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Sunday Yoga

The day began just a little bit cool.  I decided to ride the 7 miles to yoga at the local Boys/Girls club.  I just happened to look up and saw the wall above my bike stating that this was the third oldest club in the country.  I have been going here for two years for yoga, putting my bike in the same spot and it took this long to look up.

 

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Another long unnoticed item on a regular route is this closed gas station.  So many have tried to make a go of this but the location is crap.  It’s on the edge of a bridge spanning the river that opens every hour.  People have always hesitated to stop here for gas out of fear of getting stuck when the bridge opens.  The prices say clearly how long this place has been closed.

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The ride was intended to be longer,  but the weather turned sour with dropping temperatures, wind and drizzle limited me to 16 miles.   I did make one more stop at a recently closed motel that was a haven for transients, pimps and people with drug problems.

South Coast Bikeway Summit

Last night was the annual South Coast Bikeway Summit in New Bedford, MA.  I was asked to lead a ride for those who wanted to bike to the “bike summit”.  This is my third year volunteering to do this ride.  No one has ever shown up to ride with me.  I got a few e-mails asking about the route and times.  It was a beautiful late afternoon to ride.  38F, no wind and sunny at the 4:30 PM start.  The temperature promised to hold and the wind had no intent on picking up before the 7:30 PM return ride.  With all that, I wondered, “will anyone show besides Geoff?”  No one did. Geoff was there, but we did not see each other before I rode off.  He did call me and we were able to hook up about a mile down the road.

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It was a really nice ride that took us over the new elevated walk/bike way built on top of the hurricane barrier at West Beach.  The return night ride took us over the walk/bike way on East Beach. (Fort Rodman is at the point of the New Bedford peninsula that in my soccer pre season training days was a very pretty four mile loop along Buzzard’s Bay and Clark’s Cove).

CLICK HERE for the Summit meeting video.

2017 SouthCoast Bikeway Summit Bike Ride from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Happy Anniversary Keith and Mia

Today is #1 son and his wife’s 2nd anniversary.  The wedding was a week long affair in Playa Venao Panama.  And what a week it was.

Panama Wedding from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

30 Days of Biking

I enjoy the occasional bike challenge.  I came across 30 Days of Biking last year and after a rough start really enjoyed being part of that community.  Basically, we agree to ride our bike every day during the month of April. There is no minimum mileage, so on that rainy (or snowy) day, a ride around the block counts.  If you remember, last April we had snow the first week.

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Riding the MUP in Fairhaven, MA
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Provincetown, MA

Two weeks later after riding the Boston Midnight Marathon bike event, I was riding in 85 degree sunshine in Austin, TX.

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Stevie Ray Vaughan

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I plan on doing the 30 day challenge and the Boston Midnight Marathon ride again this year.  Both events are approaching quickly.  The temps are in the 20’s around here now but I’m counting on spring weather arriving within a few days.  No matter what, I’ll be on my bike on April 1st, and that’s no joke.

Road Trip

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Spending the night at Cracker Barrel somewhere in Virginia

Sue and I recently completed our first RV road trip.  This was the 23 foot vehicle we bought in October on a whim.  We originally went out to buy a sectional couch for our living room and came home with an RV.  It could be the ultimate impulse buy.

Our adventure took us to visit family in the southern part of the US.  Atlanta, Georga, Ocala, Ponte Vedra and Jacksonville Beach in Fla, and Cullowee, North Carolina.  We also stopped by to see friends in St Augustine, Fla for a day.  This highlight of course was getting to spend time with our grandchildren in Atlanta.  Second to that was being able to attend a surprise birthday party for Kate. Kate and Fabio lived with us for a few months while they were making seaworthy their tiny home, Tranquility, a 28 foot Columbia sailboat.  We fondly refer to them as the “Italians”.  We attended their wedding in the Italian Alps two years ago and that was an item on our bucket list that makes all the others pale in comparison.

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Photo session falls apart after a couple of minutes
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Kate and Fabio.  The Italians

We parked on the property of those we visited and either bunked in their home or in the RV.  Our two dogs determined weather we stayed in or out of the home.  Not everyone is a dog person.

While on the road we were able to stay in the back lots of Cracker Barrel restaurants.  That worked out much better than we had anticipated while planning this trip.

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Cracker Barrel camping in Pennsylvania

All of the photos are   HERE

2017 Winter RV Road Trip from John Sullivan on Vimeo.

Moving On

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Lucy keeping my seat warm.

After a wonderful week in Atlanta with #2 son and family, it’s time to move on to the next stop in our Road Trip. Ocala, Fla is our destination and we plan on getting there today, Saturday.  We also got to spend a lot of time and got to know two of our three grandchildren.  The third being a week old probably won’t remember this visit.  Or he won’t admit to remembering.

 

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Ella and Owen
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Photo session falls apart after a couple of minutes when Liam is added to the shoot.

 

On The Road

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It took us four days to travel to Atlanta in our RV.  We spent 2 nights in Cracker Barrel lots and one in a Walmart.  Planet fitness also came through big time for us allowing us not only to work out, but also get a hot shower.  One major perk of Planet Fitness is the ability to get a massage.  Driving so many hours every day makes the daily chair or water bed message that much more.

I was going to ride my bike to do some errands yesterday but it were problems.  I tried to jury rig the thing but only made it worse.  Luckily I found Atlanta Pro Bikes who made everything better in a day.  I called another bike shop first and there was a two week wait.  When I told Atlanta Pro Bike that I was only in town for a couple more days, they took care of me right away.  I used to tour a lot and know that local bike shops often do this for transients, and it’s very much appreciated.

We haven’t done a lot yet and don’t have many interesting photos.  We will be in Florida in a few days and will spend a lot more time sightseeing and riding places on our bike. For now, here is a taste of our trip.

2017 South Coast Alliance Bike Summit Ride

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2014 Summit at Fort Rodman

I will be leading a ride on Thursday, March 23, leaving Staples in Fairhaven at 4:30, to the Summit at Fort Rodman in New Bedford.
It’s a 14.5 mile round trip route traversing both elevated Harbor Walks.  We will ride through the city of New Bedford to Cove road and bike the West Beach Harbor Walk then follow the bike route to Fort Rodman to attend the summit.

After the meeting we will ride the East Beach bike trail to the Harbor Walk on that side before returning to Staples.

***NOTE*** We will be riding after darkness sets in for the return trip.  All the roads are very well lit but bring your lights anyhow.

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A view from the top of the Bikeway. New Bedford, MA

CLICK HERE for the Garmin route.

Once on the web page, if you have a Garmin device  plug your device into your PC and you can load the route directly.  I think you need to have a Connect.Garmin account. It’s easy and free. Once you have an account you can click the “Sent to Device” icon at the upper right of the web page and Wah Lah.  It’s downloaded to your device.  If you don’t want to do that, just follow me on the day of the ride.
All the info is HERE

Don’t Get Stuck In The Back

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The best way to get a good start time is to belong to a team.  Join amidnightrider.com for a guaranteed early start.  This is our 9th year and we are always in the second group, 7:45 AM.  You don’t even have to ride with the team.
The five boroughs ride will without a doubt be the best bike ride you have ever done.

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Thanks for registering as a Standard Rider for the TD Five Boro Bike Tour!  The deadline to create or join a team is this Wednesday, February 15th. 

Please click here to view your current team status. Standard riders who wish to start together must be on the same team by this Wednesday. Creating/joining a team is the only way to guarantee that you will be in the same start wave with your friends and family.
*Note: You do not have to join or create a team at this time if:

  • you have already joined/created your team
  • you are riding solo
  • you are a VIP or Charity Rider
To join or create your team, simply follow these steps:
  1. Click here and enter your confirmation number.
  2. Select the go button next to “Edit: alter your registration details”
  3. Create/join a team here:

Start time assignments will be emailed to all riders in early April. Start waves are permanent once they are assigned.

If you are having technical difficulties with your registration, please contact imATHLETE directly at support@imathlete.com.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance. We’ll see you in May!