Recreation « Roadside Mysteries

Archive for the ‘Recreation’ Category

Tour de Fat Bloco Sound!

Sunday, August 31st, 2014

New Belgium’s Tour de Fat was on!

…And at the corner near the trolley depot

It was Fort Collins’ premier Samba Band, Bloco em Foco out in the morning for the annual bicycle parade with maybe 20,ooo on hand to see & hear the FoCo BloCo!

Lots of dancing going on

We set-up on the corner where we figured all of the parade would be making its way into City Park so we had a great location and even maybe a little space for dancing near the corner. The New Belgium ‘organizers’ were not sure where the parade was going to go and the police in charge had their own idea for the parade route, so I am sure next year won’t be any different. If we think of it, we will choose this spot again for next year’s TDF. The band and the riders all had a blast!

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12 days until RAGBRAI

Monday, July 7th, 2014

And what do I have to show for it?

OK, how about using Duncan Madog as (dead) weight for ride conditioning?

What makes this picture unique is that it is a WiFi Selfie. I needed to replace my camera (again!) and this time I bought a Canon ELPH340HS because it had high ISO for the price, I guess. Whatever, while it has a weird battery that I must deal with, it also can act as a WiFi node to connect to other devices like my iPad. This means that I can adjust the picture by viewing it on the iPad then activate the shutter via said iPad (not shown in the picture for obvious reasons). This could be useful for Ragbrai maybe? I don’t know, wait and see..

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Maxwell’s path

Sunday, June 29th, 2014

Remember Maxwell’s Farm ? His grandpaw had a trail named after him:

Stuff you gotta have on this path

OK, maybe some people brought a patch kit and a pump but didn’t know how to use them. This is that path that takes you past the big ‘A’ in the foothills up to the Horsetooth Reservoir. Kind of rough and no shade trees anywhere. On a hot day like today what dummy would be out taking this route?

View of the stadium looking east

You don’t get this view unless you take the path. It is of course Hughes Stadium, home to the CSU RAMS football club and Sonny Lubick Field. Bob Dylan recorded a live concert album here. Some football was played. These people don’t want this stadium anymore. These people want to keep it. Who will win out?

OK, besides water and food, and things to fix a flat, what else do you bring?

How about a crappy bike, a cart, a corgi dog, and a banjo? The word on the street is “DON’T DO THIS EVER AGAIN!” Not the best way to train for RAGBRAI and things could have gone sour fast. Although Duncan rode most of the way, he had to help pull us up some steep parts which was not his style. When we got to the edge of the reservoir, Duncan made a mad dash for the water and jumped in. I have never seen him do that before.. must have been one hot dog.

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Going Organic

Thursday, June 19th, 2014

Well it *is* legal in this state:

Choice Organics is located out near I-25 and Mulberry Streets behind ‘Furniture Row’

We’ve seen some place out near the town of Greeley that looked seedy (in Greeley, how could you tell?) where questionable people waited outside in a long line waiting for their turn to be fixed up. Not here! No! This place had a pleasant waiting room with reading material and a clean bathroom. The people waiting seemed friendly. Everyone was in a good mood *before* their number was called and were allowed to come through the security door.

Some items purchased

A little bottle of THC tincture (watermelon flavored) and something in pill form. The people behind the counter are very nice and will try to answer all your questions; even give you free sniffs of buds! The items are delivered in a white envelope that is supposed to be childproof meaning you need three hands to open it. All in all, a good experience. The ATM inside is a very busy machine!

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Welcome Spring!

Thursday, March 20th, 2014

Time to bike on the Mason Trail:

The New Overpass

Not far from the Spring Creek underpass is this overpass that I assume is for the CSU Animal Management folks so they can cross the train tracks to get to the other side where there is nothing except maybe the MAX station… Oh that’s why.

In the City on the First Day of Spring

Great day to be out. 70 degree weather. Just playin’ banjo with my dog. Proll’y gonna snow tomorrow. That’s Colorado!

What? Shoot a few arrows?

I always saw this outdoor archery range from I-25 as I drove South approaching Harmony Road. There is no real good way to get there by bicycle, but for good reason: If they let me shoot there, you *know* it wouldn’t be safe. May go back again, maybe with a left-handed bow?

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Oskaloosa to Fairfield

Friday, July 26th, 2013

So, on the way into Fairfield…

I see a sign to the airport and…

“The Maharishi Vedic Observatory” ? You know, the T.M. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi observatory, of course.

It’s like a combination of type of stone henge and cement crop circles

One must use these tools to locate transcendental consciousness. I couldn’t stick around, but you are free to click HERE to learn more if you wish to attain enlightenment. What a trip!

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Knoxville to Oskaloosa

Thursday, July 25th, 2013

Lots a banjar picking this day:

At the Smoky Row Coffeehouse in Oskaloosa

It was a fun place and I had just meet some guys who were following the route to help set up the musical acts when some people with still and video cameras circled around and asked questions but never identified themselves. We all kinda got weirded out and left.

And at the Musco Technology Center

Another C.U.B.S. banquet! I had just rode in on the path to William Penn University in Oskaloosa when I bumped into the club president. What luck! And then there was a nice evening by the campfire with our overnight hosts.

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Des Moines to Knoxville

Wednesday, July 24th, 2013

Well, we passed up Knoxville to camp at the campsite near the Red Rock Dam that was constructed by the army corps of engineers. What a great idea! Much better than staying in the noisy town.

Not a dam but a windmill

In the nearby town of Pella, Iowa. It was a pass-though town on the next day, but we stopped in a day early to see the sites free of all the bicycles.

They Like Windmills here

Founded by Dutch immigrants in 1847, it was the boyhood home of Wyatt Earp.

Lots of windmills

…here’s one made out of bikes. It was strange being here before to locust plague of Ragbrai and not seeing ANYONE on the street riding a bicycle. I mean, in the Netherlands it’s as common as, uh, I don’t know… WINDMILLS?

One more before we go

Pella is the headquarters for the company Pella Windows and Doors and the Vermeer company. Some local newspaper took some pictures of my on my bike… I don’t know what became of that…

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Perry to Des Moines

Tuesday, July 23rd, 2013

Old farm building along the way…

But somehow missed the midget wrestling in Dallas Center on the way to Des Moines.

Iowa State Historical Museum

This is an old stunt plane used in Iowa during the early days of flight. Another item recorded in the museum is #2013.023 Hand Made Banjo. Somewhere in Des Moines I met up with Tom Herrington of the Roadside Boys and we were interviewed by the Register. There may still be a video HERE. So far that’s 3 for 3 !

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Harlan to Perry

Monday, July 22nd, 2013

In Yale, Iowa:

Bathtub Races

It’s a bathtub mounted on wheels and full of water. The object of the race is to finish an obstacle course in the shortest time while being hit with water balloons. The steering mechanism seems to have something like a 10:1 ratio which made it difficult to guide the tub through the course. It’s in Yale that I met up with Mike McAbee and Teresa of the Buck Hollow Band.

And in Washington Township:

The old Township school

This was the last rest stop before going into Perry. I was interviewed by some local paper while entertaining the riders and a group of locals who were collecting money for the renovation of the old school. They were going to turn it into a social hall of some kind.

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Roadside Mysteries