photogravity

JJScaliger, as usual nice pictures of your ride. I, too, managed to get out for a ride on the first day of spring, but didn't post the couple pictures I took since they were boring and I was too lazy to post. In hindshot, I should have.

photogravity

Today, I participated in my first randonneuring event with my friend Jonathan. It was a 117 km event (73 miles as measured by my GPS) that started in Urbana MD, traveled north through eastern Frederick County, headed into the western edge of Carroll County, then headed west to Thurmont MD, and then turned south and back east for a while before heading nearly due south to the final control in Urbana. The total ascent over the length of the ride was just under 3,100 feet, with some pretty steep sections that proved challenging for a 38 gear inch low gear.

After about 1 second of deliberation, I decided that the Norman Rapide would be my chosen steed for the ride. After all, what bike would be better suited to this kind of ride? It has pretty conservative geometry and a low-trail design that makes it a comfortable and capable long distance rider. In any case, the ride started at 7 AM and we checked into the final control at about 1:40 PM which was an hour before the control closed. At the start of the ride it was 27°, but by the time it was over the temperature had made it all the way to 46°. Admittedly, I've never ridden when it was this cold, but I was committed to doing the ride and enjoyed it despite the cold, the persistent head wind as we headed west and the steep hills.


Thurmont Thump Populaire - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Thurmont Thump Populaire - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr


Thurmont Thump Populaire - 3 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

jimmuller 

PG, nice going! It's great that you hold up the steel end of things too!

JJScaliger

Great pics photogravity! Impressive climbing on the Norman!

Roger M

Nice work, photogravity. On a four speed to boot!

I got out this evening for 35 miles. I rolled in at 8pm and it wasn't totally dark yet. Longer days are coming...

echo victor 

Rode from Solana Beach to Oceanside, 36 mile round trip along the coast.

And yes, this bike is too small for me. It will likely get traded or sold at some point in the not too distant future.

northbend 

PG; I like your style. Nice job on the Brevet.

RogerM, and just the other day you were posting photos of the spring snowstorm. Ah, springtime in Washington. Great set of photos. That one of the airplane passing by the moon especially.

I will be getting out today. Yippy skippy

gomango

+1 to these comments.

We are also riding today. Taking the Fargo down to the Minnesota river bottoms this afternoon. A friend reported wolf tracks along the river and I would like to see these. Wolves have been sighted closer to the metro area over the last few years, but I don't recall ever hearing about one in the city limits. My bet is that it is a coyote, but we are going to find out.

I'll bring a camera!

Vonruden

I grew up in Fargo as a kid, miss that place. My dad still lives up in Grand Forks where I was born. Good luck finding that wolf.

My ride through Point Pleasant, NJ. Nice and sunny today, a little windy and brisk.

JJScaliger

I tightened up the loose fixed cup on my Gitane Interclub and took it out for its first real ride. 32 miles in Scituate and Cranston RI. It was 45 degrees today and sunny. I did a few real hills with the half step gearing and was ok. Slower than normal, but ok.



Scituate Reservoir

Vonruden

Nice Guerciotti Chuckk

jimmuller 

I stuck my nose out the front door this morning and decreed that it sure was vernal (as compared to yesterday's wintry). So after the expected response from Sharon we took the tandem out again today, 34 miles. Bedford into Chelmsford (but not Chelmsford Center) and back, mostly by roads we don't often take.

Note: The Bruce Freeman has not been cleared of snow. The road not taken:



I'll be an hour or more cleaning the bike. One of the hazards of biking around here in early spring:

Shp4man

Rode around the bay again today and tried to beat my time from the last ride. The damn Sachs-Malliard 6 speed freewheel is making noise, I'll have to put the Suntour back on, even though the gears aren't the best.

DVC45

Still bitterly cold and too windy for me, but I have to ride today.



I had to stop at this point. Too much ice!

MFBATZ

I live up the street from Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach and took my ride along the bike path. This is my first road bike and just did my personal best of 25 miles today!

Shp4man

Nice!

jimmuller 

Well done! And if it was all on a beach like that, then you're a monster!

scozim 

After 9 days off for a family road trip vacation for spring break to southern California I was back on the bike today. Was shooting for 50 miles. Ended up with 58.69 for a total. Frustrating day with a hot foot problem and tendonitis developing in my ankle. Combined with a decent headwind the last 30 miles or so and it didn't end as fun as it started (i.e. no wind). Still nice to be on the bike again.

My favorite hill to take a photo from - I try to get a shot of each bike when I take this route. It was the Spectrum's turn today.



D.D. will recognize this road - no tailwind this time.



Teanaway River outside of Cle Elum, WA



Yakima River - only blue ribbon trout stream in Washington state



I love this litte stretch before the last climb of the day:

Giacomo 1 

Woh, this truck looks exactly like the rig they used in the greatest TV movie of all time - Duel

MFBATZ

Thanks!

Thank you! A monster with sand getting in my gears! Unfortunately, I took the bike path for humans.

echo victor 

Nice. And we were both overlooking the Pacific.

northbend 

I love that stretch along the Yakima river, scozim! nice photos.

I got out for a ride on Sunday as well. We started in Issaquah

And rode over to Seattle where be boarded the ferry to Bainbridge Island

After a ride around the Island, we had lunch in Winslow where I spotted a few vintage bikes in the wild.
I was looking at this vintage J.C. Higgins skip tooth cruiser:


Later, at our lunch stop was this beautiful Mtn. Goat Whiskeytown Racer:


We killed some time waiting for the ferry back to Seattle, pressing our noses against the Classic Bicycles Storefront Window

Then it was off to Seattle.

We climbed out of the Waterfront on Post Alley, passing by the Bubble gum wall then made our way back to Issaquah just at the sun was going down. It was a great day of riding with friends.

JJScaliger

I squeezed in a 25 mile ride today on the Gitane. Around 45 degrees and windy. I hit some new roads in East Greenwich and Exeter RI.

A lot of old, colonial farms in this area on undulating smooth roads. One road, which passed through a state wildlife refuge, did turn into an unpaved dirt road, a bumpy double track, and finally a muddy flooded mess. I went from having a subdued gentlemen's ride to a bone-jarring cyclocross experience. Eventually I admitted defeat and backtracked. I was scared that the 40 year old Clement 50 tubular on the rear wasn't going to hold up.





Later under more civilized circumstances:



The Gitane handles great and rolls smooth. This bike is a lot of fun!

Roger M

Looks like you have a great day, Matt. I'm gonna take a stab at this last one. Is that by the 1-90/405 interchange?

I got in 30 miles this afternoon/eve, on the road and MUP. We hit 60 degrees today, nice to get by with short sleeves.

jimmuller 

No pics from today, but I did get in some miles on the Blackstone River Bikeway. After I turned around the only reason I didn't get wet was that the water falling from the sky was of a form which would bounce.