Category: Local Riding

Preparing for BRAG Spring Tuneup

Posted on April 9, 2021April 9, 2021 by Rich

It been forever since I’ve posted and that’s because my bicycling has taken a backseat to other pursuits (see last post). Even so, Jack and I have stayed in touch. He’s planning to do the Bike Ride Across Georgia this year and invited me. Arch Allies’ schedule won’t permit me to do it, but Jack is also doing the April spring tune-up for BRAG. It’ll be three days of loop rides from the Sunflower Farm south of Rutledge GA, and we’ll tent camp there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Live music Friday and Saturday. The whole idea is very appealing

Saguaro Lake

Posted on July 25, 2018August 5, 2018 by Rich

So little riding this year means that today’s modest ride gets a blog entry. Ah well. Isam and I took off around 6:30 this morning up Bush Highway. Already 90F – gonna be a hot one. But oh so beautiful overlooking the Salt River coming down King Kong. It was great to see so much regrowth of foliage after the big ‘Cactus’ fire in the salt cedars last year. North through one of my favorite sections, the rollers past Usery Moutain Road. We stopped at the Pebble Beach rec area to splash water on our heads and generally look around,

Mormon Lake Loop

Posted on July 15, 2018August 5, 2018 by Rich

Wow, a first decent ride of the year today! Phil, Isam and I got up early and headed north to Flagstaff to escape the heat. We commented that never had we been so physically ill-prepared for a ride. Isam is a regular runner, but rides bicycles only rarely around town. I’ve ridden maybe 100 miles the past 9 months. And Phil says he hasn’t been on the saddle since our Northern Rockies trip last August. Breakfast at IHOP, then off down S Lake Mary Road. We’d decided to do a repeat of last year’s training ride around Mormon Lake (the

Sedona Day Ride

Posted on May 19, 2017May 20, 2017 by Rich

It’s starting to look like Jack, Phil, and I will eventually plan a touring trip this summer or late fall. Headliner ideas are either the Oregon-California Coast or a Northern Rockies path. Either would be fantastic. This weekend Phil and I decided to jumpstart the riding year with a day ride in the Sedona area. We planned a few options, basically 30-, 45-, and 60-mile out-and-back options, and also mapped out a few loop options if we wanted extra miles. We met Friday morning and took the scenic route (AZ87 and AZ260) from my place up through Payson, Pine, and

Off the Sidelines

Posted on August 19, 2015August 19, 2015 by Rich

The broken finger has been quite the adventure. I learned a lot and have a new appreciation for being able to do everyday tasks with my hands. The splint came off 3 weeks after surgery (4 weeks after injury), but the pins stayed in. I couldn’t believe how stiff the fractured finger AND my pinky finger got. It was a real eye-opener how hazardous immobilization can be, even when required as in this case. Got the pins removed 4 weeks after surgery (5 weeks after injury). No, it didn’t hurt – surprisingly so. As soon as they were out I

Sidelined

Posted on July 19, 2015August 19, 2015 by Rich

On July 2nd, while pruning a branch, I broke a bone in a ring finger. Nothing spectacular, I just never seated the tool handle properly in my palm. Fortunately my left hand. Very fortunately I was able to remove my wedding band before the thing ballooned. In medical-speak, the x-rays showed a multi-plane spiral fracture of the proximal phalanx. Lovely. After a week in a splint, I finally saw a hand orthopedic doc. He confirmed what I already knew: the finger was both angled and rotated, something like 5 or 8 degrees. We decided to realign it and then secure

January 2014 Riding

Posted on January 19, 2014January 20, 2014 by Rich

Haven’t done much riding so far this year. Jesse and I are meeting regularly for breakfast on Sundays. Lately it’s been cold enough in the morning, maybe high 40s, that I’ve even driven the first 10 miles, then parked and bicycled the last 12 or so to breakfast. Yeah, I know, that must crack up you Canadians. Got stuck this morning riding west into Tempe. I came across an hourlong river of runners heading north on Hayden Road and finally figured out it was the P. F. Chang Marathon. I asked an organizer where I should cross the flow and

Return to Arizona Riding

Posted on November 23, 2012December 16, 2015 by Rich

2012 has been quite a year of travel. Spain/Slovenia/Germany in June, the Utah-Colorado bike trip in July, 6 weeks of car-touring and golfing in Florida and the Gulf coast in September and October, and 2 weeks on Barbados in November. Of course it’s been great but I’ve yearned to get home. Our regular Sunday Breakfast ride group, which started this past spring, has evolved and merged for the most part into the regular Tuesday Breakfast Club, and the gang continues to meet most often at Jim’s Coney Island Cafe in Scottsdale. In this photo L-R: me, Jesse, Gary, my son

Help Change This Perception

Posted on May 12, 2012March 17, 2015 by Rich

I encountered a rider today. I was approaching an intersection’s green light, and he came at 90 degrees to me. Well, you can guess what happened. In front of all the stopped cars, he plowed right through the red light and turned onto the lane in front of me. It annoyed me right away, so I approached from the rear, sizing up this dude. He was adorned in all the latest cycling fashion, and cruising along on a slick Italian graphite steed. Earphones firmly in place, too, another safety issue. He strangely bounced with each pedal, almost as if sprinting,

Sunday Breakfast Club – Jim’s Cafe

Posted on May 6, 2012June 25, 2012 by Rich

37.6 miles total Another edition of the Sunday Breakfast Club. This time we picked out an unknown place called Jim’s Coney Island Cafe, located on Scottsdale Road between McKellips and Curry in north Tempe. I took the usual roll west on McKellips, assisted by a modest tailwind. Crossing the river bottom, a cyclist came up and passed me on the left, so I decided to pick up on his wheel. About 100 yards away from Alma School Rd., we saw the light yellow, and then red, so I began to coast. The other guy, though, simply stood up on