It began with a need to go to the market for a couple of things.  I stepped outside and noticed it didn’t seem that bad.  No wind, sunny.  Not much of a decision here.  I got the commuter bike out and rode the mile to the store.  I did stop on the way to check on the membership for the town rec center gym.  $53 senior price for 6 months.  Not bad at all.

I got a few comments from friends at the market about bike riding today.  My one word answer? “Layers”.  The only cold I felt was near the end of the ride, my toes.  They were cold, but not uncomfortably so.

The ride took me part way down the peninsula on Sconticut Neck Road.  I stopped at a friends to say hello, but in reality it was to gloat about riding in this weather.  He invited me in for some warmth, but I declined and continued riding.  If the cows could stand it, well, so could I.

I got off the main road to ride the Phoenix MUP extension along the bay and the wind turbines.

On the main bike path, there are a couple of memorial benches placed by loved ones in their favorite spots.  When I stopped, just to look around, I startled a really big blue heron.  By the time I got my camera ready, it was long gone.  A couple of ducks who were in the same hidden spot, chose their getaway perfectly and I missed that photo also. I simply leaned back with my elbows shoulder height on the top of the bench behind me taking in the view.  I looked across the marsh at a house I had seen hundreds of times during my 30 plus years on this trail.  Today I saw it again for the first time.

Later in the evening, I realized that I had not purchased a lottery ticket my wife and I spoke about earlier in the day.  A friend told us that the state Megabucks had not had a jackpot winner since mid April.  Many years ago, we had a season ticket to that game and we remembered the combination we played unsuccessfully for 5 years.  One more dollar for tonight’s drawing has been wagered. Naturally I got to the store by bike to play our numbers, x-xx-xx-xx-32-35. The last two numbers were our ages back then.  We have both since doubled those numbers in age. We’ll see how the drawing goes this evening.

The full moon is in the 1st but we always ride the Friday night closest to the event.  This one is 100% bike path, except for the sections we get off the path. Downtown Wood’s Hole for example.

These rides are a hoot.  Try one, you’ll like it.

There will be a Evening/Moonlight ride on the Shining Sea Bikeway on Friday 12/29/17.

Date: Friday 12/29/17.

Location:  Shining Sea Bikeway off Rt. 151 in Falmouth, MA.

Time:

  Arrive: 3:45PM

  Departure: 4:00PM promptly

Sunset: 4:20PM

Distance: around 20 miles.

Questions: email me.

Rain, snow or high winds cancels the ride.

We will ride (hopefully) to the end of the path and back with a possible stop in Woods Hole for coffee.

Bikes should have adequate lighting.

If you have a second headlight as a backup that might come in handy if the first one goes out.

Bring water, snacks, cameras and anything else you might want or need.

Helmets are highly recommended.

Take note that it is cooler after sunset and dress accordingly.

Stay tuned for the Blue Moon Ride on or near January 31st. It’s the second full moon of the month and it only happens once in a blue moon.

I ride the same route around the same time every day for my morning commute.  I cross the harbor over the New Bedford/Fairhaven MA bridge to get to work close to the same time every day.  The bridge has a set opening daily of on the hour between 6 and 9 AM.  I cross around 8. ish.

I can get there sooner, or lollygag to get to the bridge later and not have to wait.  However, I get some of my best photos while waiting.  I dismount the bike of the day and look around to see what catches my fancy.  Some photos are very good. Some not so much.  Finding something not waterfront related is a challenge on the commute. That being said, I go with the flow and photo what’s presented to me.

If you don’t know Sturgill Simpson give this a try.  If you do know him, you to go full screen and full volume.

The title is the forecast I have heard the last four morning before leaving the house for a bike commute to work.  No day felt cold and none warm.  In the 20’s, layers. In the 50’s no layers.  As we all know, it’s all in the wardrobe.

I went back to a tried and true, pretty intense weightlifting routing today.  As we say around heya,  “I’m hert’n ffff cert’n”.

Today’s commute began just as the sky way clearing from an early morning rain.  The clouds were clearing and sun began showing itself on a warm, windless day.  My commute is along the harbor of Fairhaven, across the bridge into the city of New Bedford, MA.  It’s very nautical themed.

There will also be an option of riding into Providence and the Brown University area and Thayer St.  Last month it was a 50/50 split of those who continued into the city and those who returned to Dell’s.

Beaver Full Moon Fiasco Nov 3 2017 from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

This is my third year participating in the Coffeeneuring Challenge. Basically it’s riding your bike to seven different coffee shops of the course of seven weeks. It’s not really a challenge per se, but a reason to ride a bike casually and also enjoy a cup of coffee.

Today was a nasty, windy, rainy day and I didn’t know if I would get number 7 done.  Sustained winds of 25 MPH with gusts approaching 40 normally would make this ride difficult enough to skip.  The rain let up mid afternoon but the wind continued to howl. However, evahhhh, I have The Raza.  Raza is the name of the electric assist bike I bought in Boulder, CO during my travels this summer.  On this ride, the aforementioned wind was not a factor. I could hear it, but not feel it.  The Raza, (named after the space ship in the Dark Matter series on Netflix),  has three settings. Eco, Normal and Boost.  Boost is very much like hyper drive, it’s that fast.  On this bike, I can get to 20 mph from a standstill in 6-8 pedal strokes.  The assist mode also lets me cut through the wind like a hot knife through butter.  But alas, there is a better use for the hyper drive.

There is one of those annoying older bikers in full kit who has to catch and pass anyone on the MUP.  He never warns that he is passing and can be rude, never acknowledging a hello or howahhya or if someone is too slow getting out of the way he says something nasty.  I’m looking forward to the day that we meet while I’m on the Raza so I can pass him in excess of 20 MPH, riding “no hands”,  tipping my hat while saying  “mawnin”.

Coffeeneuring suggested a theme for the rides.  My theme is recording them on video. Soooo..

2017 Coffee Challenge #7 from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

CLICK HERE to see what the coffee challenge is all about

2017 Coffee Challenge # 6 from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Coffee Challenge #5
Where: Pie in the Sky cafe in Wood’s Hole MA
What: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe coffee  and a blueberry scone.
The Ride:   26 miles on the Shining Sea Bikeway from Falmouth to Wood’s Hole, MA.

We left early for the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth, MA.  It’s a 10.5 mile flat rail to trail paved bike path.  We did however stray to take in some sights off the trail.  That gave us an extra 5 or 6 miles of riding this cool morning.  There wasn’t much traffic on the trail I suppose because it’s the middle of November and many have put their bikes into hibernation.

2017 November Shining Sea Bikeway with Hirem from John Sullivan on Vimeo.