Posts tagged ‘bicycle’
pumpkinbike
Getting to be that time of year again… The tangy, musty smell of leaves crunching underfoot – and under my wheels. The colors of pumpkins, gourds and chrysanthemums. Apples and cider and cinnamon-spiced pastries. The shrinking of daylight, wind rattling the tree branches, geese on the pond. Just some photos… 
pedalweather
There are those days when the weather is so perfectly glorious – crisp and sunny, vibrant blue skies, leaves just beginning to turn color. A day that simply demands that you ride a bicycle, or take a walk, or sit on a park bench and surround yourself in the beauty. A day that begs you to spend hours outside. Pedalweather. Today was one of those days.
Just pictures. Your turn to get outside and enjoy it all. 
evening
Evening ride … one of the last perfect days of summer, the sound of crickets, an old barn in fading light, my bicycle, and the one I love. I need nothing else.
adventures in solitude
The first day of September. For some reason, it feels like such a turning point … leaving summer behind, kids back at school, the last week of swimming outside. Awaiting the pungent crunch of leaves, diminishing daylight, cooler temperatures. For me, a time of Adventures in Solitude. By bicycle.
I rode today with only my little Lumix point-and-shoot. It makes me “work” a little harder … and I’ve just been feeling like I need to be challenged. With the first of the month here, I feel like I’ve been slacking off over the past few months, not feeling especially creative. And I find myself looking for some long-term personal “project” to tackle, something to inspire me, to spark some creativity, to prod me in some new (?) direction.
I confess that I am a big proponent of 365 projects. My experiences with ShutterCal and #330daysofbiking were rewarding, challenging, and a “push” to grow, learn and expand my proficiency with my camera and on my bike. I’ve been trying to figure out another 365 avenue to tackle; as much as I loved the photo-a-day, and the ride-a-day, I’m just not feeling an urge to repeat those. A variation on the theme would be fine, but just not a repeat of the same.
Some of the more fascinating 365-projects I’ve come across in my search for inspiration:
- Clouds 365 Project – a daily photo project of a single subject: clouds. Stunning stuff.
- Make a Book A Day – a seriously ambitious undertaking of making a hand-bound book every day. Wow.
- ThreeSixtyFiveBears - the creative undertaking of my (twitter) friend Meghan’s husband, Phil Barbato (artist/designer/web developer), who is drawing a bear each day on his iPhone. Awesome.
Final note: Thank you to everyone who responded to the jersey give-away; I appreciate the interest and the great rom-com suggestions for my Netflix queue. ;-). I will be revealing the random-drawing winner by Monday, 9/5.
365 days of field corn ... ???
disaster relief on two wheels
a hawk dropped into the frame
It is a very good thing that I completed #330daysofbiking when I did … I think I have just had the longest stretch of not being on a bicycle in several years. Twelve days, no cycling; fourteen days of Red Cross Disaster Relief. And not a moment of regret. It has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my life.
Are things back to normal? Hardly. A funny thing about natural disasters - from tornados, to hurricanes, earthquakes and floods – when cable news has moved on to the next breaking story, the communities that were effected will spend months, even years, recovering and rebuilding. Healing – on all levels – takes a very, very long time.
I have to believe that almost everyone who lives here has been affected, either directly or indirectly. Colleagues at work who have lost their homes, neighbors who have lost family members, friends at school who were severely injured … everyone is connected to the devastation to some degree. Lives have changed. At present, we are simply out of the immediate “crisis” mode. Now begins the recovery. And it will be a long ride.
My boys have all arrived home from college (for a few weeks, anyway), and on my first day “off” and away from the disaster efforts, I finally had a chance to take long and much-needed ride with my son Mason.
While too many familiar landscapes have been drastically altered and damaged, and it’s still nearly impossible to travel many of our local back roads without encountering various work crews still continuing the endless repairs and clean-up, I realized that I really needed a change of course.
I needed to leave the piles of rubble and the smell of burning pine behind me. I needed some open space, green fields and fresh air. I needed roadside daisies. I needed to find beauty again.
And my heart lifted when I found that it was all still out there.
Getting out on my bicycle again, seeing green fields, being with my son, feeling the rhythm of heartbeat, pedals and breath … it was my own personal disaster “relief”.
What lies ahead? I am not entirely sure. I have signed on with the Red Cross as a regular volunteer and have enrolled in their Disaster Services Human Resource System. I’m continuing to help with follow-up work being coordinated through our local Chapter’s office, and am looking forward to continuing disaster response training and becoming an active responder. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with experienced Red Cross Disaster Relief teams who came in from around the country; I learned so much from them, and made some very close friendships along the way.
I also want to extend an enormous and overdue thank you to all of my friends (both local and cyber) who extended so much help and support – from your personal notes, to finding much-needed material items (including a twin bed), monetary donations, offers of manpower, and even mailing a hand-crafted prayer shawl across the country for a woman in our community. Your generosity and kindness is unparalleled, and has been appreciated more than I can express.
Mostly, I have been forever touched by the individuals and families I have been privileged to serve and have gotten to know over the past few weeks. You are in my heart, and I will never forget you.
(Slideshow: amazing friends from Red Cross Disaster Relief)
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
I <3 bicycles
Happy Valentine’s Day to the beloved ones near and dear to your heart … including your bicycle.
detours
sled
The snow stuck around longer than most people expected, thanks to some nice cold temps. It was some amazingly beautiful riding – cold, sunny, snow on the ground. The kind of weather that stirs my blood. Too often, I find that I want to spend the entire day outside messing around – on my bike, with the camera and a coffee stop or two. And then the responsibilities of real life throw a detour sign in the road, and I find it unavoidable to have to park the bike and get on with it.
contemplating snow tires... ?
The past week was one of those detours – even though I was riding every day, the daily focus was on “the other stuff”. The mundane things like appointments and errands that had been put off a little too long. Projects at home that needed attention, trips that required me to use a car. Sigh.
brightness
I’ve had a few days this week where the riding was barely more than a 15 minute spin up the road, but I’ve come to really appreciate that benefit, that reward, of #330daysofbiking over the months. Taking the time, no matter how brief it may be, to get outside and pedal around away from the other necessary things – a detour in itself – is the great equalizer, the balance to the mundane.
she always makes me smile
slushy
As I write this today, the snow has almost all disappeared. And I miss it. I still have a sizable to-do list of non-cycling things to detour me during the next few weeks, but I’m always glad for the daily reward of #330daysofbiking. The official count as of today: have ridden 270 of the past 299 days, 66 days remain.
creekside
I always keep him waiting ... yes I do 
the difference a week can make ... 14 January
... and then today, same road, same bike
sun and snow
#330daysofbiking, Day 260
In my book, there is nothing, nothing, more beautiful than being outside on a cold, sunny day with snow on the ground. I think it is my idea of heaven.
I felt like I was riding in CO today … temps in the 20′s, the warmth of the sun, hills and fields covered in snow, brilliant blue sky and the beautiful blue snow shadows. I know that this little wonderland can’t – won’t – last much longer, but I am loving every moment and can barely make myself head back inside at the end of the day.
Day 260 – definitely on my top 10 list of #330daysofbiking.
winter river ride
on the bridge, Hiwassee River inlet
I ventured out a little further today … the sun was shining, and after the low of 14′F, by afternoon we were back up around 40′F. I just couldn’t help myself.
#330daysofbiking Day 232 of 254.
near "Stump Lake"
the road ahead
#330daysofbiking nearly derailed
don't worry - I was very careful...
I am an impatient person. I don’t like waiting, and I am – admittedly – pretty headstrong and don’t always take direction well, especially when it conflicts with my own “agenda”.
So, of course, I end up paying a little extra for my recent adventure in stupidity.
Despite the fact I have virtually no pain, a re-check and re-xray at the orthopedist last week revealed (through a small bright white spot on the film) that I may have actually made a small “chip” in the kneecap, and that the remaining swelling is from some fluid in the prepatellar bursa (on the kneecap). Normally they could drain/aspirate the fluid, but because the abrasion is not healed, they didn’t want to risk possible infection. The verdict: ”you need to lay off the cycling, the repetitive motion in the joint, for a bit.”
What?!
So, I am now taking some anti-inflammatories, trying to scale back a bit on activity. The compromise is keeping the riding to a minimum for about 2 weeks … basically no more than about 5-10 minutes a day. Which barely gets me out of my driveway. Sigh. But hopefully this will take care of things, and get rid of the pesky swelling/inflammation.
#330daysofbiking has not been completely de-railed … but will be taking a knock in mileage and biking pictures for another week or so.
To date: have ridden 229 of the past 251 days; 117 days remaining. And so it goes. {-P
riding up the drive to the mailbox (sigh)
#330daysofbiking Day 228 ~ barely up the road ... via Xtracycle
