Flog00

My wife and I on a deserted rail trail. It was great!


20170703_114910 by flog00, on Flickr

plonz 

Great jersey. Recently discovered Black Butte Porter and it is good sipping. I'm thinking @Andy_K is trying to order up three of them!

Andy_K 

Yes!

I'm a bit spoiled having this as a local beer. A couple of years ago I was riding the Great Allegheny Passage/C&O Canal from Pittsburgh to D.C. and stopped for a beer in Ohiopyle. I told the waitress I was looking for a malty dark beer and ask what she'd recommend. She recommended Black Butte Porter. I got a good chuckle out of that. At least she didn't say Yuengling.

DQRider 

On Monday the 3rd, I brought my Ross Aristocrat down to Schaar's Bluff to ride the trail to Hastings and back. But since they have finished the 4 mile segment of the trail from Schaar's Bluff to the Archery Range, I did that part first - a long descent full of beautiful scenery both natural and man-made.



Black-Eyed Susans were in bloom everywhere along this trail.



Of course, that long descent meant a long climb on the way back, but this Ross is an amazing climber. It is fairly lightweight for a steel bike, but I think the geometry and fit of the frame have something to do with it as well. The miles just seem to disappear beneath it's wheels, and I am able to concentrate on finding the next beautiful photograph.






All of the bridges and amenities along this trail are of excellent quality - I've written about this before. They actually add to the creative potential for someone with the right kind of eye.






The sun was directly overhead when I got to 2nd Street in Hastings' old town, so I didn't take any photographs there. However, that place is incredible in the early morning light.

Rolling through the park, there is ample opportunity to ride on dirt and gravel roads. Although the paved trail takes you all the way to town, these dirty little distractions can be fun as well.



This, along with my earlier Cannon Valley Trail excursion, sums up my riding over the holiday weekend. I didn't get in as many miles as I would have liked, but the ones I did ride were Quality, all the way.

ButchA

Just did a quick 13 mile ride from home, down to the James River here in Richmond, Virginia. MapMyRide showed an exact 13 miles, and I chuckled as soon as I pulled into my driveway afterwards, as the time said "51:50" and I remembered the classic Van Halen album! LOL...


Tuckahoe Shopping Center at N. Ridge & Forest.



Looking upstream at the James River from the Huguenot Bridge.



A view of the James River along Riverside Drive.



...and of course, the Z-Dam along Riverside Drive. Man, the river is really low! Normally it's roaring over the dam.

3speedslow

Last two days I have spent on the English Dawes. This stretch was on the return home. Got back and immediately went out again to deliver bills around town. Got done then realized I had lost the red reflector off the Carradice. Backtracked all the way till I found it on a greenway section. I'm kinda attached to it even if it isn't!

Turned around to go home and my left knee suddenly gives me some serious pains. It's felt off last few days but now it's roaring. Got back home with ibuprofen and icy hot to keep me company. I might have to take the advice I gave on here a few days ago on what to do while laid up. I can't lose my knees!

jimmuller 

3ss, I hope your knee recovers.

I rode my commute again but with a twist. I rode my venerable UO-8. Not a soul stopped me and said what cool old classic it was. But I knew! It was my secret.

Ballenxj

Looks like you got a two fer here. Shot of the bike as well as a self portrait. Sounds like the ride wasn't too shabby either.

ryansu

Due a lack of fitness I have been avoiding hills, on the 4th I decided to change that
[IMG]IMG_1332 by Ryan Surface, on Flickr[/IMG]
yes the wheelset is mismatched -sue me
[IMG]IMG_1340 by Ryan Surface, on Flickr[/IMG]
Lincoln park
[IMG]IMG_1344 by Ryan Surface, on Flickr[/IMG]
one km 6% grade...conquered

DQRider 

Yeah, that one was funny. I was going to try to capture the luminous quality of the "dashboard" or "cockpit" when I noticed part of my head was in the mirror. So in the next shot I centered my face there and found out how silly I look when I am about to press the shutter button.

Still, I really like using the old-fashioned viewfinder as opposed to a screen. And the Leica is my creative instrument, much the same as a guitar or violin is for a musician; and we all know what silly faces they make when practicing their art.

Ballenxj

Film, or digital? I always preferred an actual viewfinder over screen. That Leica seems like an ideal bike camera, come to think of it.

DQRider 

Digital. With the sensors and processing software they have these days, any advantages film once had are now minuscule when you consider the hassle-factor. Once I learned to use the same processing techniques in Lightroom® that I used to use in the darkroom, there was no turning back.

Ballenxj

Just the fact that you own a Leica in the first place tells me that you are very serious about your photography.

gomango

@DQRider Do you happen to know if there is a bike path between Pine Bend Bluff and Schaar's Bluff?

Alternately, a safe road route with lower traffic patterns.

I'm trying to get a bike path route between our house in St. Paul and Hastings.

We've been using Highway 3 and 42 to get there, but the traffic can be dicey.

Fabulous Minnesota photos btw.

DQRider 

Thanks, gomango. It gives a purpose to my riding other than just rambling around by bicycle.

We share that conundrum; there is no safe bicycle route from the end of the MRT in South Saint Paul / Inver Grove Heights to the Archery Range SW of Schaar's Bluff. There's that big chunk of no-man's land in there with no roads or trails on the map. So at some point you have to get on 55/42 to make it to the trailhead.

However, there is hope: https://www.co.dakota.mn.us/parks/pa...ssissippiRiver

They are working on that connection, to be completed sometime in 2017 - or so it says on that website. They have 3.67 miles to go between Pine Bend Bluffs and the Spring Lake Park West Trailhead. I'll keep poking around out there, and if it does open up, I'll let you know.

gomango

Great link!

Thanks for the heads up, in advance of course.

The Twin Cities are so loaded with regional trails. We just did a route out to Watertown/Delano in the western Metro on the 4th. 91 miles round trip and all on very nice, freshly paved paths. So many new bridges over traffic and tricky intersections.

Our MUPS are much nicer than our roads. imho

eom 

21 miles round trip. GF was at work so I had one for her as well.

[IMG]IMG_0837 by lebagman, on Flickr[/IMG]

scratchpaddy

@DQRider , your Ross is gorgeous! Beautiful ride and photography, too.

It was 117° yesterday, then some clouds rolled in in the evening (the first in months, it feels like) like a blanket to keep the city toasty all night. It was 97° when I left at 4:45 this morning, which is okay before the sun comes out.

More of these Grid bike-rental stations are popping up around town. They're pretty neat bikes, designed to be nearly maintenance-free, with a sealed driveshaft instead of a chain, and gears and brakes inside the hubs. I still prefer my own bike.



I headed around Tempe Town Lake and into Papago Park. It's a great area to ride. Very bike-friendly, and lots of things to see.



The sun came out as I was headed through Papago. The sunrises here are always nice.



McDowell Road goes over a hill through Papago. It's not much of a hill, but it's one of the very few hills around, so it's a nice view.



Now that the sun was out, I headed home in a hurry. I went 23 miles total.

mikemowbz

Not *today*, but I just got my mitts on pics from a recent leisurely ride at an unusually scenic location: Myra Canyon, outside Kelowna, BC. Wonderful 25km (return) route over territory once traversed by the Kettle Valley Railway between Kelowna and Penticton, including numerous wooden railway trestles high on the mountainside. Short, but stunning. Much of the surrounding forest was burned not so long ago, but is now in recovery mode...

Bike is not strictly 'C&V', but steel and cantis in an age of alu/carbon and disc all-road bikes might earn me a pass?

20170630_081817(1) by Mike Mowbz, on Flickr

20170630_083102(1) by Mike Mowbz, on Flickr

20170630_084940(1) by Mike Mowbz, on Flickr

20170630_093851(1) by Mike Mowbz, on Flickr

scratchpaddy

Wow, Mike, what a view! I like the color of your bike. The black one is nice, too. I had a '91 Paramount PDG road bike for a few years. Very smooth and fast, but I eventually wanted something that could fit tires wider than 25mm. Now I have a different Panasonic-build Schwinn.

malcala622

20 mile round trip to Whittier swapmeet.

Heat got unbearable after 9am hitting 90°+.

Came away with dura ace skewers and LOOK KG171 Team frameset.

Sir_Name 

That looks like some fantastic riding! Looks like a Black Mountain Cycles MC - how do you like it??

Sir_Name 

I took the red bike out for its first real spin of the summer. It handles a bit differently than the low trail Raleigh w/ 42s...! Spice of life and all. I had an absolute blast, but man was it humid out!

A couple of guys on hardtails stopped to chat quick and complimented the cool old bike - rare around here in Cat 6 Carbon County. NTTAWWT.

jimmuller 

@mikemowbz, @scratchpaddy, nice pics! That tunnel looks inviting and scary.

I took the Grandis out today, wanted to do maybe 40 to 50 miles but had some tire trouble so I turned around early, ended with 31 miles.

The source of the trouble was a cut in a tire suffered some time ago, so long ago that I don't remember when, probably during a commute. I ended up fixing' that for the second and third time today, then replacing the tire when I got home.



It appeared that the first patch blew out through that hole. I put in a new tube and managed to go 6 or 7 miles before it blew out in the exact same place. I patched the second tube but pumped it up much less than I would have liked, then rode home with no trouble. Given the size of the hole from the inside I'm not surprised that it didn't like high pressure. If I'd been thinkin' I might have avoided the second flat.



At least I got a decent picnic out of it!

qcpmsame 

@jimmuller Why no folded $1.00 bill tire boot to get you home? Just curious is all.

Bill