Bike ride adventures

[47of74]

Went on one this afternoon and decided to do something different.

I clipped the GoPro to my rear cargo rack and had it facing backwards.  Turned out alright.  Of course the weather was a little bit less cooperative than expected.

[47of74]

TheToday's ride around Dubuque...

Stopped for a Blizzard at the one old Dairy Queen in town that only has outdoor season and is only open in warmer months.  Had to get my cookie dough blizzard fix.  The weather wasn't too bad today.

Even though the weather doesn't look the greatest tomorrow I'm going to try to get some riding in.  I'm making a Costco run tomorrow down to Davenport and they have some nice trails down there.  Which of couse means getting some riding in.

[47of74]

Had to make a Costco run today so I drove down to Davenport and went for a ride before the store opened.

I high tailed in back to the vehicle when I got the storm alert and it started raining when I was about a mile out.  The ride wound up being just over 25 miles total.  Good thing I got back when I did because it started raining really hard.  So hard I seriously considered driving an hour west to Coralville and going to that Costco since that one has an enclosed parking lot but the rain let up by the time I got to the Davenport store. 

 

[47of74]

Was going to go for a ride today but I found the hub had come out and disappeared somewhere between Davenport and Dubuque.  At least with the kind of back I have now the rest of the bike all stayed in place, otherwise if I had the kind where you hang the bike the whole front wheel would have probably gone off into the ditch and I wouldn't have known until I got home.

I took it to the shop and they said it would be a week and a half to get a new hub in and get it installed.  FUCK.  So I have no bike now for 1.5 weeks.

I went and tried out another bike today so I was able to get some riding in.  I clipped my GoPro to my helmet, which didn't work out as well as I would have wanted.

 

Gotta figure out how to handle not having a bike.  Might see about renting one for the interim. 

[47of74]

Rented a bike this weekend so I could get some riding in.  Went down to Clinton to check out their trail 

It was OK.  The bike I rented I felt I was in orbit and couldn't do too much with the seat to lower it.  I think they gave me a size too large.  I'll have to go down again when I have my regular bike and check out more of the town.  Still a couple days at least waiting for my regular bike to be ready. 

[Howl]

When I needed to get the fork rebuilt on my mountain bike in late April, my go-to bike shop told me to just send it to Fox for the rebuild.  They were, and still are, slammed with business.  Lots of bike shops in town have weeks-long turnarounds for repairs.  

Our local 9-mile paved bike path is over-run with walkers and bikers.  I haven't been on it since February.  

Great to see all the wonderful riding (dedicated, paved trails) in your part of the country. 

Edited May 31, 2020 by Howl

[CTRLZero]

My husband's bike needs a tune-up and new tires, so that's good information about bike shops possibly being overloaded with repair business. 

We haven't noticed a huge uptick in walkers/riders on our usual dedicated bike trails, except maybe near trailheads.  Once we get out a little ways from town, it's just the occasional encounter. 

Now that we don't drive to our usual large grocery store because of the line-ups, we ride our bikes to a small store to pick up perishables and transport them home in backpacks.  It's about a 10-mile round-trip.  I need to figure out some attachment to my back bumper for better transport of bulkier items.  Some day.

I love seeing the bike paths around Iowa.  Thanks, @47of74!

[47of74]

Got a ride in this afternoon before taking the rental back to the shop.

 Seat was still a bit high for my tastes but otherwise it was a perfect day for riding.

[47of74]

Rented another bike since they don't know when mine will be ready yet.  Went for an almost 20 mile ride after work today.

 

 

 

(Composing the nasty gram to Specialized now).  The one I rented this time is a medium and is much nicer.  I was able to adjust the seat to a comfortable height which means I'm not going to bang my head on the International Space Station riding around.

[47of74]

Got my trusty steed back today so I was able to return the rental early.  And of course take said steed out for a 16 mile ride this afternoon.

 

[47of74]

Drove up to Cassville, Wisconsin after work today and rode my bike around up there. 

It's a really nice area.  The town is about 45 miles from me.  This afternoon I really took the time to explore the town.  I've been there before - usually after crossing the river on the ferry but never hung out overly long up there.

[47of74]

Went on a Heritage Trail ride out to Dyersville to hit the brewery today.  A little over 52 miles total.

Here's the map of today's adventure...

Spoiler

 

 

[47of74]

Today's jaunt around town after work....

 

[47of74]

Given how nice it was today and how late the sun is staying up these days I went up to Platteville after work and rode the trail from there to Belmont and back.

Almost 22 miles total.  Supposed to be really nice the next few days. 

I love riding.  Gets me away from the latest misadventures of the #BunkerBitch for a couple hours.

[47of74]

Went down to Cascade, Iowa after work this afternoon and rode around down there.

Cascade holds a special place in my cardiac pumping unit.  My dad's side of the family came originated out of Cascade after coming to the US.

[47of74]

Made another beer run from Graf out to Dyersville and back.

 

Just over 30 miles total.  Kind of cool out today, more like late April or early May than June today.  Started raining just as I got back to Graf.

[47of74]

Today I went in and did one of the routes I normally did on Sundays. 
 

 
AND I seemed to set off EVERY small canine alarm in the area. 

[47of74]

This evening's bike ride just across the river in Grant County, Wisconsin.

 

 

[47of74]

This afternoon's ride. 

 

Battery crapped out about 1/2 way through so I did not get the whole ride this time.

[47of74]

Went down to Cascade after work Thursday evening and rode around for a bit.

 

[47of74]

And I went over to Galena this morning to get a ride in before it started raining. 

 Got caught in a bit of downpour heading back but it pretty much stopped by the time I got back in to town.  Decent enough ride.

[47of74]

Went down to Thomson, Illinois today and rode on the Great River Trail down to Fulton, crossed over to Clinton, Iowa before heading back.

Weather turned out to be perfect for riding today.

[47of74]

Rode around Dubuque's North End yesterday.

 

Pleasant ride.  It was just over 19 miles long.

[47of74]

And today's ride around Dubuque.

 

I cut this one a bit short because it looked like a down pour was coming.  Sure enough it did about 15 minutes after I finished.

[47of74]

Got a nice one in this evening.

Weather was pretty good this evening for riding.  Temperature and wind were just right for a change.  Since I had hosed myself down with bug soother before hand I didn't have a bunch of bugs on me.