zukahn1 

Took a rare mid December ride today a bit snowy in places but fairly nice winter riding conditions.

wilfried

It's about 30 miles. Here's a route:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/2398779

It's about as close to a perimeter as you can get. You can start it the any point, of course. You could also take in Inwood Park in the north, to make it a little closer to a perimeter, if you want to be a purist, but finding your way is a little tricky. I don't ride the East Side path along the river very often, but the last time I did, somewhere on the Upper East Side the path was completely blocked by construction, requiring a detour, which was a serious pain (noglider, did you ride that stretch?). That was a while ago, so I don't know the state of things now. The part along the Harlem River is quite nice, and less frequented, though finding entrance the first time is a bit of a trick.

noglider, I hope you're doing okay.

rumrunn6

brilliant!

noglider 

Thanks for that. In my tracks above, you can see I turned off the East River at 34 St.

I have hit construction along that path farther up. I'm not sure if it's still there. I hear there are new portions of the path, so that's good news.

Is there really no way along the East River and Harlem River from 120 St to 154 St? Well, at least St Nicholas Ave is a decent place to ride. I've ridden the Harlem River path from 154 St to the northern end, so I know that part.

And thanks. I hope I'm OK too. We will see how long it takes to land a new job.

tyler_fred

Godspeed to you Tom on your journey to finding a new job!

DQRider 

I don't know how much I am going to post this winter. I mean, I'll be riding, certainly, but I'm sure you all will tire of looking at the same bike over and over, especially under these dreary grey skies that we just can't seem to escape.

That said, I did have a nice ride on Saturday (and another on Sunday, but the pics aren't ready yet), and I was able to get a few nice frames before my camera's battery died. Note to self: in winter, recharge after every ride.

So, here's the Barracuda and I entering the infamous Simon's Ravine:


I am always disappointed by how the camera depicts a steep incline or decline.

I pretty much rode the rear brake most of the way down this trail. Even with studded tires, the handling did not feel very reassuring. I suppose that will get better with experience.

There is a nice disc-golf course laid out around the trail:




The sign here indicates the 19th Hole... where's the bar?A shot looking downhill from there:



This tunnel looks positively surreal when it's all lit up at night.



This little gaggle are a bunch of procrastinators; the big flight south put off for another day.



Here comes the train...



... and there it goes.



A picturesque vista in Summer or Fall becomes a vision of desolation in Winter:


Notice the oil train, or "Rolling Pipeline" as I've heard it called.

Same old 494 bridge, but from a different angle:



At this point I shut the camera off for the rest of the ride, hoping to save enough juice for one last shot climbing out of the ravine. Here's that one:


You get a little better idea of the climb from this angle.

This was about a twenty mile ride, the midpoint being lunch at Mississippi Pub. One of these days I should get a shot of the houseboats where people actually live aboard through the Winter.

Twenty miles on studded tires in the snow felt like fifty by the time I got home. I was knackered!

Tomorrow I'll post Sunday's ride into the city. That one is a bit more interesting...

noglider 

@DQRider, I never tire of your posts. Please keep them up.

DQRider 

Well thank you, Tom.

As requested...

Sunday's city ride.

Hall Street in West Saint Paul goes all the way down the hill, nearly to the river. It is a long, fast descent interrupted by stop-signs every two or three blocks. And you have to heed those signs, as there is a lot of cross-traffic.

I typically turn right on Isabelle which brings me to Wabasha Street and, if I don't stop at Taco House for lunch, across the bridge into downtown Saint Paul. On Sunday I stopped:


Señor Brown braving the cold in shorts and a tee-shirt. He wasn't even shivering. Good grief!

I enjoyed my taco burrito very much, and then proceeded to cross the bridge:


My never-ending search for new angles continues...

Here's the view from up there:



A different angle, fromunda da bridge:



A little selective focus:



... and across into downtown:





I rode around Saint Paul for awhile, but it was very busy with Christmas shoppers so I didn't stop for many photos there. Here's one on the way home:



I climbed back up Hall Street, which is nice because it takes you up in three steep climbs with a bit of flat road in between so you can catch your breath. Even though gloomy skies persist, it only takes a short ride to lift the spirits.

noglider 

@DQRider, what was the temperature on that ride?

And what's a taco burrito?

DQRider 

Mid-20s. A nice, mild day with no wind.

A Taco Burrito is a large flour tortilla filled with taco meat (spicy ground-beef), cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. 100% Authentic Gringo Cuisine

.

noglider 

We call that a burrito here.

DQRider 

Taco House is on the western edge of our large Mexican community, District Del Sol. It's at the crossroads of Wabasha and Cesar Chavez Blvd. You can get authentic Mexican food there too, and I do that often. Their pork tamales and barbacoa flautas are "ta die for".


Is it lunchtime yet?

ButchA

Just got back from quick bicycle ride to the local park and back. Believe it or not, it is a beautiful 63°F right now here in Richmond, Virginia!

It was a real short 7.75 miles in 29.22 for an avg of 15.8 mph... Not too bad since I haven't ridden in a while due to so many other commitments.

Here's a shot of the little pond and fountain in Deep Run Park:



At the bottom of the big hill on the way back, I stopped to warm up in the sun (windchill!!) and took this photo:

nlerner

We were lucky to get some warmer weather here today, about 40 at the start of my ride from Boston out to Lincoln, MA, and back.

gomango

Fantastic food.

One of our favorites, for sure.

qcpmsame 

Or, you can marry a Hispanic beauty, as I did, El Paso girls rule..... Home cookin' works for me every time. Taco Bell, Del Taco, etc are for the others in the world. Give me her home made rellenos, with fresh Poblano peppers and maybe some fresh jalapeños, or hermanos peppers. hold the habaneros pease.

Bill

obrentharris 

I expect to see some pictures in the "C&V Lunch" thread.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...c-v-lunch.html

Brent

qcpmsame 

My wife or the rellanos?


As soon as there are some leftovers Brent, I'll post them. However..... ......few of those exist here. burp

jimmuller 

Either or both!

On the subject of Did You Ride Today? I rode my commute for the first time since the last snowfall. The roads were finally clear of debris and ice patches. Prolly won't ride tomorrow though.

Wildwood 

Did someone show snow?

noglider 

Yesterday, @johnlink and I took a midday ride, 42 miles. We did his usual route over the George Washington Bridge and up the Hudson River. As is usual for him, we turned around at the ranger station in Alpine, NJ. On the west side of the river (in NJ), we went north on River Rd, which is along the cliff, and returned south on Rt 9W. Both of these roads are favorites for cyclists.

It was cold and windy, so we wore lots of layers and managed just fine. The bridge span is over a mile, and it's about 230 ft above the water, so it can be windy. There are often lots of pedestrians and cyclists, but not yesterday, understandably.

My GPS tracks

It was 1pm as we crossed the bridge the first time. I'm not sure why this came out so dark. It was quite sunny at the moment. We are looking through the bridge's new suicide prevention fence. It's a shame it's necessary, but I concede that it is. No one survives a jump from this height, and people have jumped a lot lately.



Here is John as I look west towards NJ.



Here is the final climb to the turnaround point. That's salt on the road.



An obligatory picture of my 1974 Raleigh International with modern components. John road his Centurion Ironman with Dura Ace components and 3x7 drivetrain. Taken at the ranger station.

rumrunn6

serious wheels

noglider 

Thanks! The front wheel is heavier than the front, which is all the more reason for putting cargo up there. I have 32 spokes in front and 24 in the rear, only because I had these wheels on hand. The rear wheel seems risky, but so far, so good, and I'm only 160 lbs. I'm running 32mm tires.

I'm not happy with the front light mount and need to figure out a better mount. This is high enough that it gets knocked around, and the tail light cable is sometimes yanked out of the headlight.

johnlink

It was a great ride, and my first ever in New York riding with someone else.

One correction: My drivetrain is 2x7, not 3x7. The current setup is (53, 39) x (14, 16, 18, 20, 23, 26, 28). I'd like to try (53, 39) x (16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28), but as far as I can tell, Shimano never made an 18-tooth 2nd-position cog.

noglider 

Oops. Some typos are pretty consequential.

My drivetrain is 3x10, but i didn't need to use the small ring yesterday.