It almost never snows in Santa Rosa. The flurries last night were unusual. What’s more, overnight the hills around here received more snow than they have in probably 40 or 50 years. Naturally, I decided to head for higher elevations in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park where I thought I might find a couple of inches … Continue reading "Blizzard on Bald Mountain"
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Someone parked an empty chair among trees with no leaves near the end of the trail in “bandit country” beyond Willowside Road. I had one of those sudden flashes of memory. Song with No Words (Tree with No Leaves) by David Crosby
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The city wanted to build affordable (???) apartments here, but they also wanted to preserve the teetering walls (that’s all that remains) of the historic cannery building. So the plans retain the old walls, and construction is underway along the Greenway. Not sure if the graffiti stays. More at Bill Bikes
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A lovely day, hitting at least 70° F, so I scooted downtown to see the new “Unum” piece at Courthouse Square. Very nice, although a crew was working on it and blocking my shots. Unfortunately, no sign of our ice sculpture contest. A little more at Bill Bikes
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The rain stopped a few days ago. Santa Rosa Creek much reduced in flow. But tons of debris remain on and along the Greenway. The photo shows piles of detritus covering the banks of the creek at Willowside Road.
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I’ve been making an effort to get out for brief rides in the rain, of which we’ve had no shortage for the past three weeks. I have reservations for an expedition this summer, pedaling that will probably feature plenty of wind, rain, and chill. So I gotta test various combinations of gear in similar conditions … Continue reading "More riding in the rain"
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It has rained practically every day for almost two weeks, and more rain is forecast for tonight and beyond, but today should be dry. That means I need to mount up and pedal out the Greenway to see how Santa Rosa Creek is doing…. More at Bill Bikes
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Days of rain behind us. Days of rain ahead of us. But today is dry and sunny. Happy New Year!
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Way too wet to ride today, but here are my favorite bicycling photos of 2022. Happy New Year!
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No snow or giant icicles hereabouts. Just rain, with more on the way. Perfect for newts, apparently.
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Not exactly Hastings-like weather conditions, but cold wind from the north brought blizzards of falling leaves and a little chill to the air.
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Today I pedaled south to Moonstone Beach and Cambria, then turned inland, leaving the ocean behind for a while. Like yesterday’s ride, today the Ogre took me to a few places where I’ve pedaled before, as well as some previously unknown roads…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Time to get away with the Ogre for a couple of days. After much consideration, I chose to drive down to Cambria on the central coast. I haven’t been there in years, and it’s a good spot for pedaling along the shore of the Pacific Ocean. The weather should be pleasant, but with strong wind … Continue reading "San Simeon"
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Five years after a house burned down at the corner of the Greenway and a downtown street, it’s being replaced by a two-story modular home, lifted into place by a giant crane. There must be fasteners involved somewhere in the process.
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Feature photo from my ride on Tuesday. A few hours later, a 4.4 earthquake (and then a 4.3 aftershock a minute later) hit, with epicenter within Santa Rosa city limits, just about two miles from home. Felt like someone clobbered the house with a giant sledgehammer. (Or, as our seven-year-old neighbor explained, “It felt like … Continue reading "California: State of Excitement"
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Sunday was 102. Monday was 112. Tuesday was 115 (the all-time high for any date since they began keeping records in Santa Rosa. Wednesday was 102. Thursday was 108. It’s a good thing there’s no such thing as climate change, or it would have been really warm.
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A few years ago an old downtown Santa Rosa motel was refurbished and reopened as the “retro” Astro Motel, catering in particular to visiting bicyclists (of which we always have quite a few, especially around the time of the Grand Fondo). I noticed in the newspaper this morning that in the wake of the death … Continue reading "Astro Exhibit"
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A variety of factors conspired to prevent me from bicycling as much as intended during our expedition to Washington, Oregon, and far northern California, although for some reason I ended up doing more hiking than anticipated. That tends to happen when I travel with she who shall remain nameless. I did manage to spend a … Continue reading "Deschutes River"
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This was a hike-then-bike expedition to the mountain that erupted violently back in 1980. After hiking from Johnston Ridge to Harry’s Ridge and back, I switched from hiking mode to biking mode and set off downhill aboard the Ogre. My ace support crew remained at the visitor center to watch the film, examine the exhibits, … Continue reading "Mount St Helens"
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Still wandering various exotic locales throughout the solar system. Hint: This time there’s a Bend in the river. PS: Answers coming soon.
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Light struck photo with no bike. Sorry. One of many waterfalls in the gorge high above the river.
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I’m on the road. On and off the grid. More later. Meanwhile, who can identify my location today?
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My ace support crew and I agreed to undertake a bike-and-hike excursion at Tolay Regional Park today. She’d take care of the hiking while I handled the biking. We’ve done exactly that before, but this time she wanted to take along our ferocious dog, Sophie, who has actually grown too old and too plump to … Continue reading "Tolay for Three"
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Couldn’t get photos, but I was repeatedly attacked by berserk squirrels all along the Greenway today. Multiple other riders on the path warned me about the nasty little devils. Next time, I’m bringing my fearsome dog to deal with them. The squirrels, not the other riders.
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Rockpile is a fairly remote and rugged part of Sonoma County northwest of Healdsburg. Manmade Lake Sonoma, our biggest reservoir, fills some of the deep Rockpile canyons. Rockpile is also the appellation of wines produced from grapes grown in this area. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Not having pedaled Lawndale Road and Schultz Road to Kenwood in many moons, I decided to head that way today. A steep uphill segment on Lawndale. Some fast winding downhill on Schultz. A little hazy, but pleasant riding with minimal traffic, rural scenery, vineyards, and wineries. Read more at Bill Bikes
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I always ride with a front flasher and rear flashers, even in daytime. Here’s the headlight.
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According to the newspaper, the Roseland area of Santa Rosa is the scene of the Mural Project, which is painting walls all over that part of town with bright new colors. Naturally, I had to saddle up and pedal across town to have a look, especially because in the Metaverse (where hours and days are … Continue reading "Metaversal Mural Project Day"
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I pedaled downtown. Met up with some like-minded folks. Ace support crew arrived a little later. Hung out for an hour or so. Need I say more?
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The Skunk Train folks built a fleet of pedal-powered (with electric assist) “railbikes” for tourist excursions on the Skunk line. It always seemed to me that it might be interesting to try those railbikes. For Father’s Day this year, I made reservations for myself and my somewhat skeptical ace support crew. Our friends Marsha and … Continue reading "Fathers Day: I’ve been pedaling on the railroad"
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Short ride to celebrate California State Parks Week. Too warm for the steep climbing in the park. Better in cool weather.
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Rolled two doors down to neighbor’s house to photograph Ogre and flag. Must have caught a little sunburst. Just a reminder that the flag should be for everyone, not one party or political movement or poisonous cult of personality.
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Dropped off my ballot at the library (although I had to go inside to do so) and then pedaled over to visit a friend who suffered a stroke last week.
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Every autumn or winter the road over the pass through Lassen Volcanic National Park closes due to heavy snowfall. Every spring crews clear the road of snow. During that springtime process, there is usually a window of a few days or weeks when the road is open to hiking and biking, but remains closed to … Continue reading "International Bike-a-Volcano Day"
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According to the newspaper, last week a big new mural was unveiled on the outside of one of the buildings at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa. Naturally, I earmarked that as a destination, and today I pedaled down to have a look. Very nice! Also, previously unknown to me, I spotted an older … Continue reading "Elsie Allen and more"
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My ace support crew is in Peru exploring Machu Picchu and other venues with her “all women, all trails” gang. Along the way, she’s sending me bike-related photos. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Windy today, but otherwise lovely weather, so the Ogre and I drove down to Tolay Regional Park. The place was a giant weed patch, but I always enjoy pedaling on the old ranch roads, exploring little nooks and crannies, and fiddling with the camera. And I think at least one photo to meet requirements of … Continue reading "Tour de Weeds"
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When it comes to Animalia Chordata Aves, one of the best spots around here is Spring Lake. That’s not far away. I walk and ride around the lake all the time. So off I went on two wheels to see what the avians were up to today. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Almost four years ago I put together a collection of “birds and bikes” photos. So these aren’t new, but they might fit this month’s Challenge. Birds and Bikes
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Like Valley of the Gods, Potash Road was completely unknown to me until I stumbled across it while searching for interesting day rides near Moab. Read more at Bill Bikes
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I didn’t know about Valley of the Gods before this expedition. I must have learned about it while I was searching for possible day rides. Thank goodness I found it! Now it ranks as one of my all-time favorite routes. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Because Monument Valley farther east was closed to bicycles, I wanted to find an alternative ride for a couple of hours today to go along with the drive to Mexican Hat in the southeastern corner of Utah. Read more at Bill Bikes
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After driving from Santa Rosa to Barstow, the next day Old Grumble-Face and the Ogre reached St George in the extreme southwestern corner of Utah with plenty of time for a ride. I already knew about the Virgin River Trail…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Having safely returned home, I’ve now managed to create the first couple of installments of my blog for my auto and bike expedition. More to come. Read more at Bill Bikes
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I took this photo several days ago. When I tried to post it before the deadline, the site was in a state of digital meltdown. But here it finally is, late to the party. It’s on the wall of an underpass on the Virgin River Trail in St George, Utah.
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Due to lack of time and crappy Internet connections, looks like I won’t be able to do any serious updates about current expedition with Ogre and automobile until I return home in a few days. In the meantime, for anyone desperate to know how the Ogre is faring on (mostly) dirt, sand, gravel, washboard, rocks, … Continue reading "Road trip"
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For Earth Day, my old campus—it feels like I’ve been retired forever—sponsored a big art project stretching for more than 1000 feet on Elliott Avenue. Read more at Bill Bikes
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This year the start of the baseball season was delayed due to a dispute between millionaire players and billionaire owners about…money. But we had a beautiful day for the Giants opening game, so I had to pedal down from the bridge and do a loop for good luck…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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I pedaled a few blocks to visit friends. While I was there, I snapped a photo of their new backyard greenhouse.
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I took myself across the land border into Napa County this afternoon in order to spend a couple of hours pedaling around the Carneros grape-growing region…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Off to Sugarloaf for a quick spin through the park on hilly dirt roads…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Ran into both of my brothers — we’re identical triplets — while riding through Sugarloaf today. Everyone is always surprised that we have the same taste in shirts.
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After my dermatologist ordered me to avoid sunlight for a couple of weeks during skin treatments, I was finally cleared to go outside during the day. Bingo! Back on the Ogre! Read more at Bill Bikes
Read MoreWhoa, smokestack lightnin’Shinin’ just like goldWhy don’t you hear me cryin’?A-whoo-hoo, a-whoo-hoo, whoo—Howlin’ Wolf Nothing serious, but I’m out of action for at least a few more days. Consequently, here are old photos that might qualify for this month’s challenge, except that they’re old.
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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.
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After a chilly, foggy, drizzly ride on Monday, today offered something a little warmer and sunnier…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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As we’ve done before, my ace support and I decided to undertake a mixed hiking and biking afternoon at Tolay Regional Park. She would handle the hiking. The Ogre and I would handle the biking. Read more at Bill Bikes
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It was extremely foggy last night, leading me to expect I could score an out-the-garage-door photo of the driveway and court wrapped in thick, impenetrable grayness this morning. Surprisingly, however, the fog burned off as soon as the sun came up, so I missed my shot. Oh, well. Clear blue sky was better for biking.
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Lots of weather due to roll in this afternoon or evening. I prefer not to be out in it, so I planned to do a quick ride before lunch in order to beat the wind and rain. When my ace support crew told me she was hiking up to Lake Ilsanjo before the rain arrived, … Continue reading "Ilsanjo"
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Inspired by Suzanne, I renewed my artistic license and upgraded to version 70.0. As always, the authorities are on the verge of revoking my license…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Yesterday was supposed to be the beginning of a two-day observance of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Unfortunately, it rained all day, so I’m not sure many of the speakers, poets, musicians, and dance groups actually got into action. The weather was much improved today, allowing me to pedal downtown to … Continue reading "Dia De Los Muertos"
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Sunday was a rainy, rainy day around here. So rainy, it set a new record for the most rainfall in a single day in the history of Santa Rosa, going back to the 1800s…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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After we returned from Siskiyou County, within a few hours it started raining here. Basically it didn’t stop until this morning. This already amounts to far more rain than we normally get in the entire month of October…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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I convinced my ace support crew to drive me and the Ogre up the steep, narrow, winding road into the mountains on the northeast side of the Shasta valley. I planned to get all the way to the top, near Eagle Rock, before hopping out and starting down, but when we found ourselves high on … Continue reading "Eagle Rock"
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Well, the San Francisco Giants set their all-time franchise record with an unbelievable 107 victories this year, winning the NL West Division championship, and thus qualifying for a post-season shot at the World Series championship…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Until I purchased his baseball card (worth about two cents on the open market), clothes pinned it to the Ogre’s spokes, and pedaled around the neighborhood for awhile, I never realized how much this guy looks and sounds like our favorite Minnesotan.
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One year ago today the Glass Fire ignited in Napa County and suddenly blew west into Sonoma County. For us, it became the third mandatory evacuation in four years. It was the first time I obeyed the order, because this time the flames came right up to our back fence. We were lucky. When the … Continue reading "Sugarloaf"
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After my usual run out the Greenway, I detoured downtown for a quick spin around Old Courthouse Square. Then I ran into Jeff. That always cheers me up! By the way, that’s not him in the photo.
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Happiness is having sufficient health and gumption to pedal out the Greenway on a lovely day in September with no immediate threat of wildfire on the horizon.
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A couple of days ago I read that a huge new mural had been completed on the back (alley-facing) wall of the downtown parking garage in Petaluma. That was enough to get me to saddle up this morning and pedal down to Petaluma to check out the new art…. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Santa Rosa has been incredibly lucky. Despite all the wildfires raging in northern California, the prevailing winds have prevented smoke from drifting our way. That was expected to change today, with temperature into the 90s, smoke, and unhealthy air quality in the forecast. What to do? Jeff and I headed for the coast…. Read more … Continue reading "Elephant Rocks with Jeff"
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Looking for new territory to explore today, I remembered a recent article in the newspaper about a huge mural being painted on a building on the southwest side of town where I seldom ride. Based on that, I decided to pedal in that direction…. Read more at Bill Bikes
Read MoreI never would have sold my recumbent to Jack if I had known he was going to allow just any-old-body to ride it! Only kidding!
Read MoreI wrote this when I returned from Barbados in 1983, but didn’t see it again until 2021 when my sister discovered a long-forgotten copy while cleaning out our parents’ home after our father passed away. My brother drove from Virginia to California last week to hand-deliver the faded dot-matrix hardcopy. Read more at Bill Bikes
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My ace support crew was overseeing an industrial-strength pro cleaning crew at home today. Under the circumstances, my best bet was to get the heck out of Dodge. Read more at Bill Bikes
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Fresh as a sweet Sunday morning, according to the late Bert Jansch. I don’t usually ride trails around here under those conditions, because I know they’ll be packed with bikes, joggers, pedestrians, kids, strollers, dogs, and assorted roadblocks. I made an exception on this sweet Sunday morning. Snapped a few photos of some of the … Continue reading "Busy morning"
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I meticulously copied Rich’s list onto an index card, climbed aboard the Ogre, and a-scavenging I did go. Easy! Within a few minutes I had spotted everything on his list and checked it off. Not sure why the rest of the cycle365 gang is having so much trouble finding this stuff.
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Heading out the Greenway as usual, minding my own business. Suddenly heard loud explosion under me. I know that sound. Bike began to wobble. I pulled over. Rear tube blew out explosively, pushing tire off rim. I carried the injured Ogre back to the Big Fish, turned it upside down in the shade, and tended … Continue reading "Bikus Interruptus"
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My destination today was a new ghost bike, memorial to our latest bicycling casualty. I almost didn’t make it. Read more at Bill Bikes
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