obrentharris 

Rhode Island - CHECK.
Norway - CHECK.

I'm afraid the list of places I want to visit, thanks to this thread, is hopelessly long!


Doohikie, you're a better man than I if you can wait to get back on the bike as long as the doctor tells you to!
Brent

JJScaliger

I drove east again today to get away from the rain. Today I decided to give the CCRT a try. 45 miles roundtrip








This was my favorite section of the CCRT:

Nanskaket Creek in Orleans

JohnDThompson 

Rode to work today, as usual. Forecast was for falling temperatures and rain in the afternoon, so I packed my rain gear. Sure 'nuff, raining when I got out of work. Opened the bag with my rain gear, found the rain pants -- BUT NO JACKET!!?? Rode home with nice dry legs and found the rain jacket hanging on its hook in the garage. Seems it was warm enough in the morning I decided to forego the jacket, but forgot to stuff it in the bag with the pants...

sotramk

Hauled my scythe snath and three blades out to do a little mowing at my camp.
It was a beautiful day here.

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due ruote 

...some people call it a sling blade.

Stevensb 

Just a neighbourhood cruise on a sunny Friday afternoon..... But don't forget your Mom on Sunday!

DsmBerg

Work.... then somewhere that sells beer.

RobbieTunes

Due to a mixup yesterday, I ended up on a 40-miler with the carbon cowboys instead of drrobwave and his Soma Stanyan.

I'd intended to show him the Y-Foil, so I rode it to his house, then back to the correct rendezvous, then back to his house (where we picked up a neighbor) and then out into the void.

The Y-Foil has 3-spoke Nimbus wheels. They make a sound somewhat like a whispered helicopter. The bike also has no seat tube. All around me were Tarmacs, Madones, a high end Raleigh, all full carbons and all the wheels were aftermarket and aero. For the first time, people came by and said "very cool bike." That group simply doesn't discuss bikes, unless they want me to fix something. They never, ever comment on my steel bikes, and since they generally go hard and fast and long, I'm not often with them.

To give you an idea of their level: they often ride two abreast at the very front, because for some of them, the pace line at 20mph is only a workout if they're pulling. Let's just say I had plenty of time to listen to their incredibly noisy modern rear hubs.

I stayed with the pace, especially when climbing, until the last breakaway, when I punted and chatted with a guy while we dropped to a more humane pace and caught up an the next stop sign. The main 4 almost never let anyone else pull; perhaps it's too hard to go slow when you're that fast. I did not insist. I was feeling good until the end, when we were all chatting, and one guy said "I need to come and see your Eddy Merckx." That got one guy's attention, when he said "what are they, about $8K?" As soon as I said, "no, no, it's a Corsa Extra, 1985," I could see any and all interest evaporate. Poof. It was pretty funny, but you had to be there.

One guy had some poor Looks, delta models the "Arc" models that are loosey goosey. I had him stop by and pick up some extra red Look Carbons I had on hand. He looked at the Paramount, Eddy Merckx, and the Cinelli, and I could tell by his blank look that they were simply old steel bikes to him. That was kind of funny, too.

It's kind of fun to be riding a bike like a Y-Foil, and wishing the whole time I was on one of the steel classics. I'm sure it was exactly the opposite of how the rest of the group would feel.


Garmin says 19.7 for the 40-mile trip. Just under 2 hours, so I suppose that's right. I won't be able to replicate that, I'm sure, for a while. Hell, probably never. It was a 2-margarita recovery, and I may have to extend that a couple of days....

And I'm just fine with it. Gimme some lugs and the extra time, I'm happy.

jimmuller 

RT, nice story about the Y-Foil. Or whatever it was. I don't think I'd enjoy a ride like that!

DB, I agree about the beer.

I'm having my beer now. Just got in from my commute. Round trip by bike a shade under 26 miles. The far end is by bike, the middle end is by train, the near end is by car. I wish it was all by bike.

RobbieTunes

They're OK once or twice a year. More than that, and I'm a coronary on the side of the road.

northbend 

Short day at work today, leaving after 5 hours. The weather outside is beautiful. I email a friend and ask " Wanna go for a ride? The Mountain is calling me". Ty says yes so there it is. A ride after work in the Mt. Rainier National Park.













We had no idea how far we were going to get. We had to stop here where the snowplows had stopped their progress for the day. We rode only about 25 miles today but it was great. Warm weather, Roads closed to car traffic and I got a chance to catch up with a friend I hadn't ridden with since last year.

Darth Lefty 

I got mine roadworthy and rode it around the neighborhood. Don't knock it :-D

gomango

NB,

Fabulous pics.

Looks like a great ride.

Vonruden

Agree, my legs would have fell off after those climbs. nice pics, thanks for sharing.

jimmuller 

Just another day at the office, northbend?

northbend 

Not the usual by any means! I'm just willing to drive an hour and a half to ride here is all. Well worth the effort IMO.
When the roads open up in the mtns in the spring and there's good weather you have to be willing to drop everything and go. It's a bit like powder skiing in that way.

WNG

Wow!
Note to self: things I must do....
Go to North Bend, WA, bring bike!

jimmuller 

My sweetie and I managed 35.3 miles on the tandem today. Strong winds, humid air threatening rain but only spitting a little. Lunch was, shall we say, an adventure in keeping food on the table, what with the wind blowing off the pond.

JJScaliger

Northbend, those pictures are breathtaking!

northbend 

As are yours, JJS. Thank you.
WNG, if you ever get out this way I would be thrilled to show you around.
Something a little more mundane today. 5 hours riding in the upper and lower valleys today..

Remlingers is open for the summer. I picked up some freezer jam

I stayed off the beaten path as much as possible without repeating myself

The rain is supposed to return tonight. No ride planned for tomorrow

rootboy 

Dang , you're livin right Northbend.

Darth Lefty 

Debugging the Paramount today. Rode to Starbucks and to the CVS for dryer sheets. Traded out the Brooks B17 for an Avocet - the one that was on the bike when I got it.

This was my second go at using this Brooks B17 - I had it on my MTB for a while, and this seemed like a better style match. But it just doesn't fit me. The Avocet fits fine and seems to be in good shape for being a 30yo plastic saddle. All I know is it says "Touring" on it.

The Campagnolo seat post is infuriating.

All that accomplished, I rode it to Nimbus Flat, about an 11 mile round trip and more or less my route to work. The gearing was indeed a challenge at the steepest part but it wasn't as bad as I feared. The efficiency of the bike compared to my MTB-with-slicks makes up for it. It's not as fast as the little Cannondale CAAD? that I had a few years ago, probably mostly down to tires. It included about a mile each way of gravel road on which the 32mm Paselas did fine.

I'm having fun.

Aemmer

Breaking the rules with my wife today and it was fun. No gloves, no helmet, no hurry. Alki to Lincoln and back:

JohnDThompson 

What's the problem with the seat post?

Darth Lefty 

It must be smarter than me or I haven't figured out the trick to it. Can't adjust the seat angle on the bike, have to take the whole thing off to get to the front bolt. The seat allows 1/12 of a turn at a time on the back bolt. It doesn't seem to let go until it's almost completely apart and then it falls apart in my hands. I did notice that one of the clamps has slightly wider cutouts for the seat rails but I don't know why. Much prefer the one-bolt-from-below style unless you can convince me...