December 2025 Photos

[Brent Knepper]

snowy atlantis ride! 5" and still falling, made it a whole 6 miles ☺

-Brent, in a hudson valley

[Steve]

Nice pic with the Atlantis against the mural - I like it!.     

So....6 miles at 4 mph, or ?  (says the guy who whimped on attempting snow rides a several tears back)

Steve in AVL

[Jay]

Way to kick off December, Brent.  I'm glad you did, I couldn't have topped either photo.

I would love to post a photo, but last two rides (1st and today) were sub-10C and I didn't want to take off my gloves.  Roads were nice and dry on Monday and I had the Roadini out.  Today I took out the Fargo with studded tires as there was too many spots with black ice, snow.  Funny thing is it was quite a mix, so I would ride around looking for snow/ice.  People were doing double-takes, thinking I'm pretty whack!

[Brent Knepper]

thanks pals! Steve, yeah that sounds about right. Strava said I was going just a bit faster overall but I took nice plowed downhill route to get back home

Jay, better to keep the gloves on for sure. sounds like you found a good way to keep yourself entertained!

[ascpgh]

December did come in strongly. Kudos, Brent, for getting out in it and photographing the moment. 

I'm with Jay and have kept my gloves on during my snowy, dark commutes these last few days. I've been reminded how much a blanket of snow adds to the ambient lighting of familiar surroundings during winter's expanded stretches of daily darkness. 

The last few winters we've had deep, winter-like weather in early December, followed by long, mild stretches. We'll see how long the studded Marathon tires stay on this year.  

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

On Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at 6:11:27 PM UTC-5 Jay wrote:

[Kesler Roberts]

Winter is here in Massachusetts!

[Ted Durant]

Warmed up to mid-20's today, with modest wind, clear skies and mostly clear roads, so I snuck in a one hour ride along the river with Pink Bunny.  More snow expected tonight. The roads are well salted.

Ted Durant

Milwaukee, WI USA

[John Dewey]

A fine day by the bay. And, thankfully, no ice anywhere nearby.

Jock 

[Jason Fuller]

Landing squarely between the last two photos weather-wise, today was around 40F and drizzling. I liked this view - the path most take vs the path I took. 

[Piaw Na]

I neglected to take pictures of my bike yesterday, but here's the scene on Page Mill Road at 10:00am. (There's good reason Soma, Specialized, Rivendell, Ritchey are all based in the Bay Area)

Video link here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pt1TZG7zvcj3bbQL7

[John Dewey]

That’s a most delightful tree tunnel. 

On a hot afternoon in North GA, tree tunnels always offered some welcome cool. 

Jock

On Sun, Dec 7, 2025 at 7:58 AM Piaw Na <pi...@gmail.com> wrote:

I neglected to take pictures of my bike yesterday, but here's the scene on Page Mill Road at 10:00am. (There's good reason Soma, Specialized, Rivendell, Ritchey are all based in the Bay Area)

Video link here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pt1TZG7zvcj3bbQL7

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[Keith Paugh]

What a beautiful morning in the foothills!

k.

On Dec 7, 2025, at 7:59 AM, Piaw Na <pi...@gmail.com> wrote:

I neglected to take pictures of my bike yesterday, but here's the scene on Page Mill Road at 10:00am. (There's good reason Soma, Specialized, Rivendell, Ritchey are all based in the Bay Area)

Video link here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/pt1TZG7zvcj3bbQL7

<PXL_20251206_180620972.jpg>

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<PXL_20251206_180620972.jpg>

[Hoch in UT]

Crispy cool Sunday morning ride. Recently purchased a Carradice Camper LF but doesn’t really fit the bagman support. I need to get a small rack to keep the bag off of the tire. 

[Kesler Roberts]

Very nice!  I also have a Camper LF and cut a piece of thick plastic (from some packaging) the size of the bag's floor and that gives it a little more structure.  It's pretty amazing how much you can fit into the camper.

[DTL]

Hoch, those Ortho Bars look so wide and luxurious from that riding POV!

[Piaw Na]

Photos from yesterday (Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve)

[Jason Fuller]

Got out for ~56km of as much trail/path as I could string together, punctuated by side roads. Somewhat ironically, the only decent driveside I took of the Bombadil was when I was documenting the first time I got chain suck with it (over 10,000 km on it, so this is pretty good!!).  

I stopped for a mid ride relax in the hammock as well, watching the light slowly fade. A really nice way to spend a dry, mild (8-10C) day in December! 

[Scott Garrison]

Cold cloudy December day for my inaugural ride on my new Sam. Love it!

[Hoch in UT]

DTL, yes, going from Albatross, which I've had for years, to Orthos has been overall positive.  As long as you get the stem length and grip angle right, it's a great set up!

[Hoch in UT]

Thanks, that's a good idea.  I had a Riv Sackville that had some corrugated plastic as the base that worked well.  Thanks for the tip.

[Jay]

These photos without snow are making me sad.  This morning the feels like was -23C.  I rode the trainer.  Then did a workout.  I did get out yesterday on the Fargo with studded tires but that was a mess beyond comprehension.  Still removing salt from everywhere it could have landed.  Thankfully, Roadini was safe at home.  No photos today.

Scottie - great looking Sam.  I love that colour.  Those sidewalls are so clean, can't wait to see them get dirty!

Jason - can I come visit! ;-)  8-10C, I would wear shorts and l/s jersey and would probably sweat after I've now acclimated to temps out this side of Canada.

[Piaw Na]

Took my wife (on her new Ritchey Montebello https://blog.piaw.net/2025/12/building-xiaoiqins-ritchey-montebello.html) out to Calero County Park for a smooth flowy gravel ride and she snapped this picture of me on my Roadini. Yes, the downtube shifter slowed me down enough that my wife with her superior shifting easily kept up with me. Whoever claims electronic shifting doesn't make a difference doesn't ride the kind of terrain that's available in Calero county park.

[Ben Miller]

Apologies in advance Jay 😞 

Finished cabling up Stephanie's new-to-her Rambouilet yesterday, so we took our Twin Rams out for a spin up Twin Peaks today. She must have liked it cause she took off like a rocket up Twins after the turn. Made me work to reel her back in just before the summit 😁 

We are waiting on some bartape to truly complete the build. But so stoked that she has her own Ram now, a frame that I think it truly one of the Rivendell masterpieces. 

[Piaw Na(藍俊彪)]

Love the blue theme. I bet the handlebar tape will be blue as well? 

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[Ben Miller]

Piaw, you know it :) Stephanie has BTP woven bar tape in blue in the mail! Glad you like the blue :) I've been wanting an excuse to use that blue splatter Crust heartbreaker crank for a awhile now!

[Jonathan Carmack]

I built up this used frame that I got via the group, the day before I finished building it we got snow so didn’t get out (in the slush) until this weekend.  As it happens this route goes by a farm that has some of the Appaloosa (my wife told me, she’s a horse person—equestrian?).  I plan to use this bike for Rockstar next year which is a “race” from Harrisonburg to Roanoke, not a formal event, no official start, etc.  Picture taken from Suplinick Ridge, overlooking the hollow that runs alongside the North Mountain range and WV.  Which is sort of the border of the blue ridge and Allegheny.

Jon in Shenandoah/DC

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[Dan]

This evening was the last 'Waterfall Gully Wednesday' of the year.

It was 35 degrees celcius today and is forecast for 39 tomorrow. Thankfully, this gully is much cooler than the city proper.

The Roadini is feeling great. With recent changes (TRP RRL levers, bar-end shifters, padded Newbaums tape, new brake pads up front) the fit feels good and I feel like I can rely on it going both up and down hill. I've ridden it 2,300+ km since I got it this year which is an achievement considering I have 4 other bikes! I am sure the Roadini and I will share many more km to come.

Roadini with some of the crew I ride with on Wednesdays. Nice people all around, 95% who are much much faster than me.

[Damon Lee]

Dan the Roadini looks great, and right at home with that colour in 'the bush' haha. 

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[Gordon Stam]

That's a good looking Roadini.

[Gordon Stam]

Another picture without snow. In a good year this trail would be groomed for skate skiing. Oh well, we make the best of it. Taken a week ago on the 10th. (And we'll hope the link works.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WIv70bKQLqY72ROi7qZTDzmn6OZjZwdI/view?usp=sharing

[JohnS]

Link worked Gordon, awesome vista, thanks for sharing.

[Kesler Roberts]

Not a Riv but it is steel.  I put this Monocog back together last year to be my pond ice machine the few days we get for that most years.

[Jay]

I don't have a picture to post but I'm really hoping I'll have something tomorrow!  Trying to be positive that I'll be able to get out there on my Roadini (assuming the roads stay clear, as they are now).  Worst case, I hope to get out on the Fargo with studded tires.  Yesterday got up to 9C but I went skiing up north.  Had a great time, but half the time I'm thinking of cycling lol.

Love the lake photo above.  It shows we can deal with the hand we're dealt and make the most of it.

I also like Dan's Roadini with the two bar-tape colours.  I'm going to replace mine next year, but struggling to find the right colour for dark gold roadini, with as much cushion as I get get.  My hands are sensitive and I usually use 3-3.2 with gel pad underneath.  The thought of paper thin (but stylish) tape (e.g., Newbaum) has me thinking I'll regret it.

[Dan]

Thank you Jay and others for the kind words.

I think eggplant and maroon would look great on a dark gold Roadini too!

I used to have the same colours in unpadded Newbaums but this is now the padded version and it really is more comfortable, even if it does look a bit chunkier.

[Steve]

I'm thinking I should add a few more pics to the December thread before I suddenly find myself in the year 2026.  So, some shots taken during an extremely leisurely ride on a cloudy day in the upper 40s. I especially like the two of the bridge; one taken from the ridge  above it  (zoomed in to the point of pixelation) and the second one from below with my bike parked on it.  

Steve in AVL

[Jay]

Nice to have Leo out there after two weeks of being hidden away in the basement.  I had bought some removable fenders and still need to dial them in, so I didn't have them today.  But it was okay, when I got home the bike looked nearly perfect, but still needed a wipe down and rag work on the drivetrain.  10 minutes well spent.  It was cold as the Garmin shows (plus some wind), but I dressed well and had a great 90 minute ride.  Long term forecast looks okay and I'm off after the 24th, so I'm hoping we close out December strong and start the new year on two wheels.

Mental sanity restored!

[Ted Durant]

I'm on track for one of my lowest December totals on record.  Lots of reasons for that, but one of them is that I'm getting pickier about weather as I get older. Today turned out to be pretty nice, 40F at the start, and the clouds cleared away for most of the two hours I was out. The wind was a moderate 15-25 mph, and out of the west, so I could ride mostly N-S and have a cross-wind. Happily some rain washed the roads a bit, and I was glad to be able to ride the Chapman. The town of Thiensville is decorated for the holidays, and the Milwaukee River is frozen in parts but there's a good amount of water that's moving along.

Top tip for people posting ... when you reply to someone else's post, please delete all the stuff that's not yours unless you want to explicitly quote someone.

Ted Durant

Milwaukee, WI USA

[ascpgh]

Great pics and fantastic surroundings, Jon. 

December is so unpredictable weather-wise in the mid-Atlantic. Trying to get in a ride at a particular place when the conditions are nice is tough. I love the Blue Ridge region, but the travel time limits the brief riding opportunities in your pictures.

I was hooked after a trip to my grandmother's sister's home above Luray, VA. Her husband was the superintendent of the Shenandoah National Park and lived in one of the homes in the headquarters loop area. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh 

[Jay]

I hear you, Ted.  As I get older, I get colder!  

I'm really busy and stressed at work though, so these rides are great for my mental health.  Getting out when the conditions are not great, when no other cyclists are out there, actually makes me enjoy the ride a little more, like I'm not taking the easy way out, I'm facing a challenge.

I got out for a ride second day in a row.  Temp was same as yesterday, -6C but the wind was stronger.  I felt great though (and was charged with the feeling of getting outside for a ride), and pushed harder which kept me warm.  And I cooked it on the way back home, down wind.

Happy Winter Solstice!

[Tony Lockhart]

Sam visiting the Claremont Colleges today. 

[Kesler Roberts]

I installed the Dynamo light yesterday so had to get out and use it tonight. 

[RichS]

These December pictures are invigorating. Predicted 68 degrees in ATL on Christmas Day. Nothing I can contribute with icy, snowy surroundings. 

January is sometimes good for a few days of real winter weather. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow:-)

Best,

Rich in balmy ATL

[Brent Knepper]

been a snowy december in the hudson valley. great for cross country skiing! a light snow as falling most of the day here and I was happy to get out on the wallkill valley trail for the afternoon :)

Brent in NY

[Gordon Stam]

Taking advantage of a slack snow year. Park City Ski area in the background has what looks to be a single run open from the top to the bottom. Through binoculars you can see the skiers coming town like little black dots, weaving back and forth. 

The Clem has been a worthy steed in these adventures. This particular trail is in Round Valley,  north and east of PC.

[Dan]

Please tell me those Christmas lights are being run off your dynamo! 🤪

It's the first day of my holidays here so a friend and I went out for a ride. It's a cool spell as we often get here around Christmas, when the cool air from the Southern Ocean wins out over the hot northerly from the desert. The morning was around 19 degrees in the city and 13-14 degrees up in the hills. Perfect riding weather. And the Appaloosa is such a good bike. It'll go anywhere if you don't mind being bumped around a bit!

The Fleecer Ridge Endurance tyres performed very well. Only a slight reduction in off-road grip in exchange for slightly faster on-road rolling compared to the Ultradynamico Mars I had on earlier.

[Christopher Young]

We are having an unbelievably warm December here in ABQ with temps into the 60s and no snow at all. Not good overall as we need a good snowpack in the mountains or we'll have a dangerous fire season next Summer, but it has made for excellent biking. Yesterday I road my new (to me) Clem 64 out to Corrales (far north valley) and back, a total of 47 miles, including 20+ miles along dirt roads and single tracks in the Bosque. Fantastic! I love this bike! I didn't see many other bikers on those dirt trails, but the few I saw were all riding plastic bikes with huge knobby tires, suspension, etc. I love the looks I get (pity? bewilderment?) tooling along on my beautiful steel bike.

Happy holidays all!

Chris Y.

ABQ

P.S. thanks to those that advised me to go for a 64 cm Clem over the 59. It took a while to find one, but I am so glad I did.