The Bicycling thread

[Lee]

Beautiful! Looks like a great ride so long as the path is straight. curves on wet leaves are something else entirely (Living in Portland, all leaves are wet. It looks like that is less of a problem in SW Iowa)

The last week was dry so the leaves are dry. The next 5 days calls for rain so that will change
Several of the counties have large blowers mounted in the bed of pickups they use to clean trails.
I met one on my return to the trail head and I had a clean trail.
Most of the bicycle trails in this part of the state are built on abandoned railroad beds so the curves and grades are gentle.

[henzilla]

Wet leaves...exciting on both types of two wheelers!
Glad those were dry for you, some in our local park were not a few days ago and I was reminded of how small a contact patch I was working with

Yesterdays ride was back to average temps of 60° after a few wet,cold, and windy days.

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[Lee]

I rode 26 miles yesterday. Sunny, 20 MPH winds and the temps were 40 to 45F.
If the forecast is correct it will hit 50 next Friday and I'll probably get out again then.

Today is yard work.

[jgoertz]

December 2 -- Temps over 70 degF! Was out on the tandem with my lovely stoker (wife!), enjoying a great 48-mile through north central AL. Dress of the day? Shorts & Jersey!

Glorious!

[jgoertz]

A great finish and a great beginning!

2018 ended with temps in the mid 60's, a bit cool, but still warm enough to ride w/o all the winter gear. We didn't go too far, only 25 miles, as it was New Year's Eve, and my Alma Mater was gearing up for their Liberty Bowl game vs Missou. OSU won, which made the year ending perfect.

2019 begin equally nice! Temps were a few deg cooler than New Year's eve, but still warm enough to ride w/only cool weather gear. We did our annual New Year's Day ride through the empty streets of Birmingham, AL, along with about 40 of our friends. It was a perfect start to what I hope is a great year. The tandem is ready to go for many more rides!

Is there a better reason to live in the deep South? Where your 2-wheel year ends on Dec 31 and begins again on Jan 1?

See you on the road inn 2019!

[Lee]

This afternoon I went to the Racoon River Valley Trail near Des Moines.
Rode 36 miles. 42F when I started and 52 when I returned to the trailhead.
Had patches of ice and thin snow which is no fun with slicks but most of the trail was clear.
https://raccoonrivervalleytrail.org/...F/rrvt_map.pdf

Jan 4 2019 (2).jpg

The trail runs along a couple brick yards in Adel and Redfield.

Jan 4 2019 (1).jpg

Think I'll ride again tomorrow since the forecast is about the same as today.
Probably go to the Great Western Trail.
This trail is south of Des Moines and takes you into downtown Des Moines.

[Lee]

Think I'll ride again tomorrow since the forecast is about the same as today.
Probably go to the Great Western Trail.
This trail is south of Des Moines and takes you into downtown Des Moines.

Turned out to be warmer. 46F to 56F, sunny and calm winds.
The bicycle trail and Grays Lake were busier than a summer weekend.
Counted 150 bikes in the first 10 miles, then I stopped trying to keep track.

Gray's Lake bridge.
Jan 5th 2019 (3).jpg

Baseball stadium
Jan 5th 2019 (5).jpg

Downtown along the Des Moines River.
Jan 5th 2019 (6).jpg

We rarely go to Downtown Des Moines but I like to check it out on a bicycle.
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One of the pedestrian/bicycle bridges.
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Usually on a winter ride I avoid stops to make sure I don't cool down.
Since it was in the mid 50s I figured it was ok to stop at a brewery on the trail
Jan 5th 2019 (11).jpg

The Great Western trail does not pave across gravel roads like the Racoon River Valley Trail
or the High Trestle Trail so the gravel road crossings were soft today because of the thaw.

Jan 5th 2019 (12).jpg

The only ice I had today was in the tunnels that run under roads and that was along the edges where it was easy to avoid.

[henzilla]

We have been able to ride often, sometimes more often than I want Typical ride is 40 miles 3-4 times a week.
All good, as I really don't mind, just fun to fuss with H. My heart and body appreciate the cardio.

We rode motorcycles to our annual New Years Day meetup in Luckenbach and had intentions to do a bicycle ride as well, the temps dropped to lower 40's and I fussed when we got home since my heated gear wasn't transfering tothe bike.
We did get out on the 3rd after a wet few days to enjoy gusts in the high 20's.

These guys , all three blades,were stopped near town waiting for better sailing weather! I can only imagine what 30mph gusts do for these drivers
Wind builds character is what I tell H...I should know because I've been accused of being one often.

P1040998-2.JPG

[Rinty]

It's nice to take advantage of good winter weather, We've got a warm weekend coming up, so my lady and I are going to hike down to Waterfall Valley, on the north side of the Bow Valley in the City. We'll kick the weekend off with the Flames / Panthers game tonight...Good times.

[Lee]

It's interesting to get up close to those big blades.
Also fun to watch one of these big rigs turn at a intersections.
Must seem to have the rear axles steered remotely by a vehicle following the semi.
I saw one where a guy had to jump on the back and steer from there.

This picture shows a guy on the back steering.
The load is a wind turbine.
P1020050.JPG

[Rinty]

That must have been some interesting engineering, figuring out the load paths through those bogies.

[Lee]

Today was the annual BRR ride. Bicycle ride to Rippey and back to Perry.
This is a 24 mile ride that the Perry Iowa Chamber puts on each year no matter what the weather.
It's a party atmosphere.
Good thing it was not 3 days ago when we had a low of -25F. Today was warm, it pretty much stayed at 38F while I was riding. 15 to 20 mph wind.
I'm guessing around 1,500 riders.

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Easy Rider
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I'm on the right side of the picture with the white helmet.
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Debbie is not a big fan of cold so she hangs out at the old Hotel Pattee next to the fire.
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Des Moines Register pictures.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/pi...ek/2755487002/

[Rinty]

...Good thing it was not 3 days ago when we had a low of -25F...

It's been so cold here that I've been plugging my car in, even though it's parked in the garage.

[Lee]

It's been so cold here that I've been plugging my car in, even though it's parked in the garage.

That's cold
Most of the time my unheated garage stays above freezing but last week the garage temp was 20F.

Do parking lots and businesses have places to plug in in Calgary?

[Rinty]

My garage is insulated but unheated. Our temp got down to -20F this week, and the garage, down to + 14F, so I decided to plug in the Subie. I haven't plugged it in for many years. It will start in any weather, but the plug in gives it a softer start, and there is no valve train clatter. We've only had 3 3+ day cold snaps since 2010, in Calgary. It's relatively mild here because we get Foehn winds off the Pacific, all winter.

Many businesses have plug ins for their tenants and power them up on the half hour, to save money. But not parking lots.