One of the last items of my prep list for our road trip was to make sure Sue’s bike was in good shape.  I thought a cleaning and lube would be enough.  I was mistaken.  There  were a couple of issues that were beyond my skills.  It was much to late to bring it to a bike shop so I did the next best thing.   Have the bike shop come to me. I had worked with Mike during a couple of local events, knew of his business, but when it was time for bike repair I defaulted to the LBS.

Yesterday I was in a pinch to get the bike fixed.  I went online to Velofix.com, chose a 3 PM appointment and at 3 PM, Mike was in front of my house. The work was good, the price was fair $69 for a basic overhaul/tuneup.  My regular bike shop is $75. Close enough to call it a wash price wise.  As for service?  Who could not love a house call.

The rest of the packing for a two month road trip is crazy.  Like packing for a long distance bike tour, it’s chose stuff, think about it. Take some stuff out of the pile, put stuff in the pile.  I’m thinking I’ll be making changes till the minute we depart.

Today was my last ride on my Felt road bike.  Sunday Sue and I begin our two month road trip. Coincidently we have a friend moving back to this area from out of state who was looking for a place while they house shop.  Things worked out great for both of us.  We are leaving on Sunday morning and they are expected “sometime” Sunday.

Today was also my last session of PT for my tennis injury.  I pulled a muscle in the back of my head hitting an overhead volley.   I never knew this existed until I hurt it. It hurts back 10 times as bad.

We will be spending the next two days getting the RV ready.  By ready I means converting our vehicle into a tiny house and all the stuff that makes it a house. Clothes, pots and pans, pot, non perishable food etc.  You know what’s needed. Both of our utility bikes are tuned up and ready.  The RV is small enough, 23 feet, that we don’t need to bring along a car.  It’s about the size of the bus you would see at the senior center. 

Our two dogs, Lucy and Owen will be with us, but midnight the cat will be staying with a friend.  We will be in touch from the road.  First stop.  Pittsburgh.

Owen

Lucy

Midnight the cat

It was raining at daybreak but the forecast was for clearing by sunrise.  We stuck with our plans to drive to Newport, R.I. for a ride around the beaches and the mansions.  We also did a quick jaunt through Fort Adams, best known for being the sight of the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals.

We left the car at Bike Newport which is on Facebook HERE.  Bari the big cheese, directed us to free parking which is very much at a premium in Newport in the summer.  It’s good to have “people”. It felt like Jason and I did more stopping than riding.  So often one of us said, “stop here, I want to get a photo”,  or in my case, video.  In Newport, on a bike, you kind of have to force yourself to keep riding and forgo some pictures, or at the very least, try to take them on the fly.

Newport is definitely a destination for both the casual and serious bike rider.  The area is bike friendly enough for both styles to ride the same routes and on the same roads.  Just listen for “on yer left” and you will be fine.

Newport with Jason from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

EBBP with the Fall River Gang from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

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Bike Ride Sunday, August 13th, on East Bay Bike Path

Meet at 7:45am – ride starts at 8am

Parking lot off of Route 103 in Warren RI, right after Del’s Lemonade

Ride is perfect for both beginners and regular cyclists. We will ride south to Colt State Park, this part of the ride will be about 10 to 12 miles total. Of course cyclists can choose to shorten the ride and return to their vehicle.

Part of the ride is expected to be on-road in a quiet section of Bristol. After traveling to Colt State Park the group will ride back to the parking lot in Warren. Some riders will continue north towards Providence.

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Mountain bike ride through the bioreserve on Tuesday August 15th.

Meet at 5:45pm – ride starts at 6:00pm promptly
Location: Meet at the intersection of Riggenbach Rd. and Wilson Rd. Parking on Riggenbach Rd.

This ride is all on road, but some of the roads are in sorry shape and have not been maintained in 50 years or more.
This means that you will need a mountain bike. It is doubtful that road bikes will survive some of these roads.
The Route: We will travel down Wilson Rd., across the causeway to Blossom Rd. Up Yellow Hill Rd. Left on Indian Town Rd. left on Copicut Rd. Left on Bell Rock Rd. and back to Wilson Rd. Total distance is 12 or 13 miles.

Extra items needed:  bug repellent, lights would also be helpful as sunset is earlier with each passing day.

Rain cancels the ride.

My neighbor Jay wanted to go for a ride after a long hiatus from biking.  (A few months). I had to retrieve my RV to load up for a long road trip.  It was stored 23 miles away and it was mostly country back roads to get there.  The day also offered near perfect weather to ride.  So we did.

Ride to Berkley with Jay from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

I got an invitation for an off road, (sort of) bike ride. It was on roads that hadn’t been maintained for around 50 years. Once there I recognized it to be a place that in my high school days, 68-69, we drove around when we skipped school. Some pot, some co ed’s and a driver. Who could ask for more?

The post highly recommended mountain bikes. Me being such a big shot, I figured I could get by fine with a hybrid and 700×33 tires. To keep it short, I rode OK but very slow, mostly in order to stay upright. I felt a little bad that I slowed everyone on their mountain bikes down quite a bit. In the video, you can see how the roads deteriorated as we biked.

I offered to make them internet stars and all was forgiven. I also learned how difficult it is to film on such bad roads. Not that I’ll ever do this ride again. Unless of course a great deal on a used mountain bike magically appears. Could happen.

Fall River Bioreserve from John Sullivan on Vimeo.