Monday, July 3, 2017: Gwen likes to do jigsaw puzzles. This one didn't take but a few hours in one evening.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to get back on the bike here at Telegraph Cove, BC Canada. It's a cute little marina, fishing village and RV park. We are the hosts at the RV park. Weather is clear but a cool 18°C, perfect for a ride.

I've made a short video so folks can see what the area looks like. There is some steep bike climbing so I've eliminated that from the video and showed some of the logging operation in Beaver Cove, just next door to Telegraph Cove. Here is the video.

Saturday, February 11, 2017: The weather has kept me from riding so when Glen asked me to go on a "short" ride today, a good weather day, I agreed. We decided to ride to a favorite for cyclists, the Lighthouse Bakery and Cafe in Umpqua. A short ride to me is 15 miles. I didn't give this ride much thought because it's more than that one way to the Lighthouse. Glen has taken on the job of motivating me. It was an enjoyable ride and good lunch. Today was my first time to ride with my new action camera. So after the ride I made an action video. Put on your headphones and watch a 2.5 hour ride reduced to a 6 minute video. The music is from The Who! Click the photo for another view. This is a great ride along the North Umpqua River which is swollen today due to the heavy rain.

Monday, January 30, 2017: I am doing my early season ride which is a short 15 miles but it still takes me more than an hour because I'm in such poor condition. This ride is from Sutherlin to Oakland, Oregon and return. After riding with the group yesterday and seeing the nice video which John did I decided to try a video of my own. John had a handlebar mount for his video camera. All I have is my cell phone which means I must hand-hold it. That's a risk for both the phone and for my ability to control the bike. Still, I'd like to give it a try. Of course editing the video is something new for me too since I must learn the video editing software too. So this first video is rough. Still, you can see what my part of Oregon looks like in late January. Today's air temperature is 50 degrees. Here is the video. You can see a map of the route here.

Sunday, January 29, 2017: Shelby invited me on an "Easy-Does-It" bike ride beginning this afternoon at a starting point south of Roseburg. This is an area I've ridden only a few times in the past. There is a paved bike route from this area into Roseburg which is good for bicycle commuters. Four of us showed for the ride, Shelby, John, Maria and myself. John is a dedicated bicycle commuter so he has been on the bike route many times. Today was my FIRST time on this bike route. I could get to this start point by riding from Sutherlin but it would be 16 miles for me to get to the start point. I'm not up to that yet. This is my first ride in 2017 and it's nice to do it with friends. The state of Oregon has created a great bike route under an Interstate 5 bridge crossing the South Umpqua River. Click this photo to see a panorama of the bridge. Be sure to expand the photo by clicking on it then scroll right/left to see the entire view. It was 50 degrees today but I was dressed warmly except for my ears. John made a great video of this ride. It will give you a good feeling of what it was like on this day. At the end of the video I was pretending to be exhausted with my head and helmet in my hand. I'm the only rider in a red vest.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016: This is a little coffee shop in Lockeford, California. It has been five years since I've visited this location. Today was a warm day as it was back in August, 2011 so the sweat is pouring off me and I could hardly see to read the menu. This time I ordered a "blended" cold coffee drink and it was good!

Lockeford is midway on a 26 mile loop. Of course, as I get stronger, the loop can be extended in many directions for a longer ride. Right now I can feel my legs weaken at about 20 miles so that needs to change. Of course I am still carrying 20 extra pounds so that needs to change too.

As I tell my mother when she asks, "How was the ride?", I reply, "It still feels just as good as when I did this as a sixteen year old!"

We are all going to a Cumberbatch movie tonight to avoid the election day crazy time.

Thursday, September 29, 2016: Still looking for a good ride in Klamath Falls so tried the path along the canal. I road from one end to the other then added some side streets since it turned out, the canal path wasn't very long. I've tried looking at "routes" on Map My Ride but the only one uses the rough OC & E Woods Line State Trail so I'm not anxious to try that again but the rest of the route looks pretty good. Maybe tomorrow.

So ... I spent the rest of the day shampooing the carpet in Miss Dory. Boring!

Monday, September 26, 2016: Much to do today because tomorrow we are leaving for about six weeks. The refrigerator needed adjusting, then tools had to be loaded, bike gear had to be loaded, clothes had to be washed plus a trip to Costco for Glucosamine pills for Morgan.

But first ... I rode the bike on the usual route. Still only 15 miles but it's feeling better. The riding will change now since we are going on the road again. Current weight is 186.8 lbs. Click the photo to enlarge.

Sunday, September 18, 2016: I made my first ride today in several years. I chose my "winter bike" knowing if I set a regular schedule of riding again, I'll quickly be into the winter months. Also, we are leaving Sutherlin in about a week and this is the bike I would want to transport rather than my summer bike. I can't explain the length of time I've been off the bike. It has been a combination of lack of motivation, bike transportation difficulties, too many interruptions of riding schedule and more. However, no riding means I've gained weight. I have been "afraid" to stand on the scale but did so AFTER today's ride. It read 193.8 lbs, that's a weight record for me and I'll bet I weighed a couple of pounds more than that before the ride. I'd like to weigh 165 lbs so I've got a lot of riding to do. I also need to ride for heart health so I've got multiple reasons to get back into shape on the bike.

So today's ride wasn't bad. I know it will take months of riding to get strength and endurance back and I know I must work slowly to gain that strength and endurance. I was reminded as I approached 15 miles that I must "break-in" my rear where it meets the saddle. Other than that, 15 miles seems to be a good starting mileage. Also, my floor pump would not work so I didn't get my normal 100psi into the tires. Parts for the floor pump have been ordered. Click the photo to see a Map My Ride report of today's ride.

Friday, July 6, 2012: Great weather for long ride. I combined several of my favorite rides into seventy (plus) miles. I was hoping for good leg strength but it wasn't to come. I finished exactly in the time I expected but the legs didn't feel good and I was hoping for more from them. Perhaps I've been training too hard. The legs felt better during and after the Ultimate Umpqua ride. The major climbing in this ride all came in the first 40 miles (lunch break came at 40 miles). As always, the traffic was very light on the rural roads (maybe a half dozen cars). But I had to ride highway 138 for about fifteen minutes where the traffic was heavy and fast. My lunch break was at the Tyee Store and Cafe on highway 138. I was alone on the deck overlooking the North Umpqua River as it heads to the ocean about 40 miles away. The Tyee store sits alone on the highway between Sutherlin and Elkton and came with good recommendations. I was disappointed that the menu included only burgers and a couple of salads. The waitress mentioned that Tyee Road, my way back to Sutherlin was particularly dangerous on the return trip since with was next to the drop-off to the river with virtually no shoulder. You can click the photo for a view of the entrance to the deck.

Thursday, July 12, 2012: We have come to Hell's Canyon in July ... a silly thing to do. It's going to be 106 degrees today so I began my ride at 7am and on the shady side of the canyon. The distance from our campsite to the dam is 23 miles but I need a 2 hour ride so that's about 16 miles out and back for me. As it turns out, I rode 34 miles. It's not flat riding along the reservoir, some good ascents and descents, often with a rocky cliff to the water below and rocks hanging over my head for 1,000 feet up. The temperature was 70 degrees when I began the ride and 85 when I completed it at 9:20am. Not much traffic at this time of the morning. The staff of the Hells Canyon Adventure jet boat tours and a couple of rafters getting an early start. Click the photo to see a panorama of the canyon road. Here's a map of the ride.

Thursday, August 2, 2012: A nice ride today on a cool day at Swan Lake, Montana. My intention was to ride to Bigfork however the weather was looking threatening so I cut eight miles off my ride to return quickly. However, while I was taking this photo a cycling tourist rode up next to me and wanted to know about the road ahead. I took a photo of Mike which is behind this photo, just click my bike to see Mike. He riding a very old Miyata steel bike, probably 30 years old with down tube shift levers, a style I have not ridden for 13 years. We talked for about 40 minutes. I learned that Mike is from Missoula and enjoys touring every summer. Last summer he rode to San Francisco from Missoula through Grants Pass to Crescent City, then south on Highway 1. This summer he is riding to Canada, then Washington, returning to Missoula through Sand Point, Idaho. It's an 1800 mile trip which he believe will take a month of riding. I'll have to admit, he got me thinking about doing some cycle touring which I have not done in a dozen years. It would mean getting new equipment and spending some nights in a tent and maybe not getting a shower after riding. I'll have to think about that.

Friday, August 10, 2012: This time, I'm cycling Priest Lake, Idaho. This photo was taken at the Coolin Marina, in Coolin, Idaho. There are plenty of campgrounds and summer/permanent homes around the lake, apparently so many it justifies Verizon to install 4G cell towers around the lake. After finishing this photo, I met a boater returning to his boat with two bags of ice and a six pack of beer. I commented that the rest of his day was going to be different than mine. He agreed with me. Behind this photo (click to see) is a photo of a Catalina 22 sailboat for sale. I've owned two sailboats in my life, both kept on Lake Tahoe, California. The Catalina 22 was the first sailboat I owned from 1977 to 1980. It was a great training boat and family boat. 10 people could crowd onto the boat and be comfortable. But it was like a family station wagon, slow and practical. Like this boat, it had a swing keel, meaning, once the boat is in the water, you crank the keel down on a cable then lock it down with a pressure bolt. In heavy weather, the keel would work its way loose and start swinging with the waves. Not a good situation and I liked sailing only in rough weather. So I sold the "family station wagon" and bought a much faster, fixed keel boat. I would not own another sailboat. I agree with the saying, the happiest two days in a sailors life are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells the boat. Of course I was a land locked sailor, perhaps ocean sailors feel differently. Also, Lake Tahoe had only one cove to drop anchor and stay the night. The average depth of Lake Tahoe is 1,000 feet, not suitable for dropping an anchor and my experience was having waves push me ashore with an anchor dragging the bottom when close to shore, again, not a good situation. It was fun watching the July 4th fireworks from the boat but the long motor back to the slip meant getting home about 2am. I think a power boat is the way to go if you must have a boat.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012: I leave my old bike mounted to a trainer on the deck under an awning during the winter months. This morning was a surprise snow fall but that didn't stop me from riding or Morgan from visiting me on the deck. It was in the low 30's this morning but I still used the fan mounted to the handlebars to create a cooling breeze while working out. On a morning like today, it takes about 12 minutes to get warm enough to turn on the fan. Gwen took this photo during the few minutes of sun this morning, the rest of the day was mostly cloudy with scattered snow showers. I do get to visit with the occasional person strolling by. My fan is battery operated so one visitor wanted to know if I used it to push me along while riding ... now THERE'S and idea.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013: As much fun and riding on a trainer under an awning in the snow is ... the US government sent me a free membership to Silver Sneakers. Actually, I think it was the Regency Blue Cross Medicare supplemental policy which provided the Silver Sneakers membership. I got the notice just before Christmas, so I figure it's a Christmas present except that the membership did not start until January 1, 2013. The Silver Sneakers membership provides me free access to Anytime Fitness only 2 miles from the park where I'm camped. So today was my first day at the gym. They have all the usual exercise machines but one I had not seen before and will likely be my favorite. It is a combination stair stepper and elliptical machine with moving arms so you can almost exercise your whole body at the same time. I DID work up a sweat on that machine. I also spent some time on the elliptical machine, recumbent bike, roman chair, and assisted pull-up machine. I also like the rowing machine but will use that next time. Hopefully this will get me back in shape for spring riding. Click the photo if you want to see the Anytime Fitness store front. As the store name says, they are open 24/7 but not staffed 24/7. I was given an electronic key to open the door anytime I want. They have full time video surveillance which helps with security. I've also learned that there are 2035 Anytime Fitness centers across the US and my key will work at any of them. So this membership could be really nice when traveling.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013: I've been a member of the Umpqua Velo Cycling Club for a year but tonight was the first time I've done anything with the club. I attended the first meeting of the year. I'd guess the average age in the room was at least mid-40s so I felt like I would fit right in until they began to talk about the amount of riding and the hills they climb. Their first ride together is 55 miles with 7600 feet of elevation gain ... YIKES! And it happens this Sunday. I think I'll work my way UP to that kind of riding. At tonight's meeting, new club officers were elected and future rides discussed. I also learned of the "Step-Up" program to help high school students learn the sport of cycling. They need assistants so I'm hoping to help when I can. I DID teach at the high school level for 3 years before beginning my teaching at the college level. Click the photo to see Crystal trying out an invention of a club member ... pedal a bike to pump water into a fountain. Yes, I think he had too much time on his hands too.

Sunday, April 14, 2013: I did my first ride with the Umpqua Velo bicycle club last Wednesday and they humbled me. Only the "hot-shots" showed up and they wanted to do a longer ride than I knew I could do before it got dark so I rode only 1/3 of the ride with them then did my own thing back to the start. I need to put some time onto my bike to be able to keep up with this group. I learned of a "slow" ride today if the weather was cooperating. Well, the weather looked threatening so I brought my rain jacket. I ended up putting on the jacket about half way through the ride when rain began to fall. Only two other riders chose to brave the weather, the rider leader Shelby and the club president, Troy. It was a nice 24 mile ride through an area I've never visited but it looked just like the beautiful part of Oregon I ride around Sutherlin. I did carry my bike using the repositioned fork rack which you'll see if you click the photo.

Monday, June 10, 2013: Glen and I did one of my favorite rides today, Driver Valley Road (a loop in our case) which is about 29 miles long at its shortest route. There are side trips to make the ride much longer. I finally took the time to photograph the four warning signs which a clever graffiti artist has used to record some song lyrics from a Monty Python tune. I was wondering the significance of these four words and was interested to learn that this artist was a Monty Python fan. This was a great riding weather day. Perfect temperature, the wind was strong be we got an equal share of tailwinds to balance the headwinds.

Monday: August 5, 2013: My friend Jack is visiting for a week in Sutherlin. Jack is older than I am but a stronger rider (mostly because he spends more time on the bike). I could keep up with him if I didn't come up with so many excuses NOT to ride (at least that's what I tell myself). While he's visiting I had to introduce him to the Rochester covered bridge. During our ride, we discussed the effects of aging on our riding performance. We both decided NOT to get ANY older. If we can't stop the aging process, soon we will both need TRAINING WHEELS. Click the photo for a better view of the bridge.

Friday, September 6, 2013: I'll admit, my cycling motivation this year has been mostly "external". Reward of coffee along the route, riding only at the urging of cycling friends and other external rewards rather than the "internal" motivation of reducing my belly fat to nothing or just being more fit. So today I had two motivating factors, this great cup of coffee from "The Hollow" coffee shop in historic downtown Oakland, Oregon and my friend Glen who has convinced me to "ride sweep" with him for the Umpqua Velo Vineyard Tour century ride on September 21. We will be "sweeping" the fifty mile loop so it really won't take much preparation on my part but I would like to keep up with Glen as I "huff and puff" up the few hills we will ride. I've not been riding much so need to improve my condition somewhat. Since we are riding "sweep", we will finish with the slowest rider on the loop and the fifty could attract lots of novice riders who may not have prepared for distance riding. That means I may be in the saddle longer than a normal fifty so I really need to "condition" by rear to the saddle. After returning from a thirty mile ride today I decided it was time to install a new chain. If you don't already know, chains should be replaced about every 1,500 miles. Mine has probably done 2,000 miles and the chain has stretched by 1/2 link. I hope that's not too much to cause replacement of chainrings or cogs. That's the reason to replace chains, they stretch and if left too long will damage the chainring and cog teeth to the point they will have to be replaced with the new chain. That can really be expensive. Click the photo for a view of my new chain. A new chain will also smooth out the shifting.

Monday, December 2, 2013: Death Valley is a great place to ride a road bike in the winter months. Today was a warm 66 degrees with no wind, feels just like Roseburg, Oregon on a nice summer morning. What a great day for riding at negative two hundred feet below sea level. The "heavy air" felt like having my own oxygen tank along for an extra boost. I had to wear my Umpqua Velo "fish" jersey to be sure I was the first to bring the jersey to Death Valley. This perfect weather is forecast to change to mid-40's as the daily high and winds gusting to 50 so the good riding may come to an end soon. I took the time today to play with photo effects using my Samsung S4, click this photo to learn what I mean. The park was "sold out" during the Thanksgiving weekend but now the traffic is light (almost as good as rural Douglas County, Oregon).

Monday, February 10, 2014: While out riding our little fold-up bike I spotted this sign and had to take a photo. This was found in Yucca Valley, California while we are camped at the Black Rock Canyon Campground inside the Joshua Tree National Park. Something about this area really tears up the pavement. There are huge holes and dozens of repaired cracks making for very rough riding, hence the fold-up bike over the road bike. Yes, I normally wear my helmet when riding this bike but was in a hurry today.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014: It's the first Wednesday of the month so that's the meeting of the Umpqua Velo Cycling club in Roseburg. Gwen and I went with my friend Glen who is also a member. Tonight's meeting agenda is behind the photo. Future rides and fundraising events were described. Most of the time was taken to discuss the Friends of the Mildred Kanipe Memorial Park project. The park is located about ten miles from Sutherlin and a destination of several of my road rides. The park ground was donated to the county in 1983 but the county has no income from the park to help with maintenance so they propose to cut down and market 20 acres of old growth timber to build a campground at the park hoping to generate maintenance income to take care of the park from the campground. Crystal tells of a plan by the "Friends" to raise the money from donations to save the old growth timber. The bike club is planning a ride to help those fund raising efforts. I've already donated but I'll help with this project too.