The Wind Turbines

It was a beautiful day yesterday with the temps approaching 60. Today it's snowing.    It was my turn to cook again, being a day that we are eating at home.   Next week Brandon will be back and we will have two chefs in the house.  I'll gladly relinquish the kitchen if he wants to take over for a while.   I'm thinking I'll be the head chef again within a week seeing Brandon will have a day job.

On the way to the market I took a spin to Little Bay so I could check out the wind turbine progress.  A few of the base units have been delivered and things are moving along.

On the way out of the bay area I stumbled upon a trail through the woods.  Never seen this before but then again I have only lived in this area 28 years.

Today's Menu
Mandarin orange and clove pork chops.

Planning the Summer Tour

I am trying to convince a couple of friends to try touring. There are a couple of supported ones within range but can cost a bit. Rails to Trails Sojourn  are doing the C&O canal towpath and Great Allegheny ride from Washington DC to Pittsburgh.  The other is a supported Erie Canal ride.   The first is almost a grand and the Erie Canal is $675.  Seems like a lot to those who have not done a supported ride before.  They do take care of everything.  Comfort is their business. Personally I prefer to tour self supported but am willing to do one more supported to get others into touring.

Another idea is to do a short three or four day tour of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard riding from hostel to hostel.  It would be a good bike ride but going away for a tour is much more fun I think.

Self supported on the Erie Canal in 2008

Supported tours can be nice also.  This is Austria in 2007

A tour is going to happen this summer.  Which one is the question.

Here is some music while your browsing.  Enjoy

Bentlys, Minis and Jazz.

Wifey had her car towed 47 miles to the Mini dealer when her engine light came on again.  Last week it was because of a faulty thermostat.  We didn't want to take the chance of driving that far thinking it was a recurrence of the same problem.  Turns out the gas cap was not on tight and the car failed the engine check enough times to activate the warning light.

While there I checked out some Bentlys and Porches.

Minis and Bentlys in the same lot.  Perfect

The town of Fairhaven, MA is celebrating it's bicentennial this year. Two hundred years ago today the town became incorporated and the festivities will continue throughout the year.

The main reason for today's ride was to get tickets to the Hugh Masekela concert on Friday night in New Bedford..  Check out the Youtube at the end of this post.  You may not recognize the name, but you know the music.
After purchasing the tickets it was time to return over the bridge and back to Fairhaven to get some food shopping done.  That explains the red pannier on the bike.

Two trucks, no firemen.  hmmmm.

The bridge traffic really gets backed up during the road construction.  Naturally there is one person in every vehicle so none of us have any real sympathy for these guys stuck in traffic.

Sunday Ride

Got together with Dave and his new bike for an easy ride to the neighboring town of Mattapoisett Ma.  Seems Dave knew everyone we encountered.   We spent a couple of hours riding 15 miles.  No hurry, just out for a ride.

Dave's new Felt commuter/touring bike

Dave on the left met this couple at Ned's Point light.  They talked and talked and talked. 

While they were yakking this guy drove up. 

I attended a function later in the afternoon and ran into a couple of fellow bikers.  John also went for a ride today and he was pleased that he averaged 17MPH riding alone.   A couple of our riding buddies are all consumed with how many miles and how fast they went. They don't ride unless it's a hammer fest.  I was like that for a few years when I first got back into biking.  I saw it as my mid life crisis and eventually got over it.  I'm sure John and his crew will come to the same conclusion soon enough.  Till then, we ride separately.

We visited one of the summer resort area's that had been completely wiped out when a huge storm surge came through during Hurricane Bob of 1991    The houses now sit on stilts that require them to be above the surge level of that storm.

Point Connett.  Mattapoisett, MA

Riding To Work....Sort Of

Coaching two high school soccer teams gives me something to do on Friday nights.  None of the indoor photos came out tonight.  Maybe next time.  Here are a couple from past matches.

 The Devil Dogs.  U-16s

I do get to do some pretty good evening and night riding.  Todays opener was 6PM and the High School game finished at 9PM.   The temps were moderate enough for a decent ride home.  The ride to the games was OK also.

Most of the churches in town are either closed or struggling. People have finally come around and are rejecting the religious crap.   This one was sold and is being put to a much better use.   The guy is converting it to a pretty neat house.

The rail line is being improved for the future commuter train to Boston.

Motorcyclist in deep shit. 

Not Bad For Mid February.

The first order of the day was to return a pair of shoes wifey bought me at Marshall's.   They were a bargain at $49 as opposed to the original price.  Marshall's has some pretty good deal on really good stuff if you hit it at the right time.  Bike parking is getting to be at a premium.  Things are looking up in Fairhaven.

On the return trip I stopped by the sight of the wind turbines being built.  There is a brouhaha going on in town with a group of people trying to stop the turbine project.

This is the first section delivered.  The windmill will be around 400' tall. 

The weather was really nice when I decided to go for a ride.  The sun was shining and the temps hovered in the low 50's.   Things cooled off a bid as I left the house.  It was kind of cold in spots but not really that bad.  I figure low to mid 40's.  Lots of folks were out doing "stuff".  One guy was cutting fallen trees that had been cleared from MUP after a nasty storm in the fall.   The golfers were out on the private course near the path.
Traffic was light and the summer tourist area was all quiet.

Getting some fire wood on the MUP

Golfer crossing.  The tea is to the right and the players have to hit their drive over the road to the fairway on the left. 

First hole at Reservation Gold Club in Mattapoisett, MA.

15th Green

US Rt. 6.  The old road to Cape Cod.

Lobster trap markers.  Every lobster man has his own branding on his traps marker.  Not unlike cattle out west. 

Quiet Mattapoisett Village

Good place for Bangers and Mash. 

Coffee Run

I do stop at McDonald's almost every day for coffee. There are a group of us who are regulars but like me, it's only for coffee.  I used to eat at fast food joints occasionally until I looked up how nuggets were made.  Leaving out the word chicken is purposeful.  I also never mention beef when talking about fast food burgers .

The More They Change, The More They Stay The Same

The weather report is we will get somewhere between 0 and 12 inches of snow.  There are three systems heading our way and our accumulation depends on where they merge.

February 13, 2007

February 11, 2012

Year Round Biking in Copenhagen

When bikes are accepted traffic calms.  Imagine how many more cars would be on these roads without the bikes being used in the video.  I would look like America I'll bet.

Riding the Service Area

 I usually exit the MUP at the shopping area and find it's much better to ride the service areas behind the stores.  The down side is that cars use this for a high speed shortcut to beat the traffic on the main roads.  When there is a run in, those in the cars are very agitated at being slowed down.  Now that guy who got caught at the red light might beat him to the main road again.

These signs are on every building and are completely ignored by the kids on skateboards.

 There are lots of alleys to get to the main entrances if you need to shop.  Just lock the bike to one of the poles and off you go.

I keep getting coupons for this place and keep being disappointed with the joint.  The last experience was the first one in five visits that wasn't bad.  It wasn't good, but all the previous times it has been bad.  Thing are improving.

We Call IT Utility Riding.

The weather has been closer to normal the past few days but even though it's February normal, riding is still somewhat comfortable.  Those who winter ride know that we get just as cold as anyone else but have learned to go with it.  A case in point is that I invited a friend to ride into town to do some errands.  He started to complain about the cold until I told him, I'm cold too but don't mind it.  Those who do athletic things like running and skiing or work outside learn to live with the cold.   So can bike riders. Personally I think it's a mental thing.  I have suffered being out in the cold , yet felt comfortable on days that were much colder than the so called suffering days.

The second ride was into New Bedford for indoor soccer with the high school kids.  The underclassmen at 5 and the first team at 7.  Riding over the bridge at 4PM was not bad at all.  Riding home at 8:30 pm was cold. Ironically I enjoyed the latter commute more.  A big part was the wind at my back and going down hill most of the way I'm sure.  But it was still kind of neat riding at night on February 3rd.

Afternoon ride through the neighborhood in Fairhaven, MA. 

Fairhaven High School, MA

I am a lumberjack and I'm OK. 

New Bedford, Ma has a fleet of more than 350 fishing boats.

Not much room for Ma's Mini Cooper with all those bikes and the bike shop.