The Bicycling thread

[kurtr11s]

In going through old pictures to find some examples of the Erie Canal (I found TONS, but I won't bore you), I ended up taking a trip down memory lane. While in our 20's, Michelle and I realized that we had some employment related skills that would allow us to live pretty much anywhere we wanted. We travelled a lot and, in the back of our mind, we were always checking places out as a potential home base. In the end, we never moved. Not because we couldn't find awesome places - but they didn't add up to being significantly better than our snowy, rainy, buggy NY. I found a couple of pictures that sum up what I love about my home. I apologize for no bicycle or BMW content.

 

[lee]

And this is what remains of the Richmond aquaduct, completed in 1856. This is part of the second iteration of the canal. It was the second largest aquaduct on the canal it is located in Montezuma, NY

I would enjoy that trail and being able to see the aquaduct.

 

[lee]

Yesterday was the 47th BRR bicycle ride. Bike Ride to Rippey, and back.

Inside the Hotel Pattee

Debbie was able to get her favorite seat while she waited for me.

Temps were 36 to 38F during the ride. 20 to 25 mph winds with light fog making it damp.

A Iowa grocery store chain usually has a big fire, hot chocolate and booze along the route. It's hard to see it over by the red and yellow trailer. The large logs were glowing red. I'm surprised
the couple in the high vis jackets were standing on the downwind side. I could feel the heat from the road.

A church in Rippey has a hot meal and pie. I always head strait to the pie.

More pictures from the news paper.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/pi...y/72464217007/


Because of the new forum software I was able to Copy and Paste this report from another forum.
This new forum setup is great.

Lee
Iowa
2022 R1250RS White Sport

 

[jgoertz]

Also in nearby Eugene, OR, is the headquarters of Co-Motion Cycles (makers of great singles & tandems), Burley Design (makers of great trailers and clothing), and Bike Friday (already discussed). And in the component world, Rolf-Prima -- makers of some of the best spoked wheels you can buy for your tandem or singles -- is also located in Eugene. (Eugene is about 125 miles from Redmond, OR).

In 2013, the National Rally was in Salem, Or (not too far from Redmond). On our way up from San Diego, we stopped in Eugene for a tour of Green Gear Cycling (the makers of the Bike Friday). Michelle got her Bike Friday in 2008 and wanted to get a new custom made stem - so we carried the adjustable stem with us and dropped it off with them to make the new one. So the company isn't too far from the rally site. Heck we rode from Redmond over to Eugene to get oil filters at the BMW dealer there during one of the previous rallies (we've been to both - 2002 and 2010 maybe?). There was no filter to be found at the rally site. As I was changing my oil, (K75) a guy came over and asked me if he could have my OLD filter! That was how bad it was.

Regarding the Erie Canal: It is a long flat ride. The villages along the way are great and you go through all of the major upstate NY cities (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Albany). To me, if it is below i90, it is downstate. There are some parts that are particularly boring - but some that are great. We stayed at B&Bs (and our house, which is about 5 miles from the canal trail). We did the 380 (ish) miles in 6 segments - so 60 to 70 miles per day and it was enjoyable. We picked the hottest week of the year - July, every day hit 100, so there were some shadeless sections that ground us down between Rochester and Lockport.

To me, the interesting thing about the Erie canal was that it was the beginning of civil engineering as a discipline. It was a massive undertaking but the payoff was equally massive. It was the catalyst for the settlement of the midwest, and eventually the far west. It was the beginning of the US as an industrial giant. After the canal was built, the cities I mentioned above flourished but were also set up for ecological disaster to follow. We had car companies, steel companies, chemical and oil, salt and other mining, heck at one time we had a number of bicycle companies right here in Syracuse! Camillus Knives was right along the banks of Nine Mile Creek which fed the canal (now Camillus is made in China and sold in Walmart). Our waterways were dumping grounds for the pollution stemming from the industry. Heavy metals filled our local lake (Onondaga - when I moved here I was told that it was the most polluted in the country).

The area has undergone a massive cleanup. Honeywell spent years dredging the lake and developing wetlands on the shores. Now it is a stopping ground for migrating birds - and we even have a number of bald eagles living in the giant trees along the shore.

My wife and I attended the L.A.W. National (Bicycle) Rally in 1983, in Seattle. After the rally, we toured for a week in the San Juan Islands on our tandem. Great scenery, great rides. We've also toured around Salem, OR, Eugene, OR, and Bend, OR (not all in the same year), and most recently, we toured with Santana Tours along the Columbia River Gorge and the Snake River, visiting Astoria, OR, Pendleton, OR, Mt St Helens, and more. I can highly recommend bicycle touring in the Pacific Northwest.

I've also toured by tandem in New York (state), including riding the tow path along the Erie Canal. Flat riding at its best! And we've bike toured from Hartford, CT, to Rochester, NY, biking along the southern tier (Not Flat!) This country has some great areas for bike touring. We usually don't do the massive cross-state rides. but have enjoyed some great weekend rides (TOSRV in OH is one I can recommend, too!)

 

[littlebriar]

*TOSRV in OH is one I can recommend, too!*
I just looked into TOSRV. Looks like a great fall event and it's only a stones throw from home. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[jgoertz]

*TOSRV in OH is one I can recommend, too!*
I just looked into TOSRV. Looks like a great fall event and it's only a stones throw from home. Thanks for the recommendation.

TOSRV is always Mother's Day (except for the very first one, back in the 60's)

 

[rbourey]

In going through old pictures to find some examples of the Erie Canal (I found TONS, but I won't bore you), I ended up taking a trip down memory lane. While in our 20's, Michelle and I realized that we had some employment related skills that would allow us to live pretty much anywhere we wanted. We travelled a lot and, in the back of our mind, we were always checking places out as a potential home base. In the end, we never moved. Not because we couldn't find awesome places - but they didn't add up to being significantly better than our snowy, rainy, buggy NY. I found a couple of pictures that sum up what I love about my home. I apologize for no bicycle or BMW content.


View attachment 96661

Reminds me of the blue skies we used to get on Ektachrome film. Was this a phone camera?

 

[rbourey]

Santana Tours along the Columbia River Gorge

Now there's an international schedule of tours worth saving up for.... One of the guys I used to race with does one a year with his wife. Last was Japan during the Cherry Blossom Festivals.

(The wife and I had a Santana for years, and then one trip, she looked up from pedaling realized her view sucked. I'm 6'3" and she's 5'6" - so with the height of the captain's saddle, you can see her problem with traditional tandems.)

 

[lee]

Brompton's fold in 20 seconds (with a little practice).
Folding case:
H: 33m, W: 64cm, L: 70cm (13 in, 25 in, 28 in) Photos from the Brompton USA Site -
https://us.brompton.com/

Saw a folding bike on RAGBRAI Sunday morning near Glenwood, Iowa.

Not a good picture because of the fog and my phone was mounted on the handlebars.

 

[lee]

Did the first half of RAGBRAI. 3.5 days. I like going for several days when it's in Southern Iowa so I can return home each night.




Debbie drops me off in the morning, meets up with me 1 or 2 times during the day and picks me up in the afternoon.
At this spot she had been visiting with this 93 year old man. Long time motorcycle rider who switched to 3 wheels not long ago.


Eight years ago I met one of the EMTs because they use BMW motorcyles.
I stopped to visit with him today because I noticed they added a GSA to the bikes they use.
They decided to bring it for the optional gravel road loops.




2016



Here's Debbie on the Greenfield town square. Greenfield had a lot of damage from a EF 4 tornado. Greenfield is 20 miles north of us.



Picture copied from the Des Moines Register

 

[lee]

Here's a few Wednesday pictures from the Des Moines Register news paper.
We rode by a nursing home in Indianola. I liked the sign, My Wheels Are Faster Than Yours



Leaving Winterset Wednesday morning. The last time we left Winterset in 2019 the riders were estimated at 40,000.
Yesterday numbers were probably half that and the ride was more relaxing.


South edge of Winterset.



This covered bridge in St Charles was moved to town in 1977.

 

[kurtr11s]

Lee, we were there with you - and successfully completed RAGBRAI. We did a charter to carry our bags, give us a know camping area, and provide showers (in semi-trailers, not unlike the MOA national). I'll try to post some pics later. We opted to do all of the gravel sections and the century loop option. It turns out that, if the participation was like in previous years, I would not have done well with the crowds. As it was I was pretty tired of waiting in line for everything (including bodily functions). Thankfully, the riding was 'easy' (for us, anyway). I enjoyed the event, I enjoyed the hospitality of IOWA, I was amazed by the friendliness of all the participants even after a week on the bike. I would consider doing it again - now I know my own needs:

1) I didn't eat enough during and immediately after the rides. I would bring another bag of pre-ride and post-ride food. While there were a lot of vendors, there were lines for food that I would not normally eat. I enjoyed the church dinners and breakfasts but, again, biscuits and gravy after 15 miles isn't my normal nutrition. I also didn't get the amount of veggies that I normally eat and this caused some unusual internal distress, if you know what I mean.

2) I would break camp earlier and ride a bit faster. While we did get up at 5 and on the road by about 6:30, this seemed to be peak starting time. That meant the first few pass-through towns were mobbed. I would say Michelle and I rode a few miles per hour faster than most so by about 40 miles, things started to thin out and the meeting town and subsequent towns weren't too bad.

3) We LOVED the gravel options. Relatively few people did it and we were able to connect with people easier. It was a bit of calm within the storm of RAGBRAI.

4) I would come up with a better way of communicating with my friends. It turns out that the rolling terrain made it a little difficult to stay together. We did fine when it was fairly flat but with any hills we split up. It is really hard to find a bicyclist in a sea of bicyclists. We did all use the WhatsApp texting app and started to add time and mileage to the start of each message (text timestamps can't be trusted when the network is overloaded).

 

[lee]

Lee, we were there with you - and successfully completed RAGBRAI. We did a charter to carry our bags, give us a know camping area, and provide showers (in semi-trailers, not unlike the MOA national). I'll try to post some pics later. We opted to do all of the gravel sections and the century loop option. It turns out that, if the participation was like in previous years, I would not have done well with the crowds. As it was I was pretty tired of waiting in line for everything (including bodily functions). Thankfully, the riding was 'easy' (for us, anyway). I enjoyed the event, I enjoyed the hospitality of IOWA, I was amazed by the friendliness of all the participants even after a week on the bike. I would consider doing it again - now I know my own needs:

1) I didn't eat enough during and immediately after the rides. I would bring another bag of pre-ride and post-ride food. While there were a lot of vendors, there were lines for food that I would not normally eat. I enjoyed the church dinners and breakfasts but, again, biscuits and gravy after 15 miles isn't my normal nutrition. I also didn't get the amount of veggies that I normally eat and this caused some unusual internal distress, if you know what I mean.

2) I would break camp earlier and ride a bit faster. While we did get up at 5 and on the road by about 6:30, this seemed to be peak starting time. That meant the first few pass-through towns were mobbed. I would say Michelle and I rode a few miles per hour faster than most so by about 40 miles, things started to thin out and the meeting town and subsequent towns weren't too bad.

3) We LOVED the gravel options. Relatively few people did it and we were able to connect with people easier. It was a bit of calm within the storm of RAGBRAI.

4) I would come up with a better way of communicating with my friends. It turns out that the rolling terrain made it a little difficult to stay together. We did fine when it was fairly flat but with any hills we split up. It is really hard to find a bicyclist in a sea of bicyclists. We did all use the WhatsApp texting app and started to add time and mileage to the start of each message (text timestamps can't be trusted when the network is overloaded).

I looked for you two but didn't spot you
If I ever did the whole ride I would want to do the charter thing to keep it simple. Not cheap though.
I like doing 3 or 4 days if the route allows me to get home each night. After that I'm tired of the crowds
You probably noticed the corn fields get a lot of use for bathrooms
I don't do long lines and managed to avoid them again this year. I'm flexible on when I eat and pee.
If I needed anything I would wait until leaving the town. Shorter lines there.
Debbie would meet me a couple times during the day with snacks and water. I like that water is usually easy to get and free on the route.
Food is not cheap.
Debbie and I use the 360 app on our phones to see where each other is located. It makes it easy for me to find here when I enter a town.
The first two day we had trouble with no cell service or the service being overloaded. One day she sat in a town for a few hours without cell service.
I could not find her in the crowd and had to keep going. We found each other at the end of the day.
I also started to add my time and location to my text messages and gave her a approx riding time to next meeting point.
Other years the 360 app worked good but this year we learned to also give each other our rough plan for the next few hours when we met.

Last year was crazy crowded because it was the 50th ride. That took a lot of fun out of it. I swore I would never do another one, but I did
2016 leaving Winterset was another crazy crowd. I think the estimate was 50,000 riders. When the route is near Des Moines the number of riders can double because of day riders.

I'm lucky Debbie is willing to drop me in the morning, meet a few times and pick me up at end of the day.
She's really good at navigating to avoid the bike route and most times she avoids the support vehicle routes.
She avoids the gravel roads so the car doesn't get dirty

 

[lee]

We've been up to Mackinac Island and on our way home now,






Ferry to the Island.



Debbie always likes to ride up and look at these old houses above the Grand Hotel.


We were on the Island 4 nights.
Five cruise ships pulled in during that time.
The Pearl Mist was the only one to use the dock.
The others used small boats to bring people in.


Over looking town


This is a tiny diner we always go to for breakfast.
The 2 cooks got everyone singing My Caroline.

 

[lee]

British Landing


After Mackinac Island we headed to Marquette Michigan for 2 nights.
We're at Marquette now,
We stopped at the Log Slide west of Grand Marais Mich.



We're not used to curvy roads in the car. H-58 ADAMS Trail is very curvy. Debbie said she kept trying to lean into the corners

Today We took a tour of the Marquette Lighthouse and checked out the Iron Ore docks.


Those huge Ore ships are something to see up close.
When we're on the Island I like to watch
them pass close to the island before going under the Mackinac Bridge.




Tomorrow is a travel day to Marquette Iowa.
Latter when we return home I may add some pictures I took with the camera.

 

[lee]

To load the Iron Ore pellets onto the ships, train cars loaded with pellets are rolled out unto the dock next to the ship. There's a ship on each side of the dock.
The train cars are like coal cars and drop the load out the bottom.
In this picture the chutes are up. If they were loading, the chutes would be angled down.

 

[lee]

This morning at our motel in Marquette Iowa a R100RS rider gave me a good recommendation for breakfast.
Bill's Boat landing in Clayton Iowa. It's about 1 mile east of Great River Road X56.
Right on the water.




I didn't ask the rider's name.
Here's his mono shock RS

 

[slowpokepete]

September 22, 2024 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

SPP

 

[slowpokepete]

Early morning ride this past Tuesday....apologies for the rude cycling cap. Was a limited run by Rothera Cycling a few years back.

October 8, 2024 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

October 8, 2024 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

October 8, 2024 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

October 8, 2024 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

October 8, 2024 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

October 8, 2024 by SPP™ SlowPokePete, on Flickr

SPP

 

[kurtr11s]

Great pics Pete! Enjoyed Lee's, also.