thinktubes 

I can mail you some corn if you get homesick.

Spaghetti Legs 

[/QUOTE=abshipp;22078688]Thanks

​​​​I'm certainly loving it so far.[/QUOTE]

Ive always wanted to check out the Greenville area. I moved to the Blue Ridge from Memphis and it took me a couple of years to get acclimated. After a while you mostly won’t notice the 5% rollers.

Andy_K northbend beautiful rides (and meat) as always in the PNW. I think gravel must be cheaper now out East because all my non-paved routes are freshly laid with ping pong ball sized rocks.

AJI125 

Early morning 22mi out and back to Daniel's Park to get a little climb and see the bison.


Pikes Peak in the background



Cloud layer out by the foothills

JaccoW

Went for a ride through the dunes here and tried out riding on the beach. Beautiful ride, just don't do it with rim brakes, or tyres that are too narrow for that matter. Fenders are a toss up.

NJgreyhead

Along Atlantic Ave in Oaklyn NJ on the '96 GT Outpost (my commuter before I retired), a repurposed railroad pedestrian-underpass entrance. A nice place to stop and 'reflect.'

Prowler 

Over the past 4 days I took my first road trip in about 2 years, due to what-cha-callit. Sort of a hub and spoke tour as I move the hub each day and cycle a different trail each day. About 150 miles of cycling and I had perfect weather each day. I camped one night and visited my sister for the other two (first time I'd seen her in 2 years too). It was grand.

Tuesday I drove to Brewster, NY and cycled the Maybrook Trail, now part of the Empire State Trail system. See my post over on the Touring sub. I then drove to Southwick, MA and pitched my tent in a very nice quiet campground.

Wednesday I went out for breakfast for the first time in 2 years, sat on the patio and had a large but outstanding blueberry pancake and a side of bacon. That pancake was awesome and reminded me of the Canadian pancakes we used to get at a fishing lodge way up in Plevna, ON when I was a wee boy. Great coffee (coffee is always great after sleeping in a tent) and a good British crime novel. Fine way to start the day. I then drove north to Southampton, MA, parked and spent the day riding the great trail system centered on Northampton, MA. 55 miles in fine weather that climbed to 95deg. Folks in Northampton and Amherst, MA are very luck to have such a fine trail system. High percentage of shade over nice early 1800 windy trails. Pretty good signage and great views. The Manhan, the Norwottuck and the Bikeway to the west all converge to about one spot so there are many combinations that can be ridden. I just explored them all. I'd say this system is as nice as the Farmington or the CCRT or anything around Boston. Lucky folks.


A real bear of a trail. One thing I've never experienced on a MUP.

Riding peacefully along the trail in the NW section of the city, a residential area, I noticed two fat kids walking the trail about 50 yards ahead. As I approached I faltered then stopped. "That's no fat kid! That's a full grown mother and her cub. Eh, what do I do now?" I'm told that a mad mother bear can attain great speed very quickly if motivated. I've seen a bear at full speed crossing an interstate median strip. And I still haven't turned the bike around let along picked up the pedals and gained speed. Fortunately they wandered off the side into the brush just after this photo. Sorry for the photo quality, it was on full zoom. I was not getting any closer. A cycling couple caught up to me and I stopped them and explained. We agreed to ride together, big, fast and noisy. We did not see the bears again.

The third day I rode the Nashua River Trail between southern Nashua, NH and Ayer, MA. Another cool, perfect day and another old style rail trail thru woods and past ponds, the river, bogs and marshes. Saw 3 turtles on the trail surface (another first).





The antiquated Fuji TS III just gobbled it all up and spit it out. Great bike and 150 miles comfortable.

Stopped in Pepperell, MA for a healthy lunch - maple, walnut ice cream. Carbs, protein, dairy. Didn't I do good, Ma?

The final day started with a scoot just past Hartford, CT to Farmington and the Farmington River trail, looping onto the Farmington Heritage trail back to the car. Cool and overcast but dry. Another nice exploration as, though I'd ridden the Heritage trail 3 or 4 times, I'd not been on the River trail. I enjoyed it though its a bit confusing for first timers. Signage on the northern section, especially where it uses residential roads and forest paths, sort of went out the window. I was wise to carry both the paper map and my mapping application to help me get un-lost a few times.

The drive home went better than expected as the holiday traffic was all going the other direction. It seems that going to SE Pennsylvania for a rainy holiday weekend is not "a thing". I was within an hour of home when I encountered the first rain I'd seen in about 6 weeks. Slept well last night.

edit 6/03/2021: I'm glad so many folks enjoyed this trip report. I really missed these trips through "the troubles". I went on a very good ride yesterday on my 531 Raleigh and felt in great shape. I wondered if the 150 mile sequence last week made me stronger. Could be a good summer.

tyler_fred

Thanks Prowler. What a great trip!!!

rccardr 

Agreed. I think you should put together a small group outing for some of your close friends.
Hub and spoke is a great way to ride new places without carrying all your stuff on the bike.

Spaghetti Legs 

Turned blustery with damp weather, temps mid 50's and a stiff northerly breeze today. I ain't complainin' though as this is way better than hot/humid. I dug the arm and knee warmers out of summer storage, put on a wooly and went for a ride through the strip mall cloaca of Charlottesville. It's actually nicely bike lanes for the most part and I use it to break up the routine of my usual country riding.

Modern bike (only 17 years old) but vintage jersey counts right? Looking back in the direction of Charlottesville. Mountain to the right is Carter's mountain and if we were up a little higher, we might spy the hill where Jefferson's Monticello is located. Mountain to the left, as far as I know is called Southwest mountain. C-ville is tucked down in between those. Target shopping center is thankfully obscured by the trees behind me.


Nice thing about a small town is it doesn't take long to get out of town. This is Chris Green Lake just past Charlottesville Airport. Formed by a dam (standing on it) across north fork Rivanna River.



One of the many things I like about my hometown is the possibility to safely ride a bike to the airport, so today, for the hell of it, that's exactly what I did. I didn't stop for a pic but here's a screen grab from my Fly 12.

fender1

It was about 47 degrees and rainy when I headed out today.

Cut through Valley Forge National Park. Stopped at this abandoned train station.




Then, I rode over a newer, very nice bridge they put in to connect the park to the local MUP:




I looked down just in time to see a couple of fishermen land a about 3ft long catfish.:




It was a catch & release. I got on the MUP and passed this old movie studio





Then I saw something I have never seen in 15+ years of riding this MUP




An elderly woman was clearly dazed and confused and driving toward me on the path! The nearest entrance than an automobile could use is about 1 1/2 miles from here. She was headed in a direction that had no exit... so, about 5 minutes later, she passed me going the other way. I snagged a picture of her license plate, just in case. She never responded either time when I called out to see if she needed help. She wasn’t going very fast and didn’t seem too out of it.... other than the obvious!

I headed down the path and crossed the river going the opposite direction:



After which, I rode around for about another hour and accidentally over shifted the largest cog. I then spent about a half an hour getting the chain free:




I didn’t measure it but maybe 35ish miles all told.

Sir_Name 

Rain ride!







Some refreshment at the half way point.

fabiofarelli

Short ride.

Classic Dutch mill, the Dutch bicycle is gonna be vintage and classic in a few years.


A white farm


And another white farm


And a small white Maria-chapel.

northbend 

I rode up the Iron Horse Trail to Snoqualmie Pass yesterday.

Lunch along side Lake Keechelus

My lunch spot today on Snoqualmie Pass by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Chikamin Peak at the end of the Gold Creek valley

Chikamin Peak by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Rather than return via the tunnel, I rode up to Alpental Road to see if the Old Snoqualmie Pass Road was clear of snow. It was! And it is currently closed to car traffic while DOT clears the road of debris from the winter season. My good fortune!

The Old Pass Road is closed to cars by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Descending the Old Pass Road to Denny Creek by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Looking up at Denny Mountain by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

You have to be careful on the descent. It’s sandy on the higher, exposed sections and as you drop into the woods down lower, sharp contrasts between light and shadows make it hard to see debris on the road surface.

The Old Snoqualmie Pass Road - had it to myself today by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Soon, I reach the Denny Creek campground which is filled to capacity for the holiday weekend. I keep descending until I get to Interstate 90. Crossing over the highway I turn onto Tinkham Road. It is a potholed forest service road with the same visual challenge of intense shadows and sunlit areas. There are many wild camps strung out along this stretch on Forest Service land. Mostly younger folks with tents, tarps and hammocks. I assume it must be party central here when the sun goes down. It is an interesting contrast to the Denny Creek Campground I had passed by earlier. I turn off Tinkham and climb back up to the Iron Horse Trail on the McClellan Butte Trail. This trail is mostly ridable, only having to walk a few root gardens and rocky sections.

McClellan Butte Trail takes you back up to the Iron Horse Trail by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Back on the Iron Horse Trail, I ride it back down to it’s terminus at Rattlesnake Lake then on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail for the final miles back home.

Almost Home by Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr

Bad Lag

I rode on the beach bike path, again. It was glorious!

Yesterday, while out riding, I was actually struck by a car. A woman made a right turn while I was right along side her. She actually hit me with her vehicle. Some very deft riding on my part (if I do say so myself) kept me from becoming a casualty. I had mere 1 inch to spare. It was DAMNED CLOSE but neither bike nor rider nor car were injured.

Someday, I promise, someday I will take some pictures.

Drillium Dude 

I recently discovered National Park annual passes are now free to veterans as well as active duty under the Military Pass exemption. REI's flagship store in South Lake Union has a Ranger desk, so I took the Davidson down there to pick up the pass, then turned around and headed for home - normally about a 25 mile round trip. Once back to Bothell, however, I kept going down to Redmond and got another 25 or so - plus a few pics.

Today's main goal accomplished:



This batch of goslings is getting big quickly; note the runt at upper right:



Baby bunny - the grass directly behind it is only 12" tall:



I was walking around taking the above photos when I looked up and saw my bike in this interesting "pose" - I had to take a picture:



DD

Spaghetti Legs 

Drillium Dude Thats cool Jeff! Coincidence as I just learned that myself. Looking through the NPS website I got the idea you just have to show a veterans ID card and didn’t realize they had a military specific park pass. Do you have to renew yours every year? I applied for a veterans ID card from the VA as I’m not a retiree. I think that’s a new thing too.

BTW pic above, your bike reminds me of a ship underway in a sea of grass as it were.

malcala622

Heading to spend Memorial Day with the parents. It's 50 mile bike ride one way so I left early morning to try and arrive when my wife does driving. My conditioning isn't up to par yet so I stopped short to get picked up.

I'm enjoying the feel of carbon more and more with each ride on the BMC.

Straightblock

Today was the first really hot ride of the year. No great scenery, but 50 miles out and back on one of my routine routes. 73° at 7:30, 89° when I got home a little before noon, on the way to 104° later in the day.





One of my neighbors always sets this up for Memorial Day.

nlerner

It was cool and damp in the Boston area today, but the 531 ride only occurs once per year (except for last year, of course). Four old guys headed out on old Brit bikes: a Raleigh Intl, a Raleigh Competition, a Holdsworth, and a Jack Taylor. Here they are in a pile:



Much of the route was on wooded paths on the Bay Circuit Trail, which somewhat obscurely runs an arc from Boston’s north shore to the south shore. We were on the part due west in Framingham and Sherborn, mostly. At one point the four of us got separated by a freight train, that eventually stopped right at that crossing. The last car wasn’t too far down, so we managed to regroup before the train started moving again. At some point after that, I managed to lose a front brake pad. I realized that when I found that my front brake wasn’t working very well. I ended up swapping a pad from the rear, so that the response I was expecting would occur when I squeezed the front lever.



Oh, and I was on a ‘74 Raleigh Int’l, whose Huret mechs gave me more appreciation for the modern brifters on the bikes I ride the most.

Drillium Dude 

Looks like I have to go in and get it renewed each year. I had a free Military pass when I first retired; got it at Yellowstone and I was on terminal leave, so technically was still active duty. But they just started giving us retirees a break, so had to take advantage of that.

The bike shot just looked kinda funny, half-hidden by the berm - but yeah, it does look like it's cruising through it, huh?

DD

Drillium Dude 

Me and Jacob headed out to Snohomish to get in around 50 miles on the Centennial Trail today. Hot! But lots of shade and a cooling breeze in our faces on the way out, which was nice to have at our backs on the return. Jacob was on his '89 Medici and I was on the '79 Medici.

'Course I gots pics!





















DD

Roger M

My son and I rode up to Lake Stevens to check out a car show this afternoon. Probably a hundred or more old cars.


1960 Ford Country Sedan

65 Rivy

Roadrunner with a 440 6-pack and a 4 speed

northbend 

Outstanding Photo Jeff!!!!!! You got Jacob perfectly framed.

fabiofarelli

Roads I rode today











And some other stuff. This is the Defensiekanaal (Defense Canal) with bunker. Made autumn 1939 till may 1940. It did not help ..


Now we know where we were ..


And in the end ..


British War Cemetery from World War II.

Bianchigirll 

Just a short spin around a nondescript area of Ft Wayne with nothing to see. I live in the bottom left of the route and I ride clockwise heading Noth to start out.



Cool down laps around Shady Pines