Ridin': Lots of Water

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So I decided to get a ride thread going instead of using my build threads
I've used Skipton's "Show us your build off bikes in action" for almost 2 years (Thanks Skipton!)
And I'm sure people are getting tired of my own build off threads be at least 50% riding
Thought I'd get it started tonight before all the Build Off Buzz takes hold

Last week Monday we got 4" snow and then it started melting big time right away
Then had 75F by Friday so in celebration of finally getting spring,
I rode 5 different bikes in 6 days

Tuesday: Here is how I changed my Aluminum winter
(Country rock tires and YES a fender - its been snowy and really wet for 2 months)



Rained on Wednesday but Thursday was 50F and fairly dry
First time out on my Spaceliner and I was so Happy! :D :D
It rides so different than any other thing I have and was ready to rock


I did stop once and a guy started asking me a bunch of questions about the bike
So I told him a bunch about it and asked him to take my pic, thanks Bud!



Friday was 75F and sunny so I rode my 24" Eliminator for the first time
It's been a long winter and riding slicks just didn't seem like a good idea
Still got work to do but it was ridable but not setup for speed (yet)


Tried this hill and got down slowly but going up I couldn't get any torque with the short cranks and I wasn't quite confident enough to yank like crazy on the handle bars



Saturday was awesome sunny and warm. People were just crazy happy and out in droves
I'd say there was ~500 people by Minnehaha Falls (no longer frozen) and ~100 bikes


Decided to take another slicks bike so out came Jacked up Pilot
It is such a fun bike and a Harley guy came up to me and said "That bike's old school" :D


So Sunday came (spoiler alert) and FIL and me went riding to DQ
About half way there my Royce Union wiggled and then the tire blew, Arghhh!
I hadn't ridden it in about 1.5 years so pumped up the tires and checked over everything, But I guess not good enough
Fil was great and he sat at the park with the broken bike while I rode his bike home and got the car :roll:



Yesterday we heard that while it was nice now, we were going to get rain mixed with snow for the next 3-4 days (Arghh!)
so I hopped on the Spaceliner again and did a Mondo hard ride, no stopping for pics but did an action shot on on Lake street bridge



I haven't done any official timing like Skipton but will use my Garmin soon
Unofficially I did ~13.5 mph avg on Aluminum Winter (forgot to mention, I changed gears too)
Then a week later (over 12" snow that week) I did 14.7 mph on it
Now that I've switched to the much more fun and heavy geared Spaceliner, I did ~16.5mph (2 days later, same 8.2 mile river ride),
I guess I stayed in reasonable shape this winter but looking forward to really blasting faster this summer

The first post is pretty wordy but I've been saving it up for a while, next one should be less crazy

Thanks for Looking
Steve
 
Re: Ridin': 5 different bikes in 6 days, yeah

Re: the picture by the falls. Wow! Was there some sort of bicycle event going on, or are there actually that many folks riding bicycles? I think that's about the total number of folks (over 16, anyway) out riding on a nice day in the entirety of Kansas City.
 
Re: Ridin': 5 different bikes in 6 days, yeah

loudboys said:
Re: the picture by the falls. Wow! Was there some sort of bicycle event going on, or are there actually that many folks riding bicycles? I think that's about the total number of folks (over 16, anyway) out riding on a nice day in the entirety of Kansas City.


I live in Arizona and at NO time will you ever see that many bikes out for a ride anywhere..and we have perfect weather 9 months of the year.
 
Re: Ridin': 5 different bikes in 6 days, yeah

Nice pics to celebrate the nice weather. I mowed all day yesterday but today I'm hauling a bike out of the basement to ride. It's time! Gary
 
Re: Ridin': 5 different bikes in 6 days, yeah

Oh yeah! :mrgreen: 3 of my top 10 favourite bikes in one thread! (Sorry, Aluminium Winter and the Royce Union don't quite make it in to my top 10, have to leave room for other members rides you know... :wink: )
Looks like an awesome week of riding!

Luke.
 
Re: Ridin': 5 different bikes in 6 days, yeah

Luke you may not like the A.W. in your top ten, but I do!!! That is sweet, what kind of frame is it?
Nice Spaceliner, I think that may be my next "old school," bike to have.
 
Re: Ridin': 5 different bikes in 6 days, yeah

Thanks for posting these pics, I really enjoy looking at your rides 8) Can't wait to get get out for a ride of my own :D Maybe I'll even take some pics! :mrgreen:
 
Re: Ridin': Good Weather Returns

aka_locojoe said:
MplsCoaster said:
FIL and me went riding to DQ
All's right with the world again :D
You are so right Randy :D

Thanks Loudboys! No group ride just Minnesotans celebrating good weather :lol:
Yeah it was crazy that day Naturephotoboy, and the season is just starting :D
Hope you got a ride in Gary. We're not mowing yet so I got a free one...
Thanks Mr. Kool!
No apologies needed Luke :lol: Thanks for the comp!
Thanks MikeeeBikey! I need to go through A.W. again now that it got a full winter beatin' :lol:
It's a trek "classic cruiser" ( :lol: ) and it 's a decent bike, think I got most of the details here:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=65550
Glad you're liking the pictures Schwinnray. Hope to some of yours soon too

Well after the nice weather last weekend, we got snow ans rain all week, Arghhh!
Finally got nicer again and back out on Saturday and then again on Sunday with FIL
IMG_0223.jpg


Figured out I've ridden more miles with FIL than anybody else lately :D
Usually I ride alone but see a lot of people on the trails
Now that we have good weather, I've had requests from Fat Willy, RustyK, Nickinator, and a bunch of others :D :D
We are going to set up something really soon

Yesterday was my 2nd wedding anniversary and had a special guest rider, my wife!
IMG_0232.jpg


We rode together down west river rode and she was booking pretty good (Spaceliner is geared steeper)
I took off to the St. Paul side side and the hills and she went down to the river and then back up again :shock:
You can see how far down it is that she went if you look down at the river

IMG_0235.jpg


I'm super happy to say that in the 7 years I've known my wife, this is the first ride that her hands haven't gone numb :D :D
She's now cross training because she is going to run Twin Cities Marathon this fall, I'm really proud of her!
She is raising money for "World Vision" charity that helps kids
TCM has been on her bucket list for a while and it's a good time now that she has less obligations
I wish I could run with her but there's no way with my arthritic knees (ran it in 1995, kinda slowly, 5hrs :lol: )
I'm going to ride with her when her miles start getting up there so that will be fun

Anyway, looking forward to some nice weather and more rides now
Sorry about mostly action shots but I've got to burn off some belly for shirtless riding
Don't want to scare the locals, ya know :lol:

One last pic from a couple of weeks ago that I like
IMG_0024.jpg
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Thanks for looking
Happy Ridin'
Steve
 
Re: Ridin': Bike Date

Thanks Skipton! :D

Last Friday night the weather was pretty nice and was ready for the weekend
I felt bored and suggested to my Wife that we go for a short ride or "Bike Date"
She was game and it helped make the beginning of the weekend a little more special :D
Asked if she wanted to ride her Spaceliner now that I got the big whitewalls on
But she really likes her lightweight Hercules and whatever helps her get on a bike is all good


Wasn't sure if we'd have a pileup at the stop sign :lol:
IMG_0318.jpg


Jacked Up Pilot has such a crazy ride position I just left in 1st gear and cruised...
IMG_0320.jpg


I'm bummed that I didn't get a clear shot of her but you get the idea
IMG_0319II.jpg


We headed towards the river and enjoyed cruising in some (reasonably) warm weather again
My Wife got a more steady action shot of me than I did of her :roll:
Forgot how goofy I look and how far I have to bend my knees to ride :lol: it but at least the bike looks kinda cool
IMG_0322II.jpg


We thought we might stop at the local coffee shop and get some Sebastian Joe's ice cream...
IMG_0323.jpg

But they were just closing up.

Oh well, it was still a really nice cruise together through our neighborhood
I'm looking forward to more Bike Dates this summer :D

Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Ridin': 35F to 98F in 2 days!

We are getting some weird weather!

Last Sunday 12May it was 35F for the start of Race for the Cure
My Wife and me ran the 5K and I dedicated my race to RRB member XCruiser's Wife Eva
Some of you remember their tragic journey and I thought it was the least I could do
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=50308&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
My Wife dedicated her race to 2 survivors that we know
RFTC2013.jpg


Both of our Mothers are now gone and it helps to give back to all the other mothers/women out there
Great seeing 30,000+ others helping out too :D
IMG_0338.jpg


So it rained on Monday and started to warm up
Tuesday afternoon it hit 98F and seemed just crazy!
Got out the local lakes and joined in the celebration of hot weather.

Stopped at Lake Nokomis beach were I started my ride across the lake a few months earlier
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=65550&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=45
IMG_0372.jpg


It was so nice out and I was surprised to take a comparison shot from the same spot only 2 months earlier :lol:
NokomisBeach2013.jpg


Rode over to the Lake Hiawatha and had to see how cold the water was and I wasn't the only biker to do it
IMG_0374.jpg


The water was frigid (2 weeks ago it had ice in it :shock: ) but it felt great on my arthritic knees :D
IMG_0376.jpg


I had a great run in the cold and great ride in the heat and I'm looking forward to days somewhere in between...
Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Ridin': RustyK and his Hawthorne

Went for a Ride with RustyK last Thursday
Wanted to see the stuff he bought at Memory Lanes and Ann Arbor Bike shows

He bought a Elgin Bluebird Project!! Too Cool and Nickinator is helping him look for parts
IMG_0381.jpg


He also picked up a nice old Elgin 8)
IMG_0384.jpg


One more purchase that he took out for the ride is a very cool Hawthorne
IMG_0386.jpg


It was warm but kinda cloudy and thought it might rain but it held off
Stopped at Franklin ave bridge on my typical River Ride and had to take a shot
IMG_0387.jpg


We switched bikes and his bike was smooth and comfortable
IMG_0389.jpg


I like seeing other people on my Spaceliner :D
IMG_0388.jpg


Headed back to the Mpls side and the sun was trying to pop through
IMG_0390.jpg


Had a great ride on 2 very different bikes then started goofing around :lol:
IMG_0393.jpg


RustyK has some really cool bikes and it sure is fun riding with him
IMG_0397.jpg


Since we live so close, we are going to try more weekday rides :D
Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Ridin': 35F to 98F in 2 days!

MplsCoaster said:
We are getting some weird weather!

Last Sunday 12May it was 35F for the start of Race for the Cure
My Wife and me ran the 5K and I dedicated my race to RRB member XCruiser's Wife Eva
Some of you remember their tragic journey and I thought it was the least I could do
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=50308&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
My Wife dedicated her race to 2 survivors that we know
RFTC2013.jpg


Steve

Steve,
Both you and Karen are class acts for running race for the Race Cure.

Love the winter "summer" pic!

Looks like you guys had a BLAST! on RustyK's REALLY COOL bikes!
 
Re: Ridin': Path Racing with RustyK

Thanks Skipton, and glad you like the winter/summer pic
Told RustyK that you like his bikes, he got a big smile

Last Thursday we finally got some more sunshine and everything has greened up
Okay, not exactly path racing but RustyK took my favorite bike of his
Him and Nickinator are still trying to identify it (Nick's thrown but the chain ring)
IMG_0432.jpg


Yeah it was a bit casual but my Aluminum Winter (now just Al bike) are matched well for pace
IMG_0434.jpg


Stopped at Franklin Ave bridge again and we swapped bikes again
IMG_0435.jpg


His bike rides so smooth and is a blast to ride
IMG_0437.jpg


Nice to see the sunshine and shadows again
IMG_0441.jpg


RustyK really like the riding position and handling of the Al bike
He started thinking about a new bike, I said he could ride my new ones and I could ride his old ones :lol:
IMG_0444.jpg


As I headed home, I could tell that his path racer coasted easier than mine
so I'll have to work on that more :mrgreen:

Think we are going to try to make it a regular ride,
Am going to see if we can start more hammering rides, and actually do some racing :D

Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Ridin': Path Racing with RustyK

sounds like great fun. post the next encounter/race!
 
Re: Ridin': Cross Cultural Cool

It was fun Jerry, Thanks! I'll keep you posted...

Had to tell what happened to me and its still is making me smile

A little Backgrounder, We had a Somali family move down the alley last year
We always wave and smile to each other as I/they drive by

Sometimes I hear the kids in their back yard playing soccer
and shouting at each other in a complete different language
Then I'll hear in perfect Minnesotan "You're a Brat!" and I just start laughing like crazy
I think of how they are like me when I was a kid :D

So I was getting my 24" Eliminator ready for a group ride (next episode...)
IMG_0526.jpg



I had to make a shake down ride to make sure it would be okay
The Somali neighbor boys were walking down the alley going to the store
I saw the 10 year old just gawking at the Eliminator :shock:
as I rode by he say in perfect English "That's a cool bike"
I was a bit surprised but I said "Hey, thanks a lot!"
And he says "You're welcome!" as he continues to stare


Again, it an awesome example of how our hobby cuts across cultures
and brings all types of people together :D

Think I'll have to talk to his folks, set the seat down, and have him try out the bike :D

I remember when I was ~10 years old and My Dad and me were walking out of church when I saw a Corvette
I said" Dad, that's a really cool '68 Corvette." My Dad says "Well, let's go talk with the owner"
"No Dad no" I said but we went anyway and the owner was super nice and let me sit in that cool car
I can still picture it (not even being able to see over the dash :lol: ) Uber cool dash and shifter!

As a kid, I promised myself to work on, design, and own a Corvette
Well, I ended up working on them as a mechanic, then worked at GM as an engineer,
and now own a 2004 GTO (with a Vette engine- close enough :lol: )
IMG_6949.jpg



I think if the neighbor boy rode the Eliminator, It could only help kick off a life of bike addiction :lol: :D
We'll see...

Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Ridin': Cross Cultural Cool

Cool pics and cool past job working for GM! :D
 

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