Drillium Dude 

PR was fine, it was the bike trail near Marymoor Park that did me in

DD

curbtender

At least it wasn't poison oak. Rode to the Base of Mt Diablo. Too warm for me but got a nice shot.

Celeste Mike

Nice!

gaucho777 

Great pics, everyone.
@Drillium Dude, glad that fall wasn't worse & the bike made it out okay. Stage 9 of the Tour on Sunday (ending in Roubaix) should be fun to watch.

@Kilroy1988, that landscape painting is fantastic. Amazing and beautiful first effort.
--

A bit of catch up on the ride photos...

I went out with the daughter this weekend. We rode about 15 miles, the first half mostly uphill to Lake Anza in the nearby Tilden Park. Enjoyed some local wildlife.





(I don't usually have the light strapped to the helmet, but put it on for a family ride on July 4th to see the fireworks and let my wife use the helmet with the extra light.)

The next day I took the LOOK out for a short, hilly loop into the Berkeley Hills. I stopped at the Bear Fountain for a photo. Originally built in 1911, the fountain was designed by John Galen Howard who was also instrumental in the planning of the UC Berkeley campus (and mentor of Julia Morgan, architect of Hearst Castle, among many other local buildings).



Today, I went out again on the LOOK for a ride into the East Bay hills--a gorgeous day in the SF bay. First photo op at a little church in Berkeley.



Later in the ride, I made a diversion into the scenic Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland (where I, coincidentally, rode by Julia Morgan's grave).

Johno59

Got stung by a bee yesterday so thought best to make an offering at their shrine.


Very old pub indeed.


Half-pint sized houses


Paid my respects at dead man's corner and nearly got run over standing in the road to get money shot.


A quiet moment of reflection at Virginia's failed suicide.


Finish off with a well earned pint/s in the sun at the Plough


Corn to the left of me, spuds to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with my Raleigh?


Bless my journey dear cycle God


Plan the route at the Square and Compass..... obviously.


Get permission from the local gentry at the Guildhall.

thinktubes 

northbend 

Lovely countryside for a bike ride @Johno59

looking forward to more posts from you!

Wildwood 

Peugeotlover

Agreed, Johno59, a very nice, diverse selection of photos, enjoyed them, thanks!
Attractive bicycle, as well.

Ballenxj

Bees in the wall? Curious as to what the story is here?

jimmuller 

It must akin to the Frog and Peach.

I just rode my commute again. The ride du jour was the Grandis.

noobinsf 

Funny, I immediately thought the same thing. I grew up in Merced, and I know that evening light and soil color well.

Kilroy1988 

There's definitely something about the lighting, too. I rather obsessively peruse Ebay motors for classic cars from time to time, and can almost always guess when a car is for sale in California based on the color of the sky in the photos. It's rather strange.

northbend 

RATROD (Ride Around Tatoosh Range in One Day) today,
We started at Longmire in Mt. Rainier N.P. and rode up to Paradise

Mark, Bob, and Steve by NBend, on Flickr

Our crew by NBend, on Flickr

The final push to the top for Steve by NBend, on Flickr

Lunch at paradise by NBend, on Flickr


With Mark at Paradise by NBend, on Flickr

We descended Stevens Canyon, climbed backbone ridge

Bob at BB ridge by NBend, on Flickr

....And rode to the town of Packwood. The temp was 100 when we got there. Ice Cream and Gatorade helped to get the body temps back under control for the final climb on Skate Creek road.
We turned off onto a gravel shortcut to Longmire. Just across the river at this spot was our car where a cold beer awaits us.

Rainier by NBend, on Flickr

jimmuller 

A bunch of monstahs on a monstah ride. Awesome.

I think I'll ride the Tommasini to work today.

Prowler 

eom 

The Long Cut by Uncle Tupelo

I've been searching and you've been gone
Out looking for the shortest path to the one that you're on
And I've already seen all I want to see
Come on, let's take the long cut
I think that's what we need
When we were younger, we were strong
We felt a lot better than the things that we'd done
Now if it's to be, if you still believe
Come on let's take the long cut
I think that's what we need
If you want to take the long cut
We'll get there eventually
I've been searching and you've been gone
Out looking for the shortest path to the one you're on
Now if it's to be, if you still believe
Come on let's take the long cut
I think that's what we need
We've been in a deep rut
And it's been killing me
If you want to take the long cut
We'll get there eventually

Songwriters: Jeff Tweedy / Jeffrey Scott Tweedy
The Long Cut lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, BMG Rights Management US, LLC

Dean51 

I was cruising the low hills near Port Angeles, WA on my Ron Cooper this morning. The route home took me along a section of the Olympic Discovery Trail that is near the harbor. The tide was really low and I spotted this bald eagle perched on a rock. 'Looking for lunch I presume!

Dean

IMG_2843

Wildwood 

Kilroy1988 

@Dean51 I really love that shot. You were certainly inspired to line it up that way!

-Gregory

jimmuller 

After all the great pics and song lyrics and stories I feel so inferior posting just a few simple details. But what the heck, that never stopped me before!

We took the tandem out for 46.7 miles. Nothing special, just a quick jaunt out into the country. We did have one curious incident though. As we were halfway on our return home something caught the edge of my shoe or cuff or something as I was dismounting. I figured I'd snagged the toe clip. Then it happened again. What the..? At a brief water/rest stop I found this. Now I ask you, what's wrong with this picture (besides the bad focus)? Actually, these pictures?




That is a new experience for me! Fortunately I have the other left-side pedal from the original cranks, the stoker's crank having been replaced with English threads long ago.

Kilroy1988 

Today is my first Saturday off in ten weeks, and I knew exactly what to do. I took off at 6:55am and headed south towards Visalia. I stopped at a farmer's market down on Caldwell and Mooney to visit my uncle, who has a little business selling organic produce that he grows on a couple of acres of property behind his house, then moved on to Starbucks for an Americano and lemon yogurt. Next I zipped through the countryside to the east, through Farmersville and into Exeter.

I stopped to take some photos of the railway mural (Exeter is full of lovely murals, some of which I've posted in this thread before) because I don't think I'd taken the time to admire it before. I noticed Darth Vader was a passenger in one of the railway cars!

I had a scone and a latte (yes, caffeine drives me on such occasions) at the Wildflower Cafe, where I had a nice patio view of the road and was admiring a Model A sedan parked out front. An old gentleman came by and stopped to look over my Frejus, and we ended up talking for quite a while. He used to ride a Raleigh International which he had sold through our mutual acquaintance Craig, the previous owner of Sierra Bicycle Werks in Visalia. He also happened to own the Model A sedan, and we had some very interesting things to talk about together for fifteen minutes or so!

Next I went north towards Woodlake, and stopped in at the Runway Cafe, where I had a salad and a lot of water - it was nearly noon and getting quite warm already (today's high will be about 105° F). I watched a couple of little airplanes take off and land, and envied the fellows who dedicated themselves to such an inspiring hobby... Maybe someday. I came back up the 245 through a bit of hilly country and was home just after 1:00pm, with 62 miles and quite a bit of stopping under my belt. I haven't been out for more than 40 miles in several weeks, so it felt rather exhausting!

-Gregory

rickrob 

Went to Hudson and rode the Assabet Valley Rail Trail. Stopped at Fort Meadow Reservoir. Nice day, not too hot. It was a short ride though-- only 12 miles

Sir_Name 

Last weekend a buddy and I got out for a good stretch on some new roads with a fair bit of climbing. The destination was a friend's pool - cold beer in shaded water with BBQ to follow was a welcome recovery!






Earlier this week I installed a dropper seatpost on the MTB and yesterday I took it out for the first ride. Being able to adjust saddle height on the fly for this type of riding is fantastic. A lot of the trails here are rocky and rooty singletrack with rough, sometimes loose descents and climbs. Dropping the saddle and getting over the rear wheel when pointing down without having to stop to open a quick release allowed more focus on keeping momentum, picking a good line, and enjoying getting tossed around. Minor adjustments to accommodate various changes in terrain with a quick flick of the thumb. In the past with the quick release binder bolt I'd often leave the saddle either a bit too high or a bit too low for a given section of trail just so I didn't have to stop to make an adjustment. That usually wasn't much of a problem, but being able to easily keep the saddle where I want it is certainly a welcome change. The other major benefit is that as the trail smooths out or transitions to pavement the saddle pops back to the correct height at full extension without fail. I'm pleased. : )





I was bummed to find that one of my favorite sections of trail is being smoothed over. Plenty more, though.

DQRider 

It is getting impossible to acknowledge the brilliance of any single post on this thread now, because you all are submitting such high-quality images of beautiful rides, and some of the descriptions are very interesting. So thank you all for entertaining me when I'm stuck behind my PC monitor.

Today I'll tell you about my ride on Saturday, July 14th. But first a little background:


This is my father, in a photograph I shot at the beginning of June.

It turns out that this was the last photograph taken of him in his own house. Shortly after, we found out he had terminal liver cancer, inoperable, untreatable, and that his days on this Earth were coming to an end. While he waited in hospital, we began the search for a suitable hospice for him to rest until then. We found a perfect place for him at Our Lady of Peace, on the Saint Paul / Minneapolis border. He is there now, and my ride on Saturday was to go and visit him in his new home.

The route I chose was mostly trails, once I got across the river. Here's a shot just off of Shepherd Road, where the railroad goes beneath the trail. If you look carefully to the right of my front wheel, you will see some wild turkeys pecking at gravel along the tracks:



Some other nice scenery along the way includes the Ford Damn:



... and other amenities along the trail:



We had a nice visit. Dad is at peace in his new home, and says he is looking forward to joining our mother in the hereafter. When I left him for the trip home, I decided to explore the neighborhood a bit to see what kind of surroundings he was in. This area used to be all warehouses for the various industries that used to thrive here. As with such places elsewhere around the country, these old buildings have been repurposed in interesting ways. Just across the I94 bridge, I found Lake Monster Brewing Company in an old brownstone warehouse next to what is now called Vandalia Tower:





It is a beautiful setting if you are into this kind of renovation and renewal. However, the roads around there are truly awful - a cratered moonscape in asphalt. There was a food truck outside the taproom called "Dine-1-1", built on the chassis of a retired ambulance (clever, huh?) that serves several versions of grilled cheese with various meats and veggies. I had just eaten lunch with Dad, so I had to pass on the vittles for this visit.



All the while I was exploring around the brewery, I kept hearing the sounds of classic rock played live. Following my ears, I came upon this band playing to an empty parking lot out behind one of the warehouses:


The band "Burn Room", rehearsing for an upcoming corporate event.

This is typical of my style of riding; think 10 year-old boy exploring the neighborhood by bicycle. Poke around, take pictures, and enjoy whatever treats present themselves in your travels.

Along the trail on the way home, I stopped to air-up my rear tire at one of the bike repair stations:


Our bike trails here in the Twin Cities are truly amazing. Especially for a city with such a short riding season.

Further along, as I crossed East River Road, I came upon this reminder of the dangers all cyclists face in close proximity to car traffic:



As I got closer to home, I came upon a grandmother named Sarah, and her grandson Teddy, stopped in the middle of the trail with the boy's mountain bike set upside down. Sarah was attempting to untangle the chain, which had come off the big chainring and wrapped itself around the derailleur. I stopped and sorted it out for them, the bike was way out-of-tune, and fixed it so that he was riding in the middle chainring with the use of the bottom 4 gears in the cassette. I didn't have a phillips screwdriver with me to adjust the limit screws properly, or I would have tuned it up for him at trailside. This adjustment would get him home, anyway.

I asked Sarah if she was a Monty Python fan, and she said she used to be, a bit. Did she remember the "Bicycle Repairman" skit? Yes she did, and told me that I was her superhero for the day. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a photo of them. But that was my second mission of mercy for the day.