JJScaliger

Looks like a great ride Jim!

I managed a much shorter 39 miles, mostly in Scituate.



Moto GR ride #10 . This year I'm concentrating on hitting 50 rides on the Motobecane Grand Record I built up in March. I love this bike!

Vonruden

Morning ride on the Bruce Gordon, then afternoon ride with Mom and the kids.


Thanks Northbend for the "Bruce Gordon was nice to me" pin.

non-fixie 

One of my favorite Sunday morning routes involves crossing the Amstel river by ferry ...



... and having my ride du jour checked out by the local cows.

JJScaliger

Today I broke away from my usual riding pattern and took the Moto GR to Jamestown RI for a change of pace. I circumnavigated Conanicut island for 25 miles with 1000' elevation gain.




It was windy today and much cooler on the water than inland. I knew I was in trouble when I saw the sign post for "Windmill Hill."

This windmill (1787) was built on land confiscated from the tory Joseph Wanton. It is 30’ high and ground corn until 1896.


Friends Meeting House (1786) Quaker Church, still active, replaced an earlier building on the same site. (1734).


Ft Getty



Dutch Island Light (1857) Second light house built here, viewed from Ft. Getty. This light house is just off the southern tip of this small island. When I was a kid I used to sail to this little island frequently with my dad.

near Ft Wetherall, a WWII fort

JJScaliger

Beaver Tail, a very beautiful place...






Beaver tail Lighthouse (1857). There has been a light house here since 1705





Claiborne Pell Bridge to Newport


view of Aquidneck Island

otg 

That looks like it was a great day.

jmeb

Just my commute, but on a new-to-me steed.

Outside the gym this morning:


And then to the bakery, where I noticed how close to perfect their address is for cycling:

jimmuller 

I rode to work this morning as I do almost every morning, about 16 miles. I had just made the last right-hand turn off of a busy main road onto the dead-end business road where my employer is located, with only 100yds to go to the company parking lot. But about 15 yards from the intersection is another parking lot entrance on the right. It's a very, very bad arrangement because drivers come whipping around that turn off the busy street unable to see anyone wishing to exit from that lot, and drivers trying to exit that lot can't see anyone turning in from the busy road.

As I rounded the turn I saw a driver pulling out from that lot but looking to his right (the dead-end direction) and not to his left where all the busy traffic comes from. I slammed on the brakes (thank you, Campagnolo!) and yelled. The driver heard me (his window was open) and slammed on his brakes too. I yelled to him "I might have been a car!", meaning to inform him he was lucky as s**t. Of course I was luckier. I should have yelled "I might have been a 30-ton truck and you'd be dead!" He yelled back the expected answer "I'm sorry, I didn't see you."

Of course you didn't see me, you idiot, because you were looking the other way. I know you didn't see me. I was riding the bright red Masi and wearing a day-glo yellow jacket and reflective yellow ankle straps. But if you're not looking you won't see anything, now will you? Is that such a difficult concept to understand?

As he drove off I yelled back and hoped he heard "That's a reason, it's not an excuse." As he pulled away I noticed the Handicapped tab hanging from his rear-view mirror. Maybe it refers to his mental capacities.

This is probably the single most-often repeated dumb explanation, "Sorry, I didn't see you."

Of course it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway: Ride defensively, everyone.

Sir_Name 

Yes - always be aware. I had a close call this past week as well (thank you Weinmann). Glad you made it through.

Apologies are one thing ("Sorry, I didn't see you"), but hopefully they lead to future corrective actions. A reason that is to be corrected, not an excuse that is to be repeated.

noglider 

That's infuriating, @jimmuller.

I took this shot on the way to work, from the Henry Hudson Bridge. It came out well.

jimmuller 

Ooh, Tom, that's a great pic! Did you have to climb up from the river??

Kobe 

I don't know if it was your intention, but with the news of the train derailment in Philly, your picture reminded me of the above.

noglider 

@jimmuller, yes, I had to climb up to the bridge, and as you can see, it's an extremely steep climb. I rode my fixie which has a 74" gear, and that meant I had to walk up the steepest sections. I can climb any hill on a geared bike, but not not with a 74" gear.

Here is yesterday's morning ride with all the data, including the elevation profile.

@KOBE, I realized that the derailment in Spuyten Duyvil (which is Dutch for "Spitting Devil") was so close to my workplace, but I didn't realize it in this way until now. Thank you.

jimmuller 

I had yet another Close Encounter of the Stupid Kind on my run home this afternoon. I was riding over the hill between Woburn and Lexington when this elderly gent driving a big black Cadillac (I think) SUV made a right-hook turn in front of me. At the last minute he realized his mistake, swung the turn really wide, then stopped. I slammed on the brakes and actually wasn't in much danger of hitting him. I turned and pulled up beside him and asked "Am I not that visible?" He waved acknowledgement that he'd screwed up, and we went on our respective ways. It's almost too bad I didn't hit him because it would have damaged his nice shiny car.

I dunno, maybe wearing bright yellow, riding a bright red bike, and running a red taillight isn't a good idea. I have better luck on a stealth bike (which means almost any bike I own that isn't the Masi). Or maybe it was just today's weather.

At least traffic was lighter today than it has been all week.

That's two close encounters today, which is two more than I've had for the previous 10 months.

Narhay

~45km from Burnaby to Stanley Park and back on the 1974 Raleigh Super Course. Was nice but I am having headset issues. Adjusting for no back and forth play in the fork means the turning is quite a bit tighter than it should be. Still a nice first ride.

northbend 

The annual Bike to Work Day was today..

oddjob2

Left my Mini at the Detroit Yacht Club (circa 1924) last night to take a cruise up Lake St. Clair. After the rain broke, I rode my Raleigh ghetto cruiser about 9 miles to pick it up.



Below is the 57' wood Chris Craft we boarded.

dweenk

For the record, I like your ghetto cruiser. Mine is a Sears/Steyr with no fenders and the ugliest Wald front basket you can imagine.

oddjob2

Thank you. I bought the Sprite for $20, including the Pletscher rack, which is probably worth 75% of the acquisition price. The chrome rims are sitting in the garage and I have been riding a set of alloys off a Raleigh Super Grand Prix. Haven't tackled the cottered crank BB yet, but it seems fine. Changed out the cables and housing.

dweenk

There are some bikes where the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it", and "If it don't grind, never mind" philosophies apply.

jimmuller 

Sharon and I just rode directly from our house in Waltham, across Belmont, over to Alewife, out the MM through Arlington and Lexington to Bedford, then back home. 31.1 miles total. Would have gone out longer but we had errands to do, plus the car is full of sound gear for a gig tomorrow so I couldn't fit the tandem in without unloading everything. We tried to get out and back before traffic got heavy.

A few pics from today. Depot Park in Bedford:





On the way back we hopped off the MM for a short ways to detour through Parker Meadow Conservation Land in Lexington. I tried riding but the trail had too many root crossings and bridges!







It sure was pretty in those woods.

On our way out we noticed some interesting activity in Lexington and decided to check it out on our return. It turned out to be preparation for the 5th annual Battle-Green BBQ Festival. We got there well before they opened and too early to eat lunch anyway or I'd still be there eating BBQ and drinking beer, and probably would have to walk the bike back to Waltham.

It will still be going on tomorrow!
Lexington battle green bbq festival - The 2015 Lexington Battle-Green BBQ Festival

Chrome Molly

Rode the Almonzo 100 today, but our impromptu group managed to make it a 106 due to a missed turn (gotta pay attention instead of just riding in a group next time around).

The downside was the uber stiff hill we climbed after missing the turn started a series of cramps that were dealt with for the next 40 miles.
The upside was that even with the extra miles and climbing cramps it was the same time overall as last year.

Vonruden

Sick! not much getting done that day.

Vonruden

Wrightsville Beach, NC - Indy Fab heavy

non-fixie 

A pilgrimage to Rijpwetering today, the alma mater of Joop Zoetemelk.

First, lunch in Leimuiden, right next to the bridge over the Drecht river.



Along the Wijde Aa:



It was a windy day:


Rijpwetering. Joop can be seen winning another race in the background:



Close up, it seems it's a good thing the race is over. That must be a French stem!