John E

It is only one week away. We start summer school on July 3, but they give us July 4 off.

Here is the video from 5 years ago. You can catch me early on (yellow windbreaker, helmet with mirror, Peugeot UO-8 with period-correct SunTour ratchet barcons and Bellwether handlebar bag -- remember those?). This is how we celebrate the 4th of July at the edge of the continent.

fietsbob

My Stay Cation became retirement.. further north and so dark comes later, for the dog scaring fireworks..

SylvainG

July 4th? Go back to work but on July 1st, I'll be on Parliament Hill celebrating Canada's 150s birthday.

peterws

Well, you got Donald trump instead of Theresa May for your pains. I kinda think that's worth celebrating as long as he don't go upsetting those Ruskies . . . they've come a long way since Gorbachev took over. Give 'em time.
Moderators. fell free to delete this drivel. I really have nothing better to do tonight . . . .

VegasTriker

It is cooling off a bit from the 117 degrees we had last week so I will do my usual hour long ride early in the morning right after sunrise. We have two types of fireworks after dark in addition to the municipal displays. For just a week you can buy "safe and sane" fireworks at numerous pop-up kiosks all around town but most people seem to prefer the "unsafe and insane" variety sold in the neighboring county or at the local Indian reservation. If you ride around the neighborhood you can see quite a show. I will deck my recumbent trike with a set of DIY flashing lights that make it look like a Christmas tree on wheels and ride around looking at the various displays. I have my own easy chair on wheels.

Wileyrat

My plan is to get up in the early a.m. and probably ride my mtn bike, followed by a day of doing nothing...Well, I might jump in the pool.

It's a work night, and I go to bed around 8, so it'll be a quiet early evening.

Biker395 

A bunch of us are planning to ride one of our favorite local mountain roads (GMR/GRR) for some cinnamon rolls, and back in time for the BBQ and other July 4 activities.

With the fire danger around here, the roads are typically closed to cars, so it should be fab.

berner

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/s...1c&action=view

My little town has the oldest Fourth of July parade in the country and has been running for 230 years. For a small town, it is a very big deal. There are usually a dozen marching bands from across the country and they are quite good. I also like seeing people dressed up (dressed down?) in period costumes, tri cornered hats and firing off their muzzle loaders, ladies fife and drum core, the Rhode Island Train of Artillery formed in 1777 or so. And what kind of parade would it be without the Clydesdales hauling a beer wagon and a troop of Highlanders and pipes. An altogether fine show with visitors in town from far and wide. The streets get clogged with traffic and the best way to get around is by bike. Many people just park vehicles one town away and ride bikes into Bristol.

canklecat

I'll probably join the Tour de Fort Worth group ride that day, and maybe another casual ride with friends later. Might cruise along the riverside MUP to watch the fireworks.

Rick@OCRR

I'll be on the same GMR/GRR (Glendora Mountain Road to Glendora Ridge Road) ride as Victor (Biker395) hoping to get to Mt. Baldy Lodge (in Mt. Baldy Village) in time for one of those excellent cinnamon rolls pictured in his post.

Missy bakes her wonderful cinnamon rolls for Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts at The Lodge but I advised her of the July 4th (Karen Climbfest) ride and she has kindly agreed to make a batch for July 4th as well.

Should be fun and it's only about 4,600 ft. of climbing to the Village!

Rick / OCRR

big john

Maybe I'll join you since you are on a 'bent and I might be able to keep up. Are you starting at 7:30?
People were talking about all different start times on the ride page.

bobwysiwyg

Not exactly a feat but planning to ride the Kal-Haven Trail from Kalamazoo to South Haven.

Rick@OCRR

Hi John,

Thankfully I am back on my normal bike again but I'm keeping the recumbent handy (and continue working on my recumbent skills) in case my back acts up again.

That said, I am still pretty much out of shape after taking almost a month off the bike; my climbing legs definitely need some work! In fact, V.Bob was beating me up the climbs on GMR/GRR last Saturday.

Rick / OCRR

big john

The worst part of that is how much he likes to rub it in.

Rick@OCRR

Very true, but I knew that about Vertical Bob so I wasn't too surprised !

Rick / OCRR

Biker395 

Yea, I wanna get back early enough so I don't miss all the hot dogs and hamburgers. Urp.



Hope you can make it, John!

Machka 

July 4? That's a Tuesday, isn't it? I don't usually have special plans for a Tuesday.

zaxmalloy

In Minneapolis area we have the annual Tour D'Amico ride put on by our local Hiawatha Bike Club in association with D'Amico Italian restaurants. Missed it last year due to an unexpected death in the family back east so looking forward to doing the metric century this year. Attracts riders locally and all over the midwest.

If you're local - come on out!

Tour D'Amico Annually on July 4 - Home

big john

Here in 'Murica many of us get the day off work, hence riding plans.

Cyclist0094

I'm working 5am-1pm. I'll ride a couple of laps around the park in the afternoon. I have a dock rented downtown to watch the fireworks with wife and neighbors from my boat. If I have anything left I'll watch the TDF replay later that night.

doctor j

No ride on the 4th. We're driving over to meet a fellow cyclist we've not seen in a while and indulge in gospel singing and eating. We'll have to get in the weekly miles on either side of the 4th. Probably two rides tomorrow. We got an early start on making the appropriate 4th-of-July loud noises a couple of days ago. We went to a 500-yard range and blazed away with some of my son's belchfire magnum rifles and had a blast

Happy 4th everyone. Be careful on the roads, and stay fueled and hydrated!

KenR

Running a 4 mile race with the wife in the AM. Maybe a bike ride later.

Papa Tom

The 4th of July party we have attended for about 30 years got cancelled (the host isn't feeling too good about America these days) and we didn't find out until a couple of days ago, so today my wife and I are taking a ride across the forks of Long Island, NY (Greenport-Shelter Island-North Haven-Sag Harbor) using bikes and ferries. It's a favorite of ours, but we usually do it later in the summer. On the way home, we'll get to see tons of professional fireworks shows from the Long Island Expressway.

Update (July 5th): This turned out to be our most fun 4th of July in decades! For anyone on the verge of forgoing barbecues and beer next 4th, I highly recommend getting off your butt and planning an invigorating bike ride.

Out on Eastern Long Island, just about every restaurant and shop was open on the holiday, and the beaches were packed. Sadly, the only thing we didn't see were any kind of displays of patriotism - not even American flags on display. Maybe the time for that has come and gone?

bjjoondo 

Was hoping to go on our local clubs, Shady Lane Ride on the 4th. but got stuck at the wife's family outing and BBQ. Oh well, the food was very good!