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Cycling While Full Time
RVing
Page 5
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Monday, November 11, 2024: For
today's RCE Bicycle Club ride only four showed up. However,
these are all strong riders especially Janette. We rode south on
the Loop for ten miles then turned around for 4 miles back to
the coffee shop. Our coffee stop today turned out to be
special. We met Ken who is very involved with everything cycling
in Tucson. We heard Ken's life story of how he became involved
with cycling. He is a retired professor from several colleges.
He told us of places we should visit in Tucson which I recorded
and will visit sometime in the future. He reminded us of the
bicycle swap meet this coming Sunday. I went two years ago and
should go again. |
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| Monday, November 4, 2024: The
Rincon Country East Cycle Club began today with the first ride
of the season. We will ride every Monday until mid-April, just
like last year. We are a social ride so for the first ride we
rode The Loop to the CoffeeXChange, seven miles then everyone
had a drink and treat while visiting. Then the seven miles back
home. It was perfect weather, about 60 with no wind. The riders
from the left, Fred, John, Janette, Dale (Me), Wes and Sheila. |
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Saturday, September 21,
2024: I don't have an easy way to store my bike in my
carport. I received this upright bike storage rack
today. It has four wheels at the base making it easy to
roll to a safe storage location. |
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Wednesday, July 24, 2024: The
hitch attachment works as well as I expected. It was an
easy install. I already owned the roller attached below the
hitch. This will protect the hitch and rack in the case the
rear of the trailer hits the pavement. This hitch is
specifically made for bicycle racks, not towing. Click each
photo for another view.
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Tuesday: July 23, 2024: My Yakima
bike rack is very heavy, 51 lbs. I need some place to
carry this hitch rack while towing the trailer. I'm thinking I
will put my bike inside the trailer but I still need to carry
this heavy rack so I have the use of it when not towing. Gwen's
bike is in Tucson so I only need to transport my bike. I'm
cautious of what this heavy rack will do to the aluminum rear
bumper on the trailer. I removed one of the bike supports which
brought the weight down to only 35 pounds. I found an
attachment on Amazon which I believe will solve the problem. I
can carry the rack on the back of the trailer and the bike inside.
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Friday, May 17,
2024: Today's ride was with our new friend, Warren. He
took me on one of his favorite routes. It was all
street riding, no bike trails. He rides an e-Trike
which is new to him. It is his first trike,
where he previously rode two wheeled bikes. I don't
trust the Tucson drivers as much as he does so I
usually avoid street riding. We are waiting for some
construction to be completed then we will ride the
bike trails.
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Thursday, May 16, 2024: Gwen
agreed to a early morning ride to beat the heat. We ended up
doing a nice loop ride on part of The Loop. Some of the ride
was on gravel which Gwen handled well. I'm hoping she
will do even more riding. Here is tonight's sunset
photo with the palm trees of this park in the
foreground. |
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Friday, May 10, 2024:
Recovering from bronchitis, this was my first ride in a while.
I discovered the trees along the Loop are in bloom. Weather is
perfect, mid-80s and little wind today. Click the center photo
for a closeup of a bloom.
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| Thursday, April 25,
2024: Wes and I picked out this day to ride the
entire Loop around Tucson. We chose this day because the
weather forecast was for a high of 78. It did get a bit
warmer (81) at one point but mostly below 80. The
Loop is advertised to be more than 130 miles of paved
multi-use trail but the actual Loop is 55 miles. It has
multiple spurs leaving the Loop to go to different towns
and residential areas away from the Loop. Those
spurs make the paved trail 130+ miles. I am familiar
with the trail route on the west due to my riding last
season when we parked at Rincon Country West. And, of
course, I am familiar with the trail route on the east
since the club would ride it every week. Wes and I
stopped at one of my favorite refreshment locations on
the west, the Decibel Coffee Shop which is behind us in
the photo. This time we both got ice cream. |
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Monday, April 22,
2024: Today is the group ride day but the season is
over for leading the RCE Bicycle Club. I rode
alone for a longer distance than the club usually
does. However, I was in need of some breakfast so I
stopped at one of the clubs favorite locations, the
CoffeeXChange. I ordered a bagel with cream cheese
plus water. I sat just inside the window
overlooking my bike. I always remove the Bosch motor
controller so someone can't walk up to the bike and
use the motor to get away fast. My helmet strap
attaches the bike to the bike stand so it shouldn't be
quick. This is a popular stop for cyclists because it
is only 200 yards off the Loop. Today's ride
temperature was 84 - 94 degrees but I was riding at 11
am, so high temperatures were to be expected. I
rarely use assistance on the Loop and today was no
different. My ride began with the battery at 92% and
ended at 90% only because the controller takes a
little power.
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Thursday, April 18, 2024: I
took myself to the Saguaro National Park East. This is my
third time to ride the park but my first time to ride TO the
park from our resort. That meant riding with a lot of traffic
to get there and very little traffic at the park. When I ride
in Oregon, I ride with very little traffic so it's enjoyable
riding. Riding in Tucson traffic is not enjoyable. The park
has lots of blooming plants but no running water. It was an 88
degree day but I was comfortable with the temperature. Click
both photos for more views. Total ride was only 22
miles.
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| Monday, April 15,
2024: This was the last day of the Rincon
Country East season for the bicycle club. The resort
doesn't close but the Activity Office does close and
everything is left to the "Summer Buddies" to
organize. Wes and I were the only two showing up
for the usual ride today. Since Wes is a strong rider
we didn't have to stick to the short ride planned so
we rode to the Ren Coffeehouse, 28 miles round
trip. Wes use to teach photography at the
college level. I have a strange look on my face
because Wes wanted the fountain behind us. I was
telling Wes, the first rule of photography was to not
have two subjects in the photo. Was the subject in
this photo the two cyclists or the fountain? As we
rode home, I got a one hour lecture of how it was OK
to have the fountain in the photo. :-) I'm still not
convinced! Had the two of us been looking at the
fountain, it would have been obvious, the subject was
the fountain! Click the photo for the inside of
the Ren Coffeehouse. |
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Friday, April 12, 2024: I rode
the furthest south on the Loop since having arrived in Tucson.
I've have been to these locations before but it was last year.
The ride was enjoyable even though the temperature ranged from
88 to 90 degrees. It was a lonely ride today since few were on
the Loop. Click the three photos for more views. |
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Friday,
April 5, 2024: Today was a nice solo ride on a very
windy day. I had 30 mph gusts during my ride with 42
mph gusts after I returned home. I was riding the part
of The Loop north along the Rillito River which has
water in it. Most of the Tucson rivers and washes are
dry except during the Monsoon season. Click the left
photo for a view of the Rillito Park. Click the right
photo for a short video of the Rillito River.
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Monday, March 11,
2024: We had a team of nine ride to the Presta Coffee
Shop (one rider showed up late and missed the group
photo). It seemed like a long ride today with
waiting at intersections and struggling with traffic
lights not working in our favor. I was afraid the
group would be grumbling about the route but they all
seemed to enjoy the Presta Coffee shop as well as the
conversations we had during our refreshment
time. We are normally back from our rides by
noon but this ride took us an hour longer. The
Aviation Bikeway is much rougher than our Loop trail.
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Wednesday, March 6,
2024: I rode to the Presta
Coffee Roasters today to prepare for a ride with
the group on Monday. Presta coffee is advertised to be
very special and has a price tag to prove it, up to
$30/12 ounces. I tried the "El Salvador" coffee and
found it drinkable. I say it that way because I
usually put a flavored creamer in my coffee but
decided to try without any creamer to learn if it was
special. I enjoyed my first cup of black coffee in a
long time. The rider must ride the Aviation Bikeway to
arrive here. It is not nearly as well kept as The
Loop. The asphalt is very rough and lots of homeless
camped along the bikeway. However, it is the best and
safest route to downtown Tucson and the University of
Arizona. Click both photos for more views.
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Sunday, March 3, 2024: I
finally have taken the time to switch from the gravel bars to
road bars. I was expecting this to take all day but only took 2
hours. The photo at left is the "before" photo showing the wide,
flared gravel bars. Click that photo to see the bars without the
tape. The center photo shows the new road bars with the gravel
bars hanging below. I got the road bars last October at the
Tucson Bike Swap for $1. They are considerably narrower, just
the right width for me. I slowly transferred every thing from
the gravel bars to the road bars. Click the center photo to see
my success. The right photo shows my new tape half done. I also
got the handlebar tape at the bike swap. Not my first choice of
tape but it was only $7 while all other tape was $30 or more.
Click that photo to see the finished product.
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Monday, February 19, 2024:
Today's ride was 12.5 miles into downtown Tucson to the Time
Market, one of our favorites. Not everyone in our group wanted
to ride that far so three of the group did their own ride
south on the Loop. Four of us ended at the Time Market for
refreshments and time to visit. Our ride was on the Aviation
Bikeway which is not maintained nearly as well as The
Loop. Still, we all stayed together on the rough asphalt
and arrived at our destination together. Two enjoyed a pizza,
one enjoyed a sandwich and one had an Americano. We were back
at the park before 1.
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Friday, February 16, 2024: It
is past time to change my road tires. I've only been riding
them for a year but they might have 3000 miles on them. They
have been tubeless since I mounted them a year ago and never a
flat. After releasing the air the bead would not come away
from the rim side wall, they were that tight. I would never
use a screwdriver to pry, too easy to damage a rim but I had
to use it in a twisting motion to pop the bead off the rim
side wall. They made a very loud pop when coming away from
rim. To get the new tires seated tubeless on the rim I used my
Airshot, a pump would not work. I used the pump to put 120 psi
into the Airshot then connected the Airshot to the valve stem
on the rim. I released the Airshot valve which shot 120
psi into the tire in one big blast. That seats the tire to the
rim with a load bang! Now the pump will work on the tires.
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Monday, February 12, 2024:
Seven of us rode north on The Loop again. It was cold so
everyone was ready for the CoffeeXChange when we reached Tanke
Verde. I had a bagel with cream cheese. Others had warm
drinks but I already had my coffee. |
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Thursday, February
1, 2024: We moved our regular off road Friday ride to
Thursday because rain is forecast for tomorrow. Not
everyone got the message or had other Thursday things
to do so it was Wes, Ed and Me on the ride. We
did the same tide as last week, the Fantasy Island
Mountain Bike Park only a mile away. However this time
I remembered to bring my GoPro so I have a nice
video to share showing what those in Tucson
think is mountain biking.
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Monday, January 29, 2024:
This was a nice group considering the route today. We took the
Aviation Bikeway to the Rattlesnake Bridge then beyond to
University Avenue for a coffee and refreshment stop. Aviation
Bikeway is not maintained as well as The Loop and is lined
with homeless camps along the way in many locations. Click the
photo for a view of the Rattlesnake tail and click here for a
view of the Rattlesnake head.
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Friday, January 26,
2024: My first off-road ride since leaving Oregon. The
rides in the photo: Dale (me) on the left then Wes,
Dennis and Dave. Wes organized and lead this ride into
the Fantasy Island Mountain Bike Park about a mile
from our location. They all had mountain bikes while I
had only my gravel bike (gravel wheels exchanged for
my road wheels). We rode the "Bunny Trail" and
I'm glad we did. The area is really for mountain bikes
not gravel bikes. But this was an enjoyable ride due
to the condition of the trail, the weather and
friends. We have decided to make this a Friday event
added to the Monday event. Click the photo for the
"ugliest cactus" Dennis has ever seen. Also, here is a
funny video I made today :-).
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Monday, January 15, 2024:
Our bike club grew today. I had been told by those who have
been here before to expect more riders in January. We made a
short ride of 7 miles to the CoffeeXChange, a ride we have
done twice before. This turned out to be at many of the riders
limit. A few of the riders extended the ride especially
because of the great weather. My son Joe joined us for the
ride. Click the photo to see the two of us.
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Tuesday, January 2,
2024: I moved the regular RCE Bike Club ride day to
Tuesday this week to avoid the holiday. The seven of
us rode south on The Loop to a rest stop which is ten
miles distant. We turned around and rode back to the
Pour My Coffee Shop where we all enjoyed
refreshments. Our total ride was 20 miles and we
could have gone further because these were all strong
riders. Click this photo to see another view along The
Loop.
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Thursday, December
28, 2023: Today was a solo ride on The Loop to La
Caņada beyond the Rillito Park. It ended up being 36
miles without any stop at a coffee shop. Click
the photo for a view of The Loop.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2023:
The RCE Bike Club rode a paved loop road in the Saguaro
National Park East. It is a short 8 miles but has some decent
climbing and some very steep descents. We had a total of six
riders. Three drove to the start point while the other three
rode to the start point. The ride is very scenic on a narrow
one way road shared with vehicle traffic. The route is very
popular with cyclists. Click the photos for more views.
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Monday, December 18, 2023:
Keeping with the RCE (Rincon Country East) bicycle club
schedule, we rode 28 miles today with the Ren Coffeehouse in
the middle of the ride. The 28 miles was a little long for
some of the riders. We'll do something different in
three weeks since the next two Monday's are holidays.
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Friday, December 8,
2023: I rode exploring the Loop south looking for a
suitable destination for a future RCE Bike Club ride.
Riding south the Loop passes the border of the
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on one side and the open,
empty desert on the other side. This open desert
contains the Fantasy Island Mountain Bike Park with
miles of dirt to ride between the cactus. You truly
feel remote with nothing but the Loop pavement in
front of you. Click the photos for more views.
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Monday, December 4,
2023: We had a nice club ride today from Rincon
Country East. It was only a 14 mile round trip ride
but we all enjoyed the coffee shop in the middle of
the ride. In the photo from the left, Dale (me),
Co-Host Gary, Jack, Mark, Wanda, Julie and Mike.
Now I must start the plans for next week's ride.
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November 20, 2023: It was a
chilly morning so the three riders for the Monday club ride
are dressed warmly. From the left, Dale, Gary and Wes. Our
destination is the Aviation Bikeway to the Rattle Snake
Bridge. The bridge is just behind the sculpture of the
Rattlesnake tail. The distance to the tail is 11/5 miles
so round trip is 23 miles. Gary and I road eBIkes but I never
turned mine on.
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Monday, November 13,
2023: Our RCE Club ride (Rincon Country East) was
twice the length of last week. That or something else
reduced the size of our group. We had a slight
tailwind while riding north which meant a headwind
when we returned. Still, everyone seemed to enjoy the
ride.
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Sunday, November 12, 2023:
Years ago when I lived at Lake Tahoe, California I would
attend the Ski Swap every November. Here in Tucson is a Bike
Swap in November. I attended today and found an incredible
amount of stuff for sale at give away prices in some booths,
not all. I have been looking at drop handlebars thinking to
change my flared handlebars. It will be a lot of work so I
have delayed a purchase of about $60. I couldn't pass up the
$1 handlebars, the exact size I was looking for. I also found
a gift for son Joe and a $5 jersey for me. I also bought a
muffin from a youth group.
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Wednesday, November
8, 2023: I did a pre-ride today of the route I'm
planning for the cycling club on Monday. On the first
ride we did two segments of 7 miles each. The route I
rode today is twice that, four segments of 7 miles
each. That may be a challenge for some in our group
but everyone did so well on the first ride I'm ready
to try this. The reward is a really nice coffee shop,
Ren Coffeehouse. It is literally a stroll off the Loop
bike trail. There will be no street riding. The Ren
has a huge patio area which will accommodate our
group. Additionally, for my sister, Dorana, look what is
next door. Wow, 200 hours of instruction
to become a Yoga instructor. Click these photos for
more views.
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Monday, November 6, 2023: I
have started a Cycling Club at Rincon Country East (RCE) in
the same style as the riding group I joined last season in
Rincon Country West. I had no idea how many would show up. I
was pleased that we had a total of 11 riders. I changed the
start time from 10 am to 9 am because of the weather forecast
of 90 degrees today. I believe we lost only 1 rider because of
the time change. I had no idea of the strength of the
riders so we did a short ride of 7 miles to the XChange Coffee
Shop for refreshment then 7 miles returning for a total of 14
miles. All the riders seemed to do well so I will lead a
longer ride next Monday. Click the top photo to see all in the
group.
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Sunday, October 8,
2023: While looking at a Tucson cycling map I
discovered the Aviation Bikeway began only a mile from
the Rincon Country East Resort. I had to go exploring
since the bikeway connected the Davis-Monothan Air
Force base to downtown Tucson. Fourth Avenue,
downtown, has many restaurants and shops to explore.
The bikeway is paved but not nearly as well kept as
The Loop. The pavement is very rough in places and
native plants are trying to take over in places.
However the signs along the way lead right to Fourth
Avenue. Now I am anxious to find the route from Fourth
Avenue to the west side of The Loop so I can connect
with The Decibel Coffee Shop!
Click both photos for more views of the bikeway.
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Sunday, September 17,
2023: Today was stage 21 of La Vuelta a Espana
(The Tour of Spain). Twenty-one is the final stage of
the race. Each stage the riders must cover over 100 miles with
thousands of feet worth of climbing. For the first time the
same team won the first three places. "Jumbo Visma"
(pronounced Yumbo) is the team. The rider winning the race in
the red jersey is Sepp Kuss from Durango Colorado USA.
He won by 17 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (who won the
Tour de France) and about a minute ahead of third place,
Primoz Roglic. I always say while watching the Tour de France
that I watch because the views of France are as close as I
will ever get to France. The same goes for the views of Spain.
If you compare athletes, a football player must run hard for
about ten seconds then rest for forty seconds. A cyclist must
ride at 25 - 35 mph for 4 to 5 hours without rest! Just
say'n!
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Friday, September 15, 2023:
Five of us showed today for the Friday "Coffee" ride. When the
ride begins in Roseburg at Gathering Grounds Coffee, it truly
is a coffee ride. But today's ride began in Sutherlin at the
Central Park so no coffee. This was a good ride with
people I know and enjoy riding with. I'm on the far left, then
Bill, Larry, Barry and Mark. Note that Mark and I accidentally
wore the same Umpqua Velo Jerseys. We rode my favorite route,
Driver Valley for a total of 34 miles.
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Sunday, September
10, 2023: Glen invited me to ride with him from Glide
Oregon to the Cool Water Campground following the
Little River Road. It was an out/back route with
climbing all the way to the campground leading to a
descent back to Glide. Normally the descent
would be wonderful but this time we had to fight a
headwind all the way back. This road was more popular
than the roads around Sutherlin, much more traffic. We
rewarded our ride with a late lunch at The Atom, our
favorite place in Glade. I had a large blended drink
which was really nice after a hot ride.
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Monday, September 4, 2023:
After watching all the riders yesterday I took myself on my
Driver Valley ride but extended it to 32 miles. It was perfect
weather with an early morning rain but cool and refreshing
during the ride. The replacement bridge for the 100 year old
Oakland Bridge is probably only a couple months from
completion.
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Sunday, September 3,
2023: Today is the Vineyard Tour organized by the
Umpqua Velo Cycling Club. We do one century tour each
year during Labor Day weekend. My responsibility this
year is to drive a SAG wagon to assist riders with
problems and to follow the last rider on a route to be
sure no help is needed. The riders have a choice of
17, 30, 58 or 100 mile routes. I was to follow the 100
mile riders which I did until the last reststorp where
three riders decided to have me take them back to the
start due to an ankle injury to one of the
riders. The top left photo is Marty with a
motorized three wheel bike. He bought the bike after
knee surgery. The center photo is one of the
riders showing off some energy bars from one of the
ride sponsors. The photos on the right are of two of
the reststops. The group of three on the left
are those I hauled back to the start from the last
reststop. This reststop happened to be at a winery
where the three took advantage of the tasting plus
bought a bottle. Click all photos for more views.
There were nearly 100 riders today which was good
considering the nearby wildfires producing smoke. The
start point was changed to avoid most of the smoke.
Here is a video of
the start of the tour.
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Friday, August 18,
2023: Friday is a club riding day. Today Bill lead the
ride starting from our Sutherlin park. Larry also
joined us, just the three of us on the ride. We did
one of my favorite rides, Driver Valley Road. It was a
good ride for me with a vegetable burrito at the end.
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Friday: August 11,
2023: My friend, Bill, lead the Friday club ride
today. Riders from the left, me, Barry, Dick, Bob and
Bill. It was one of my favorite routes which should
have been 25 miles but we extended the length to 33
miles. Bill is the rider on the poster Rick posted
yesterday. Today is the "Coffee Ride" with a
coffee stop scheduled sometime during the ride.
Gwen's children, Dave and Lesa were visiting today so
I didn't stop for coffee.
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Monday, August 7,
2023: I dropped off the Forester at the mechanic this
morning early for the annual check-up. Rather
than hang around waiting for the car I brought my bike
and took myself for a 38 mile ride through Dixonville
then on to the community of Green. This is a nice
rural loop ride which a did only a couple weeks ago
with my friends Erik and Glen. This time it was a solo
ride almost as good as the riding around Sutherlin.
Not as good because the rider must negotiate traffic
in the beginning and ending of the ride. Click the
photos for more views.
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Wednesday, July 12,
2023: I decided to ride the route I plan to lead
for a club ride in two weeks. It is a route I ride
many times each season but others in the club may not
know this route. I created a video
to introduce the route and generate
interest. Click these photos for more views.
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Saturday and Sunday, July 8-9,
2023: Five of the Umpqua Velo members participated in a Honey
Badger organized gravel ride in southern Oregon. Four of us
camped the night near the start of the ride to avoid a 3 hour
drive in the morning. These are well organized gravel rides on
well scouted routes. Three of our riders did the long 48 mile
ride while Glen and I did the shorter 32 mile ride. It still
took four hours due to the gravel, climbing and stops to take
photos. Click all three photos for more views. I did make a longer video of our ride. It will give
you the gravel experience and the Oregon beauty.
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Saturday, July 1, 2023: I
drove early to my friend Glen's house where we drove together
to pick up our friend Stan. All three of us drove about an
hour east to the Bridge Country Store for the start of our
gravel ride into the mountains to the north. This is all
very remote, heavily wooded area with good gravel roads and
some ranches located off the gravel roads. Glen had explored
the area ahead of our ride to be sure it would be a good
riding destination. Our friends Evan and Owen met us at the
store so a total of 5 riders. We all wore the K9Crack.com jerseys so we looked like a
serious cycling team. This is a beautiful area and
surprising the number of ranches hidden in such a remote area.
Click all photos for more views. I made a short video to give you
an idea of the ride we did today.
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Friday, June 30,
2023: It has been six months since I first went
tubeless so I figured it was time to replenish the
sealant. Another reason for doing it today on these
gravel tires is the planned gravel ride for
tomorrow. The gravel tires are particularly
difficult for tubeless because they don't keep the
bead without a great deal of effort. It is
different with the road tires, they keep the bead and
have a different sealant which can be installed with a
syringe so the bead need not be broken. With the
gravel tires, one side must be partially removed and
sealant poured into the tire. Then the tire is tucked
inside the rim. In order to reseat the bead I
must use the Airshot more than once. Click the photo
for the Airshot setup.
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Wednesday, June 28, 2023:
For the second time this year I got to choose the route and
lead the Wednesday evening Umpqua Velo Club ride. I took them
on one of my favorite routes for 25 miles. We had a total of
seven riders. I'm on the left then Jim, Evan, Owen,
Kristen, Rachel, and Ryan. Owen and Ryan are the
youngest and very strong riders. Ryan rode 26 miles to reach
our start point, then my 25 mile route, then back home,
another 26 miles. The Plat I (letter i) Reservoir is
behind the riders. The ride began at 6 pm and ended by 8 pm
(we stopped for photos and to regroup several times).
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Monday, June 26, 2023: My
friend, Glen, is planning a strenuous ride this coming
Saturday which I will attend. Because of that I decided to
ride a bit longer than my usual warmup ride. Today's ride was
38 mile in 2.5 hours with 2000 feet of climbing. It is one of
my favorite routes but this was my first time this year to
ride this route. It passes by the Mildred Kanipe Memorial Park
(MKMP) at the half way point. The MKMP has camping
specifically for equestrian campers, hiking trails, lots of
wildflowers and lots of Peacocks. You will see a Peacock in
the background under the last photo. Mildred donated her ranch
to the county in her will. The ranch is 1100 acres
donated in 1983. Unfortunately it took the county 30 years to
decide what to do with the donation in addition it took
"friends of Mildred Kanipe" to donate the finances to develop
the park into what it is today. My ride circles much of
northern Douglas County a huge county which reaches all the
way to the Pacific Ocean. It is a beautiful county and the
roads I ride are excellent road riding due to the lack of
traffic and fairly good asphalt. Click the three photos
to see more views. Oh! I wore the K9Crack jersey for my
friends Stan and Georgie, the owners of the dog treat
business.
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Friday, June 23, 2023: I took
Gwen on a bike ride along the Roseburg bike trail to Green.
That meant crossing the South Umpqua River twice, both time on
a bike bridge hanging under an Interstate 5 highway
bridge. The first bridge made creaking and groaning
noises as the semi truck crossed. We had to cross that bridge
twice and felt lucky we made it alive. The trail follows the
South Umpqua where we crossed under the next bridge which
seemed safer. Unfortunately, the trail also follows Interstate
5 so Gwen did not like the traffic noise and the possibility
that a passing vehicle might throw a rock in our direction.
Click the photos for more views.
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Wednesday, June 21,
2023: This is the longest day of the year in the
northern hemisphere. I took advantage of the longest
day by riding into the countryside looking for flowers
and unusual items. Click the photos to see more of
what I found.
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Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
June 16-18, 2023: Once each year the tiny town of Powers,
Oregon hosts the Tour de Fronds bicycle ride. The route
length choices
for the ride are 30, 63, 77 and 100 miles with an increasing
amount of climbing as the mileage increases. My son Ben, plus
friends Glen, Erik, Stan, and I did the metric century (100
kilometers, 63 miles) while friend Jim did 100 miles. It
seems the entire town must volunteer with preparation, food,
SAG wagons, rest stops, advertising while our entrance fee
benefits functions in the town. The elementary school kids
made most of the signs decorating the routes and Ross Hall
where we had our final meal after the ride. The middle
school girls basketball team served us our Friday night meal
as a separate fund raiser. They were very happy with the
$1,600 earned from that meal. There were 220 riders with
an average fee of $75 to benefit the town. Erik, Ben and
I stayed in the Honey Badger Ranch Cabin (HBR) while Glen
stayed in his new RV next to the cabin and above the Coquille
River. The HBR is 100 feet from the Coquille River
making it a very pleasant place to camp. This is the second
time Ben and I have done this ride while the others have done
this multiple times. It is very well organized with great
food, great rest stops and a wonderful forest road to
ride. Ben is already planning for next year saying he
wants to increase to the 77 or 100 mile routes. Click on
all photos for more views.
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Sunday, June 11,
2023: I'm back to riding my bike. Today I chose 28
miles on Driver Valley Road. It felt good to be on the
bike again. Click both photos for more views.
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Saturday and Sunday: June 3
and 4, 2023: Once each year the Umpqua Velo Cycling Club has
an overnight ride. This year we rode to the Cavitt Creek
Campground, a BLM campground south of Glide, Oregon. It is a
popular campground because it has lots of big trees, a creek
with a swimming hole and is close to Roseburg and even closer
to Glide. It was only a 26 mile ride one way for the riders
with 1,500 feet of climbing. This weekend adventure was only
five brave riders. Erik on the left, then me, Bill, Dick and
Glen. Erik did ALL the work of planning and cooking wonderful
camp food for dinner and breakfast. Just before arriving at
the campground we all stopped at the Peel Store for something
to drink and a snack. The weather was perfect. I'm not a fan
of sleeping on the ground but chose to take my tent rather
than my hammock. On the return, I rode back to Sutherlin
through Roseburg giving me 40 miles of riding. Click the
photos for another view.
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Thursday, June 1,
2023: This may seem silly but I do ride with a
flashing read taillight. My light is the Garmin Varia
which is a bit more than a taillight. It also reports
to my Hammerhead K2 computer when a vehicle (or
bicyclist) is approaching from the rear. The
plastic support for the Varia broke two rides ago. I'm
replacing the plastic support with a metal support
which arrived today. I can't mount the Varia to the
seat post because I have an under seat bag to carry
emergency repair tools. |
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Monday, May 29, 2023:
For the first time this year I rode with my friends to Glide,
52 miles round trip. Our favorite stop in Glide is The Atom
Coffee Shop where I had an iced Americano with the Atom
Sandwich. We rode North Bank Road which follows the north bank
of the North Umpqua River, the second longest river in
Oregon. I left Sutherlin at 8:30 and was back by 1
pm. Click all the photos for more views.
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Wednesday, May 24,
2023: Every Wednesday the Umpqua Velo Cycling Club
sponsors an evening ride. I volunteered to lead this
evening. That also means I get to choose the route. I
worked hard to pick a route which would have sites
along the way which might be of interest. There were a
total of five riders on tonight's route. I knew all
riders except two. The young man, second from right,
was the strongest rider. He actually rode to our start
point making his ride about 3x what the rest of us
did.
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Monday,
May 8, 2023: I dodged the rain today to put my Yamaha Cross
Connect back to how it was received. That meant installing
the fenders, rear rack, lights, original tires, and saddle.
Then I took photos and listed on Facebook
Marketplace and
Craigslist.
This has been a good bike for me and I have mixed feelings
about selling it but I just have no room to store another
bike.
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Sunday, May 7, 2023:
Before the rain started today I had enough time to
preview the cycling route I plan to do on May 24. At
the last Umpqua Velo Club meeting I volunteered to
lead a ride on Wednesday afternoon, May 24. The
club usually likes a route between 20 - 22 miles and
moderate hills. I ride these roads everyday in good
weather so I know, roughly, the route I want to show
the riders. It will include the only Sutherlin bike
path and then off into some rolling hills with one
major climb on Oak Hill Road. The photo on the left is
the beginning of that Oak Hill climb. After a
screaming downhill run on the west side of Oak Hill we
will pass by the historic Calapooia Church then the
historic Wilcox home. We follow the road to Rolling
Ridge which leads to the Rochester Covered bridge in
the photo on the right. At this point we are
only 4 miles from the Sutherlin Central Park where we
started.
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Friday, April 28,
2023: My friends, Stan and Georgie own a business
making and selling single ingredient dog treats called
K9Crack. My friend, Stan, is a
very strong cyclist and I try to ride with him often,
or maybe I should say, "ride behind him". He has
created a cycling jersey which you see me wearing
today. I think at least 20 of us have bought the
jersey because we like Stan and his wife and the dog
treats. Today I got back on my bike after being
off it for five days since my focus has been on
completing the trailer overhaul. It was fun to
wear the K9Crack jersey for the first time. I made
sure Stan knew I was wearing it. I suspect when we all
get together as a group looking like we are the
K9Crack Cycling Team it will be even more fun!
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Saturday, April 22, 2023:This
is Earth Day and our Umpqua Velo Cycling Club traditionally
sponsors a ride on this day. Fortunately, we have good weather
surrounded by rain yesterday and rain beginning again tonight.
This turned out to be a 38 mile ride for five of us in the
group. The main group did a 28 mile ride because they somehow
took the wrong route, or I should say, not the planned
route. The five of us did not want to turn around to
chase them down to correct their direction. We DID meet up
with them again when we all arrived at the Lighthouse Bakery
and Cafe in the tiny village of Umpqua. Everything in this
area is "Umpqua" because the second longest river in Oregon,
the Umpqua River runs through this valley. The five of us make
a good group. Glen and Jim are strong riders and usually set a
good pace. Evan and his son Owen are the strongest riders
challenging the rest of us. I am able to keep up with this
group using my eBike assistance. I still ride to my heart rate
which today was usually between 140-155, higher than I usually
ride. I am the oldest in the group at 76 while Owen is the
youngest at 15. At the top of Cole Road, our steepest climb,
Owen lead the group. I asked Owen what his heart rate was as
he was pushing all of us up the mountain. He told me it was
192 which was probably close to his maximum for his age.
Click both photos for more views. I also made a short
video of our five as we climber Cole Road.
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Wednesday, April 19,
2023: Rain all day today kept me inside along with
Abby while Gwen went shopping. I did some searching
for kitchen items for the Tucson home and watched a
documentary.
I ended the day with a group Zwift ride to complete
Stage 1 of the Spring Training Series. Riding a
workout such as this forces you to stay with the group
and you can not slack off as you can on a solo ride.
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Monday, April 17,
2023: The weather has become wet again but the weather
man has adjusted his forecast rain to stop on Thursday
rather than Friday, we've gained a day.
Since it's raining, I decided to pull the trailer to a
local trailer manufacturing company to pack the wheel
bearings. It wasn't long before I got a call telling
me the axle was so old new parts were not available
and my best option was to replace the axle! OMG! Add
$300 to the cost of the trailer. I don't want to take
the chance that this trailer falls apart halfway to
Tucson.
Later I chose to ride with a pacer on Zwift. As it
turns out, my friend Stan rode with me. On the rider
list to the right you will see "K9Crack.Com".
That is my friend Stan. His wife has a business called
K9Crack which is a single ingredient dog treat. It
makes a cracking sound when broken.
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Saturday, April 15, 2023: My
friends, Glen and Dick picked me up early this morning (6:20)
to drive to Brownsville, Oregon to make a 7:45 breakfast. The
breakfast is a part of the Swift Summit Northwest Spring
Classic. It is a two day event but the three of us had
registered only for the events of this day. Our events
included breakfast, a metric century, then lunch. The weather
was cold but dry. We were lucky because rain is forecast for a
week beginning tomorrow. A metric century is 62 miles and this
one also had 3,200 feet of climbing. This was really too much
for me since I've been in Oregon only since April 3 with
little time to prepare to ride 62 miles. Today's ride was only
my third ride on my road bike since arriving. I started out
easily because I know what happens if you ride too hard at the
beginning of a long ride, you die before the end. Beginning
easy usually means you can finish strong. I didn't finish
strong today but I DID finish. This is only the second year of
this event but it is growing in popularity so I suspect it
will be even more popular next year. There were riders from as
far away at Tacoma, Washington. They are just as excited to
finally get on the road after a long, wet winter. Click on all
the photos for more views.
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Saturday, April 8,
2023: I was able to do a real road ride today mostly
between rain showers. This was my first Oregon
road ride in 6 months. I did my favorite route, Driver
Valley, a very quiet country road with a total ride of
28 miles. Today's ride was on gravel tires which are
certainly a softer ride than the road tires. The photo
at the left shows what is meant by "grass fed
beef". This is a good time of year with
everything green from all the winter rain. Click that
photo for a view ahead on the road. The photo at the
right is of the new bridge being built to replace a very old single lane
bridge probably built before automobiles.
Click the photo for a side view of the new bridge.
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Thursday, April 6,
2023: I have been off any bike for almost 3 weeks and
I feel it. It has been constant rain since returning
to Oregon so I have begun using Zwift again to get
back into shape. I spent an hour riding today and my
body hurt badly after the ride. I need to continue
with Zwift until there is good weather for outdoor
riding our I won't be able to keep up with the guys. I
also need to lose some of those Arizona pounds I added
during the winter months. Here is a short
video as I finished today's ride.
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Tuesday, April 4,
2023: We arrived in Oregon four days ago. It was
raining when we arrived and has continued to rain
every day since. It is a cold rain. There were cold
days in Tucson but Oregon cold feels much colder. The
rain has slowed me down both physically and
emotionally. That has made it difficult for me to get
set up in Oregon. I finally unpacked our shed enough
so I could get my Zwift bike into the shed but I still
have a kayak hanging in the middle of the room so
unsure about riding Zwift.
The photo shows the new Deore 11 speed cassette I
installed onto a second set of wheels. The bike can be
used for gravel riding or road riding so I have two
sets of wheels to make that possible. I was removing
the cassette from one set and transferring to the
other but now I won't have to do that. It will make
for a quicker transfer. My cycling friends here in
Oregon are into gravel riding so this new cassette is
on my gravel wheels.
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Tuesday, March 14,
2023: I have been passing the "A" mountain nearly
every day I ride north on the Loop. I knew vehicles
were not allowed on Monday then not allowed until
after 2 pm the rest of the week. I happened to be on
the Loop this morning riding north and decided today
would be the day to climb Sentinel Peak. The "A"
mountain is A for the University of Arizona. It is a
popular hiking location for families before the
vehicles arrive. Bicycle like the climb also since the
Loop seems nearly flat and the elevation change is
very gradual. Like nearly all the Tucson roads, the
pavement was very rough and busy with hikers. I had to
descend carefully because of those conditions. Click
both photos for more views and watch
this video of the ascent.
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Monday, March 13,
2023:This begins our last week at Rincon Country West
and my last chance to ride with the Monday morning
cycling group. It was a short ride today but on a
route which I did not know. We rode to the University
of Arizona Campus then to the Time Cafe. That meant we
were off the Loop trail much of the time and on city
streets. Tucson does a pretty good job making bike
routes on city streets labeling them "Bike Boulevard"
and painting the streets to show where cyclists should
be and where the cars should be. Click both photos for
another view.
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Wednesday, March 8,
2023: Riding 25 miles with Gary today. We stopped at
this little "Community Fishing Lake" along the west
side of the Loop. We didn't see anyone fishing but
several were enjoying the warm day along the edges of
the lake.
We stopped again at the Decibel Coffee Company where
we enjoyed iced coffee drinks.
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Monday, March 6,
2023:Finally the day came to ride the entire Tucson
Loop Bicycle Trail in one ride. Previously I rode all
segments but never the entire Loop in one ride. Total
miles were 60 and it took me 4.5 hours of riding time.
It should have been no more than 4 hours but I was
feeling that great today, still bothered with
congestion and only feeling about 80% in strength.
Still, I rode the entire Loop with NO eAssistance
working on strength building rather than record riding
time. I did stop at the half way point for a far too
big lunch but it did help me through the second half
of the ride. I won't do this ride again before leaving
Tucson but will likely do this several times next
fall. I don't like the downtown portion of the Loop,
far too much traffic. There are some really
lonely parts of the Loop in the south but with new
housing developments, it may get pretty busy. Click
all photos for another view.
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Wednesday, March 1,
2023: This was forecast to be a windy day with rain
developing late. I tried to start a bike ride early to
avoid as much of the stormy weather as I could. The
day began with clear weather, the photo shows clouds
slowly developing and by the time I returned the
clouds were solid over the mountains and the wind was
20 mph. This photo was taken at a junction. Riding to
the right took you southeast to the most southern part
of the Loop. Riding to the left took you northwest to
the most northern part of the Loop. I went right,
south. It is not my favorite route since it takes the
rider through city streets with at least a dozen
street crossings and only half of those have signal
lights. My goal was a 20 mile ride and I ended up with
a little over 22 miles. Half the time riding against
the wind and half the time benefiting from a tailwind.
The long bridge shown in the photo is the bridge used
by northbound I-10 traffic to join southbound traffic
on I-19.
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Saturday, February
25, 2023: Gwen and I chose to drive to the sister
resort, Rincon Country East this morning to look at a
park model located in that park. I took the
opportunity to bring my bicycle along to join The Loop
on the east side of Tucson. I wanted to ride The Loop
to the north then return on the west side back to our
resort here on the west side of Tucson. I was figuring
40 miles but it turned out to be 37 miles. I have now
ridden the entire loop in sections. Now that I know my
way around, I need to plan an all day ride to complete
the loop in one day.
My plan today was to ride to the Mercado area of
container stores where I knew of a very good
vegetarian place to get lunch. That would be a bit
more than 30 miles of riding. However, I learned that
Gary and Jeanne wanted to go to our favorite Mexican
restaurant so I chose not to eat lunch. I did get a
drink, however. While at Mercado, I met this rider and
asked him about the Ragbrai ride (in July every year,
it is the ride across the entire state of Iowa). I
learned he has done the ride 23 times and plans to do
it again this summer.
Click all the photos for more views.
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Wednesday, February
22, 2023: This was a stormy day with winds gusting to
33 mph. Gary and I decided to entertain ourselves by
driving to a couple of bike shops. We specifically
wanted to sit in one of the high performance trikes.
This is a Cattrike road bike. I would not be brave
enough to ride this on a road but the Tucson Bike Loop
is a very popular route for these bikes. My head looks
like it is an uncomfortable position but the bike has
a headrest at that location which made it comfortable.
I would like to return to test ride this bike. Click
the photo for a view of the bike without me in it.
You'll see the headrest too.
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Monday, February 20, 2023:I
chose to ride today with the Rincon Country West (RCW) bike
group. This is advertised as the faster of two RCW groups. All
riders were on eBikes except the leader (although I do not
turn on my assistance on this flat trail). If I'm looking for
an nice easy ride, I may ride with this group again, otherwise
they are too slow to get any real exercise for me. We did ride
out and back on the trail stopping at mile 20 at the Decibel
Coffee Shop for refreshment. After coffee we finished the ride
for a total of 24 miles. Click the photos for more views.
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Wednesday, February 15, 2023:
We have been here a month and I have yet to find the bicycle
route to the east side of the Loop. I happened to post online
that I was going out today specifically to find the east side.
Another rider answered with some directions. I have actually
ridden by the junction twice but never noticed the turn. I
ended up with 34 miles round trip with only 6 of those miles
on the east side. Next it will be time for a ride of the
entire Loop, about 60 miles. I have been on 2/3 of the Loop so
only 1/3 will be new to me. I would like to find an easy
refreshment stop along the way. That will take some more
research. Click all three photos for more views.
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Tuesday, February 7,
2023: I am starting to suffer from a head cold so I
rode only a short 13 mile ride with Gary and Jeanne.
This ride had a reward however. Gary and Jeanne
visited the Decibel Coffee Shop for treats and drinks
while I visited the meatless burger place nearby. I
enjoyed their vegi burgers the other day so thought I
would try them again and I was not disappointed.
Jeanne is passing the trail counter. You can see it is
still cold in Tucson by the way Jeanne is dressed.
Click the photo to see Gary standing by ready to ride.
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Sunday, February 5,
2023: Gwen and I are seriously thinking of returning
to Tucson for a longer period next fall. We are
wanting to explore the Rincon Country East Resort. We
are currently in the Rincon Country West Resort with
over 1100 spaces and hundreds of restaurants nearby.
But that means lots of traffic and traffic noise. It
is also in the flight path for the Tucson Airport so
we have commercial jets about 300 feet overhead often.
The east resort is more remote with no major traffic
nearby. There is an Air Force base nearby with Air
Force planes taking off and landing. I doubt there is
anyplace in Tucson where you can get away from the
fighter jets. They are flying over us daily in the
west.
I rode the Loop today from Rincon West to Rincon East.
It was 30 miles nearly all of the ride was on the
trail without vehicle traffic. About two miles of the
trail was roadside sharing with vehicles but that was
the only time I was next to traffic. The ride began
with a 2 mile long train passing slowly. That added 20
minutes to my ride. This is the southern end of the
Loop so it is much quieter and more remote than the
rest of the Loop. The trail was still pretty busy so I
saw another rider every minute of the ride. Today
temperature was the warmest since we arrived, 81
degrees. Where the west resort sits right on the bike
trail, the east resort has a two mile ride to get to
the trail. Click both photos for more views.
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Sunday, January 29, 2023: This
is my second ride with the Cactus Cycle Club. This was a nice
clear day but windy. We had to ride directly into a 20 mph
headwind on the return ride. There were a lot of riders
so the group was split into three groups and even those groups
spread out somewhat. The ride was 40 total miles and
took 2 hours 21 minutes of riding time. Some of the group took
a tour of the Biosphere but I'm saving that trip for Gwen.
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Thursday, January
26, 2023: I planned ahead for this ride. I found a
coffee shop exactly 25 miles up the Loop Trail. I
thought to myself, "it would be fun to do a 50 mile
ride with a nice coffee shop at the 25 mile point."
When I started the ride today I thought, "I haven't
dressed warmly enough". There is a headwind with this
53 degree temperature making it feel very cold. I
wanted to turn around to get warmer clothes but
decided to keep riding. The headwind didn't help my
speed so I gave myself a little help from the Bosch
motor. The Savaya Coffee Shop came soon enough. After
a little refreshment I turned off assistance and
headed back the 25 miles. Damn if the wind hadn't
shifted and now I had a headwind again. I stuck with
no assistance. I had decided to do a longer ride today
because I can't ride the next two days and I have a
longer ride with the Cactus Cycling Club on Sunday.
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Wednesday, January 25,
2023:This coffee shop is only four miles from our resort,
right off the Loop Trail. It was my first visit but I plan to
visit often. I will have to try some different drinks. While
visiting the coffee shop I noticed a bicycle shop next door.
After the drink I went to the bike shop and found some really
cool bags I have not seen before. Click the photo to see some
under top-tube bags.
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Sunday, January 22,
2023:Today was a beautiful day for a 54 mile ride on
the Loop Trail to Oro Valley. I met some new
friends today. In the photo above JoAnn on the left
next to Diane then David with me on the right.
We rode the multi-use Loop trail exclusively so we
never had to deal with vehicle traffic. The trail is
very popular on a Sunday so we did dodge and pass many
other users of the trail.
Our destination was the end of the trail in Oro
Valley. That is where the above photo was taken.
This was my third and longest ride on the new wheels
and tubeless tires. They must have made a difference
for me since I don't feel like I'm in that good a
physical condition. I was able to do the entire ride
without help from my Bosch motor. David, JoAnn and
Diane are strong riders so they set a strong pace,
often at 22 mph and above. I'm sure I would not have
been able to keep up without the new wheels and tires.
I am now convinced that this bike can do a century
ride since it is so easy to ride without assistance. I
already told my son, Ben, I would do another century
with him using assistance only the second half just so
I can finish with him. Click the photo above for a
panorama of the Catalina Mountains and the bike trail.
This WILL be an ibuprofen night!
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Saturday, January 21, 2023:
Gary and I rode the Loop Trail again today. We saw horses for
the first time from the trail. I also started to look at some
of the art found along the trail. Weather has been clear but
cold. We ride with tights and long sleeve jerseys.
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Friday, January 20,
2023: What a day! It began with listening to a
description and history of the Chuck Huckelberry Loop
Trail which circle Tucson. It is 137 miles
of paved multiuse trail which includes bicycles.
Once the lecture was over I learned the tire I have
been waiting for had been delivered. This is the tire
for the rear Boyd wheel I just bought. These are
tubeless rims and tires and fortunately everything
assembled easily and the tires are holding air. These
new wheels need two more things before they can be
mounted onto the bike. They need brake rotors and the
rear wheel needs a cassette. I removed the rotors from
my CoOp bike, the bike I use for Zwift. I needs no
wheels or brakes for Zwift. The cassette I removed
from the original rim and simply transferred it to the
new Boyd rim. My intention is to put the
original gravel tires back on those rims so I can do
both gravel and road riding with this bike. I'll
transfer the cassette back when needed. The new
wheels fit perfectly with no adjustment needed.
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Once the bike was setup with
the new wheels I took Abby to the agility park so she could
have a play time. She has never been to an agility park before
so I was surprised when she ran up the ramp on this platform.
I think it surprised her too. Click on both photos for more
views.
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Wednesday, January 18, 2023: Today was a busy
day on the bicycle. I did my first ride with the
Cactus Cycling Club. It was a 41 mile ride with 20
riders. 10 riders took a 20 mile loop and called it a
social time. I rode with the other group doing a 41
mile loop. They rode a paceline the entire 41 miles
which increased our average speed but did not allow me
to watch the scenery. Instead I had to focus on the
wheel in front of me. I was pleased with the ride
since I was able to keep up. I rode unassisted for a
quarter of the ride.
When I returned home I was not there long before the
Fedex truck arrived with my new road wheels from Boyd
Cycling in South Carolina. These are tubeless wheels
with tubeless tires. It is my first time to go
tubeless. I was pleased when the tire mounted easily
and seated on the bead just as easily. After adding
sealant, it held air. I currently have only one tire
which I mounted on the front wheel. I'm hoping
the rear tire mounts just as easily and holds air.
Click the left photo for another view.  |
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Sunday, January 15, 2023: The
weather was threatening today but I learned others were riding
so I didn't want to be a wimp. I dressed warmly and went
for my first ride on the Chuck Huckelberry Loop. It
circles Tucson and is wonderfully paved with zero automobile
and truck traffic. It seems well used. Today's weather was
threatening so only the hardy were on the trail. This is very
exciting since the trail passes next to this RV resort. I plan
to ride every day it isn't raining. I got a special treat on
this ride. I came upon what I thought was a dog, but turned
out to be a Javelina which crossed directly in front of me as
I came closer. I turned around and got the photo behind the
art on the right. Click all the photos for more views. I also
found a Waffle House only 7 miles from our resort so I plan to
convince Gwen to ride with me for breakfast some day.
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Thursday, January
12, 2023: One of the reasons we came to Sun City was
to have easy access to the paved bicycle paths nearby.
Today we rode the New River Trail toward the south
from the Rio Vista Community Park. The whole ride was
16 miles which I believe is Gwen's longest ride. This
was only half of the trail. We will do the other half
on Saturday with our friends, Steve and Tina. Once we
returned to the park Gwen noticed her front tire going
flat. When I got back to the motorhome and checked it
out, she had picked up a goat head which gave her a
tiny puncture. I repaired it with a patch and she is
good as new now. Click on both photos for more views.
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Tuesday, January 10,
2023: My son, Joe is vacationing in Las Vegas but took
the time to drive from Vegas to Lake Havasu City where
we joined him. We first had lunch at a cafe known only
to the locals. Then we parked at the ball park across
the London Bridge on the island to do some bike riding
on the island bike path. Joe wanted to get the
feel of Gwen's eBike. He really enjoyed it and I
believe will start doing some shopping for his own.
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On the
return from Lake Havasu City we were watching an approaching
storm from the west. Gwen got this photo of the light coming
through the clouds.
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Monday, December 26, 2022: I
did my usual ride to Quinn Pass today but this time continued
over the pass to US95. This is a 20 mile ride. Quartzsite is
only another 5 miles but I don't ride US95. It has no shoulder
and heave truck and car traffic. Gwen picked me up with Gary
and Jeanne following. We drove to Quartzsite so all could ride
the short bike path then on into a new house area. The ride
with the group is at "touring" speed so it took an hour to
ride 5 miles. We did stop at a partially completed house to
take a tour of what we thought the rooms would be. This
area gets to be 115 degrees in the summer so homes must be
well built to withstand the heat. The high today was
comfortable at 72 degrees. Here is a short
video of our ride this afternoon.
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Monday, December 19,
2022: By 1:30 in the afternoon the temperature had
warmed enough to make for comfortable riding weather.
The morning low was 28°, are you surprised since this
is Arizona. I had packages to pick up at the post
office so I began the ride there and ended there.
Riding to the top of Quinn Pass again. The sun is low
in the sky since we are only two days from the
shortest day of the year and the beginning of winter.
I did upload water twice and had to get water from a
new faucet because my usual was frozen. Both photos
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Wednesday, December
14, 2022: This was a cold day so cold weather riding
gear. I chose to ride beyond Quinn Pass to make my
ride a total of 31 miles. That also means riding Quinn
Pass from both sides.
Still testing methods to get this bike to 100 miles.
Yesterday's ride was 100% with assistance off. Today
it was off 47% (the gray line on the graph). The
"ECO" assistance mode is the least amount of
assistance.
I almost did not wear tights but sure glad I did. It
never got above 51 degrees and wifh a little wind was
really cold.
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Wednesday, December
7, 2022: Another ride today to the top of Quinn Pass
from Yellowbird Road. I am still experimenting with
power levels on the Diamondback Current. The range on
the Current is not nearly as much as the Yamaha. The
Current uses a Bosch motor and system. Bosch happens
to be my favorite portable power tools. I still need
to find a method to get 100+ miles from a single
charge so I continue with my experiments. The Bosch
system does have a nice recording and reporting
system. The graphic to the right is the report from
today's ride. Basically it says that only 29% of
today's ride came from the Bosch motor, all the rest
was from my efforts. I actually had the assistance on
only half the time. This bike is much easier to ride
with zero assistance than was the Yamaha.
According to the battery reports, I used 15% of the
battery to ride 23 miles. In theory then, I would use
60% of the battery to ride 92 miles. According to this
graph, to get that performance I would have assistance
off 50% of the time. I just did 105 miles with Ben on
my Yamaha for the Sacramento Century. At the end of
the ride I still had 25% in my battery. The assistance
was never off on the Yamaha. To get the same range
performance out of the Bosch system is going to take a
lot more management than the Yamaha system.
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Monday, November 28, 2022:
This was a big shopping and bike riding day for us. We started
early but before leaving the Bouse area found a couple of
burros who wanted to say hello. We drove first to Cracker
Barrel for breakfast in Buckeye, about an hour drive. They
were very busy so it took some time to get our meal. From
Cracker Barrel we drove strait to the Rio Vista Community Park
in Peoria to catch the New River and Skunk Creek Trails. After
riding the Skunk Creek Trail for several miles we caught the
Arizona Canal Trail. This is the type of riding Gwen wants to
do so she doesn't have to worry about traffic. I enjoy these
trails too. I made a video of our ride . From riding the
trails we drove to the Surprise Costco to stock up on food
items for the month of December. Arizona does not charge sales
tax on food items unless they have been prepared. I noticed an
item on our list charged 9.5% sales tax. That one item was a
prepared salad. All the rest of the taxable items were 8.5%
sales tax. Yes, pumpkin pie was on our list of items to buy.
Not sales tax on the pumpkin pie, go figure! Click the left
two photos for more views.
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Sunday, November 27,
2022: I wanted to do something different from Quinn
Pass so I drove about 15 minutes to Road 43E. I have
ridden this road before. It is straight, flat and
boring but different from Quinn Pass and a longer
ride. I began at the junction with Hiway 72 and rode
to the little village of Brenda. Brenda has two small
cafes, one small market, a small motel and five RV
parks. It has no post office.
Road 43E has open range for cattle. I subscribe to a
Facebook page for the Bouse area and it has been
reported on that page the last two days concerning a
dead cow on road 43E. Someone hit and killed a cow
while traveling that road. I chose this road to ride
because it averages 4 cars per hour. You'd wonder how
someone could kill a cow with such little traffic.
Click the left photo for a view of the Black Rock Cafe
in Brenda. Click the right photo (or don't click the
right photo) to see the dead cow. I parked my bike
close to the cow so you could judge the size of the
cow.
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Saturday and Sunday,
November 19 & 20, 2022: Plomosa Road runs between
Arizona 95 about five miles from Quartzsite to Bouse,
Arizona where we are camped in the desert. The
road is 21 miles long with very little traffic and
about 850 feet of climbing to Quinn Pass. I rode this
road each day this weekend. No doubt I will spend a
lot of time on this road because all others near by
are too busy with traffic. This was my first ride with
my new Diamondback Current eBike. The Current is a
"gravel bike" but I removed the off road tires and
replaced them with road tires because I plan to use
the Current mostly on the road. Saturday had a good
headwind of 15 mph while Sunday had the same headwind
but only 8 mph. Saturday, the lower gears would not
work but after making some adjustments, they worked
perfectly on Sunday. I am really liking a screen on
the Bosch computer which shows my pedal power in
watts, heart rate, cadence and speed. I am learning to
ride to my power output as well as my heart rate. The
drop handlebars helped a lot with the headwind on both
days. I have made a video of the ride which will
give you a good view of Plomosa Road and the
surrounding desert area. You will also get a short
tour of the Diamondback Current.
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Thursday, November
17, 2022: Thirteen days ago I ordered a medium
Diamondback Current from a shop in Wisconsin. I had
been researching this bike for several months and this
particular shop discounted the bike by $1100. It is
setup as a gravel eBike but I plan to use it mostly as
a road bike. I was not able to find this bike anywhere
in my travels from Oregon to test ride so I knew there
would be some surprises. I like the color. The tires
are wider (for off road riding) than advertised and
the rims are wider than I was expecting. I planned to
remove the tires anyway so a wider tire is not a
problem. I will probably put them on my CoOp bike for
desert riding. The rim width, however is a problem. I
have 32mm width road tires with me so I will likely
try them on this rim.
No doubt I will
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I have
much to do be get this bike ready to ride. Replace the saddle,
replace the fork tube cap, figure out how I will mount my
GoPro, install pedals, install water bottle cages, and change
the tires. More photos to come. Click on these photos to see
better views.
The story of getting the bike is pretty strange. I ordered the
bike 13 days ago but it was not shipped until last Friday from
Wisconsin. I had the bike shipped to the Bouse Post Office
knowing it was coming UPS. I have no street address since we
are parked 1.7 miles off the nearest road in the desert. The
Bouse Post Office is one of the few which will accept UPS and
Fedx shipments for their P.O. Box customers since this is such
a small town. This week I alerted the postmaster of the large
bicycle box to arrive on Thursday. I learned at that time they
will not accept boxes over 70 lbs. I wasn't worried since the
bike only weighs 45 lbs I figured the box would be about 60
lbs. I checked the UPS details of the box and learned it
weighed a few ounces OVER 70 lbs. I still wasn't worried since
I planned to be at the post office at the time of delivery.
Yesterday I visited the post office again trying to catch the
UPS driver to talk with him about the shipment. I learned UPS
had already delivered for that day. The postmaster asked for
my phone number saying she would give it to the UPS driver
because he would often deliver large boxes directly to the
recipient house rather than the post office. I didn't bother
to explain that I was parked in the desert figuring I would
have the UPS driver meet me at the Bouse Community Park. I
knew the box would be too big for the inside of our Forester
and too heavy to put on the roof. My plan was to pull
the bike out of the box, assemble it enough to fit my bike
rack THEN put the empty box on the roof and deliver the box to
the garbage transfer station across the street from the park.
Today I drove to the post office about 2:30 hoping to catch
UPS but learned he had already arrived, was given my phone
number and said "he would take care of it". I had no phone
call. The postmaster said, "this is a small town, he is still
around, go find him." So I drove the first street off the main
road to the other end of town. Unbelievably, there he was at
the end of that street. I talked with him and he agreed to
meet me at the Community Park in 30 minutes. That's exactly
what happened. I got the bike, pulled it out of the box,
partially assembled it enough to fit the bike rack, put the
box on the roof ready to deliver to the transfer
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Friday, November 11,
2022: We had a few things to do in Quartzsite today so
I took the opportunity to ride back to Bouse on
Plamosa Road. Plamosa Road is five miles from
Quartzsite off Highway 95. I won't ride 95 due to
heavy traffic and marginal shoulder. The Plamosa route
is good asphalt climbing about 800 feet over Quinn
Pass then on into Bouse. The road is lightly traveled.
Unfortunately, my front tire went flat only two miles
from the finish. Rather than fix the flat, I called
for a ride since I was so close. I also made a video
of parts of the ride to give you an idea of the
desert around here.
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Wednesday, November 9, 2022: A
special day for Gwen. We found an eBike advertised on Facebook
and felt it would be perfect for Gwen. It is a class 2,
meaning moving the crank arms or pressing on the throttle will
give the bike forward motion. It has 3" (wide) tires making it
very stable, hydraulic disc brakes, seven speeds, 5 assistance
settings and a quick release seat post. With the wide tires it
would be a perfect bike for the desert gravel roads but Gwen
is going to need to get use to riding an eBike. Since this is
a class 2 bike, it is much different from my class 1. Each
level of assistance seems to be set to a specific speed. Once
you reach that speed the assistance holds at that speed. My
bike, on the other hand, gives a set level of assistance up to
the maximum speed. Just moving the crank arms on Gwen's bike
propels the rider forward. With my bike, the rider must add
torque to the pedals before getting any assistance. This
is going to be a perfect bike for Gwen. Hopefully, she will
join me on some rides. Click both photos for additional views.
Here is a short video of Gwen's first ride.
Here is another video of Gwen on pavement for the first
time.
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Tuesday, November 1, 2022:
After a morning walk with Abby along the casino portion of the
Colorado River I took a bike ride north of Laughlin on a well
used bike path. The path is on the west edge of the Colorado
River leading to the Davis Dam. Bicycles and hikers are
allowed to cross the dam after a steep climb to the top. My
goal was to ride to Katherine Landing, a small marina on Davis
Lake. However, I was not allowed to proceed without a pass. I
learned my Senior Access Pass would have been acceptable so I
told the gate person I would return tomorrow with the proper
pass. This was a relatively short ride, only 14 miles but with
some steep climbing totaling 1,000 feet. Click all three
photos for more views.
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Saturday, October
29, 2022: Today was the men's turn at the Saint George
Ironman 70.3 race. There were 4000 participants and
all had to run through the Elks parking lot
twice. We watched much of the race before it
arrived at the Elks on Outside TV showing live
coverage. The commentator on the left was featured
several time on TV and he ended up in the Elks parking
lot to comment on the runners as they made their
U-turn in the parking lot. There were more motorcycles
today following the riders then runners in the race.
Ben Kanute from the USA placed second while Kristian
Blummenfelt from Norway won the race by a good margin.
I overheard first place gets a prize of $50,000.
Prizes are given down to tenth place, $3,000.
All the rest of the 4,000 participants are just doing
this for FUN! I made a
video which I will give you an idea of the race.
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Friday, October 28, 2022: It
happened by accident that we are parked in the Elks Lodge
parking lot during the Saint George Ironman 70.3 race. As it
turns out, the running course actually comes into the Elks
parking lot to make a U turn so the course gets
exactly 13.1 miles. This is the World Championship
Ironman 70.3, meaning 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle and 13.1
mile run for a total of 70.3 miles. There are 4000 volunteers,
2000 women athletes and 4000 men athletes. This was televised
on OutsideTV and very professionally narrated. The
pro-athletes were followed and video taped by motorcycles. I
walked one block to watch the cycling route then returned to
watch the runners on the course through the Elks. I made a video
of the women's Ironman. The ladies competed today and
the men will compete tomorrow. The USA winning woman completed
the Ironman in four hours, three minutes. No other USA woman
was in the top ten.
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Thursday, October
27, 2022: Finally, it was my turn to ride one of the
fine, paved bike trails found in Saint George. I chose
the Snow Canyon Bike Path to ride after riding into
the town of Saint George to visit the Ironman Village.
I was anxious to see all the vendors and learn more
about what triathletes need for their sport. It
was a very busy place with lots to buy and all
expensive. A hat was $30 so I finally decided on a
water bottle with the Ironman 70.3 logo for $13. Once
I finished with the village, I rode the bike path. I
found several places on the path which were very steep
and needed second gear to climb at about 2 mph. Since
it was an out and back route, that meant very steep
descent also. I did make a video
which include the village and the bike path.
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Friday, October 14,
2022: Today's challenge was to ride at the 5,500 foot
level in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We began in
Truckee, California and rode west around Donner Lake.
We returned through Truckee then continued to ride
east following the Truckee River before turning south
and climbing to the Northstar Ski Resort and Village.
There we found a coffee shop closed but the owner was
present and giving away his pastries which we all
appreciated. After relaxing at the coffee shop
we rode back to Truckee and our vehicles. Here is a long video of this ride.
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Wednesday, October
5, 2022: My granddaughter, Chloe is still in school
during fall break but grandson, Noah is on break. With
Chloe's permission, I borrowed Chloe's mountain bike
and was able to ride with son Ben and Noah on some
trails I use to ride daily 35 years ago on the
California side of Lake Tahoe. I lived at Lake Tahoe
for 13 years before moving to Oregon. Our ride today
had perfect weather and perfect trails. I DID notice
riding at 6,500 feet was much different from the
riding I do at 500 feet in Oregon. I must have been in
really good condition 35 years ago. The mountain bikes
we rode today were much more sophisticated that what I
rode previously. Click both photos for more views.
Here is a short video by son Ben.
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Monday, October 3,
2022: We are all set for and evening Zwift ride in
Ben's garage. The fan should work for all three
riders. TV monitor is ready to go with three Wahoo
Kickr smart bike trainers ready to login. We have a
group ride planned with three of us here and hopefully
others will join us in Roseburg, Oregon.
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Saturday - Sunday, October 1 -
2, 2022: Ben and I began the Sacramento Century right at the 7
am start time. The sun was barely above the horizon. The start
was at the California State Capitol and then only a few blocks
to the Tower Bridge. This ride is 101.5 miles from the state
capitol south along the Sacramento River to Isleton then
return to the capitol. The ride is organized by the Sacramento
Rotary Club as a fund raising project to benefit the children
in the area. The organization was done very well for the 1,300
riders however the rest stop (yes, only ONE) and the "full
lunch" stop left a lot to be desired compared to the other
organized rides we have done. I just volunteered three weeks
ago for the Vineyard Tour organized by my
Umpqua Velo Club and we did a far better job with rest
stops. Still ... since the Rotary kept the rest stop and
lunch expense low, in theory, more money to benefit the
children of Sacramento, at least I hope that is the case. 80%
of the ride was on little traveled roads which was pleasant
but the asphalt on those roads was awful for high pressure
road tires. Ben and I were surprised at our Isleton lunch stop
by a visit from my sister Dorana and her partner Robin. We
enjoyed visiting during our turkey sandwich lunch. The views
of the Sacramento River and boats on the river was also
enjoyable. Click both photos for more views. I have made two
videos of our ride. Here is a short
six minute video and here is a longer
thirty-five minute video.
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Wednesday, September
14, 2022: I ended up fooling around the place all
morning starting to put things away and throwing
things away. I am preparing for our winter departure
in a couple weeks. I finally got on the bike to do the
familiar Oakland Loop ride of 28 miles. This ride is
nearly all rural roads where the livestock pay no
attention to me unless I stop to take a photo, then
they run away. Except for these horses. They could
care less that I wanted their photo. I make a video as
I rode through Oakland and Sutherlin, the last 5 miles
of the ride. Take a look.
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Tuesday, September
13, 2022: Saturday, September 10 was our turn to Ride
the Rim with no vehicle traffic. The park offers
two Saturdays each year allowing only bicycles on the
road around the rim. This Saturday, 2700 riders have
registered and Glen and I are two of those riders.
Glen has done this many times, this in my first time
but now I will make this an annual event. Our ride was
a bit smokey from all the wildfires around the lake so
the photos are not the usual clear blue skies and
lake. The length of the ride is only 36 miles but
several long steep climbs makes this a slow ride half
the time. Some riders treat it as a race and try to
better their previous riding time. Others, like me,
stop at the overlooks to take photos and look at the
views. It is so much fun being able to ride with
no traffic. I noticed riders with $50 bikes as
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bikes. Also lots of eBikes. I also saw kids as well as riders
older than me. All were having a very enjoyable time. I
came away with the desire to do this ride every year from now
on. Another surprise were the number of riders starting the
ride later in the day. Glen and I were on the road a bit after
8 am. Gwen and I made this a mini-vacation by arriving at
Diamond Lake Campground on Tuesday then leaving for home on
Sunday. The cost was the diesel
then $21 per night for the campsite. Click on each photo for
more views. Here is a short
video of the riders having fun. |
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Sunday, September 4,
2022: This is the day of the big event for the Umpqua
Velo bicycle club. Over 100 riders, many from out of the area
showed up to ride the Umpqua Valley. I volunteered to help
with the first rest stop located at Henry's Winery. That meant
setting up the canopy and refreshments at 7:15 in the morning.
The first group didn't arrive until 9 am but there is much to
do to get ready for them. Click these photos for more views. I
also made a short video of the activity at Henry's.
I was able to help one rider with a gear adjustment. My help
at the rest stop ended at 11:30. At that time I began my next
job which was to drive the routes as a "sweep" looking for
riders who needed help. Most of the riders, I figured, should
be well beyond the 50 mile range by now but I better be sure
and start the routes at 25 miles. It seemed like I drove more
than an hour before I found a rider. I made sure I had all my
tools, bike repair stand, extra tubes and a few extra parts to
help riders. This rider needed water and I had none to give. I
drove to the nearest rest stop, got water, then drove back to
supply the water. I followed the routes back to Henry's which
was now the last stop before returning to the start point.
While there, I got a call that a rider in Oakland needed to be
taken back to the start by car. I was prepared to haul bikes
and riders so I drove back to Oakland only to learn that the
rider had changed his mind and was going to try to finish the
ride on his own. I drove the route to check on him and found
him about ten miles down the road. He said he was fine and
going on. By this time I was nearly out of gas so drove
straight to Costco to fill up.
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Saturday, September 3, 2022:
The Umpqua Velo sponsors a free ride the day before the big
tour ride. Actually, they sponsored two rides on this
Saturday. One was a gravel ride which I did not attend. The
other is a road ride I did attend. It was an easy 26 mile ride
but Gwen needed the car today so I rode from Sutherlin to the
start point, 17 miles distant. The round trip ride for me,
then, was 57.2 miles (I took a different route back to
Sutherlin than going to the start point). We had nine riders
in the road ride group. Several of the faster riders took off
at a fast pace after our first hill climb and we never saw
them again. My friend, Erik, is the organizer of this ride so
I figured I better ride behind to make sure everyone kept up
and knew where to go. The most difficult climb was within the
first five miles. The route beyond this climb was
easy. I made a video which continues beyond the group ride
back to Sutherlin.
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Sunday, August 28,
2022: This has been a long day of bicycle maintenance
using a new purchase. I've been longing for a method
to true my bicycle wheels not really knowing if they
need truing or not. I was surprised to find a Park
TW-2 truing stand advertised on Facebook for $50. A
new TS-2 costs $360. It is the same Park tool I owned
when I had a bike shop in the late 80s. I checked six
wheels and didn't find than any were awful. Only small
adjustments were needed. Next I chose which tires to
put onto the wheels. Some wheels need road tires while
other wheels need gravel tires. The CoOp bike needed
to be cleaned after the gravel ride yesterday. I took
the chain off to clean it but discovered it was
stretched to the point it needed to be replaced. After
cleaning and replacing the chain I put the CoOp back
onto my Zwift setup ready for a Zwift ride.
After washing the car and golf cart with the pressure
washer I began working on a location for a second
water bottle on the Civante. Click the photo to see
what seems to be the best location. I bought a side
loading bottle cage thinking ahead to a place to put a
second bottle.
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Saturday, August 27,
2022: Glen organized another bike ride, this time a
gravel ride to try his new Apollo gravel bike. Erik
rode with us using his gravel bike. I changed the
tires on my CoOp bike and used it as a gravel bike.
The route Glen chose was half gravel and half asphalt
for 31 miles around Diamond Lake. The lake is a 2 hour
drive from Roseburg so we ended up doing a four hour
drive (Glen driving) and a four hour bike ride. Gravel
takes much longer riding times plus the second half of
the asphalt ride was 5 miles climbing 800 feet so took
us much longer than a 31 mile asphalt ride. It was
Glen's first ride on the Apollo and my first ride on
gravel with the CoOp. We both considered our day
successful. Click both photos for more views. That is
Thielsen Peak behind me.
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Monday, August 22,
2022: Early Sunday morning before leaving Central
Oregon Glen and I rode the Twin Bridges Scenic
Bikeway. This ride begins in Bend and follows a large
36 mile loop into the rural area north of Bend.
Virtually everyone has a horse and we saw no "cheap"
houses. The sky cleared enough so we got a good look
at all the dormant volcanoes to our west. There must
be plenty of water because there was lots of
irrigation happening. We finished the ride by 9:30 so
tried to get breakfast in Bend but found only
restaurants with an hour wait. We drove on not wanting
to delay our drive home. Click the photos for more
views.
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Sunday, August 21,
2022: I am back in Sutherlin now after a long drive
home from Central Oregon. Yesterday, Glen and I rode
the Crooked River Canyon Scenic Bikcway starting very
early in the morning to avoid the heat. This was our
only out and back route for a total of 40 miles. We
first passed farm land then many campgrounds along the
Crooked River. All were busy since this was Saturday.
Our turn around point was at the
Prineville Reservoir. The ride back to the
start point was warmer and quicker. Click the photos
for more views.
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Friday, August 19,
2022: Another very early riding start, on the road by
7 am to avoid the heat. We began the Madras Mountain
View Scenic Bikeway in Madras City Park. This is
called the "Mountain View" ride because (on a clear
day) you can see the Three Sisters, Mt. Washington,
Mt. Jefferson and Three Finger Jack. But our day is
not clear with a smokey haze from a few wildfires
nearby. The highlight of our ride however, are the
views of the Billy Chinook Reservoir on the Crooked
River. We rode through wide open fields of wheat and
other crops neither of us could name. Our ride was 30
miles with 1,200 feet of climbing. Click all photos
for more views. Our ride was finished before 10 am and
the temperatures where climbing past 80.
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Thursday, August 18,
2022: After an hour drive we bagan the Sherar's Falls
Scenic Bikeway tour from Maupin, Oregon. We began
riding by 7:20 am to avoid the heat of the day. This
was my first ride on the new Yamaha Civante road bike.
I still want to make some slight changes with the bike
but that will have to wait until I return to
Sutherlin. It felt good to be riding a road bike again
after riding the Cross Connect for three years.
This central Oregon area is very dry and hot this time
of year so everything is a shade of brown except for
the irrigated areas. Once we got onto the more rural
roads, we had very little traffic making for an
enjoyable ride. Click all the photoa for more views.
Our ride was only 34 miles with 1,500 feet of
climbing. We finished by 10 am but it was already 80
degrees.
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Monday, August 15,
2022: Riding Zwift today for maintenance and recovery
from yesterday's ride. I set out to ride 30 minutes
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| Saturday, August 13, 2022:
Early this morning, early enough to need jackets or vests, the
five of us left Sutherlin to ride 58 miles. In the photo above
from the left, Dale (me), Glen, Erik, Evan and Owen. I was the
oldest at 75 and Owen the youngest at 14. I rode with some
minimal assistance while Owen was his own motor. Owen is a
strong rider and was not phased by the 58 miles. We included
Yoncalla in our ride so we could stop at the Main Street
Espresso for drinks and breakfast sandwiches. Yoncalla was
about 2.5 hours into our ride and the place where we all
peeled off our jackets and vests. One of our longest
climbs came after Yoncalla but then a screaming downhill run.
Evan was trying a first ride on a new bike and he was pleased.
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Friday, August 12,
2022: I'm riding with the guys tomorrow for nearly 60
miles so chose to do an easier Zwift ride today. The
route I chose only took 35 minutes but I continued
riding another ten minutes. The ride tomorrow is
early, on the road by 7:30 am riding to Yoncalla again
for that special cup of coffee and treats at the Main
Street Espresso. This time we hope to have a total of
five riders in the group. All are strong riders so I
will have to work to keep up. Today's Zwift ride went
well. It was cool, high 50s but I still did a lot of
sweating which made me cold after stopping. I ended up
with a sweatshirt after the ride until noon.
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Monday, August 8,
2022: One of the wonderful things about riding Zwift
is the ability to ride with someone who is far away.
Ben and Melissa are in Reno, Nevada yet we are able to
ride virtually with each other on Zwift. We also use a
second APP to be able to talk with each other while we
ride. I chose this Zwift route because I thought it
was flat but as it turns out, it hod nearly 1,000 feet
of climbing. Yet, we still finished the route in
slightly less than 1 hour. Melissa is still new and
Zwift and with riding in general yet she still kept up
with us. Click the photo to see the route complete
announcement.
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Saturday, August 6, 2022:
Early Saturday morning, on the road by 7:15 to beat the heat.
We chose a route new to me. Our destination is the town of
Myrtle Creek to visit the SOCO coffee shop. This was mostly on
quiet rural roads with little traffic. We learned about two
hours into our ride we were following
the Applegate Trail. We enjoyed our drinks and
second breakfast snack at the SOCO (South County) coffee shop.
Total ride was 54 miles and we finished by noon. Click the
photos for more views.
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Wednesday, August 3,
2022: Last December 19th Glen ordered a Priority
Apollo with a Gates Carbon Belt Drive system. It
finally arrived yesterday after a long delay. This is
no ordinary bicycle. It has no chain or derailleurs.
Instead the gears come from the Shimano rear hub
Alfino 11 speed. Glen and all his cycling
friends are anxious to see this new technology. The
Apollo is a gravel bike so I know Glen will start
planning gravel rides. That means I I will have to
join him on these new adventures. I was lucky enough
to be with Glen when he opened the box and assembled
the bike. Here is a video
of the fun we had.
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| Tuesday, August 2, 2022: I
chose to ride in the cool morning into the Umpqua Valley. The
Umpqua River is the second longest is the state of Oregon. The
Willamette River is the longest Oregon river. This is one of
my favorite rides so I do it often. Today, however, I took the
time to make a video
of my ride showing the blueberries, wine grapes and
other scenes along the way. When watching the video I point
out the Lighthouse Bakery and Cafe. It shares the building
with the Umpqua Post Office. |
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Monday, August 1,
2022: I pressure washed the bike, golf cart and car
this morning. The rest of the morning and afternoon
was with bike maintenance. I took the gravel tires off
and replaced with new 700c x 28 road tires. These are
narrow, high pressure tires. My idea is, less rolling
resistance equals higher speed and easier pedaling.
However, when I removed the rear wheel, I noticed a
sound in the cassette I did not like then decided to
take it apart. One of the pawls inside the cassette
was out of place. I cleaned out everything, replaced
the pawl correctly positioned, greased everything with
white lithium grease, reassembled so now everything is
working perfectly. I'll try the new road tires
tomorrow morning. |
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Saturday and Sunday, July
30-31, 2022: My friend Stan and I joined a gravel riding group
from Medford on a forty-one mile gravel ride beginning at the
Whiskey Springs Campgound. Since the start point was almost 3
hours from us we chose to spend the night at the start point
camping. Unfortunately, the campground is closed due to
confusion of who will manage the campground. We camped at the
entrance to the campground, Stan in his van and me in my
hammock. Click the first photo on the left to see our
campsite. This was my first gravel ride and my first ride on
the new gravel tires. The total ride was 41 miles with 4,200
feet of climbing. A road ride of that length would take less
than 3 hours but this gravel ride took nearly 6 hours on a hot
day. I was grateful I thought to bring my Camelback full of
water or I would have run out and been in real trouble.
My bike preformed perfectly but I was not very happy with the
tires. When riding off-road I am use wider, softer tires with
plenty of grip. These provided none of that. I have some other
tires to try but they only fit by CoOp bike so I will be the
only motor. I guess I'm trying to make the Yamaha bike into
something it was no intended to do. Stan and I enjoyed our
ride and our two visited to the Butte Falls Cafe. The ride was
a little long for my ability and too hot but I would try it
again with cooler weather and the right tires/bike! There were
men and some very strong women in this group ride, probably 20
riders. Click all the photos for more views.
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Tuesday, July 26,
2022: After yesterday's experience I had no
intention to ride anything but pavement. However, when
I reached Old Pioneer Road the county had just chip
sealed except that it wasn't quite sealed yet. It was
truly loose gravel. If I didn't have my gravel tire
mounted I would have turned around for a different
route. But since I was riding on gravel tires I
couldn't refuse to ride the gravel! As it turned out
only the three miles of Old Pioneer had been chip
sealed and I rode very carefully for that three
miles. |
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| Monday, July 25,
2022: I decided to take the new gravel tires for a
test ride this morning on the very fine two mile trail
through the woods in our park. The trail was built by
Bob, one of the members in our park who loves mountain
biking. Most of the members in the park use the trail
for hiking while Bob uses it for mountain biking. I
have done a lot of mountain biking but it was 35 years
ago. This would be an easy ride and good test of the
new tires I thought. I almost left my helmet at home
thinking the ride was too easy for a helmet. I did
begin easy but as I rode, the Blackberry bushes kept
calling my name. Louder and louder they called. I was
only 100 yards from the end of the trail when they got
tired of calling my name and just reached out and
grabbed me. They threw me into a ditch face first.
After I spit out the rocks and dirt I decided nothing
was broken and I still had my teeth. Maybe the
Blackberries cushioned my fall. The photo looks
pretty raw but it's not as bad as it looks. The
new tires are fine and no broken spokes. |
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Sunday, July 24,
2022: In a week I will be riding with Stan on my first
gravel ride. In the 1980s I lived on the California
side of Lake Tahoe and learned to mountain bike the
trails near my house. Mountain bikes were new in the
80s like gravel bikes are new in the last few years.
Gravel riding has become popular because it gets the
rider off paved streets and mostly no traffic. Where
mountain bikes are designed to ride off road in all
sorts of terrain, a gravel bike is designed to ride
forest service roads with a somewhat smoother surface.
So next Sunday I will learn if I still have some off
road skills. I changed from my road tires today to
gravel tires. The front wheel was easy. When I let the
air out of the rear road tire I heard a loud pop, a
spoke broke. This is the third spoke I've
had to replace on the rear wheel. I really should
change all the spokes but that would be a lot more
work than replacing just one spoke.
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Saturday, July 23, 2022: The
ride was just Glen and me today. It was relatively long with 60 total miles and lots of climbing. We
started early to beat the heat but fortunately it was cool
weather with a coast-like overcast until noon. Today's route
was a combination of routes we have ridden before and new
routes. Very little traffic on these rural roads and a stop at
mile 37 at our favorite rest stop in Yoncalla. They were very
busy but the breakfast bagel and breakfast burrito were
perfect along with the coffee drinks we both enjoyed. I put a
photo of my Hammerhead computer because it has been advertised
on the Tour de France the last few days. The "climber"
appeared at the bottom of the screen during our longest and
steepest climb. I am more than half way to the top with 1 mile
to go and 296 feet of elevation to climb. There is only 17.7
miles left in our 60 mile ride. My heart rate is at 146.. It
is 6 minutes past noon and we have been riding for 2 hours and
47 minutes. Click all photos for more views.
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Saturday, July 16, 2022:
Today was a group ride with, left to right, myself, Barry (80
years old but our strongest rider), Stan (the lone burrito)
sticking his head over Glen's shoulder and Owen (our youngest
rider who did more miles than any of us). It was an
overcast, cool day which we all appreciated. Stan, Barry and I
began the ride in Wilbur after riding there from our various
homes. Glen and Own began at the Joseph Jane winery where we
planned to end the ride. We rode to the end of Hubbard Creek
Road chosen because it is a shady route. It turned out we did
not need the shade due to the unexpected overcast sky. We did
end at Joseph Jane for refreshment. Our friend Erik joined us
there after riding a different route. Glen had his big rack on
the car to give Erik and me a ride home. Click the photo to
view Joseph Jane.
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Friday, July 15,
2022: A perfect day for riding Driver Valley Road.
This is a 28 mile ride so a perfect length for a
recovery ride to get my legs working again. I'm
usually watching for wildlife but sometime the
domestic animals take an interest in me. These are the
only long horns on the route so I stopped to take
their photo. They had as much interest in me and
actually moved closer then stopped. Click both
photos for another view of my ride. |
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Friday and Saturday, July 8 -
9, 2022: Another bicycle two day tour on the Willamette Scenic
Bikeway. This route begins at Champoeg State Park north of
Salem. The routes passes through Salem, Albany, Brownsville
ending in Armitage County Park in Coburg. Our first day took
us to Salem for lunch at a Middle Eastern restaurant, one of
Erik's favorites. We then rode on to Albany for the night
passing lots of agriculture. The areas we passed advertise the
"grass seed capital of the world". I notice lots of
Hazelnut tree orchards also. Our first day was 76 miles. We
stayed overnight in the Rodeway Inn right next to the Albany
Airport. After breakfast at the Alan Brothers coffee shop we
began day two of the ride. We encountered far less traffic on
day 2. We picked a Mexican restaurant in Brownsville for our
lunch stop. All this area was interesting to me because the
ancestors of my Father's mother settled in Brownsville after
completing the Oregon Trail in 1847. We had one major climb on
this route otherwise the route was most flat to rolling hills.
Day two was only 61 miles so we finished about 3 pm.
Glen took a number of videos which I
combined into a short documentary of the tour. Click on
all photos for a second view.
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Wednesday, July 6, 2022: I'm
riding today with Glen and Jim. Rain was threatening but did
not stop us. We began our ride in the tiny town of Glide,
Oregon with the idea of starting the ride at The Atom coffee
shop, our favorite place in Glide. It was a relatively short
ride, total of 44 miles. Jim had hip replacement surgery
recently so this is one of his first rides. I've been off my
bike for a couple of weeks so I appreciated the short ride
also. The day turned out to be perfect with cool but dry
weather and the road grades where gentle. Our club is
considering an overnight trip to Cold Water Campground at the
end of July so this was a scouting ride to learn if we might
all fit into one of the campsites. Glen made two short videos
which I combined and added some photos. Click
the above photos for more views. |
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Tuesday, June 5,
2022: I completed the set up of our rig. I moved the
steps back to the motorhome. I rolled out the awning
and attached the screen. I attached the sun shields to
the windshield and two side windows. I dumped the
holding tanks.
Then I moved my Zwift setup from inside the shed to my
gazebo just in time for the rain to begin. I got my
gazebo TV working and found the Tour de France. I
began watching one of the stages. I started to wonder
what it would be like to ride Zwift while watching one
of the stages. I chose today's stage, Stage 4. Of
course the cameras follow the leaders so I was riding
with the leader for 42 minutes. At the end I almost
beat Van Aert, the winner of the stage but he pulled
ahead in the end. Click the photo for another view.
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Tuesday,
June 21, 2022: Today was my chance to check my glucose
level during a ride using the Dexcom G6 monitor
provided by Ben during our Tour de Fronds ride. I have
been using a heart rate monitor since 1982, so 40
years. I have used it to know how hard I am working
while riding. I read a book by Greg LeMond to learn
how to use a heart rate monitor. I have learned to
ride to my anaerobic threshold, the point at which the
muscles begin an oxygen debt. The muscles actually
begin to break down rather than build strength.
According to Greg, you want to limit rides above the
anaerobic threshold to once per week. When I was
younger, my AT was at 165 beats per minute, now my AT
is at 140 bpm.
The glucose monitor is just another meter to know what
my body is doing. Twenty minutes into my ride I got a
warning alert tone that my glucose level was low, the
75 at left. Ben says my body is using up glucose with
muscle exercise. The body then reacts to release
stored glucose to meet the demand from the muscles.
Click the 75 photo to see my level at 45 minutes.
After the alert I drank some of my hydration water
which helped to bring up the glucose level and my body
naturally released glucose to meet the demand. The
photo at the right is my glucose level at the end of
the ride, 1 hour 17 minutes. My body has adjusted the
glucose level perfectly. Click that photo to see my
computer showing my heart rate at the top.
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Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
June 17, 18 & 19, 2022: The Tour de Fronds happens only
once each year in the tiny town of Powers, Oregon which is
very close to the Oregon coast. Glen, Erik, and I chose to
ride to Eden Valley a total of 64.5 miles. My son Ben joined
us by driving all the way from Reno, Nevada to do the ride. We
rented a cabin at the county park for two nights, Friday night
before the ride and Saturday night after the ride. The ride
takes participants into the rural and mountain areas around
Powers. It is very well organized with friendly people, good
rest stops and organizers who look after every participant.
The weather was nearly perfect with rain decreasing in the
morning and cool riding all day. We were able to dodge most of
the rain drops. Besides the good snacks at each rest stop, we
got a good dinner Friday night, a continental breakfast
Saturday morning, lasagna with homemade dessert Saturday after
the ride, then a pancake plus ham steak Sunday morning. Ben is
a diabetes specialist in Reno and was able to bring a Dexcom
G6 glucose monitor to each one of us. Monitoring a cyclist
glucose level is a new measure for cyclists to insure they
have the best glucose level before a tough ride. All of us had
fun checking and discussing our glucose levels during the ride
and before and after meals. I made a short
video to give and idea of what the ride was like.
Also click each photo to enlarge.
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Thursday, June 9, 2022: I
woke this morning knowing the weather forecast was for 83
degrees and I was feeling strong. I chose to plan a metric
century (62 miles, 100 kilometers). Unfortunately the increase
in temperature was slow. When I left the temperature was 58
degrees so I wore leg warmers and socks with my new cycling
sandals. The route I chose had several bail-out points in the
case I wasn't as strong as I imagined. The first bailout was
at 9 miles, the second at 19 miles, the third at 26 miles. I
was feeling good at those points and continued forward for a
full metric century. I reached Yoncalla after 2.5 hours of
riding. Yoncalla is 2/3 of the century ride (40 miles) and the
location of my favorite mid-point stop. I bought refreshment
and lunch at the Main Street Espresso and Bakery. It was now
71 degrees so I removed my leg warmers and socks. With two
climbs left to return to Sutherlin, the return took another 2
hours. Arriving in Sutherlin, the temperature finally reached
79 degrees. This was a wonderful, enjoyable ride which I
plan to do several more times this summer. Click on all the
photos for more views.
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Wednesday, June 8,
2022: This morning began early with a Zwift ride with
my son, Ben. Ben lives in Reno. One of the advantages
of Zwift is the ability to ride with someone else even
if they are in a different state. We used a different
APP to talk with each other while riding. This was a
long ride because that is what Ben wanted. We sat on
our trainers for two hours averaging 15 miles per hour
which is what we average on the road. The
difference, you can't coast or stop pedaling while
riding a trainer so more difficult.
This afternoon my new clipless sandals arrived. I have
had them on my Amazon wish list for a year but they
have always been out of stock. Three days ago my wish
list showed them in stock for only $60 and with my $13
Amazon credit only $47. After delivery today I
checked Amazon again finding them for $99. I got a
real bargain. I mounted the cleats to the bottom and
gave them a try. I have found my new favorite cycling
shoes. I love the cool air on my feet. Click the
photos for more views.
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Friday, June 3,
2022: During my bike ride today I rode past the Plat I
reservoir again. This time I stopped to take a photo
of the county park across the lake. I also took a
photo of my friend, Bill's house on the hill
overlooking the reservoir. He has a nice view of the
lake and surrounding rural area. I happen to know of a
very unique house on Fair Oaks Road, an attractive
rural area about two miles from the reservoir. It is
almost 4,000 square feet but with only 1 bedroom and 1
bath. Whoever built this house must have built it only
for hobbies and outdoor recreation. What is
interesting, it is for sale. I would love to know the
story about building such a unique house then having
to sell it. Click the photo above to see the real
estate listing and you will understand why I believe
it is so strange.
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Another rainy day. Rain made is a good time to ride Zwift for an
hour. This group is called ZZRC and they are usually riding at
my pace. Today it was just right. It seemed a bit higher than
the advertised pace however. |
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May
27, 2022: The above photos are from myself and 3 friends
biking the Old West Scenic Bikeway. It is a 178 mile
look starting in John Day Oregon. We began in the Clyde
Holliday State Park 7 miles west of John Day. This ride
actually happened about a week ago but due to my
computer problems I'm just now reporting it. We
experienced 2 good weather days and 2 bad weather days.
Our first night was at the Sunshine Guard Cabin we
rented from the Forest Service. It had furniture,
kitchen, beds, pit toilet and electricity. It lacked
water so I had stashed water on my discovery tour. We
had an easy 28 miles to highway 395 our next day.
However, turning south on 395 gave us a terrible
headwind as well as occasional showers. We struggled our
way to Long Creek against the headwind to find a
wonderful breakfast at the General Store. We then turned
west into 9 miles of climbing and heavy rain before 11
miles of steep downhill into the tiny village of
Monument, Oregon. Here we enjoyed a nice motel with
showers, kitchenette, and satellite TV. The motel
owners had a small food truck which provided us with
dinner and breakfast. On day 3 we turned south following
the John Day river to the tiny village of Dayville. We
had a wonderful late lunch and breakfast at the Dayville
Cafe. We camped at a hostel located in the back of the
community church. It had everything except beds. Out
sleeping pads came in handy that night. We finished our
loop on day 4 back to the Clyde Holliday State Park.
Fortunately day 4 was a good weather day giving us an
easy ride for our last day.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2022: This was a relatively short ride (30
miles) on my CoOp bike (not my eBike) so I was always behind my
two friends.
I met Erik and Glen in Roseburg to begin the ride. Unfortunately,
I had forgotten to put my front wheel into the car so I had to
return to get it before I could ride. Of course Erik and Glen took
advantage of my mistake to make jokes about it while riding and I
deserved the jokes.
Glen took all these photos and a short video when we crosses a unique
bike/pedestrian bridge under Interstate 5.
Click both photos for more views.
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 Saturday,
April 23, 2022: This is Earth Day. Our Umpqua Velo Cycling Club
planned a nice ride on one of the popular routes around the Umpqua
Valley. The ride began at 10:30 so it was a bit chilly to begin. I
noticed during our ride only three women and probably 25 men on this
ride. Also one teenager riding. Our ride took a bit more than 2
hours because we stopped to take photos along the way. The group
stopped at the Lighthouse Cafe for refreshments but the three of us,
Erik, Glen and me (left to right) rewarded ourselves at the Joseph
Jane Winery. They have excellent wood fired pizza with very
comfortable outdoor seating. Comfortable today because we have good
sunlight with temperatures above 60. I ordered a Cranberry Peach
smoothie not realizing it also had a good bit of wine in it. As the
meal progressed I felt better and better. It was about that time
Erik and Glen informed me of the reason I was feeling so good. I
believe I will return for more of these smoothies. Glen and I took
several videos which I combined
into one. Click all these photos for more views. |
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Tuesday, April 19, 2022: I switched
to SPD pedals last year by buying inexpensive (cheap)
pedals. Unfortunately one pedal stopped working so I chose to
replace that pair with the same style my friend Glen uses. Brook
also put this style pedal onto her bike. I got the chance
to ride her pedals the last time I visited. Let's talk about
shoes. I have worn mountain bike cycling shoes for 35 years.
Mountain bike shoes have the pedal cleat inset into the rubber
sole. When the rider is walking they are not walking on the cleat
and the rider has good grip from the rubber sole. Road bike shoes,
on the other hand have a solid smooth plastic or wooden sole. The
cleat is mounted to the bottom of this sole. The rider, then, is
walking on the cleat when off the bike. Since the sole is solid it
does not flex and gives excellent support to the entire foot and
needs nothing but a small point of attachment to the pedal. The
mountain bike shoe, on the other hand, does flex and benefits from
the platform style pedal to give more foot support. The pedals on
the left are made for road bike shoes while the pedals on the
right are made for mountain bike shoes. When I rode Brook's bike I
could feel the advantages to the platform pedal giving my foot
extra support. That is why I chose the platform pedal to replace
the cheap pedals which stopped working. My feet still lock to the
pedal but now have more support for the entire foot. Click both
photos for more views. When installing pedals, always use
lubricant on the threads.
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Sunday, April 17, 2022: It was cloudy today but forecast to be 57
degrees. My bicycle computer never showed more than 50° however. I
dressed warmly and rode my unassisted CoOp bike continuing to
prepare for the bikepacking trip I plan to do in May.
Today's ride was a bit more than 40 miles and definitely slower
than when I ride my Yamaha eBike at its lowest assistance level.
So I had to ask myself if I could ride another 20 miles for a
total of 60 miles. That is the distance of our first and second
day on the bikepack trip. Yes, I could do another 20 miles but it
definitely would have hurt. I expect we will be stopping often for
photographs which will help to spread the load over time. Click
both photos for more views of today's ride. My friend, Glen, also
rode earlier today in the same area. He made a video of the scenic views. You will likely
need a Facebook account to see the video since I got the video
from his Facebook post.
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Saturday, April 2, 2022: Glen, Erik and I rode the Covered
Bridges Scenic Bike Route near Cottage Grove, Oregon. We found
four bridges before we decided to visit the Coast Fork Brewing and Feed Company store.
They have great food and beer. Thank you Glen for the photo and
video.
A short video
of our ride.
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Sunday, February 27, 2022: I had a choice today to ride on the
road with the guys or ride with my son, Ben, on Zwift. I chose the
Zwift ride. Ben had chosen the "Mountain Route" which took us to
the infamous Radio Towers, a long and steep climb so at times we
were only moving at 5 kph. We both achieved the top and then flew
down the other side. It still took nearly 2 hours. Click the photo
to see our finish.
After the ride and lunch, I took Abby for a mile and half walk
around the park. The forecast calls for rain this next week so she
may not get much exercise.
After dinner we watched the final episode of 1883 concerning the
Dutton families move to Montana. It can be found on Paramount plus
and I can highly recommend the story and fine acting.
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Twosday, 2/22/22: What a day for Twosday. My goal today was to
ride my age in miles. Last year I rode my age
in kilometers and I wanted to prove I was in better shape
than last year. Besides, my riding buddies claim they don't know
what a kilometer is (I'm joking). I chose two rides on Zwift to
total 75 miles. I would have ridden outside but it was too darn
cold and wet from the rain last night. It is much more difficult
to ride on the trainer since the rider can't coast and it is more
difficult to stand on the pedals. Zwiftinsider showed both rides
to be 61 km but the second ride turned out to be longer due to a
long "lead-in". That made my total mileage to be 80.53 miles and
total riding time of 5 hours. I did get more than 4,900 points
toward the next Zwift level, a nice birthday gift but I had to
work hard for those points. My friend Paul rode the entire first
ride with me which helped in many ways. The second ride was alone
and more difficult because of the earlier ride and the need to
give my butt a rest from sitting on the bike saddle that long.
When I ride Zwift, I normally cast the game from my iPhone to my
32" TV and have Zwift Companion on my tablet mounted to the
handlebars. That gives me the best control of the game. For this
long ride I planned to use my old Samsung Galaxy S6 to listen to
pod casts during the ride. I learned my S6 was now dead and would
not accept a charge so nix that idea. I grabbed Gwen's old Samsung
Galaxy S7 and it charged up just fine. Many people do not know
that old phones work just fine as long as they are connected to a
WiFi source. I downloaded Spotify to the S7 then connected
Bluetooth to my Bluetooth speaker. I listened to "Hidden Brain"
pod cast (an NPR radio show usually on Sunday). I finally got
tired of Hidden Brain late in the second ride so tuned to my
"Liked" tunes. That means I had three devices working today while
riding. The reason for that, I have had a problem with my tablet
dropping Bluetooth connections if it must connect to more than one
BT device. It is a cheap Samsung tablet and does not offer many
features. I didn't want to take a chance on my iPhone to run
another BT device, hence the need for a third device. Finally, if
you are wondering, while on Zwift, I am riding unassisted, eBikes
do not work on a direct drive smart trainer.
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Tuesday, February 15, 2022: My day was a Zwift ride with The
Herd, advertised to be a "recovery ride" and I was able to stay in
the group until the last ten minutes when the leader of the group
and the group took off leaving me behind. So much for the
advertising. There is a definite advantage to staying in the
group. It's called drafting and Zwift simulates drafting
efficiently. Click the photo to see lonely me at the finish.
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Saturday, February 12, 2022: With good weather and Erik turning
54 our Umpqua Velo Bike Club did a 54 mile ride and climb to
Glide, Oregon.
The day began in fog and cold but the weather forecast called for
60s by early afternoon. The day did warm but never made it into
the 60s. Still, much more comfortable later in the ride.
Our route climbs North Bank Road to Glide which is 27 miles from
Roseburg. North Bank Road is the north bank of the North Umpqua
River so some great views along our route. We have all ridden it
many time. The traffic seemed heavier than usual on this Saturday.
Once we got to Glide, we headed to The Atom Bistro and Coffee. I
ordered a large coffee and bagel with cream cheese.
Once leaving Glide, we have one last big climb on Buckhorn Road
then a long descent into Roseburg. My destination was another five
miles beyond Roseburg to the River Forks Park where the ride
began. Click both photos for more views and click here for a short video of the ride.
Thank you again to Glen for the photos and the video.
I will add, this was an unusual ride for me. You know I normally
ride my eBike on road rides. Somehow I lost track of the number of
rides from my last charge. When I arrived at River Forks Park I
noticed my battery was only at 36%, I knew I couldn't do this 54
mile ride with only 36% in the battery. I simply did not turn on
the assistance for any of the ride except the steepest climbs. I
avoided the assistance for 90% of the ride arriving back at River
Forks Park with 11% left in the battery. I had considered riding
my non-assist bike this day but chose the eBike thinking I needed
the help to keep up with all these younger riders. However, my
non-assist bike is 25 lbs lighter and lower gears than the eBike.
It would have made an easier ride.
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| Sunday,
February 6, 2022: All photos today were provided by Glen, Thanks
Glen! The forecast called for a 60 degree day so a group of nine of
us chose to road ride. It actually reached 57 but still felt plenty
cold in the shade. Glen planned a long road to Ten Mile and back.
The ride turned out to be 48 miles
and I was glad to see the last mile after riding Zwift yesterday for
nearly 2 hours. Click each photo for more views. |
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Wednesday, February 2, 2022: My morning began with an hour Zwift
ride with son Ben in Nevada and friend, Jami. in Colorado. After
the ride it was time for a shower and lunch.
Following lunch I took Abby for a mile long walk around the park.
She likes looking for rabbets but ignores the wild turkeys.
When the walk was over, Gwen, Abby and I drove to Drain, Oregon
to meet Gwen's son Dave. He is driving back to Brookings, Oregon
from the Portland International Airport. We visited The Rose Inn
with Dave for dinner and to catch up on his adventures.
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Monday, January 31, 2022: I completed the January 200 mile St Jude Donation Cycling Challenge today by
completing Stage 7 of the Tour de Zwift. One more stage for the
TdZ and it will also be completed. Stage 8 does not become
available until Friday. If you wish to donate to St. Jude, please
click the link above. If I can do 500 miles each month, that will
be 6,000 miles for the year, my goal. I'd like to do that and
maybe more as the weather improves. Glen and Erik are pushing me
to do more.
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Saturday, January 29, 2022: My friend Glen mapped a route around
the rural area of Coquille, Oregon. We chose Coquille because it
was at least ten degrees warmer than our valley. Erik and I join
Glen on this route. These are Glen's photos and Glen also did a video.
It is winter so still cold. As we rode, it was 42 in the shade
and 53 in the sun but warm enough with our winter riding gear.
This was a 48 mile loop into the
rural and mountain areas around Coquille and Myrtle Point.
We were able to find a coffee stop in Myrtle Point and warm in the
sun with no wind.
We are dedicated cyclists and anxious for any outdoor winter
riding in good weather. The driving time to Coquille from our
valley is 1.5 hours each way. Fortunately we also found The Pub
and Grill in Coquille and enjoyed a delicious meal after the ride.
Click these photos for more views.
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| Wednesday,
January 26, 2022: Glen drove to Myrtle Point, Oregon for a rural
bike ride because it was ten degrees warmer. I went with him. It
felt considerably warmer except in the shade, very cold in the
shade. We were three miles into the ride when I got a flat. I had
been bragging about not getting any flat tires while road riding and
the bragging was a mistake. The route was chosen from "Ride With
GPS" so we had no knowledge of what it was like. At about nine miles
it turned to gravel then mud in the shady areas. The mud stuck to
everything. It was only a two mile section but that was enough to
coat our bikes. We continued to ride until we reached a sign saying
"Pavement Ends" where we turned around not wanting anymore mud. We
also chose a different route back to avoid the mud. It was still a
good ride and we plan to return to the same area this weekend hoping
to avoid the gravel roads. Here is a short video taken by Glen. |
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| Monday,
January 24, 2022: Glen and I did an easy ride today in Eugene. We
rode the Ruth Bascom Bike Path
on both sides of the Willamette River. No hills to climb just some
great views. After the ride we visited Glen's daughter who is living
near the University of Oregon. We also went looking for a bike shop
who might have belt driven bicycles to try out. Glen has ordered one
online but never ridden one. We were fortunate to find the "Arriving
by Bike" bicycle shop which Siri says is the best bike shop in
Eugene. It had two belt drive
bicycles we were able to try. Each bike had an 8 speed Shimano
transmission which shifted very smoothly. We were impressed with the
easy of pedaling and lack of chain noise, virtually silent riding.
Glen's bike will be a little more sophisticated with a Shimano 11
speed transmission. Click these photos for more views. |
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Sunday, January 23, 2022: It was riding in the real world today
with friends. Glen planned a route through Roseburg into Green
then east toward the community of Dixonville back to Roseburg. It
was a 32 mile ride with temperatures in the low to mid-40s. Those
on the ride were Georgie, Erik, Stan and Glen from left to right.
This was a great ride with some good climbing to keep us all warm.
Click the photo to view the route map and elevation graphic.
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Friday, January 14, 2022: The most important event of the day,
finishing Stage 2 of the Tour de Zwift. Second most important
event was getting dollar store dehydration containers to soak up
the high humidity in our clothing storage cabinets.
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Tuesday, January 11, 2022: A couple days ago I rode the
first stage of the Tour de Zwift. A month long event which
happens only once each year. There were 3000 riders in that event
and I ended up in the last 10% of the riders across the finish
line. That didn't have me concerned until today.
Today I rode with the ZZRC group for a 60 minute ride. This is a
group I rode with last year and had no problem staying with the
group. However, today the group rode away from me and I couldn't
match their pace. I did finish the ride (click the photo to see
the end photo). However, I was very near the tale end of the
riders.
It makes me wonder if my conditioning is not keeping up with my
reduction of strength due to age. On the other hand I have
experienced this before when I was much younger. In that case I
had been training wrong and breaking down my body rather than
building it up. That could be happening now I just need to
continue monitoring my heart rate to be sure I'm within my
strengthening heart rate.
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 Saturday,
January 8, 2022: My day began with the Montana State vs North
Dakota football game. Unfortunately the Montana starting
quarterback was injured in the first quarter and it was all North
Dakota after that.
Glen and I had scheduled a road ride today with a forecast of
cold but clear weather. Most of the morning
was fog with temperatures not reaching 40. So we delayed our
start until 1 pm where it reached 42 degrees. I dressed in my
warmest winter riding gear but Glen must be immune to cold weather
with only a light jacket. We did 42
miles in 3 hours, probably too much for our first road ride
of the year.
I finished the day by watching the Cowboys tromp all over the
Eagles on the Eagles home turf.
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Saturday,
April 23, 2022: This is Earth Day. Our Umpqua Velo Cycling Club
planned a nice ride on one of the popular routes around the Umpqua
Valley. The ride began at 10:30 so it was a bit chilly to begin. I
noticed during our ride only three women and probably 25 men on this
ride. Also one teenager riding. Our ride took a bit more than 2
hours because we stopped to take photos along the way. The group
stopped at the Lighthouse Cafe for refreshments but the three of us,
Erik, Glen and me (left to right) rewarded ourselves at the Joseph
Jane Winery. They have excellent wood fired pizza with very
comfortable outdoor seating. Comfortable today because we have good
sunlight with temperatures above 60. I ordered a Cranberry Peach
smoothie not realizing it also had a good bit of wine in it. As the
meal progressed I felt better and better. It was about that time
Erik and Glen informed me of the reason I was feeling so good. I
believe I will return for more of these smoothies. Glen and I took
several videos which I combined
into one. Click all these photos for more views. 
