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"

Way too wet to ride today, but here are my favorite bicycling photos of 2022. Happy New Year!

With temperatures in the 40s (F), it doesn’t exactly feel like a usual New Year’s Eve here in Vermont. In the photo above, it doesn’t look like a typical idyllic Vermont mid-winter scene; more like our usual muddy March. Still nice to get out for a ride on the last day of the year though. … Continue reading "Last Ride of 2022"

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!

May 2023 bring many happy biking days, smiles and blue skies! My recap for December is HERE.

Wishing All the Best to Everyone!! Its been a great time following everyone with their cycling adventures Particularly since everyone has such beautiful places to cycle and interesting things to see Looking forward to 2023 and your riding adventures The year in review/stats

For most of us, riding in January IS a challenge Just back from a ride across town, around the park, and home — first time out in many days — the weather was just uggsome (technical meteorological term)   but any ride is better than no ride  at all  🙂 Initially, the January Challenge is to … Continue reading "January Challenge(s)"

No snow or giant icicles hereabouts. Just rain, with more on the way. Perfect for newts, apparently.

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"

Wishing you all, dear Friends, a jolly and festive Christmas, and for the New Year everything that a cyclist loves, above all time, health and good weather for many miles on the bicycle.

To start the new season we had 8C/46F, a warm föhn wind was blowing and there were just a few patches of snow here and there in the fields. When we have föhn, the Alps are very clear on the horizon, but too far away for a decent picture. In the picture on top they … Continue reading "Warm Winter Weather"

Stormy weather expected for the next couple days, so I got out for a Greg-style ride on the shortest day of the year. I think the solstice here is officially at 4:47 PM, so I’m a few hours early. Note that long shadow above.

After two weeks of sub-freezing temperatures and lots of snow, we had 4C today and the roads looked safe enough for me to get back on my bicycle. In the morning I wasn’t sure that all the paths on my way to tai chi would be cleared, so I didn’t ride there, but in the … Continue reading "Snow free"

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"

It’s been snowing on and off for two days, but I wasn’t planning to ride my bike anyway. It’s probably a good thing that I am being forced to walk for a change. I got some pictures for Christmas, too.

HERE is my choice of pictures for the month. I’ll do anything to avoid cars in my photos so one got a major transformation in Photoshop. Guess which one.

First of all I want to thank everyone for the interest and positive reaction to my post about the heated gloves. I was thinking this was perhaps just another “wimpy Suzanne has just bought another gadget” thing. But I’m glad I overcame my self-doubts and took a constructive approach. There were some questions that I’ll … Continue reading "The gloves, the hands and the wrist"

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."

I bought heated gloves! They have little wires (I think that’s how it works) that go to the fingertips and tip of the thumb, too, and they are powered by a rechargeable battery that is in a zip pocket in the cuff. They are quite thick, perhaps a problem when working my camera with them … Continue reading "Warm hands – kinda"

Santa Claus is coming to town … I got an ear worm after taking that picture. It was pretty cold for my standards, around freezing. Still have to find a better solution for my hands. Nevertheless, I did a little asphalt loop, no muddy paths in the forest these days, and got two pictures. Wasn’t … Continue reading "Santa is coming"

  It was just as cloudy, cold, windy, and miserable as it looks Strong wind from the south was generally a crosswind, so would not be all that bad riding west/east Winds predicted up to 40mph and they were getting a good start Nevertheless, Raleigh heads across town to the park to see what might … Continue reading "December Challenge 1"

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.)"

Not exactly Hastings-like weather conditions, but cold wind from the north brought blizzards of falling leaves and a little chill to the air. 

Just saying hello. No Thanksgiving decorations here since it’s not a holiday. But since I have lived in Germany (I came in 1962) I have kept the tradition alive. We are celebrating a big family Thanksgiving on Sunday. Turkey with all the trimmings for 15 people. Yikes, I hope the preparations don’t keep me off … Continue reading "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Go get the stuffing, cranberry sauce, and giant pumpkin pie.

Holiday Challenge hosted by Nancy With Thanksgiving just a few days away lets participate in Nancy’s Holiday Challenge Anything and Everything Thanksgiving related counts Thank You Nancy!! Not forgetting CRANKSGIVING —  participating in a food drive for local pantries via bicycle Iowa PBS Presents | Bike People: Holiday and Winter Riding (#113) | KPBS Cranksgiving … Continue reading "November Challenge Subset"

Warning, danger, and no parking either. Bonus: Eilen Jewell sings Warning Signs

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:

That’s a half a year! I have been remiss. I was still collecting the pictures and putting them on my website, sort of, but I never got around to posting the link to the months here on Cycle365. I guess I am getting lazy, or else have better things to do. Anyway, the last two … Continue reading "Cycle Days Challenge: May, June, July, August, September, October 2022"

Two days ago we got back from our little four-day bike trip in the border land of Germany and Czechia (and I still haven’t gotten past day one in my journal on CycleBlaze). Here are some pictures that I took for our challenge. I discovered that the Google Translator app will translate text that you … Continue reading "Achtung! Pozor! Danger!"

The North Fork Conservation Club doesn’t appear to be an inviting place if you are not a member Except on Saturdays — weekly fish fry invites the public Several Warnings Blurry little sign on the pole:  No Dumping Allowed Small print at the bottom:  “Do not remove or damage under severe penalty” Proceed slowly with … Continue reading "November Challenge"

…want to ride with Nancy and Suzanne.

November Challenge Part 1 Gefhar!!!  Warnung!!! That would be Danger and Warning in German Thanks again to Suzanne for suggesting this topic We are looking for Danger/Warning signs Include your bicycle when practical to do so The sign above threatens Prosecution — or as two youngsters in southern Illinois once said to a trespasser , … Continue reading "November Challenge"

A beautiful day for late October in Illinois 68F and light winds Photos HERE

Not to be outdone by Rich, Greg and Old Grumbleface, I got a picture of Nancy and Suzanne out for a little pre-Halloween ride. They aren’t racing though, just having a nice chat at they pedal along. p.s. Picture found on the web

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

Greg in the lead, then Rich, with Old Grumble-Face bringing trailing behind.

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"

Halloween isn’t a big thing here. I thought I’d be lucky if I found a few Jack-o-lanterns, pumpkins yes, but not carved ones. Lo and behold on my way to Munich on a road that I seldom ride, I came across a house with Halloween decorations out front. To make up for the lack of … Continue reading "Ghosts and Toadstools"

I’ve been in a ‘fly on the wall’ mode recently, just happy to appreciate other bloggers efforts, the family lazy gene is totally responsible again for my procrastination. Well, I’ve got a few challenges due and some photos in the mobile phone so I’ll do my best. The featured image is of a few handmade … Continue reading "Springtime, some catching up to do"

Didn’t need to go far for this. Just around the corner.

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"

I guess art is per se handmade – but not all handmade things are art. I leave it up to you to say whether these paintings are art. They are hand made, anyway.

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"

I found some objects in the forest that I thought would qualify nicely for our new challenge – but then I wasn’t so sure. I found these two definitions of handmade: 1. crafted by hand rather than by machine; 2. made by hand or by a hand process The first definition would disqualify them, but … Continue reading "Handmade?"

Hand Made stilts With many thanks to Suzanne for suggesting this topic some time ago . . . . For Part 2 Look for things that are Hand Made Most, if not all of the time, this will be a one-off object Suzanne’s input is requested if any clarification is needed Include your bicycle when … Continue reading "October Challenge Part 2"

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 have been walking again which is good for seeing little things like fasteners. Here is my collection from yesterday’s walk. I was back on my bike today but didn’t get any fastener photos. I guess I was too fast.

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.

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.

An almost perfect morning for a longer ride Dave, Dwight, and myself met up and headed west to Range Line Road So called because it is the north south road between two townships The photos pretty much depict the ride — lots of corn and soybean about ready to be harvested https://richscyclingphotos.blogspot.com/2022/10/le-tour-range-line-loop-10522.html

I’m surprised no one beat me to it with these puns! I nailed it! No wait, nails don’t count as fasteners, screws do. Screwed it. I was on my bike today for the first time since my operation. I took it easy, rode slow and avoided any climbs on this little ten kilometer trial run. … Continue reading "Fasten-ating and Rivet-ing"

It’s not October yet, two days to go, so here is a quick post to acknowledge our September challenges. The train obviously rolls. But then I got to thinking about it and wondered how come the train doesn’t just glide on the smooth tracks. Checked with Google and the friction created by the weight of … Continue reading "Almost rolled past"

Well, ok, not that cold — yet We do get the rare snow roller

Possibly a Pet Peeve but not much can be done about it Happy Spring to our southern hemisphere cyclists

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)"