4.6.2011 Ride: Congratulations to Adam and Megan!

Adam has been a regular follower on the blog and was helpful when I was trying to figure out routes to take in the Little Rock and Conway area.  He happened to mention that in his engagement pictures, Megan's bicycle is included.  (To his chagrin, having his bike included was nixed.)  I thought that it was cool that they had included a bike in their engagement pictures and asked if I could include one in a post. 

Thank you Adam & Megan.  And, a special thanks to the photographer, Karen Segrave for giving me permission to use the photograph.  Karen's website is www.kesweddings.com.

It seems that, quite by accident, Adam and Megan's picture is setting the tone of today's post.   All the pictures today are of people and bicycles.  After cooking for Community Meals this morning, I headed for the bike trails in town.  As I was coming out from under the railroad trestle, coming down from atop was a cyclist on a chopper bicycle.  Sailing around the tight curve with his arms up high on the handlebars and sweeping gracefully around the curve, he was poetry in motion.  I was just glad I was far enough down the curve that we didn't collide.  It wasn't until he passed that I thought of getting a picture of him with his bike.  I turned around and gave chase but I never caught view of him.  Alas, an opportunity missed.

It must have been a good 30 minutes later when I headed back down the trail that I came across Mitch on the side of the trail.  He very obligingly posed for me with his custom made bike. Thanks again, Mitch.













This woman passed me underneath the narrow underpass of another train trestle. My first thought was not of taking a picture but not getting whacked by the branches sticking out of her pack.  Once out of the underpass, I did think picture and quickly did an U-turn.  I thought of stopping her and asking what the branches were for but decided to just snap a picture from behind.  This was not an easy task as there was a 25mph headwind.





Back at that same trestle, was this gentleman lying on the concrete wall. When I passed him, I saw that he was doing a small sketch of the tunnel.  I thought grabbing a picture of him from behind sketching would be interesting. Now, I just needed to have someone taking a picture of me taking a picture of him, sketching the tunnel.  Something about him being all dressed in black against the other lines and shapes and shades of white and grey caught my attention.








The tunnel that he was sketching.

And, one last parting shot of a mother and son.













I did talk with Jeff this evening.  He is now in Coffeyville, KS.  By Friday, he plans to be in Winfield, KS and meet some distant relatives for the very first time.  They are looking forward to his arrival and it will certainly give Jeff a welcome break from the relentless wind.

Today's Ride: 72mins.  12.63 miles.  75 degrees.  25-30mph winds.  Miles YTD:  1,772.58

4.5.2011 Ride: Seeing Jeff Off

A very interesting day of varying emotions.  I woke early again, 4:20 and made the most of rising sooner than I wanted.  The early morning walk was beautiful even though the temperature had dropped to 32.  No wind, stars out and even the Milky Way was visible.  The Big Dipper sat in the upper western sky looking large and full.  In the east on the horizon and through the trees was a bright red glow.  Surely an aircraft.  But as I walked down the road, the light didn't move nor waver or blink.  Moving into a spot where it was no longer hidden by the trees, I could see that it was definitely stationary.  It was Venus, shining bright red as if it was a miniature sunrise.

Dinner last night with Jeff, Rachel and our neighbor John (Carol had class)

Appetizer

Dates, slitted down the middle and stuffed with Manchego cheese and celery sticks.
Strawberries

Main Course
Blackened salmon

Mashed cauliflower casserole.
Stir-fry carrots and green beans

Fruit bowl
Some mighty fine wine (thank you, John)

Breakfast this morning

Homemade hash browns
Homemade waffles
Eggs over easy
Bacon
Nuclear coffee (Jeff's description)

After a detour to bring Lupe back home, we managed to push off by 9:30.  Jeff planned to make it to a campground near Jay, OK and I was going to escort him through Fayetteville and to the western outskirts of Tontitown.  We drove to downtown Fayetteville yesterday afternoon and I thought following the bike trail around Lake Fayetteville would nicely round out his Fayetteville experience.  Jeff was not disappointed and duly impressed by the trail.  He said that it reminded him of the trails in Switzerland where he said I would be in bike heaven.  When he described the dedicated, well-marked bike trails that crisscrossed through the country, I was ready to hop on a plane and spend the summer there.  Of course, that presented a slight dilemma for me as I would probably end up missing a day of bike riding traveling there and back.  Hmm.  There is of course the other small matter that it is very expensive in Switzerland.  Well, the daydream was fun while it lasted.

I ended up riding about 24 miles out with Jeff.  We stopped on the quiet country road, a couple of hundred yards shy of Hwy 412, sat and had a snack before parting ways.  We had met less than 24 hours ago but we had developed a strong bond and it was sad to watch Jeff ride off.

I hadn't taken any pictures on the way out and I wasn't sure if I felt like taking any on the way back.  But shortly after leaving Jeff, I came across this WELCOME sign on a house that was made out of horse shoes.  It made me smile and gave me my photo subject for the rest of the ride: objects that said "Welcome into my world."  It seemed to be a fitting way to say goodbye to Jeff and the idea, the hunt, lifted my emotions.

I'm not quite sure how these clouds fitted the bill.  There was something about their length and wispy look, particularly the blown back curl on the upper left end.

This bull stands atop a sign welcoming folks to the Rocking Chair Ranch.

The can itself doesn't say "Welcome," but the story behind it does.  It was the last few miles of my return trip home and I just turned off Skillern onto Old Wire.  A white haired woman lowered herself from a riding mower and walked with some difficulty towards an object on the ground.  I realized as she was picking up the can that I hadn't picked up my one litter piece of the day.  I pulled alongside her mower just as she was hobbling back to it and I quickly explained why I would take the can.  Rather than look at me strangely, she smiled broadly and readily handed the can over to me, telling me that she had the nickname "litterbird" or some such in 8th grade because she was always picking up trash.  That impressed me as that had to be about 60-65 years ago when people thought nothing of tossing a bottle out of their car window.  I thought about asking to take her picture but the moment was too precious and I was enjoying the easy going little micro-relationship we were having.  She definitely had a very welcoming smile.

Have a very safe journey, my friend.

Today's Ride:  4hrs. 24mins.  45.17 miles.  42-68 degrees.  20mph wind.  Miles YTD:  1,760.08

4.4.2011 Ride: Germany to Placerville, CA

A day of much anticipation.  Jeff Boggess contacted me a few days ago through warmshowers.com inquiring if he could stay the night with us. Warmshowers.com is a site for bicyclists looking for places to spend the night.  Jeff was on a great adventure, having started his bike ride in Germany, making his way through Switzerland, France, Spain, across the Mediterranean to the northern edge of Morocco, down to the southern border of Morocco, to the Canary Islands where he hitched a ride on a sailboat to the Caribbean, flying to Ft. Lauderdale and making his way to good ol' Arkansas on his way to his hometown of Placerville, CA, which is about 60 miles east of Sacramento.  He was in Huntsville this morning.  I was awaiting his call and going to leave from here to meet him half way and ride with him back to our house.  It wasn't until about noon before the rain let up but the wind was really howling and the temperature continued to drop from its high of 49 at 6:00 AM.  I got the call from Jeff at 1:00 and headed out.

Beverly

On the way, I made a quick stop at the convenience store in Goshen to buy some peanuts.  The cashier mentioned how her daughter got a kick seeing bicyclists riding by.  We talked a few moments and then I asked if I could take her picture for the blog.  Fortunately, she said yes as she struck a great pose.  Thanks, Beverly!

Some colorful litter of the day.

The day was in strong contrast when I did the exact ride yesterday.  The high yesterday turned out to be 85, the high today, 49. Yesterday there was sun and today it was all clouds and a light drizzle during the ride.  However, the wind was stronger today but came from the north as opposed from the south as it did yesterday.  Really had to struggle at times to keep the bike on the road as the crosswinds were quite intense at times. 

But the ride went well and I met up with Jeff just shy of where Hwy 45 & Hwy 412 meet.  We had described our bikes to one another for easy recognition but that wasn't really necessary as we were the only bicyclists on the road, as we expected.  The traffic was moderate, slowing enough at times for us to ride side-by-side to talk and get to know one another.  We stopped by the store in Goshen to say a quick hello to Beverly and then on for the last four miles to home. 

Jeff Boggess

We both had the same reaction as we pulled off Hwy 45 and on to my street: we hadn't realized how stressful riding on Hwy 45 with cars zipping by only a foot or two away at 50-60 mph was until we were off the highway and on the calm of a side road. 

Riding south for the first time, with the wind at our backs, it felt so calm and peaceful. The rows of white clouds in a blue field in front of us was a most welcomed sight.  And, when we pulled up to my house where Lupe, my dog, gave us a very hearty welcome.

Jeff chilling on the couch, watching the NCAA basketball championship game.

Today's Ride: 2hrs. 19mins.  25.18 miles.  45-48 degrees.  25mph winds.  Miles YTD:  1,714.91.

4.3.2011 Ride: Capturing an Essence

With a busy day lying in wait, my plan was to head out for my ride by 7:00 AM.  Moving slowly when I woke, that grand plan seemed in doubt.  But something motivated me to move.  Maybe the pleasant temperature reading of 65...or the howling wind.  To my pleasant surprise, I was outside by 7:10 and perhaps it was the wind or something about the air that beckoned me.  The atmosphere felt electrified and immediately charged me up.  I thought about how easily four walls and a roof can isolate us from the excitement of the outside world. 

As soon as I turned out of the driveway, I saw a disproportionately HUGE sun through the trees.  I raced to the end of the road to capture what I could of the sunrise, knowing that the size of the sun would be much smaller because of the changing perspective.  Still,  it was quite a sight.  I felt even more energized.

I was looking around, to see if there was something to take a picture of that might capture the wind and magnetism.  The wisp of cirrus clouds, with the aura of the sunrise in the corner, caught my eye and, just as I was taking the picture, a bird soared through.  It's a humble representation of what I was trying to convey.

Rail fence along Hwy 45 in Goshen valley.

Expansive...seemed to be the word of the day.  The world felt open and wide and wanted to show itself in big broad strokes. 
I was riding easily, with the wind slightly at my back but sometimes changing to hit me broadside. And, that early in the morning, the traffic was very light. 

Hwy 45. About 2 miles east of Goshen.

About 4-5 miles east of Goshen, is the remnants of the town of Mayfield.  My google search on any history of the site came up empty, but I did come across an interesting tidbit of a person named Mayfield down in Mena, AR, which is about three hours south. 

Mary Victor (M. V.) Mayfield was a woman who came to Mena in 1918 and practiced medicine in the guise of a man for seven or eight years.  She later claimed that her gender deception began in England—her parents needed a son, not a daughter, to “protect property rights,” so they dressed her as a boy and raised her in disguise. Mayfield carried the masquerade into adulthood by smoking a pipe and drinking a little liquor when it was available. She explained her never needing to shave by a past application of an “old Indian remedy” that made the daily chore unnecessary. Its formula was, of course, kept secret.
Mayfield arrived in Mena in 1918. She lived and conducted a medical practice in rented rooms above the Central Meat Market at 709 Mena Street, passing as a man before friends, patients, and other doctors. However, in 1926, at age seventy-nine, she was found very ill in her quarters. Dr. W. C. Vandiver was called to treat Mayfield. When her condition declined, her caregivers discovered her secret while giving her a bath. (Source: encyclopediaofarkansas.net)

I continued on, planning to turn around at the intersection of Hwy 45 & Hwy 295.  When I got there and stopped to take off a couple of layers, I was struck by the magnificence of everything:  the sign post right next to me, the mundane house across the road, the pastures, whatever.  Many times when I ride and then stop, particularly when it's the "middle of nowhere," the spot seems to take on a kind of reverence.  Out of all the places on Earth, in the solar system, in the Universe, I am right there.  It's a very sacred feeling.

Heading back, the wind was definitely stronger but not as bad as I feared as it was mostly hitting me broadside.  At one point, I had to lean heavily to the left to stay on course and keep from being blown off the road. 
I was thinking about dogs and cameras.  If dogs had invented cameras they surely would have created them so that the main sensory image it recorded was smell.  I wouldn't mind such a camera.  But the camera I would have liked today is one that captures an essence, a presence, the wonder that comes from riding upon the chicken barns in the picture and conveys the sense of awe from viewing such an ordinary sight.  What is happening at that moment with lighting, air, wind to create such a high?  About a mile further down the road, the incredible high I was experiencing the first half of the morning was plateauing. I was left to experience the rest of my ride on a simpler level of joy.

I had passed this sunshade during the very early part of my ride and I made a point of marking landmarks so that I could find it on the way back.  As strong as the wind was, I was surprised it hadn't blown away.  But, the suction cups that it uses to anchor itself to a window, seemed to be entangled in the grass.  It folded up into a compact size and seemed a very fitting piece of litter for today's ride.




Today's Ride:  2hrs. 3mins.  21.48 miles.  65 - 71 degrees.  22mph wind gusting to 30. 
Miles YTD: 1,689.73.

4.2.2011 Ride: Roadies, Ted, Scorpion, Barns & Banana

Remember this picture of a banana.

It was exciting to wake up to no rain or cloudy skies and the prospect of a warm day of riding.  The morning walk offered some great pictures.  Click on the sunrise shot to get the full effect of the purple along the horizon. 

This is a very basic horse barn under daylight.  A soft morning dawn light can works wonders on a building.











Today was the first ride of the season for the Roadies, a bicycling group that Dorothy Mangold started about 5 years ago with just a handful of riders. Last year the group blossomed, averaging almost 30 riders per outing.  And, this past winter, we even had our very own Roadies' bike jersey made.  We met at Savoy, a small community out Hwy 16 and just before Lake Wedington.

Barn in Savoy

I googled Savoy to find some history, but my short research only came up with the fact that Savoy had a baseball team back in 1917.

Savoy Baseball Team 1917. 

Ted Arriola

There were about 20 of us for this first ride.  My friend, Ted, who I will be joining on the Texas road trip on April 15th was there,  He is one of those folks that should be saluted for riding his bike to work every day no matter what the weather.  His coldest ride was when it was 8 degrees and he's been riding to work since 2007.

The Roadies

It was definitely a good thing that Ted was there since we have very similar riding paces, which tends to be much slower than the rest of the Roadies.  This gets compounded by my new love to stop and take photographs for the blog.  Fortunately, Ted did not have a problem with that and so we feel into a good groove. 

First Photo Stop:  Barn.  Viney Grove Rd.

Shortly before meeting up with the rest of the group in Prairie Grove, we came across Carolyn doing yard work.  She greeted us with a big smile and that was reason enough for me to want to stop and ask if I could take her picture.  She's a native of Lincoln, AR and lived where she is now for 30 years. 







When we arrived in Prairie Grove, the rest of the group was ready to move on (as I said, our pace is much slower).  I told Dorothy not to worry, they should go ahead on and not wait for us, as Ted and I would be just fine.  We had a snack and moved on, exploring a road neither of us had been on.

At one point we passed some elaborate lawn sculpture.  I thought the scorpion was especially intriguing.

The new road eventually led to more familiar roads and back to where our vehicles were packed.  A most enjoyable outing.

. 

Remember the banana?  This is what a mildly green banana looks like after leaving it in the windshield of a car for 3 hours in the hopes of it ripening by the time I get back.  Outside temperature: 76.  The banana was very bloated and I don't know how much longer before it might have exploded.
(Sorry, Jane.  The picture I took of you holding the banana was out of focus.)





Today's Ride:  2hrs. 59mins.  30.98 miles.  55-76 degrees.  Miles YTD: 1,668.25

4.1.2011 Ride: Yes, Virgina. There is a sun.

The forecast called for sun and a slight chance of a shower in the morning but it did seem like an April Fool's joke when I prepared to go for my morning walk while it was till dark and I heard some strange noise outside: rain.   It only lasted a few minutes but rained again for a few minutes a couple of hours later.  However, by the time I headed out on the bike, the sun was indeed out and the temperature was warming.  I checked the biking log and the last time we had seen sun was a week ago.
In preparation for the road trip April 16th, I carried two full panniers and a handlebar bag for a total of 30lbs.  The Jim Beam bottle added two pounds.  I found it within the first mile.  A very pretty piece of litter.

Even with the sun, I was in a bit of a melancholy mood and moving sluggishly.
I came across this Blue Heeler on Habberton which I have encountered before.  He has given me a small chase but nothing really threatening.  I stopped to say hello and I love this first photo of him because he seems so threatening. 

But, after a bit of sweet talking, he lied down and stretched, feeling more comfortable with my presence.  However, I never could get him to come over and say hello. 

Shed on Guy Terry Rd.

There was a decent headwind and I had to adjust to the load I was carrying, especially in front. 
This was a destination trip, which was probably a good thing in my given state of mind.  But, I just tried to sit back and enjoy the ride, not worrying about how quickly I arrived at my destination.

Riding on the trail around lake Fayetteville, I was surprised at the amount of litter. I guess I expected more from the people who use the trail.

It was feeling like a slow photo day and I was looking around to see what ordinary every day thing that I might take a picture of.  I spotted the lowly dandelions, hopped off the bike and laid flat on the ground to try and capture a different perspective.  I guess I could have plucked it out of the ground and held it up to get the same picture but it wouldn't have felt the same.

On the way back, I stopped again to see if I could capture a picture of this white barn that stood surrounded by modern homes.  I would have had to walk into someone's back yard to get a good picture but I wasn't up to going that far today.  As I was about to get back on the bike, I spotted the white plastic ring.  This reminded me of Miriam, my brother-in-law Walter's friend, whom I met on my last trip to Atlanta.  She takes flattened debris, mostly metal I believe, and turns them into little miniature works of art. Though, I am not sure if she would make use of plastic.   I googled her to see if I could find any of her work but only came up with one item, which is called Horse Warrior.

I believe that's a piece of fungi on the top.

She also makes what are called Ketubahs, which are Jewish marriage contracts.  Hers are beautifully designed and some of her work can be seen at www.customketubah.com/index.html.

I was passing a small bank on the side of the road that looked basically weedy and rocky but the red plants scattered among the rocky soil caught my eye.  It was interesting to see that each one of these plants had a center green leader with the red ones spread out in a circle around it.

I recall from my AR - GA trip that sometimes I would need to ride a couple of hours to get into a good rhythm.  Today was such a day as I didn't really feel energized until into my return trip.  Having the wind at my back certainly didn't hurt!

Today's Ride:  2hrs 40mins.  25.42 miles.  57-64 degrees. Miles YTD:  1,637.28

3.31.2011 Ride: Short but Wet

Rain looked imminent, with the radar map showing a large of patch of green off to the west.  There was the opportunity to ride in the morning before the rains came but Carol was heading off to Manitoba for a business plan competition with one of her student teams and I wanted to be here so see her off.  The rain was supposed to stop later in the day but, then, Rachel had a soccer game.  Sure enough, when I did get out, within a few minutes it began to rain.  That was fine as I was geared up in rain pants and rain coat and riding on the mountain bike for stability. 
Getting some good pictures felt as if it would be a real challenge as I've been riding the neighborhood quite a bit lately.  I decided to take the Big Hill down and see if there might be something special there.  I passed some large scat on the road at first thinking it might be a bear's but on closer inspection I think it was just a large coyote's (not that I planned to take a picture of the scat, even if it was a bear's).  The chairs were still there and continue to bring a smile to my face every time I pass them. 

I thought it would be interesting to take a picture of the chairs at least once a month to document any changes that occur around them.

Heading down to the bottom of the road to the right, I stopped to capture a view through this log.  It was traipsing through the brush to get this picture that led me to the more interesting pictures of the day.  I mildly cursed the thorns that were grabbing at my rain pants when I realized I had my next subject.

Rachel and I have discussed why blackberry canes would have thorns in the first place since it seems as if a plant would want to make it easy for its fruit to be had.  I was thinking today that maybe the canes themselves were a tasty treat to some animals.

Riding in the rain felt nice and I was staying warm except for my hands.  The gloves I had on were windproof but not waterproof and they were getting soaked.  Also, it felt as if it was getting colder.  When I got back home, I saw that it had indeed dropped from 46 degrees when I left to 41 degrees.  And, it's not getting any warmer.  As I write this at 2:30 PM, it is down to 39.
But, cold hands and all, I had to stop and take a picture of this bag that has been caught on the barbed wire for some time now.  Today, however, it seemed to have straightened out so that the lettering could be easily read and provided what I thought was a bit more irony in litter.  I had already picked up my litter for today and decided to leave this one for a day or two more.

"SMART"

I'm looking forward to the next couple of days when the temperatures are supposed to be close to 70.

Today's Ride:  63mins.  7.85 miles.  46-41 degrees.  Steady light rain.  Miles YTD:  1,611.86