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Originally Posted by djb
(Post 22136636)
thanks, it really looks like a fun trail to do.
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Originally Posted by Doug64
(Post 22136204)
Thanks for posting a link to the bridge information. I didn't appreciate the complexity of the construction, and can't remember looking at it from an angle where we could see the swing portion. Outside of Burlington, VT the Island Line Trail uses a seasonal boat to span the gap created when a swing bridge was removed. Wanted to ride that section in 2018 during a tour home from northern Vermont but the trail had been damaged by a freak spring storm and was partially closed. |
Originally Posted by indyfabz
(Post 22137737)
Hard to tell from the photo on Wiki, but the swing span was likely removed after the railroad line abandoned. Then when the trail was created they raised the approaches and added the modern fixed span.
Outside of Burlington, VT the Island Line Trail uses a seasonal boat to span the gap created when a swing bridge was removed. Wanted to ride that section in 2018 during a tour home from northern Vermont but the trail had been damaged by a freak spring storm and was partially closed. I don't recall the 2018 closure, but remember the hurricane whatchamacallit that hammered Vermont, 2010, 2011, 12? And it wrecked chunks of the rail part on the water. Took a few years to reopen. |
Originally Posted by djb
(Post 22139067)
I'm sure it's like the lake Champlain one (swing bridge removal I mean)
I don't recall the 2018 closure, but remember the hurricane whatchamacallit that hammered Vermont, 2010, 2011, 12? And it wrecked chunks of the rail part on the water. Took a few years to reopen. |
Last week I went on a 4 day bikepacking tour through the Monogahela Nat For in W. Va. I love this place, temps were a cool 75F/24C. Rain was a factor but I found a gazebo (with electric) where I was able to seek refuge. The roads were very steep, lots of gravel, some paved, some single track. I had my a$$ handed to me. I am always humbled by the 'hills' in this region. My arms actually got a good workout as some downhills were wicked fast with lots of loose stuff. I road on the Canaan Loop rd, Camp 70 Rd, A Frame Rd, Dryfork Rd, Blackwater Canyon trail and numerous jeep trails. One jeep trail include a Dryfork River crossing. I unloaded my gear and carried it across then rolled/carried my bike. My daily miles were fairly low but enjoyment factor was high. I loved talking to the locals out there, quite a few characters.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8f19d5a628.jpg The Dry Fork of the Cheat. I have hikd, biked and paddled this gem. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4faba27750.jpg Some roads were very steep, some I even walked:) https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5f3c288035.jpg A Frame rd actually had a bike repair station!!! It is in the middle of nowhere. This road had some incredible views https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8a2b5e00bd.jpg A Frame rd view |
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Just finished 1200 miles in Wisconsin and Michigan.
At the USCGCC Mackinaw icebreaker museum in Mackinaw City. My color scheme is completely coincidental. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...074351569.jpeg Fox River near Appleton WI in a driving rain. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...68b44b816.jpeg Kind of self-explanatory https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fc49b6166.jpeg Seul Choix Pointe lighthouse. You can climb to the top. I saw 4 whooping cranes fly past the lighthouse but was so gobsmacked that I didn’t take a picture. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...91536129b.jpeg Lake Michigan near Pestigo, WI. Actually my first real view of Lake Michigan. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4599b7eb1.jpeg Wrightstown, MI. Nearly 70 miles in constant rain. My shoes still smell. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...84e768c1c.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0639b7f8c.jpeg |
Originally Posted by indyfabz
(Post 22157400)
Last weekend’s overnight trip.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6f9e9cb10.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fb79607b6.jpeg |
Originally Posted by balto charlie
(Post 22159384)
Nice pixs, 14%. My legs cramp thinking about that climb......with gear. Did that in W. Va this year, still feel the pain:) But it was fun, in a masochistic sort of way.
seriously though, once in a while I think I'll change the gearing, but in the end it's always nice with the couple of lowest gears, even moderately loaded, if a knee is feeling a bit cranky and I'm able to keep the effort resonable for those short, steep things we encounter occasionally. |
Originally Posted by balto charlie
(Post 22159384)
Nice pixs, 14%. My legs cramp thinking about that climb......with gear.
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Originally Posted by djb
(Post 22159397)
And youngins' , this is why I set up my touring bike with a 44/32/22 and 11-34 on 26 inch wheels, for exactly these sort of "gotchas"
seriously though, once in a while I think I'll change the gearing, but in the end it's always nice with the couple of lowest gears, even moderately loaded, if a knee is feeling a bit cranky and I'm able to keep the effort resonable for those short, steep things we encounter occasionally. |
Originally Posted by indyfabz
(Post 22159527)
The ride was an out and back. First 25 miles on an unpaved trail mostly slightly up hill. Double back for a mile then 5.1 miles of hills to get to the campground. There were at least two sections with double-digit grades. Total climbing of about 900' in those 5 miles. The real killer was that the heat index was over 100 degrees. I felt like my head was going to melt away like that Nazi dude in black near the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. I took the photo of the grade sign on the way back the next morning. Mush more fun to go down the climbs from the day before.
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Originally Posted by balto charlie
(Post 22161845)
You can never go to low. I have mnt bike gearing on my Miyata 1000.
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I realize this is probably hard to see, but I was sitting in camp Saturday when I heard a buzzing noise and saw something hit the table. It was a wasp looking thing that had caught another insect and was killing it. You can see some legs that were ripped off. This went on for several minutes. The attacker finally split the victim in two and flew off with the front half. Maybe a cicada killer and a young cicada?
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d745fe3e4.jpeg |
Tough time to be a cicada...getting parted out. Looks like a bald-faced hornet.
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Seasonal cicadas are always being attacked by wasps and hornets.
Guessing better pics coming in the Fall. This thread is my favorite part of this site. |
Originally Posted by StarBiker
(Post 22169271)
Seasonal cicadas are always being attacked by wasps and hornets.
Reminded me of the time a giant cockroach fell out of the air conditioning vent above my office desk. Just missed hitting my shoulder by about a foot. |
Originally Posted by fishboat
(Post 22167235)
Looks like a bald-faced hornet.
https://objects.liquidweb.services/i...a4e378f2_b.jpg |
About this time of year people see large paper balls (wasp nests) in trees or under the house eaves..meet the bald face hornet. Folks don't see them in June or July as the nests are small and go un-noticed. They get to be basketball size or larger in August. I've done battle with a couple nests over the years. If you have one this year, they don't come back to the same place next year.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f364edcc0d.jpg |
Capybaras at the Cape May County Zoo, Cape May Courthouse, NJ.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a8096ad28.jpeg |
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