It was blustery, chilly and kind of dreary. Then I got on my bike and all that stuff faded away. I also changed the theme which is why this blog looks different. (Says Captain Obvious). I took a lot of photos but only kept a few. For instance:
Tag: The Daily Post
Revolutionary War and Fort Phoenix
Over the weekend the Fairhaven and Wareham Militia encamped at Fort Phoenix for a demonstration of life of Americans defending New England during the time of the Revolution.
Fort History
On May 13-14, 1775, the first naval battle of the American Revolution took place off our shore when the local militia, under the command of Nathaniel Pope and Daniel Egery, captured two British sloops in Buzzard’s Bay.
Shortly afterward, the town petitioned for the construction of a fort at Nolscot Point for the protection of the harbor. The original fort was built by Capt. Benjamin Dillingham and Eleazer Hathaway between 1775 and 1777. It was outfitted with eleven cannon, several of which had been captured in the Bahamas by John Paul Jones.
Portraying colonial men, women, and children, the members of the Fairhaven Village Militia talk to visitors about the history of the fort and about life during the Revolutionary War period. Flintlock musket firing demonstrations are given at times when the militia is on duty.
2016 SEPTEMBER FORT PHOENIX REVOLUTIONARY WAR ERA REDOUBT from John Sullivan on Vimeo.
Boats
When you live on the coast, in a fishing village, boats are everywhere and people like me tend to take lots of boat photos on our bike rides.
Friday Night Sunset/Full Moon Fiasco #1
Forty Miles, Four Towns, Five MUPs in Rhode Island
The Washington Secondary Bike Path is the state’s longest bike path at 19 miles from Cranston Street in Cranston to Log Bridge Road, just past Route 102, in western Coventry. It is named for the abandoned rail corridor once served by the Providence, Hartford, & Fishkill Railroad.
The path is often referred to locally by the segment names given as the path was built, and these include, from west to east: Trestle Trail, Coventry Greenway, West Warwick Greenway, Warwick Bike Path, and Cranston Bike Path.
Wednesday Night Ramble. Westport, MA
Casual Recovery Ride? Yeah Right.
The plan was a 21 mile easy spin to recover from Tuesday night’s hammerfest. I made arrangements with the owner of Hungry Heroes Sub Shop for some riders to park and we would be back for the after ride dinner. I led us out of the parking lot, looked back and was the only one riding . One of our riders got a flat a few dozen yards from the start. .
As we rode on the MUP I began to quicken the pace from our 8 MPH. Everyone was keeping up OK. On this ride was the new kid. Nick got his first road bike for Christmas and during the ride over the weekend that I was video taping, I noticed how he stayed with the fast riders. After telling my co-leader, Flat Tire Geoff, where we would meet up, I told the kid to go to after burners. We quickly got our speed up, way up. As we were riding I gave him instructions on pace line riding, how I would signal him to take over the lead.
We were clipping along at a pace of 18-21 MPH, I pulled left to let Nick take the lead and that’s when I noticed there were 4 of us in the paceline, and there was a second one chasing us. Once Nick got the lead, the bastards dropped me.
Fortunately, I was the only one who knew the route we were riding and we had to regroup at strategic spots when there were choices of turns to make.
After this stop we had a Strava segment coming up. Sixteen year old Nick who has been riding for less than two months, pulled the whole group of us up Vaughn Hill road at 22 MPH. Near the top, I blew up and had to drop out of the contest and also noticed that the rest of the pace line had also blown up and dropped back.. It was just me and Nick. I yelled had him to go for it, he didn’t understand what I was saying and also dropped his speed. It’s too bad, because he was on pace to break into the top ten for this segment.
At the 1/2 way point Lloyds Market, we again regrouped and rode as a pack for quite a way stopping to visit the Clydesdale Ranch and another horse ranch. The Clydesdales were put away for the night, but Baby, a few miles down the road was more than happy to spend time with anyone who stopped by.
The last highlight of this route was riding past the World Headquarters of Titelist Golf, the Acushnet Company. We arrived at Hungry Heroes with calories to spare just in time to see the closed sign.
East Bay and Colt State Park In R.I.
I asked a couple of friends to join me on this 30 mile out and back ride starting in Providence R.I. along the East Bay and into Colt State Park. I wanted to give my touring bike a good shakedown to make sure everything is good before my upcoming short tour of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. No takers, and I have to say they missed a humdinger of a ride. Everything was near perfect, sunny, mild, no wind and plenty of people willing to chat.
The MUP got pretty busy when the local school let out. Lots of kids ride their bikes to when there is a safe bike way nearby.
The Wind Is Our Friend
I often say that to fellow riders as we are struggling on a group ride. Hills are our friends too. Right?
The sound began as a whisper as I rode my bike on a country road flanked by evergreens. It was the sound of wind approaching me. The trees in the distance begin to rustle then bend. The wave approached and got louder and I could see the approaching gust moving toward me as the trees reacted. I began to tense anticipating the struggle about to begin. The gust hit me with a fury, I was now in a wind tunnel and my speed immediately dropped from 16 to 10, then 8, 6, 4. The wind howled and I had to yell to hear myself say FAAAAAAAACK. Then is stopped but only for a few seconds till the second wave hit. I was struggling to keep moving and knew that if I stopped pedaling hard, the bike would stop moving.
Things improved as the road curved and took the wind out of my face. I was beginning to get into a good spin until I approached a causeway. I would be in the open till I crossed the lake. Again I heard the wind before it hit me head on. The gusts threatened to send me and my bike for baptism in the lake. I finally reached the turn around point and the ride became a hoot.
One hill to climb with a cross wind then it was 14 miles home with the wind at my back. I heard the trees rustling behind me but did not hear the wind. Nor did I feel it. Now I was the wind. The hills turned to inclines, I got into the big gear on the front cog and began to smile. I was in the zone and coasting at 18 MPH effortlessly. I needed to get some food for dinner after this ride, but it was so nice that I took a two mile detour to the market. As I took a left, two kids on BMX bikes coming the other way, turned right on the same road. I decided to pass, gave them a heads up, and let loose. I was very surprised when I looked at my speed o meter and saw the number 26.8 staring me in the face. Not on a hill, on a flat.
Sometimes the wind is brutal, but then again, the wind can be our friend. So can a Clydesdale if you carry and apple on your bike ride.
50 Miles Of Research
I’m doing a video and stills shoot next week for a bike event. I needed to check out three routes and work out where I’m going to set up in a variety of places. One ride is 48 miles, one is 25 and the other is 13. There is a staggered start with the longer routes going out first. I’ll be using my car for the shoot, but I did all the research by bike. I have to say that the 48 mile loop has some very spectacular scenery.
On the way out I spotted two guys on the path that I have know for years. One was on foot and the other on a very old three speed. We stopped and chatted for much too long and I decided to move on. I looked away briefly to don my helmet and sunglasses when I hear the thump. The guy standing over his bike tipped over and whacked his head on the fence. He was unconscious, tore a chunk of his ear and the back of his head looked like a bullet exit wound. Two weeks ago, my riding partner was standing over his bike in NYC, fell over and broke his hip. My question…. Who wants to ride with me tomorrow
2016 TOUR DE CREME from John Sullivan on Vimeo.
A Midnight Rider 