Tag: cycling

Tucson AZ: Starting Point

Posted on December 3, 2010December 11, 2010 by Rich

I spent the entire day fiddling with my gear, deciding what to take and what to leave behind. Temperatures in southern Arizona had been cold, with many nights down in the 20s, although the forecast was for warmer weather. In the end, we decided to nix the tenting this trip and stay in low-end motels. Without a tent or sleeping bag, I had plenty of pannier space. I decided to take all four bags anyway for better weight distribution, and felt funny with them being almost half empty. I dragged out my laptop and charger to take along, then weighed

CG100 Pre-Ride 2010

Posted on November 10, 2010November 12, 2014 by Rich

Practically at the last minute, Jesse and I decided to take a roll around the Casa Grande Century route. Both of us volunteer for this ride, held each January, so here in November we decided to scout out the route, take notes for course marking and maps, and generally make a day of it. All of this is very early conditioning for our cross country ride next year. Accordingly, we both brought along touring bikes. Before sunrise Tuesday morning I found Jesse waiting for me at the McDonalds at Chandler Heights Blvd. and Alma School Road in south Chandler. With

Scottsdale Trial Ride

Posted on October 29, 2010October 31, 2010 by Rich

I suppose a one-day training ride hardly deserves a blog entry here. But this ride deserves it for several reasons: 1. It symbolizes the first concrete step of our training for a cross country trip next summer. Well, perhaps we shouldn’t call it training so far in advance, but an exercise to see what it would feel like. 2. It was Jesse’s first all-day ride on a fully loaded (70+ lb) touring bike. 3. We took some pictures and this was the best use of them. I spent the previous night pulling out my packing list from the Dakota Tour

Mt Lemmon Climb

Posted on September 14, 2010September 13, 2017 by Rich

Making plans on endorphins can certainly be fun. Jesse and I had just finished the always fast Tour de Sue route with the Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club. We started off leisurely, but after the 2nd rest stop on Riggs Road we pounded it to about 90% of our capacity. That guy is one strong rider and it was all I could do to stay up with him. We pulled into Arizona Bread and sat down for breakfast with Ed, Jules, and a few other riders. With the endorphins energized and the conversations cycling-centric, one rider named Gary mentioned that the

Two Wheel Journal: New Blog

Posted on September 3, 2010September 8, 2010 by Rich

This blog is long overdue. I have many accounts written up for past bicycle rides – they needed an outlet. So sue me. I will be uploading many stories and backdating them. Lots of photos too. My recent 15-day tour with Randy Garmon through the Dakotas is going in first. Note: If you use Internet Explorer browser, switch to something better like Firefox. Otherwise you might not get a right sidebar, or it’ll be at the page bottom. Another note: Remember you can click on any small image in a post to enlarge it.

Yankton SD: Reunion

Posted on July 21, 2010April 6, 2020 by Rich

Bob and Diane both woke up real early. At the sound of them, I got up too and walked over to use the park’s restroom. It had a great tiled shower with hot water and sinks with mirrors, good for a thorough cleanup. Nice way to start the morning. Randy was up when I returned, and table settings were being prepared by Diane and Bob. They poured coffee for everyone, and then effortlessly (it seemed) started bringing out plates full of pancakes, blueberries, syrup, butter, and cartons of OJ. Did I say our new friends were generous? This was really

Springfield SD: Bob and Diane

Posted on July 20, 2010April 6, 2020 by Rich

Rain in the early morning. As usual, it was a pleasing sound inside my tent, and, as usual, it stopped early on, around 7am. I got up before Randy and decided to again take advantage of the beautiful swimming cove we had, this time with towel, soap and shampoo. Wading out into the water, then up to my neck, it just felt so great. The water temps were around 77F, maybe 78F, very comfortable. A nice breeze flew in across the lake surface. Three bright yellow goldfinches flew past. No one else around at all. What a simple joy. While

Pickstown SD: Six Mile Chicken

Posted on July 19, 2010April 6, 2020 by Rich

63 miles total from Fort Thompson SD to Fort Randall Dam SD

Snake Creek Rec Area SD: River Camp

Posted on July 18, 2010April 6, 2020 by Rich

Up sort of late this morning at 8, and I walked down to Randy’s room. We adjourned to the hotel lobby, where the wi-fi signal was better and coffee was being served. While we sat, Randy booked a room in Sioux City for 7/23, although I offered him hotel space with my family. I decided to give Linda a status call and went for my phone. Damn, where is it? Damn, I know where! I had left it hanging on the wall in my Super 8 motel room in Pierre. I used Randy’s phone to call the Super 8, and

Fort Thompson SD: Scorcher

Posted on July 17, 2010March 27, 2015 by Rich

Up at 7. The Super 8 had a serve-yourself breakfast and I fixed one of those malt batter waffles, plus some toast, a hard-boiled egg, a donut, and some coffee. Randy soon joined me. Winds this morning were coming directly out of the south, but the Weather Channel forecast them to shift later in the afternoon from the WSW. We figured that might help us later if we were lucky. We weren’t. We hit the food market in Pierre, a place called Lynn’s Dakotamart. I picked up some candy, trail mix, and Snickers bars. I’d already made some PB&J sandwiches