LOL I knew I'd seen you before.
http://s23.postimage.org/ogr4cazij/image.jpg

^No, that's actually "Dolf" Dude, who just happens to be Drillium's evil twin brother. :innocent:

why thank you! Ya the bottle just happen to fit pretty snug so i'm using it until i get me a nice stainless bottle and probably wrap and shellac it.

I know, those bikes are pretty dull and lifeless. Would be much cooler to have a station like that full of Raleigh Sports/ 3 speeds.

I was invited to a morning group ride by a customer, but Google let me down and sent me to the wrong coffee shop location. D'oh!!
So to make the most of a nice Sunday, I decided to check out the Greenbelt that run through Scottsdale to Tempe Town Lake. It's a MUP that meanders through parks, golf courses, and neighborhoods. A lot of folks use it, and saw many riders, mostly slower, hybrid-riding seniors. ;)

I made it to Tempe Town Lake...and artificial lake created with a rubber bladdered dam. 15 miles, but unfortunately, I blew a flat. %#%&#$%. Discovered my OEM rim strip failed me! Not even one of those dreaded Goat Head thorns. I put in a replacement tube and crossed over the new foot bridge only to be flagged down for help by an elderly gentleman. He needed a pump to inflate his wife's hybrid. I offered to do it for them and got them on their way. I told him of all the people he sought help from, he chose a bike mechanic. He thanked me and will visit me at the shop later for service.
;)
I started my return leg, and was feeling good. Was deciding to whether or not to try and do my 49 miles that day and complete my Birthday ride miles. But within 2 miles of where I was parked....a thorn did manage to get me! Another flat, but this time a slow leaker. I pumped up and kept riding, wasn't going to walk in cleats!! :-P
Made it back and called it a day. Even with 2 flats, it was a good day!

Crewing along the lake....a popular activity here.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8243/8...ebc8064e_b.jpg
Tempe Town Lake Ride-001 by WNG555, on Flickr

Sun Devil's Stadium at ASU.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8380/8...22ce5098_b.jpg
Tempe Town Lake Ride-002 by WNG555, on Flickr

Modern foot bridge and the Tempe Center for the Arts...
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Tempe Town Lake Ride-003 by WNG555, on Flickr

Requisite photo with bike....
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8368/8...8c9b6718_b.jpg
Tempe Town Lake Ride-005 by WNG555, on Flickr

Pneumatically challenged moment....
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8110/8...f8d87a34_b.jpg
Tempe Town Lake Ride-009 by WNG555, on Flickr

I believe it! I mean come on! Not everybody has the fortune of having that​ good of a doppleganger.

Finally got out again today for a lunch ride.

The aero bars still don't make the heavy Nishiki with 27" wheels look any faster. At least they won't let me forget my name.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/SAM_0216.jpg

The training partner is back:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/SAM_0219.jpg

It was barn day today:

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http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/SAM_0223.jpg

That second barn has one good looking roof! They must have redone that recently.

I'm like'n the photo of barn number 3. Wonderful contrasts, Scozim! Looks like you had a great day today.

I took the Hercules out for a rural tour last Sunday ...

And I found this. It explains everything I've wondered about possums - the midnight aimless wanderings, the blackouts, all of it.
You hate to see anything roadkill, but maybe he's just sleeping it off.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8241/8...cb3edbdb_n.jpg


Lousy picture, I know, but that's an empty bottle of Cuurs behind the ex-critter.


On Saturday, one of our semi-regulars here organized a sort of a ride where you go take pictures of local landmarks.

Got to visit my avatar ...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8383/8...6be2ffbf_n.jpg

I love it!

Hit the hills and found some mud. In fact, I had to turn around at this point thanks to the new rock put down thanks to logging trucks tearing up the road and the greasy mud. At least I made it further up than the other two riders I had seen earlier - their tracks where they turned around were quite evident.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/SAM_0226.jpg

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Even found some logging equipment. The chains on the tires were massive.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/SAM_0236.jpg

A happy rider with some mud spatter. It was flying off the tires when I hit the dry stuff.

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...s/SAM_0240.jpg

Here are a few shots of today's ride in South Yamhill County, Oregon. The weather was perfect.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8523/8...326772ba_c.jpg

Got a short stretch of gravel in. Toward the end of this road, I suddenly had a U-haul truck and 3 cars go by raising a huge cloud of dust. That sucked.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8090/8...71a7eecd_c.jpg

This is my favorite barn in the area. This road is amazing - no traffic and so peaceful and scenic.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8510/8...742d0bc8_c.jpg

An old country church that still has outdoor bathrooms and an old pump organ
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8106/8...1f3bf33c_c.jpg

^Great stuff, TweedleDee! Beautiful roads...

Looks very nice, but what's all that green stuff? :innocent:

Nice pics tweedledee!

It's still winter here, although it is starting to warm up a bit. I rode 48 miles on the De Rosa today. It was about 45 degrees with light wind.

Barden reservoir

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4399dc2c.jpg

http://i1131.photobucket.com/albums/...ps461a516c.jpg

I'm dying to take my Gitane for a ride. I want to get a H2O cage and mount and a new saddle. Hopefully next week.

The first ride of the season sarts of with a BANG! a real loud one.
 

After getting the Bianchi Transport Vehicle (BVT) back from the shop Saturday, I decided to take a short ride. I got the Hetchins out so I could try out those fabulous new Electra Ticino wheels and hubs. It seems I didn't do such a good job mounting the tires :( I took the bike out on the deck and pumped up the x25 Paselas to 100psi and went to get dressed. A short time later I hear the preverbal "gunshot" that accompanies a blowout. BUMMER! OK I grab the old front wheel that used to be on the Hetchins and put it on. Now I am off and few miles later I feel a thump in the back wheel. I stop and check it out, [I]oh the tire is not seated quite right but looks OK. [I] A few miles later it gets worse I look and the tire is about to blow. I let some air out and push it back into place. No how to reinflate it? OH I have a CO2 in my bag. A 16gram cartridge didn't seem to fill that tire too full so I just took it slow and easy the mile or so back home.

Lesson relearned always do it right even if your doing it quick for now and will check it later.

Todays ride saw the great Batavus Professional on the road for a little sunshine and trouble free 15miles.

Hopefully the weather will be nice Wed and I'll get another ride in or maybe a trip to the range. For now it is off to bed. First day of work on my own tomorrow.

First ride of the year, be gentle.

Got out with my dad and some family friends who, this past december, had enlisted my craigslist scouring services to modernize their fleet from the his and hers 1983 trek 520s they bought with their wedding money and took across country. I found them a modern specialized... something with tiagra/105 and a 1993 trek 2300 with tricolor. It was their first ride with brifters and no bailout, "granny", gear. They were amazed at the speed they could carry. I'm convinced it was more of them hunkering down and muscling over hills instead of just spinning, but who knows.

Don't worry- they're still hanging on to the 520s.

I was on a trek 5200 I'd built up last night using parts I'd been accumulating for the last year from ebay and craigslist. It looked like this this time last night.

A good day all around.

http://i.imgur.com/g55nHRTl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/pwZPWswl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wTvDvWgl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/J9ChoU8.png

Today, I did one of my "typical" rides, albeit short because I had to be back early.
I took the Katakura Silk and rode up to van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and then onto the South County trail in West Chester.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1362968549

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Some really nice pics on this page:thumb:

As a Professional Driver I think I can safely say something doesn't look right here.

http://i.imgur.com/pwZPWswl.jpg

Monday was in the upper 70s, and looked perfect for a climbing workout. I haven't been back to Usery Pass (posted previously) this year. And kind of missed the long descent and the view. The easier 3.5 mile northbound climb is less steep and was still a tough effort for me last year. But I had no trouble this time, on my Bianchi, which is a heavier bike, with the same low gear. How about that! I was feeling pretty good as I began cranking it on the descent. About a mile in, I heard that dreaded sound.....a sudden burst of pressured air releasing. I couldn't tell which wheel flatted, still rolling smoothly at speed.
I carefully slowed down, and found myself at the side of the road, with inhospitable washes on each side. No place to sit, no shade, nothing to lean on. Ugh! This flat will make it #4 in less than 2 weeks. $^@&@!

I discovered the stem had pulled away from the tube. This is the second such failure of the 4. Must be a defective batch of tubes.
It was heart-warming to find folks on bikes, motorcycles, and even cars, were slowing down to see if I was OK and needed any assistance. I let them know I was all set. Funny though, a sheriff's deputy in a pickup blew by and didn't even make eye contact. He wasn't interested. How considerate.

I lost considerable time and finished up my ride with an ascent of 'Baby Kong', a shorter steep climb out of the river valley. Legs were burning, but I was enjoying the feeling. Total of 24 miles. No pics for this ride, hands were dirty with grease. ;)

This was a Presta valve? Over the last two years I've had two Schader valves burst where the rubber split open from the metal tube underneath. Once was while I was riding; it sounded like a gunshot behind me. The other was on a bike set up on a trainer in the house. We came back from a week vacation and found the tire flat, the valve burst. I figured the tire could hold 110psi, but apparently the valve couldn't. Never seen a Presta valve do that though.

It was 60F here today. I got out for a great ride just meandering through neighborhoods on the fixed gear.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8112/8...94d29ebe_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8383/8...f16c746d_b.jpg

Since I've not been out for a ride since the end of February, I was really itching for a ride so when today turned out to be sunny and 50° at noon, I got out the Alpine and rode across the river and down to Purcellville VA. I needed to get some cotters for some of my bikes and I knew that Velo Classique would have them. The ride was 39.3 miles and had 1353 feet of climbing over the course of the ride. Most of the ride was on the road, though I rode about 4 miles on a MUP and doubled back on it for the ride. Overall, a nice day on the bike.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8249/8...20b4b71e_b.jpg
Purcellville Ride - 1 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

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Purcellville Ride - 2 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

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Purcellville Ride - 4 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

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Purcellville Ride - 5 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr

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Purcellville Ride - 6 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr