gugie 

@Andy_K messaged me this morning to see if I could be talked into putting down the torch and go for a ride. It was a gorgeous day today, hasn't been this nice since @nlerner came out to visit and the bike gods were kind to us. So out we went, I thought for a 25-30 miler. On a familiar road he turned left instead of right, which meant more miles. Out through Forest Grove we went, new country roads for me, old hat for Andy. Our stamina wasn't that great, but being cooped up most weekends, the only miles on the bike have been commuting, slogging to work miles, we just didn't want to stop riding.

Back in civilization we hopped on a multiuse trail. With Andy leading the way, we came to a dip in the road, half of it was covered with a watery/muddy mix. Andy steered through the wet side, and suddenly went down with a bang. I narrowly missed riding over his head. I heard a yowl, slammed on my brakes, dropped the bike and ran over. I looked carefully at the still mass. There didn't appear to be any real damage, just a few small scrapes. After I made sure the bike was ok, I walked over to see how Andy was.

Scraped knee, cracked helmet, nothing broken. He'll be sore tomorrow for sure. Thankfully, the only damage to the bike was turned around handlebars, one of the brake levers needed straightening, and the rear wheel could use a truing touch up. Andy may report back more damage. He might even wus out and complain about a headach, a few broken ribs, punctured lung, and other minor injuries, but what we really want to know is how's the bike.

Andy_K 

The bike seems to be OK. A bit of road rash on my hip and knee and my shoulder is fairly stiff, but it's nothing time, beer and Ibuprofen won't take care of.

Vonruden

Thanks Sir, yes the Sachs is my new skinny tire go fast bike.

Kdogbikes

Had the roads to myself this Easter morning.

Kdogbikes

Had the road to myself this Easter morning.

Kdogbikes

Whoops, double post. Could be the jellybean rush from the kids Easter basket Lol. Anyways, good day to you all!

Dfrost 

A beautiful day for a 40-mile wander around the waterfronts of Seattle.

jimmuller 

After yesterday's CCRT ride my sweetie wanted to take the tandem out again. So guess what we did today?

26.9 miles, not an impressive distance but after yesterday and in today's 89degF weather it was good enough.

My sweetie likes to take pics with me in them, then insist that I post them.



It's good to see that Heart Pond is still where we left it.



Just another local landmark, sort of.

ollo_ollo

Saturday was a beautiful "Early Spring" day in the Willamette Valley, so I rode my Super Sport down to the nearby Santiam river. Surprised to have the river path all to myself. Don

Kdogbikes

played hooky today and got out for a ride. Found an old clock shop and despite the condition of the building, it was still open.

DQRider 

Well, yesterday anyway... Back to Hastings, but found some new scenery. Here is a hyuuuge mural in the Old Town down by the river:

musicdiver

Great shot - love the long shadow of the lamppost against the mural.

With the cherry blossom season really kicking off in Vancouver, I took far too many photos this weekend. May as well share them here where people can appreciate the bicycle-centric subject matter!

Started the day off at the farmer's market

Before riding up to take in the view from Queen Elizabeth Park. Some people whom I thought were asking me to move aside so they could get their group shot actually asked to pose with the bike as a prop!


Around the back of the park are the star cherry blossom trees. They were running a picnic festival and it had a pretty good turnout despite the cooler temperatures. People were clearly enjoying the respite from rainy weather



It was hard to get a shot without my fellow blossom paparazzi in frame


Side streets offered quieter sakura photo ops, away from the crowds




Finished the afternoon at the local bike shop cafe with a cappuccino and some bikey reading, the Centurion safely in sight

musicdiver

And because I wasn't kidding when I said I took a lot 'o photos...
Sunday I hit up a different bakery/cafe:

It was busy out on the bike routes:

And I managed to fit in a visit to a different park's cherry blossoms before meeting up with family

Sir_Name 

Looks like a fantastic weekend, @musicdiver. I had the same year PT15 that I loved for years - enjoy, that's a great bike!

zukahn1

Road my old rat bike for the first time in about a year to Alma over 11,000 foot altitude.

rustystrings61 

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First time on the bike in eight months - a leisurely 12 vacation miles on my '71 Gitane TdF with the Kogswell fixed-gear wheelset across Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island ....

Peugeotlover

Many nice photos, mdiver.
The people gathered at the picnic was fun to study; that family that removed their shoes respectfully I could relate to.
Those cherry trees must be near to 100 years old. Neat bike shop, too. Free air. Good stuff.

DQRider 

@musicdiver -

The cherry blossoms where you live are incredible! They remind me of Spring in Japan, and the Cherry Blossom Festivals. I was deployed to MCAS Iwakuni several times during my Marine Corps career, and we rode old single-speed, rod-braked roadsters called "Benjo Bombers" all over the place during cherry blossom season.

One more picture from Hastings, and then I'll give this bike a rest for awhile:

Lascauxcaveman 

Lotta people gettin' high in Colorado these days, I hear.

My Easter sunday riding, with the rest of my family in church, was around the Gig Harbor neighborhood again. From my inlaws place at the Fox Island bridge, I do what I usually do there: pick a place on the map I've never been to and point myself in that direction. This time it was Narrows Park, with a nice view of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge(s) from just down the beach a ways.



And here's the reverse angle, a view of the park from the middle of the bridge. Well, it's down there, somewhere.


Headed back through town skirting Hwy 16, took a left and ended up on Rosedale Street, a typical sylvan lane for these here parts, heavily wooded with second growth hemlock, Doug Fir and Madrona.



Eventually I discovered Raft Island, but was unable to claim it for Mother England as it was already apparently settled by some affluent and technologically advanced culture.



Funny sign at the sports field for Kopachuck Middle School:



I noticed they didn't specifically proscribe emus or gazelles...

ollo_ollo

Thanks for the beautiful pics. Brings back good memories, been a few years but I've been all through that area and across Raft Island bridge myself. Don

musicdiver

@Lascauxcaveman - That's your Apollo makeover, right? Paint job is still looking great!

@DQRider - They really are. I've been to Japan twice, but both times too late in the spring for their sakura season (just made it as the last of them were dusting the ground.) Must've been something to bomb around roads during the peak of it in Japan! If you ever get the chance to travel there again, I recommend checking out the Shimanami Kaido - a great cycling route of about 70km that chains bridge-linked citrus growing islands across the Seto Inland Sea.

Many of Vancouver's ornamental cherry trees were donated from Japan over the years. On my commute home yesterday, I detoured through one of the especially grand blossom tunnels 'round these parts:



@Peugeotlover - The cherry trees are one of my favourite parts of spring here. Your comment actually made me wonder about their age - looks like the ones at that particular park were donated by the Japanese consul in '58. Seems in the '30s, '40's and '50's the city received a number of cherry tree gifts from Japan (looks like it really got started in the early 30's when the mayors of Kobe and Yokohama gave our park board 500 trees to plant. (more at History of our Cherry Trees - Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival )

Pictured with the free air is Tandem Bike Cafe (Tandem Bike Cafe) - run by great people. It's a really friendly relaxed place right along a bike route. You can watch them do tune ups in the shop (and watch endless bikes ride on by) while enjoying a coffee and a sandwich.

@Sir_Name - It really is a great bike. Looking forward to taking it on longer rides as the weather keeps improving!

Peugeotlover

Redbuds in full bloom; field of Gorse; Lake Redman; twin pump houses at reservoir; dam spillway; stream & Brooks.

rccardr 

Nice 55 mile jaunt today down to Mason Neck State Park on the Potomac River with my good friend Gary. He's not C&V, but he's OK anyway:





Neat thing about Mason Neck- aside from the views and quiet- is that it's known for the number of Bald Eagles that nest in the area. We saw one 'fishing' while we ate our lunches by the water. The ranger station has a great diorama with lots of interactive video stuff to learn about eagle habitats:





Really a lovely ride on the Prologue, seen here at rest:

Lascauxcaveman 

Pardon my French, but OOO - La - La!

jimmuller 

Hmmph. I never stop to take pics on my commute. I rode the Grandis Monday and Tuesday, rode the Masi today just as a handling comparison. Both bikes are nice! It started sprinkling on my run home but fortunately I was riding so fast the rain couldn't catch me. One more item this spring, Woburn's free-range turkey crop is doing quite well. Every so often I have to be careful not to hit one.