The view from my saddle: November 2010
 

November 1st.
After putting 30 miles on the tandem yesterday with my skeletal stoker Mortimer,
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ible-Adventure
I opted to take a short ride along the lakeshore in Irondequoit today. Much to my surprise I spied this guy near the Porta-Potties at Durand Eastman beach. I’ve seen him occasionally in the past but this time I had my camera. I can’t help but chuckle a little whenever I see this…

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_1153SX20.jpg

November 7th.
I’ve been commuting back and forth to work all week and taking nice long rides on the way home. Well, sorta long. Considering that it’s a 5 mile ride from work to home, 15 – 20 miles is long….especially in the rain, after a 12.5 hour shift, with just a few hours left to visit with the bride, get some sleep, and get back to work for the next shift.

This morning it wasn’t raining for a change and I witnessed the sun rising up over the soggy city.

TSL can verify that this street actually does exist. Is it any wonder that it’s named Picturesque Drive?

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3792A580.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3790A580.jpg

November 8th

Rode the Volae to my doctor’s appointment today which blew him away. Not many of his patients ride much I guess. It was a 27 mile round trip. My blood work is all great, blood pressure is fair, and my resting heart rate is 60. Doc’s happy, Cranky’s happy, and we’re both crediting the bikes for my good health.

November 10th


I had an appointment at Ziebart today to have the undercoating inspected and touched up as needed on my Van. They estimated needing the truck for six hours so I loaded the Tour Easy and brought it along to the shop as a means to get back home.

The plan worked well. It was a cold morning with a stiff NNE breeze of 17 mph but I took the long way home anyway. I spent some time riding the MUP through the woods and noticed that all but just a few stubborn leaves have dropped.

Here’s a scene I often photograph at the south end of the trail…

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3794A580.jpg

Another favotite spot of mine is this tunnel like tree canope…

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3796A580.jpg

…and of course the hill through the woods that you’ve all seen dozens of times by now…

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3798A580.jpg

…well here it is again.

I then headed towards home riding east along the Lake Ontario shoreline. The sun had hidden itself behind a thick layer of cold gray clouds, the lake was rolling in pretty heavily, and that NNE wind coming in off the water was damn cold. On days like this the eerie melody and words of Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald’ often come to mind. Today that was quite fitting since this is the 35th anniversary of the wreck.
Just imagine what it must have been like for those 29 souls going down during that cold November storm.

So 26.5 miles after leaving the shop I arrived safely at home. After taking the bride out to lunch and on some errands, I took “The Beast” (my Trek Mtn. Bike) back up to the shop and retrieved the Van. The more direct route was only 8.8 miles.

November 13th

Oooo, what a pretty day. There’s a blue sky and the temperature is at 42* and heading to the 50’s, and I don’t have to go to work until 04:00 p.m.!

I gathered up my cycling stuff, including Fred my stuffed Parrot, and set out into the gorgeous weather. It was11:00 a.m. and a balmy 44*. Though most of the leaves have dropped and are neatly gathered into numerous curbside piles, there is still some vibrant color to enjoy as you can see here in the picture I took in the cemetery….

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3799A580.jpg

After riding through the quiet park like calm of the cemetery I headed down the Charlotte section of The Genesee River Trail. Hmmm, a fork in the trail. Decisions, decisions, decisions…

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3801A580.jpg

This old giant has seen it’s share of problems. In spite of it’s precarious perch it seems to be defiantly regenerating its self though.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3802A580.jpg

The river is peaceful today and so clear that I can see the river bed through the water. See how nicely it reflects the blue sky and the trees along the bank…

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3805A580.jpg

On the return leg of my little 37 mile jaunt I noticed that they’re already putting Christmas decorations up at the Crescent Beach Restaurant…

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r...G_3807A580.jpg

Well the Tour Easy is put away for now and its 04:00 p.m., time to ride The Beast in to work. Today was a gift. We don’t often get such nice weather this late in the year, in fact we usually have already had a measurable snowfall by now. The snow is late this year. Now if I’m really lucky I’ll be blessed with a nice sunrise on the ride home tomorrow morning….


11/19/2010

O.K.! Rode through snow on the way to work this morning. 04:00 a.m. and there’s a mix of snow, sleet, and rain riding on a relentless, brisk, westerly head wind…. and I’m leaving tracks down the middle of the road! Cool!!! It’s not our first trace of snow this season, but this is the closest it’s been to the still thermally milder zone along the lake. Soon all the Summer’s warmth will have escaped from the water and the lake will turn into our personal refrigerator.

The ride home was dry and I believe I’ll wait a few weeks yet before putting the winter wheels with the studded snows onto ‘The Beast’, or days maybe. We’ll see….

11/30/2010
The studded tires are on, the rain is falling with snow on the way. Here comes Winter!!

I'm not sure when I'll post my next 'View'. December looks to be a very busy month and I'll be lucky to find any "Me Time" at all.
So untill next time, stay safe and stay happy!!

I thought it was the pictorialization of a typical high schooler's day:
-up at the crack of dawn
-on the cr@ppy bus
-learning about history
-waiting for a car
-stuck riding a bike

Glad all went well at the doc Cranky!

Ha! I think a sense of humor has to go with a job like sucking out sewage holding tanks.



Here's one I saw in Yellowknife.
http://i51.tinypic.com/33076hc.jpg

Thank you Cranky!! Your pics make me envious, if I try to take pics with a digital can't seem to get focal point
right,& it's a point & shoot!! Please keep shooting & posting pics!!

Dan: having operated a vacuum truck in the oil patch, that sign is so true!! Good shot.

Yep. I grew up about a half-mile from there.

Dan, I love Nunavut's license plates. Thanks for the pic. Oh, the other stuff is cool too.

That's NWT plates, not Nunavut. I've been to Nunavut in the winter too, but I have no idea what their license plates look like.
Here's the one on my truck bumper.
http://i54.tinypic.com/mjstvd.jpg

Lenny,

Great pics - love the defoliation progression - we are into stick season here as well.
Did you get the washout we just had today, man it was a deluge?

As always, great pics, great story - and I am amazed how much riding you get in in a most difficult situation, and still find time for posting and leaf-raking, etc.

I think maybe a lot of times I go for a ride to escape and mentally regroup. My bride enjoys reading a lot so often times she hardly misses me. Cycling around on errands helps too.

Thanks all for the kind words.

Loved all the pics, thanks for sharing.

you are providing entirely too much motivation, I need to ride now. Great pictures of beautiful scenes!

Great Pics.

Huh. I just saw the bear and thought Nunavut.

Not the best shot--I was JRA behind this car--but here's a Nunavut plate.
http://www.brucew.com/images/bikefor...avut-plate.jpg

Gotta love the bus.:lol: