Hybrid Bicycles - Where Did Your Hybrid Take You Today?

DH - You sure get to see some nice territory.

My territory is looking white and or dingy right now.

I need to talk a little bit with people around here. Lockheed is a major employer, and involved in accommodating bicycle commuting. I know someone who is strongly involved with advocacy that works there. I think this would make a pretty cool rails-to-trails project. I can think of affordable solutions to all the barriers to making this a viable bike trail, except for where the rail line crossed a major freeway. We'll see what I can instigate. ;)

I took off to Downtown right before the break of dawn. I did not get home untill 11am!!!!


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Why are my attachments not showing up like they should???? Another Glitch...crap.

Try it again!

Jekyll Island GA. Spent first part of the week there riding the wonderful bike trails.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs037.snc3/12460_208750665497_510910497_4532658_4147856_n.jpg
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs017.snc3/12460_208686005497_510910497_4532110_7525215_n.jpg
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs037.snc3/12460_208750670497_510910497_4532659_1780978_n.jpg

Little Lake Sunapee, NH, the day before Thanksgiving. Foggy, light rain, and a little cold.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Cannondale/Nov252009Comf600DriveSide.jpg

I rode my hybrid to the gym this morning.

Had a excellent day for a ride, end of November in Southern CO. and I'm riding in "shorts", a nice 60+ degrees and almost no wind, YEA!! Well it was just one of my "normal" rec. routes basicly from the old northend over to the 31st. Street entryway to the Garden of the Gods. Was taking it easy, then I remembered that my car insurance was due TODAY, so I went into "training" mode and hauled home, grabbed the bucks and went to the Insurance House (name of the place). So not only did I get in a good ride but I'm sure I was pacing WAY over my normal, LOL, I even passed some road bike riders with my Frankenhybrid, which I'm sure was a shock! ;) Insurance paid, now a mellow ride back home, I felt really good today, like I could ride forever, (ya in my dreams!) still it was sad to see the sun heading down under Pikes Peak at 4PM. Got home just before dusk! :)

The Black Pearl (my Trek Allant, and the newest addition to my stable) and I just went cruising today. Except for the one I uploaded from the phone to Facebook, all the other pictures I took are still in the camera.

WOW ! 45 degrees F, sunny, and light winds, the last two days.

Jim and I have been doing the 30 mile loop, up and down the Fox River Trail System.

How much longer can it last ??? !!!

Well not today but I've uploaded all my gpx files from this year to this site I found.
http://www.everytrail.com/my_trips.php?user_id=76636&order=trip_date

I was looking for someplace that understood geoencoded pictures.

I rode on the springwater trail, esplanade pathway, and waterfront park in portland, oregon. 7 or 8 miles in all. the absence of cars was total bliss. a couple dudes (apparantly trying to qualify for the Tour de France) needed to slow down and stay on their side of the path before they end up mowing down all the women pushing strollers. its like they take over the role of automobiles on the bike&hike shared trails. On the other hand, half the time it was people on foot not paying attention, walking shoulder to shoulder like a roman phalanx. I had to come to a stop several times, granted this was a day after the holiday and there was a sudden window in all the dismal weather we've been having. So poor timing on my part. Ah, can't forget the tiny little toy dogs on 20 ft long leashes. I kept imagining them getting sucked into my drivetrain with the horrified owner screaming Tinkerbell!!!

It was a pleasant ride other than those minor rants.

December is upon us in Northern Illinois; but, no nasty weather, YET!

Yep, that's right - December, in Northern Illinois, is forecast to be 50 degrees, F, today, 20-25 MPH winds out of the SS/W, and high blue skies. An unbelievable gift, in this part of the country.

By this time, last year, I was already shovelling SNOW !

We don't get many days like this in December, especially with dry, salt free roads.

So, "The Beast" will remain, unused, for at least one more day, in the cool, dark, basement.

Looks like the only question for the day, is how far to go?

I've already checked the tires, adjusted the brakes, and stowed the full water bottles....... I even ate a banana, for a potassium boost.

I'm hoping that my riding buddy is up for the 42 or 50 mile loop! I'll pull him into the wind, first, so we can coast back.......... LOL

On certain days (actually, most all of them) it really is nice to be old and retired....... well, at least retired!

It sure will be nice to be outside on the bike, sweating, in December!

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Well, we did the 38 mile loop out to the college, then decided to add a 12 mile loop after that. A 50 mile day-not bad for December.

The funny part was, we had already decided to head for home, after the 38 mile loop, had even climbed the two block hill away from the river, and then decided to go back down the hill to get the fifty........ then, climbing it 12 miles later, wasn't as much fun.

p.s. that wind was brutal out of the south, and I always pulled for him whenever we had to go into it.....

Imagine that - a 64 year old, pulling for a 68 year old....... LOL

Jim lives on a pretty good hill - and, after dropping him off, I usually sprint to the top.

Today, I was lucky to ride to the top, and then very happy that the next three blocks to my house were all down hill. (Honest, I just barely crested that hill!)

This post is in green, because everything is so unusually bright green outside - I've never seen this in December....


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Rode into DC again today on the Marin. Broke a spoke. All my bikes are messed up. :( I don't have a spoke that fits and will be riding tomorrow without replacing the broken one.

Union Station
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/IMG_0216.jpg

No one's riding? Foggy morning. White House gate.

http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/bike/IMG_0317.jpg

(Cross posted from 50+)

After the ICE and subzero temps of last week, we've had a slow warming trend so TODAY I actually got to do a "TEST" ride since I installed a set of "Trekking Bars" on my Frankenbrid Conversion! Wow are real improvement over the MTB bar with extensions and it took away the "little nagging pain" in the bottom of my neck. 4 hand positions instead of 2 and although with having Reiter's Syndrome, my hands are still sore, they are NOT semi-numb, YEA:love: Also I put double waterbottle cages on the bars and now have "3 Bottle capability", so it was well worth the switch, YMMV.

Got in a 15 mile mix of MUPS, side roads and city streets, still a lot of "slop" and water run off but even though it was mostly cloudy, still the sun peaked out now and then, it felt so GOOD to get on the BIKE and off the TRAINER.:thumb: Looks like the crud is coming back in on Friday so the weekend is again TOAST, RATS:notamused:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_GW75NWraW4E/SylObWWENvI/AAAAAAAACqM/39A0nRuEtHk/trekkingbars-2.jpg
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_GW75NWraW4E/SylOUpPQAnI/AAAAAAAACqE/2I4ahK64mRk/trekkingbars-1.jpg

Bottles up front looks cool.
http://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/catImages/toursmokersart-1.jpg

Bottles up front looks cool.
http://www.sportsposterwarehouse.com/catImages/toursmokersart-1.jpg

LOL, ya I know it's kinda "old school" I had a single bottle up front on my Olmo Italian 10 speed racer as a teenager. I just need more water than most folks it's seems, my wife only has two bottles (l tall, 1 reg.) and usually doesn't drink it all, in the same distance I'm gone thru the "3, (1 tall, 2 reg.) and will switch to "3 tall" when we begin touring! BTW great photo of the TDF in the early days!!

The temps came up to the mid-40's (F) so I got in a different 15 mile ride, mostly on the concrete and asphalt of the Pikes Peak Greenway. There were some gray clouds but still a lot of sunshine, that and a "chilly brezee" that wasn't there yesterday. Only saw 6 bikes out, which is a low number even on a weekday while riding the PP Greenway Trail. Maybe snow tommorw, rats!

i have been riding my puch on a 6.5 mile loop with temps in upper teens and lower 20's. my toes are cold! lots of sand and salt around from some small snow events. i just installed sks p35 fenders to keep it under control. the steel stays needed some wiz wheel work to get the fenders to follow the wheel radius.

i have been riding my puch on a 6.5 mile loop with temps in upper teens and lower 20's. my toes are cold! lots of sand and salt around from some small snow events. i just installed sks p35 fenders to keep it under control. the steel stays needed some wiz wheel work to get the fenders to follow the wheel radius.

As a certifiable PUCH-a-holic, may I ask what model of PUCH you have? I just fully restored/upgraded a 1973-ish PUCH 3-speed. It runs like a top. And I have a custom PUCH racer built from the frame up starting in 1982. A photo, or 3, would be great.

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/dr1445/1259593869.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn107/dr1445/1259593871.jpg
here you go 1972 brigadier

Hey Q - can you post some pics of the D.C. blizzard ? Thanks

I rode my Marin Fairfax for it's longest ride so far, 21.6 miles around the Friendswood, TX area (not very long I know but it's my longest ride since getting the bike just before Thanksgiving). Beautiful 60 degree sunny weather here today. Met a couple of other riders on the road and rode with them for a while before turning off and heading back. I was glad to see I had no problem keeping up with their road bikes on the Fairfax (we were only riding about 15 mph). Riding back into a headwind I could see the advantage of having drop bars though. I had my GPS mounted on the bike (see picture) which worked very well. I used it for navigation several times going back along a different route.

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ekh6idf/bike%20with%20GPS.jpg

The Black Pearl and I had a short ride before breakfast with the BFFs, then a longer ride after. It really was a gorgeous day for a ride, even with the wind.

Took a ride on the hybrid with my girlfriend on her 'city' bike to the movie theatre, only to find out that Avatar was sold out for another like 6 hours. Fortunately, we took our bicycles instead of driving, fighting with parking, only to find that the movie was sold out.

So instead of riding ten miles and seeing a movie, we just road ten miles.

Rode about 16 miles today, another perfect weather day. Here's a shot taken when I stopped at Challenger Park.

http://home.comcast.net/~kh6idf/bike%20at%20Challenger%20Park.jpg

I rode the Felt X City to work today. Didn't have to work, just a commuting dry run. Six miles there. Not very far, but I'm out of shape, so I was tired, sweaty, and my legs felt like jello. Stayed about half an hour, then rode back. 24 minutes there, 36 minutes back. On the way back I took a slightly circuitous route, I was also tired, and almost always into a pretty stiff wind.

All in all, it felt great. Have to take advantage of the high 40's temps in Ohio on Christmas day.

Fun bike took me to MEC and back, I purchased a jersey and winter cycling tights and Fun bike got tarted up with new handlebar grips, bar ends and pink bar end tape. :D

Probably my last ride in 2009.. got a late start and was running out of daylight (no lights on my bike). Just time for 8 miles. It was about 35f and no wind.. pretty nice. Freezing rain tomorrow and rain on New Year's Day, followed by chilly, windy weekend. Hope I can start 2010 with a ride even if another short one.

Happy New Year

Pete

I took my hybrid to the shed put back and tucked it in for the winter.

I took my hybrid to the shed put back and tucked it in for the winter.

Mine took me around the block today, about 5 miles. Tomorrow, we are doing a New Year's ride, that will be about 12 miles or so. Then it will be put away, only to be brought out on nice days.

8 miles today before the snow. not much hope for new years day, i am looking for a small window to put a few miles on.

[Cross posted from 50+ Fourm] New Years Day Ride, Jan. 01, 2010

Well, thankfully it didn't SNOW on the 31st. like they thought it would and New Years Day dawned cold but SUNNY!! The high temp (at 1PM.) was going to be 40F so I put on the layers and headed off in 35F degree weather with a brisk feeling 5-10 mph. breeze. Man it felt SO GOOD to be on the bicycle and NOT on the resistance trainer, that's where my butt's been planted for the last 2 weeks due to ICE on the roads and temps too low for it to melt till the last couple of days! Yea I did have to do a lot of "finding the path" thru ICE still thick and wide in the shady spots, especially on the streets and trails heading east/west, north/south streets and trails were in pretty good shape.

I was trying to hook up to the "Pikes Peak Greenway Trail" but there was so much ICE, I went down a road I hadn't before and found something kinda cool! It was a Trolley Car Museum/Station I didn't know existed, back in the early days of Colorado Springs, I guess these were a normal everyday sight! So I took a couple of photos and will have to return when it's open to check it out!

One funny thing is that the city dug out what they call a "trunnel", (bikeway under the street) that's on the main path I use to head to downtown Colorado Springs, during the summer months I won't use it as it's full of broken glass, sharp rocks, thron's, etc.!! Today however they must have run a plow thru it as it was "clean", nice, too bad they couldn't run a sweeper thru it in the spring/summer months, it's a lot safer than crossing that intersection for sure! Well it was getting chillier with the stronger wind coming but it was great to be outside and get in a New Years Day ride too!

Miles: 15.73
Avg. Speed: 7.79 (Way too much DANCING for New Years Eve, tired leg syndrome!!)
Top Speed: 20.7
Wind: 5 to 15 mph.
Sunny
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_GW75NWraW4E/Sz510FyAhXI/AAAAAAAACxs/4NRVBOKvMOw/2010NYDride-sm-1.jpg
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http://lh6.ggpht.com/_GW75NWraW4E/Sz514Hb75qI/AAAAAAAACx8/C68hMDcf7o4/2010NYDride-sm-5.jpg

(http://ondosbicycling.blogspot.com/)

My Kona took me all of 12 miles in 42 degree, overcast, calm weather. At least I got a ride in on Jan 1. Weekend will be cold and windy, so will see how much of a wimp I am.

Happy New Year to all.

Pete

I did about 10 miles today. Cold, overcast, and verry windy. Average speed, about 10 miles an hour. Happy New Year!

Coronado Island, San Diego
47 miles round trip ride :)
"very cool" 73F in middle of winter........

http://members.cox.net/midorix/Specialized%20Large%20for%20web.JPG

Coronado Island, San Diego
47 miles round trip ride :)
"very cool" 73F in middle of winter........

http://members.cox.net/midorix/Specialized%20Large%20for%20web.JPG

AArrrggghhh! Over here in Sweden we´ve got -23 Celsius daytime and colder during the nights! Snow and ice all over the bloody place and its been like this for three weeks - riding bike cannot be any "cooler".

After neglecting Bike Forums AND my bike for a few months, I finally rode just a couple short miles on Thursday. Seriously, rode to the bank, met friends for lunch, then home. I'm SO out of shape and the slight grades are back to kicking my butt. The goal is to start riding the short ride to work again, no more excuses.

Welcome back, Tamara!

I rode to the library today. Saw some ducks on the Northwest Branch.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/Maryland/IMG_0604_2.jpg

HEY! Thanks for the WB :) Nice to see friendly faces. Now I have to get used to the new layout :)

Welcome back, Tamara!

I rode to the library today. Saw some ducks on the Northwest Branch.
http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr147/Rod_Smith/Maryland/IMG_0604_2.jpg

The wife and I got in 22 miles on a chilly, breezy but sunny day. It's nice to get off the trainer and out in some fresh air and time with the Mrs. :)

Had a chilly ride along side the Little Tennessee River!

First day back at work, teaching, and I actually rode! Granted it's short. It felt good and just a tad chilly. However, riding home at 4 was sweaty hot. Welcome to CA in January :( I'd love some coolness right about now.

17 miles to work, then back. It was cold this morning, below 30, and I was okay 'cept for my toes. Coming back I overdressed (mid-40s) but by the time I got home it cooled off enough that I was dressed just right.

Road RIDE! East of Powers blvd., picking up Constitution Ave. out to Hwy. 24, then over to Markshuffle Road, to Bradley Road to Powers to Fontaine Blvd., again picking up Bradley Rd. to Northen Security, South Academy, Chelton and home!! 32.69 miles, with great views of Pikes Peak, Cheyenne Mnt. , 55F+, sunny, mild 5mph wind, with a sweet tailwind on the way home! Really looking forward to this summer so the Wife and I can do some overnight and weekend touring on our Frankenbrids.

It's been raining here off an on for weeks, and when it's not raining it's been foggy. I was pretty sure the sun still existed, but I had to take it on faith that it was still up there. After a huge storm last night, the sun came out! I couldn't resist going for a lunch time ride, and went for a nice spin through the rural area West of town. I was aiming to make it to th river, but I got a flat and spent the rest of my lunch break fixing it. Ah well, it was still a bright and clear day...can't complain one bit. Oh yeah, and I rolled past the 600 mile mark as well. Here's some pics:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_tM63e4Rno2Y/S05TE5xxzdI/AAAAAAAADv8/s0xHcEBbOKI/s640/PIC-0117.jpg

Not a bad place to change a flat, if you have to. Here's what a Trek Soho looks like when you're changing a flat rear tube:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_tM63e4Rno2Y/S05TELM5nHI/AAAAAAAADvo/Ifwv_LF8HFs/s640/PIC-0119.jpg

Haha, you just got a flat so you could show off your belt drive!

10.2 miles avoiding ice patches on the road and first ride of the new year. Rode around the neighborhood since MUP is still covered with 8" snow.