eschlwc

northbend!
i must say i found your day-trip post (from snoqualmie to w.seattle and back) quite humbling. and in between you did all that climbing in w.seattle! that's really something. tell us, how many miles was that with and without all the w.seattle mileage?

jimmuller 

35.5 miles on the tandem today. Our usual grounds, Concord, Carlisle, Bedford, Lexington. Lot of wind, cool temps too but not cold. Lot of traffic! This must be Drive-Your-Car-Somewhere_Unnecessary Day. Sleepy little Carlisle Center was like Storrow Drive. Drivers were frantic too. But why? We're still 8 days from the next full moon.

A stop in Bedford at Depot Park:




The bike that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsnips:

northbend 

I went out this afternoon on one of my regular loops.


Leaving North Bend, I go out to Carnation via a round about way enjoying the views in the upper valley before dropping down to Fall City.

I take Fish Hatchery road so I can say hi to the Wallabies.

Once in the lower valley I head out to Carnation

but take a detour by climbing up Tolt Hill and dropping down to 202 then returning back to the Valley by climbing up Ames Lake road.
I pass by the old Carnation Farm then it's back on the Snoqualmie river road to Fall City

where I climb the Lake Alice road to Sonqualmie ridge before dropping down into the Upper Valley.
On the way home I stop at the Snoqualmie Taproom for a summer Ale

where I run into a friend was just finishing up a ride with his wife.


It was a good day.

northbend 

One of the folks we met in West Seattle quoted me the elevation gain from his Garmin - that was in 16 miles. The rest of it would just be a guess since I don't use a computer. I would estimate total miles that day around 100..

Lamplight

Well for some reason my browser throws up its hands and walks away in disgust when I try to post pictures directly, so I'll just post links. These are all from yesterday, when I rode down to the tulip festival. I really wanted to ride all the way there and back, but before I even got twenty miles into my achilles tendon started hurting badly, so after I saw the tulips I caught a bus in Mt Vernon back to Bellingham.

Accidentally had my camera in B&W mode at first, but I like how it turned out.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/DSCF3675.jpg
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I took the interurban trail along Chuckanut Drive until it ended.
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Chuckanut Drive
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Entering Skagit Valley
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Finally, tulips. Lots of them.
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...702copyMID.jpg
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/DSCF3705.jpg
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They were pretty, but with my tendon pain and a bad constant headwind, I'm not sure it was worth it.

gnome

Took my Humber Sports out for a leisurely cruise to an Artisan & Farmers market. Put the Carradice Lowsaddle Longflap on it and did some other messages as well. About 25 km of pootling around in the warm autumn sun.

eschlwc

"finally tulips…"


place "[img]" at the front of the url and follow it with "[/img]"

"they were pretty.., but i'm not sure it was worth it."
very pretty. and pretty funny. guess i've been there... not to see the tulips, but just, you know, metaphysically.

northbend 

Those tulip shots are unreal eschlwc and lamplight!

gomango

I love all these shots!

Are son's team tied their MRL soccer game in Chicago this morning, so they are out of the final.

We are already on the road and I've decided to pull the Hercules down from the hook when I get home.

First time since the accident!

You guys have inspired me.

DirtyJersey

Took the old rusty Cannon out for a easy 15 on the island, and decided to share some pics:







The biggest hill on my ride:












Overall a great day for a ride.

jimmuller 

Sharon and I did 45.2 miles on the tandem today, the 45-mile option of North Shore Cycling Club's North To Newburyport ride. Well, actually we did 45.2 miles but only the first 2/3rds were on their ride. The last third was spent following a map and my nose when the route instructions stopped, shall we say, agreeing with reality. It was a windy but otherwise lovely ride, fast at times.

A quick shot at the start:


On the return we stopped on a sidewalk park bench in Georgetown to have some lunch, and while we were there we watched a parade go up Main St, a celebration of the local Little League teams. Unfortunately we didn't get any pics of the parade.

Lunch:

eschlwc

is that you, jim? nice looking beard.
i can't imagine riding a tandem. i'm usually dodging all kinds of road debris and making last nano-second decisons on direction. tandem riding seems infinitely more dangerous, demanding constant communication. you two must really be on the same page...

jimmuller 

Thank you for the nice compliments! Yes, that is me, wearing the ankle strap on my left foot because the captain's timing chainring is on the left. Wearing a similar jersey but with straps on both ankles is my sweetie/wife since '77, Sharon. We've been tandeming only since last October but we've now done about 800 miles!

You are right about riding the tandem vs. a solo bike. It is very different. You drive it like a bus instead of a sports car, you anticipate stops further in advance, and you watch the road verrrrrry carefully! The stoker can't see bumps coming and so takes a beating easily. Starting and stopping requires a routine. Communication is important too. I call out bumps I see coming and can't dodge. I announce big downshifts, especially to the granny chainring. Sometimes I have to announce changes in grade because she can't always see an uphill coming. Pacing one's leg energy is much harder. Climbing is slower, but you fly downhill! Sometimes your stoker tells you to slow down. It has been said that the captain's job is to steer, make the shifts, brake, decide what turns to do and what line to take, dodge the holes, and keep the stoker happy. The stoker's job is to pedal, enjoy the scenery, and tell the captain what he did wrong!

On the other hand, you get to carry a nice picnic lunch and eat it with company. And carry on a conversation.

At the end of the ride today we arrived all alone and most of the cars were gone. As we were dismounting a woman walked up and asked if she could ask some questions. Sure! She'd seen us go by (twice because we were hunting for the final turns ) and said it looked like we really had it together, said she liked biking and was hoping she could get her husband involved by trying a tandem. We chatted for awhile. It was a very satisfying end to the day.

northbend 

Today I rode over Cayuse Pass - this road doesn't open to cars for another week.

The back slide of Cayuse...



We also checked out Chinook Pass

They still have some work to do

I am looking forward to more of the roads opening in Mt. Rainier National Park

Sixty Fiver

Kicked off what I hope is going to be a weekly bike and breakfast gathering this morning and although there were only two of us today we went for a nice 15 miles ride through the river valley which gave me a chance to test drive the new old bits on my touring bike and see where my body has been after what has been quite a few months of minimal cycling.

After dinner I took out the new Proctor and took a ride down to the shop to grab a few parts and make a few changes to the bike... had an NOS Cinelli stem to replace the overly long 130mm Mavic that had been fitted and the bike got some fresh black cork.

Scale tells me that it's 21 pounds now and once I source a nicer set of wheels and lighter tyes should have the bike down to a < 20 weight.

jbchybridrider 

Wow northbend for someone like me living in a sun burnt country that's amazing to see.

due ruote 

Hang in there, WNG. Hope you manage to get things back on track soon.

brockd15 

The most important part of captaining a tandem!

JJScaliger

I rode 57 miles yesterday. Cranston-Scituate-Coventry-West Greenwich and back. High 57; windy 15-25mph. A clear sunny day.


flat river Reservoir Coventry

eschlwc

my usual ride down to the chinatown grocery took me along the elliott bay trail on the way back. you usually don't see any unique wildlife here so close to downtown and all its painfully noisy highway and bridge construction. maybe a falcon every once in a while. a mouse. or an unabashed, dancing vagabond. but today there were six seals hanging out within camera shot of the park (myrtle edwards). they seemed to be working in two groups. i'm not sure what these swimming dogs with flippers were up to, but the gulls were simply not having it. about a hundred of the sick little scavengers were going manic, and the seals seemed to be enjoying all the self created chaos. it went on for about twenty minutes. in the pic, a kayaker approaches two of the seals as some of the gulls fly off, berzerker style. i was entertained. i love seeing seals from the shore. it's infrequent. but i was secretly hoping to see an orca pod roll up just to mix things up a bit in the gulls' favor...

JJScaliger

I rode 38 miles yesterday on the De Rosa. It was an overcast, cool spring day. Around 50-55 degrees. Mostly in Scituate RI, a little bit in Foster.



2 miles on a dirt road.

CV-6 

A ride in a location I don't think many can access. I am working at Cape Canaveral AF station, which requires badging to get in. I drove out there today and parked to take advantage of the empty roads and to soak in some history

First stop was the second Cape lighthouse.

CCAFS1 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

CCAFS2 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

My travel bike for this trip was Jan De Reus. I don't know what it is, but this frame talks to me. I did have a mechanical later in the ride. The RD jockey cage came apart. Fortunately I was cruising slow and there was no damage. The screw for the top jockey wheel had completely unscrewed allowing the chain to slip out. Bottom jockey screw loose also. Found most of the parts and was able to reassemble the cage. I was glad I had a power link on the chain which made it easy. Strange thing to happen. Fine the rest of the ride but I plan to overhaul it and use a touch of Locktite.


CCAFS3 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

A local denizen


CCAFS4 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

Typical road.


CCAFS5 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

CV-6 

The light housing from the first Cape lighthouse. Located at the USAF Space Museum. Museum has deteriorated since I was there about 5 years ago. But then I doubt there is much funding for it.


CCAFS6 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr


CCAFS7 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

Launch pad from which the Mercury sub-orbital flights were launched.


CCAFS8 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

SLC-14 from which the manned Mercury orbital flights were launched. The pads are gone and there is pretty much nothing to see other than the sign.


CCAFS9 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

SLC-19, where the Gemini flights originated. Again the facility is dismantled.


CCAFS10 by CV6Enterprises, on Flickr

jbchybridrider 

Today I did a trail called the Peters Hill loop only 35km so added the Macaw Creek trail for another 13km. It's a undulating hilly ride though farming country with the highlight of the trip being a snack at Marschall's Hut.

Headed toward Peters Hill with Pugsly the Peugeot, the perfect bike for this trip.


The trails are always well marked, this was the junction for a small detour to Marschalls Hut.


Hello! Having a quick snack at Marschalls Hut, this is for hikers to camp overnight on the 1200km Heysen Trail and a quiet spot to take in the views.




There was also a couple historic cemetery's from the area's pioneering history.


One of the many historic homesteads in the area.


Still trying these shot

northbend 

More riding on closed mountain pass highways yesterday.
This time, just me n my camera.



You can just see the road cutting thru the slope just above the trees here...

And just to answer "where is this?"