Happy New Year! The day dawned hot and sunny here with a forecast high of 38C (100F). The celebrations were incredibly subdued last night. No city fireworks – only a few neighbourhood firecrackers between 12.00 and 12.15am. Not much traffic out, not much yelling or revelry, if any at all. I think everyone is exhausted … Continue reading "Burnin’ down the house"

So, I’ve been a bit absent from the challenge so far this month. I had made the decision at the beginning of the month to cut back on cycling for December, and get in more time walking, hiking and just a tiny bit of trail running. I rode only nine days this month, and on … Continue reading "Last Ride of 2021"

Again a wonderful year with you people here on Cycle365! Thanks for the fun and friendship. I wish you and yours a healthy and happy new year! This time I got my round-up of pictures for the month finished before the stroke of midnight. HERE they are.

Serious Business Regarding the January Challenge As I announced earlier in the month, the January Challenge is going to be all about CHIMNEYS. As I also announced, I came up with the idea independent of any chimney suggestions from certain members of Cycle365. The Czar has spoken. So go nuts with chimney pictures while out … Continue reading "Some Serious Business and Some Silly Business"

I didn’t ride my bike at all yesterday. I have all kinds of excuses for whimping out. For one, I had to go in for my Covid booster shot at 9:40 a.m. I had cancelled a previous appointment a few weeks ago and I felt it wouldn’t be right to cancel another one just because … Continue reading "My Final December Challenge Post"

Anyone else experiencing problems again? I can log in and write a new post, but I can’t comment, even when I am logged in. Grrrr. Above is a screenshot of what I see, asking me to fill in name etc. twice, but then my comment doesn’t get posted anyway. So sorry to be a nuisance. … Continue reading "More Problems"

After eight months of worsening symptoms and two months off the bike living with constant pain, nausea and random vomiting, the crew and I were able to get back on the bike pain-free last week. After a bit of a long haul through the public health system to figure out what was wrong, I had … Continue reading "Squeaking in some alphabet"

Christmas is over but the holiday season isn’t and I couldn’t pass this up. I guess I’m stuck on Q. And these might not be my last entries for the letter. I have a couple more up my sleeve, depending on the weather and riding conditions on the trails. Christmas Eve is the big event … Continue reading "Q-te Christmas"

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season with enjoyable rides, good food and drink and cheery times with friends and family.

On Thursday it wasn’t exactly what you would call beautiful weather, but it was much warmer than the past weeks. The temperatures rose to 5C/41F which felt quite pleasant. I picked up a few miscellaneous letters, although not a Q in the bunch, on my late afternoon ride. I didn’t get out early enough for … Continue reading "Some more straggling letters"

In the afternoon it was around freezing but no snow, no wind, a bit of sun now and again, dry roads, foot warmers, hand warmers – I was game. The trees and ground were frosted, a beautiful scene. It was great to be out with my camera and I got my letters, too.

I find myself in a quandary (nice Q word) today. Do I start this post with the mathematical part of the equation? Or do I start with the “cautionary tale” part of the equation? As a guy who barely passed freshman-level algebra, but who was able to write a decent tale since the 4th grade, … Continue reading "A+B-C+D+E x (S-Q)=>7 Pictures + A Cautionary Tale"

I thought the Queen of Dairy’s home (The Dairy Queen store) was going to be a slam dunk for today’s Q quest, but for some reason the Dairy Queen Corporation decided to eliminate the words “dairy” and “queen” on their locations in favor of “DQ.” I rode around the entire place looking for one single … Continue reading "QUITE A QUANTITY OF Q’S: Testing the Limits of Quedibility"

Again I have gotten behind. It’s almost Christmas and I haven’t yet posted my rides from November. So here it is, finally. I think I posted most of the pictures here already for the weather challenge, so nothing new. As the season morphed into winter, we had some beautiful days of bright fall colors, some … Continue reading "Cycle Days Challenge: The November 2021 Edition"

Having been severely reprimanded by the Czar for audaciously suggesting the letters S and Q, I feel I must at least tow the line and come up with some words for the challenge. I have spent some sleepless nights trying to think of any words that begin with Q. Plenty of abstract words like quantum, … Continue reading "Minding My P’s and Q’s"

I chose some new letters for myself today. The writing on the wall told me to do it. I don’t know what SQ is supposed to stand for, maybe Suzy Q. The big news for today is B for blue, the big blue. Look at that sky. Hadn’t seen a blue sky for ages.

Brush Creek at Flatrock will always reveal how much rain we’ve received lately. In this case, a lot. And another series of storms on the way. The Ogre might complain about poor weather curtailing rides, but everyone else knows we need all the rain we can get. 

I never know what letter or letters I will illustrate before I start my ride. But when riding through Buchendorf with an eye out for my friends the pigs, I saw what my letter was going to be: D for dirt. So that was D-irty day. Not a bad ride, actually. The temperatures ranged between … Continue reading "D-Day"

I haven’t been an active participant here on Cycle365 for the last week or so because I was on a little wintertime bike tour. I’m totally incompetent when it comes to multi-blogging. I was so immersed in my tour and keeping up on its journal that I paid no attention at all to my cooking … Continue reading "Your Czar Is Back From The Snow Globe"

A for apple, B for ball, C for cones, D for decoration and E for evergreen, and as a bonus two little selfie-reflecties. Those of you who are not interested in how to keep toes and fingers warm can skip the rest. Pretty grey and wet today, but now that I have the cold feet … Continue reading "My Christmas ABC’s"

As I approach my 6,000 km goal for the year, there can be no slacking off now. This morning was foggy and -1C for my ride to tai chi class. Janos generously offered to drive me but I bravely got on my bike for the 40-minute ride. I now have heated insoles for my shoes … Continue reading "What Do I C?"

I’ve been walking more than riding, but on a few days when the temperature was two or three degrees above zero and the roads were clear, I got on my bike for short rides. Happy to be logged in again! I see many of us need new avatars as they have all disappeared, at least … Continue reading "Cold Days in December"

After a chilly, foggy, drizzly ride on Monday, today offered something a little warmer and sunnier…. Read more at Bill Bikes

By The Numbers 6: Miles 9: Kilometers 10: Degrees Fahrenheit -12: Degrees Celsius 87,000,000,000: Snowflakes 6: Photos Taken 10: Cold Fingers (due to taking mittens off for the 6 photos) 8: Incredulous waves and/or smiles from motorists 0: Wipe-outs 2: Wipe-outs avoided (by extending my right foot onto the road, thereby preventing a fall) 0: … Continue reading "A Beautifully Cold Day in Eden"

The first truly wintry weather of the year made this an exciting day for me. The grass was covered in snow. The streets were coated with ice. The air was frigid. The wind was blustery. In other words, a great morning to be on a bike searching for things beginning with A,B,C,D and E. I … Continue reading "A Challenging Challenge Ride"

How can I not show you my pictures from my hike on Gauting’s main drag, the Bahnhofstrasse. It was late afternoon and raining when I left. The snow was gone but my bicycle stayed in the garage. This time I challenged myself to take pictures only with my special manual focus lens that produces an … Continue reading "D-rops from the C-louds in the A-tmosphere"

I was riding around MY Town this morning, looking for items that begin with the first three letters of the alphabet. It was pretty easy . . . maybe TOO easy. I had my A, B and C pictures taken within the first mile, so I relaxed and just concentrated on riding my bike on … Continue reading "My Modest A-B-C Post"