cooperryder

I rode a bit over an hour today.

My rear wheel seems to have a rattle.
Ha!

rccardr 

So, you 650b’d, 1X’d, and upright seating position’ed your Cinelli Proj3ct Centurion?
I am in awe, sir.
In awe.

Fgowarty

I do like Raleigh Marathons, they always ride smoothly and feel secure. And they always seem to be well taken care of by their nature as Tourer I guess.

rustystrings61 

There was a break in the weather, I wanted to see if a new chain solved the Mercian's ills, and this weekend I had washed my cold weather cycling clothes after retrieving them from the storage box they've been in for a couple of years. It's unseasonably cool and the roads were damp, but that is what my now-ancient Sergal wool arm and leg warmers are for, and why I think this bike looks naked without mudguards. I stole an hour from the morning schedule to go ride, getting in 15 miles over the usual route. Today I rode Julius in single-speed mode, running the 17T cog on the Dos Eno freewheel just to see what it was like.


New chain on the freshly-cleaned and somehow still serviceable 16T Euro-Asia Imports fixed cog before I flipped the wheel 'round to try coasting on this bike.

I had to admit, it is nice to be able to coast down the big hill near my home instead of windmilling away. All those years of fixed mean I pedal much more than I used to, and there's less coast in the coast-and-burn process of getting down the road. The White Industries freewheel does make a lot of noise, but one gets used to it. For the first nine miles or so I stayed relatively dry, and the weather was exactly why full fenders are a good idea. Soon after that point the world got a bit damper, not even so much a drizzle as more of what the old Irish guys used to call a "soft day," where you could feel the tiny droplets and they began to slowly accumulate on the stem, my eyeglass lenses, etc. No matter, I was having a good day.

I stopped for pix once, because I had never before seen a great blue heron in the ponds next to the Centre Court development.




Then onward, back to the house, where I found I covered the same ground on a 66-in freewheeling gear as I usually do on a 70-in fixed. Now to get back to work!

thinktubes 

Days are getting shorter...rode 52 miles up north on Monday night.

Like many here, I use Google Earth to map out my routes. Recently, I noticed a strange, but familiar structure while looking at a satellite photo. Decide ride up and investigate.



Around mile 25, I felt the telltale sign of the rear tire going flat. I made it to the first water stop and the tire was mushy as a brown banana. Found a small pointed rock in the tire. Snapped the valve stem off the first spare tube, but thankfully had a back up.






Tire was holding air and I was able to reach the structure. I peeked over the fence and saw a miniature railroad turntable and round house. Apparently, one of the heirs to the R.R. Donnelly publishing empire was a rail buff and built over a mile of track with stations and other structures.



A pic from BITA



A more recent video


Moving on, I took a pic on the bridge over the Skokie River.



Got home after dark because of the flat. Almost a full moon!

bikamper

I hung the 34 year old PBP Miyata off the back of the Russian Mini Tractor and met up with some others at the Great Western Trail in Lily Lake, Illannoy for a ride to Sycamore and back.

The ride starts at the trail, then branches off on to farm roads to the turn around at Shawn's Coffee in Sycamore. Listed as a 12-14 mph pace.I got dropped early on due to dropping the chain off the big ring. Anyway, I knew I could catch up with the group where they'd cross the trail again at Meredith Rd. I managed to hang with the group until the long incline into Sycamore. Me and hills have never gotten along, so I got dropped again until the coffee shop.
The ride back to Lily Lake becomes a free for all, balls to the wall pedal fest. My days of that stuff are long gone and I opt to take the trail back. It works out so that we all arrive back at Lily Lake at about the same time.

33 miles for me, 40 for everyone else. BTW, I'm the only one that rides steel in the group. Everyone else is riding beer cans or plastic, and some of those have electric pedal assist.

curbtender

You running drum brakes front and back?

bikamper

Yes I am.

Steel Monkey

I have a weekly grocery circuit and "packed out" at the first stop, yesterday. That lumped the other two stores with a recycle appt that goes in the opposite direction. SO, from the borderlands of Tucker/Lilburn to Belvedere Plaza (Southern Avondale Estates), back east through Stone Mountain Park and out to the beginnings of Lawrenceville. Then back home. 50-60 miles of longish trekking in the end.

northbend 

SurferRosa

This is our forecast for the next ten days, sunny and 65°.

rustystrings61 

No road pix today, just a 19 mile or so romp out on the Mercian. I flipped the wheel back 'round to the 16T fixed cog and all was as it should be once again. I keep fettling around with this bike, but honestly, I spec'ed it to run a 70-in fixed gear with 28 mm tires and mudguards and it does that beautifully. If I ever decided to run an 18T fixed cog on the other side, I know that works perfectly as well. Running different cogs, freewheels or tires becomes an exercise in compromises. Some day I will learn to leave well enough alone.

thinktubes 

Managed to get out for 53 miles over to Deerfield. Got home just ahead of darkness.

Plenty of boats still in Wilmette Harbor. Temps have been in the mid 80s for much of Sept.



Sun setting on the Baháʼí Temple



Bike on a bridge

bikamper

I always knew I was close to getting home when I'd see the Baha'i Temple from the window of the Airbus/Boeing/CRJ/Embraer.

thinktubes 

Yes, quite stunning from the air! Also serves as the “finish line” for many of the larger group rides. There’s a nasty little up-hill sweeper around the temple leading up to Linden.

northbend 

A popular recreational corridor, this forest development road follows the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie River deep into the Cascade Mountains just outside of North Bend.
I ride out here alot. Usually just to where the pavement ends at the foot of Mt. Garfield but every so often, I continue onwards where the forest road becomes more challenging.
Steep pitches, potholes, loose stoney surfaces become the norm where every so often you get some respite when the road rises above the river into the forest and the ground is softened by layer of evergreen needles.




I rode the Ritchey Breakaway for a change of pace and really appreciated the 2” wide tires on the rougher surfaces.


I wanted to try my luck and see if there were any openings for walk-ins at the privately owned and managed Goldmyer Hot Springs.


Only accessible on foot or by bike, it is quite popular and usually reserved to full capacity during the summer but sometimes there are a limited number of walk ins available during the mid-week once you get into the shoulder season.
Nope. Oh well, it was an interesting ride anyways..

fabiofarelli

With my dear son 45 km in the neighbourhood, quality time.

MonsieurChrono

I had a beautiful ride in the Sud Cévennes, going through the Col de Bantarde, the Col du Mercou, the Col de l'Asclier, the Col de la Tribale, and the Col de Cap de Coste, but the camera in my phone refused to work that day

I will just re-post 2 pics that appear in the above links, in hopes of sharing some of the beauty of this magnificent mountain range.

etherhuffer

I am a real francophile and love your pictures. I was in the mountains of France in a 3 cylinder Ford Fiesta diesel in 1994, crawling up the mountain slowly. I see a red dot in my mirror that is suddenly a large red screaming dot called a Ferrari, who passed me with engine screaming. I looked at my wife to be and said "This is truly a great country!" We still laugh about that

MonsieurChrono

Riding in the Cévennes is a real treat and absolute meditation.

I'm really happy that you like the pics! I am not even French, but nature and cycling paths here are amazing and perhaps my pics will encourage some people to visit for cycling holidays

It is also fascinating for me to see in this thread great scenery from elsewhere in the world.

jamesdak 

Finally took the purple Paramount out on it's maiden ride today. Definitely not soft feeling like my 87 was. This one was skittish and nervous feeling under me for the fast half of the ride. In fact about 7 miles into the ride it darted for the side of the path as I was putting my water bottle back in the cage, LOL! I was going to push it some to check speed and handling when I got onto the backroads of Huntsville. But when I got over there I realized they were holding the annual marathon this morning and it was a total zoo. So the ride was cut short and pretty much just about taking pictures instead of evaluating the bike.

rustystrings61 

Friday I set out around 9:00, which is late for this time of year. I went the length of Woodlawn to SC 10, crossed it and took Briarwood to Mt. Moriah Church Road. Along the way, I admired this little farm pond on Briarwood -



- and then pushed on to Mt. Moriah Church Road. I paused for a moment because Feed Mill Road was its usual inviting self -





- and from there took Scotch Cross, one of the roads that appears on 18th Century maps, heading towards the town of Ninety-Six. The original Ninety-Six was the site of a major siege operation during the Revolutionary War - but they moved the town in the 1830s with the coming of the railroad. Anyway, I chose to remain on pavement and took Mt. Lebanon Church Road back to the Old Ninety Six Highway, aka the Canadian Mist Highway, so named for the horrifying number of empty plastic pint bottles that used to line the shoulder of the road,. From there I took familiar roads, winding up on Florida Avenue and from there taking the rail trail back through town. It occurred to me that if I just stayed on Maxwell Avenue, I could skip the "special" hill pal Ainsley took me on the other week, so I did. I stopped long enough to down a chocolate milk and took Sunset and hit 33.5 mph at the bottom of the wall, spinning way too many rpm for my aging legs. I wound up with 30.75 miles for the day, my longest ride this year.

Today I paused on Deadfall Road long enough to speak with this horse. She came right up to the fence, and I made sure to tell her she was gorgeous, because she was. Then onward -



I passed through scenic downtown Hodges, noting "rest stop" signs at the fire station and wondering what the event was. I took good old Blue Jay Road, enjoying it as always. It's one of the quietest, shadiest roads around here and it runs through large landholdings that hopefully will remain undeveloped for a long time.




When I reached Pickens Creek Road, I decided to go straight instead of taking the usual left towards home. I hadn't been on this stretch, where it becomes the Old Hodges Road, for probably 15 years or more. I cruised along, managing the long descent and making the slow steady climb back up until eventually I reached Stevenson Road, long a staple of the old Greenwood Cycling Club's Thursday hammerfest ride. I scolded a dog that chased me and stopped for a photo of a barn being taken back by nature -



- before reaching the Abbeville end of Old Abbeville Highway. When I turned left and found myself gazing at a massive farm, it all came back to me - no matter which way you are traveling, this involves a challenging climb. I used to dread it, but today I just settled into my rhythm and climbed back up from the bottom when I reached it. Next time I'll get pix before the descent, because it is a lovely, lovely family farm well worth looking at.

I reached the top of the last climb, where Old Abbeville merges briefly with its replacement before splitting back off. Across the street I saw "rest stop" signs in the parking lot of Beulah Baptist Church - and a cyclist heading out. When he crossed to where I was, I learned he was riding metric century portion of the "Follow the Cross" ride. It dawned on me that I had seen their route markings for a while. I wished him well and watched him go on up the road - but not that much faster than I was going. I took old familiar roads back home, where my cycle computer said I had 31.13 miles for the day. It was a good day, and once home I swiftly went to work on household stuff.

northbend 

The end of summer is when you start to see Fresh Hopped seasonal beers released.
So it only made sense to ride the Iron Horse Trail on the last day of Summer up to Snoqualmie Pass to sample the 1st of these releases at DRUBRU. Centennial Hops.


I choose an alternate route for the return to North Bend, descending the Old Pass road near the Alpental Ski area.


I have to pay for miles of fun descending with a steep climb back up to the Iron Horse trail near McClellan Butte.


Back on the trail that leads to home.


I bookend the ride with a stop at Volition Brewery in North Bend. Fresh Hopped with Amarillo.

Goodbye Summer.

Chuck M 

I usually take my Trek Domane out on Sunday morning to push myself a little bit before church. But last night I dreamt that I went for a ride on an older bike and just enjoyed myself.
So this morning I went out and made my dream come true.

jamesdak 

Back out on the Paramount this morning. Today I mostly did a serious ride with only a few stops taking pictures. It always takes me two or three miles each ride to get the one knee going but once I did I ran at a good pace. Only slowed down around the last 5 miles when I went up into the Middle Inlet area to enjoy the quiet. In the 19-22 mph range the bike felt pretty effortless. But at higher speeds it seemed to take a lot of work to hold a 24 mph pace and it felt like something was holding me back And for once here lately it wasn't the legs or lungs. It was cool the whole ride with temps never getting out of the 60's so the air did feel a bit thick when I pushed hard. Another beautiful morning out.


Huntsville

Middle Inlet Bay

Parking area, now closed to cars. Yes, all mine!!!!!!!!!!!!

Middle Inlet looking towards Snowbasin

Fixed this fencing so I had something to lean the bike against

Fishermen

Middle Inlet looking towards Snowbasin

Middle Inlet looking north

Middle Inlet bay on the north side

Middle Inlet bay on the north side