1989Pre 

Great picture with the flame-red maple above your bike. I also liked "moments contained". It seems like the bicycle is the statue's gift to mankind.

1989Pre 

Awesome bike. We got light rain up here in Maine, but I rode anyway, because maybe last day in the 50's. I prefer non drive side.

thinktubes 

Did 60 miles up into Lake County. Clear and cold - 36F at the start. Warmed up to 50, but there was an east wind coming straight off the lake.

Ran into a road closure near Riverwoods. Fortunately, there was an alternate route on a slightly busier road. Worked out OK since it was early Sunday morning.



Fall color has given way to brown/bare. Most of the of the leaves are down - did my gutters on Saturday.



Water can be an issue on late fall rides. I started to run low, but remembered a park with fancy bathrooms. This picnic shelter has heated bathrooms with hot/cold running water - phew!



Took a shortcut through Middlefork Savannah Forest Preserve to get back to civilization.





Had to gravel it for a bit on 700x23s - The Michelins were up to the task.



Ran across a Great Blue Heron wading in the North Branch of the Chicago River. Couple of Mallards in there too.



Overall, November has been pretty nice. Hoping to get out a few more times before the cold/snow comes.

botty kayer

I had 2 rides today. Out on a roadie earlier, after checking the traffic reports which confirmed the usual state of affairs....

And another new artwork, improved by the addition of some sunshine, making a brief appearance....

...and on Brick Lane I find a paste-up wall, there's so much going on here you could spend an hour just inspecting this section of wall, and there's a bike hiding in there somewhere.....

Heading back home for lunch I cross Battersea Bridge, which on both sides has these notices instructing troops to break step when crossing the bridge....

These notices were put up following the Broughton suspension bridge disaster in Manchester in 1831, where the bridge collapsed due to mechanical resonance of troops marching in step.

In Battersea park I find low cut hedge gardens make good bike parking spots......

I then stop at home for lunch, do a bike change and head over to my brothers 8.5 miles across the city in east London to binge watch the first 3 episodes of the TV show he's been directing called 'road to a million' on Amazon Prime. It's a James Bond themed TV show which my lucky brother has been filming in exotic locations all over the world filming for the last year. The opening episodes feature 2 brothers from Croydon in south London who have been very entertaining. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the rest of the series.

I then have an evening ride back across the city, and I always enjoy cycling along the river at night. Its too busy with pedestrians during the day, but late on a Sunday night it mostly deserted and is great fun. You are not allowed to cycle on the Millenium Bridge normally, but late a night you can. This bridge of course was more famously known as the wobbly bridge and was closed shortly after it was opened as it was found that it too used to sway with the resonance of people walking across it, something known for over 160 years following the bridge disaster I mentioned above. Anyway after spending millions reinforcing the bridge it re-opened and is now wobble-free.

More illuminations along the South Bank......

...and the final stretch, two more bridges to go, this one is Lambeth Bridge, and the next one along is Vauxhall Bridge, and I live in a little old house not far from there.

I'm off to bed now as I'm up in 6 hours for work, and I'll be back out on these streets again. The city never sleeps but I do, and I'll be dreaming every traffic signal is green and my socks remain forever dry. #thatsnevergoingtohappen

RB1-luvr

Sunday, I rode the rust bucket Marinoni to the gap on the Farmington Canal Trail to see the progress of finishing that gap. It looked rideable with an mtb. Looking forward to being able to ride the path north from Lazy Lane in Southington.

1989Pre 

Botty, how do you know about so many interesting places in your city? There must be a story there.

bironi

I'm sure you'll receive a much more detailed explanation.
My guess is that he knows the city from the saddle of many bicycles.
He has an eye and camera perspective of public art.
All of which I greatly appreciate from my keyboard.
Byron

botty kayer

Aww thanks Byron. You pretty.much summed it up

1989Pre haha no exciting back story or anything, though people have thought I was a tour guide on here before

I've lived here in london since 1996 so have inevitably picked up a lot along the way I am definitely not a cycling London encyclopedia, I didn't know about the 1830's bridge disaster until I looked it up.on Google after that ride.

I guess i have the same curiosity i had as a 5 yesr old...what's that? What's it do? Hows it work? What's down there? Tell me more? And to me every bike ride is still an adventure with something new to discover, wherever the ride. If something catches my eye i'll try and find out more about it, either at the time or.consulting with uncle Google later

Coupled witu the fact part of.my job involves cycling all.over the city, and I do that.on my days off too, so I do pretty high miles, 50,000 in the last 6 years, so I get about. And as.London has been a human settlement for well over 1000 years there's a lot in the back catalogue to discover along the way

Or I could just be far along the OCD spectrum

1989Pre 

botty kayer: "I guess i have the same curiosity i had as a 5 year old...what's that? What's it do? Hows it work?"

In that event, I'm glad the sign about the collapse was not a sign that said "Don't push this button!",

RCMoeur 

Today I rode my 26th Turkey Day ride. (So why am I posting here instead of that thread? Because.) Woke up at gawdawful early and stepped over the 50+ year old Raleigh Professional Mk IV and pedaled into the predawn darkness. Met up with the gang at Uptown Plaza (which was uptown in the 50s, but now is near downtown) as old and new friends straggled in. Rolled out at 6:30 sharp down a dark Central Avenue at the advertised "conversational pace" of 20ish mph, chatting when I could with folks as we rolled in a relatively tight pack of 60ish folks toward South Mountain. There were a variety of bikes, from my '72 Pro to Greg's 70s flat-bar Centurion to Karl's early-2000s BMC to the latest carbon fiber gravel-grinding wonders. My ol' Pro did get a few compliments as I noted it had done this ride all the way back in '82 and many times since.

Greg and his 70s baby-blue Centurion with Mighty cranks and Cyclone derailleurs, mostly seen zooming away from me



Gobble gobble!


At the base, we each carefully selected our rocks to carry up the hill. The tradition is each rider brings a rock up the mountain to a) increase the training quality and b) keep the mountain from falling down. And after all these years, I can attest we've done our job well in combating erosive decay.


Selecting a fine specimen of mineral for the ascent

The group attacked the climb as soon as the last rock was snagged (actually a bit before), and I watched them disappear as I slapped the barcons into the low range and started grinding.


Up we go!

Enjoying the view and recovering my oxygen

My old chrome Pro taking a brief break from the climb

About 2/3 the way up the initial climb on a diabolical 8+% ascent, my pulmonary system said "Hey! Remember that exercise-induced asthma you used to suffer from? It's baaack!" Urgh. The race between the uphill and the lung gunk was won by the gunk, and I pedaled as best I could in my 34 tooth Super Maxy - 26 tooth Winner Pro low gear.

Just when the road started to level off, what do I see? My friends zooming in the fun direction.


Time to get off the bike, rockaroonie. I made a U and started the descent, my 20Cs bouncing like a golf ball on the lumpy pavement. With everyone more or less in one piece, we re-congregated at the bottom for the ride back into town.



Then the ride back at the same so-called "conversational pace". I was very glad for the traffic signal timing on 7th Street as it allowed me to catch up with my group briefly before being dropped like a underperforming money market fund. Took a few pix on the way.



Home of the World Series losers, er, National League champions!


The Union Pacific yard on a cool gray morning

Back to the start to swap stories and socialize. Turned out one nice lady had a bad morning indeed - her carbon frame cracked right in the middle of the top tube. And them more reminiscing with old friends until my legs and my watch said it was time to head home.

Total mileage: 42.3 with 1600+ feet climbing. And even though I'm not as fast as I used to be or even as fast as any of my fellow riders, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Happy Thanksgiving.

SurferRosa

Full of thanks today



Burke-Gilman Trail​​​​​​

repechage

[QUOTE=RB1-luvr;23056440]Yesterday's fun in the pouring rain and mud. Masters 60+ race at Moran CX in Wallingford, CT:





QUOTE]

where’s Ricardo Sachs?

07morrison

beauty

thinktubes 

Did a 21-mile turkey burn today. Temp was 34 degrees with a north wind resulting in a wind chill of 24 degrees. The 10-day forecast doesn’t look much warmer and snow is predicted for Sunday.

With the leaves down, I’m starting to hornet nests everywhere. This one was the size of a soccer ball.



Brickwork on an old electrical substation - I’ve been wanting a pic for awhile. Guessing it dates from the late 1920s.



I’ve been trying some alternative routes since I’m doing shorter rides. Crossing rail lines always pose a problem. Found a nice crossing for the Skokie Swift at the Dempster Street Terminus.




The old station was turned into a Starbucks. Love the tile roof.




The new station with an old bike.



Tracks are empty - The Skokie Swift has been shut down for over a week because of a
crash.



Passed by the Sketchbook taproom on the way home. Got me thinking about popping in over the weekend.

gugie 

West Linn-Oregon City-Canby Ferry and back with Andy_K

Andy_K 

I've got to admit, Mt. Hood showed up much better than I expected in that picture.

curbtender

Local ride through Alhambra Valley and a stop at the old Bank of Pinole to try the coffee. Good stuff...

Carriage Hills.

55? Volunteer fire truck at the Rawking Horse Ranch

Pinole Valley skate park.

curbtender

Local ride through Alhambra Valley and a stop at the old Bank of Pinole to try the coffee. Good stuff...

Carriage Hills.

55? Volunteer fire truck at the Rawking Horse Ranch

Pinole Valley skate park.

RB1-luvr

[QUOTE=repechage;23080814]I haven't seen him in a while.

edit:
oh, I got to ride before the big feast on Thanksgiving Day. Took the '89 Accordo for 26 miles, shown here at Lock #12 on the canal path.

zukahn1

First semi warm day in a few balmy 30's in the sun and wind chill 0' in the shade. Took a short Marin MTB which goes great with snow to check out the status of local side road and trails. Status is snow packed till next spring on the side roads and a bunch of snow on the trails.

Spaghetti Legs 

Yesterday’s ride but forgot to post until now. First cold weather ride of the season with temps in the low 40’s. I rode again today with temps in the low 50’s but I dressed more lightly and was colder!

Anyway, stopped to watch UVA vs Indiana in the NCAA Soccer Sweet Sixteen. I watched for about 15 minutes, saw Indiana score a goal and it turn out to be the only one of the game.


UVA Klöckner Stadium. Jefferson’s Monticello is tucked behind the little hill to the left in the distance (behind the tree).

RB1-luvr

night ride last night on the 1988 Supergo Access Comp Deore. It was my race bike back then, now it's a drop bar fender bike. Almost got attacked by an off leash german shepard with a pedestrian on the Red Bridge Trail. Nice. I rode off the path to avoid him and he stopped charging me after the owner yelled something about five times.

zukahn1

Like the slightly bigger front tire old school vibe a lot of older hard frame MTB's ran a different front and rear tires. I don't because nice front rear set of tires runs about $100 right now ouch.

RB1-luvr

zukahn1 it's just an optics thing with the photo. They are both cheapo ChenShing (or maybe Duro?) 26x1.95 knobbies with a center ridge. They are good for pavement and dirt. I run them 35 psi rear, 30 front.

curbtender

Ace of a day. Stop in Emeryville.