Tag: grant park

Load Testing

Today was another fantastic day to be out on the bike gathering the groceries for the week

ide blue skies to the east with the fog looming just offshore behind me.  THe high sweeping clouds made the blue skies pop, this one made me think of the swallows that will be heading back south pretty soon.

Enough day dreaming, and time for the business end of the trip.  Two stops totaling, 1 gal milk, 1 gallon Tangerine Juice, 3 quarts yogurt, boxes of cereal and crackers, more juice, bananas, and some how squeezing the camera gear back in the bags.  One trick I use is to take the bags of stuff out of the boxes, getting every little bit I can out of the hauling capacity.

Fully loaded with over 30 lbs of stuff I decided to head uphill to push the bike and myself a bit.  The handling climbing up was very precise, not slow speed wobbles all over the road, even mashing a 36/30 low gear.  The views were fantastic once above the fog, the bank looming just off the beach, with the channel islands poking out the top miles away.  This shot diving into one of my favorite turns captured it best.

 

Morning Hills

This morning I did a quick warm up along the coast, and then up into the hills for some last-minute intervals.  Really a quick fitness and bike check before I head out on an out-of-town long ride this weekend.

The park on the hill above town is a great way to squeeze in about 1000 feet of climbing and descending in 5 miles.  All went well, neither the bike nor the motor failed, and time to sort and load the gear.

It looks like it is going to be a banner weekend with high pressure setting in and the clouds and fog gone for a bit.

Friday Ramble

This afternoon I had some time to take the Roadeo fork over to the big brown trucks and ship it back to its creator for repair.

Then I rambled all through town, followed the signs for the “Bike Route” for the first time, Up through the hill-side neighborhoods finding many dead ends, and then up through the park to home.

Perfect way to cap off the week.  Now to get dinner ready.

Enjoy your weekend, Play outside!!

Getting the Shot

I love making photographs. 

I ride for fun, transportation and exorcise.  While out I am always thinking about the photo, it is the way I see things, saving data in the background for when an angle of view and the light may come together just right.  Often times this will help guide the direction I head out on a ride.  Sometimes it works as planned, often times I catch things unplanned during the ride and get shots like this gem on Wednesday,

This morning on the other hand was hazy, I woke up late and was hoping to just get a few miles in and see if anything presented itself.  Heading back home with a little extra time I looked up and saw the tree at one of my favorite turns,

Just a little left of the sign you can see the eucalyptus up on the hill above town.  Inspired, Five minutes and a couple hundred feet of climbing later I was set up and ready, bagged the shot and made it home.

Have fun this weekend, play outside and enjoy your family.