Prowler 

Felt like NBD. My "good bikes" so up into the loft for the winter, 4 months a year. Nice and cold and dry up there so they're safe and sound but I miss them. They come back down and into service in April, a bit earlier in April this year than usual. They came back down Saturday (and the winter bikes go up there for the summer). Today was my first ride on one of the good bikes since December. Overcast day but "warm" with light easterly winds (felt like a Nor'easter coming up the coast). First in the queue was the 1974 Världsmästarcykeln. What joy. I've photo'd these tiny bird houses before but they've since been moved to another tree on the SRT as the original tree was removed during some trail repair work. Spring is well sprung around here.

AJI125 

That sounds like something special to me. Glad you're back in the saddle! Sending some good vibes for a continued recovery.

rccardr 

I would give you a hard time about not announcing the next Palouse Ride yet but hey, been under the knife myself so know how that goes.
Rest up, ride on, keep in touch!

JacobLee 

I remember my first ride after testicular cancer treatment. It was pretty special. I was a younger man and wearing a yellow rubber bracelet, if that dates it at all.

scozim 

Funny - I'm definitely going to plan on next summer for stage 2. Would love to do it this year but 7 softball tourneys and a wedding over the summer followed by moving two kids to college in opposite directions eliminates any chance of it occurring this year. After September we're empty nesters after 26 yrs

djkashuba 

3/4 way into one of my favorite rides is a turn out with cool water and a shady place to sit provided by a nearby business. Such practical kindness.


King Ridge Oak by djk762, on Flickr


Water by djk762, on Flickr

Drillium Dude 

This is fantastic news, Scott - and what better bike with which to celebrate getting back in the saddle

Here's hoping you have many happy miles ahead of you!

DD

Drillium Dude 

Headed out to my bank, then went southwest into an 18mph headwind to the White Tank Regional Park. That headwind became a tailwind I much appreciated on my return leg! Got up to 90+ today, so I was happy to find plenty of places along my route to refill my water bottle. Even slammed a Gatorade at the White Tank Library while chilling out at my halfway point. Some pics follow.

USAF F-16s awaiting take-off at Luke AFB:



The gearing I was using into the headwind - yes, I was in the 39t up front, too:



Saw this wildlife at the Wildlife World Zoo when doing a hydration top-up:



Our destination is a few miles further up this road:



Looks inviting; don't think I didn't consider taking my shoes and socks off and wading around in there for a bit:



Here we are at the halfway point:



These big guys abound throughout the White Tanks - note the bird hanging out on the right-hand arm:



Ice-cold drinking fountain water and air conditioning - nice:



Probably hit the speed on that sign with the help of that 18mph tailwind on the return leg:



Not your everyday selfie:



A nice ride despite the heat. Still and all, I ended it feeling a little sad and not a little guilty: not three miles in, going slowly and just tootling along the centerline, a prairie dog zipped out onto the trail and I had no time to react/avoid him. I swear I went right over him, just behind his head, and even heard/felt a slight 'crack' when I did so. When I looked back there was nothing to be seen - but no way he survived. No way. Poor little guy...

DD

gaucho777 

Oh, that's too bad about the pooch. Hopefully, it's not as bad as you suspect. I'm glad he didn't take you out with him regardless.

gaucho777 

It's Spring Break (teacher), so I was able to get out for a fairly long ride--at least the longest ride I've been on in a while--just over 70 miles and ~3500' climbing. From my home in Berkeley, I headed out toward Mt. Tamalpais across the bay and overlooking Marin headlands and the Pacific Ocean-one of the "Big Three" in terms of bay area large peaks including Mt. Hamilton near San Jose to the south and Mt. Dialblo inland to the east. The ride is mostly flat for the first 20 miles, followed by ~15 miles of mostly climbing, nearly 15 miles of descent, and another 20 flatish miles home. It was a gorgeous, warm, day--maybe too warm, more below.

Headed out this morning along the bay trail. Spring has sprung: wildflowers abounded throughout the ride. (If you look closely, that's SF in the middle, a couple spans of the Bay Bridge to the left, and a little peek at the peaks of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, where I'm headed, to the right.)



A shot of the Colnago on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. They added a bike lane to the Richmond-SR bridge about a year ago, and it's opened up more ride options.



The striking (craftsman-style?) San Anselm's Catholic Church and a quick roll through the town of San Anselmo before starting the ascent up Mt. Tam.





After doublling back due to a missed turn, the ascent begins...




After a few miles of climbing, you're rewarded with a nice view of Alpine Lake, and a descent down to the Alpine Dam, before another ascent to the ridge of the coastal mountains.





Once you reach the ridge of the coastal mountains, you are again rewarded with a breathtaking view of Stinson Beach and the Pacific far below. In addition to the colorful wildflowers, there were masses of ladybugs. As I sat down in the grass, scores of them made flight around me. Look close and you can see some settled on stems and flowers.



Not long after this viewpoint, there's a three-mile cutoff up to the summit, which I skipped since I was feeling beat, overheated, and low on energy. Instead, I took the long descent to loop around the other side of the mountain. One last view of San Francisco (far off in the distance to the left) before my camera ran out of battery.



It's a good thing I skipped the final stretch up to the summit. By the time I hit mile 55, I was feeling really dehydrated and sapped. I pulled over at a Starbucks, sat in the shade, slowly drank two of the largest iced teas I could buy, and then limped home.

Drillium Dude 

Lucky it wasn't a full-sized dog - I definitely would've been on the ground (but at low speed, so that would've been a bit of a comfort).

Unfortunately, this is the kind of "pooch" I hit:



Btw, great pics from your latest ride! Also, it seems we kinda have to re-learn all about increasing our water intake on those first few rides of spring, what with the onset of warmer temperatures! Glad you didn't bonk completely and were able to refuel and make it home okay

DD

gaucho777 

@Drillium Dude, LOL, you call that a dog? Okay, I misinterpreted. I still feel bad for the little guy, but not as bad.

bironi

Randy,
That is a pretty good spring break ride.
To kill for in some parts of the world.

Wildwood 

Stopped only for this one pic, as I see so many scenic vista shots in this thread. This isn’t really scenic but it IS a vista.
Climbing is hard. It may build muscles, but not my character.

JacobLee 

75 degrees in Portland today. Snow in the forecast for the weekend. ??? I don’t believe it, but who knows these days.

etherhuffer 

First ride out this year as the pollen has finally backed off a bit. The picture below is Ercolini Park in West Seattle. An elderly gent passed and willed his property to the city for a park. A friend of ours jumped in and made it happen. This has been years ago. People bring kids toys to the park and leave them there. Kids show up and just go for it. I don't know about Disneyland but on a warm day this is the happiest place on earth! Our friends took their kids there. They couldn't find their daughter and started to panic. All of a sudden she rides up on a bike. Never had anyone teach her, the other kids just gave it to her and told her to ride. She did! During covid they had to close the park but its open again and the kids are already showing up in droves on weekends.

zukahn1 

Great pic's all it actually reached zero degrees where I am at In Fairplay CO and got below zero in Alma the last few days a few miles away so no ride picks .

Roger M

Spring break for Thomas, so we drove out to Conway and rode to the Skagit Valley Tulip festival. First day of the year for shorts and short sleeves.

Some of the crops weren't blooming yet, but there were plenty that were showing all their color. Even though it was midweek, there was plenty of traffic.

SurferRosa

Plug for a new tv show, called Mountain in the Middle.



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LucasHartong

Man, your ride rocks!

JacobLee 

Thanks! It’s a bit loud, but I like it.

fabiofarelli

Today a ride passing a Greek Orthodox Monastery.

NJgreyhead

Road-tested another bike (Ross Carrera) I refurbished to benefit the bike-share program. Satisfied with result. Rewarded myself with a cheesesteak slice.

etherhuffer 

Japanese plum, aka Umi. Few folks around here know these and think they are seeing a cherry tree. The plums can be pickled, made into wine, or to flavor higher levels of alcohol. They have an appearance more akin to a flowering quince than a cherry

zukahn1 

Very nice weather today in the 50's for the first time in about 5 months. Got to take the old single speed Nishiki trainer for short ride to the Library Book Garage to do some volunteer work.



Still bunch of ice on the lake.