Sunday, January 28, 2018

Views from Wileydogland, part 2

more pics. whaat is this, instagram?

some pics below first seen on twitter or instagram

went for the hieroglyphic bar tape, not getting much better at wrapping. had to wrap one side clockwise, the other counter so the glyphs weren’t hidden on one side.

Street find in a planter box on Wall Street. I picked it up and brought it home. Everybody told me don’t you watch dateline? Now your dna is all over it.

A pretty shot while biking in Riverside State Park first week of December, below the military cemetery area.  from iPhone SE because I ahem lost my iPhone 6s while biking and don't deserve a better phone.

Leaning tower of scotcharoos, my specialty

schoolyard toys left out. which reminds me, I think we owe the school for a new red ball to replace a punctured one.

dog park pics, little mountain goats


the annual fat tire/Nettleton Street winter pic

Another street, another day. Fat bike for commuting comes in handy, better than studs or mountain bike many days.

Outside My Fresh Basket, I was a little leery of locking up after seeing the middle bike. Seems to be a safe spot, so wondered if bike was left overnight.

Rare local music store find, a button accordion tuned B/C. Perfect for Irish tunes, but I don't know if I want to take up another instrument or just have it hanging around.

A wintry day, chain broke shortly after this. Now I have a spare chain to practice changing links on.

Surprised by some daylight on ride to work.

A light coating of icy frost/snow on the streets made these tires the wrong tool for the job but I was so tired of studded tires or rolling fat bike tires on pavement.

#bikestylespokane

on my way to boot camp. who needs hi-viz?

I like to keep the pie plates and reflectors on my bike partly to annoy serious cyclists, partly out of lazyness. And because I like having the reflectors on for night street riding although I'm not sure if they help any.

 for Debbie's road bike

that's all for now folks, might have to go out for a bike ride.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Ephrata Gran Fondo March 11: new 50 mile option

That time of year is fast arriving again - the Ephrata Gran Fondo is 3/11/2018. Ok, so this is not a true Gran Fondo according to what I read by a stickler over at Red Kite Prayer, but who the heck cares about that. This is an Eastern Washington style Fondo with mixed surfaces, a fair amount of climbing, and the potential for crazy weather. There’s a meal afterwards, so that qualifies in my book. I don’t think Padraig is going to show up and complain about the format, but that’d be alright if he did.

This year Jake and the crew at Viscious Cycles added a 50 mile route in addition to the traditional 80 miler. The GFE 50 doesn’t include my favorite downhill ride on the GFE 80 - Baird Springs Road - but includes all of Overen Road, which I’ve only ridden part last year when the course had to be altered due to road closures. I’m tempted by the 50 miler but it starts at 10:00am instead of the 9:00 start for the 80. Might as well just go for the regular course, heck, I might even be in better shape for it than last year.  Been getting some workouts in at Lilac City Fit Body Boot Camp but I’m afraid I’ll still be heavier than last year. Hoping I’m not slower!

I’m tempted to order a pair of the new slick Panaracer GravelKing 700 x 38 tubeless tires I noticed over at Universal Cycles, but think I’ll stick with the Kenda Flintridges for the ride. Not the smoothest rolling tires, but they get the job done and they’re not close to wearing out yet. Much longer lasting than the Clement X’Plor MSO that came with my Vaya. (Also, interested in the Clement/Donnelly Strada Ush 700 x 38 if they ever show up in the wild).

Registration opens February 1 at BikeReg, but the reg page is up now which requires a password which I’m not privy to.


Saturday, January 13, 2018

Views from Wileydogland, part 1

from the last 6 months or so in no particular order, from on the bike, off the bike, or not bike related at all:

I rode by this quail, almost thought it was part of the fence
This sign tempted me for a couple weeks back in summer on
my ride home. Not just root beer floats, but cold root beer
floats
      not sure why I took this pic, but note the excessive 
      electronics use and also the tire marks on the garage door 
      where I roll up to open it
some new bike racks in the condo/retail building across
from the downtown mall. the building had a sign on the door
stating not to lock your bikes on the railing, but no place to
actually park them. the building also hosts a fitness center that
people biked to.
remember summer?
part of the riverside state park turkey gang
    the goldfinches in our yard are normally real skittish, but not 
    this guy. Let me get real close, then saw he was blind in
    his left eye.

    I felt bad when I made a noise and startled him, and he
    looked straight at me, confusedly trying to figure me out. then 
    flew off.
maybe it wasn't warm enough for short sleeves
showing off for potluck at work. crockpot fit
right in the velo orange bag (wait I think that's 
the Chrome Duffel bag I got 1/2 price 
somewhere) 
#bikestylespokane
more #bikestylespokane
Halloween - I didn't win any prizes
bike cubicle at work
we love it when the children leave their toys out for Dash to 
play with


that's all for now. waiting for more photos to download to my ancient laptop, this is the first time I've opened it in months. Not able to post more than 4 when on the iPad or phone using Blogger. This is probably enough for now!