Distance 16.9 Miles

Coffee. Cumberland Farms Guatemalan Blend and egg salad sandwich

Location.  Fairhaven, Massachusetts

Cool, cloudy, no wind, ride around the peninsula of New Bedford, MA

2017 Coffee Challenge #4 from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

 

I’m participating in a coffee challenge that’s for some magical reason gets me on my bike on a Saturday morning in 25 degree temperature.  I needed to go to the market for a couple of items and decided to ride a mile further to a local coffee shop.

The Nook is a small shop in the center of Fairhaven, MA and a place I thought would not last. I like the place but, every time I have gone in the past, I have been the only customer.  Today, it was standing room only. Unless of course if one was a hearty bike rider. There were two tables in front of the shop and a bar attached to the side of the building.  The sun was shining, there was no wind, which all in all was not a bad day to sit outside with my coffee.  As we bikers know, it’s all in the wardrobe.

 

 

 

Where:  Green Bean in New Bedford, MA

What:    Small cappuccino and a sesame bagel

Ride Distance:  10.3 miles

Details:  It was a chilly blustery morning which made the coffee shop a nice reprieve, but that same weather cut the ride short.  In half actually.  But I did get some video.

The video shows some waterfront scenes and the end there is footage of hundreds of birds jockeying for space on the high lines.  It was a riot watching how they interacted so politely moving over to make room for the new arrivals.

Coffeeneuring #2 from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

We met in Warren, RI with the intention of riding the East Bay Bike Path.  It was also the last night for Waterfire,  in Providence R.I.  We made the decision to ride the 10 miles to the city and join in on the celebration.

It was 70 F and mostly cloudy at the 6 PM start of the ride.  The weather got better as we progressed and the sky gradually cleared.  We stopped on the India Park Bride in Providence and just kind of sat around.  One of the riders decided to look up Waterfire on his phone and told us that the event was tomorrow night.  Four of us decided to ride into the city regardless and three decided to ride back.  Not wanting to ride at night in city traffic was their reason.  If they only knew.  The  street were pretty much void of any traffic except for Thayer St. in the Brown University area.  The traffic was heavy but also at a standstill, which made easy riding for the four of us.  All the food trucks has long lines of coeds which made for interesting visuals, if you know what I mean.  Kind of made me wish I was five years younger.

We did manage to get lost in the heart of the city.  That’s not a bad thing on bikes.  We rode around the financial and historic districts till we got our bearings and found our way to the ten mile ride back to Warren.

Once back on the bike path, one by one our lights failed.  Four riders and only one with a light.  But….the sky had cleared and the full moon lit our way.  Kind of.  There were a few dark spots and naturally there were bikers and walkers traveling toward us.  On of the highlights was a group of eight or ten high school kids on bikes, (sans lights also) who saw us coming.  As we approached they all began yelling, when we saw them, we began yelling.  No words, just yelling.  It was all in fun and it was obvious that both groups enjoyed the encounter.   Also along the way we would pass someone who had pulled over when they saw our one light approaching.  None of us saw any of them till we were along side and riding at a pretty good clip.  The possibilities of an incident were pretty high.

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

 

It was a blustery November 1st morning and the chores were done.  I started pedaling with no destination in mind until I reached the Sconticut Neck Road turn, off the bike path in Fairhaven, MA. It was five miles to West Island on a straight and flat road.

A causeway took me to the island which at one time was a summer destination of small cottages. Over time, most of those cottages were upgraded to year round homes.  At the east end of the island there is a land trust reservation that has been preserved as open space.  Downed trees crossed the path hear and there especially one very large oak reminiscent of an ambush spot we have seen in a movie or two.

Overall it was a good, albeit blustery day for a bike ride.  Next on the list is the Friday night full moon ride in Rhode Island on the East Bay Bike Path.  I have done this a couple of times and it’s always a fun ride with a good group of friends.

West Island on a Blustery Day from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

 

Coffee.  Regular Blend at Dunkin Donuts and a bagel with cream cheese

Miles  16.9

 

Heavy rains were predicted for the area and I had resigned myself to not ride today.  After the gym I stopped for a coffee at Dunkin Donuts in Fairhaven, MA. and ran into a friend who had just finished his ride. “You beat the rain”, I said.   “Oh, I have plenty of time.  It’s not going to rain till late afternoon”.   I skipped the coffee, drove home and hopped on my commuter bike.  I had no route planned and simply started pedaling.

Eventually the decision was made to ride over the bridge into the city.  It ended up being a pretty decent day for a 16 mile bike ride around the peninsula and the waterfront.

The last time I brought my RV in for service it took two months to get things “not quite” fixed.  I had to retrieve it so Sue and I could embark on our two month sojourn, with a couple of minor issues remaining to be addressed.  (Scroll down on amidnightrider.com to see the videos and stories of our adventure.)  This time however it took a mere three days for Camping World to get everything done.  The list had 7 items to take car of , but they knocked them all off and everything is ready for the next adventure.

It’s also football season and the MLS playoff, EPL and Champions League are in full swing. Speaking of football, I became a fan of Atlanta United the other day when they played the Crew, who it is rumored, may be moving to Austin.  I have been to a few games in Columbus but have no other reason to go there.  I have a son in Atlanta and also in Austin and having a football team in both place would please me to no end.

Finally when I was on tour, passing through Boulder Colorado, I meandered into a bike shop while Sue was shopping.  Full Cycle bikes.  It has a coffee bar at the entrance which added to the enticement.  I don’t pass by many bike shops without stopping in for a look see.  Last year I stopped into Camping World on my way home from couch shopping and bought an RV.  So you can guess what happened in Boulders Full Cycle Shop.  Yup a new bike,  an e-bike no less.  A very heavy e-bike.

My neighbor Jason joined me on the 25 mile bike ride to pick up the RV.  Below is the evidence that is normally required when telling a story on a blog.

All of my cameras have a defect or don’t work, including the one I used for this video. That’s my excuse for the poor quality. Things will be back to normal quality starting with the next video and my new camera. Whatever that turns out to be.

Today’s ride and gathering was was to protest the theft of the bike path by a local developer. He somehow managed to get the city of Fall River Ma to let him build an access road that will take a portion of the newly completed Quequechan River MUP.  The mayor had repeatedly stated that if the residence don’t want a road there, there will not be one. That was last month.  Now however, the plans for the road have been approved.  The bike advocates are mobilizing and the battle has begun.  It’s a fight against City Hall.

Fall River Protest Ride from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Actual conversation in Austin the other night on busy noisy Rainey St.
Me. “How far to 6th St. ?
Doorman, 6 street.
Me. Yes
Doorman, Yes what?
Me How far is it to 6th street
Doorman. 6 streets
Me 6th street
Doorman 6 streets.
Me 6 blocks
Doorman. I just said that. Six streets

Austin Bike from John Sullivan on Vimeo.