Waste water treatment facility Water tower is visible in the distance above the building USGS Map Since most of town is located on the Chatsworth glacial moraine, the treatment plant is located south of town down slope of the moranic area. Thus, gravity does most of work in draining the system toward this point. What … Continue reading "Liquid Re-Cycling"
Read MoreA gorgeous day, a little bit hilly and plenty of gravel.
Read MoreMost of you can skip reading these first two paragraphs of this post, as well as the video that follows. Their only purpose is to, once again, defend my tough-guy stature. I know, I know, last time I vowed to ignore anybody else who dared to dare me. However, this time I am responding to … Continue reading "UPSIDE-DOWN IN ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA"
Read MoreStandard practice for prepping bottles for a ride. 1. Half fill bottle with liquid. 2. Convert liquid to solid. 3. Fill rest of bottle with liquid. 4. Empty bottle into mouth as solid becomes liquid.
Read MoreNever let it be said that Gregblood of MY Town, Minnesota backed down from a dare without giving it his best effort, no matter how difficult or embarrassing it was. And, rest assured, given my aversion to disco music and dancing of any kind, this particular dare was definitely embarrassing. It’s my own fault, really. … Continue reading "Nothing to See Here But Shame"
Read MoreI identified with everything said in this short commercial. At the surface, I like it very much. At a deeper level, it is concerning that cycling is only associated with recreation and spiritual growth and such – not as a valid form of transport, not as an alternative to cars for commuting, not as a … Continue reading "Why we ride"
Read MoreIt was a hot, sunny and humid day yesterday, so of course I set out for a ride. I remembered to take plenty of water and electrolyte solution this time, though so Sue was OK with me getting out. Actually I think that sometimes she wants me out of her hair during the day, which … Continue reading "Gaullic abandon"
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Abandoned school building Wellington, Illinois Can you spot Santa waving in a window? There he is! Behind the school a rusted fence protects someone’s private pond, replete with ducks and a goose or two Following photos are from a previous expedition to Wellington and the school/pond: Back to the present: Riding back home along the … Continue reading "Wellington, IL — July Challenge/Ride"
Read MoreHi all, So, what’s it gonna be? My vote for old and abandoned things, no selfies allowed. Cheers, Keith
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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)"
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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"
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The longest day of the year really was a long day for Old Grumble-Face! Read more at Bill Bikes
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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"
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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 MoreBright 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 MoreServes 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.
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My ace support crew reminded me she needed to pick up her Wine Club shipment at Paradise Ridge. That winery burned to the ground in the October fires, and a temporary tasting room opened in Kenwood while the facility is being rebuilt at the original site. By my usual meandering route, Kenwood is about ten … Continue reading "Paradise Ridge"
Read MoreI got out of bed and onto the bike before sunrise Sunday. The forecast said temps in the mid to high 90s(F) by early afternoon, so I wanted to get a ride in early. I rode SD38 east to Humboldt and then back to Salem, a 35-mile round trip. Lots of bird activity on the … Continue reading "A bridge and a bike"
Read MoreYou just never know what might be found at JR’s Salvage south of town. Friend Dave and I, have pulled some decent bicycles out of there and with a little TLC have become very rideable. Treks, Raleighs, and a Centurian to name a few. One came from Cycle Smithy in Chicago — an upscale bicycle … Continue reading "Ride to the Salvage Yard"
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Three years ago, Jeff and I bicycled through the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta with the expectation of utilizing two ferries across water to complete the loop and return to our starting point in Rio Vista. Much to our surprise, the J-Mack ferry was out of service, essentially leaving us stranded on Grand Island … Continue reading "Islands in the Delta"
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Scott took a fine photograph of the bridge at Andros, but it seems like he snapped more than one exposure. Suzanne found a copy on her computer with Rachael’s bike mysteriously appearing in the corner. I searched my hard drive and — wow! — look what I found. Does anyone recognize the woman on the … Continue reading "That Bridge at Andros, again"
Read MoreA moderate northeasterly breeze suggested Dave and I should head that direction for a change — seems like most often a southerly wind keeps us riding in that direction. Heading north out of town and then east we crossed the Kankakee Beaverville and Southern RR, paused for a little break and continued to the (now) … Continue reading "Ride North and East"
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Today’s Ride of Silence in Munich The Ride of Silence is an international cycling event on the third Wednesday in May, which commemorates cyclists killed and injured on public roads. Cyclists around the world are demonstrating for more attention and safety on the road. We met at 6:30 in pouring rain – otherwise there might … Continue reading "Ride of Silence – Munich"
Read MoreWhat do you do with the bridge pictures that you took in April when the challenge is for May? You post them anyway. I also have some bridge photos in petto for the challenge, but first the non-challenge bridges. We were on the Danube Bike Path the last two days of April and of course … Continue reading "Gratuitous Bridges"
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For the Challenge of the Month, all bridges are welcome. A few miles down the road we have a famous one. It might not be the longest, the highest, the newest, or the fanciest bridge on the planet, but it’s pretty nice. Around here, we think of it as a breathtakingly beautiful symbol of the … Continue reading "One Bridge to Rule Them All"
Read MoreFriday, May 4, 2018: On Wednesday, I reserved one of the tent sites at the nearby Lake Vermillion State Recreation Area for Friday night. So, Friday after work I loaded up my tent etc. and rode the 20 miles to the park. Only 1 of the other 3 tent sites was occupied. However, the RV … Continue reading "Weekend"
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May 3, 2018 Day 8/100 At a crossroads: To a monastery or a beer garden? My goal is 100 rides with pictures of my bike, named Victoria, or someone else’s bike for that matter, before the end of the year. Just one picture from any given ride/day is the only rule for the challenge. My … Continue reading "Cycling Days with Victoria – 8"
Read MoreI came across Bill’s Journal cycling from Colorado to Virginia and was particularly interested in the section covering Illinois, and especially Vermilion county (Paxton to Lafayette Indiana). The description of Bill’s thoughts about the motel here in town, while very accurate, are still the source of a good chuckle. Many of the descriptions and photos … Continue reading "Cheneyville Bridge 2011/2018"
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April 28, 2018 Day 3/100 Somewhere in Lower Bavaria. Selfie in a traffic mirror. My goal is 100 rides with pictures of my bike, named Victoria, before the end of the year. Just one picture from any given ride/day is the only rule for the challenge. My gallery with photos from January through April is … Continue reading "Cycling Days with Victoria – 3"
Read MoreMark Twain wrote a book called Life on the Mississippi and this post is called Life on the Mississippi. Both are outstanding works of American literature. But that’s where the similarities end. Mark Twain’s book was written in the 1860’s. My story is written in the 2010’s. Twain’s book is about three years of his life in which … Continue reading "Life On The Mississippi"
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Coming Full Circle … from Garching to Dachau Sunday April 22,2018 D-Day, the day I complete the circle! Sunday and spectacular weather – I know what that means. I want to do another ride but there are going to be a lot of people out and about. Europe is a small and densely populated place, … Continue reading "CLC 2018 – Going Around in a Circle"
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On the way home from Death Valley, west of Trona I met Laura from France. She has bicycled the length of New Zealand and across Australia. Now she’s on her way across the USA from LA to NY, heading for DV. Don’t tell my ace support crew, but I think I might fall in love … Continue reading "Laura from France"
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For anyone interested in Death Valley, I’ve started putting up the first bits about my expedition here: http://bike365.org/bike/news/ More to come as time permits while I’m cleaning the sand out of all my camping gear, putting away everything, and tending to the battered, abused Ogre.
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Hi there, folks and fellow cyclists! I’m having a hard time catching up. So many lovely comments that I haven’t answered, so many rides that I haven’t commented. For the time being, thank you all so much. Here is the sixth segment – Circling in the sun … from Ottenhofen to Garching Wednesday April 18, … Continue reading "CLC 2018 – Going Around in a Circle 17"
Read MorePerfection can be boring, I know. But with the weather we’ve been having, that is the only way I know to describe the ride I had today. I’m sure that before too much longer I’ll be back to complaining about the rain, or the wind, or the cold, or all three, so let’s enjoy it … Continue reading "CLC18.7 Mustard city and the Dukes"
Read MoreHoly wow, when it stops raining this is a beautiful place to cycle! Today was perfect, light winds, sun, warm enough that I could ride in shorts, etc. So I set out for a ride up the Burgundy canal. The first hotel boats of the season are arriving. While seeing the world go by at … Continue reading "CLC18.6 Can’t Get Any Better Than This"
Read MoreBonjour les cyclos! Today was another sunny day. Having two in less than a week is something of a shock to the system, but one I can live with . The waters are slowly receeding, so it seemed like a good idea to go for a ride and enjoy the warm-ish weather. The chestnut trees … Continue reading "CLC 18.5 Another fine day"
Read MoreWell, folks, its been a long time coming, but it seems like we have finally turned the corner on spring. Today the sun was in full evidence and the temperatures were finally getting comfortable enough to ride without adding enough layers to cut off circulation in the extremities. Its not like I haven’t been on … Continue reading "CLC18.4 Spring is here, or so we hope."
Read MoreAlas another gloomy day, about 25 celsius with some sunny breaks. I headed down the Zig Zag to see my friends at Kenwick who were involved in a horse dressage event. Kenny Wildhog is retiring with a golden handshake as his employer is rationalising its operations to Melbourne, a familiar story around WA at the … Continue reading "Cycle Life Challenge 3: Planes, trains and….camels and horses"
Read MoreThursday, March 22 Mattieu has the best coffee machine in town. Almost everybody agrees on this, so his bar in the center of Gevrey is quite popular. Of course, not everybody likes coffee and the morning usually finds a few of the locals enjoying un petit canon , a little glass of wine. Most of these … Continue reading "CLC 18: The village bar for coffee"
Read MoreSpring Equinox … and a mundane ride Tuesday March 20, 2018 Spring at last – sort of. It’s around 0°C and we had a couple of centimeters of new snow. I spent half the day wishing it were warmer and the rest of the time reading other people’s bicycle journals. It was one of those … Continue reading "CLC 2018 – Going Around in a Circle 6"
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After my ace support crew led me up and down Sunrise Peak at her usual high speed this morning, she dropped me off in Scottsdale. There I found a cute little Ofo bike lounging alluringly on the side of the street. How could I fail to take such an exotic banana-colored machine for a spin? … Continue reading "CLC2018, Ride 4: Me and my Ofo"
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In Tempe (a municipality in the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area) the Salt River (also known as the Rio Salado) has been dammed to create Tempe Town Lake. My ace support crew and I are in Scottsdale, as we usually are around this time each year, to catch some spring training baseball and to hike in … Continue reading "CLC2018, Ride 3: Rio Salado"
Read MoreWednesday France has had a very wet winter. Wetter than usual. Wetter than needed. Water of almost biblical proportions. All the local rivers are in flood stage. Even the little Meuzin that runs through Nuits St. Georges and that is usually dry in the summer is flooding fields and a few basements. So you might … Continue reading "CLC 18: Take two: a real ride."
Read MoreTuesday, March 13, 2018 Well folks, its been a tough time getting to the start line this year. I got a call from my sister in Ann Arbor that our father had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and that he only had two weeks to live. I got on the first plane I … Continue reading "CLC 18: returning to normal"
Read MoreHowdy folks, For the Cycle-life challenge No. 2 I rode from home to work then to the coast to see the annual Sculptures by the sea. For details click here
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On the planet Arrakis, among the endless dunes, I scan the horizon carefully before I set my thumper upon the surface of the sand and activate it. Instantly it begins the steady, rhythmic thump certain to attract a huge creature from beneath the sand sea. I tighten my grip on the rope and remind myself … Continue reading "CLC2018, Ride 2: Arrakis, also known as the planet Dune"
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The spirit is willing … but the flesh is weak Saturday March 10, 2018 I’ve planned such lovely rides. I’ve pondered oh so many clever titles for the journal. I even have a theme. But perhaps things won’t go as planned. To start with I am just recovering from a bad case of bronchitis. But … Continue reading "CLC 2018 – Going Around in a Circle 1"
Read MoreWhat happens when you start your ride at 8.20pm, and then ride over 4 ranges and through 3 river catchments over the next two days? Do the frog and turtle get in a floatie session? Check out our over-ambitious weekend ride
Read MoreCan we hit 1000 kms on the bike this weekend? Can we beat developing storms to our overnight camp? Will the dreaded mozzie virus cause us troubles? Will the turtle and frog abandon me if we don’t start doing overnights? Find out at this link: Plan B – Feb Ride 3 – Into the trough
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Of course, everything is relative, but by my standards it’s pretty cold out. We are having a grand finale for the winter with lots of sub-freezing days and nights. With the help of my little hand warmer, I can handle a camera, but my bike stays home. Here are a couple of shots from my … Continue reading "The Lone Bike Series – 2"
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It looked as though Portland was going to escape winter completely this year, until yesterday. We got a light dusting of snow in the night – just enough to brush back the early bloomers. I rode my bike to the coffee shop, mostly just so I could take a photo of Rodriguez braving the great … Continue reading "First day of winter"
Read MoreIt was about 2 months ago that I started feeling poorly. It was about 3.5 weeks ago that I finally stopped feeling like death. My muscles and joints still continued to hurt and I was still very tired, but I knew the worst was behind me. Well, things still hurt and I still get tired … Continue reading "The first long test rides of 2018"
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It was easy to cycle 100k+ this week ‘cos I took an overnight camp trip south to Ross. Well, I’ll re-think that – the ride back from Ross was not easy at all ! The trip south is documented here : https://tonyscycling.blog/2018/02/08/week-6-part-1-a-ride-to-ross/ The trip north here : https://tonyscycling.blog/2018/02/10/week-6-part-ii-the-way-home/ It’s raining and thundery here this evening and people … Continue reading "2018. Week 6. To Ross and Back in two parts"
Read MoreA great summers day; a ride to Deloraine. To read along click visit : Week 5, 2018, including an overnight Deloraine cycle/camp.
Read MoreWeek 4, 2018. Including a “magic” ride Total for week : 132k Total for year : 365k Vivente : 101k Brompton : 31k The weather this week has been up close to 30°C early in … Continue reading "January Rides in Tassie"
Read Moreor ten to figure out how to do a post. I’ll admit my head is full of head cold crap and decongestant. So, I’ll use that as my excuse for lack of tech skills today!! Now that I’ve figured it out I’m feeling much more confident! It’s a beautiful day today I wish I was … Continue reading "We’ll it took me a minute!!"
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