Any bicyclists out and about? I think we need a two-wheeler thread. I'll start it off on a happy note, because my experience today should really be titled "the kindness of strangers."
I had a flat when out for a lunchtime ride. It was on the rear wheel, so my hands were covered with chain grease by the time I'd patched the tire. As I was trying to rub off the worst of the grime with wet fallen leaves from the sidewalk, a young woman passing by handed me one of those prepackaged wet wipes (delivering it in a socially distanced fashion with an arm outstretched to full-length). Then, when I had abraded the wipe almost to shreds with vigorous scrubbing, a maintenance man from an adjacent building appeared with a handful of paper towels and a big jug of hand cleaner. As if that weren't enough, a maintenance man from a different building spotted me giving my hands a last rub and stopped to ask if I needed some more towels. I'm not sure if there was something in the air today, or whether it was just a particularly friendly block, but it was the nicest flat-tire experience I have ever had.
I'll contribute one in long-view retrospect.
My sister and I bicycled through England in 1973 (I was just out of high school, she had a year to go; our aunt had re-discovered relatives in the UK and BE and we were going to visit them, with some added side trips to places like Scotland--where my voice teacher had relatives) and Italy--where I fell in love with Florence for the first of several times).
One really cold, moist, chilly, windy, wet, soggy day while tooling up the hills near Monkton, we stopped at a house to just ask if we could stand inside the door for a few minutes and wring out our scarves and gloves, so we could stand to go on.
Like about a dozen folks before and at least that many afterwards in the 10 weeks we were there, she said, "No." Then she said. "You come right inside, it's far too cold to be out there, and I just started a nice fire in the fireplace. You come in and have some tea and cheese toast."
We sat there for several hours, while she told us stories, and every time we got up to go, she'd say, "I just put the kettle back on, it's about to boil, have some more tea," or "Why not have another slice of toast each, it's almost ready..." (it was toasting on the fire in those little prong-things like the ones we discovered a couple years ago among my grandmother's kitchen supplies.)
Finally, we really did leave--we had youth hostel beds booked and had to get there that night or forfeit our deposits--but she was trying to get us to put our sleeping bags out in front of the fire and just sleep there...(sore temptation, I feel it still!!)
I can just feel the warm fire, and think how cozy we were after being so raw, and cold, and numb and uncomfortable...it's like a little yellow-gold glow inside when the outside is blue-grey-dreary.
I'd also never had cheese toast before that.
I've never stopped having it since.
M.
Bicycling through Britain must have been the experience of a lifetime, especially in the 1970s!
Well, sorry for the double, but this is a cool forward-looking note: Bike path from NYC to Canada!
https://boingboing.net/2020/11/12/a-new-bike-path-directly-connects-new-york-city-to-canada.html
The Empire Bike Trail holds promise for the summer!
M.
I like to ride. As I noted on another thread some time back, I was seriously injured by dogs while bicycling the summer before last. I'm fully recovered now, but have done little riding outside of town. I've made preparations to fend off dogs. However, I seem to have much less motivation to ride than I used to. Yesterday I was off work and did some riding. It was still a good deal less than I had originally planned.
Quote from: apl68 on November 12, 2020, 07:34:46 AM
Bicycling through Britain must have been the experience of a lifetime, especially in the 1970s!
It was. We made a scrapbook, but I don't even need to look at it to remember the cow looking over the byre in the barn beside our first-night's resting place (it woke us with a loud "mmmooo-ooo") or the cool old City gentleman who walked ahead of us in his top hat and monocle (not kidding!) and swinging his cane as he conducted us, wheeling our bikes on the sidewalk, to No. 10 Downing St. (We weren't going to go in, but we wanted to walk past and got lost in Londin's twisty streets).
M.
Good for you for getting back in the saddle, apl68!
M.
Bicyclist here. I haven't gone on any epic rides, certainly nothing like bicycling through the English countryside. However, I've been a regular commuter cyclist through harsh weather in different locations -- ranging from relentless rain, to summer riding in the desert, to winter riding through snow and ice.
I moved 2,000 miles away this past summer to yet another climate, and I haven't yet had a commute here. Sadly, my bike hasn't left the garage. I keep thinking that I'll go for a leisure ride at some point but I haven't.
Quote from: uni_cyclist on November 12, 2020, 08:27:50 AM
Sadly, my bike hasn't left the garage. I keep thinking that I'll go for a leisure ride at some point but I haven't.
My bike says it messaged your bike, and yours is severely depressed from isolation and lack of exercise. Consider this encouragement to liberate it from the garage this week.
apl68, I'm very sorry to hear of your injuries. I hope you have healed well. Congratulations on getting back in the saddle.
mamselle, many many moons ago I did a little bit of biking in the UK. It was the only place I visited where youth hostels had warming rooms to dry wet clothing.
Also, thanks for the heads up on the Empire State Trail. It looks remarkable. The stretch from New York City to Albany is almost entirely paved and off-road, except for a bit on-road north of Kingston. At Albany the trail goes west all the way to Buffalo, mostly paved and off-road, or you can go north to Canada on a marked but on-road bikeway.
Bumping because this is NOT the kind of cycling we did in the UK, but the planning issues were indeed interesting....
https://www.bicycling.com/rides/a34721651/honeymoon-bike-park/
We did make it to Newcastle-under-Lyme, but that was a close as we got to Wales.
M.
I like to ride, but am not much for hilly terrain, which is where I live, but here in Winter Quarters, it is flat, and I'm out every day that it isn't rainy (or gusty) and loving it!
I've done very little riding in recent weeks for various reasons. Today I'm planning to run errands by bike, IF the rain holds off.
Sadly, my bike has still not made it out of the garage, and New Town is covered in a layer of ice with a wind advisory for today. I'm promising my bike that we'll go for a ride early in the new year.
I have been riding more in the last five years, and two falls ago I bought an ebike.
Friends, it is the very best thing I have ever purchased. Getting in an ebike produces an instant sensation of being 30 years younger. I look for excuses to get out there for a few hours or a day. I hang out and keep up with some much younger colleagues on long rides on gravel roads and single track trails. I go in random exploration rides of my city. I do the 49 mile round trip commute to work some days.
Now I am planning a ride across the state in the spring, making it a public history social media event. We'll see if I pull it off.
GO Larryc!!!!
Quote from: larryc on December 23, 2020, 02:59:06 PM
I have been riding more in the last five years, and two falls ago I bought an ebike.
Friends, it is the very best thing I have ever purchased. Getting in an ebike produces an instant sensation of being 30 years younger. I look for excuses to get out there for a few hours or a day. I hang out and keep up with some much younger colleagues on long rides on gravel roads and single track trails. I go in random exploration rides of my city. I do the 49 mile round trip commute to work some days.
Now I am planning a ride across the state in the spring, making it a public history social media event. We'll see if I pull it off.
I'm glad to hear you've had such success with ebikes. I have been considering getting one. Which one did you choose and are there any drawbacks/things to consider that you would advise before getting one?
I am just jumping on here because while I do not ride, my spouse does. In fact, I think cycling has finally made hu comfortable with where we live, in a small college town. Hu has two bicycles plus an indoor stationary one for colder months. There is a very nice cycling community here that hu is involved in, and in the past few years hu has participated in several organized rides and races around the region. First, hu cycled in-state, but recently has done regional rides and races in nearby states. Hu also has a bike rack for road trips to bring one or both bikes along. It will be fun to follow this thread.
Quote from: Charlotte on December 25, 2020, 01:53:16 AM
I'm glad to hear you've had such success with ebikes. I have been considering getting one. Which one did you choose and are there any drawbacks/things to consider that you would advise before getting one?
Go to your local bike shop and try some out.
I wasted a year in research and indecision. There are so many options, and so many are brand new companies. My two most important decisions were 1) go with an established bicycle brand, and 2) get a mountain ebike.
The first is so that when I need a replacement battery in five years I'll be able to get one. And the mountain bike is the most versatile. On roads you're fine because of the assist, but you can also veer off to explore that dirt road or trail or just pop a curb and cut across the park. So much fun.
I got a Giant Explore. I do these long wild rides where I take side streets out of town, catch the rail trail to the state park, and then bomb around the trails until I'm good and lost. Or maybe drive out in the countryside and then do a long loop of gravel roads and lakes and cemeteries (my odd hobby I guess). It's exhilarating.
I turn 60 in a few months and this is my favorite thing I have ever owned. Get one.
Thanks larryc! Just turned 68, and will be joining my wife in Colorado at the end of next year. I seriously want one, as she's younger and an avid cyclist. I have a Trek hybrid now, and have been looking at their ebikes.
Thanks! It sounds wonderful. I'm definitely going to be purchasing one soon but feeling rather indecisive about if I should go with one designed more for road or trail. I don't want to limit my options but I'm not sure how often I'll get out on trails either. I'm very excited though and looking forward to some longer rides exploring!
Anyone else bicycling a lot? I took the plunge and bought an electric bike. It's incredible! I'm very happy with it and with the weather getting less cold I'm looking forward to some longer rides.
I've been riding around town again now that spring is here. I'm still trying to work back to the endurance I had before my accident the year before last. Recently I rode for about an hour non-stop. Still more worried about dogs than I used to be.
I've been considering buying a bike to ride around our neighborhood. It has been awhile since I've been on a bike!
Re-opening since someone mentioned looking for it!
M.
Whose got summer bicycling plans?
I bought an ebike a few years ago and wheeee! It is like a regular bicycle except you are 30 years younger. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy.
Last summer I rode from Montana to the Olympic coast, 650 miles, staying in hotels and riding mostly rail trails. IT WAS EPIC FUN. Now I'm trying to figure out the next adventure.
Who's got a bicycle trip planned? Or dreamed of?
I am slowly building my outdoor miles. I became a devout indoor rider while rehabbing an injury but hated my road bike because it was so difficult to ride. Turns out all it needed was new tires.
Quote from: larryc on April 30, 2023, 10:55:40 AM
Whose got summer bicycling plans?
I bought an ebike a few years ago and wheeee! It is like a regular bicycle except you are 30 years younger. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy.
Last summer I rode from Montana to the Olympic coast, 650 miles, staying in hotels and riding mostly rail trails. IT WAS EPIC FUN. Now I'm trying to figure out the next adventure.
Who's got a bicycle trip planned? Or dreamed of?
I don't bike but I have driven portions of the Natchez Trace Parkway around Natchez and Nashville. Car traffic during June when I was on it was very light. But there were lots of cyclists. Here's an article about biking the trace:
https://www.scenictrace.com/top-3-tips-for-biking-the-natchez-trace-parkway/
It's scenic, not spectacular like Montana. I was visiting historic sites on and nearby the Parkway. There are places where the Original Natchez Trace is still visible and can be hiked for a short distance. I thought was pretty cool walking on such an old 'trail'.
I used to bike all the time and I own a very road nice bike.... but I rarely use it these days and it is mostly collecting dust in the garage. I should break it out more often.
Anyone go biking in the Netherlands? I thought it was weird that no one was wearing helmets, so I didn't wear mine. I saw a couple of Americans wearing helmets and they looked ridiculous. BTW, those Dutch people bike really fast.
My spouse got a serious injury in a bicycle accident a few months ago and is recovering from surgery through the summer. It has been difficult since hu cannot be active and cannot move much or drive.
I just bike to the university and back. A lot cheaper than paying to park my car, plus it counts as (a minimal amount of) exercise. I actually bought a house in my current location so I would be within cycling range of work. It takes 15 minutes, or 12 minutes if I'm running late. It would be a lot faster except that I have to stop for a stop sign on practically every block. Not designed for cyclists in any way.
Those of you who have the energy for recreational cycling, I applaud you!
Quote from: lightning on April 30, 2023, 07:18:54 PM
Anyone go biking in the Netherlands? I thought it was weird that no one was wearing helmets, so I didn't wear mine. I saw a couple of Americans wearing helmets and they looked ridiculous. BTW, those Dutch people bike really fast.
Yes, I spent a few months in Amsterdam as a young adult and biked daily. It is a great system they have, although not what we're accustomed to in the US. Definitely requires some getting used to.
Quote from: Volhiker78 on April 30, 2023, 02:35:08 PM
Quote from: larryc on April 30, 2023, 10:55:40 AM
Whose got summer bicycling plans?
I bought an ebike a few years ago and wheeee! It is like a regular bicycle except you are 30 years younger. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy.
Last summer I rode from Montana to the Olympic coast, 650 miles, staying in hotels and riding mostly rail trails. IT WAS EPIC FUN. Now I'm trying to figure out the next adventure.
Who's got a bicycle trip planned? Or dreamed of?
I don't bike but I have driven portions of the Natchez Trace Parkway around Natchez and Nashville. Car traffic during June when I was on it was very light. But there were lots of cyclists. Here's an article about biking the trace:
https://www.scenictrace.com/top-3-tips-for-biking-the-natchez-trace-parkway/
It's scenic, not spectacular like Montana. I was visiting historic sites on and nearby the Parkway. There are places where the Original Natchez Trace is still visible and can be hiked for a short distance. I thought was pretty cool walking on such an old 'trail'.
The Trace south of Nashville is a fantastic place to drive and photograph! I've got quite a few scenic photos from there. The Parkway crosses a valley a little out of Nashville on a spectacular bridge that makes a fascinating photographic subject. I've never cycled any of it, though.
The Razorback Greenway in northwest Arkansas is turning into something of a Mecca for cyclists. About 40 miles of mixed cycling and walking. The best of the cycling is toward the northern end, where they have mountain bike trails paralleling the main paved trail. During some of my down time from a conference there a few weeks ago I got to see and photograph some of that. There are some wild mountain biking obstacles in places. And some public art displays here and there beside the trail, including a Sasquatch made out of bicycle chains welded together.
https://razorbackgreenway.org/
I've never tried cycling any of the Razorback Greenway, but it's a favorite place to walk whenever I'm up in that region. It passes right by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and several public parks.
I found a pair of pruning shears on my bike ride in yesterday. The small kind like used for Bonsai. They were in the gutter on the side of a busy road. Looks like they fell from a moving vehicle. I have found numerous tools over the years, but always more normal utilitarian things like hammers and wrenches. I wonder at the story of the shears.
Having initiated this thread many moons ago, I figured I should check in. I still use my nearly 4-decade-old bicycle for almost all of my transportation. I am eager to visit a wildlife refuge (best known for its birdlife) that's about 15 miles away, so that's the next recreational ride I have in mind. I did a lovely 50-mile ride last fall around a distant part of my city and then rode most of the way home to achieve a metric century (if not an official one). My bicycle has given me much pleasure over the years.
Have any of you ever participated in RAGBRAI? I myself have not. I am kind of a loner when cycling. With the entire summer free for me I might start traveling to try out new bike trails.
https://ragbrai.com/
Quote from: Anselm on May 08, 2023, 09:50:57 AMHave any of you ever participated in RAGBRAI? I myself have not. I am kind of a loner when cycling. With the entire summer free for me I might start traveling to try out new bike trails.
https://ragbrai.com/
My wife and I almost signed up for RAGBRAI a couple of weeks ago when registration opened. Then we had second thoughts. It sounds crowded and humid and kind of expensive when you sign up with a company to arrange your tent and an charging place for your ebike. Plus there are so many great, uncrowded bicycle routes we want to explore here in the PNW.
Wow--50 years of runs and counting, tens of thousands of participants. Sounds like RAGBRAI is quite an event! Not much for crowds, though, and I've never been in good enough shape to ride all day long for days on end. Forty-odd miles is the most I've ever managed in a single day. And never on consecutive days.
I'm currently looking for a new bike. Mine is on its last legs. The nearest bicycle shop is hours from here (by car), so I depend on whatever Wal-Mart has in stock. Haven't much liked their stock lately. It's all kids' bikes, bikes too short for me to ride, and mountain bikes with what look almost like ATV tires.