Bicycle riding

[MoValley John]

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[JVShocker]

Busy day today so not a lot of time to ride. Wife and I still found a way to sneak in 15 miles under sunny but cool skies An hour and 15 min. Weather is supposed to be nice here for a couple of days. Ended the month of October with 387 miles. Far cry and massive improvement over the 150 miles I got in 2019. Target (goal) mileage is 5000 miles by the end of September 2021.

[JVShocker]

Annual duck hunt 20201101_121547.jpg20201101_062645.jpg20201101_062617.jpg

PS....that water looks cold....

like, not this cold:



or this cold:




but sadly more like this cold...



or this cold:

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Annual duck hunt 20201101_121547.jpg20201101_062645.jpg20201101_062617.jpg

Nice pictures.

Sunset/sunrise pictures are always nice.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Busy day today so not a lot of time to ride. Wife and I still found a way to sneak in 15 miles under sunny but cool skies An hour and 15 min. Weather is supposed to be nice here for a couple of days. Ended the month of October with 387 miles. Far cry and massive improvement over the 150 miles I got in 2019. Target (goal) mileage is 5000 miles by the end of September 2021.

I had an interesting weekend. Forgot some stuff. Went to the target at the Memorial City Mall in Houston. There was gunfire in front of the store. I was at the back and observed a bunch of people running towards me yelling 'Active shooter'.

Being as I had yet to hear the sound of a gunshot, I walked calmly out the back of the store as instructed.

The first responders had a virtual convention, blocking a bunch of the parking lot. I decided to go to a nearby Target (Westheimer and Beltway8) because they had to clear the site. Had a hell of a time trying to get out the back way. Overcaffeinated first responders yelling and hollering at me, I told them to calm the hell down.

I was able to get to the other Target and get my shopping done, but it ruined by bike ride......(due to all the delays, getting out of the store, going to the other store and so forth).

https://abc13.com/target-shooting-parking-lot-memorial-city-mall-fight-at-super-spring/7554525/

Other than that, it was a relaxing weekend.

[JVShocker]

Maybe this belongs in the humor thread...but bringing the road bike down to work on the carrier today, I left the bicycle computer on the bike and the front wheel was just spinning a million miles an hour in the wind as it was turned the wrong way (I was in a hurry). So it might make my ride this afternoon look a little funky, but I've already got my average speed up quite a bit. First 4 miles of the ride in 5 minutes and 48 seconds. That ought to get me up with MVJ's numbers.

[ShockTalk]

I had an interesting weekend. Forgot some stuff. Went to the target at the Memorial City Mall in Houston. There was gunfire in front of the store. I was at the back and observed a bunch of people running towards me yelling 'Active shooter'.

Being as I had yet to hear the sound of a gunshot, I walked calmly out the back of the store as instructed.

The first responders had a virtual convention, blocking a bunch of the parking lot. I decided to go to a nearby Target (Westheimer and Beltway8) because they had to clear the site. Had a hell of a time trying to get out the back way. Overcaffeinated first responders yelling and hollering at me, I told them to calm the hell down.

I was able to get to the other Target and get my shopping done, but it ruined by bike ride......(due to all the delays, getting out of the store, going to the other store and so forth).

https://abc13.com/target-shooting-pa...pring/7554525/

Other than that, it was a relaxing weekend.

I sure George would have done the same for "gunfire".

[JVShocker]

Beautiful afternoon here. Took off around 3pm and got in 17 miles in an hour 8 minutes on downtown bicycle path. Left work, down to the spillway (Lincoln), out north to 21st street, then back to the spillway and back to work. Sunny, warm and strong south wind coming back, but a great ride on the road bike (first time on the road bike in a month). So 32 miles in the first 2 days of November, compared to the almost 90 I got Nov. 2019. Good, good start.

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Beautiful afternoon here. Took off around 3pm and got in 17 miles in an hour 8 minutes on downtown bicycle path. Left work, down to the spillway (Lincoln), out north to 21st street, then back to the spillway and back to work. Sunny, warm and strong south wind coming back, but a great ride on the road bike (first time on the road bike in a month). So 32 miles in the first 2 days of November, compared to the almost 90 I got Nov. 2019. Good, good start.

Nice. My headlight started giving out on me, it's that time of year (more frequent recharges). I got 12 and a half. Taking tomorrow to watch the election results.

[JVShocker]

The wind is blowing 19 mph out of the south but the weather is super nice at 72 degrees. Just got back from the downtown bike path from 21st (north spillway). It is tough to try and hold 16 mph in that kind of headwind. Got in a little further than yesterday (almost to Harry, but the path is closed at Harry while they work on the bridge, almost 17.5 miles in an hour 6 minutes (and that's with a 5 minute cool down from the bike path to work at snail's pace). All smiles when I got back to work, but only because it was so windy. Now sitting at 49 miles for the first three days of month, and super happy because that's more than half of what I got all of November last year. Still got 27 days to try and beat that 90.

[MadDog]

Rode for the first time in a couple of weeks today, although I’ve been to spin class several times. I only went 13 but I was somewhat time constrained, and this was also the first time I’ve done a ‘gravel only’ ride. Much more challenging than pavement or rail trail gravel!

[JVShocker]

Rode for the first time in a couple of weeks today, although I’ve been to spin class several times. I only went 13 but I was somewhat time constrained, and this was also the first time I’ve done a ‘gravel only’ ride. Much more challenging than pavement or rail trail gravel!

With all the cement work on the railroad corridor, where do you find a gravel only ride anymore? Just asking for a friend. For Saturday. And maybe Sunday.

Also....get those rides in now because I read next week the weather is gonna be oh not so nice. Cold, snowy icy in the midwest part of the country.

[MadDog]

JV, I have no trouble finding gravel to ride on...I just go to the end of my driveway and start riding! Once you get east of Andover, I would guess 90% of Butler county is gravel roads so you can go on about any length of ride you want and keep it ‘all gravel’.

One great thing about the gravel roads is lack of vehicle traffic. On my ride yesterday I didn’t encounter a single car or truck the entire ride. Actually I encounter about as many gravel cyclists as cars on some of these roads.

Just a thought about riding these roads... if you come across a newly graded road, it will be hard to ride on. Lots of rocks/gravel and the dirt will be loose. It’s kind of like riding on sand. Roads that haven’t been recently graded have a firmer surface and less gravel, but you have to deal with potholes and occasional washboard surfaces. Lots of challenges no matter which way you go at it!

As for a ride one thing you can do is launch from a town and ride town to town. A ride from Benton to Towanda and back might make a good ride. A lot of people like to ride SW 40th from Wichita as an out and back.

[MadDog]

Another 25 mile gravel ride this morning. An absolutely beautiful day to ride. Almost went to spin class this morning, but definitely made the right decision to ride outside!

[revenge_of_shocka_khan]

Another 25 mile gravel ride this morning. An absolutely beautiful day to ride. Almost went to spin class this morning, but definitely made the right decision to ride outside!

47 miles this week on the boring, flat Houston city streets. I'd like to hit 90 this week in honor of JV Shock setting his goal (from 90 to several hundred). We shall see.