pastorbobnlnh 

Just to keep the New England ride theme moving along: On Thursday I rode 93 miles from Brattleboro, VT to Burlington, MA. I did it with my coworker and her husband who were completing their cross-country ride on their tandem. They were with a group called Cross Roads USA.



During the ride I completed 1000 miles YTD (which was about 2 & 1/2 months sooner than last year).



Then on Saturday I took the family to Plum Island, MA for the beach and I went for a 38 mile ride. Here is the light house at the Merrimack River inlet.



I passed the salt pans in the Parker River Bird Refuge. Those white dots in the water are swans. There were 16.

photogravity

You always have nice pictures of your rides, for sure. How is that you seem to find all these quaint, out of the way places to go on your rides?

photogravity

Hey PB, it looks like you had a great time on your ride. To make the 1000 mile mark this early in the year is quite an accomplishment. I'm right around 700 miles for the year according to my GPS tracks so you're a good ways ahead of me. Nice work!

southpawboston

Three issues: First issue, at mile 3, still in the city, one rider had a fender rubbing issue that got resolved pretty quickly. Second issue, just before arriving in Portsmouth, NH, a rider on a Ted Wojcik frame lost her front derailleur when the braze-on cracked off. She had to use a chain tool to remove the cage from the chain, then stay in one chainring for the rest of the ride-- she ended up doing the full 200k. Last issue, my headlight wouldn't maintain its aim and kept tilting downward slowly over time, requiring me to lean forward and tilt it back up every 10 miles or so. I had made a homemade bracket for it out of a Weinmann brake arm, but ran out of star washers when I bolted it to the rack. Even torquing the bolt really tightly didn't prevent the bracket from rotating down over time. Star washers are essential!

No flats, at least none that I was aware of. We ended up splitting up into two groups in Portsmouth, NH. The faster group of four trudged on to Portland for a true 200k, while the slower group of three that I was in ended at Wells, at 160k. Both groups then took the Downeaster back to Boston. The Wells group caught the first morning train back to Boston, which was nice because I got home just in time for breakfast with my family. The Portland group didn't get back until mid-afternoon.

southpawboston

Bob, wow, congrats! That's far more than my YTD total, which is probably closer to half that!

New England is indeed great this time of year, isn't it?

photogravity

Today I got up early, rode to McDonalds for a quick bite to eat and headed north for a ride that would cover 32.2 miles with 2064 feet of climbing over the course of the ride. I rode from southern Frederick County MD over South Mountain and into Washington County MD . Because I've only got 3 gears and not a lot of range, I pushed the bike three or four times when the grades were simply too steep to climb with a 42 gear inch setup. All in all, I was very pleased with the performance of the bicycle and enjoyed the descent down South Mountain, where I hit just under 40 mph. If I didn't need to hit the brakes for a pedestrian in the road, I probably would have managed an even faster top speed on the descent.


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 3 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 4 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 5 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 6 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 7 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 8 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 9 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Hercules Kestrel - Reno Monument Run - 10 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

southpawboston

PG, those are some great photos! Sounds like the Kestrel has been a joy to ride. I didn't realize MD was that hilly.

jbchybridrider 

Beautiful country roads PG. So do you wear gloves without bar tape because with the heat everyone's talking about I would think it would be very hot to touch them, or are you lucky to have a cooler climate than most.

photogravity

Once you get away from the bay and head west into Carroll County and beyond, the terrain gets quite hilly. Actually, the Appalachian Trail passes within three miles of my house. Yesterday was the first time I rode a bicycle over a mountain pass.

photogravity

Thanks jbchybridrider. I definitely was wearing gloves. My hands were sweaty from the heat and I would not have been able to keep a grip on the bar otherwise. I plan to get the bar wrapped in the near future.

pastorbobnlnh 

Great photos everyone!

Anton, your ride had to be the best adventure of all. Well done!

Where I grew up north east of Baltimore, it is quite hilly. Should have seen me as a 12 year old ride my Sears SS cruiser all over the place. Didn't get a Sears 10 speed until I was 16.

Dallas, your photos bring back those teen memories of hiking as a Scout in western MD. I did the section of the AT through MD when I was about 13 or 14.

jimmuller 

Took the Bianchi for the tri-modal commute today. The morning run was really nice, warm but not too hot or humid.

The afternoon run was a bit more dramatic. About the time I would normally be leaving the sky turned quite dark and the weather radar showed a heavy t-storm coming across the area I'd have to ride. Hmmm...my co-workers kept point to the sky out the windows and I kept staring at the radar map, tracking the cell's direction and timing its departure. Maybe, I says to myself, maybe I should catch the next train, and in the meantime try to crack that final problem from today's work. Then the sky opened up, gave us 1/4" standing water in the parking lot. So I kept working and watching.

In an instant the work pieces fell into place, and the sun came out. Ah! I sent the work off to the guy who will test it, grabbed the bike, and headed off into the wetness. By then I'd burned off all of the 20min cushion I usually give myself for that ride, so I dropped the hammer until it became apparent I'd get to the station on time. Rode through light rain for a few miles, through misty ghosts rising from the sun beating on the wet pavement. The bike and I got wet and grungy from the road spray, but we made it.

Life is good.

OldsCOOL

Rode the Trek 460 on a brisk 16mi ride to help rebound from minor heat exhaustion on a fast 30 Saturday. So crappy as I felt it was a less than stellar warm-up. Then it was off to the races. Finished the 16.0mi ride in 56:00 at a 16.3 avg speed. There was one short interval of 29.1mph.

Temps at 91deg, humidity at 45%. Drank the 24oz water bottle dry. Air conditioning never felt so good.

I dont know about you guys but I love riding these old babes real hard.

JJScaliger

I waited patiently for the rain to stop this morning and then took the de rosa out for shake down ride of 30 miles. Temp not too hot at about 80 but very humid. First real ride with the tubulars and sure enough got a flat. It wasn't completely unexpected, the rear tire (a vittoria rally)was worn down to the casing in two small spots. I was very careful about glass, no dirt roads, but I still got a slow leak. I was able to pump up the tire twice and ride it home ok for the last 7 miles. I have a new Vittoria Rally to install but now I need to get another for a spare. I wasn't super impressed with the rally. It rode like a $30 tire. Feels ok but not great. I think I'll upgrade to a Conti sprinter for my next tire and keep the rally for the spare. De Rosa rode great. I missed it. It fits me much better than the Cinelli. Here are a couple of pics from a loop I ride when pressed for time. Riding with friction dt shifters not a problem, kind of fun.





Great pics everyone. They make me want to travel to Maryland and Pacific NW.

jimmuller 

Our band played at the Concord, MA festivities today so we couldn't ride during the day. And our neighbors had asked if we wanted to see the fireworks in the next town over, and we'd said sure. Normally we'd walk the 1.9 miles over to the park. Except they'd walked a great deal during their visit to the USS Constitution, so Deb had this brilliant idea of riding bikes instead of walking. Ah, yeah, okay, we have lights on the tandem...

Our neighbors Deb and Larry. Larry's bike is an upgraded and urbanized Super Course. (His "good" bike is a lugged-steel Serotta.) The tandem couple is Sharon and myself, of course.



It was fun.

ColonelJLloyd 

You're putting some miles on that tandem. Right on, Jim!

It was over a hundred here today. You're wearing long sleeves!

jimmuller 

Ouch!

Yes, well, you see, those jerseys are high-SPF. During the day they are more comfortable than sun screen, and during the night they are more comfortable than bug screen!

Sixty Fiver

Did not ride anywhere fantastic today unless one considers our bike co-op top be fantastic (I do)... did find a really nice track crank with a 50 tooth Gipiemme ring in 144bcd to fit my new folder which was just what I was looking for to up the gearing.

Not classic or vintage unless you count the short cage Deore XT I installed last night... but a lot of fun to ride.

northbend 

10 of us met in Black Diamond this morning for an MTB ride to remember a friend who died suddenly from a heart attack 2 years ago on July 4 on these very same trails. We stopped at the spot where our group had posted a memorial for him high in one of the trees. We cracked open a Dead Guy Ale and passed it around toasting in his honor. The sun was out, the trails were fun, we enjoyed each other and remembered our friend in a way we knew he would have wanted us to.

Drillium Dude 

First night ride in, like, forever - to watch the fireworks show on the waterfront.

Moon and waves sculpture on Pioneer Way:



Part of the grand finale:



DD

Sixty Fiver

I was thinking of you as I was riding down to the shop... had fitted a new (temp) crank to my folder and it had a 42 tooth, 144 bcd drillium ring of unknown origin on it which was too small.

Drillium Dude 

^ Looks great! In this case, style-points didn't carry the day against utility, I gather?

I'm seeing a lot of folders recently - particularly your recent repaint - that are making me think of adding one to the stable

DD

Sixty Fiver

Even with the 50 tooth chain ring and crank I installed, going fast is a bit of a spin fest on a tyre that is not quite 20 inches in diameter but the mission of the bike is not to win races but get from A to B comfortably and efficiently and to ensure I always have a bike with me... it was purchased because it fits in my car so very well while still offering a very nice ride.

Car is at the shop getting a pre-trip check over and will ride there to pick it up and be able to stash the bike back in the trunk.

We are seeing more and more folders here as well... technology has improved a great deal, especially in regard to tyres so one can get much better performance from them than was previously possible.

Between my wife, daughters, and myself we have 5 folding bicycles.

JJScaliger

Attempted a metric century today on the Cinelli, but came up a little short at 60.53 miles. My odometer crapped out on me and I had to guess. Figured out the mileage on mapmyride after I came home. Did a brief excursion into Connecticut, rode some new roads, enjoyed some very nice weather; a good day. I'll get that metric century for July later!

dirt road in CT



out in the middle of the woods was this rock




corn in CT

photogravity

Another tandem ride. Cool stuff! How many miles have you put on that bike this year?