I thought I was done for the month until coming across this riddled rock in Tombstone, with the shadow of an ocotillo fanned across it. I could have shoved the bike into the frame but it seemed cleaner without it. And, if you like birds, you might check out the rest of this day’s ride … Continue reading "Oh, holey rock"
I had thought of offering this topic as a challenge for everyone for March Reading Month. I thought it would be interesting to see what some of these LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES look like in different areas — and if you all have them. I am not sure that is something allowed on the site as … Continue reading "MY FEBRUARY CHALLENGE: LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES"
There is a town a few counties south of us named Mossyrock WA. You may be able to guess that it is appropriately named. We have moss on lots of things and in lots of areas, but this topic is about rocks ;’-) Having come through the wettest, rainiest January in Seattle history, I find … Continue reading "MOSSY ROCKS"
Looks like a stretch of rain-free weather on the horizon, so I should be able to get out and about on two wheels without driving a few hundred miles. Today I took a short spin on the Brush Creek Trail, through Howarth Park, and into Spring Lake Park. On that route I can always find … Continue reading "Winter Lake"
I am NOT any kind of expert about clothing for cycling. I have, over the years, added cycling clothing that works for me in cold and rainy weather. Of course I have wear for better weather — but so does everyone else. Here is what I find works for me: For my head and face: … Continue reading "MY FOUL WEATHER WEAR"
I will be attending to posting about my foul weather gear, but since I found this rock on our camping adventure this weekend, I will do a rocks post first. Also — everyone has been so active lately that I have been unable to keep up with commenting on your fantastic posts! Know that I … Continue reading "JUST ROCKS"
As ever, there’s always more I want to do in Death Valley. I already have ideas for rides during my next visit, which I hope isn’t too far in the future. Meanwhile, here are some random thoughts about pedaling through the lowest, hottest, driest national park. Read more at Bill Bikes
This month’s challenge comes to you from Rachael, the website’s technical crew. She suggested the idea after getting tired of me bouncing ideas off of her, and then suggested that it would be too bad if something bad happened to our little website if we didn’t use her idea. So we’ll go with it. And, … Continue reading "Challenge of the month, February 2020: Choose your own adventure!"
Well, not really. There are probably a few left to be discovered here, but this is the last one I’ll tell you about. It’s almost February, and time to move on to a different challenge. And actually, the rock that gets me in the door today is pretty modest. Maybe the least interesting thing we … Continue reading "The last rock in Arizona"
Less wind last night. No rain. No urinating coyote. I slept better. This morning I took down the tent, packed up, and was on the move by about 8:00. My plan involved driving up Big Pine Road, turning down to Eureka Dunes, and parking there. Assuming entire Sahara deserts of sand didn’t block my route, … Continue reading "Death Valley: Steel Pass Road"
The wind blew and rustled the tent most of the night. I slept poorly. As forecast, it rained briefly, or perhaps a disgruntled coyote urinated on the tent — I didn’t bother to get up to check — in retaliation for my dubious decision to avoid the long walk to the bio-hazard restroom in the … Continue reading "Death Valley: Racetrack Road"
The weather was good. The guys and I did an overnight 78 km ride and 2 km obstacle course among a bunch of granite rocks. There were some metamorphosed siltstones and mudstones in there, too, but it’s the granite that is most photogenic. You can read all about it HERE.
After arriving in Death Valley and setting up base camp at Mesquite Springs, I wanted to get out and pedal for a couple of hours. In particular, I wanted another crack at Big Pine Road, which gave me and the Long Haul Trucker a great deal of trouble back in 2012. I wasn’t planning to … Continue reading "Death Valley: Big Pine Road"
What, you’ve never heard of Winkelman? After this you’ll surely want to look it up to see where it is and what’s there. I’m talking serious attractions here: a huge, colorful copper mine; a smelter smokestack 1,001 feet high that you can see for miles; the railroad that Dwight Yoakam rode on his video of … Continue reading "Some blue rocks in Winkelman"
Rocks, sand, and sweat. I’ve been to Death Valley, so I know what bicycling is like in that environment. I’ve lost track of the total number of times I’ve visited the biggest, hottest, lowest National Park, but I know this was the fifth time I’ve done some pedaling there. Read more at Bill Bikes
I haven’t gone anywhere — just been holed up here in the weather. I wanted to share what I wrote earlier this week about a ride I got to do ;’-). I have a couple more rock things to share, but this for now… January 21: Ride #13 (for the month): 20 miles. It was … Continue reading "FINALLY A RIDE"
(This is a s t r e t c h) A mineral is defined as a solid of inorganic origin with a constant chemical composition and definite physical properties Rocks are defined as a solid composed of one or more minerals Therefore, ice may be considered a mineral and/or a rock composed of a single … Continue reading "January Challenge #5 (Maybe)"
Just a few days ago we biked past Hoover Dam, awed by the dam itself but also by the huge new Hoover Dam Bridge that finally rerouted the highway that used to run across the narrow top of the dam. It worked fine when the dam was young, cars were small, and people living out … Continue reading "Stuck in a dam rut"
After 2.5 years of huge energy deficits, I almost don’t know what to do with myself when I actually have some energy left after a 9-hour day at work. In the past, I’d just come home, have a shower, fix dinner, eat and go to bed. But today, I still felt good after coming home … Continue reading "Kermit Rocks!"
A couple of days ago, while I was shoveling my driveway, I was thinking ahead to the next holiday. I sure didn’t want to miss one. Yes, that’s how seriously I take these challenges. “Martin Luther King Day should be coming up soon,” I remembered. “Yeah, but what kind of Martin Luther King story could … Continue reading "ANOTHER HOLIDAY COMES AROUND: My Martin Luther King Day Bike Ride"
Finally, the wind pushed out the smoke long enough to get a ride in. We also managed to find a rock. Living on the alluvial flats means it is hard to find anything but cobblestones. But the guys and I finally managed a ride over 15kms this year – it’s just been too smoky to … Continue reading "Not a damn good rock shot, but we’re on the board"
We’ve seen a few rocks this month, but none that excited me enough to write home about it. Until we came across this beauty, on our ride from Boulder City to Boulder Dam (it’s really called Hoover Dam, but I like its older name better). Pretty irresistable rock, don’t, you think?
I didn’t have much time to ride today, but I knew about some rocks I wanted to photograph for the Challenge of the Month. I took a rocky route on some hidden Spring Lake trails. The route proved so rocky that the Ogre required a little tender loving care when we returned home. But the … Continue reading "Rocky route"
First off, let’s get the windchill cycling part of my title out of the way. I know I’ve bored you enough about MY town’s winter weather, so I’ll keep this short. The morning started out at 7-degrees (F) below zero. I waited for it to warm up a bit before going for my daily … Continue reading "Windchill Cycling And Two Stories Involving Rocks And The Feeshko"
Today the weather turned cool, gray, breezy, and sprinkling rain. I decided it was perfect for a (very) short ride up at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. When the rain picked up, I decided enough was enough, and headed for home. Read more at Bill Bikes (Part 1 and Part 2)
I don’t see many rocks or stones around here, at least none that look interesting enough to take a picture of. But on my ride along the Würm and not far from home, these rocks caught my eye. Since I don’t have a variety of different rocks, I compensated by taking pictures of the same … Continue reading "Within a Stone’s Throw"
I have been enjoying seeing all the rocks that everyone has posted. And learning so much as well. We are having quite the spell of rain, with snow forecast over the next couple of days. I have been fortunate to find early morning hours to get on my bike for some riding before a “storm” … Continue reading "A FEW ‘PRETTY’ ROCKS"
Our Challenges are great – they make you look harder! The above rock / boulder is positioned by the Longford Pub. The Pub sits on what was a fiercely contested corner when the road around formed Australia’s GP circuit. The cars would come down to the corner going in the direction of Bluey, turn hard … Continue reading "Another “Erratic”, not Glacial."
Found in Indiana — this is believed to be a Pre-Cambrian tillite from Canada A lithified glacial till containing various sized fragments The interesting thing is, it shows an outline of the Western Hemisphere North America is recognizable, South America not quite so much The granite clast in North America is approximately in the location … Continue reading "January Challenge #4"
I was a little disappointed to learn that some of the Cycle365 judges have been questioning whether my rocks are big enough. Um, wait a minute. That didn’t come out right. What I meant to say is that one of the judges — along with a crazy Green Bay Packer fanatic — aren’t so sure … Continue reading "Great BIG Rocks For All The Naysayers"
I came across a number of sandstone erratics along River Road out of Deloraine. They certainly don’t belong in the area but were not left by glacial action – rather, fell off the back of a truck. I am not sure of their purpose. Maybe once they formed the edge of the road or a … Continue reading "An erratic but not glacial"
It’s my favourite rock on my bike seat. It’s a Banded Ironstone (but rock size, unlike one of the challenge entries), it’s from 1000kms north in the Pilbara region. It’s over a billion years old, full of iron ore (about 60 %) and millions of tonnes of it is sent to China from WA … Continue reading "Monthly Challenge – An Ore-ful post"
Well, look who showed up to examine the striated limestone boulder! He tells me he has been hanging out at a long closed gravel pit, but when he heard there was a BOLO out on him he had to come to town and investigate it. He is currently on the other computer reading all about … Continue reading "Rocco’s Vermilion Long Lost Cousin"
Little-known fact: One of the earliest and most obscure episodes of “Finding Your Roots” with Henry Louis Gates on PBS featured Rocco. With the help of professional researchers, census records, and DNA analysis, Dr. Gates was able to determine that Rocco has many close relatives in Northern California. I managed to gather them all together … Continue reading "Finding Rocco’s Roots"
For a few moments I wondered if Rocco had wandered this far from his home base! Could it be? Could that be Rocco??? A closer look said no — not Rocco. But wait! What about over there to the left.. could THAT be Rocco?? That was a little closer, but no, not Rocco. Maybe a … Continue reading "HAD I FOUND ROCCO??"
Unlike Rich’s informational post with that wonderful list, and more like Greg’s identifications, here is my post with little and littler (that’s as scientific as I get) rocks.
Original limestone curb still existing today “Back in the Day” the town was very prosperous and this particular street was in the ‘higher eschelon’ part of town — they got cut stone curbs At that time the street would have been paved with bricks but has subsequently been covered in asphalt It looks as though … Continue reading "January Challenge #3"
I had been hoping to get out of town yesterday with the Ogre for a week-long expedition to some wild and remote territory, but a variety of last-minute factors postponed my departure. Not sure when I’ll be able to take off. Meanwhile, today seemed perfectly bright and clear, so the Ogre and I went for … Continue reading "Kenwood and a rock or two"
In Catholic Bavaria, but not the rest of Germany, January 6 is celebrated as Three Kings Day and it’a a legal holiday. Three children dressed as kings might ring your doorbell and sing a song and each one recite a verse. The Three Kings never visited us as long as we were living in Munich … Continue reading "Holiday Challenge: Three Kings Day"
Cycle touring gives you many skills. One of those is situational awareness. You become very good at reading your surroundings and noticing what has changed or doesn’t feel right. So about 10.30pm on New Years Day, I heard a lot of traffic on the Snow Road. I live close to this road and can see … Continue reading "Situational Awareness"
Before we figure out WHERE Rocco is, I should probably remind you WHO Rocco is. I made (literally) a new friend and I introduced him on my New Year’s Day post. True to the theme of this month’s challenge, Rocco is a rock. If you scroll back up to the featured photo, you’ll see a … Continue reading "WHERE’S ROCCO?"
Today i rode 10 miles on mt first ride in the rain this year! Almost did not go, but once out there I found the rain light (though consistent) and not bad. In fact I rather enjoyed the ride and kept making just a bit longer than I had thought it would be ;’-). Came … Continue reading "MIXED ROCKS ON A RAINY DAY"
Boulder placed at new housing development There is a good possibility that is not a real boulder — very likely a product of Boulder Designs No question of the authenticity here — Fake Boulder!!!! Thick layer of pea gravel cushions falls Looks like Danny MacAskill gave up climbing the faux boulder and went home This … Continue reading "January Challenge #2"
I’m quite fickle. I’m devoted to Rachael and faithful to a few close friends; but rocks? I’m quickly smitten by the latest pretty face, but then move on. Here’s my current crush, a nice boulder at the end of our ride out the San Luis Rey River Trail.
Let us know how you are and if there is anything we can do to help you through these devastating fires. Please be well — and safe. I don’t know where else I could have posted this. If there is someplace, please let me know.
Rocks can be rocks or rocks can be something else. There were several ‘something elses’ I found on my ride today. Yard decoration — an “inukshuk”. To build and support waterfalls. As a retaining wall. For a pallet as some elementary school students have used to add art to their garden. The uses for … Continue reading "ROCKS CAN BE FUNCTIONAL"
It was an abrupt transition from +30°C at 10 pm in Bangkok to 0°C at midday a day later. But we aren’t letting that deter us! Our local bicycle club as of this winter has introduced winter rides. We were away for the first three, but on this frosty but sunny January day we decided … Continue reading "The Polar Bear Club"
We don’t have a lot of rocks in the surroundings, just some stones here and there and I’m glad that they count for the challenge. Now if the challenge were tree stumps, moss, roots or river banks I’d have any easier job of it. Here’s my find from today’s ride.
Yesterday my ace support crew and I arose early and climbed Bald Mountain. Out of four couples invited to join us, all bailed out, mostly due to various medical/physical issues. I think all our friends must be getting old. After climbing Bald Mountain, I intended to bike out the Greenway. However, I decided I really … Continue reading "Graceful as a hippo in a tutu"
Got an early morning ride in today as the rain is expected for later, and rather a lot of it I am told. Right in my immediate neighborhood I found ….. rocks! Nothing spectacular like Bill has in his arsenal; no scientific information as Rich gives, but rocks. Medium size rock… Small rocks… And a … Continue reading "LET’S ROCK"
Well Happy New Year! For the first time I was up for New Year’ Eve, but strange, there were no fireworks or anything. We had just arrived from Bangkok and I was still running on Bangkok time, 6 p.m. in Munich and 12 p.m. there. After what was for me midnight, I went to bed … Continue reading "My New Year’s Day"
The gale winds of yesterday abated to a moderate breeze this morning — still plenty cold — having wimped out yesterday, the Western Flyer and I were determined to do a few miles and possibly find some photogenic boulders Of questionable photogenticity (spell check is unhappy with that spelling, if its even a word) is … Continue reading "January Challenge"
PART ONE: I Rock. New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Doesn’t So last night I thought I should at least make a small attempt to stay awake until midnight in order to ring in the New Year. I tuned into New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on the television. Let me tell you, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve does NOT … Continue reading "NEW YEAR’S DAY:"
Though we will be doing our annual New Year’s Day “FROSTY” ride with our little group today, I got our early for my own ride just in case FROSTY gets rained out. There may be additional New Year’s Day photos, but this is it for now. Initially this was going to me my first ROCKS … Continue reading "HOLIDAYS CHALLENGE NEW YEARS DAY 2020"