Legislature), Governor’s signature, funding, work on the ground—but the California Senate (upper house of the state Legislature) has unanimously passed a bill to create the Great Redwood … Continue reading "Great Redwood Trail"
Read MoreRiver to Rail Ride 2018
This is the 5th in a series of River to Rail rides to be held helping to fund the Kickapoo Rail Trail being constructed between Danville and Urbana IL. Dave and I have always talked about, but never participated, until this year. As two septuagenarians we chose the 33 mile route — a loop from … Continue reading "River to Rail Ride 2018"
Read MoreUp a Tree
May I?
Serves me right for not keeping up with the latest goings-on. I’ll look for trees. Allow me one last bridge photograph. Apropos for those slipping and sliding into winter. This was in Delft in The Netherlands.
Read MoreTrees Along KRT Ride
The Kickapoo Rail Trail fundraiser sponsored a ride this morning — friend and former colleague Dave and I participated and had a great ride Raleigh pauses at a rock outcrop with lots of trees! The double trunked one is a silver maple, the others —– well, they treeely have me stumped! ( ok, I will … Continue reading "Trees Along KRT Ride"
Read MoreChallenge of the month – Tree and My boy’s new road bike
Date: 2018/06/02 (Sat) Place: Shing Mun River, FoTan, Shatin, Hong Kong Remark: My boy’s new attempt – Riding a flat-bar Fuji Ace 24-Inch Road bike for the first time. That Fuji road bike comes with a wonderful 3 x 10-Speed Shimano XT Groupset.
Read MoreSleeping trees
June challenge! What? Is it really June already?!?! Where do the months go… We’ve had some sketchy weather in Hobart of late as we slide into winter. A couple of weeks ago the city experienced the most rainfall in a 24 hour period in something like 60 years. Many homes and businesses were flooded and/or … Continue reading "Sleeping trees"
Read MoreTimber Cruising
The Challenge of the Month for June requires photographing tree(s) and bicycle. That’s actually a fairly tricky assignment. Lining up an interesting shot of a bike with a tree isn’t always easy, especially when attempting to fit all of a tall tree into the frame. I have a few trees in mind for the Challenge, … Continue reading "Timber Cruising"
Read MoreMay and a day: the bridges of Zagori
So close! If we take the 10 hour time difference into account, this post nearly qualifies for the May Bridge challenge; but we’re off by about an hour. Still, I’ve got a few bridges to sell you if you’re interested. Six old stone bridges from the Zagori region of northwest Greece, all within about three … Continue reading "May and a day: the bridges of Zagori"
Read MoreTrees
Many thanks and congratulations to everyone who mastered the Challenge of the Month for May with a terrific variety of bridges old and new. For June, we are all challenged to photograph a tree, or trees. Don’t forget to include your bike! See details at the Challenge page: http://cycle365.life/cycle365-challenge-of-the-month/ Let’s see how arboreal you can … Continue reading "Trees"
Read MoreCycle Days Challenge with Victoria
Now that May is completed, I have a nice set of 21 Bicycle Days here on my website. My goal is 100 for the year. My total for the year so far is 45. Looks like I could make it. My most recent bicycle ride was yesterday, May 31, a beautiful and very warm day, … Continue reading "Cycle Days Challenge with Victoria"
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