I guess the title says it all. Here is one more recent photo of something I’d like to do.

Perhaps you heard Minnesota got a pretty big snow storm this week. It was on the national news. I think MY Town got about 18 inches. That’s okay, because I kind of like snow. I even like SHOVELING snow. It’s my second favorite wintertime activity. Bicycle riding is my #1 favorite, of course. After a … Continue reading "Shoveling, Shoveling, Shoveling and Riding"

You probably didn’t know that sometimes my bike and I like to ride to the base of one of Greg-world’s major mountains, then go off-road to climb up to the summit. It’s true, we do. Here is a photo-documentary of our most recent mountain climbing expedition. ************ I must admit, all that ice-biking and igloo-building … Continue reading "The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong and I Climbed a Really Huge Mountain"

That’s all.

I was attacked by a swarm of B’s while trying to ride my bike this morning. Luckily, it came during the Febellary Challenge. Here are a few pictures of some of those B’s. Those B’s weren’t the kind of Bees that sting, thank goodness. My hands did get stung a little bit by the B … Continue reading "A Bunch of B’s"

The morning started out with a hazy sun, no wind and pretty warm air (28-degrees F). The roads have even been clearing themselves of ice. I daresay, the riding was quite pleasant. That’s a darn good thing too, because this weekend I’ll be waking up to sub-zero temperatures again. Oh well, whatever. I had ridden … Continue reading "Hastings, Minnesota: Serving You Heaps of Snow Since 1867"

This weekend, I rode downtown and couldn’t help but notice there was more activity going on than usual on a Saturday morning. I conducted an investigation (which involved nothing more than asking a guy on the sidewalk what was going on) and learned the annual Hastings Chamber of Commerce Ice Sculpting Contest was taking place … Continue reading "MY Town Celebrates Ice"

Nancy wrote a great story yesterday about the tree stump in her neighborhood that is frequently redecorated to fit every occasion. That reminded me of a similar story in my own neighborhood. This story is more recent in its development, but what it lacks in history, it makes up for in gaudy flamboyance. This particular … Continue reading "Yo Ho Ho, and a Bottle of Rum / A Pirate’s Life for ME . . ."

The sun rose at 7:45 a.m. to reveal a clear blue sky. Plus, the air temperature was already 33-degrees ABOVE zero with a predicted high of 37-degrees. WEIRD! I doubt the spring-like thaw will completely take care of MY Town’s ice problem, but it should put a little dent in it. Either way, I was … Continue reading "What’s That? Blue Sky?"

It has been a different kind of winter here in MY Town. True, the cold temperatures have been pretty normal, and the amount of snow hasn’t been too far above the average. The main difference has been the ICE. Almost every snowstorm has been preceded by freezing rain. Then the snow covers the frozen rain. … Continue reading "More Winter Stuff"

I got back from my monthly trip to Iowa yesterday. I was down there for five days this time instead of the usual two days. In addition to his cancer treatments, now my dad has some cardiac issues to be dealt with, including a valve replacement surgery. That means quite a few more trips to … Continue reading "Waterfalls and the Aftermath of a Winter Storm"

Not only will I be displaying scenes FROM the trails, there will also be photos OF the trails themselves. What more could anybody ask for? My New Year’s resolution this year, as it has been every year since about 1990, was to ride my bike on the first day of the year. Beyond that, I … Continue reading "Scenes From MY Town’s Trails"

It’s been a great Cycle365 year. Everyone’s pictures were great. Everyone’s bike rides were great. The stories were great. The exchanges of comments were great. Rich’s monthly challenge leadership was great. And all of you Cycle365-ers were great. HERE’S TO AN EVEN GREATER 2023!

I opened up Cycle365 this morning and saw DJG’s “Quick Morning Spin” post. The pictures of free-flowing waterfalls reminded me that I should have ridden to our local waterfall for a quick look. That’s what I did this morning. Sure enough, the Vermillion River falls was frozen.

And let me tell you, it felt great to get back on The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong after about eight days. I think it was my longest cycling hiatus in the last decade and I really have no excuse other than that I seem to have gotten a bit lazy in the last year. Sure, … Continue reading "I’M BACK IN THE BICYCLING BUSINESS"

We had a few afternoons that got slightly above freezing this week. As a result, some of our snow melted and the roadsides were getting pretty dirty from cars spewing sand, mud and exhaust fumes. Eight inches of new snow over the last couple of days cured that situation. Not only did the new snow … Continue reading "A World of White"

A few nights ago, I attended a Live Nativity here in MY Town. It was pretty cool, and I think I was able find half of the items on Rich’s Christmas checklist in this one experience. After that, I continued riding, took a few more pictures, and checked off another 25% of the list. All … Continue reading "Most of My December Riding Has Involved Grocery Shopping and Running Errands. Yet, I’ve got THIS to Share."

As depicted in the featured photo, I am still mired in a complete renovation of the lower level of our home. Not that I’m doing any of the work, but I’ll still use that as the main excuse for my absence on Cycle365 recently. I’m still riding a few miles every day, but I just … Continue reading "Winter Is Coming, Part II (The Sequel to the Santa Rosa Version of “Winter is Coming,” by Old Grumbleface.)"

Over the course of two days, I collected a treasure trove of November Challenge pictures. Here they are for you to like, dislike, hate, make fun of, or report to the police:

If homegrown is the same as homemade, the featured photo qualifies for two of this month’s challenges. The Feeshko, Diggity and I walk by this house almost every day, since it’s in the next block from ours. On the side of the house, the owners have a tiny pumpkin patch. When I say “tiny,” I’m … Continue reading "A Few Halloween Decorations From MY Town"

Minnesota’s weather has become very Minnesota-like lately. Yesterday morning we woke up to a heavy frost. The day before that, The Feeshko woke up to a coat of snow on the grass and in the trees. (I was in Iowa.) Today, we’re looking at a high temperature of 42-degrees. Tomorrow will have a high of … Continue reading "The Handmade’s Tale"

To the few folks who’ve favored us with fine fastener photos, I’d say you’ve featured some fantastic efforts. For sure, fasteners are a far-out challenge, fraught with full-fledged failure. Yet, it’s fair to say four or five of you females and fellows faced the fix and confronted it seeking fame and fortune. I look forward … Continue reading "The Final Few Fasteners For Some Fine Fun"

I thought maybe I could get through this post with no narrative or captions. I do have to comment on the final photo, though. The many rivets prove, once again, that a Garceau can help you meet any challenge.

If you’re on Cycle365, you probably are aware of the four challenges currently in effect–three September challenges and one year-long challenge. More specifically, thanks to Rich, the challenges are Rollers, Unusual, Machines & Peeves–more commonly known by the acronym RUMP. I didn’t set out to find examples of all four challenges today, but when I … Continue reading "A Man for All Challenges (That’s ME)"

A soccer ball rolls, but you can barely see the soccer ball in the featured photo. That’s why I zoomed in for a closer look. Unfortunately, the closer look doesn’t include my bike. For a Cycle365 Challenge participant like me, it was at least a Catch-22–if not a major moral dilemma. What does a guy … Continue reading "Rolls & Things and Things That Roll"

I’m glad I could show you a few imperfections today. Now I’ll show a couple of unusual things I saw. They’re not totally freaky but, at the very least, they’re not something you see every day.

I made my monthly trip down to MY DAD’S Town last Thursday, and I stayed for a couple extra days. I brought my bike with me too, so I was able to ride around and get some imperfect photos of imperfect things for the almost-perfect August Challenge. Now I’m back in MY Town and I’m … Continue reading "The Imperfect Signs of Oelwein, Iowa"

It would be easy to think I made up another word to fit whatever it is I want to say, because I’ve done it many times before. In this case, however, “cementitious” is a REAL word. I know the word from my days in the paint business. It refers not only to concrete and cement, … Continue reading "Cementitious Patterns"

The 81st Annual Firefighter’s Booya advertisement is actually a folding sign, but if I can use the Cycle365 platform to help My Town’s Fire Department, then I’m going to call it a BANNER. The two or three thousand Hastingites that follow Cycle365 will be glad I did. Add to that my thousands of followers from … Continue reading "This Post Might Raise A Few Red Flags For Lies and Exaggeration"

There are few places one can ride in MY town without at least one American flag being within view. The stars & stripes were the most common flag or banner I saw today, but Trump flags and banners were easily in 2nd place. (I didn’t take pictures of those.) In third place, in front of … Continue reading "It Should Be a Banner Month for Cycle365 Challenges"

I’ve had a busy couple of weeks, so I haven’t been participating to the best of my ability in phase 2 of this month’s Cycle365 challenge. That’s not going to change much with this post, though. How can I concentrate on bends and crinkles and dents when I’ve been hearing rumblings about other people catching … Continue reading "I Will Not Be Denied"

As if having Covid wasn’t enough, today I also got a bad case of The Bends. No, this wasn’t the kind of bends you get from depressurization after deep sea diving. This was the kind of bends you get from too much searching for–and exposure to–bent objects. Here are some examples of what I had … Continue reading "A Case of the Bends"

To everybody who read my comment on Rich’s post and saw I had gotten the Covid curse, I thank you for the well wishes. Don’t worry though, my symptoms are almost embarrassingly mild. I credit the vaccines, the boosters, my active lifestyle, and my above average immune system for that. The symptoms are so mild … Continue reading "Covid-19 Can Get Bent"

Last night, I attached front and rear lights for a bike ride in order to get some pictures in the dark conditions that lamps and reflectors were designed for. That fact alone should tell you a lot about how dedicated I am to this month’s challenge. Add to that, it doesn’t get dark until 10:00 … Continue reading "Warm Nights, Reflectors & Lights"

I was just on a regular ride to the grocery store to pick up a few items for dinner, then to the post office. While on those errands, I saw the parking lot lamp shown above. That reminded me of this month’s challenge. The red pole and red casings are telltale signs of Target parking … Continue reading "LAMPS & REFLECTORS: Going For The Silver"

Streetlamps are the kind of thing you don’t notice until there is a Cycle365 Challenge dedicated to lamps of all kinds. (Or else, when your shoulder gets ripped open by a bolt sticking out of it. But that’s a story from the past. I prefer to dwell in the present.) Today I noticed that MY … Continue reading "The Street Lamps of MY Town"

It’s true, I totally forgot that holiday until I just read Bill’s post. Luckily I remembered a mural picture I had taken last week when I was on my monthly visit with my dad to drive him to his oncology appointment. HIS town is far from the epicenter of the Mural Metaverse. Nevertheless, I got … Continue reading "I Can’t Believe I Forgot Metaversal Mural Project Day"

First, I should thank Rich for a July Challenge that seems to be custom-made just for me. THANK YOU, RICH! Now to explain what I mean by that statement: Just nine miles from my house is a huge 3M plant in Cottage Grove, MN. Among many other things, this plant manufactures the reflective materials used … Continue reading "Reflective Materials and Where They’re Made"

I didn’t make that up. National Food Truck Day really is on that website with all the freaky celebrations. It’s a meaningful holiday to me because, in general, I like food trucks. The best tacos and the best gyro and the best egg rolls I’ve ever had came from food trucks. I managed to find … Continue reading "June 24 Is National Food Truck Day"

Holy Mackerel! For me, this might be the most celebratory week of the year. Look at all the choices. I probably should have spread the fun out over the course of several days, but I couldn’t help myself. I binged them all into one day of wild, crazy partying. Perhaps the weirdest celebration this week … Continue reading "Is This A Festive Week, Or What?"

Who wouldda thunk there would be a real thing called “Upsy Daisy Day?” I sure would’na–at least not before I discovered the list of all the crazy holidays I provided to everybody before the challenge started. And I DEFINITELY would’na thought the organizers would spell it that ridiculous way. It doesn’t take a Scripps National … Continue reading "Upsy Daisy Day"

Another homage to Great Outdoors Month is at the top of the page. Only a few years ago, that overlook was probably the most beautiful view within the city limits of MY Town. You could see most of Spring Lake, Lake Rebecca, the cliffs on the other side, and the bike trail that runs between … Continue reading "More June Celebrations"

I tried to produce a bigger smile than G-2 but found it to be impossible. Obviously, he has a huge advantage because he’s a cartoon character. No human being can curve his or her mouth as exaggeratedly as G-2 can. Sometimes I think it would be nice to be a cartoon character. I mean, they … Continue reading "Among Other Things, It’s National SMILE Month"

I think there are more than a hundred possiblities for this month’s challenge. I fear that might almost be TOO much to handle, and as I said, some of them might require some advance-planning. I did some planning in advance for today’s post. As a result, I was able to incorporate a couple of June … Continue reading "Kicking Off The June Challenge"

Everybody knows the major holidays of each month. Many of us even know some of the minor holidays. Aside from those holidays, most of us have been surprised to see some more obscure celebrations–things like “National Bike to Work Day,” or “National Beer Appreciation Week,” or “National Love Your Dog Month.” Out of curiosity, I … Continue reading "IT’S NATIONAL ________ MONTH"

Hastings, MN Thanks to the heroics of Son of Bing Bong, the Minnesota Truckers emerged victorious in their Major League Bikeball season opener. Son of Bing Bong went 5-for-5 with two triples, a home run, and eight RBIs, leading his team to an overwhelming victory over the Wisconsin Trekkers. With his perfect batting average of … Continue reading "A Sports Report Involving The Four Elements"

Before I go, I’ve got a bonus rhyme. While out riding this morning, I saw a couple pieces of evidence that one of our Cycle365 friends paid a to visit MY Town.

Good job everyone with your rhymes and thank you for your participation in the first third of this month’s challenges. I’ll announce the second third in a couple days. In the meantime, here is what I came up with today. It all began with a ride underneath a train . . . in a light … Continue reading "RHYME TIME (FOURTH VERSE)"

Well, the bifurcated March Challenge went pretty well, didn’t it? I think it helped to sustain interest for the entire month. And if you thought my use of the word “bifurcated” (which is about the only term I remember from a college pre-law class) was pretty smart, wait until you see my TRIfurcation idea. Being … Continue reading "A CHALLENGE TO CHALLENGE EVEN THE MOST UN-CHALLENGEABLE"

Before I show the pictures of what might be my last few fences of the month, I’ve got a story to share. It involves a scofflaw (ME) and the fuzz, the heat, the popo, the cops, the gendarmes, the constabulary. I usually slow down at stop signs, look both ways, and give cars the right … Continue reading "The Last of the Fences"

Yesterday’s post about my desire to reduce my on-line presence might have had the appearance of a whiney cry for attention. I didn’t mean it that way at all, though I did appreciate your comments. Emily’s comment, in particular, got me to thinking further about social media and how it effects people–like me. She said … Continue reading "More Deep Thoughts on Social Media, A Few Fences, and a Super-Funny Joke that I Made Up While On Today’s Bike Ride"

It was only a couple of hours ago that I complimented Emily on her efforts to reduce social media exposure and screen time. Then I said I need to do the same thing. Ironically, I was using on-line social media to say that. I can’t help myself. I’m not a particularly social person in the … Continue reading "Soul Searching and a Few Fences"

A Video Message From Your Chief Safety Officer It’s true–fences can prevent people from absentmindedly wandering off a cliff or accidentally riding their bikes over a waterfall. Sometimes fences can protect us from our own stupidity. One time I wanted to enter a demolition zone to get a closer look at the wrecking ball, but … Continue reading "FENCES: Safety Measure? Or Obstacle to Daring Adventure?"

A couple days ago, one of our Cycle365 members suggested I should write a review of my new bike. “That’s a ridiculous idea,” I thought. “I know nothing about writing a bike review. I’ve only ridden perhaps a dozen bikes in my lifetime, most of which I owned, so I have no real basis for … Continue reading "Rainy Day Man #22 (Bob Dylan Title Rip-Off #97)"

On March 19–the day before the spring equinox–I made a plan to get on the road early the next morning for a sunrise picture. Unfortunately, when the next morning arrived, I didn’t remember my plan until the sun had been up for about 15 minutes. I rushed out my back door to get a picture … Continue reading "A Good Day of Riding, but a Bad Attempt at Documenting the Equinox"

You didn’t REALLY think I could enter an entire post without at least a couple sentences, did you? Well, I was a little disappointed with the picture of the high school baseball field shown at the top of the page. Sure, it had the homerun fence in the distance and some doofus climbing the backstop … Continue reading "Make Fences, Not Sentences"

According to my official challenge calendar, today is the last day of the Shed/Barn/Treehouse/Doghouse/Garage/Outbuilding Challenge. Tomorrow–just to keep you informed–is the St. Patrick’s Day/Pot ‘O Gold/Clover/Leprechaun/Everything Green Challenge. Following that, we’ve got the Fences/Barriers/Gates Challenge through the rest of the month. Whew! Just before the deadline, here are my last few outbuildings. I know some … Continue reading "The Last of the Outbuildings"

It’s true! I remember learning about Pi in high school, but I never thought about it again in the next 45 years. I did not know there was a whole day dedicated to that geometric concept until Suzanne mentioned it couple weeks ago. I didn’t even realize the significance of Pi Day’s date until I … Continue reading "If Not for Cycle365, I Might Never Have Paid Attention to Pi Day."

Have you ever wondered how tap water gets from the city water tower to the faucet in your housing development? But it IS an interesting process. Gravity is part of it, but another part are those little outbuildings scattered around town that contain big pipes and valves and other equipment. Today’s post is all about … Continue reading "OUTBUILDINGS WITH A VERY IMPORTANT FUNCTION"

Let me tell you about the weather. Yesterday we got temperatures near 40-degrees (F). We also got about an inch of rain and even a little lightning & thunder. Overnight, the rainwater turned to ice. Then mother nature topped that off with about a half-inch of snow. I didn’t ride my bike today. One excuse … Continue reading "Cartoon Alter-Egos Have Outbuildings Too"

That was a pretty funny video, wasn’t it? The reason I started my post with it wasn’t because of the obvious hilarity though. The real reason is because I wanted to showcase the gray shed. That weathered little outbuilding is what gave me the idea for this challenge a couple of weeks ago. All of … Continue reading "The Czar Struggled to Meet His Own Challenge– Until He Found the Right Neighborhood"

No, despite the picture at the top, this month’s challenge is not going to involve biking to, and climbing up, a huge snow-capped mountain. I just wanted to post a picture from this morning’s bike ride. I was not only excited about climbing one of MY Town’s highest peaks–G2–but also, I was excited about announcing … Continue reading "THE MARCH CHALLENGE(S)"

To the common observer, one icicle is like any other icicle. Professional Icicologists like me, however, know there are many different kinds of icicles. In Minnesota alone, there are more than 40 different species. I’d like to share some of the ones I identified on today’s bike ride. Some species of icicle are more common … Continue reading "AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO ICICLES"

I’m excited about this special day because there won’t be another one like it for a hundred years. And even then, it probably won’t occur on a Twosday. Also, there is a pretty good chance I won’t even be alive to celebrate 2/22/2122. As if the unique date wasn’t enough, the weather added even more … Continue reading "My 2/22/22 Adventure"

I know the LMNOP challenge is running out of steam. That’s OK, because Suzanne came up with a new challenge for February 22, 2022. Note all the twos in the date 2/22/22. The challenge is to ride your bike on that date and collect a bunch of pictures of ANYTHING related to the number 2. … Continue reading "LMNOPeteringout"

SINGLES: DOUBLES (Fun with M’s and P’s) TRIPLES FINALLY:

After a couple of warm days, it’s pretty cold again here in Minnesota. And VERY icy too. It was so icy that I didn’t ride at all yesterday. Don’t worry though, I occupied my time with a dispute with Google over a post on my cooking blog. When I looked at the blog before posting … Continue reading "ELEMENOPEAbody Award Winning Post for Excellence in Cycle365 Journalism"

I didn’t get out for a bike ride until just after 4:00 p.m. yesterday. I had a dental hygienist appointment first thing in the morning, followed by a couple more things I had to take care of. That’s okay, though, because the temperature got higher and higher as the day progressed. It didn’t quite hit … Continue reading "Two Day’s Worth of Elemenopeeosity"

I have a few more peeks at Minnesota L,M,N,O,P’s for you. Before we get to them, however, I have a weather report. Nine of the last ten days have begun with below-zero (F) weather. I’m a morning rider so I didn’t get to enjoy bike rides on the few days that got up to 10 … Continue reading "Elemenopeeks"