Harmony I’m a day late for the photography 101 posting so I decided to create Home and Harmony. The crocus are in full bloom making a nice contrast to my house.
Even the crokies came out it was so nice.
Let me clear the air about winter riding. When it was cold and there was snow and ice, I was determined to get out and ride. I bought studded tires, rode on them three times and praised their suitability for winter conditions. I lied. I don’t like winter riding on ice and snow. I don’t dislike it either. It’s just something I do. After riding a few days in relatively nice weather I can honestly say that winter biking kind of sucks. But I still do it. Continue reading “Getting Fit”→
Causeway separating Snipatuit Pond in Rochester, Ma.
I got the Felt road bike all spiffed up for the first road ride of the year. Twenty five miles on the back roads of Southeastern Massachusetts. CLICK HERE to see the map. The winter riding is pretty much easy spins around town. The rest of the year sees those rides but also medium and high mile road rides. These are put the camera away serious rides to build up strength and stamina for the events and bike tours that are on the schedule throughout the summer.
There were a few others out on this very popular bike area. Some roadies, a couple of mothers with their child and what looked like the tail end of a club ride. Twenty five miles at a moderate pace was a nice start to the season.
I do a lot of really unique and cool bike, but there are three that stand out this year.
The NYC Five Boroughs Bike Tour. 32,000 of us bike the 5 boroughs of NYC crossing 5 bridges.
When was the last time your walked away from a discussion, only to think of The Perfect Comeback hours later? Recreate the scene for us, and use your winning line.
I didn’t have a plan for today’s ride. That’s why the beginning is random things about the city. I was drawing a blank and it became clear to let the video tell the story with the music.
Do you believe in heaven and hell? Gods? Aliens? Ghost? How about crop circles? Reincarnation is in the same category as all those other things. I know none of those exist, so my answer is no, I don’t believe in reincarnation or any of those other things. But they can be fun pranks to play on people.
Coffee, Bagel and the paper.
It was such a nice morning,29 and sunny, that I had my coffee and a bagel on the outside deck of Flower Girls Baking Company after my daily gym session. Today is also a nice day to go for a long enough ride to put on my Garmin. Stay tuned. Continue reading “I’m Calling the EPA”→
Turn to your co-workers, kids, Facebook friends, family — anyone who’s accessible — and ask them to suggest an article, an adjective, and a noun. There’s your post title! Now write.
My daily bike ride this time of year is the same as the day before. A one mile ride to the gym, then to the market for tonight’s meal ingredients, then to a coffee shop to read the NY Times over a good cup of Joe . There is not much different to say or show that I haven’t posted at least a couple of times. However, I have two dogs.
The early mornings are for the older gentlemen walking on the bike path. Today while riding to the gym I ran into three who were walking on the left side of the photo above. It’s the horse path and also where everyone takes their dogs to shit. The women pick it up and the men usually don’t. Continue reading “Watch Out For Black Ice”→
The Daily Promptis 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”.
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.
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 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).
A Midnight Rider 