Tuesday, January 4, 2022: This is Brook with the bike I found for her. She plans to set the bike on a Wahoo Kickr just like mine. That's why she has the rear wheel off, it is ready for the Kickr as soon as it arrives. She has a giant screen TV and an Apple iPad to run Zwift. She is new to indoor cycling but is really excited about the exercise.

Monday, January 3, 2022: I did two Zwift rides today. The first was the TdZ Warmup (Tour de Zwift) for the eight session event starting January 10. It was an information ride only to give you an idea of what it will be like since thousands of riders will likely do it. I rode in street clothes and with slippers, no cleated riding shoes. That's how easy it was for only 20 minutes.

The second ride was the first event with the VV (Virtual Velo) group. I have done "Meetups" with them which are always "KET" (Keep Everyone Together) so if you start to fall behind, the magnet effect of the group pulls you up to the group. With an event such as this, no KET. Once the event started, I was left alone within 30 seconds. They were riding at 2.5 w/kg and above with the leaders at 4.0 w/kg. I usually ride at 1.8 w/kg (watts per kilogram of weight so a power measurement). I simple can't keep up with a group riding at 2.5 w/kg and above. I did the entire ride along although I was ranked 7th/9 riders. I never saw number 8 and 9. I switched to a triathlon bike hoping for more speed but it didn't help much. Click the photos for more views.

Sunday, January 2, 2021: This day began with a Zwift ride with son Ben and friend Glen. Fortunately a shorter and easier ride than the two 2 hour rides we did last week. This one was a little less than an hour. Click these two photos for more views.

After the ride, Gwen, Abby and I drove to Grants Pass, about an hour plus twenty minutes to meet up with Brook to deliver her bike. I failed to get a photo of her with the bike but hoping she will send me one.

After returning, we watched the Packers run over the Vikings in Sunday night football.

Thursday, December 30, 2021: This was a bicycle kind of day. My son, Ben created a Meetup on Zwift for us today to start at 9:30 this morning. He chose a very difficult route, "Road to Sky". It is only 18 km long but 1100 meters (3609 feet) of climbing. Much of the climb had a grade more than 10%. Ben has only been riding Zwift about two months so this was a brave choice on his part. It took us two hours to complete the route. Two hours on a trainer is like 4 hours riding the road. We both felt this ride.

After our morning on Zwift I began working on the bike I picked up for Brook. It is a wonderful bike but in need of a minor tuneup including so deep cleaning, new pedals, new chain and double checking the shifting. The bike I found for Brook to use on her Wahoo Kickr Trainer (when she gets one) is an interesting bike. It is a Specialized Sirrus which seems to have been designed for touring. It has rack braise-ons, cantilever brakes, triple chainrings, and 700 x 28 tires. It will make an excellent bike for the Wahoo Kickr Trainer. It will be ready by Sunday when Brook will pick it up. Click the photos for more views.

Friday, December 24, 2021 (Christmas Eve): I rode again this morning and Maise was my riding partner. Maise is Dave and Brooks dog.

This has been a very stormy day so my view of the ocean was rough.

This ride, I was able to ride with my friend Glen and son Joe on Zwift today which made it special.

Tuesday, December 21, 2021: We had breakfast at our favorite breakfast location in Brookings, Natties Pancake House. Once breakfast was complete Gwen did some shopping while Abby and I waited in the car. When Gwen returned, I took Gwen home while Abby and I went to a local pet shop to use their dog wash station.

Dave and Brook gave me a key to their house and told me where I could set up my bike and Kickr. Have you ever packed for a vacation and wondered if you got everything you needed? Once I set up the bike and Kickr, I was ready to plug in but the electrical cord I needed is still back in Sutherlin under the gazebo. I remembered a Goodwill store in Brookings and knew they would have what I needed. Unfortunately all the cords were marked $6.99 which I believed to be outrageous. After searching every cord I found one for $4.99 and it looked brand new. Sold! Now with the right cord, my bike and Kickr are set up with a great view of the ocean. Click the photo for a better view of what I was seeing. Everything worked perfectly so I rode for an hour plus ten minutes. My goal is to ride every day until we must leave on Monday.

Monday, November 29, 2021: We are leaving tomorrow for a month on the Oregon Coast. I have packed the Wahoo Kickr and my CoOp bike is ready for a road ride or ready for a Kickr ride. Click on the Kickr photo to see the CoOp bike after I returned from today's ride.

Since my CoOp was off the Kickr, I did a road ride on this sunny but cold day for 18 miles. In the above photo the Plat I reservoir has been drained. Click the photo to enlarge and notice it is in focus. It certainly would NOT have been in focus with my Samsung S20 Ultra!

Friday, November 26, 2021: My son, Ben Has scheduled a Meetup each morning at 9 am for three days in a row beginning today. None of the rides are easy, all are a good workout of at least 50 minutes and more.

We stayed together the entire ride today and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's ride. I'm in the green and red stripped jersey while Ben is in the blue, Type T-1 jersey.

Tomorrow we have a volcano to climb.

Monday, November 15, 2021: My road ride today began with a temperature of 47 degrees. This gave me the chance to find all my cold weather riding gear and make sure it all still fits. I haven't worn cold temperature gear in years but this year I plan to road ride when the pavement is not wet. 47 degrees is not that cold so it is another test to learn how much gear I will need to wear to stay comfortable. Today's outfit would be good to about 45°. Any colder and I would need a balaclava and possibly a vest. Today's ride was only 20 miles but very pleasant and comfortably warm. My head and ears were warm too. I did today's ride early because rain was forecast for noon. I finished a bit after noon and the rain began about ten minutes later.

I am planning to ride with Glen tomorrow. Forecast is for a high temperature of 50° so today was a good practice for that ride.

Click these photos for another view.

Wednesday, October 27, 2021: Just a week ago I replaced 30 year old pedals thinking they were failing by making a squeaking noise even after lubrication. I did a road ride today since the streets were dry and the new pedals installed. About a mile into the ride my left pedal began to squeak as before. I'm thinking, "Damn, it wasn't the pedal!" I begin to wonder, Is it a loose crank arm? the bottom bracket? the chain? or worse, something in the motor? I begin to experiment to learn the source of the squeak. After a short while, I discover it is my shoe hitting the rubber harness on my cadence sensor located on the left crank arm. A simple problem with a simple solution, just move the cadence sensor. I was not feeling very good about replacing pedals which did not need replacing. My friends, Erik and Glen are happy I have the new SPD pedals saying I "have joined the 21st century".

The ride today was cool, low 60s but felt really good to be on the road again. Now that I know where the pedal squeak is coming from and how easy it will be to fix, the riding seems normal again.

Monday, October 25, 2021: While visiting my son, Joe, he got the idea of mounting his tablet to his handlebars to view Zwift Companion while Zwifting.

When I returned to Sutherlin I decided to do the same to keep from knocking my tablet onto the floor under my bike.

So now I have a nice big Companion view on my handlebars while I use "Screen View" on my phone to mirror Zwift onto a 42" TV in front of me.

The Zwifting situation is ideal except for the unpredictable weather while riding under the gazebo.

Friday, October 22, 2021: I have used Speedplay Frog pedals for 30 years. They have begun to make noise which lubrication has not fixed. My choice was to upgrade them to SPD pedals rather than replacing bearings on the Frogs.

It was an easy install.

So far, I like them better than the Frogs. They are easy in and easy out compared to the Frogs.

The instructions had such a small font I had to use a magnifing glass to read them.

Wednesday, September 29, 2021: This was a good 35 mile ride with nearly perfect riding weather. 52 degrees so a bit chilly but sweating on the ascents and freezing on the descents. As the ride went on, the temperature warmed.

This ride is one of my favorites with two steep ascents, one short and the other long. My pedals were squeaking so it sounded like a bird was following the route. I have fixed that now so no more birds following me.

I made a video to remind me of the great riding in Oregon since we spend the winters in Arizona.

Click this photo to see a view of the Umpqua River on this route. We had rain the last couple of days so the river level is higher today.

Wednesday, September 8, 2021: Last night was our annual Umpqua Velo Cycling Club business meeting where officers are elected and end of the year planning takes place.

After the business meeting portion, one of the members, Marc, shared his bikepack trip done this summer. His trip was only 50 miles short of 1,000 miles looping around southeastern Oregon. This route also has 45,000 feet of climbing with a full camping load on the bike. His daily riding ranged from 80 to 120 miles, far more than I could do especially when he did it day after day in hot temperatures.

I learned about the Outdoor Research Echo hoody. It is a lightweight hoody used to keep the sun off arms, neck and ears. I also learned about Warm Showers. Warm Showers is an organization of like minded bikepackers, bicycle tourists and their supporters. A touring cyclist can find a host for accommodations while traveling.

Marc gave a great presentation. It was obvious how much he enjoys touring by bicycle and camping much of the time. Some of the areas where he traveled on this tour were very remote in the desert or mountain areas. That means he must carry everything needed with no stores along the way for supplies.

Click the photo for a view of our meeting area.

Monday, September 6, 2021 (Labor Day): Today's ride was different for me. I took by CoOp bike off the trainer where I do Zwift rides and prepared it for road riding. I'm wanting to get an idea of my physical condition without the assistance from my eBike. I started on a 30 mile ride but chose to extend it to 50 miles when I reached the 20 mile mark. I'm definitely slower on the hills. The last time I did a comparison, I was 14% slower on the CoOp bike. When I'm riding alone, slower doesn't matter. When I'm riding with others like Glen and Erik, I want to be able to keep up with them. The CoOp bike has plenty of gears so the hills are not intimidating but having to use lower gears means moving slowly when climbing. Riding on level ground and descending seems about the same as the eBike.

My first stop was the Mildred Kanipe County Park where Peacocks roam free and there is water to refill my water bottles plus a restroom. As I arrived a couple was entertaining a flock of Peacocks. Click the sign to see what they are doing. I finished the ride today after riding past the historic Wilcox house. Click my photo to see the Wilcox property.

Saturday, September 4, 2021: This has been the most wildfire smoky day this year. The smoke was so thick, the nearby mountains have disappeared. I decided to try to Zwift ride with my particle mask in place. I learned I just couldn't get enough air through the mask to ride for more than 20 minutes.

Gwen took the photos and claimed I was turning blue. Maybe it was just the smoke between me and her camera.

Fortunately the smoke has cleared for the Umpqua Velo Century Ride tomorrow. I will be helping by servicing the riders at one of the rest stops.

Monday, August 30, 2021: Today was a couple of firsts. I wore my new thermal jersey today. It was a warm 56 degrees compared to the ride on Saturday which was only 44 degrees much of the ride. Too warm really for this thermal jersey but I wanted to try it out. In colder weather, say 40 degrees and cooler, what really gets cold when riding are toes, fingers and ears so I would need to protect them in really cold weather riding.

The second first is the use of my new Garmin Varia. It is a bright, rear, strobe light but much more. It has what Garmin says is "radar" to detect vehicles approaching from the rear. I have found it detects cars, trucks and motorcycles. Once detected, I get an alert tone and a visual graphic on my Hammerhead computer. A vehicle shows up in a yellow stripe on the left side of the screen. The vehicle moves higher on the screen as it gets closer. If there is more than one vehicle, multiple vehicles are shown on the stripe. Once all have passed, the stripe turns green for a few seconds before it disappears. You can see I wear a rear view mirror on my helmet but about one third of the cars passing me I have not noticed until they are next to me. My friend Jami introduced me to the Varia and he does not wear a mirror. I intend to continue with the mirror. It is nice to know of the cars behind me but I also want to know they are giving me space so I still want to watch them as they get closer.

Today's ride was 35 miles ending with getting to see the north bound train. It has a tanker car behind the engines spraying water to be sure the engine do not start any fires in these very dry conditions. Click the photos for more views.

Saturday, August 28, 2021: Today was another metric century with friends, Glen and Erik. This time it was from Sutherlin to the little town of Glide in the Cascade Foothills. Round trip including a stop at Glen's house in Roseburg was exactly a metric century (62.3 miles) with some good climbing in between.

This was an unusual weather day. We started early, 6:30 am with sunrise about 7:15 am. It was 51° when I left Sutherlin but the temperature dropped as we began the climb toward Glide to 44°. We arrived at The Atom at 8:30am and the temperature was still only 48°. It didn't bother Glen or me, but seemed to bother Erik even though he had a jacket. The Atom makes the climb to Glide worthwhile! I had a large Mocha and toasted bagel with cream cheese. Glen and Erik had Americanos. That drink and bagel always gives me the energy to hop back on the bike and finish the ride strongly. Riding in cooler weather feels very good especially on the ascents when we are working hard. It can be a little chilly on the descents. Click the photos for more views.

Wednesday, August 11, 2021: Our first day in Brookings took me on the North Bank Chetco Road until the pavement turned to gravel. The road has next to no shoulder but the traffic is light. The road passes the Alfred A. Loeb State Park which is full of campers this time of year. It boarders the Chetco River. The road is parallel to the river the entire route. Once the road passes the state park there is new asphalt until you reach gravel, so ten miles of new asphalt making for a nice smooth ride. There was 1700 feet of climbing but most were gentle ascents making this a very pleasant ride. There are lots of campers at the wide spots in the river. The river is very low but still enough water for fishing and kayaking. Click all these photos for more views. This was my first ride on my new Selle Anatomica X2 saddle. It is advertised to be the most comfortable saddle and I would have to agree with that statement. It is different feel from all the previous saddles I've ridden. This saddle "cradles" you between the nose and butt of the saddle which felt odd at first but comfortable. I was in the saddle for 2.25 hours, 34 miles with 1700 feet of climbing and it felt good the whole ride.

Saturday, August 7, 2021: My riding buddies all have jobs so their only day to ride is Saturday or Sunday. Erik had volunteered to help the high school band today so we rode early and we were done with our 36 mile ride by 9 am. It was a familiar route although not one I usually do because it is a ways from Sutherlin. We crossed the South Umpqua River once, the Umpqua River once and the North Umpqua river once plus lots more scenery and the temperature was never above 70°. Jami is moving to Colorado so today was my last ride with him. Click these photos to enlarge. After the ride, I drove to Costco and bought a new TV for the inside of the motorhome. I bought it because it was on sale and because I intend to move the Gazebo TV to the outside of the motorhome. That leaves no TV for the Gazebo. Instead of buying another Gazebo TV, I bought a slightly larger ROKU TV for the motorhome. I'll move the current motorhome TV to the Gazebo giving a larger TV in the Gazebo. I use the Gazebo TV for my Zwift rides, Gwen likes watching TV in the evening outside because it's cooler and very pleasant. The articulated arm I ordered for the new TV will not arrive until Monday so there will be a delay in the installation.

Thursday, August 5, 2021: I went shopping at St. Vincent de Paul today for a small pan to melt wax. I also found some tongs. One pan, 25¢, tongs 50¢, so for 75¢ I have a small six inch pan to melt wax and tongs. I need to melt wax because Erik and Stan have talked me into lubricating my chain with wax. Wax helps keep the chain clean, no black fingers if you have to touch the chain. Today, I melted the wax and soaked a clean chain. I removed the current chain from the Yamaha bike then replaced the chain with the new waxed chain. The first ride will be on Saturday, I'm riding on Zwift tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, August 3, 2021: I have begun a routine of road riding one day and Zwift riding the next. Yesterday was a Zwift ride. Today the weather was much more favorable with cooler temperatures making today's 35 mile road ride very nice. I rode one of my favorite routes to Rogers Road over Oak Hill to the Norris Blue Berry Farm then by Henry's Winery where I will be stationed during the Umpqua Velo Vineyard Century Ride. Then I followed Hubbard Creek Road into Coles Valley back to the Lighthouse Cafe and onto Cole Road. That took me to Wilcox Road and eventually through the Rochester Covered Bridge. After riding toward Oakland I intersected Highway 99 back to Sutherlin. The temperature was 66° at the beginning of the ride and 75° at the end of the ride. Perfect riding conditions. Click these two photos for larger views.

Tuesday, July 27, 2021: My intention is to take the CoOp bike and the Wahoo Kickr trainer with us when we travel south in the fall. Since we are also taking Gwen's bike and my eBike, we simply don't have the room for another bike. My idea is to leave both CoOp wheels here since neither wheel is required when the bike is used on the trainer. If I disconnect the rear derailleur, take off the pedals and turn the handlebars to the side, I believe it will lay flat in the storage tray. I need some way to hold the front forks at the proper height when I'm using the bike on the trainer. I built the fork support today. It too will be taken apart for transportation and lay flat. The front axle hub is a thru axle which makes it easier to a fork support. Click the left photo to see how the fork support will work. I used whatever lumber I had on hand and used whatever paint was on hand. It turned out to be "Satin Fire Orange". Click the right photo to see the painting of the fork support.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021: 53 mile ride today which I titled, "To the end of Hubbard Creek Road". The end is when Hubbard Creek Road turns to gravel which is at mile 24. It is a popular ride because much of it is in the shade, it is very lightly traveled, follows the Umpqua River then follows Hubbard Creek. I returned through the town of Oakland near Sutherlin. On the return ride, much of the ride follows the Calapooia Creek. Very scenic ride but a bit warm since I got a late start. Click the photos for more views.

Friday, July 16, 2021: Erik and Glen took the day off work so we did a nice 60 mile ride into an area where I rarely ride. This area is southwest of Roseburg. I've been here maybe once before and some of today's roads were entirely new to me. We made an early start of 7 am to beat the heat. We added a treat to this ride by stopping at the Treat 42 Cafe for breakfast at mile 22. This was a nice break and gave me plenty of energy to finish the ride strong. Glen designed the route and sent it to each of us. I was able to use my new Hammerhead K2 computer to guide my turns and anticipate all the climbing and descents along this new route. Click all these photos for more views.

Thursday, July 15, 2021: My new Hammerhead Karoo 2 computer has arrived. I'm still learning how to make it do what I would like. The feature I have found which I like the best so far is the graph of the "Upcoming Elevation". It shows a graph of the two miles ahead indicating what the climbs or descents look like. It takes the surprises out of cycling the rural roads around Sutherlin. I am able to customize the screens to show exactly what I want to see. For example, heart rate, speed, cadence, elevation change and temperature plus much much more. I'll be learning all it can do over the next several months.

Saturday, July 10, 2021: Glen designed a morning workout route for us. (Click the photo to see the route)

Erik, Stan, Jami joined Glen and me on this route. We started early, 7 am, because today was a hot one.

In this photo we are standing on the bridge crossing the Umpqua River. It is right at the 15 mile mark on the map. We actually crossed the south Umpqua River at the 27 mile marker (out of view), and the North Umpqua River at mile marker 31.

We passed through the little village of Wilbur twice. Wilbur has a convenience store and post office plus a few other commercial buildings and a couple of manufacturers but no real retail or shopping areas.

Traffic was heavy on Garden Valley Blvd but light everywhere else.

The ride was completed before 10 am.

Monday, June 21, 2021: I did a fitness ride today onto the Driver Valley Loop. I started early to avoid the heat. Today has been the hottest day in Sutherlin so far this year. This was a 27 mile ride in less than 2 hours.

I got the rare treat today of riding parallel with our morning train. Sutherlin gets a morning train heading south each day. They get another train in the evening heading north. Today's train was traveling at 12 mph and I ride faster than that so I was passing the cars slowly until I stopped to take a short video. When I reached Sutherlin the traffic was stopped due to the train making it easier to get through town.

Click both photos for more views.

Thursday, June 17, 2021: Today was forecast to be above 80 so I got a 10 am start on this ride. I was shooting for 30 miles and made 29.3 miles. This route is one of my favorite due to the lack of traffic and a good amount of climbing and descending. The Lighthouse Cafe is in the middle of the route in case refreshments are needed.

After the ride I fertilized our new vegetable plants, washed the car and tried to stay cool. Gwen and I had a comfortable dinner under our gazebo. Click the photos for more views.

Wednesday, June 16, 2021: I started this day by examining the rear tire. I've been losing air in that tire and needed to learn the reason why. It didn't take long to find air was leaking from the valve core. I tightened the core to fix that problem. Next, I mounted the rack anticipating the need for the rack in a couple weeks for a two day bike tour with Erik and Glen. I tried fitting the panniers for a future bikepack. I don't expect to need the panniers for the bike tour since we will stay in a motel. When it came time to replace the rear wheel I noticed the cassette was sliding back and forth. I took the cassette off learning that the cassette mount was sliding back and forth. I quickly learned the bearing retainer was reverse threaded, tightened the retainer and reassembled everything. Once the wheel was back on the bike, I didn't like the sound coming from the freewheel and it wasn't freewheeling the way it should. I took everything back off again. Disassembled everything but this time also disassembled the freewheel. I learned it was full of gunk and the three little locking pins where not moving freely. I cleaned up everything and lubricated with white lithium grease. I reassembled everything, mounted the wheel to the bike and everything now worked perfectly.

The Wednesday night Umpqua Velo Club ride was beginning only a mile from my location. They chose to ride one of my favorite routes, Driver Valley. At first I believed it too long of a ride since they weren't to begin the ride until 6 pm but these are all good riders and I think most covered the 24.5 miles in 90 minutes.

Click the photos for more views.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021: I finally got the needed axle adapters so I can mount the CoOp bike to the Wahoo Kickr Trainer. They work perfectly so took the first ride on the Kickr with the CoOp. Both work great but the new trainer has a learning curve for me to get use to. The adapters I needed were the quick release inserts shown on the left and right. I already had the thru axle adapters, top and bottom but now I will have extras.

Click the photo for a view of the CoOp mounted on the Kickr.

Gwen and I took the time to check out the new Brewery Restaurant in town, Backside Brewery. We shared a hamburger and taco since it was taco Tuesday.

Monday, June 14, 2021: This entire day was used to setup home base. Awnings, utilities, sweeping, cleaning and getting the mail.

I still had time to begin the job of cleaning all the Hiawatha tunnel mud from the bike. It was caked on and covered everything including the internal workings of the derailleur.

Click the photo. The chain was also full of mud so I removed it and replaced with the original chain. It was not stretched so I had planned to install it for some more miles. I measured the muddy chain and found it was not stretched either. It is soaking to clean. I install it again later.

Wednesday, June 2, 2021: Gwen and I rode the Trail of the Hiawatha on this hot June day. The Hiawatha is a "rail to trail" starting on the other side of Lookout pass in Montana. It is 15 miles long with ten tunnels, the first one is 1.6 miles long, and 7 trestles. The trail is gravel except for a thin layer of wet mud inside every tunnel.

We were warned to have good lights for the tunnels so we bought new headlamps at Costco. I wore mine through the first tunnel then decided my bike lamp was good enough. The headlamp was very uncomfortable with the helmet.

The trail is a 2% grade downhill with a shuttle at the bottom to transport riders back to the exit side of the first tunnel. Gwen took the shuttle, I rode back uphill the 15 miles. The best I could do on the 2% grade and gravel was 11.5 mph.

We had purchased sack lunches from the vendor so had our lunch along side the trail on the way down.

It was easy for me to imagine the excitement train passengers would have had traveling this route.

We began our ride at 9 am and finished at 2 pm. Seems like a long time for such a ride but we stopped often for photographs and I took a video. Click the photos above the muddy me photos for more views.

Monday, May 31, 2021: This route took me into the rural area northwest of Coeur d'Alene. I found lots of Alfalfa and the small town of Rathdrum. I created the route on "Ride With GPS" hoping to find some remote rural roads with little traffic. I was only partially successful. About half the ride was quiet with little traffic. I did get to see areas I've not seen before. Click these two photos for more views.

Saturday, May 29, 2021: This time I rode east on the North Idaho Centennial Trail toward the downtown area of Couer d'Alene then on to Higgens Point. Higgens Point is the east end of the trail. This is the Saturday before Memorial Day so the trail, parks, beaches and ball fields are crowded. In addition, today's weather was a perfect 70 degrees with very little wind.

I wasn't rushing my ride, especially through the crowded areas. I stopped for photos and took video of the best areas.

I wore my Camelback pack for the first time this year as practice for the tour I have planned with Erik and Glen in early July. I also wore my sun sleeves for the first time. They are advertised to have a "cooling effect" but I didn't notice that. Perhaps they have to be wet to cool.

I spent nearly 4 hours on the bike to do 45.6 miles. That sounds like a lot but my friend Glen did 70 miles today. I'm going to have to work to keep up with him.

Click these photos for more views.

Here is the video of today's ride.

Wednesday, May 26, 2021: Today I had the Forester tires rotated, and the oil changed. I also did some grocery shopping.

But I still had some time to explore the area and found the "Prairie Trail" which lead to the "North Idaho Centennial Trail". I only had an hour to ride (so 15 miles). That means about 7.5 miles on these two trails and 7.5 miles back. I hope to extend the ride tomorrow or in the next few days. The North Idaho Centennial Trail goes all the way to Spokane, Washington. It is nice to ride on a paved trail built for bicycles and runners. No traffic to worry about.

Friday, May 14, 2021: While visiting Bend Oregon, I chose to ride the Twin Bridges Scenic Bikeway. Oregon has put out an effort to attract bike rides with published "Scenic Bikeways" and the Twin Bridges route is one of those. It starts and ends in Bend, Oregon passing through horse country to the northwest and return through Tumalo plus Tumalo State Park on the Deschutes River.

The route passes hundreds of horse ranches. None were the "cheap" kind. Beautiful horses and ranch buildings to go with them.

The view of the mountains to the west is spectacular. I wouldn't want to be in this area if any of them ever become active again as did Mt. St. Helens a few miles to the northwest.

Gwen joined me at Tumalo State Park after I had finished 34 miles. She brought Abby and a good lunch plus nice cold water.

Click all these photos for additional views.

I have created a short video along the route. I was disappointed in the video because the camera angle is a little low. Since the camera is on my helmet, it is difficult to know the correct angle.

Tuesday, May 11, 2021: Another great day to ride in Oregon.

This time I put a little more effort into my eBike to make a better comparison with the new CoOp bike. I wanted approximately the same average heart rate for both bikes to indicate the same about of effort on both bikes.

I updated the chart below with today's ride. Perhaps it was the great weather and temperature but everything really felt good. The new data will give me a challenge for the next ride to best this data.

Click the photo for another Oregon view.

Monday, May 10, 2021: We have a multitude of things to do before leaving on Thursday.

Today I used Simple Green as my degreaser to clean the crude from Gwen's drive train. This bike hasn't been used much but it still collected crude which needs to be cleaned before lubricating.

I learned to use two nail brushes together to clean the chain by watching a video showing how to detail a bike. It seemed to work well. I bought the nail brushes at the dollar store.

Gwen doesn't do much riding but we have made reservations to ride the Trail of the Hiawatha on the Idaho/Montana border together in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to that ride.

Finally, made adjustments to make sure the gears are shifting smoothly.

Click the photos for more views.

Saturday, May 8, 2021: Our friends Gary and Jeanne came to visit this afternoon. It's good to visit and make summer and winter plans for travel.

Before their visit I did another ride on my "standard time and distance" route. This time on the CoOp bike with road tires to compare to the gravel tires and to the eBike. I added today's ride to the chart I made earlier. I can't explain the data because I don't believe I can do as well on the CoOp bike as I do on the eBike. It has me worried since I couldn't keep up with the group ride on Wednesday. Maybe the eBike won't work to match their riding. It looks like my heart rate is lower on the eBike, so I'm not working as hard. Also I may have had a slight tailwind today. Perhaps I just need to work harder when riding the eBike. Whichever bike, I enjoy the ride! Click the map for a list of all the data and a ride profile.

Tuesday, May 4, 2021: I changed to the road tires on the Co Op bike. I found the ride to be much different. Yes, the speed increased but a HUGE sacrifice in comfort and stability. I've always gone for speed but this was so noticeable it makes me wonder if I have made the right decision.

Tonight was the Umpqua Velo Club meeting in Roseburg, Oregon. We were scheduled to meet outside at the Backside Brewery but too crowded outside so they put us in the warehouse. This is an active cycling club with scheduled events for the whole summer. The next club ride is tomorrow night with my friend, Erik as the leader so I plan to participate. Tomorrow is forecast to be warm so an evening ride should be enjoyable.

Sunday, May 2, 2021: I have been looking for a used bike for some time in the same style as my eBike. Why another bike? I've spent the last couple of months with my eBike on a trainer. I don't want to be wearing out the expensive eBIke (assistance does NOT work on a trainer if you were wondering) on a trainer. I want a much cheaper bike permanently mounted on a trainer. When I say "permanently mounted", I really mean semi-permanently mounted. This bike has really good components, frame, wheels and shock fork. I could have made due with a much cheaper bike if I was going to leave it on the trainer. I'm anxious to try it on the road. This bike has triple chain rings with the smallest only 22 teeth. It also has a very wide range cassette, 11 - 36 teeth. That means with the chain on the 22 tooth chain ring and 36 tooth cog in the back, a super LOW gear for climbing steep hills. Additionally, the bike came with "gravel" tires. Gravel riding is becoming very popular. It's a cross between road riding and mountain biking. The difference, you are riding on a graded gravel road, not paved but not as technical as trail riding on a mountain bike. The real reason people are going to gravel riding is to get OFF paved highways with dangerous traffic. Even light traffic is dangerous. A gravel bike gets the cyclist off the dangerous roads. My friend Erik bought a "gravel bike" and has made good use of it. Additionally, when we did our traveling through Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri I found some great bike trails, all mostly compact gravel, not pavement. I can use this bike as a gravel bike should I choose.

It has a thru axle front wheel but the back wheel is something I haven't seen before so I will be taking it apart tomorrow. I will also be making other adjustments like adjusting the rear brake, replacing the pedals. adjusting seat height and eventually replacing the tires with road tires. I want to try the gravel tires tomorrow so road tires are in the future.

Saturday, May 1, 2021: A great 45 mile ride today with three friends. I took my friends on one of my favorite routes and added a treat. At the ten mile mark I took them to see Ed and Mary. Ed and Mary do incredible log carving and I love showing friends the work that they do. The carvings are also priced well. My riding friends are Glen, Erik and Jami and they were amazed at the carving. They walked around taking lots of photos.

We continued our ride around Driver Valley Road and took a break at Mildred Kanipe County Park. The ride continued along Metz Hill Road where a 2500 acre Equestrian Resort is planned. We passed through Rochester covered bridge before arriving home. Jami wanted more riding so continued his ride to Roseburg. Glen and I rewarded ourselves with a meal and drink at the new Backside Brewery in downtown Sutherlin.

Wednesday, April 28, 2021: Sutherlin is one of the very best road riding areas because the roads are nicely paved and the traffic is very light. I had a nice 27 mile ride today which passed the Norris Blueberry Farm and the Lighthouse Bakery & Cafe. Norris provides a lot of seasonal employment. The Lighthouse is a vegetarian restaurant with the best food for 60 miles around. Unfortunately they are open for bakery items, soup and drinks only for 3 days/week during the COVID pandemic. The Rochester Covered Bridge can easily be seen on several of my cycling routes. Click the photos for views of Norris Blueberry and of the Lighthouse.

Saturday, April 24, 2021: This is an Umpqua Velo Bicycle Club Earth Day ride. Rain was forecast for the day but it never showed up so I rode from Sutherlin to the start point at Kruse Farms, 14 miles away. The club ride began at Kruse Farms to Lighthouse Bakery and Cafe returning the Kruse Farms, a total of 26 miles. I left Lighthouse Bakery and returned to Sutherlin for a total of 38 miles. As it turned out, the weather was perfect for riding. Those who returned to Kruse Farms complained about the headwind but I didn't experience anything unusual. A photo of the group is behind the left photo, just click to see it. A photo of the Umpqua River is behind the right photo, just click that photo.

Wednesday, April 21, 2021: Nice Umpqua Velo Wednesday night ride with three friends. The Umpqua Velo Bicycle Club is a cycling group in Roseburg and around of both road bike and mountain bike cyclists. Bill was the leader of the ride, Erik and Glen came along to challenge Bill and me. The photo at the right is where the North and South Umpqua Rivers join to form the Umpqua River, the second largest river in Oregon. Click the photo for a view of the four of us.

Sunday, April 18, 2021: My friend Glen, found a used Wahoo Kickr advertised on Facebook. Both he and I have been looking for one since I would like to have a smart trainer similar to his. This turned out to be a good deal since it is a version 4, 2 versions newer than Glen's, and for the same price Glen paid for his. Unfortunately, it was in Bend, Oregon, a 3.5 hour drive. Glen talked me into going for it and even offered to drive his vehicle.

It is set up for my Yamaha eBike but my bike power assist works like a regular bike with the power off. In fact, it will not work at all on the trainer. There is a sensor in the rear wheel which must be present for the assist to work. The rear wheel is removed to mount the bike to the trainer.

The trainer came with an eleven speed cassette. My Yamaha is a nine speed so the rear derailleur and chain do not match the trainer cassette. I can't shift gears. I have ordered a nine speed cassette for the trainer. I also made a wedge to place between the brake pads on the rear disc brakes. I've done a couple of single speed rides and the trainer is working fine.

Saturday, March 27, 2021: Our first full day in Brookings, Oregon. I found the North Bank Chetco River Road which follows the Chetco River to the east. Riding east the traffic was lite, riding west on the way back, much more traffic. This is a busy weekend due to spring break.

I will definitely want to spend more time on this road and area. At 7.5 miles the road turns to single lane with new asphalt. I need to spend some riding time on that asphalt. I rode out to 10 miles then turned around to give a total of a 20 mile ride. Click these photos for more views.

The Oregon State Beavers are playing in the March Madness Sweet Sixteen today so I must get back quickly. As it turned out, the Beavers won and are moving on to the Elite 8.

Wednesday, March 10, 2021: I was going to sell the spin bike but Gwen decided she wanted to use it. Maybe she will get excited about the workouts.

The tools I need to fix the broken spoke on my bike have arrived. I need to remove both the cassette and brake rotor before replacing the spoke. These are the two tools needed to do that. The tool on the bottom left fits the brake rotor lock ring to release the rotor. It also fits the lock ring on the cassette. Getting both these out of the way allows me to push the new spoke through the hole in the hub, interweave with the other spokes and attach to the rim.

The spokes are due to arrive on Saturday, I'm hoping they will arrive early because we aren't going to be home on Saturday. If that's the case, I won't be able to fix the spoke until Monday. The wheel actually doesn't have much of a wobble so I've been riding the bike on the borrowed trainer. There is a lot more tension onto the spokes on either side of the missing spoke because they now carry an extra load. It might be a good idea to change them when I replace the broken spoke.

Monday, March 8, 2021: My friend Glen loaned me his "dumb" trainer with his Wahoo Speed sensor so I can continue using Zwift. My spin bike has unexplained, sudden problems with connecting to Zwift. My goal is to replace the spin bike with a "smart" trainer such as the one Glen just bought. It is portable and can go with us when we travel. I visited Glen yesterday to try out this trainer to be sure it fit my bike. While testing the trainer, we noticed the rear wheel was not true (it wobbled). So today I got out my spoke wrench with the plan to true the wheel. However, I quickly found the reason for the wobble, a broken spoke. I had to make a decision, do I buy the tools needed to replace a spoke (both the brake rotor and the 9 speed cassette must be removed and I don't have the tool to remove them). Also, once the spoke is replaced, the wheel must be trued. It would be much easier to true with a truing stand. So, do I buy the tools and spokes and do the work myself, or pay a bike shop to do it. The price of the tools and parts is $32 not including a truing stand. A bike shop should charge about an hour for this work if I take them a wheel with no tire saving them time. I chose to order the tools and parts thinking I would be prepared when the next spoke breaks and knowing I will likely need the same tools to make cassette changes when I find the right smart trainer. I owned a bike shop for a few years about 30 years ago so I'm hoping wheel truing comes back to me.

I squeezed the bike and trainer into my shop/shed. I already have a fan in the shop and an articulated TV mount for the TV currently hanging in the gazebo. Yes, it is an eBike but the assistance is left off. My ride with the guys tonight went very well. The stool in front of the bike helps me get onto the bike since it is raised off the floor.

Saturday, December 19, 2020: The forecast calls for heavy rain all day tomorrow so I packed the car with the castle shelf, plus other large packages for the grandkids. I was surprised that everything fit in the car. I still have my luggage and ski gear to fit but there is room.

I still had enough time to do another Echelon class with Jama. It is always a challenge. I will be away for a week so hope I don't lose much conditioning. I got some good news today from Echelon. When I bought the bike 3 months ago Walmart advertised 6 months of free classes but I only got 3 months. I emailed them concerning the mistake and they have added another 3 months free. I may have more good news. I've been disappointed with the Echelon bike because it will login only to the Echelon APP so it won't work with the other cycling APPs. My riding friends use the Zwift APP to ride together virtually. I'd like to join them but can't because of the Echelon limits. I posted a notice in the Facebook Group, "Zwift after 50" and actually got two solutions to be able to connect my bike to other APPS. I won't be trying them until I return in a week. The most promising is an APP written by Roberto in Italy. I ended up in a long discussion with Roberto while I was trying to understand his APP. I learned Italy is in a COVID-19 lock down much like Oregon. I'm looking forward to joining my friends on Zwift.

Thursday, December 3, 2020: I've been riding the spin bike in the gazebo since the purchase of the bike. I've been watching my spin classes on my phone or my little eight inch tablet. I soon learned of "Smart View" on my phone where images and audio on the phone is "cast" or "mirrored" onto a smart TV. A 32" smart TV is surprisingly inexpensive this time of year so I've installed one in the gazebo. Today was my first ride with the new TV projecting the class. Since it is a smart TV it will do much more than show spin bike classes. We are looking forward to warm summer evening under the gazebo. Click this photo for another view. Gwen took a short video so you can get an idea of what a spin bike class looks like. These instructors talk non-stop for the whole lesson. It's hard to imagine since I'm pretty breathless about ten minutes into the class. Today's class was 60 minutes long, there was never a time Nicole stopped talking. She mentioned she has classes all day tomorrow. She must be in extraordinary condition. If you can see the monitor in these photos and video, my heart rate is in the top right corner. I shot for 140, anything over that and I'm working too hard. It's pretty strange having to wear tights on a stationary bike but it is always between 33 and 40 this time of year. The two towels on the handlebars are to wipe off the sweat. Yes, I work hard enough that the sweat pours into my eyes and drips onto the bike. There were 230 riders nationwide on this ride.

Thursday, November 26, 2020: This is Thanksgiving Day which began early for me. I decided to do a 90 minute spin bike class (not because I wanted to do that long a ride but because it was the only LIVE class in the morning). I knew I needed to go easy for the first half and increase my output during the second half. The 45 minute ride I did yesterday generated 505 watts output. In theory, I should do 1,010 watts then for 90 minutes. Well, I only did 810 watts so that can be a challenge for me. I honestly can't imagine doing my 45 minute effort for a full 90 minutes but these instructors keep pushing so who knows. This photo was taken early in the ride on a 42 degree day. By the time this ride if finished this t-shirt is soaked with sweat. Click the photo for the report of the ride. Click here for a 3 second video.

Friday, November 20, 2020: This morning I drove to Roseburg, visited three different lumber companies looking for just the right hardwood to make a Christmas project. This was my third trip trying to find just the right lumber. I finally gave up and bought clear Pine. Next, to Costco because they have a sale starting today on butter, honey coated mixed nuts and an Epson printer. The Canon printer we have jams every time we send a file to it and we (I'm) tired of it! Abby went along on this shopping trip because she likes to go.

After returning home midday, it was still only 38 degrees and "the guys" were talking about a bike ride tomorrow. The temperatures are forecast tomorrow to be the same as today. I searched through my storage bin marked "Bicycle" and found my cold weather gear. I don't believe I've used it for twenty (possibly thirty) years. If I ride tomorrow, I'm wearing all this.

I've just learned the guys are whimping out due to the cold weather. I'm told their limit is mid-40s for Glen and 50+ for Erik. I may still take myself for a ride. Click the photo to enlarge.

Thursday, November 19, 2020: A cold day but no rain so time for a nice bike ride to the west.

The photo shows the Norris Blueberry Farm about 7 miles to the west of Sutherlin. Click the photo to see more of the farm closer to Sutherlin. The red leaves are the blueberry plants.

When I started the ride the thermometer showed 53.8 so I wore a long sleeve jersey and shorts. At the end of the ride the thermometer was 45 so I was wishing for a few more layers. My toes and fingers were frozen.

I decided, any new planned rides should end before 3pm.

Monday, November 16, 2020: Finally, the rain has stopped long enough to get out onto the road. I picked up my new "100 Valleys of the Umpqua" Jersey today. Now I can match the guys when we ride together. I do think there is something wrong with the shirt. Paul sold me the shirt and promised it would take 15 minutes off my best time. That didn't work today! :-(

No rain but the road was still wet from rain last night. Rain is forecast again tomorrow. The spin bike is helping to keep me in shape.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020: I really like an APP called "RideWithGPS" but it has not been working properly for a couple weeks. I have been trying everything with the help of the RWGPS support. When searching for solutions I discovered another APP called "Wahoo Fitness" which automatically posts to two other APPs, RWGPS and Strava. So today's spin bike ride was recorded on Wahoo then posted to RWGPS. Today's spin bike ride is the longest I've done so far. I always ad on to the ride with a warm up and cool down. I'm not sure what is meant by "Low Impact" because this was a very tough class. I had a very wet T-shirt by the time I was finished.

Saturday, October 24, 2020: The temperature was 56 when I began today's ride and 57 when I finished. I should have put on a vest but I never got uncomfortably cold.

I'm feeling like I need to spend more time on the spin bike during "off" days because my endurance seems to be suffering. I'm losing strength yet my spin bike rides "hurt".

Today's ride was one of my favorites. It was the Driver Valley Road loop with very little traffic and usually a nice view of wildlife. Today it was only one deer.

Click my photo for a nice view of the weather.

Sunday, September 27, 2020: Glen on the left, Erik on the right. Glen drove to Cottage Grove with the two of us for the Bicycle Travel Weekend loop ride from Cottage Grove to Lorane then to Creswell back to Cottage Grove. It's a nice 43 mile ride with some good climbing in between. This was a free organized ride which Glen learned about it then invited his riding friends to join him. This was all new territory for me, two fun towns, Cottage Grove and Creswell. There were about twenty riders but we left all of them behind within the first seven minutes. Glen set a blazing pace to begin the ride, I needed a little more warmup but apparently he didn't. You see I have my GoPro, I chose to video long rides to use as "Training Videos" during the winter months when I can't ride due to the weather. Here is a short video as we started out in Cottage Grove. I slowed it down so you can see some of the stores. Click this photo to see our group.

Saturday, August 22, 2020: It has been a while since I last rode a century ride. Erik and I rode a Metric Century today. That would be 100 Km or 62+ miles. Neither of us planned on a century bet we did plan a 50 mile ride. Erik wanted to show me a nice single lane, paved road on the far side of the Umpqua River. We rode 6 mile down that road then 6 miles back. "Erik, you realize you just added 12 miles to a 50 mile ride." I said. We had to make sure we did 62+ miles (we actually did 65.5 miles). Before you say, "but you were on your eBike, Dale", I never come higher than the lowest assist setting and my average heart rate for today's ride was 139 BPM. That's working! Our "rest stop" was at the 50 mile mark at the Lighthouse Bakery. Click on all these photos for a view of more great riding in Oregon along the Umpqua River. Thanks Erik for the two photos of me.

Saturday, August 8, 2020: Glen organized a Glide Loop Ride today which included our friend Erik and myself. This is a nice 50 mile ride to the tiny town of Glide, Oregon on highway 138 driving toward Crater Lake. We stayed off of 138 taking North Bank Road out of Wilbur riding along the North Umpqua River. We stopped at a wonder coffee shop in Glide then returned using Buckhorn Road. There is some good climbing along the route and some good descents. I made a short video of our adventure. Click the photo for a view of the North Umpqua River.

Wednesday, August 5, 2020: Meet Trevor from downtown Roseburg. Trevor saw my Craigslist ad for my Torelli road bike and acted on it. He is now the new owner of this fine, lightweight bike which will give him years and miles of pleasure.

I have had several cyclists interested but Trevor was the first to recognize what a great bike it is. He is a mountain biker and new to road riding. Have fun Trevor and take care of that bike!

In case you missed it, here is the day I bought that bike.

So why did I sell such a fine bike? I have been riding a road bike since I was 11 years old. I have done many century rides (100 miles) and know what training is and know what I should be able to do on a bike. I was expecting my eBike to get me into shape again to perform well on the road bike and I believe I am in as good a condition as is possible after 1 year of riding (training). Yes, I feel great, I've lost 20 lbs and really enjoy riding. But I can't do on my road bike what I use to do and I don't enjoy the road bike nearly as much as I enjoy my eBike. When you read the reports of my riding by clicking the print-out in the upper right corner, you'll see my heart rate is right where it should be, average of 140 BPM. That shows I'm working but I can't do on the road bike (speed and distance) what I can do on the eBike (not like I use to). And I enjoy the eBike much more. I don't expect anything to change as I age so chose to sell the Torelli.

Monday, July 20, 2020: Cycling with two left socks.

Today we had breakfast with Gwen's daughter Lesa and her partner, Jeff, in Roseburg. I took my bike and rode out Garden Valley Blvd to Oak Hill Road for a round about route back to Sutherlin.

This was the hottest day of the year so far this summer which did not make for a pleasant ride although I finished before 1 pm. I did get to try out my new cycling socks.

Thursday, July 16, 2020: It was a warm day today, 91 for the high but 85 when I was riding. Still the stinging sweat filled my eyes so I couldn't open them. I did 40 miles. My goal is to build endurance to ride a metric century (that's 63 miles). The one I have picked out has 3300 feet of elevation increase too. I'm just waiting for a cool day to do it. Today's ride was on much of the route I have planned for the century ride, virtually no traffic.

Friday, July 10, 2020: I nice long ride today. Weather began overcast and cool then cleared after an hour and I was dressed to warmly. Still, I enjoyed this ride, one of my favorites. Note how the area is no longer green but turning brown with the summer. Summers in western Oregon can be dry, unlike what we experienced during our trip to the northern mid-west states last summer. Here is the short video from today's ride. Click these photos for more views.

Sunday, July 5, 2020: My ride today took me past the tiny village of Umpqua in the center of the Umpqua Valley created by the Umpqua River, the second largest river in Oregon. It is also the name of my favorite ice cream, Umpqua brand, Espresso Madness! I did a 40 mile loop today which I call the Cole Valley loop named for Cole Road thru the valley. I also did some experimenting with my GoPro camera you see attached to my helmet. In the photo, the camera is facing to the rear, so that's the first thing I tried. Then I set the camera on "Time Lapse" while riding thru Cole Valley. Normally, in a time lapse video, the camera is sitting on a tripod and the activity is happening around the camera. In this case, it's mounted on my helmet and I'm passing thru Cole Valley. Here is a link to that video.

Sunday, June 14, 2020: Glen wanted to do a ride in the Sutherlin area. I took him around the Plat I reservoir then onto Driver Valley Road. This is not his first ride in the Sutherlin area so he knows to expect to see no more than two cars on Driver Valley Road. It is one of the best road rides around.

Glen has pushed me in the past. He has made me work harder than I wanted and kept me in the rear of the ride all the time. However, Glen has been slacking off for one reason or another an has gained 20 lbs so today HE was lagging behind and breathing hard. I'm feeling pretty good, especially knowing I am 18 years older. However, if Glen gets back into the cycling groove, I could be in trouble again.

Friday, June 12, 2020: I had planned to ride with a friend today but he cancelled due to the rain. I didn't let the rain stop me so off on a ride of my own. I did the Driver Valley Loop but added in the Plat-I Reservoir which I haven't seen in about four years. It is very close, only about five miles and this was my first time to ride around the entire reservoir. I didn't see good access to this lake so not sure if it is used for recreation. Also, I'm not sure if it has any fish to draw the fishing crowd.

I did have to put on my rain gear but not sure how good it is. Yes, it's waterproof, but that's the problem. I get about as wet inside the gear as outside from sweat. Waterproof rain gear does not let perspiration out so I began to feel damp inside the gear.

I did pass through Oakland, Oregon again but this time rode by the Oakland High School. I was there one other time to watch a football game. Also, Stearns Hardware store is one of my favorites because I know the owner by first name. It is a very small hardware store so inventory is limited but I can count on Bill to have the nuts and bolts I often need. Click all three photos for more views.

Saturday, May 23, 2020: I did the Wilcox loop today but in the reverse direction. That doesn't sound like much of a change but I did it to create more interest and to turn all the downhill runs into climbs and all the climbing to descents.

When you ride in the reverse you see lots of new things so I took some more photos.

Click these photos for more views.

Friday, May 15, 2020: The first clear day in a few days so Gwen cleaned the whole place and gave me the job of an Abby bath.

After the bath, however, I went on another great rural ride with some steep ascents and descents. I call this ride the "Cole Loop". It combines part of the Roger's, Rochester, Oakland loops but adds Cole Road. Cole Road has the steepest climbing and descending of anything I've ridden so far. It also has lots of new farms and rural dwellings to view. You just don't find this kind of riding in the area of Arizona we like to winter park.

Click the top photo for a unique fence decoration on one of these rural dwellings.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020: Today was to organize the shed/workshop then work on the bicycles. The most important is to get my yellow Fuji road bike ready to donate to the Umpqua Valley Bicycle Outreach program. It is a program to train youth how to ride long distances and how to repair their bicycle. My Fuji bike and I have a long history together. I purchased it in 1997 and assembled it myself. I've made improvements over the years. The last serious riding on this bike was training for, then riding a century over a steep mountain route. That was a great year for riding and a story worth reading. I bought my current road bike that same year but it didn't replace the Fuji. I still road the Fuji often. I figure I put about 20,000 miles on the Fuji but now it is time for someone else to take over.

After cleaning up the Fuji I worked on my Yamaha CrossConnect Ebike. It has 1,500 miles on it. The rule of thumb is to remove and replace the chain at 1500 miles so I carefully measured the chain and it seemed to have stretched. However, once removed I learned it had not stretched at all. I cleaned it with the intention of reinstalling it however I lost half of the final link so installed the new chain. I'll order the link I need or pick one up at a bike shop and install the old chain again after another couple thousand miles on this bike. You might wonder, why replace the chain if it stretches but it still works. A stretched chain will wear on the rear cassette and the front chain rings making them unusable with a new chain so you are stuck with the old chain unless you replace the cassette and chain rings. It's much cheaper and easier to replace the chain when needed.

Ok, I also replaced the tires with Continental Ultrasport II tires. These are high pressure, light weight tires. They will likely improve my speed and endurance but sacrifice ride comfort. I tried out the new chain and tires on a quick 21 mile ride through the Rochester Covered Bridge.

Monday, April 20, 2020: This time it is the road bike on the Oakland to Rochester Covered Bridge to Hiway 138 route.

It wasn't as enjoyable as the previous ride. For some reason my RideWithGps software was not speaking to me most of the ride. Maybe that made the difference. I finally figured out why she wasn't talking around mile 19. Each mile she calls out my time, distance, elapsed time, heart rate and pace in a very pleasant voice. For nineteen miles she wasn't talking to me. That threw off my timing for sure.

When I arrived at the one way Rochester Bridge a pickup truck was waiting to drive through from the other side. I waved him through because I needed to take photos. He stopped when he came to me and asked, "Did you follow the stock market today?" I answered that I had followed it until noon. He then started talking about the price of oil. I told him I had read the oil companies were willing to pay $37 per barrel if someone would take it. They no longer had anyplace to store the oil. So the price of oil was a NEGATIVE $37. Then he told me, "When I was just learning to drive the price of a gallon of gas was $.19 per gallon." I answered, "So was the price of a hamburger!" With that, he drove off and I got to take my photos.

Click the photos for another view.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020: I went to the optometrist today. He said my eye change is so slight I don't need new glasses. Good news.

I took my EBike on the Oakland loop today but added the Rochester Covered Bridge built in 1933. It is a one lane bridge, still used to cross Calapooia Creek which is pretty high this time of year. Adding the bridge only added two miles to the route but took me onto a longer stretch of busy route 138.

Click both photos for more views of the bridge.

Sunday, April 12, 2020: Doing the same Medium loop through Oakland and on to Hiway 138.

I stopped several times to make adjustments to my riding APP since it was the first ride with the new phone.

A little different route which took me in front of the historic Oakland City Hall which is also the library. Of course, most are closed due to the COVID-19 virus scare.

It is hard to compare the EBike ride with the road bike ride since I made so many stops on this ride to make software adjustments and to take photos. This ride was slower by ten minutes and the average speed was slower. We will do a few more rides to compare.

Monday, March 2, 2020: Back on the bike after a couple weeks off. The riding from the Desert Gold RV Park promises to be good. The photo shows Highway 60 as it leaves the park, nice wide shoulder and this shoulder goes the entire length of 60. I only rode 60 for about a mile when I turned off onto 42E, a road with very little traffic. Both 60 and 42E are straight roads, so boring in that way. Also virtually no climbing but there is often a headwind to fight.

The report on this ride shows how straight, out and back ride. It shows 16 miles but I rode 20+ miles. My phone got wet in a rain storm and quit working at 16 miles. So today's ride was trying to stay ahead of the rain storm following me starting at mile 10.

Click the photo for a view of the rain in the distance which grew bigger and caught me at mile 9.

Saturday & Sunday, January 25-26, 2020: Two days of desert riding and road riding with beautiful weather. I plan to spend more time road riding and less on the desert. My bike is just not a good desert road bike. Wider tires with less pressure are needed, this bike frame won't allow for that. I did make a helmet video and a drone video of the same desert road to give you a better view of the roads.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019: What else but a ride in the desert on New Year's Eve. I continued to ride toward Dome Rock and the three mountain peaks remembering a "Game Water" System located behind the peak. The last time I was here, I had a real mountain bike and stronger legs. It was nine years ago. First, I found a mine and explored for about fifty feet. Another 30 minutes of riding and I found the "Game Water". The large, white panels collect night time dew which runs into a trough (of course, it will collect rain water also but I believe dew is the main water source. The water is collected from the trough into a huge tank. The tank feeds a small watering trough where animals can drink. The state of Arizona has a camera at the trough to capture photos of animals drinking here. I will have to do a search for those photos once I have good Internet access. I took more photos of the rough riding conditions. Yes, I got another pinch flat on the rear tire even though I had inflated the tire to 57 pounds. I guess I will have to go to 60 pounds. Fortunately, my patched spare tube held air so I was only delayed long enough to change the tube. There are other desert roads out this way I would like to explore but I will want more water, food and more spare tubes before coming this way again. This was my longest ride yet in the desert with the best scenery. Click all the photos for more views. Here is a view from Dome mountain toward the east.

Monday, December 16, 2019: This is our last day at the Lone Star Alamo Area SKP RV Park near Hondo, Texas. We are driving west tomorrow toward Arizona. This is my likely the last ride in this area, don't really expect to every be here again. It has been an enjoyable month of exploring the area by bicycle where I found several good routes for road biking. No bike lanes but very little traffic. My last ride was probably my shortest ride with the most photos because I wanted to remind myself of the adventures I had here. The weather has been surprisingly warm with several days in the 80s, that is warmer than Arizona this time of year. I actually did this ride on December 15 so if you want to see the route, look for the December 15 "Last Texas Ride" in the "RideWithGPS" links above. Click all photos for more views.

Sunday, December 8, 2019: I rode the same route today hoping to learn how much was left of the Javelina. However, the Javelina was gone. Some Texas rancher has picked it up. I can only guess what it would be used for. Perhaps bacon and eggs at the local Mexican restaurant but you didn't hear ME say that.

I have seen the Flood Gauge at low spots on the side of a road around on my rides. We have seen no rain in the three weeks we have been here but there must be some time when the rain is heavy enough to need the Flood Gauge.

Clear day and mid-70s so nice riding weather. 10 mph wind from the southwest made for an easy ride when heading northeast and a cooling ride into the wind.

I will admit to a mistake on my part. My heart rate monitor has been giving me strange readings the last few rides. I ordered a new one yesterday. Today I noticed the sensors which should go next to my skin were partially blocks by my new bib shorts. I wish I had noticed that yesterday. The heart rate reports today seemed more realistic but low. I guess I can check those with the new belt arriving tomorrow.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019: Today's 36 mile ride was another into rural Texas on mostly single lane paved roads. The Old US 90 is 12 miles of the route between Sabinal and D'Hanis. It is a very rough pavement, single lane. I usually see, at the most, 1 - 2 cars, but today it was busy with about a dozen. I enjoyed taking photos of the animals along the way. In addition to these animals, I saw a Bald Eagle, hawk, deer and smelled a skunk but none would stand still long enough to photograph. Here is a cow who was interested in my ride. The weather was perfect for riding, a cool start slowly warming to about 75 by the time the ride was over. Click these photos for more animals.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019: Still riding to find a longer workout ride. I found it today. I was looking for about 32 miles but 35.5 miles on this route will work find. This route is 30.5 miles on single lane, light traffic, rough asphalt with 5 miles on a four lane freeway with wide shoulders. It takes me to Sabinal, Texas at the furthest point then returning to D'Hanis. This route has lots of hawks although I viewed one up close and it looked more like a falcon to me. Also every other rural house has a dog who likes to chase cyclists. Fortunately, so far, they just chase and bark. Today there was a strong wind which was appreciated when riding north but created more work when riding south.

I'm trying out an upgrade to Relive videos so put on headphones and watch this video on your laptop. Then scroll down the video page to see all the photos from today's ride.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019: Nice ride today on rough roads but empty of traffic. 10% gravel, 10% smooth asphalt and 80% rough asphalt. These were rural, single lane roads on a warm 80 degree day. Lots of bouncing but the lack of traffic made up for it. I'm searching for a nice 30+ mile route for a daily workout. Our location at Lone Star Escapee Park is about a quarter mile from the railroad tracks. We hear 12+ trains each day and night. I caught one while on this ride. Click the photo at left to see a short video. I rode through the tiny town of D'Hanis. I saw their only manufacturing facility, bricks. This ride turned out to be 24+ miles, but I have an idea of how to extend it. Click for another way to view my ride.

Sunday, November 17, 2019: Today was a travel day from Fredricksburg to Hondo, Texas. But yesterday, I was able to get in a 20+ mile ride into the rural area of Fredricksburg. I have the lady at the visitor center to thank for this great ride. She drew a neon pink line along the route. It is a popular route because I came across several other riders on the route. It was mostly on single lane paved roads with very little traffic. In fact, I saw more loose livestock than cars. Click the photos for more views. Track my route.

We have arrived at the Lone Star RV Park, one of the Escapee parks in Texas. We expect to stay at least two weeks and possibly a month. There is lots to explore around this area. San Antonio is a short 30 mile drive.

Thursday, October 17, 2019: We are parked at the Ruark Bluff East Corp of Engineers Park near Greenfield, Missouri. The park is on Stockton Lake. I've not seen the horse and buggy warning sign since Wisconsin. Unfortunately, I didn't see any Amish today. I rode into Greenfield, 25 mile round trip, which is the county seat of Dade county. They have a nice looking courthouse but the business buildings around the courthouse are old and mostly empty. The road between the campground and Greenfield was rolling hills with deep dips and steep hills. I kept my Ebike at the second level of assist standing on the steep climbs rather than shifting into a higher assist level. That worked to get me to the top of the hills. Very nice 70 degree weather today with little wind. It was interesting exploring Greenfield, not as clean and organized as some of the Wisconsin towns I explored. Click the photos for more views. The previous ride was 30 miles and I had not charged the battery. It was at 66% when I began the ride. After 25 miles, the total was 55 miles and the battery showed 35%.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019: While Mz Ruby is waiting to get a diagnosis, I take myself for a ride back into Columbia. I actually find the Hominy Creek Trail again which leads to Steven's Lake and Park. So this time I wasn't lost and did not have to stop to look at the map or ask Google Maps to save me again. Gwen drove off this morning to get away from all the noise and activity around Freightliner and I forgot to get my helmet out of the car so I am using her helmet. Click the photo for an interesting old car I found. While riding Steven's Lake I also found Columbia's idea of Stonehenge. It is so easy to create a ride animation, I did it again. You'll see that I am ten miles outside of Columbia. You'll also see where I took the photos.