30 Days of Biking – Day 16: Shortest Ride Ever

Shortest Ride Ever

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 16: Shortest Ride Ever

30 Days of Biking – Day 13: On the Banks of the Wabash

On the Banks of the Wabash

With rain forecast for this evening, I left work a few minutes early to fit in a bike ride. Rode by the Fort again (took the route clockwise today – wild and crazy!) and decided to take a look at the Wabash River.

On the Banks of the Wabash

With the lack of rainfall lately, the water level is pretty low – nothing like the high levels we had most of the winter.

On the Banks of the Wabash

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 13: On the Banks of the Wabash

30 Days of Biking – Day 12: South of this Pot

Rode by the Fort tonight.

South of this Pot

This county park hosts many events, including the Feast of the Hunters’ Moon, a reenactment of a 1750’s French trading post.  My wife and I participate – she demonstrates and sells gourd art, and I take care of the tent.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 12: South of this Pot

30 Days of Biking – Day 11: What a Difference an Hour Makes

Tonight I was able to get out at 8:30 instead of my 9:30 ride from the other day. And it was still light enough to see. Inspired me to go around the circle a few more times.

Riding Buddy

Nelson was going to go with me until he saw the … SQUIRREL!!!

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 11: What a Difference an Hour Makes

30 Days of Biking – Day 9: Forgot My Lock

It seems that the best way for me to get out for a commute ride to work is to:

  1. Offer my daughter the use of my truck for school that day
  2. Get up too late for my wife to drop me off at the office

This plan worked great today, and I had a good ride in, and a somewhat windy but still fun ride home.

Since I forgot my lock at home, the bike got to sit with me in my office all day.

Forgot My Lock

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 9: Forgot My Lock

Commuter Profile

I ran across this article from 2007. My answers would be about the same today.

Commuter Profile: Dan Gentry

West Lafayette at Night

West Lafayette at Night

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

30 Days of Biking – Day 8: No Streetlights

It was a busy day, so never really found time to get out. At 7pm, on a Sunday, my wife decided we needed a new refrigerator. Menards was still open, so we headed out to pick one up. As always, she found a nice one on sale.

After a quick supper, we took out the old fridge, and with the help of my neighbor and sometime riding partner, we got the new one in.

It was nearly 10:00 when I remembered that I hadn’t ridden yet. With no moon showing and no headlight for my ride around the neighborhood circle, I realized just how dark it is out here in the country. I only had the light from my front blinky to show the way.

20120408-230717.jpg
(it is tough to take a photo of a black fridge)

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 8: No Streetlights

30 Days of Biking – Day 7: Savin’ Big Money

Savin' Big Money

The weather today was perfect for a ride. When I needed to head to the hardware store for parts, I knew the bike was the way to go.

The store is pretty much four miles straight north as the crow flies, but since the roads weren’t built for birds, my route was a bit more roundabout.

Not much to report, other than one guy who yelled something as he passed me. No idea what he said.

Since there is no bike rack at the West Lafayette Menards, I used a post to lock up.

Weed n Feed TransportOnce inside, I remembered that I also needed to pick up a bag of weed n feed for the lawn. No problem, I can just strap it onto the rack.

On the way back, someone behind me in a truck was giving me the short honk, as if I should pull off the road to let him pass. I gave him the “drive around me” hand signal, but he honked again. He finally passed me, only to turn into a parking lot 10 seconds after. What was scary was his lady decided to yell profane things at me as they passed by, and I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I returned the favor. Once she started using a hand signal of her own, I slowed down and kept my mouth shut. No need to cause any further altercation.

Other than that half a minute incident, it was a great ride, and I really did “save big money”.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 7: Savin’ Big Money

30 Days of Biking – Day 6: Sunset

Sunset

Between work and supper, I had time to ride the quiet country roads. I passed and was passed by by many roadies enjoying the cool ride conditions. Felt pretty comfortable on my hybrid bike with the cuff of my jeans tucked in my right sock.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 6: Sunset

30 Days of Biking – Day 5: Blinky Light

Well, it wasn’t pretty, but I got out today. Dark, cold, windy, and past my bedtime – I didn’t want to be riding. So, I did twice around the circle in my subdivision – around 1 mile total.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on 30 Days of Biking – Day 5: Blinky Light