June 2026 Pics & Rides

[Steve]

Made it out early last evening to kick off summer (It starts in June doncha know)

The route has become a favorite for early evening summer rides - cruising along the French Broad with a few climbs up onto the low ridges that align the valley. Nothing epic, just pleasant.

Steve in AVL

[Dan]

As a counterpoint to Steve’s photo of a magical start to summer, I present to you a view of the start of winter!

I had it in my mind to ride up to Stirling in the hills, even though it was forecast to rain. Sure enough, 3/4 of the way up it did start to rain - but rain is fine when you’re already out on the bike. Neither the bike or I were fazed.

[John Rinker]

As a retired educator, I can empathize. Happy Summer, and enjoy that beautiful bicycle, Steve! 

Cheers, John

[Charles Staunton]

2 Clems and a Hunq climbed Mt. Washington (in Los Angeles)

Thank you

-Charlie 

Virgil Normal

4157 Normal Ave.

Los Angeles, Ca 90029

(323)741-8489

he...@virgilnormal.com

On Jun 5, 2026, at 7:20 PM, Steve <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

Made it out early last evening to kick off summer (It starts in June doncha know)

The route has become a favorite for early evening summer rides - cruising along the French Broad with a few climbs up onto the low ridges that align the valley. Nothing epic, just pleasant.

Steve in AVL

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[Richard Rose]

Also a retired educator. Summer is still special.:) Bedford Michigan trail & Luna Pier Michigan on Lake Erie. Gus is happy everywhere.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 6, 2026, at 11:56 AM, John Rinker <jwri...@gmail.com> wrote:



As a retired educator, I can empathize. Happy Summer, and enjoy that beautiful bicycle, Steve! 

Cheers, John

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[Dan]

After the drizzle the other day, the weather this morning was too good to not go for a ride. The Bar68 was great - I mostly forgot it was there, which is the highest praise I can have for any bike part  

[Charles Staunton]

Me and my Hillborne hike-a-biking from the Hollywood sign to the water tower atop of trash truck in Griffith Park.

Thank you

-Charlie 

Virgil Normal

4157 Normal Ave.

Los Angeles, Ca 90029

(323)741-8489

he...@virgilnormal.com

On Jun 5, 2026, at 7:20 PM, Steve <steve...@gmail.com> wrote:

Made it out early last evening to kick off summer (It starts in June doncha know)

The route has become a favorite for early evening summer rides - cruising along the French Broad with a few climbs up onto the low ridges that align the valley. Nothing epic, just pleasant.

Steve in AVL

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<IMG_2989..jpeg>

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[ascpgh]

I rode with a friend on the GAP-C&O, Pittsburgh to DC, and took AMTRAK home after a long delay of our train arriving at Union Station. I recommend the Dubliner across the street on such a nice day. Their shepherd's pie is very nice. 

Had very heavy, unforecasted rain just out of Cumberland, validating fenders and flaps for all of the reasons. My backup seat cover was VERY appreciated by my friend and his Brooks saddle.

  

Let's say my cleanup before dinner in Hancock was much less time-consuming. A really great trip, we stayed ahead of the river crest and on the trail the whole distance, missing out on the road detours that come with water obstructions in the rainy season. 

Andy Cheathaam

Pittsburgh

[Steve]

Fenders!!!  Andy, your pics of the two bikes tell the story.

Steve in AVL

[Kim H.]

@Andy,

What a beautiful trail you rode on ! ...all the trees and grasses so green. 

Thank you for sharing. 

Kim Hetzel 

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[Drew Freeman]

Just getting my Atlantis built up!

[Eric Marth]

Recent ride here in Virginia 

[Steve]

Eric,  great pic of your Raleigh reclining among the daisies!  Evey bit as alluring as Venus among the roses ; - )

Steve in AVL 

[Kesler Roberts]

Looks like you were traveling light!  I rode DC to Cumberland a few years ago staying in lock houses but still brought way too much stuff.

On Monday, June 8, 2026 at 5:21:31 AM UTC-4 ascpgh wrote:

[ascpgh]

Great rides and pictures, Eric. Spring is such a great time for being out.

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[ascpgh]

We did travel light, staying in cheap motels and B&Bs to maximize our time and early-season riding stamina. There are always unknowns when you head out for five days. Luckily, we had zero mechanical or equipment issues, only a huge amount of rain over a couple of hours that made the far side of the Paw Paw tunnel like nothing I'd ever seen before. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh

[Jason Fuller]

From the first half of the month I offer my two Rivs doing very different things: the Bombadil on a camping trip on June 8th, and my Hillborne in summer mode on June 11. Through the endless permutations each bike has been through in the past 6-7 years, these two setups are quite excellent 

[J]

It's a bit shocking seeing your Bombadil with that huge Fab's Chest on the back and front. I rarely ever use either of my Fabios chest bags and forget how gigantic they actually are, which is likely why I don't use them much. Both my former Sam H and Appaloosa were unbothered by fully stuffed front and back bags thanks to the stoutness of the tubing I guess, but the first time I loaded my Romanceur up the same way it became an al dente noodle and not pleasant to ride on anything that wasn't flat and smooth. Summer in BC looks rad.

[Jason Fuller]

The large on the back is definitely huge! I also have a pair of Buckhorn canvas panniers, but I really like the two-Fabs setup for camping for the simplicity, versus having a variety of bags to manage (and try to remember which has what thing..). That huge rear bag fits my full sleep system including some creature comforts, with room for my puffy jacket and sundry kits. 

The double top tube is generally overkill, but I do think it becomes a useful addition when loaded up for camp! 

[J]

Oh yeah, both my bikes were double top tubed as well.

[larson....@gmail.com]

Yesterday's exploration in the Driftless area. Some great roads, steep climbs and country cemeteries.

Randy in WI

[russrob...@gmail.com]

Did an overnight from Richmond to Chickahominy State Park in Williamsburg, VA this past weekend. The campground was really nice. We were right on the river, and there were surprisingly very few bugs bothering us.

The ride itself was very hot. We rode the Virginia Capital Trail the entire way which is really nice, but some stretches are completely exposed to the sun which was rough for a 90 degree day. Definitely interested in doing this again when its cooler.

I also switched to flat bars a couple days before the trip to try them out. I think they're nice for a shorter ride, but I am definitely more comfortable on a drop bar setup.

Russ

[Kesler Roberts]

Nice! My wife and I camped at that spot the first night of our coast to coast ride in 2003.  

Today I rode from home in Worcester, MA into Boston.  I have wanted to do that since we moved up here years ago.  I took a roundabout route to avoid some of the sprawl. Here's a photo at the Wachusett Reservoir dam in Clinton.

[Jonathan Carmack]

Ford crossing on my Appaloosa

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[Dan]

Went for a ride with my friend on his new Riv. 

I’m sure he’ll post more about it once he’s had a chance to ride it a bit!

 

[Bill Lindsay]

I took my custom Falconer "Bambi" out in the nether regions of Richmond, CA on Juneteenth.  That made it my 21st different bicycle to log over 1000 miles on Strava.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Brian Turner]

I did some urban exploration this morning and found a creek crossing that I’d always heard about but never knew exactly how to access it. The seasoned commuters use this to avoid some pretty nasty main roads here in town.

Brian

Lexington KY

On Jun 20, 2026, at 11:56 AM, Bill Lindsay <tape...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Kim H.]

@Brian,

What a wonderful picture !

...back into the wild.

Kim Hetzel. 

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[John Rinker]

Lay me down in cool waters! Beautiful photo, Brian!

Cheers, John

[Jay]

Really interesting photos this month!  I haven't contributed yet, but planning to some time after tomorrow's father's day (early morning) ride.

Brian - beautiful Hillborne and what a wonderful location.  Looks refreshing, even though it might be smoking hot down there.  Your saddle looks like a Berthoud, is it an Aspin/Aravis?  I've been curious about those, I like the profile, no rivets up top, smooth lines, but not sure the width is right for me.

Bill - I'm not familiar with that brand, Falconer, but that's a nice looking steed.  21st bike at 1k miles on Strava, I bet you've had other bikes too, just weren't using Strava at the time ;-)

Ford crossing lol, better to not be clipped in!

Otherwise, lot's of great bikes, scenes, and I love the few with DT shifters (I'm thinking of going to back to them on my Roadini)

[Rudy Molinek]

It's been amazing biking weather for the trails here in Madison, WI. A great day to take out my Hillborne with the little one, and apparently other Rivendell folks agreed. Shoutout to John (Road Standard) and the Bleriot owner from St. Paul (I didn't catch his name, sorry!) who also decided to ride to Working Draft this afternoon! At one point I think over 1/3 of the bikes on the rack there were Rivs... And not to forget the Rambouillet rider I met at Destination Bicycles this morning. 

[Brian Turner]

Thanks, everyone!
Jay, the saddle on my Hillborne is a Berthoud Mente. This is their “upright” saddle. It’s 180mm wide.

Brian

[Jason Fuller]

145km on the Hillborne yesterday, my longest ride in over a year. To my surprise I felt energetic right to the end. A good portion of the ride was on gravel with full sun exposure, and the spots that I didn't apply / reapply sunscreen very well are quite evident today. 

Really enjoying the Hillborne in this stripped-back configuration, I'm quite surprised how much faster it feels. 

[Brian Turner]

Jason, I always appreciate your Rivs and your sharing of them. Both your Sam and your Bomba have influenced and informed my personal Riv decisions more than you can ever know. Thank you for sharing with us!

Brian

Lexington KY

On Jun 21, 2026, at 1:41 PM, Jason Fuller <jtf.f...@gmail.com> wrote:



145km on the Hillborne yesterday, my longest ride in over a year. To my surprise I felt energetic right to the end. A good portion of the ride was on gravel with full sun exposure, and the spots that I didn't apply / reapply sunscreen very well are quite evident today. 

Really enjoying the Hillborne in this stripped-back configuration, I'm quite surprised how much faster it feels. 

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[Jason Fuller]

Brian that means a lot, thank you!  I should add, this ride put me over 14,000 km on the Hillborne, and the Bombadil surpassed 12,000 km recently, too - these bikes have far more mileage than any other bikes I've owned, a testament to how much I enjoy riding them! My next highest mileage bike past or present is the Twenty but only because I've owned it for 18 years now 

[Steve]

I managed to mark the Summer Solstice yesterday with an evening spin along the French Broad River.  Of course, I just had to take a few pics in the 'golden hour' light.

Steve in AVL

[Bill Lindsay]

Last Fall my family did a short trip to Japan, and one of the fun surprises was that we stumbled upon a Rin Project store, which was freaking adorable.  I bought a few little things, including a great cycling cap (with cats) and a HAIRNET helmet!  It's totally cosplay to run a hairnet helmet, but as cosplay gear goes, it's pretty sweet.  Anyway, yesterday's Charlie H Gallop ride featured my lovely new hairnet helmet and cats cycling cap.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Patrick Moore]

Nice drop-barred Sam. How long is the extension on that stem? How does the short stem affect handling?

It would be nice to know that very short stems can make very-long top-tubed Rivendells drop bar friendly.

Patrick Moore, thinking vaguely of a drop barred Clem.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Kevin Fasing]

Another Sam. Stopping to say hi to the elk on the way up to 12,000 feet. Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mtn National Park. Highly recommend.

Kevin in CO

[Ryan Fleming]

That cat cap is soooo cute, Bill. Reminds me of a Brendan Fraser movie, Rental Family (https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rental_family) set in Tokyo. Riv/bike content...sometimes you see cool bikes zipping around. Cat content...A Tokyo street festival with Hello Kittys and other felines galore about half-way through the movie. If you liked  the 2023 movie Perfect Days, you might like Rental Family.

There! Bikes, cats and movies...some of my favorite things

[Steve]

Kevin, my wife and I did a bit of hiking in RMNP years ago, but I wasn't familiar with the Old Fall River Road.  I just did a Google image search to check it out - WOW!  Looks like a serious bit of climbing. 

Steve in AVL