Cycle 365

The bicycle in daily life

I Know Where To Find Them

Posted: February 03, 2021 Under: Challenge of the month By 3 Comments

This confession might or might not be a shocker to you, but at least half the time I don’t actually have to go randomly searching for picture opportunities to meet the various Cycle365 Challenges. I’ve ridden the streets and nearby rural highways so often that I know exactly where to go to capture many of my pictures. That’s especially true this time of the year when I hesitate to stray too far from home.

Today’s featured picture is a good example. This morning I saw Scott’s picture of a warning sign in front of a mining operation. It only took my brain about a minute to figure out where I had to go to find MY Town’s equivalent. And it only took another 20 minutes to get there.

From there I rode another 20 minutes to get to another place where I already knew about a hazard I confronted a couple of months ago. Back then I was innocently pedaling through the driveway of our local National Guard Armory as a shortcut from one road to another. At the far side of the driveway, a thin chain stretched across. I couldn’t even see it before I ran into it and nearly got clotheslined right off my bike.

That would have been a great hazard to photograph, but when I got there this morning I found that driveway hadn’t been plowed all the way through. There was no drive-thru, no chain, no hazard — just a dead end filled with snow.

Just to the left of this fenced-in enclosure is the end of the drive. Darn it, no hazard. Still, it seemed like a good place for a cigarette break. Just as The Reckless Mr. Bing Bong was about to light up, I saw the sign and screamed “STOP!!!”

I also knew where to find this hazard, which, I must admit, has been pissing me off for years.

These tires are a little wider so they don’t fall in. The same cannot be said of my roadie bike’s tires. Will the City of MY Town ever learn to turn this drain sideways?

I didn’t really know about this one in advance. At first glance it might not seem all that hazardous . . . unless the neighborhood considers a bundled-up guy riding his bike on snow and ice to be a “suspicious activity.” No doubt, I would have been considered even more “suspicious” if I were a black man.

That’s it for today. I wonder if I can post at least one hazard every day this month? Maybe I could, but I’ll probably give up by February 10th. Tomorrow we’re supposed to be getting freezing rain followed by a couple inches of snow. I won’t post that. But when the roads are plowed, I know where to find a bunch of hazardous potholes.

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Hi. My name is Greg and I ride my bike a lot. That is to say, I ride my bike almost every day. I go on long rides and short rides. Sunny rides, cloudy rides, and rainy rides. I like commuting, errand-running, day-tripping, overnighting, and touring on my bike. I ride on city streets, highways, gravel, single track, and snow with equal enthusiasm. Sometimes I ride fast and sometimes I ride slow. I try to keep my feet on the pedals at stop lights and I do not dismount when I hop up on a curb. I have a roadie bike, a mountain bike and a touring bike. I try to accept any challenge a bike ride can throw at me without complaint. But I don't like bugs.

3 response to "I Know Where To Find Them"

    • By: gregblood Posted: February 5, 2021

      Oh yes, I do remember your “warning sign” post — especially the gun-related signs.

  2. By: The Navigator Posted: February 7, 2021

    You will have to rank your hazards from most hazardous to least hazardous since you have so many!

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