peterbarson

I live in suburban Chicago, and there is a forest presrve called Busse Woods. Last week I saw 2 coyote's, following a woman walking here 2 small scottie type dogs.
I didn't No picture and I havn't seen them since, I ride this park 3-5 times a week. but I did see a picure in the local newspaper that someone took.

peterbarson

Oh yea a few days later I saw a guy rollerblading at 20mph, I clocked him with my cateye.
once again no picture.

John E

On Friday I attended a luncheon meeting of the technical advisory board for one of UCSD Extension's profesional certificate programs. For those familiar with Sorrento ("Telecom") Valley, the UCSD Extension Sorrento Mesa complex sits at the top of Lusk Bl., up a 12 percent grade from Sorrento Valley Road. When I arrived, our department head, a Marine reservist, asked, "Did you just bike up that hill?" When I responded, "Yes, it used to be part of my daily commute to work," he shouted, "Good man!"

bigbossman 

The heat wave finally subsided a bit, so I took my Miyata out on a 23 mile round trip to 7-11 for a bottle of Gatorade.

TysonB

101 F. here in sunny Oklahoma at 5:35 pm CDT. 27 persons rode from Cushing to Stillwater for pseudo- Mexican food. 28 miles. Newbies and I rode 15miles from the halfway point out of the big city of Ripley (pop. 780) near where the "shoot-out with the Doolins" took place over 100 years ago.

First time out for Mimi and me since my motorcycle accident 6 weeks ago. Knee did OK, but needs more therapy. Mimi ('68 UO8) seemed fine and looks better since I removed the hideous Scott 1st generation aerobars.

Tyson

bigbossman 

Anyone wanna guess where?

John D.

Mhendricks

I'll give in a shot! Iron Horse trail by Mount Diablo? By the way Bossman, I have those pictures of that Mixte. I'll send tomorrow. Take Care!

James H Haury

From what i have read Robert E Lee was a classy Guy .I am from the midwest and Thrilled that the war came out as it did, still he was a classy guy from all accounts.The Sauer's vanilla sign sound like a sight to see .Top this though ,On a clear day i can look straight down madison avenue in Forest park and see the sears tower or passing over the bridge on circle avenue i can have my nostrils caressed by the sweet smell of Ferrara Pan candies.

bigbossman 

Nope - L.A. Aqueduct as it comes into the north end of the San Fernando Valley. It's kind of a historic spot in L.A. history, and marks the crowning achievement of Mulholland's grand theft of water from Inyo County to make L.A. boom. Attached is another photo.

I look forward to the photo's of the mixte - I'll bet it's a gem.

John D.

TheOtherGuy

Near San Fernando Road, across from Metro Water? Watcha doing out there...? Too bloody hot around here (I live in the Valley).

luker

I just pounded out 30 excruciating miles with my beloved - her on an OCLV with golly gee whiz wheels and me on a 1978 Raleigh Pro. Partially in traffic, partly open country roads, 19.8 mph average. Sweating bullets, as they say, I can't rightly describe anything about the ride except a narrow swatch of asphalt and occasionally, her rear bontrager race lite wheel.

bigbossman 

On the nose.....I was born and raised in The Valley, and am down to see the folks. I'm staying at my brother's house who lives at the end of Granada Hills, about 3 miles from where the photo was taken. Next time I'm down, I'll shoot you a PM if you think you might like to get together for a ride.

I've gone on a ride almost every morning, lengths varying between 15 and 23 miles. This photo was taken at about 7:00am, and I made it my business to get back to the house by 8:30 - 9:00am. Too frickin' hot to get caught out there any later!

John D.

luker

I've wanted to add something to this thread-but my typical ride is not very entertaining, unless you like pictures of potato fields...but we climbed kelly mountain today, just a little ways out of town. I got some pictures from there - admittedly not road bikes, and decidedly not vintage (my wife stars in the pics; her birthday bike was the main reason for the ride...).

The first is on the paved road just up from the Snake River (at about 4800'). Next is where the road goes to dirt, at about the midpoint of the climb (about 6000'). Third is where the road goes to singletrack, fourth is the top of the climb, with the view to the north (at about 7600'). Fifth, the view back toward the plain where we live, off in the distance. Sixth is the drop back out of the forest biozome through a stunted quaking aspen grove, and last is a picture up from the desert floor back towards kellys mountain. The track down is in this picture, but difficult to find...

bigbossman 

I took the family on a long weekend trip into the mountains and I took the
road bike, just to see how much fun it would be to climb at altitude....

We stayed up in the Gold Lakes Loop area, near Downieville, CA. About 50 or
so miles north/northwest of Lake Tahoe.

When I left the cabin we were at , it was about 3-1/2 miles downhill to the main
road, and then I started climbing to some distant summit. After 4 miles, I
got my first flat tire this year (about 1400 miles). Fixed it at a construction site, and
then continued on for another 1/2 mile before turning around. I never did
reach the summit, but I was out of time and told the girls I would be back
in 2 hours. Turns out I was only another 1/2 mile from the top, and the
other side was a screaming 10 mile descent to the next town....damn - maybe
next year. I had a good time rocketing down the 4 miles I had just come up,
but it was over too soon and then I had to climb the 3+ miles back up to the
cabin. It was a good workout... :-)

Pics attached.

Leonard

What is the procedure for attaching photos?

lotek 

click go advanced,
then manage attachments (below the box to post into)
this is for pics on your pc's hard drive.
Use the IMG button (looks like postcard?) to
insert a link to an image.

Marty

wildjim

I rode the WMRT on Saturday 13, 2005. . .

It is a really great trail, flat smooth asphalt for 22 miles. It runs from Big Pool to Pearre. The C&O Canal trail runs just below and parallel to the WMRT. The rail trail is so smooth I barely noticed the first 10.7 miles to Hancock, MD. I took a short jaunt along the C&O Canal and rode through the town of Hancock, MD. I'd like to ride it again but I will drive to Hancock, MD and rent a room then ride around the area from there.

https://bikewashington.org/trails/wmrt/wmrt.htm

https://www.westernmarylandrailtrail.org/WMRT/

The mountain scenery is fantastic.

peterbarson

I don't have any pics, but I took my WorldSport into Chicago today, thats about 25 miles, most of them along Northwest Highway, then Milwaukee. Not a bad ride really and not terribly impressive really, It was the rain that made it fun. not a sarcastic fun either, once your wet all the way through riding in the rain is enjoyable. Doing it on busy streets is very lame. but since the sidewalks were pretty much empty I broke cardinal rule #2 in the cyclist world and rode on them part of the way. One things for sure, those metal grate bridges are slick as HECK. the yellow signs are not lying.
I went in side for 1 hour and when I came back out my rear tire was flat, and I was with out my pump. duh. to me an important rule when riding vintage is carry as many tools as comfotable in my CamelBak, I remeber thinking "grab the pump". but got excited for the ride and it slipped.
Fortunatly there are many ways to get home in Chicago, public transportation rules.

luker

isn't it weird, how photos of monster climbs and descents look so flat in photos? I wonder what Graham Watson does to make things look so steep?

USAZorro

That's a really nice ride. Was there last year about this time.

bigbossman 

I did the "Let Us Ride" century out of Salinas, CA, and dragged the wife and daughter with me. I rode the century, and they did the 50 mile route. Here's how it went......

We got there the night before, and it was overcast and chilly. In the morning. it was abut 60 degrees, overcast, and breezy. We got to the starting area, and it was very disorganized - no food or water, hardly set up, etc. Even though I was a bit chilled, I took off without anything heavier than a light shell as the ride promised 5800' of climbing, and I figured I'd hit it fairly early on.

Not so.

I shot right along on flat ground, down the east side of the Salinas Valley going south. We made a right after a while and headed west, crossing through Gonzales and headed towards the hills that separate Salinas from Carmel. I hit the 20 mile stop, peeled off my shell, gassed up and split. It was still overcast, but I was clipping right along and was warm. I could see the mountains looming ahead, and figured I was in for a climb in short order.

No so, again.

The route threaded through some valleys full of lettuce on pretty rough roads, and although it was fairly flat I was starting to get sore from the constant vibration. The next stop wasn't until the 50 mile marker, and when I arrived there I was very hungry. I still had not climbed any great distance. I was getting worried now because after 50+ miles I had yet to see any appreciable altitude gain.

While eating, the overcast burned off (of course!) and the sun came out in earnest. After lunch I continued on, and the first climb began immediately. It was up a long winding canyon - the first 8 miles weren't too steep but were very steady, and in a relentless sun. The morning breeze had departed, and the air was still. F@#k. After about 8 miles, the road pitched up in earnest, and the remaining 2 miles to Cahoon Summit were tough - probably somewhere between 8-11%. I finally made it to the top
after passing two riders that were sagging out with leg cramps, and went to fill my now empty bottle at the 63 mile summit rest stop. The dumbf@#ks were out of water.. Well, not completely out - There was enough to fill my bottle, but only a little left over to drink and share with the riders behind me. I suggested that someone might want to get into a friggin' car and drive down to the lunch stop and get some more.....one of the staff got on the radio and arranged for a delivery. Screw 'em - I had a full bottle
and the next stop was 20 miles away, downhill, in Carmel Village. I took off, and had one of the most pleasant 20 mile rides I can remember, The air was much cooler as I headed towards the ocean, and it was a gentle down hill almost all the way - I don't think I was under 20mph at any point along the way. It was during this time that I rode along with an older gentleman riding a stunning baby blue Cinelli - absolutely gorgeous.

As I arrived in Carmel Village, I started looking for a liquor store. I didn't trust the next rest stop to be any better than the last, and I wanted Gatorade. I found one, and pulled in. Other riders had the same concerns, so there was a small line.... :-) Of course, when I puled into the next rest stop at mile 82, they were fully stocked. I took advantage of it and had some fresh fruit and loaded up on Power Bar gel packs.

Leaving the rest stop, I knew there was one last climb between me and the finish, but I was not prepared for what lay ahead - 4 miles of solid 10%, in the sun, with roaring traffic. Double F@#K. I started up. It was brutal, and I was dying. Those gel packs came in very handy, but even so I stopped about 4-5 times before huffing my way to the summit. It was the worse climb I've endured to date, and to have that sort of ordeal to endure 83 miles into the day was almost hallucinogenic.

I made it to the top, though, and rested. Good thing, too, as the next 4 miles or so was the mirror image - a 10% descent, in traffic, only this time in partial shade and cool air. I hit a top speed of 45.7 miles an hour, took the center of the lane, and no cars were catching me. It was the most spectacular decent I'd ever experienced. Ever. Almost worth the suffering of the climb. :-)

The last 10 miles were uneventful - mostly downhill or flat, and I pulled into Salinas and the finish beat to hell but full of a sense of accomplishment. Of my portfolio of 5 centuries, this one was the most arduous by far.

Some side notes -

Someone told me that during the first climb, temperatures had approached 100 degrees. No wonder I was gassed out!

Time in saddle was 7:48, average speed was 13.2mph. My slowest century - surprise, surprise.

The girls did the 50 mile ride on the tandem, and said it was the most fun ride, ever.

We had a complimentary chicken dinner afterwards, and I ripped through a 1/2 chicken with onion rings and salad. An hour later, I was ravenous again, and had to stop on the way home for a hamburger, pie, and coffee. I woke up hungry.

My quads are sore. I think gel packs really work. I'll never trust organizers again.

John D.

luker

sounds like a beautiful ride! I can feel the heat coming off of the pictures, though. Maybe in October...

peterbarson

at least you can say you rode over 45 mph on your bike, and you vintage steed not falling apart says something for your wrenching skills.
Congrats.

bigbossman 

Thank you!

I'd be a liar if I said I never considered the possibility of my 20 year old bike malfunctioning whilst I screamed down that hill. The truth is, it crossed my mind on more than one occaision.

I can't comprehend the magnitude of the physical damage to my person were I to go down at 45mph.......

My previous top speed was 44.3mph, and that was several months ago.

John D.

luker

I crashed once at 33 - I actually slid on the pavement long enough to roll to the other hip when the left side became too painful. I very nearly ended up naked but the back of my shorts was hanging together by a little lycra strip. Shirt was shredded completely. Not life-threatening, but very very painful until the skin grew back. 45 would be unimaginable. So just...don't imagine.