gomango

@DQ Rider.

Fun post. The Gateway is a gem, for sure.

We were on it most weekends last summer, often from St. Paul to Stillwater.

It makes a great jump off point for rides that lead northbound off into farmland.....

DQRider 

Absolutely; we had a nice talk riding side-by-side most of the time because the trail was all but deserted. It was only later in the day that we started to see old retired guys out in their lycra finery.

Hunched over their drop-bars with a look of grim determination on their faces, it's hard to see how they are having any fun.

Not being current on West Coast trends, I'm at a loss to understand the Punisher reference. I know it was a good movie, at least I enjoyed it. The wife? Not-so-much. But why is that a bad thing out in Cali now?

Quote:

Originally Posted by gomango

@DQ Rider.

Fun post. The Gateway is a gem, for sure.

We were on it most weekends last summer, often from St. Paul to Stillwater.

It makes a great jump off point for rides that lead northbound off into farmland.....

This is another post that got stuck on the last page, so I hope folks go back and take a look at our beautiful Fall scenery.

We took the left fork at the Brown's Creek trailhead; Sean's not used to cycling, and I'm afraid I wore the poor lad out. He may have made it up the hill coming back from Stillwater, but it would have been on pure grit alone. This was supposed to be fun!

gomango

Don't blame you, although the new trail sure beats the ride up the Stillwater bypass hill.

Keep the posts coming, our color is at near peak!

Ballenxj

Just speculation on my part while thinking of what the Punisher logo stands for, while California seems to be very anti gun.

DQRider 

Will do, as much as I can. Unfortunately, and for some strange reason, my workload has reached a peak right now as well. Most evenings I don't get home until just before sunset.

Ahhh... you may be onto something there. Sean's politics are on the spectrum somewhere between Charlton Heston and Ted Nugent. But then that's not surprising; he did just finish his active duty in the `Corps.

Ballenxj

Good for Him.

qcpmsame 

@DQRider, please pass along to the young man, regarding his service:

Semper Fi Sean, job well done young ‘un


Bill

Vonruden

Early start at the Jersey Shore

oddjob2

@Vonruden,
Great photos as usual from you. But palm trees in the Garden State?

Vonruden

Thanks...one of the perks of Global warming I guess

DQRider 

Gorgeous photos, as always Vonruden But I was going to ask the same thing... Have those palms always been there? And what can you tell us about that bike? Looks like some serious handbuilt quality there.

My own images were taken on rides after work where I literally got out of the car and onto the bike to make it to the location before the sun went down.

Here's Velo de Ville on the bluffs overlooking Saint Paul on Wednesday night:



And here is my Raysport Light Roadster at Lion's Park in Inver Grove Heights on Thursday night:



@gomango is right, the colors are beginning to peak here and it's raining right now as I type this. As soon as it lets up and the sun comes out again, I'll be back on the road with my Leica. Tomorrow I think I am going to take the right fork off the Gateway at Brown's Creek Trail and head down to Stillwater. Should be some epic colors down there...

Chrome Molly

I'd really like to see the photos when you get as far as the new bridge. Hint, hint...

DQRider 

Done. Now let's hope he opens his email...

merziac

+1, Thank you for your service.

qcpmsame 

Well, there are things we can control in life, and then there are those that have no means of being controlled

thinktubes 

Every year on my birthday I try to ride my age. My birthday was in Late Sept, but this has been a crazy year, so I gave myself 30-day grace period. It was 75 degrees in Chicago today (Oct 20!), so I took off up the North of Chicago to Lake County.

Did 58 miles, so I covered my age and put a little extra money in the bank.

Duffy Lane



Saw a really nice Toyota Rav4 at a water stop



Looks like someone laid a pretty good patch



Seasonally-appropriate ride



Quiet road with some nice fall color



Chicago in the far distance

Nordo

Toyota Rav4? What about that thing parked next to it?

Ballenxj

Umm, now you're messing with us. I'm pretty sure it was not the Rav4 that caught your attention.

HamboneSlim

Fair warning.


Telepoles.


Nockamixon Cliffs. When I was twelve I fell in an amusement park, compound fracture of the left ulna and radius, resulting in a fear of heights. I used to free climb these cliffs to overcome my fear of heights. Never worked, always scared the living crap out of me. Even ice climbed it once. In retrospect, being afraid of falling off this thing may have been the appropriate response after all. I think it's protected now, temperate alpine ecology or something.

nlerner

I was out yesterday with my old Brit bike group (though only two of us were on old Brit bikes--go figure!). We started in Colchester, CT, and a good chunk of the ride was on the Airline Rail Trial, which was a popular spot for bikers, walkers, strollers on a remarkably warm late Oct. day in New England. I was on my 1953 Rudge Sports:



The fall colors aren't particularly vibrant this year, at least in this particular spot, overlooking a reservoir:



This pic from the rail trail shows some better color:



Bikes included a 1959 Mercian converted to 650B (with a very large Lafuma handlebar bag), a Mel Pinto tandem from the 60s (also 650B), and a Rivendell Saluki (yes, 650B):







It was a great day to be out on a bike!

[

thinktubes 

Lovin' all the fall riding pics!

scratchpaddy

I'm amazed he could see where he was going with that suitcase on the front!

Thanks for all the pictures and stories, everyone. I'm really enjoying the reminders of what fog, fall colors, and even snow looks like. The one thing I really miss from the east coast is the color in fall.

Around here, the parks are still as green as the sprinklers make them.



I took my Le Tour out to the southeast corner of Mesa again this morning. I still love watching the sun come up out there in the middle of nowhere.



It hasn't rained for about two months, so it's getting a little more dusty than usual. I have to watch out for puddles of the finest dust, like powdered sugar, that will swallow a tire like mud.



It's only getting up to 92° today. Almost time to get the pants and socks out!

jamesdak 

^ Beautiful shots of the Le Tour!

jamesdak 

Just an easy little 24 miles around the valley today. Competing cold and warm winds but very clear skies with snow sprinkling the mountain tops.

Took out the Antares, such a lovely bike to ride.

jimmuller 

As usual, spectacular pics. Makes me wish I was there riding with you all.

It's been some months since we took the tandem out, thanks to a minor injury my sweetie had to deal with. So today we took the tandem out for 19 miles just to see the leaves. It was a beeyouutiful day.