Friday, June 28, 2013

"Reno-vation" of the downtown post office continues.

From the morning ride in.....still working on the old downtown post office building.  Looks like they are putting in a lot of work.  I hope it turns out nice!




So...yeah....It was a pretty mundane boring (we all know riding a bike is never boring) ride in to work today (if that was what you were thinking)!  It was uneventful enough that I was paying attention to the thoughts bouncing around in my own head, when I heard....  "I guess they're Reno-vating the post office" and chuckled out loud to my own pun.

So all in all, (despite my questionable personal sanity) I guess that makes for a better commute than most drivers probably had today!  So, I'm officially calling this day a bicycling win at the early hour of 8:15am!

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Canada bike infrastructure.

Ok, I've been back long enough that I can start to put together a post on some of the stuff I saw in Edmonton (Alberta).  I was only in Edmonton for about 15 hours but I made time for a run and a walk to a local beer bar.  I know you guys don't want to hear me ramble on about this too much, so I'll keep it photo centric (crappy cell phone pics but at least pics).

A view from the hotel....and yes, I see that I misspelled "their" in the text.


Leaving the bluff top hotel they have very nice stairs down to the river.  Notice the wooden edge rail on the steps for rolling your bike up the steps!!

A family out for the evening bike, including kids in a trailer.  It's hard to tell here but these aren't just sidewalks.  They have additional width and are designated bike routes!

Here's a whole network of paths along the river that lead all all over the city!

Including "Sugar Bowl", which was a nice little beer bar with 50+ beers on tap and some really good food!

I took an alternate route home along a bike/ped specific lane on the double decked bridge.

Another example of separated bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.  The bike path is on the left.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

A Dutch perspective on biking in the US (with Tahoe, Davis, Chicago, and others as an example).

Just found this over at bikeportland.org.  Its good to see that we didn't get condemned across the board, but he has some really good comments on what we lack and how to improve our infra (infrastructure).  Have a look, it's worth a few minutes!



How to "Park" your bike!

I don't think your hood would look very good after a few rounds of this, but hey we all know its really about the bike! 

Bicycle "clutter"!?

The back room is getting a bit busy with bicycles in various states of repair and use....and this (of course) isn't all of them. 


Now it's not normally quite like this.  There is room to hang three bikes in the back corner where only one resides in this shot.  This still leaves four with less than an adequate home.  Now I hear some of you saying, "Put them in the garage!" (like a normal person).  Well, due to the clever soul who owned the house before me....you are looking at what was the garage.  So I pose a question to you all.....Where do you store the fleet and in what manner? 

I realize I'm working with a first world problem here, but I'm serious....if anyone has cool storage ideas for everyday bikes I'm listening!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Bikes, lights, and beer....1st annual Blinky ride in Carson.

Blinky Man



Just saw this over at BikeCarson.com.  Check out his site for details on the start location, time, and stop offs.  Sounds like a good time!

1st morning ride in a while!

Finally, back on the bicycle and on the way in to work.  Looks like things are still evolving in Reno.  The post office deal must have finalized while I was gone....they were working on the grounds when I rode by.  I noticed they tore out some trees (?)....a commodity in Reno if you ask me.  Hopefully, the new landscaping will be an improvement.  And hopefully, they will have some real retail and not just another gallery or office space on the river!


Other than this everything looked the same on my commute. 


Couple birds handing out that caught my eye.  I'm sure there's more going on than this in Reno.  What do you say, what are you doing on your bike with this great weather!?

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Last Day in Canada!!!

Don't get me wrong, Canada is beautiful.  I'm just sick (and tired) of the project I've been working on and it's time to get back to RENO!  I've seen exactly one day in the last three weeks over 70 degrees and spent about zero time on a bike.  Anyway, it means that shortly there will actually be new content on this blog again, so hang in there.

A few pics of what I've been around.

The scenery is pretty amazing!

Drill rig in action.

One of many, many, many, many boxes or rock (core) to be logged.

Big horned sheep are freaking everywhere around here!  Including one that decided to take out the mirror on my rental truck (more on that later).

Yep, a freaking sweet mountain bike park.

34 acres of trails, pump tracks, and skills areas.

The skills area and kiddy pump track.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Still in Canada....

The little town of Hinton I'm working out of has a mountain bike park.....I haven't even had a day to visit it yet.  I hope my biking skills haven't faded to the point that this might happen!?

Ouch!


I think the guy is going to need a chiropractor!