Riding With Dara ...

Dara and I went riding around town today. First stop was Best Buy to get some new speakers. Had fun testing out lots of differents speakers. One of the gals demonstrated a set of 400W speakers! Man those speakers really rocked! So loud the manager came over to tell her to turn the sound down becausae he couldn't hear his customers! My son was on the other side of the store and could hear those monsters!!!

I got a smaller set which still rocks, only 140W, but quite sufficient to drown out the neighbors music ...

Our next stop was Wal-Mart to buy a new shower curtain. Temperature got up to about 85 degrees while riding around. We've been having a heat wave for the past few days. Several days in the high 80s.

Today's ride totaled 19 miles. Dara was already complaining by about eight miles. I felt great, and like I could ride another 19 miles with no problem, except my feet were quite swollen, as usual. I really do need to get sandals for riding.

Weather Is Warming Up ...

The weather is warming up, as usual for this time of year. When I rode into town after work, it was 88 degrees! We turned our air on for a bit today. I showed up for the Critical Mass meet, but nobody else was there. I waited and rode around for about 30 minutes, but still nobody else showed up.

As I was riding back home, I stopped and talked with a couple of guys standing outside the Spanish AA building. The older guy has 21 years clean and sober time! We had a nice long chat for about 45 minutes.

Yesterday when I rode across the Lion Bridge I decided to ride on the road instead of the sidewalk. So I watched for a clearing in traffic and pedaled hard. Made it a little over 25mph, but as usual, somebody caught up with me and tailgated me. The speed limit is 25mph, but most people drive around 35mph, or even faster over the bridge. There was nowhere to go, so I just kept pedaling as fast as I could.

I've been doing a little better with sprinting. Today I stuck to the sidewalk as usual. Total mileage for today = 17.64 miles, time = 1 hour, 55 min., calories burned = 578

Bicycling Journals ...

Been catching up with reading journals from the Camel Hippo Tour. Amazing adventure - must read for any bicycle enthusiast! I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures ....

Now I'm back to reading up on Dave's New Adventure. You can download his book, Jackfruit: An Adventure On Two Wheels Through Latin America.

Ordered Long Haul Trucker

Rode into town about 3:40 a.m. so I could catch the Greyhound Bus to Sacramento. Took some pictures just as it was starting to get light, then hung out at Temple Coffee. Rode the bus out to The Bicycle Business. Ordered the Surly Long Haul Trucker. Should be ready in a couple weeks.

While waiting for the bus back to town started to rain pretty good. Had a chicken burrito while waiting. Rained all the way back to Modesto.

Short bike ride today - 5 miles. Total ride so far for this month = 300.2

Close Call ....

Ran some errands around downtown. While riding out to Wal-Mart, I almost got hit by a truck that passed me, then cut in front of me, just as I was about to make a right turn. I called in to report the incident.

Got sunburned a bit. I need to remember to use sunscreen more often.

Commute to Work

Today's commute was good. Left the house about 6:45, and arrived at work at 7:20. After work took care of some errands and personal business. Several jerks on the road were shouting and honking at me. I just kept pedaling and ignored them.

Total miles for today = 12.5, average speed = 10.3mph, time = 1 hour and 13 minutes, burned 399 calories! I'm feeling great!

Dry Creek - Riding With Friends ...

Our first ride for today was to Wal-Mart. Had to pick up Dara's pictures for his school project, then get some medicine and water. Total ride was 6.266 miles.

Today Dara and I rode into town to meet up with our friends, Don and his two kids, Donnie and Athena. We rested for a bit and finished eating our sandwiches, then the five of us rode over to the Dry Creek Trail.

Here is a picture Dara took of me with the huge great dane!

I was riding my old mountain bike and Dara rode my Electra Townie, which will soon be his bike. I tested out my mountain bike on lots of dirt trails. Some were a bit difficult, but somehow I managed to keep control of the bike.

I haven't had so much fun riding bikes in many years! We all rode to the end of the trail, which is 4.5 miles each way. There were lots of people riding the trails, jogging, lots of kids and adults, dogs, people playing golf and frisbee golf.

Total for the day was 24.672 miles, 3 hours and 2 minutes, 840 calories.

Dara at Dry Creek

Here is my oldest son, Dara, today, at the Dry Creek Trail.

Dry Creek Pictures

My son took this shot of me today at the Dry Creek Trail.

Bike Ride With Son

Had a good ride today with my oldest son. Stopped off at the Post Office. No mail today. Had to adjust the seat on my mountain bike. Then we rode out to get our allergy shots. From there we hit the Dry Creek Trail.

Had to stop again, to fix the seat. It keeps slipping down to slow. I think the seat is fixed ... We only rode about four miles of the trail today. At the beginning of the trail, Dara took pictures of the squirrels, including a video.

Last of all, we rode over to Save Mart and got two foot-long sub sandwiches. We ate 1/4 of our sandwiches inside the deli, then rode home.

The temperature reading on my computer registered at 80 degrees! We're just about at the end of the wet season. My sinuses are reacting to all the flowers and blossoms that are blooming all around town. We rode a total of 12.9 miles today.

Big Grocery Haul Today ...

Rode into town to check my PO box. Received the Oregon bicycling maps from ODOT! I'm excited about researching the Pacific Coast tour, and planning out my trip ....

WINCO was having a special on pizzas, two large for the price of one. I wasn't sure if I could figure out how to tie the pizzas onto my bike (was already full with lots of groceries), but I figured it out.

Had a nice chat with another cyclist. His father used to live on the Oregon coast, can't remember which town ... The guy told me that he remembers lots of cyclists coming through the town.

My legs are getting stronger, and my back didn't hurt today while riding with a heavy load. So, I guess all this training is paying off!

Rode 13.982 miles today. Average speed 9.5mph. Riding time 1 hour and 28 minutes. Burned 452 calories.

Short Ride Today - 8.32 Miles

Had a short ride today, only 8.32 miles. Stopped by the Post Office to check my PO box. Received my book, "Bicycling The Pacific Coast!" Went to the library to get some books for Dara. He asked me to find some books on super heroes. Tried to find Larry, but didn't see him there.

Rode around downtown for a bit to add a few extra miles, then went back home. Got a picture of the biggest tree I've seen in Modesto yet! The tree looks like it might be around 500 years old!

Dry Creek Trail Pictures ...

PO, Sub-sandwich, Grapefruit and Ducks ...

Today was full of events .... Had a good ride around town and on the Dry Creek Trail. Left home around 12:30, and rode into town to thet Post Office to check my PO box. Nothing interesting. Then I rode over to Save-Mart to get my favorite sub-sandwich -- wheat bread with turkey and pepperoni jack cheese with all the vegies. Rode to the north side of town to check out Sports Authority. Stopped off at Barnes & Nobles first. Picked up a map of Oregon. Ate part of my sub-sandwich outside of Barnes & Nobles.

Then browsed the sporting goods. Lots of good stuff. Will have to wait till I get my tax return. Bought three pairs of shorts, on sale for only $7 each! Went back to Barnes & Nobles and ate a quick snack of chocolate and fig bars. While resting pastor Rick came out of Star Bucks with his coffee. We exchanged greetings briefly. My thermometer read 80 degrees before I left to ride back into town.

As I rode back to town, I decided to hit the Dry Creek Trail to get in a few more miles. Before I hit the trail, I rode up some of the steep hills several times. While riding around, I noticed a tree with good looking fruit. I stopped and asked the guy if I could have some of the fruit (grapefruit). He gave me enough to fill my backpack! While riding around before I hit the trail, it felt like there was something wrong with the rear wheel. When I stopped to check, I noticed my backpack was hanging over the edge of my basket, about to fall off! The grapefruits were rolling back and forth, which was causing my bike to wobble. That was funny!

I continued riding around looking for more hills, and noticed the biggest tree I've seen around town. Looks like an oak tree that must be around 500-600 years old! I must take my camera with me next time and get a good shot of that old tree. Ran into a couple of Mormons. I recognized one of them. Stopped to talk with them briefly. We have chatted before ...

As I started riding the Dry Creek Trail I saw lots of squirrels running all around. The must be collecting the acorns that are falling from the trees. About half way down the trail, someone called out my name. I stopped and looked at the guy, but didn't recognize him. He told me that he was one of the clients when I worked at Nirvana. We had a nice long chat. He was riding bikes with his son and daughter. He has 13 months clean and sober.

I continued on towards the end of the trail (4.5 miles each way). There were hundreds of people along the trail -- kids playing at the jungle gym, people playing frisbee golf, walking their dogs, joggers, and cyclists. Lots of kids riding their bicycles along the trail today.

I had to find a place to stop and sit. The only place I could find was a fallen log. I checked really good for ants first! After resting for a bit, back on the trail. Two people riding a tandem passed by. When I got to the end, there was this guy who was repeatedly climbing the hill at the end of the trail. I joined him and we chatted a bit, then I headed back to the other end of the trail, while he continued to climb the hill. He said he usually climbs the hill 10 times.

I need to continue working on the hills .... I'm getting better, slowly ... Lots of people riding the dirt trails with their mountain bikes and single speeds. Riding back I noticed more blossoms than the last time I was on the trail. Two ducks flew right over my head!

When I reached the end of the trail (back in town), the sun had just set. Was getting quite chilly. Forgot to look at the temperature, but it must have dropped to the 40s! My hands felt like they were freezing. I forgot my helmet light, but did have my cheap headlamp on the bars, and my blinkie on the rear. Made it back home about 5:30.

Total distance for today was 26.3 miles! Average speed was 10 mph., 2 hours and 40 minutes riding time. Burned 858 calories.

More Groceries

Went grocery shopping last night with Ben. Hauled home $92 worth of food on our bikes! When we were pushing the shopping cart nearly full out the door, I had second thoughts about getting all that food on our bicycles .... Good thing we brought both of our backpacks!

Good Workout Today ...

Rode 13.3 miles today to pick up groceries from WINCO, $132 worth of food today! This ride was much easier than the last trip I made to WINCO. First loaded trip with groceries from WINCO was 67 pounds, and pretty grueling! My knees were hurting about half way home, so I had to gear down.

I'll be glad when I have panniers to carry everthing. Having to bungie bags hanging from the sides is no fun ....

29.1 Miles Commute Today!

My goal was to ride 25 miles today. I put in 29.1 miles! Left home about 11:00 a.m., and got back just before 3:00. I had to take numerous breaks to rest my feet and stretch. It was raining pretty good the whole time I was out, so there was no dry place for me to sit down and rest my feet.

I rode the Dry Creek Trail two rounds trips, which is about 18 miles, and another 11 miles riding around town. I found a pretty steep hill near downtown which I never knew existed. Rode up the hill several times. I also rode the hill at the end of Dry Creek three times. I need to work on the hills more ....

Despite the rain, today's ride was good. I rode into a huge flock of what looked like robins, probably at least 50 of them. They seem to be attracted to the trees that are filled with blossoms. Saw dozens of mocking birds, some kind of blue bird (not blue jays), a few pigeons, small birds that seem to stay low in the branches of large bushes, ducks flying (maybe mallards?), and lots of squirrels everywhere.

Blossoms are all over many trees. Some flowers are already abounding. I think I even saw a dragonfly. The trail was pretty quiet today. Saw three or four joggers. One person with four or five dogs. Two stray dogs. Three or four cyclists. Looked like maybe four people were playing golf, even in the heavy rain.

I got pretty wet after about an hour. Had to change into a dry sweater, and wear my poncho. By the time I got home my shorts were dry though. I can really feel the miles in my knees! Had to use low gear on the middle ring often.

US Army 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps ...

Another interesting bicycle story:

U.S. Army 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps

Lure of the Open Road, by Thelma Popp Jones

Somebody shared this story of two young women, setting out on a journey from Buffalo, New York to Cairo, Illinois, in 1944, one riding a single speed and the other a two-speed bicycle! Here is the full story for you to enjoy:

The Lure of the Open Road, by Thelma Popp Jones, 2007

Low, Overhanging Branches Along the Trail ...

Had to duck going through these low, overhanging branches!