Bad Lag

This shows a sort stretch of my daily ride. These two photos were taken in the same area, separated by a week of rain.

Rain is GOOD!

The first one shows the storm clouds blowing in north of here, over the Malibu coastline and Santa Monica Mountains. The wind that day was ~20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph, as evidenced by the sand blowing across the bike path and the mini-dunes formed against the curb. Note also, how the sand has been blown completely smooth. The ocean is very choppy and covered in white caps. Way off in the distance, you can see palm trees whose fronds are all blown over to the right side of their trunks.

Pushing against that headwind made riding tough but it was GLORIOUS!




This second photo was afternoon today. The clouds in the distance are the tail end of the same storm but on its way out. It was still windy (~15 mph).

Although, I got no riding in during the storm, I'd prefer we got a LOT more rain.

Classtime 

I planned to go trout fishing this week but it is too cold up there. Did a pretty normal out up down and back while having extra fun breaking in may new Ideale 90.


The fence might be blocking the snow up there.

DQRider 

Not the first ride this winter, but the first ride with the camera. I've always carried it strapped across my chest, but the risk of crashing is too great this winter. We've just received 15+ inches of snow, and there's really nothing for the studs in the tires to grip. So this time, I wrapped the camera in flannel shirts and put it in that nice little trunk on the rear rack. That works...



The local MUPs are well groomed here in Dakota County. They are a pleasure to ride, only 48 hours after the storm, in the middle of the holiday season. Today I rode around the local lakes, and had to pose the bike in the snowbanks because I hadn't brought my flask to prop the pedals on the trail.



This is a single-track trail that I like to ride in this park, but not with these tires in this snow.



Here's a shot with the lake in the background, It reminds me that I need to do some more work on that rear fender. As a rule, I don't like to use zip-ties, but I think in this case they are unavoidable. Well, it's a winter beater, after all. Use what works, right?
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Spaghetti Legs 

Glad you SoCal guys got some rain. Hang in there, I’m sure temps will get back to the 70’s soon!

Temps are cooling but still warm here by January standards. Got the C40 out today. I went up to Ragged Mountain Reservoir. The road to here used to be about 1.5 miles of gravel but it was paved last summer, so fist time I’ve taken this bike up here. Mixed feelings on the paving as it was nice to have some dirt near my front door and the cars here now tend to drive a little faster on the twisty road.

There’s a stiff climb 10-12 % about a quarter mile up to the reservoir and there was a recumbent on the climb in front of me. I didn’t want to race him or show him up but wanted to catch up and say hi as I don’t see ‘bents tackling tough climbs very much. At any rate, he picked up the pace, didn’t seem to want to socialize (he could see me in the obligatory helmet mirror) so I let him go when the road turned to gravel at the top.

JacobLee 

What a week. The teen is going through some changes, but seems to be interested in hopping on the tandem and riding up some hills. I had already done a ride, and returned to find someone very disappointed in not being invited. Another ride? My pleasure!

darkmoon

Regular weekend rec ride.
And today's Mt. Fuji, from Yokohama.
It's supposed to be there, but I can't see it.
There're many days like this.




A week ago, New Year's day.
It was beautiful

Schweinhund

To the store. 63 is just too big for a 27 inseam.

Schweinhund

Just a little more my size... to the


1988 Schwinn Premis

curbtender

You could always zip tie some 2x4s to the pedais on your Univega. Nice Premis.

botty kayer

Another weekend non stop rain here in London, another Italian bike wishing it was riding around Italy instead of being under the influence of some annoying Brit seemingly riding through every puddle in the capital. It was more of short tour of some cool buildings and artworks, but this week has gradually gone from riding along the road trying to dodge the puddles, to riding though the puddles looking for patches of road.

On Philpot Lane in the shadow of the Walkie Talkie building opened in 2014, well in the shadow if that had been any sun, which there isn't as its been holidaying elsewhere for weeks now...lets start again, the Walkie Talkie drip drip drips water onto a Grade 2 listed office building below.....

Finished 150 years before its lofty neighbor, 20 feet up its exterior is home to reportedly London's smallest permanent public sculpture, of 2 mice fighting over a bit of cheese. Reportedly they are there as a memorial to a construction worker who died when the building was being built, after falling off after an altercation with another workman over a missing cheese sandwich, which had not been taken by the worker, but apparently by some mice on the site. This story is fairly well known but as this link shows, may well be just an urban myth, but one that now seems destined to continue forever, whether its true or not.

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles...ne-mice-56269/
Nearby there is some architectural Tetris going on, I like the married-up (OCD Klaxon alert) reflection of the old church behind me, in the glass of the building ahead.

I've photographed this mother elephant before, all the baby elephants have been scattered around the surrounding Spitalfields market for the past year or so, but mother has clearly had enough of our rubbish English weather and has decided to gather up all the young uns and they're off to somewhere warmer and drier.

My bike got all excited at the sight of some blue sky and sunshine, is this some respite from the rain? No, sadly its just some kind of projection onto the ceiling, such a cruel deception!

My bikes weeps, or at least I think its crying, it might just be the rain.

I find a new piece of street art by French artist Zabou, I have over a dozen pics of her works across the city over the last 5 years.

I pass by the really ornate building, that's been a bookshop now for over 70 years in Bloomsbury. Building designed and built by Charles Fitzroy Doll.

A close up of one of the windows shows more details, they sure are fancy.

Charles Fitzroy Doll also designed the similarly decorative Hotel Russell, now known as the Kimpton Fitzroy London, which is nearby.

It is clad in decorative thé-au-lait ("tea with milk") terracotta and was based on the Chateau de Madrid in Paris. Its restaurant is said to look almost exactly like the dining room on the Titanic, which Charles Fitzroy Doll also designed.

Like the Titanic's dining room I'm wet through by now, so time to head back home for a warming up tea, with milk of course. The bikes already has its own T, and more than ever it wants to return home to Tuscany. One day my friend, one day....

zukahn1 

Short local Sunday ride today the roads are in bad shape in a lot of places and the trails are pretty much a no go. Nice weather though 40's and sunny not much wind.


At least the views photo ops were nice.


Likely won't be riding any distance on the path for a while.

darkmoon

Very exotic buildings and weather for Japanese.
Pacific coast of Japan has much drier weather, even northern part it doesn't snow so much.
Tokyo and Yokohama's winter is same as California's summer, dry and fair weather.

Elton John's Your song, a verse :

I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss

I couldn't get what it was.
The moss grows on the roof?
Yeah, Japan is a rainy land, but I haven't heard the moss growing on the roof.
Thatched roof days, they always lit a fire in the hearth and the smoke fumigated the roof to prevent the moss growth.
Hmmm.
I asked a bar friend from Manchester.
Yeah, England is wet and could be said wetter than Japan, the moss grows on the roof, he taught me.

Your pix prove him, a big Manchester United fan, right.
And prove London is more beautiful and artistic city than I expected.

abshipp 

Sundays for me are usually a 15-20 mile spin on our local MUP. Today was no exception, except that for the majority of I had some some unexpected but very pleasant company.

The conversation started with a comment about my bike and my bag (which he recognized as an Acorn), then we just kept talking for the next 45 minutes. Nice end to the weekend




I did fix the front fender line when I got home

botty kayer

darkmoon Manchester has even more rain than London, so your friend will be seeing lots of it at this time of year.

And yes moss on roofs is a common sight, and if left long enough it grow into little balls that I can imagine Elton John kicking off a roof as a child. It looks like this.....

darkmoon

Oh, I haven't seen and expected things like this.

Hmmm, very interesting.
Ball-shape looks like Japan's special natural monument, Marimo, lake ball, of Lake Akan, Hokkaido.
Marimo grows into a perfect sphere.
Mari means ball, and mo means alga.
It's a fresh water alga, scientific name is Aegafropila linnaeli, who could memorize it?

Again, the earth is bigger than we human being believe.

Thanks for the pic, botty kayer

JacobLee 

Speaking of roofs, what is the white stuff on the brown roof above the handlebar? Is that snow on one section of one house's roof? I've been trying to figure it out. Great pics.

darkmoon

You have sharp eyes, JacobLee.
I didn't find it when I took the pic.
It is NOT snow, it hasn't snowed this season yet.

It looks a white sheet or white bags to fix the roof.

obrentharris 

Following the example of @botty kayer I went for a ride in the rain today. Not that I had an alternative: It's been raining here for a week. More storms on their way. Better wet than stir crazy.
The line of dots out on the water are ducks all floating together on the relatively calm waters of Tomales Bay.



In case you Canadians were wondering where you geese went, they're sheltering down here.



The Allegro and I took a short break in a Willow thicket at the edge of a small beach, watching the rain falling on the bay. Being Swiss, it's probably more attuned to snow than rain but handled the trip with its usual grace. I really like this bike. It's old and rough around the edges like myself but we both have a lot of miles left in us.



On the way home I found a little wrench in the road. I decided to keep it in case I needed to make any brake adjustments.



Brent

northbend 

Got out this afternoon before the next storm rolls through.
Jan 11 ride before the next storm

fender1

New fenders?

northbend 

Yea, I got this set for 15.00 brand new from a friend. Not quite as nice as hammered Honjo's but they'll do at that price.
The BG hadn't worn fenders for a few years.

Prowler 

Another good day and a good ride. Nothing epic nor scenic nor unusual other than it was 40deg in January. No snow nor ice on the ground and I'm riding outside. GREAT. Pictured is my Ersatz Gran Prix which only came down from the loft two weeks ago, now serving winter duty while the others rest (away from salt, mud, and winter slop). This is the boat launch at Towpath Park in East Coventry, near Pottstown. Do you like my bike stand. Yeah, I left it there for next time. The ramp decends at about a 40deg angle so I dunno how boats are launched but it's fine for proping up bicycles.




Oh, that tail trunk is another "modified something else" bike bag. It was a VHS camera case, tossed in the bin. I made a thin plywood "floor" for it, attached velcro straps and it lashes nicely to the rack. I always bring it this time of year for when I need another layer or need to shed layers I'm already using. Temp swings.

Ged117 

On the way to work. We're expecting a good amount of snow in the next day or two about 30cm (a foot or so) I took advantage of the cleared paths to cycle. The structure is part of an ongoing buildout of Ottawa's light rail system, which I am hoping to use on the no-cycle days next winter after the line opens.

The bike is as fun as ever to ride, even loaded down with my gear for the day. I just need to remember to give the brakes time to clear off the steel rims when I'm heading to a stop. Next year, an alloy wheel build before winter...

PXL_20230112_131500857

billytwosheds 

We've had interesting (transitional?) weather out here, absent of winds and rain that would usually make this a wet ride. Up the Pali highway with a friend from PDX on my BG and RB-1.

LucasHartong

Did you say hello to Stuart Little? He is such a nice guy, with a nice house...