Nice shots seedsbelize. I really enjoy your posts and the others from various locales. Nice to see the varied worlds we're all living in.

Here's my October ride photos:

The bike - 1982 Schwinn Voyageur SP with a few mods. Not light but it fits and is quite comfortable.


I was tired of getting lost so I decided to just do an out and back. Turns out the route I took wasn't as flat as I was planning.


Narrow road but very few cars for this little stretch just before the turn-around.



It was a good thing I didn't wait, here's the weather today

We had beautiful weather every day this week except for yesterday. So which day did I chose for my ride? Yesterday, of course. It's Tom's fault; he wanted to join me again and yesterday was the only day he was free. So like last time I rode up to Neshanic Station where we met a little after 8 AM, planning to do essentially the same ride as we did in May. It was raining. And it was cold. And as we got wetter, we got colder around the extremities.

Interesting stuff. At one point I spooked a big buck who was standing near the road, and next thing I know hewas running alongside me for a couple hundred yards maybe. But he was like 30-100 feet off to my right side; so while I was riding down a nice road at 15 mph, this buck was charging along through people's yards and the woods between the houses and over a little stream (I had a bridge) and up a hill. The whole time he held his head as if he was charging something, with his antlers leading the way, prongs forward, right about at my head/chest level. He eventually veered off to the right, away from the road.

At another point we stopped for a minor mechanical adjustment (my saddle was rotating, point coming up) and we heard the distinctive call of a turkey. Not unusual in the woods on a cold wet day a month before Thanksgiving. Right? But this turkey was somewhere in the canopy of trees 60 or 80 feet directly above. I know turkeys can fly, but I don't know if they go that high up and land in trees.

We saw lots of other deer, geese, red tailed hawk, and the usual variety of livestock: cows, horses, sheep, goats, donkeys, and white ducks.

It was not a nice day to be out riding. We decided to turn back and get our miles in closer to home (or to Tom's car) so we could bail if necessary. And we did. I got about 75 miles in; Tom about 50.

Best thing about the ride, the little pin on the front wheel was hitting the wrong side of the star-shaped wheel on the mileage meter on my bike, so according to it I rode -75.1 miles (starting at 474.8, finishing at 399.7). So it was kinda like a metric un-century.

I rode my 1948 Raleigh Record Ace, at the moment I think it's the best riding bike I have with full fenders and dynamo headlights. It might be the best riding bike I have. Sturmey Archer five speed hub. The brakes could be better, but when you limit yourself to early 50's stuff you make some compromises!

Nice shots yourself, iowegian. Sorry about the bad weather, rhm and tom. I'm afraid you can expect more of the same, unfortunately.

I did another one today, over the same route. A gorgeous day. Heavily overcast and windy, but no rain! I had lunch at the same spot, and again had difficulty tearing myself away. It's a really nice route, that I doubt I will get bored with soon. Nice views of pink flamingos, crested caracara, and two wood storks, a real treat! Bird watching from the bicycle seat. The best of both worlds. Saddle time: 6:34:44. Headwinds for the first 50, and stiff crosswinds later, slowed me down quite a bit. I forgot to take the camera. No flats, so I'm due next week.

Well I rode yet another one yesterday, though this time it was my first double metric century. I seem to have fallen into my own century a week challenge, and I'll continue it as long as it feels good. The double metric was tough, as I knew it would be, like the imperial century was a year ago. Lots of wind, and mostly of the headwind variety.
At 14 mi., I took my first bathroom break

I keep riding the same route, though I'll eventually change it up some. Here is a shot of the normal lunch spot from a different angle. I sat in the shade this time, and didn't stay long, as I was somewhat under half way, instead of somewhat over.

Shortly thereafter, two of these ran across the road in front of me

This road is why I keep coming back. It's only function is so people can go to that very minor ruin. It's cut right through the forest, and there is practically no traffic and a very good surface. So I rode down this road until I reached the 100km mark and turned around here. That extra bag in the back is dedicated to 2 extra tubes, a folding tire, patch kit, tire guage, tire levers.

I don't know if this is an altar for someone who was killed here, or a general shrine

The English language library, internet café and hotel in Telchac Puerto. There are never any English speakers around on Sunday morning though.

The bus station in Telchac Puerto, where I made the final turn back South, thinking I would have the next 75 k with a tailwind. It was not to be.

I don't have any experience with bonking, but shortly thereafter, I began to feel woozy, and then quite woozy, so I pulled over at a bus stop and mixed up some electrolyte and ate a sandwich. As I rolled back out, feeling much better, I realized that I was approaching the village I had thought I'd already passed through. Strange. The remainder of the ride passed normally, and I made a point of eating salted foods the rest of the way.
The last rest stop, mainly to relieve foot burn, drink the last of the water, eat the last sandwich, enjoy the view. The outer belt, and juice shop are just 4 km away, and then a 15 km ride across town.


I can still feel it in the legs 24 hours later, though my energy was better than expected today.

seedsbelize is a maniac!

Missed October.. but made up for it with a 102 mile mountain bike ride yesterday, regrettably (or thankfully) not on anything vintage. The terrain wasn't terribly technical, but definitely rugged. Ended up being about 7000' of gain and took a total of 10 hrs 45 min car to car.

The 3 of us started at 5am with calm wind and about 20 degrees. A light cloud cover persisted all day so it never got real comfortable while stopped, but conditions were excellent for laying down the miles. The route is a remote loop with no shelter, water or other support along the way, and also no way of escaping once committed.












Rob the mountain guide, Jacques the super athlete and me, the geezer.

I want to come ride with you guys.

By which I mean Jan, Iowegian, Seeds, any of you. I'm not sure I can keep up, but at least I'll enjoy the scenery.

Wow, these rides are great!

Jim

It wasn't easy. I had to drag my sorry, holiday fattened butt back onto the saddle, but it had to be done! So November's entry is a trip up to Tehachapi on my 1974 Masi. I don't usually ride this direction because of the wind and the unvaried landscape but at least it's something different. Here's the pics...

Third windmill to the right and straight on till morning

No, this is not the way to Neverland but the undiscovered country is straight ahead through the wind farm on those yonder hills. My destination is the other side of the mountain to the left.

BTW, those high voltage power lines veering off to the left were the location of the climatic scene of the movie "Se7en", with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. Yikes!



There they are! Some 30 miles down the road I paused for this picture as I approached the biggest climb of the day


There's way more windmills up here than anyone would care to count. This is a very small slice of the overall scene.


Here's a self portrait.


By early afternoon I had made the turn-around point in Tehachapi valley. The windmills get their power from somewhere, by the way, and turning around here put me into a stiff headwind for the next 20 miles.


Returning back into the Antelope Valley


Every scene here in this open valley has a vanishing point.


Yard art - AV style. Everyone here is an aviation buff, it seems.

I plan a 200k trip next weekend down on the coast for an early December ride. It is a brevet and will probably have a few friends to ride with.

Jim

Looks like a lovely ride. I'm jealous of your climbs and descents, as I have none.

Yeah, that is some great scenery. But I'm not here to whine today.

On Long Island for the week, the whole family on vacation so so was I. Unfortunately I started that week with a head cold that kept me off the bike the nice days we had last weekend. And then we were busy... well finally I hit the road at 7 AM today, riding out east on mostly the same roads as my July and August centuries. The day started out with two or three layers of fog one on top of the other, with clear layers in between. My camera didn't like this, so for most of the ride I wasn't taking pictures. Fell in with other bicyclists a few times, and from them learned some nice roads. Felt strong and fast the whole way until I turned around for the ride back and discoverd I was in for a 50 mile headwind. Stopped at a biker bar/grill out in the woods, far from anywhere, and had a burger and a beer at about the 85 mile point. Home at 3:00, and immediately went out and started raking leaves. Had to finish by dark; wasn't much left to do anyway. Raking felt really good at that point!

I rode my Lambert, which is set up as a three speed "club" style. No mechanical issues of any kind. This was the first time I've ridden a century on a plain three speed. When trying to keep up with another rider mile after mile I sometimes wished I had more gears to chose from, but most of the time I was riding by myself and setting my own pace, and the three speed hub is fine for that.
Bottom line, November is done. Whew! More on this later when I find the few photos I took.

rhm - Man, I know that feeling!



Seedsbelize - I'm jealous of your lovely rides, too!



See you next week - Jim

Nothing like 50 miles of headwind to finish up a century.

Took another day off last Wednesday for the November ride. I think it was the second time I was on a bike since the October century (I really need to get out more...). Nothing really exciting, just a beautiful day in the 60's with lots of sun and only a little wind. I spent most of the time on roads that are becoming familiar to me out to the east and north of Boulder. I did manage one route error for tradition's sake (my queue sheet was worng) so I ended up just over 105 miles for the day and finished as the daylight was fading fast around 4pm. It took just over 8 hours total time door to door. Same 82 Voyageur as last time but I put on a Brooks this time.

I'm really looking forward to the December ride. This challenge thing has been a great motivator for me and while I've enjoyed every ride so far it's time to do something different. I'm thinking either an all night ride, a road trip to somewhere warm, a ride to a Ft. Collins brewery for lunch or maybe a few thousand laps around the indoor track (probably can't afford that one...)

Edit....here's a couple of photos, twas a nice day.



And of course, the other reason for the ride.

For my year I saved the best for last. Here's my December entry, a 200k brevet ridden on my Gitane Super Corsa. It was an absolutely beautiful day on the California coast as we wandered through the hills of Santa Paula, Ojai, and Lake Casitas before making our way along the fabulous Hwy 192 "Mountain Road" along the undulating Santa Barbara mountains through Carpinteria, Montecito, and Santa Barbara. We returned down the coast through Summerland and back to Ventura. Our pace was unhurried as it was more important to enjoy the perfect day to it's fullest (ie it took a little over 11 hours!) Here's the pictures.

Starting early we had a group of nine riders starting from Ventura


My Gitane at the first control point at Fillmore


Other riders were equally well founded with these fine KOF bikes. A Moulton Fuso, a Bruce Gordon, and a Univega Gran Turismo




It's not uncommon to encounter wild turkey along the central coast, but these guys were a little unusual..


Ther artsy town of Ojai was a welcome stop after the long pull up Hwy 150 from Santa Paula


Lake Casitas from near the top of the pass.


At mile 40, looking down the other side of the pass towards the coast


Our rest stop in Montecito


Part 2 coming...

The Channel Islands from Mountain Road. There is really no way I could take enough pictures to do this area justice. I highly recommend this ride to anyone who wants to see the area at it's best. Some of the mose challenging climbs in the area, Gibralter and Old San Marcos Rd/Painted Cave, lead to the beautiful El Camino Cielo which tours the crest of the Santa Barbara mountains. Spectacular.

Back down to Santa Barbara, looking back up at the mountains

Turn around, there's the Santa Barbara Mission, founded in 1786

Down to the harbor, ready to turn back down the coast.

And finally, sunset over the Channel Islands

I absolutely agree with Iowegian that this has been a great motivator! I think I might try to continue the trend for next year and complete an R-12, which is a 200k brevet in every month.
So here I am at the finish line. C'mon team! Post em!
Jim

I love the pictures in this thread. Thank you, leaping_gnome, and thank you, rhm for starting the thread. When you and I rode in April (or was it May), I realized that I could do another century. I had previously sworn off them in 2005. Then I rode one with you in July. And it ended up being 110 miles. We had a great time.

I'll challenge myself to take more than one in 2012. I don't know if I'm up for one per month, but we'll see. I still don't see how I can do it in bitter cold, but maybe I can.

Well, thanks for all the centuries, guys! I'll post photos of my November one, and maybe people will neglect to read and think I've already done December.

Here's the bike I rode:


Intermittent sun between fog banks:


You can tell it's going to be a nice day:


Fauna:


Interesting Long Island scenery:



Coming down the last hill... yes, that's a hill! Can't you see it? Hill? What, I have to spell it out for you, H, I, L, L!

Yummmm!

These are the pics from my last century of November, just before my wife took off for Florida with the camera.



For some unknown reason, there is a two km stretch of road under which this sign operates. The cyclopista option actually has some of the gravel stuck down, but mostly it's loose.

Hacienda in ruins

^Some interesting and beautiful scenery on the peninsula.

Happy Holidays Everybody!!

December Century… finished!

That’s 12* for 12! Woo hoo!

I’m on Long Island for the end-of-year holidays, so I was torn between doing exactly the same ride as one of the other months, or mostly the same. Big choice, huh? I decided to head out east.

I left the house at 7:20 AM, just after it had got light. The sun was presumably up but I hadn’t seen it yet. The sky was perfectly clear; not mist or fog or anything. Not even very cold… I guess in the upper 40’s when I left the house. Nice!

I first got out the camera when I saw a herd of topiary dogs frolicking in a lawn at Remsenburg.
But my destination at this point was Dune Road.

Dune Road is one of my favorite roads anywhere. It is a narrow barrier island, maybe 15 miles long, but the part of it I ride—from the closest to the farthest bridge—is maybe half that. At the west end of that stretch are beach clubs and lots of huge billionaire homes. Here's my bike and the bay that separates the barrier island from mainland Long Island:



As you get farther east, the average size of the houses goes down, and the distance between them goes up, and there is more wetlands, mainly on the north side of the road. I took a series of photos that show the progression; but here are two. Note the big bridge, gradually getting bigger as it gets closer.



The last section, nearest the bridge, has lots of low lying areas that flood periodically. I usually have to ride through water that reaches my pedals, which in the summer is an amusing sensation. In the winter it is less amusing. This time the flooding was restricted to a few (big) puddles.

I then headed east to Southhampton, back out to the beach… more billionaire homes… very few modest ones (and even those are probably priced in the seven figure range). From the town of Water Mill (where there is a water mill; so I took a picture of a wind mill, not shown). Then I headed north into the rugged interior of the South Fork.

Until this point I had been thinking I’d just repeat a previous ride, but now I decided this was a good opportunity to explore some of the little traveled back roads of the island. To try to find the ones that make for good cycling. And I found them, too! Narrow roads with even narrower driveways leading to ginormous houses. And at the end of the driveways are always these big convex mirrors. So, as a nod to Parmigianino, here's my self portrait in a convex mirror:


In particular I should mention Middle Line Highway, a road that serves a few (expensive) homes and… well, I don’t know what else. It must be in the middle of something, and parts of it are rather high, but its name mainly reflects the fact that it is as straight as a line. Check it out:

Down one hill and up the next with no regard for where it’s steep, this road is a whippersnapper. I was shifting back and forth between all my gears, screaming down in 3rd one minute, downshifting and spinning in 2nd the next, then standing up and mashing in 1st and barely making it to the top on the steep ones, and repeating the process several times. Sadly, its only two miles long. I eventually made my way to Sag Harbor, where I turned around and returned by more or less the same route, thinking it might be better this direction. And I think it is. I will definitely ride this route again!



Final photo: the sun setting over Smith Point Bridge a few minutes before getting home at 4:30, total mileage about 105 miles according to Bikely.


*well, if you go back and read the fine print for October and certain other months, you’ll see that I left a little room for improvement….

Gorgeous.

All the ride posts in this thread are fantastic. Bravo, gentlemen!

I'll be luck if I'm able to ride once in January for the next century.

This is actually my most comfortable bike. It at least has a decent Brooks saddle on it. It's difficult for me to ride my Paramount, Super Le Tour or Takara.