A Midnight Rider

     Hiram and I did our usual early start 10 miles from the official start of this monthly ride. We like to begin close to where the ride ends so we have only two miles to our car while the rest of the group has a 12 mile bike back to the start at around 10 PM.  It works out well for everyone.

On the ride to the start we ran into one of our regulars who did not get the word.  She did accompany us to Warren RI and left the group to ride home because she already had her miles. I tried to get her to take a look at a pretty cool site just off the path in the obscured by aborial foliage.  Hiram also refuse to take a look, so I took a couple of photos. If your a follower, you may recognize this place, but this is for the two fraidy cats.

Near the end of the ride, we also came across two other regulars who arrived an hour late without realizing the leader had changed the route.  They got their miles and we go our Keystone Cops style. (Going the wrong way).  It’s all good.

Clouds covered the sunset and the moon began it’s assent just as our ride was ending.  Hiram and I did get a good view on the drive home.  The others, I’m sure, got the same on their hour long easy spin, in the pitch blackness, with many walkers, bikers, etc. on the path without lights.  No problem for anyone, and none of our gang bother to get upset about it.

2019 August Full Moon Ride from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

THURSDAY NIGHT

SUMMER RIDES WITH BIKE NEWPORT AND NEW BELGIUM

Those hot summer nights call for something a little different. Come and have the ultimate Newport experience.
Ride with Bike Newport around Newport and end the evening at a bar for a few New Belgium beverages. Bike to Beer!

Fun times ahead as the rides feature New Belgium swag giveaway and glassware beer.

Our last ride starts at Bike Newport • 62 Broadway, Newport RI
7:30pm

A portion of every New Belgium beer you purchase benefits Bike Newport’s youth education programs as do any donations towards swag. Who’s in?

Stay tuned from more details. Follow us @BikeNewportRI and bikenewportri.org

FRIDAY  East Bay Bike Path in RI

There will be a Sunset/Moonlight ride on the East Bay Bike Path on Friday 8/16/19.

It’s time for another Sunset/Moonlight ride. The full moon is actually on Thursday the 15th, and moon rise is at 8:50PM so we may not get much “Moon” on this ride.

The Details:
Date: Friday 8/16/19.
Location: EBBP off Rt 103 near Del’s Lemonade.
Time:
Arrive: 6:45PM
Departure: 7:00PM promptly
Sunset: 7:43PM
Moonrise: 8:50PM
Name: Full Sturgeon Moon
Distance is flexible.

SATURDAY:  Cafe Tour

TBA

SUNDAY:  Pedal For The Path  CLICK HERE for the rest of the story.

The South Coast Bikeway Alliance (SCBA) will hold its second regional bike-ride fundraiser, Pedal for the Path.

Beginning and ending at the Dartmouth YMCA, three distances offer miles of fabulous cycling, postcard perfect scenic views, more historic places than you can count, and, along the way, memorable ice cream and a donut! A post ride celebration features food and beverage for purchase!

Visit our website for a map and complete details including participating creameries and volunteer signup. Please refer to our Facebook page for the latest event updates. Contact us at thesouthcoastbikeway@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Registration opens July 8th. As space is limited, sign up – right away! Register here. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pedal-for-the-path-2019-tickets-63596291219

Not planning to ride? Donate anyway on our website or Facebook page! Thank you!

This ride will help raise funds for an engineering feasibility study enabling the communities of Dartmouth, New Bedford, and Westport to move closer to completing their portions of a multi-use South Coast Bikeway spanning from Swansea to Wareham. Sections have already been completed in Fall River, Fairhaven, New Bedford and Mattapoisett. We need your help to bring the Path to completion!

If a title magically migrates into my psyche, I change it.   Could happen.

I use software that encrypts data using military-grade AES 256-bit encryption. The provider owns 76 servers worldwide. Perusing LocoJoe’s pages I was intrigued by his affinity for classic bikes.  I decided to pull up Craig’s List to see if there was anything around.  First I had to get myself back in America.  What? you may ask.  I was using a server in Belgium and everything was in Flemish.

I had to switch over to a North American server.  Doing that I will not face any difficulties with unblocking streaming services in the USA. The provider boasts 12 servers in the country. I can choose any from the following locations: Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C.  Every day when I log in I use a different server.

Now that I was in English language Craig’s List all that was left was to look for bikes in my area.  Lo and behold, I found a great deal offered five miles from my home.  I contacted the seller and we agreed that I could come by his house.

On the way I was practicing my negotiating skills for a better price.  When I pulled up, the bike was in his yard and when I got a look at it, $45 seemed like a good price.  It’s a 1973 Columbia Sport 3.  It needs no work because the seller took care it.  It’s a bit small at “20”, but I should be able to make it fit with some adjustments and do my shopping and beach excursions. 

If given a choice between riding in New York City or some country rural roads in the Midwest, I’ll take the city most times.  Country roads have their place, but there is nothing that compares to urban riding.

After last nights Portuguese dinner, I knew I had to put in a good ride aerobic today.  That screamed riding in the city for two or three hours.  I did have to get an early start to be back in time to see Christian Pulisic’s debut for Chelsea in the English Premier League.

The north end of New Bedford, to South Dartmouth, to the peninsula of the city and back into Fairhaven, MA made this route a keeper for future rides.  I felt really got but was forced to alter the planned route to get home in time for the game.

Naturally, I brought along my camera and took, what I think, are some unique photos of city riding.

New Bedford bike lane done proper

Bodegas. Can’t beat them

Elevated Multi Use Path

Class

Gun shot dectedtor.

waiting to board the water park

I set out to take some photos of the sailing regatta in the city.  I took my time getting to Fort Taber at the end of the peninsula.  When I arrived, I saw no evidence of the hundreds of boats that were supposed to be competing over the weekend.  I asked the parking attendant and she directed me to the far end of the park behind the old fort.

I did locate my quest but they were all at least a quarter mile away in the middle of the bay.

With all that, I decided to just ride around and see what tickles my fancy. There is one picture with a great photo bomb. Check our the upper left quadrant.

A couple of seagulls in flight was a treat to capture. You have to be pretty lucky to get these fast flying birds up close.

The rest are simply things that got my attention.

Tonight, the New England Revolution are at home trying for a team record of 12 game consecutively without a loss since making a coaching and GM change.  I am hoping for the best, but believe LAFC is just too strong. Winning works wonders for attendance and the crowd tonight should exceed 30K.  For me, winning or losing is not an issue.  I enjoy soccer so much  that it’s the only sport I follow.  In the summer it’s MLS. The rest of the year it’s Europe.  England, Germany, Spain, France are my favorites.

When:  Thursday, August 1st 

Where:  Meetup at the Tiverton Library – 34 Roosevelt Avenue (drive south on Stafford Road to 177, Bulgarmarsh Road – take left at Roosevelt Ave to the Library)

Time:  Meetup at 5:45pm – Ride starts at 6:00pm

One of our group loves early morning bike rides on Mondays.  Some days many show, some days it’s just a couple of people.  Today was six retired bikers.  We did a casual ride on the East Bay Bike Path in Rhode Island.  Typically, a couple of guys cut loose on a breakaway, (with no one chasing), a couple lag behind as unofficial sags, better known in the racing world as DFLs.   Others stay in the peleton somewhere in between.   Today only the last two happened.  The peleton and the DFLs.

Not much else happened, but I took a load of photos.  No videos today.  Near the end of the ride, I remembered a place I found in the early spring before the trees sprouted their aborial foliage.  I wanted to show this place off but was in between the peleton and the DFLs.  I motioned for the two lollygaggers to stop and brought them into the woods.  While showing the sights, I noticed a young man sitting on a log and got the aroma of some weed.  He was just out for his morning tea while skateboarding the MUP.  We thought these monoliths were part of a railroad overpass but was told by the bystander that it was the foundation of some massive factory.  Whatever it was, it was a sight to see.

There was a lot more to see on the hot Monday morning bike ride.

Flat tire

The DFL duo.

Sort of casual.  Cut loose from the group if you wish.  It’s a straight shot on a MUP with little traffic early in the morning. No problem coasting at 19 or 20 MPH.

Monday – July 29th – Bike Ride

Where:  East Bay Bike Path

When: Meetup is at 7:45am –  Ride starts 8:00am

Meetup Place:  Take 103 to Warren – Take first left after Del’s Lemonade – Parking on left

Casual ride – there will be a small detour due to R.I. DOT cutting a tree down

Rain cancels ride

Bite into Biking P.B.J. could be a double entendre. Providence Bike Jam or….Peanut Butter and Jelly.  We made use of both meanings tonight.

The number of riders was somewhere in the mid to high forties for this ride on a beautiful Friday night.    The ride began at 7 PM, road through many of the neighborhoods of Providence, with a stop for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches provided by RI Bike Coalition. We arrived at  Long Live Beerworks, our final destination, at 10 PM. The brewery was prepared for an onslaught of 40 thirsty bicycle riders who arrived in one big group.

This is one of my favorites. It’s a very casual ride through the neighborhoods of Providence, RI.  As usual, I’ll be starting and finishing at Ft. Hill in East Providence at 6:30PM. (Set GPS to 1 Mercer St. East Providence, RI).  It’s a bit under three miles from Burnside Park where the ride begins.

Hey there! Come join us for a social, casual-paced, group ride around beautiful Providence, RI! Rides are typically @ 10 miles with a snack/beverage break, or two!, in between.

-Meet at 6:30, leave at 7
-Route info coming soon!

P.s. you may have noticed our name is now Providence Bike Jam! We’ve been wanting to change it up for a while now, to something a little more positive and a lot more inclusive of the fun we’re really after here. All we want is to make new friends who like to ride bikes, in this fair city, while playing music. We have some new blood join the volunteer team recently, and we thought the time was now to make this transition.

Let us know if you want to volunteer: make routes for our rides, have theme ideas, make bike and PBJ related art, or something else completely that you think will help our efforts. We welcome all voices and ideas to the table, and we really can’t wait to ride with you soon. Youth, women, POC, and Spanish speakers to the front!