We got stuck in traffic leaving New Bedford, MA.  We made up the time on the highway while driving to Providence, RI to meet some fellow riders at 5:30.  We were going to be 15 minutes late.  Giving us 45 minutes for the three mile spin to the start of the ride.  One mile from out exit, traffic was stopped. Road sign ahead said, “Accident at 95 junction, left lanes closed.”  We got to the meetup at 6:15 and by the time we got to downtown Providence, the park was deserted.  I approached two sketchy looking men and asked if they had seen a group of bikes.
“Yea, you just missed them” as he pointed toward their route.

A bit down the road we saw a group of formal attired people and asked them the same question.  They were very drunk and convinced we were on some kind of reality show.  They wanted to know if they won something.  We took their cue and raced off in the direction they pointed.

We decided to ride the reverse route confident we would eventually bump into the group eventually.  We didn’t, and decided to ride back to the downtown park.  We hung around for 30 minutes or so and they finally showed.  We told of our chasing them down and were told that they did the ride in the reversed of the posted route.

In short, we rode Providence with the mayor without ever seeing him.

Just to make matters worse, a couple of them told us that they saw us riding like crazy people early in the ride, but never though of signaling us.  I didn’t get much video on this ride and what I got was pretty helter skelter.  It’s the best I could muster on this crazy, but fun, night.

Ride with the Mayor of Providence, R.I. from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

 

 

Our group will be meeting at the Fort Hill parking lot of the East Bay Bike Path in Providence at 5:30.

Take Broadway exit off 195.
Left at the bottom of the ramp
Right at the lights onto Warren Ave.
Left at the light on Lyon Ave
Take the 5th Right onto Mercer St.
Parking lot is at the end of Mercer across the Veterans Parkway.

This is so good.  Click the Vimeo link at the bottom right, go full screen, put on your headphones and crank it up.

Heart – Stairway to Heaven (Live) from Hamilton Post Production on Vimeo.

 

Bike riding is at a premium this winter. I had a lot more energy to ride in the past, but this year I’m quite content to ride indoor at the fitness center.  After the morning workout and ride, I take the dogs to the Buzzards Bay Coalition site called the Bogs. Previously a large cranberry bog, it’s now, thanks to BBC, a hiking, running, biking trail.  There is always someone walking their dogs in the mornings and I have met some wonderful like minded animal lovers on my daily walks.

The Bogs from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

 

Not much biking lately, therefore, not much bike video. Enjoy this while we wait for Spring.

I was relegated to the fitness center bike again.  I do admit that riding a stationary bike with a bank of TV’s in front of you is kind of easy.  I’m impressed with my speed also, averaging in the high teens.  On the plus side, the weather is forcing me into cross training with my two dogs.  We go out for 90 minutes or more in an area called the “Bogs”, where we meet lots of other dogs and their companions.

I do spread seed in both my front and back yard every day and am visited by the locals. If I’m late with the food, the blue jay’s let me know with their screeches.  Other birds fly by my bay window back and forth letting me know it’s time to eat.  It’s pretty cool.

 

Bitter cold and icy conditions kept me off the bike a few days this winter. Other than those eight or ten days, I have been able to do short rides, all under ten miles.  Yesterday, Sunday was showed promise of a decent length ride on the East Bay Bike Path (EBBP), in Rhode Island.  The start however showed signs of a potential failure.  Ice, lots of ice at around the half mile mark.  We had to walk around it and once we did, the 14 mile remainder only had a few patches of questionable traction.

We got 27 miles in at a decent clip considering the conditions.  That is, when we spotted standing water on the blacktop, it was difficult to see if it was icy till we rode over it. A few times I unclipped just in case.

On the down side, or up side if you happened to be my riding partner. My camera battery died during the first video.  I had to buy a replacement battery when the original no longer held a charge and apparently I put the old one back in.  So, I have to settle by using a couple of photos I shot with my phone.  Oh the humanity.

No riding for the past few days because of the weather.  The highs have been in the single digit and low teens with a very dangerous wind chill. For example, this morning, it was -3 with a wind chill dropping the temperature for mammals and humans to -16.

Around noon, the winds dissipated, the sun shone brightly and the temperature topped off at 18 F, (-8 C).  It felt a little like spring after what we experienced over the past few days.   By Thursday the temperature is expected to top off at around 50 F (10 C).

During the winter months, we put food out for whatever critter or bird wants to eat.    Except for those of the same breed.  The blue jays fight with each other, the squirrels, and cardinals do the same.  Oddly enough they don’t fight with those outside their family.

I rode as often as possible this month. The exception was a few days in Atlanta for Christmas with the family, and a few days under the weather with a cold.  I never ride without my camera because being on a bike or walking, we see things that people who drive everywhere seldom experience.  You all ride so you know what I’m talking about.

While working on today’s short ride, (it’s winter and it was snowing), I decided a video would tell a better story.   Enjoy.

2017 December Bike Montage from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

 

I am one of the lucky few who enjoys winter riding. The last couple of days the temperature has been in the single digits, warming up to 14 or 15 degrees.  I have layered up and gone  for a short ride both days. Less than 10 miles, and I stay pretty close to home.  The bike path is a few yards from my driveway which kind of makes the decision to ride easy.

The day begins by walking the dogs on the MUP. With the cold weather and usually no one else on the path, they get to go off leash and run to their little hearts content.  My wife insists they wear coats and neither dog is happy about that.

Yesterday the temperature topped off at 13F or -10C and the wind was howling. I made my usual stop at the supermarket and a friend questioned my bike riding in this cold.  I asked him what he would think if I was on a mountain skiing at 13 degrees.  “That’s different’, he said.  ‘Skiing is a winter sport.”  Sometimes it’s better to stop talking, which I did.  I was thinking about riding to the gym after finishing this post and just checked the weather.  It’s 4 right now and I think I’ll have another coffee and maybe watch a movie before heading out.