The Places Our Bikes Take Us

[larson....@gmail.com]

One of my (and probably many of you) main motivations for riding my bikes is to get to a special place. This may be a place of natural beauty, a quiet place to get away from the hustle of daily life or a place that has special meaning to us. Post a picture of a special place your bike has taken you, and why this place is special.

This is my Appaloosa at the mouth of the Huron River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Huron Islands are visible in Lake Superior. This place is remote feeling and beautiful, and I was there recently  many years after my first visit.

Randy in WI

[Richard Rose]

This pic is from the Potawatomi MTB trail in Pinkney, Michigan - The “Poto” for short. This is the quintessential SE Michigan trail, and a place that has shaped my life as a cyclist. I don’t recommend it but this place was my introduction to mountain biking. Some of the very best times I’ve had on a bike happened here. This particular ride was my first time giving it a go on the Gus.  It was pretty great but is also the reason I am currently working on cockpit changes & installing a rapid rise rear derailleur.:)

It’s a destination type trail & every trip there is like visiting an old friend.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 25, 2023, at 8:51 AM, larson....@gmail.com <larson....@gmail.com> wrote:

One of my (and probably many of you) main motivations for riding my bikes is to get to a special place. This may be a place of natural beauty, a quiet place to get away from the hustle of daily life or a place that has special meaning to us. Post a picture of a special place your bike has taken you, and why this place is special.

This is my Appaloosa at the mouth of the Huron River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Huron Islands are visible in Lake Superior. This place is remote feeling and beautiful, and I was there recently  many years after my first visit.

Randy in WI

<Appaloosa Huron River BeachBWWEB.jpg>

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<Appaloosa Huron River BeachBWWEB.jpg>

[ascpgh]

ter a long couple days of work I saw the weather forecast and checked my favorite far point Air B&B, found it available and collected enough clothing to cover a 40° swing from frost to sunny 70°s and set out for a ride down the GAP in near peak foliage. A very nice 85 mile ride in the woods, rarely other people out and a few of the widely spaced services of which I took advantage.   

[ascpgh]

Whoops, got away without signatuure...

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Mike Godwin]

Wow, that is just beautiful Andy. What a special place to live.

Mike SLO CA 

[Richard Rose]

It (The GAP) is indeed a magical trail. That was going to be my next post in this thread - but on the Clem.:)

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 25, 2023, at 12:12 PM, Mike Godwin <spoke...@gmail.com> wrote:

Wow, that is just beautiful Andy. What a special place to live.

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[Mojo]

Legolas through the Colorado National Monument

[Mojo]

Rivendell Road custom circa 2001, over Trail Ridge Road, 12,000+ ft, through Rocky Mountain National Park.

[ascpgh]

Wow. The places indeed!

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Brian Turner]

Here's a photo from earlier this week. It's not a remote place, or extraordinary by any means, but it's special to me, and for me and my wife. At least once a month, we usually blow off work and drive 1.5 hours to Cincinnati to ride a portion of the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail. It's part of the larger Ohio to Erie Trail, and is approx. 80 mi long. This is the trail that first introduced me to rail trails, and fostered in me a love of bike camping. We ride this trail to celebrate life events like birthdays and anniversaries, whenever we are feeling sad or restless, or whenever we want to take a nice scenic overnighter. Last month we did our first century together on this trail to celebrate our 23rd anniversary. This past Tuesday was an especially gorgeous Fall day, so we took advantage of the weather and the colors along the trail.

[Josh (BertoBerg)]

Brian-

The way you describe it makes it sound like an extraordinary place to me! Beautiful Atlantis as well.

Josh

Bainbridge Island, WA

[larson....@gmail.com]

Hey Brian, 

Beautiful Atlantis. I love this story and think that often the places most special to us are those that are not exotic or remote or spectacular, but places of quiet that we return to often for the reasons you eloquently described. Thank you for contributing this.

Randy in WI

[Wrongway Pete]

Lovely images, Andy. Can you tell us what the crazy-tall handlebar bag is? Is that a custom-height Waxwing, or something else?  Whatever it is, do you happen to know the dimensions?

Thanks very much!

Kind regards,

Peter Jourdain

Whitewater, Wisconsin

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www.bicyclingbackwards.com


"For here is entertainment in excelsis, the sight, the sound and the scent of things....Why cycling for joy is not the most popular passtime on earth is still a mystery to me." ---Frank J. Urry, "SALUTE TO CYCLING"

[Richard Rose]

So you drive to Cinci, ride around 40 miles, camp for the night then ride back! Heck, I should join you sometime. More like a three hour drive one way for me. But…

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 26, 2023, at 10:09 AM, Brian Turner <brok...@gmail.com> wrote:



Here's a photo from earlier this week. It's not a remote place, or extraordinary by any means, but it's special to me, and for me and my wife. At least once a month, we usually blow off work and drive 1.5 hours to Cincinnati to ride a portion of the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail. It's part of the larger Ohio to Erie Trail, and is approx. 80 mi long. This is the trail that first introduced me to rail trails, and fostered in me a love of bike camping. We ride this trail to celebrate life events like birthdays and anniversaries, whenever we are feeling sad or restless, or whenever we want to take a nice scenic overnighter. Last month we did our first century together on this trail to celebrate our 23rd anniversary. This past Tuesday was an especially gorgeous Fall day, so we took advantage of the weather and the colors along the trail.

<IMG_6640.JPG>

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[George Schick]

Yeah, I too was wondering where he drives from in order to ride that Little Miami River trail.  I used to live down there in some of those parts and am curious.

[Brian Turner]

George, we drive up from Lexington, KY. We typically start around Milford, OH and pedal north towards Loveland and beyond. The trail has been closed at King’s Island for the past couple of years (for bridge construction), but if you hit it on the weekends, you can get through the barriers. 

For overnights, we typically ride 52 miles or so up to John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, OH, then ride back the next day.

Richard - how far away is Yellow Springs from you? I’d certainly drive up there and pedal south towards KY, instead of making the usual S-N trip.

- Brian 

On Oct 26, 2023, at 5:51 PM, George Schick <bhi...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yeah, I too was wondering where he drives from in order to ride that Little Miami River trail.  I used to live down there in some of those parts and am curious.

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[Richard Rose]

Brian, Yellow Springs is just 2.5 hrs. That could be very doable.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 26, 2023, at 7:16 PM, Brian Turner <brok...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

On my super secret route from my house to downtown Kalamazoo today…

[Bill Schairer]

Somewhere in the Yukon.  Special as the ride represented a long held dream and a personal challenge.  I bought my workhorse Atlantis (second hand 2013 Waterford, I believe) for just this type of ride.

Bill S

San Diego

[aeroperf]

Gorgeous shots, Andy.  The GAP is on my bucket list.

I’m going to cheat here, since you didn’t specify my Rivendell bike.
We use bikes to see the world, and they’ve taken us to lots of special places.

Here’s one.  Apulia, the bootheel of Italy.  Special because of the wine, the food, and the Adriatic Sea.  The city is Ostuni, about halfway between Bari and Brindisi.

-Jack-

Atlanta

[Kim H.]

@Richard,

That Potawatomi MTB trail in Pinkney, Michigan looks pretty gnarly. I am glad that tried out your Gus on that trail as an introduction to mountain biking.  I'm looking forward to your upcoming upgrades to your Gus and ride reports, as well.

I went out on a fairly long bike ride today. It was mostly pavement on a bike/pedestrian trail near my home. Towards the end, I decided to venture off road along a very long stretch of newly pulled RR rails with RR ties left from the excavation to see how far down the hired company pulled the ties. I decided to go all the way to the RR bridge that goes over the Nisqually River perhaps another time.  The future plan is in the making of extending the bicycle/pedestrian trail over the river into a town called Roy. This is apart of a greater plan to connect to other trails in the next county.

The next phase will be for the city to hire a company to clean up the RR ties.

I had fun going off road with my Clem. It is more adventurous and handles very well.

Kim Hetzel.

[Richard Rose]

Our makes are so “at home” on unlaced rail trails. The perfect tool for the job. For clarification; the Poto trail was my introduction to mountain biking - but about 25 years ago! I’ve ridden it dozens & dozens of times, perhaps hundreds. But it was my first time riding the Gus there. And yes, there are parts that are very gnarly indeed. Gus was up to the task. But there is no getting around the fact that it is a heavy bike. All that really means is I am a bit slower riding it. But having just as much fun.:)

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 28, 2023, at 2:34 AM, Kim H. <krhe...@gmail.com> wrote:



@Richard,

That Potawatomi MTB trail in Pinkney, Michigan looks pretty gnarly. I am glad that tried out your Gus on that trail as an introduction to mountain biking.  I'm looking forward to your upcoming upgrades to your Gus and ride reports, as well.

I went out on a fairly long bike ride today. It was mostly pavement on a bike/pedestrian trail near my home. Towards the end, I decided to venture off road along a very long stretch of newly pulled RR rails with RR ties left from the excavation to see how far down the hired company pulled the ties. I decided to go all the way to the RR bridge that goes over the Nisqually River perhaps another time.  The future plan is in the making of extending the bicycle/pedestrian trail over the river into a town called Roy. This is apart of a greater plan to connect to other trails in the next county.

The next phase will be for the city to hire a company to clean up the RR ties.

I had fun going off road with my Clem. It is more adventurous and handles very well.

Kim Hetzel.

<20231026_143115_HDR.jpg>

<20231026_143133_HDR.jpg>

On Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 7:40:14 AM UTC-7 rmro...@gmail.com wrote:

This pic is from the Potawatomi MTB trail in Pinkney, Michigan - The “Poto” for short. This is the quintessential SE Michigan trail, and a place that has shaped my life as a cyclist. I don’t recommend it but this place was my introduction to mountain biking. Some of the very best times I’ve had on a bike happened here. This particular ride was my first time giving it a go on the Gus.  It was pretty great but is also the reason I am currently working on cockpit changes & installing a rapid rise rear derailleur.:)

It’s a destination type trail & every trip there is like visiting an old friend.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 25, 2023, at 8:51 AM, larson....@gmail.com <larson....@gmail.com> wrote:

One of my (and probably many of you) main motivations for riding my bikes is to get to a special place. This may be a place of natural beauty, a quiet place to get away from the hustle of daily life or a place that has special meaning to us. Post a picture of a special place your bike has taken you, and why this place is special.

This is my Appaloosa at the mouth of the Huron River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Huron Islands are visible in Lake Superior. This place is remote feeling and beautiful, and I was there recently  many years after my first visit.

Randy in WI

<Appaloosa Huron River BeachBWWEB.jpg>

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[Marc Irwin]

Some of my adventures on the Hunq since I got it.

Marc

[Josh (BertoBerg)]

Marc-

I love how you are tracking your riding on the map. So fun!

Josh 

BI, WA

[John Rinker]

Neat thread, Larson! My Hunq has been all over the world and my Atlantis has recently joined the fun. There are so many wonderful places these bikes have taken me that it's very difficult to choose. However, I'll share a local one that my bicycles take me almost every day, and one recent one from a little further afield. 

At one of my favorite swimming holes on the Slocan River:

On the White Rim trail in the Canyonlands:

Cheers, John

[larson....@gmail.com]

Hey John,

Thanks for the contribution! I always enjoy seeing the places you ride and reading your ride reports. My most meaningful places are close to home and frequently visited as well. I do hope to ride my Rivendell in many more places in the future.

Randy in WI

[Richard Rose]

Bikes & unpaved, not “makes” or”unlaced”. Darn autocorrect.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 28, 2023, at 10:24 AM, Richard Rose <rmro...@gmail.com> wrote:

Our makes are so “at home” on unlaced rail trails. The perfect tool for the job. For clarification; the Poto trail was my introduction to mountain biking - but about 25 years ago! I’ve ridden it dozens & dozens of times, perhaps hundreds. But it was my first time riding the Gus there. And yes, there are parts that are very gnarly indeed. Gus was up to the task. But there is no getting around the fact that it is a heavy bike. All that really means is I am a bit slower riding it. But having just as much fun.:)

[Ted Durant]

With my daughter living in LA, I've used my bike ("West Coast Sam") to explore some of the iconic sights and some of the hard-to-get-to places. Mt Lukens is very much in the latter category. Pretty serious underbiking, even for a Sam on 50mm tires! 

Ted Durant

Alhambra, CA USA (this week)

[Kim H.]

This afternoon, I decided to go on my second adventure to find out exactly where the end of the railroad rails were pulled up about a month ago ended for a future bicycle/pedestrian/equestrian trail near my home. It is within fifteen minutes from my house.  It was a very sunny day about 56 degrees. I took my Clem and set off by myself.

I rode on a trail along the Nisqually River as far as I could. I found a steep very short trail that lead up to the railroad bed and ties. It took awhile for me to maneuver myself with my Clem up this steep small incline, applying my brakes in slow steps. I made it alright.

I did not feel safe enough to ride my bike along side of the old railroad bed, because the ground was uneven and to the right of me the ground dropped off below me. I walked my bike all the way to the railroad bridge taking in all the wonderful colored golden fallen maple leaves on the ground. There was no one else around. I must have walked about more than a quarter of a mile and then some.

The railroad bridge finally came into my view. It has been many years since I was back here on foot. There had been a chain-link fence across the entrance of the bridge crossing to not allow people to cross it.  However, this time, there was no fence on my side nor there was none across on the other side. It was all open to my surprise. In fulfilling my curiosity, the railroad rails ended to the entrance of the railroad bridge. 

My phone rang. My wife was asking me, if I was alright. I replied, "Yes". I told her that I would call her, when I was heading back.

I maneuvered my Clem in and around several railroad ties in preparation to walk across the railroad bridge. This will be an exciting memory I told myself. I was very cautious in walking my Clem over and onto each railroad tie to reach the other side.  I paused occasionally to take pictures, holding my cellphone very carefully not to drop it down through the cracks of the railroad ties into the river. Each time after taking a picture, I would carefully place my phone back into my vest pocket and zip it up not to lose it.

About half way, I scared an adult blue heron into flight swooping out over my head, as he called out. After that, I decided to take a 180 degree video with great care. I proceeded on and make it to the other side into the next county. From there, my eyes noticed that the railroad rails and ties continued on through the forest. I paused and took more pictures looking back and the river below me. The sun was slowly going down behind the trees. It was most definitely time to head back in this late afternoon.

I made it safely back across the railroad bridge. It was a long walk back to the spot, where I had came up from that steep embankment down to the trail, where I could ride my Clem back home. At some point, whilst I was walking, I almost twisted my left angle under soft soil. Thank goodness that I did not.

I made it home safe and happy in going out on my personal adventure in the sunny fall weather. Soon after arriving home, I very quickly, I felt my hips and muscles hurting from my journey. I took some acetaminophen to help reduce the pain.  I am not as young as I used to be. However, my heart remains younger than my body in riding my bicycle and going on adventures.

Kim Hetzel.

.

[Kim H.]

[Kim H.]

[Kim H.]

[Greg Lamont]

Tumalo Falls in Bend, OR. Tumalo Creek/Bend's watershed is a very special place for me, even though this waterfall is easily accessible by car and is a bit of a tourist attraction. There is an abundance of trails throughout this area that few access, and Gus has reliably carried me across all of them since I picked him up from Riv HQ in May of 2022. It's been the perfect bike for the kind of trail exploration I like to do in this region. 

On Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 7:50:39 AM UTC-7 josh.yo...@gmail.com wrote:

[Richard Rose]

Adventure! A little scary but an adventure still. That looks like it is going to be a great riding trail. Someday.:)

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 31, 2023, at 1:03 AM, Kim H. <krhe...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Kim H.]

@Hi Richard,

Yes, it was somewhat scary crossing the railroad bridge and walking along side the narrowness of the railroad bed. It would not be a true adventure, if it was not. I was on the road to find out. I succeed and that I am very happy that I did it.

When are you planning on coming out to Bend, Oregon to explore the trails with Mr. Gus Boots Willsen ?

Kim Hetzel.

[Richard Rose]

Ha! That would be fun. For now though my new stubby stem for the Albacore came from a guy in Bend. Bar arrives today!

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 31, 2023, at 9:38 AM, Kim H. <krhe...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Kim H.]

Yesterday, I decided to see if the city workers were out on their continuation of pulling up the railroad ties for the preparation of the new bicycle pedestrian trail from Yelm to Roy, WA. To my surprise, they were not here today. I took advantage of this situation and decided to have my private own adventure and explore where the city workers stopped pulling up the ties. The child in me was so excited to venture out on my blue 52cm Clem to see how it handled off road.

The weather was cool with a lot of fog with no sight of blue sky.   The ground surface was compacted from all the heavy and repetitive machine traffic. There was long sections of imprinted tires tracks from a very large loader. For the most part, I managed well.

When I reached to the old railroad bridge over the Nisqually River, I found about 75 feet ? of railroad bed, where the ties were not pulled up. I decided not to or over the bridge. I was just here to take pictures and satisfy my curiosity.

Here are some pictures.

[Kim H.]

[larson....@gmail.com]

Great story and pictures Kim! The bicycle is the perfect vehicle to take us to new places and explore the world around us.

Thanks for the contribution,

Randy in WI

[Kim H.]

Hi Randy,

I thank-you for you positive and encouraging words of my bicycle adventure yesterday. I appreciate them.

Here are a couple more pictures from yesterday's adventure.

Kim Hetzel.

[Kim H.]

Kim Hetzel.

[Randy Larson]

More often on rides I worry less about traveling far, but emphasize deep travel and exploration, often close to home. Your ride definitely qualifies as deep travel and your bike looks well-suited for exploration.

Randy

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[John Rinker]

Randy, I'm of the very same mind when it comes to riding- open to the deep exploration of my immediate surroundings. This is probably why I like climbing so much; the slow pace (for me) reminds me to look around and enjoy what it is I am riding through. 

Kim, You'll certainly have a golden trail there when the ties are pulled and the path is smoothed. Hopefully, all ready for Spring and Summer! Does this beautiful-looking trail pass along water (ponds, lakes, rivers) at any point?

Cheers, John

[Kim H.]

Hi John,

I am in future updates via email directly from the Yelm City Planner in their development and progress of this particular trail. The City of Yelm is working with the City of Roy in connecting this trail from both sides of the Nisqually River, of which is a dividing boundary between the two counties, Thurston and Pierce. See attached file for location and the direction of the old railroad line.

The stretch of railroad bed that I ventured on yesterday is about one and a half miles long ?  I live less than a mile from this trail.

The RR ties remain in place upon the RR bridge all the way to Roy currently.  I am sure that there are some ponds or creeks that are nearby along the trail on other side of the Nisqually River.

I wish the developers would leave the trail unpaved and in a natural state. It would be more appealing for me as well as other cyclists, as well as equestrians. Every trail in Thurston County is paved that I have rode on. The trails in Pierce County I do not have a full report on those.

Kim Hetzel.

[Kim H.]

[John Rinker]

Kim,

 Lot's of water, indeed! The Nisqually looks to be a beautiful river (from the Google images I found) and, on a hot summer day, a perfect spot for a mid-ride dip.

Yeah, I hear you on the pavement. I don't understand the need for it when there's already too much pavement as it is. 

Fingers crossed they keep it gravel.

Cheers, John

[Kim H.]

UPDATE: Yelm to Roy Trail in Washington State.

'Twas the other day, I decided to go check on the progress of this particular new bicycle/pedestrian trail in my backyard. It has been a couple of weeks or so, since I last did so. The last thing that was needed to be done was the application of asphalt pavement.

This article of the local online newspaper prompted me to go out and find out for myself:

https://www.yelmonline.com/stories/public-could-use-prairie-line-trail-by-end-of-the-month,334568?

Low and behold, I discovered that there was asphalt pavement laid down finally about a mile and one half ? all the way to near the Nisqually River railroad bridge. The City of Yelm workers did a very wonderful job in doing so.

Pictures are here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bXihkvWaLmqTGSAG6

Always open to new adventures on my bicycle. I'm waiting for the next phase of the development on the bridge and over into Pierce County to the town of Roy.