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Waiting For My Studded Tires So I Can Ride My Bike
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Tag: Daily Post Challenge
Did You Ride Today?
“Your on your bike!!!! Do you know it’s raining?”
“Of course I know it’s raining. Why do you think I’m wearing rain gear?” Continue reading “Did You Ride Today?”
Hanging Around For The Night.
We expect 200 plus monsters, ghouls, princesses, jedi warriors and hobos to be at our doorstep tonight. Wifey wanted some scary pictures of her acting as a witch but none of those seemed acceptable. I also did some close ups of Sue and the brook at the bottom of the street.
Tomorrow, Sunday I’ll be finishing my coffeeneuring challenge by riding my bike from the head of the East Bay Bike Path in East Providence R.I. to the Head of the Blackstone River Bikeway, in Cumberland, R.I. I have a few coffee shops from which to choose in downtown Providence.
Hunter’s Full Moon Bike Ride
I got a call that my niece’s football team was playing their final home match of the season. Also the team was celebrating senior night. A 5 PM start under a full moon made this a great night for a bike ride. There are a few Full Moon Fiascos going on around the country. If your not familiar with them it’s worth checking out. There are chapters in Chicago, Illinois, Sandpoint, Iowa, Spokane, Washington, St. Louis, Missouri and of course, Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Check the website for next months ride.
The stadium was around eight miles away from my home and there was a busy city between her town and mine. Fortunately I grew up in the city and knew every which way to avoid most of the traffic and still have a very direct route to the stadium. It was so direct that I got there an hour before the scheduled start. It was getting chilly and I was starting to Jones for some coffee. The nearest spot was a -11 around a mile away. Having done many long distance tours, it’s not a big deal to back track a few miles for trivial reasons. Coffee was not trivial which made back tracking a mile kind of a no brainer. It was a coffee stop but doesn’t qualify for my coffeeneuring challenge.
The Dartmouth girls team was far superior to their opponent from Fall River which gave the coach a chance to play the seniors who normally don’t get a lot of playing time. With the score 2-0 and Dartmouth in full control, the officials awarded them a penalty kick. All the regular players gathered around one of those seniors and told her to take the spot kick. It was incredible. No keeper in the world at any level could have made the save on this one. It reminds me of a quote by golfer Lee Trevino when he said, “Every golfer has professional shots in him. The only difference is that the pros do it regularly”. This day #24 for Dartmouth had a world class moment, and everyone loved it.
Riding to Coffee in Rhode Island.
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All the photos of today’s rider are HERE
The day began cool enough to dress like a bike riding chef from upstate NY. Well not that cold but you get the point.
It was 47 F when the ride began in East Providence R.I. this morning. The sun was shining and the wind was just a whisper. On the subject of the shining sun. It was 9 AM and I was riding east. All I could see was the sun and not the four people I almost rode into.
The East Bay Bike Path is a rail to trail conversion. It’s 16 miles from East Providence to Barrington, R.I.. When riding most rail to trail conversions, there is very little to see. Most were freight rails and towns are often quite a way off the trail. Much of the riding is on lonely dirt paths with miles and miles of nothing much. The East Bay rail road was a passenger rail that carried people to and from Providence for school, work, or connecting trains to New York or Boston and had stations in all five towns along the route. Main St. in all these places are no more than a block away.
Willie Wier , author and Adventure Cyclist has traveled all over the world on his bicycle. He set out to ride the KATY trail in Missouri a few years back. Hours and hours of riding on this trail and seeing no one really bothered him. One of the best things about bike touring is seeing things and meeting people. With that in mind, he got off the trail and did the rest of his week long bike ride on the streets and roads. Today I got off the trail on Warren R.I. in search of a decent coffee shop. While riding down Main St. I spotted a coffee shop with lots of activity. Even on this chilly day, the sidewalk tables were occupied. One thing I learned traveling is that good restaurants have full parking lots, and in this case, few available tables. I was pleasantly amazed when I entered the joint. It was very eclectic and looked very much like one of those men’s clubs you see on old movies. The Coffee Depot offered comfortable chairs, a library, and a counter from end to end filled with coffee shop goodies.
The Coffee Depot goodies section
The temperature rose to the high fifties and I was treated to the full colors of fall in New England during my 20 mile ride.
And the wildlife.
Road Ride
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It’s my second time on the road bike since May and it feels good. I’m glad I didn’t sell old Gertrude. A friend asked if I was going to blog today’s ride. I said no, I was going to ride hard and make it a fitness ride. A point and shoot camera was next to the Garmin and as I was leaving, I grabbed both. Today was the first day that the fall colors were noticeable. Funny how one day everything is green and two days later the colors have burst like a Hindi Festival of Color.
Today’s ride was 27 miles at a moderate speed with a couple of photo stops. I couldn’t help myself. Not much to say about the ride except the sights were pretty groovy.
Flower Girls Coffee Challenge
Week three part II of the Coffeeneuring Challenge. I decided to try a video of this solo ride around Fairhaven.
FLOWER GIRLS from John Sullivan on Vimeo.
Saturday Ride on Cap Cod. The Shining Sea Bikeway
Shining Sea Bikeway. Saturday morning. Meet at 8:30 at the head of the trail off rt 151. #16 on THIS MAP. 10.5 miles each way with a short tour of Wood’s Hole and a coffee stop.
I Got People. They Show Me The Secret Places
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Secret Places are what a visitor to a city or town gets to experience when they ride a bike with a local. The local takes you not only to the best tourist places, but also to those really great spots that only the they know exist. A bar, a restaurant, a beautiful riding route or a local event are the secret places that make a visit memorable especially if you have people. My people were #3 son Brandon and his riding friends.
Austin was one of those visits and was such great getaway that provided a bundle of highlights beginning with my bike rental. Most visitors rent bikes from Mellow Johnny’s, a shop that boasts Lance Armstrong as one of it’s owners. Because I had people in Austin, I was taken off the beaten path to Austin Bikes where the owner Saul Frost, provided me with a new Scott 40 comfort bike, that was perfect for riding around the city with a camera, at a rate that was more than generous. Renting a bike was a priority that preceded checking into my hotel.
Brandon left me at the Austin Motel to give me time to get settled and take a nap before returning with his bike to give me a tour of the city. A visit to Mellow Johnny’s for coffee and a bit of shopping before meeting his lady at work. She also rides, and the three of us rode to dinner at G’Raj Mahal Cafe on Rainey St. Put this place on your list during your visit to Austin. Brandon works on Rainey St so we also did a bar crawl to meet some of his fellow bartenders and bar owners. We road back to the hotel after midnight and that was very cool on Austin’s bike friendly streets.
A few short feet from the Austin Motel sits Joe’s Coffee. This is a very popular spot that has a perpetual line standing at the outdoor order window. One taste of their cappuccino was enough to make Joe’s my go to first morning coffee, joint.
Brandon showed mid morning for our 3 mile ride to breakfast at the Counter Cafe. The more time I spend in Austin the more I felt like I was in Boulder, Colorado. Both are very hip, athletic comfortable cities. Any city with a vibrant bike culture sits very high on my list of desirable destinations.
After a healthy meal, we mounted our bikes for the six mile ride to the Austin Botanical Gardens, the jewel in the heart of Austin. As a bonus, we had to ride in the area of Austin City Limits festival grounds. The festival is two weekends of great music that is often featured on PBS. Watching ACL on PBS is how I got to know performers such as Robert Earl Keene, Delbert McClinton and a few others that would have not been part of my playlist without ACL.
Mellow Johnny’s, bar crawls on Rainey St., the LBJ Libraray, great restaurants, Austin City Limits, rides through parks along the Colorado River, gardens, and coffee shops by bike make Austin very sweet. I got to do this because I had people. On Thursday night those people provided the highlight that paled all the other wonderful things we did in Austin. The Thursday Night Driveway Series Bike Races.
I got to ride the seven plus miles with a few of the pro racers from Mellow Johnny’s to the venue. Our route was side streets and bike paths at a reasonable pace that allowed me, on my rented comfort bike, to keep up and take pictures.
The Driveway was much better than I had expected. It was minimally controlled chaos because of the limited time caused by the dwindling daylight. There were three races, senior riders, Cat 3,4, and 5 and the last to start were the CAT 2-1 and pro racers. The chaotic part was that as soon as one group passed on the bell lap, the gates would open and the next group would roll onto the track. Some riders were still crossing the finish line across the field, when the next race would begin. Riders who were really far behind, were SAGed off the track before beginning the last lap to insure the next group would not catch them.
Bike racers proved to be a friendly group we found when, on our ride home in the dark, (an Austin bike culture theme), a group of racers called us into a convenience store lot to share, stories and their beer.
There are some really special places to visit. Austin, Texas is surely one of them. But if you have people to show you the secret places, that special place can become so much more.
Coffeeneur Challenge #1 Austin Texas Road Trip
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I waited till today to begin my challenge in order to do it on a road trip. First order of business in Austin was to rent a bike. Austin Bike who sponsors #3 son gave me a good deal. (I think). “Take the bike and we will settle up when you bring it back” was the owners comment. I have no idea what it’s going to cost, but I have confidence he will do me right.
Brandon, had a training ride today with his group that met at Lance Armstrong’s bike and coffee shop. We decided that was our coffeeneuring challenge #1 entry. An iced latte for me and a regular old hot coffee for him. His gang went off on their ride while I hopped on ole 40 Scott (the bike brand) and rode to a great dog, jogging, biking, fitness park in the center of Austin. Norwood Estate park sits on the bank of the Colorado River. It’s a really nice spot.
We are doing all our transportation around the city by bike. Tonight we will dine at G’Raj Mahal on Rainey St. And for those back in the Northeast wondering about riding a bike at night in October. It’s 8:30 PM here as I write and it’s 85 degrees. No sweat. Um well you know what I mean.
Coffee challange #1 is done and it was a very sweet one. Nothing like a road trip, with a bike on a warm October night.
A Midnight Rider 