Dry Creek Trail

Rode the Dry Creek Trail today. Stopped to chat with another cyclist. He said he might be able to find somebody to give me a ride to one of the charity rides. I rode up the hill at the end of the trail for practice about six times. Almost got hit by a wreckless driver while on my way to the trail. Somebody passed me really fast, then cut directly in front of me and almost clipped me! They must have been going very fast, because I didn't see or hear them coming.

My New Surly Long Haul Trucker

Picked up my new Surly Long Haul Trucker in Sacramento. Dara went with me. He took his Townie. When we left The Bicycle Business, we rode around Sacramento from the Marina, through downtown, then to Discovery Park. We toured around Old Town Sacramento, checking out the old buildings, and the old trains.

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 ...