jimmuller 

Did my usual 25mi round-trip commute. Rode the Bianchi. Awesome bike. Wonderful weather too. I wore fleece pants this morning but byt the time I got off the train and started riding the temperature was up enough so I didn't need them.

northbend 

56+ mile bike commute on the MTB with big fat knobbys. Took the dirty route home which included about 15 miles of muddy singletrack. Gonna sleep well tonight

JJScaliger

@ photogravity

23-700; I know it sounds crazy, but the more I experimented with riding these skinny tires on dirt the more confident I have become with them. They let you down on chunky, loose dirt roads and double track. (That might be asking too much anyway.) I would run 25mm if I could but I think it would be too tight in this frame.

I have been running cheap schwalbe tires for about a year now just because that is what I had in the shed. They don't feel particularly inspiring on the road but they are well suited for this application. After the schwalbe wear out I am going to go back to michelin pro race3. A good balance for me of feel and toughness.

Once you get out o the urban sprawl RI is nice indeed! It surprises me how rural it still is here on the west side of the state. Maryland looks quite nice from your images as well!

@ cuda2k

that Kirk is beautiful!

photogravity

Today was a sunny 60° so I decided to ride a nice little route that I thought would give me a better workout. I started at my house and then rode up to Burkittsville, then doubled back and headed down to the C&O Canal and rode a few miles on that. The total ride was 28 miles and the Norman performed flawlessly, as expected. There was some wind heading north from Brunswick and I wondered why I headed in that direction, but then the return ride went well because the wind was at my back and I made pretty good time. Speed averaged about 14.1 MPH and that included some climbs which I'm not good at, and about 6-7 miles of dirt path. Overall, I was happy with the pace, but think I'll get better over time as my legs get back in shape.


Glorious Day For A Ride - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Glorious Day For A Ride - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Glorious Day For A Ride - 3 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Glorious Day For A Ride - 4 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Glorious Day For A Ride - 5 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Glorious Day For A Ride - 6 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Glorious Day For A Ride - 7 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Glorious Day For A Ride - 8 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

Drillium Dude 

I love this photo - looks like the perfect ad for cycling

Did you run into any strange things made of sticks hanging from the trees in Burkittsville?

DD

gomango

Excellent photos!

Love the look of your Norman PG.

Just wrenching on my wife's new bike and a nice long phone conversation with OFG made for a happier day around here.

Thirdgenbird is in town and hopefully we'll get to hang out for a bit today.

Keep the pics coming folks, as they are fantastic.

jbchybridrider 

Perfect day today, Linked up 3 towns in the Adelaide hills for a loop ride then later in the day rode the coast line both ways.

k_as_in_knife

Norman's World

Great pictures - that looks like a beautiful ride. Thanks!

inkandsilver

Just checked this thread for the first time in a while. Photogravity and jbchybridrider: thank you for the lovely and inspiring photos. It's a beautiful day for a ride here.

scozim 

Shake down 20 mile ride for the 1989 Spectrum. Wow, wow and WOW! What a great ride - even if it is a little too tall. But, I'll take it. Appreciating my dad's weight weenie focus on the bike. Temporary Sakae CR crankset provided by Roger M. I still need a little fine tuning with the rear shifting and saddle position, but overall there's not much I need to do to it.

gomango

Fantastic pics.

Reminds me of my Opa's ranch.

Gorgeous bicycle you have there.

Drillium Dude 

^ +1. Your stomping grounds look just like I remember them, Scott!

I got out for a 30-miler in the hills and dales of Whidbey Island. Had a couple mechanical issues (see my "Blasphemy?" thread if interested) but the weather was absolutely phenomenal!

Ebey's Landing 1:



Ebey's Landing 2:



Monroe Landing:



My favorite $10 swap meet gloves:



Sidi touring shoes - leather-punched by yours truly:



Molteni Orange Cessna 180 at our municipal airport:



I usually wear the Sidi touring shoes if I'm planning on going walkabout at any point during a ride. Today was perfect for that...wow, what a nice day

DD

photogravity

Thanks DD. It really goes against my grain to lay a bike down on its side, but there wasn't anywhere to lean it. Besides it isn't my bike!

There were no strange happenings in Burkittsville while I was there, though I know of a Blair that was there at the exact same time I was there...

photogravity

Thanks gomango, though actually the Norman actually belongs to rhm. He brought it to me a few weeks ago and I've been riding it a bit when I feel like riding on the road, though it's really not that bad on the C&O towpath either. So far I've ridden it for around 75-80 miles and each time I ride it, it grows on me a little bit more.

I hope you're back on the bike soon.

jimmuller 

36.3 miles on the tandem today. We explored some new roads, Concord into Ayer and back. Really heavy, frenetic traffic all day though. I wonder if that was due to the full moon last night or people prep'ing for Easter tomorrow. Between the traffic and the cold and the wind it was more stressful than usual. Still, it was a good day!

photogravity

jbchybridrider, looks like you had a great ride. That is some beautiful countryside! What bicycle were you riding?

photogravity

I think I've only ever passed through that neck of the woods one time back in the late 80's and do not remember the area at all. Are the mountains off in the distance the Cascades? I'm a little geographically challenged.

The Spectrum looks like a really fun ride! It seems folks who have titanium bikes like them a lot, though I've never had opportunity to throw a leg over one.

photogravity

Those are some very nice shots of your ride today DD! It seems like there's some nice cycling on Whidbey. What is traffic like there?

photogravity

Jim, glad to see you Peugeot tandem is getting so much mileage lately. Despite the heavy traffic and wind, it seems you're none the worse for the wear!

Drillium Dude 

Thanks PG; traffic was pretty much non-existent on the back roads today - which was precisely the reason for choosing the route I did

Bliss...

DD

photogravity

Today was the first time this year that the Davidson tandem was taken out for a ride and we managed to ride 20 miles without incident. Once I had the bike underneath us and rolling, it became apparent what I like so much about this bike. It's smooth, compliant, responsive and reasonably fast. Not only does it make me smile to look at the bicycle, but it puts an even bigger smile on my face when I ride it. When we stopped at the LBS on the return trip, as we were getting ready to leave a group of people gathered around and were asking tons of questions about it. Needless to say, they didn't quite understand the virtues or aura of a handbuilt bicycle, but they were mesmerized nonetheless by the beauty of the near perfect green paint on a 28 year old bike.


Davidson on WMRT - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Davidson on WMRT - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Davidson on WMRT - 3 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Western Maryland Rail Trail - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Davidson on WMRT - 4 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Western Maryland Rail Trail - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

photogravity

I've only recently started dipping my toes into road riding and find it a big unnerving to ride in traffic, though I'm getting accustomed to it.

On another note, I think this may be a first in this thread and possibly on BF: two different rides on the same page featured a Davidson bicycle. Life is good!

jbchybridrider 

It was a good ride, it was my first ride with this bike since a total resto so wanted it a memorable one. As for the bike all I know is it was custom built for a rider/racer back in the day this was very common back in the day because of our distance from Europe and the states. "Example" A friend of my father now in his 80's imported Reynolds tubing himself giving it to a frame builder having it made to his dimensions, still owns it. Mine was made in the spirit of the best Italian frames.

Drillium Dude 

PG: You know, I think you're right: this might well be a first

Gorgeous pics there - and I have to say, that's the best-maintained MUP I think I've ever seen! And the scenery is pretty, too. Looks like you two had a great day of it.

BTW, what's that funny thing hanging off the driveside rear dropout on the Davidson? I don't believe I've seen one of those on any of your bikes...



DD

photogravity

So this is the "Custom aussie built 1980 Columbus SL racer" in your sig? Nice stuff! Thanks for sharing your ride. Have you started a thread on this bike anywhere on the forums? I don't recall seeing it before this.