Tag: bike

I’m Thinking of Not Riding Today

Thanks, Hindsight This year is moving along just fine. The retired life is treating me well. Biking, weight training and yoga are keeping me fit in body and mind which allows all the other things in life to fall into place nicely.

I am seriously considering riding my bicycle cross country on the Adventure Cycling Southern Tier Route in October.  Not doing the whole route but pedaling from Ocala, Florida to Austin, Texas.  It’s 1200 miles and should take somewhere in the range of 20-30 days.  I like to take days off to smell the roses if any show themselves. Continue reading “I’m Thinking of Not Riding Today” →

The Daily Prompt and Riding A Bicycle In The Winter

The Daily Prompt is a writing training aid.  It suggests a subject to help what we call writers block.  I try to incorporate the “Prompt” with my bicycle writing into one post. Sometimes it works. Today’s prompt is titled Alma Mater

Alma Mater —You’ve been asked to speak at your high school alma mater — about the path of life. (Whoa.) Draft the speech.

My University soccer team was being inducted into the schools hall of fame.  A good number of the players traveled to the event.  The team was from 20 some odd years past, so there was a lot of catching up to do.  It was an annual event and there were a six or eight different inductees.  Individuals, our team, a coach for example.  It was the standard college ceremony.  We were the first to be inducted that night and lined up on the side of the stage at the bottom of the stairs.  As the short bio of our team was being read as an introduction, a team mate standing behind me said. “we took a vote and nominated you to give the speech”.  At that moment the MC announced, “Please give a warm welcome to the 1977 UMass soccer team”.

Winter Biking

DSC00001

Those who ride in the winter can relate.  Those who don’t are missing out. Continue reading “The Daily Prompt and Riding A Bicycle In The Winter” →

Just Me And The Dogs On The MUP.

Sudden Shifts Sudden shifts in weather can occur at the beach for sure.  But they can also happen riding a bike three days after a blizzard. Soft snow, icy footprints, crusty snow and pavement can make for some challenging bicycle riding.  But if you bike, you know it’s also fun.

Riding on snow
The footprints and bike tracks are all mine and my dogs.  The tire tracks are my neighbors quad.

MUP is an acronym for Multi Use Path.  The one I use is a Rail to Trail converted alternate route into town.  If the path is not clear, the only way to town is on US Rt. 6. A four lane highway with a posted speed of 40 MPH.  Most drivers exceed 50 and approach 60 MPH since the road was newly paved in the fall.

I decided to get studded tires for my bike this winter because the town doesn’t clear this path of snow, and no one on rt 6 clears their sidewalks. Those two things force bikes and pedestrians onto a state highway to get to the town center.

Today I rode the MUP to the gym and the coffee shop.  The terrain was a mix of ice, crusty snow, blacktop and 5″ deep soft snow.  I had to stop three times and walk when I hit the soft snow.  The one mile ride was a pretty good leg workout and warm up for my time in the gym.  After the workout I stopped in the Flower Girl Baking Company for a good cup of coffee and a really light and delicious slice of quiche.

Flower Girls Baking Co.
Flower Girls Baking Company in Fairhaven.  You gotta try the quiche.

On the return trip I avoided riding on the path and took my chances on RT 6.  It’s two lanes in each direction and I took 1/3 of the lane forcing cars to go around and not squeeze me into the embankment.  It worked out fine with every vehicle moving to the passing lane as they drove by me.  Today I got to ride a little ebony and a little ivory.

Below is the example of sudden shifts in the terrain while riding my bike. (Having fun).

Winter Has Settled In

Live to Eat
Lots of physical activity, especially bike riding, keep me from turning into a blown up tic from eating too much.

When I ride the MUP (Multi Use Path) there is one spot that always gives me a ever changing view of itself.  There is so much activity on the salt marsh if we pay attention. As I rode by on my newly studded tires the ducks called to me.  They were really warning each other that I was around, but I take it as a compliment. Ducks in Saltmarsh 002

The path was quite a mixed terrain ride today.  Icy tire tracks, deep-ish snow, blacktop and mush.  Today was my first day on studded tires, and frankly it kind of knocked the stuffing out of me a few times. I had to buy the tires separately which gives me 200+ studs on the front and 75 studs on the rear tire.  When I hit some of the deeper snow, (about three or four inches) the back tire would slip and slide making me tense up and struggle to keep upright. I was able to force myself to keep pedaling through the more natural thing of taking my foot off the pedal anticipating a fall. The sliding made it very difficult to hold any kind of a line in the tire tracks which seemed more like the side to side down hill skiing than bike riding.   Continue reading “Winter Has Settled In” →

Dam You DPW

We got a pretty good snow storm yesterday. Naturally I had to drive to the airport so the kid could fly back to his 70 degree weather in Austin.  Also both studded tires arrived this week and the storm couldn’t have been more opportune.

Putting on the tires was a frustrating task.  Both fought back with every stud, but I finally got them installed. All this work took place in between football games.  The English Premier League takes up most of my Saturday mornings.  It’s not very good football, but it’s fun to watch.  I did a fair share of profanities not only from the studded tires, but also the games.   My wrist hurts from struggling with that last few inches of the tire install, and my ankle hurts from stomping on the floor when one of the teams I decided to support today, played stupid.

Studded Marin 002.JPG
Studded Tires Installed on the Marin.

I decided to take the dogs for a walk before the inaugural studded tire ride and when I looked down the street the first thing that came to mind was, “Dam you, DPW.  They did a great job prepping the streets before and clearing the streets after the snow.  First time ever by the way.  Last year it took weeks to get the streets down to pavement.  Dam DPW. I’m going to bitch. I have a six mile ride into the city tomorrow for Yoga and am hoping that New Bedford keeps their low standard of clearing the roads in tact.

Clear Evergreen St.

Overcast Tree on Evergreen St.
At least the trees have snow cover. 

Yoga

Library. Fairhaven Ma
Millicent Library in Fairhaven, Ma with the Unitarian Building in the background.

A 6 mile ride to yoga class that is part of the New Bedford Wellness Initiative today.  On the way to the Boys and Girls club, while climbing a hill, one of my pedals fell off.

69 CamaroI was walking the final half mile and came across a couple of old timers looking at a 1969 Camaro in a garage.  I borrowed an adjustable wrench from one of these friendly strangers and made the repair. The pedals were installed a few short days ago and I was very conscious of putting is on correctly and tight.

YO! GUYS.  PAY ATTENTION TO THE TEXT.

The problem was that it’s in two parts.  The pedals came with adapters for different sized cranks. The adapter screws into the crank then the pedal screws into the adapter.  I have no idea why this fell of because reverse threading on the left pedal insures that this doesn’t happen.  (To most people).  I’ll figure it out tomorrow.

Continue reading “Yoga” →

Night Ride Video

The Daily Post.   Asks.  Post something Vibrant

It doesn’t have to show all the colors of the rainbow to be vibrant.  But it should say WOW. This was taken by a friend, Peter Pereira

Fairhaven center from unitarian
The Center of Fairhaven Ma. taken from the Unitarian church

A reunion of the retired pro and semi pro soccer players .  It was at the Portuguese Sports Club in New Bedford, MA.  Around 300 men were in attendance including a State Senator, the Portuguese Consulate, the man next in line for the Chief of Police position in the city to name a few.  There were some suits in attendance but most of us were casual.  Portuguese food is not conducive to white shirts and ties, because lots of food usually ends up on them. Continue reading “Night Ride Video” →

After The Snow Melts

Back in the saddle on Cape Cod after the first blizzard of 2016

AFTER THE BLIZZARD from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

The Guy Must Have Been Waiting At The Top Of The Street

I’ve had a heck of a time purchasing studded tires so I do get more riding.  I only need to get a little over a mile on the bike path, after that, I’m on town and city streets that are bike friendly and maintained.  The town doesn’t plow the MUP.

Two bike shops have had to cancel my order because they were out of stock.  After scrambling, one will be here on Friday and another tire sometime next week.  No problem now, because everything is clear.  But more snow and ice is sure to come.

I decided to buy a new bike rack system for my new car.  It’s a Thule platform, like the ones you see on the front of the city buses.  I also have to have a tow hitch installed. I can’t see myself using it before sometime in March.  Here is the irony.  I ordered it on Tuesday, online around 3 PM.  It arrived at 2:30 PM today, Wednesday.   Really, I’m paying a premium to have a bike tire shipped that takes 7-10 days.  Yet a 40 lb bike rack with free shipping can get here overnight.   I’m figuring the UPS guy must have been parked at the top of my street when the order was put in.

Thule Bike Rack

I did get out on the bike today, riding to some local stores.  One of the items was inexpensive bike pedals for winter riding. I have two sided spd pedals on the beater bike, but a wider plastic mountain bike pedal makes much more sense in the winter.

I also do all the cooking in the house and go to the market every day for fresh foods.  It’s a mile ride on the MUP and biking is the most logical mode, once it’s passable naturally. I usually ride to the gym for weights, yoga, cardio or tai chi. I only need to walk across a parking lot to the market. Convenient? You bet.

Shopping by bike
Fully loaded after shopping
Clear path after the storm
Clear bike path, four days after a blizzard.

The Day After The Storm

I stopped to talk to a neighbor on the way to the market. He complimented my new car and said, “all wheel drive?”.   I responded, “why”.  He said because of this.  Continue reading “The Day After The Storm” →