Koyote

Koyote

abshipp 

I got the shiny bike very dirty today.

We are having a very unusually warm weekend here in Northern Illinois. Sunny and in the high 40s! I actually got to ride in shorts and just a long sleeve jersey for once!

I had planned on a 30 mile loop that I had done earlier this summer, but ended up missing a turn and ended up on a very steep, very sloppy gravel road. Fun times on 28c tires and 40-28 bailout gear Oh, and this bike really needs compressionless brake housing. The brakes are really more of a kind suggestion than anything, which makes things interesting.

Ended up with 32 miles, and new plans to tear down, clean, and overhaul the old SLT over the next few days.

mstateglfr 

Love the chrome LT!

bigredgrad01

djkashuba 

Sonoma Coast by djk762, on Flickr

chas58

@abshipp I tried putting gravel tires (non slick) on my sweet quill stem bike. I learned pretty quickly that knobby tires and downtube shifters don't play well together.
Going for a shift and brushing against a knobby tire at 20+ mph kinda hurts.

@bigredgrad01 I like the fenders. I always wonder about people who espouse the fowl weather benefits of disk brakes yet don't seem to understand the benefits of fenders (especially on gravel this time of year).

TimothyH

This is really nice.

I can smell the ocean and feel the chill in the air.

When someone asks why we ride bikes, just hand them a copy of this photo.

Well done.

-Tim-

pbass

So great. I'm a NorCal guy transplanted to SoCal, and wasn't riding when I was up there. Gonna have to fix that--going up for the holidays.

dennis336

Southern Vermont

pennpaul

Yesterday, Christmas Day, I rode a section of the Burma Road in the Jerusalem foothills. In 1948 the road was cut by Israeli independence fighters so they could provide supplies to the Jewish population of Jerusalem. The main access road had been blockaded and the Israeli's were taking heavy losses trying to break through. This road was hidden and clear of enemy mortar fire and snipers.

From the parking lot the grade quickly went above 10%. Around 13% I could feel the back wheel slipping and that's when I needed to do a little hike-a-bike. The road down was definitely nerve racking as I am definitely more a roadie than an MTBer. In the picture the road looks like it curves to the left but it actually just drops down more. I walked that little section, too. My bike GPS said it was 16%.

Hmmm

Beautiful. What an amazing place to ride.

Happy Feet

Just took my dog Molly out for her first beside the bicycle run today. I have trained her to always walk on my left and correct whenever she tries to cross in front and it has paid off as she just ran beside for 20km's (with one mishap when the sound from a wooden bridge spooked her).

A rare sunny day in what seems like a weeks worth of deluge.

wsteve464

Cool looking dog. Is she a shaggy Poodle? We had a black one nice dogs.

Happy Feet

Thanks. She is a labradoodle which is a mix between a labrador retriever and a poodle. In this case she came from a labradoodle b-tch and full poodle stud so 3/4 poodle.
They make wonderful companion dogs that are usually hypoallergenic (several family members have asthma) but rugged enough for an outdoorsy lifestyle.
Went for another 12km ride yesterday with lots of leash time passing other walker/dog groups and she did exceptionally well

It's a good training activity because she gets a super workout but has to pay attention to me on a regular basis. It also re enforces the role of my being leader because I control direction and speed and can actually outpace her this way if I want (she's not always on leash).

It's cool to see the thrill and joy of a dog running long distances.

andrei_r

Some summery landscapes for those in the cold part of the world:

IchbinJay

That looks beautiful. How's the riding in Brazil, overall?

andrei_r

​​​​​​Overall, hein? Well, at least where are I am, there are many unpaved roads and lots of green rolling hills. The weather is good for riding year round (except for some strong rains and heat). On the other hand there are lots of reckless drivers, widespread DUI, risk of being robbed or kidnapped. When out in the wild there's risk of coming face to face with a jaguar or being bitten by a snake or a spider or simply coming in contact with a hairy caterpillar. For some of these reasons people tend to ride in groups. I prefer to ride alone so that limits me somewhat. Bikes and parts are extremely expensive and knowledgeable mechanics rather hard to find. But the riding culture is on the rise and things are rapidly changing. Hopefully we'll catch up with the more developed places in the years to come.

rumrunn6

not dramatic, just my neck of the woods

tangerineowl

Exploring around in the hills.

Hmmm

Where in Brazil, Hein? I lived in Sao Paulo for a couple years. I loved seeing the forests and would have loved to get out into them more, but they always spooked me out a little too much..

These photos from Belo Horizonte look amazing:

Brazilian Exploration #1 - PCR GRAVIER

andrei_r

I'm in Brasilia. I'd say the landscapes around here are very similar to what can be found in the states of Sao Paulo or Minas Gerais (where Belo Horizonte is) except for bigger hills (might even say mountains) in the latter and some differences in vegetation. Thanks for the link. Beautiful photos indeed and a good read.

Esthetic

Live in a river town,few blocks uphill from this offshoot section of the Raritan River, which connects to a state owned 400 acre estate open to public (Duke Farms) and interconnecting canal paths. A few miles from the D&R Canal path. Mostly crushed stone with Mix of paved trail, cobblestone sections , gravel with a handful of simple single track detours, woods , and the occasional downhill access to bolt along the river on river rock bed.

"The D&R Canal trail is a recreational trail in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The 77-mile (124 km) trail is made up of three segments that transverse three counties: a canal towpath from New Brunswick to Trenton; a canal towpath/rail trail from Trenton to Bull's Island; and a rail trail from Bull's Island to Frenchtown."

IchbinJay

Awesome pics of the CAADX! She looks great with those gumwall tires. Love the trail pictures too.

Esthetic

thanks IchbinJay! was happy to get a nice rip on it before these freezing temps landed.