Tag: Fairhaven Ma

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. 

Driving To The Airport After The Snowstorm

Owen and Lucy in the Snow from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Second Time Around Last February the kid came home to 3 feet of snow. His visit this year was a bit better. It’s always better on the second time around.

It’s still snowing but we are anticipating good roads to the Providence R.I. airport in Warwick R.I.  The people of Warwick are a bit perturbed that the airport in their city is called the Providence Airport.  The conundrum is that we will be driving during the evening commute.

The kid spent a few days in Massachusetts and was lamenting the lack of snow.  He visited last year and was hoping for snow and he got snow.

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He lives in Austin, where it’s probably around 80 degrees, so this is a treat for him.

Last June he booked and evening flight out of Providence, there were not enough seats sold and the flight was cancelled.  It was the last flight of the day so he had to fly out the next evening.  He is due at work at 11 AM tomorrow, so a canceled flight could be a problem. We’ll see how the flight goes today

A friend posted a photo online about looking at her bike and not being able to ride. I countered with a photo of my bike getting prepped to be ridden.

See your bike and can't rideIMG_0003-001

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” →

Waiting For My Studded Tires So I Can Ride My Bike

Click for music
waiting for mail in winter

Exactly The Same . Just Different

Can’t Stand Me

Play the music while your reading if you wish.

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My view riding to the gym.

I have a few bike blogging friends who have been riding in the snow for a couple of weeks. I  read their stories and shake my head thinking, I’m too old for that and really don’t feel like riding in snow.  I tell people that I might if it snowed, but didn’t really mean it. Well, it snowed last night. Continue reading “Exactly The Same . Just Different” →