Verdi Loop Night ride....well, kinda.

This was the route I took home last night from a house warming party out in Mogel.  Basically, it's a portion of the Verdi loop.  I had the advantage of driving out in the car with Wifey.  However, she headed out a bit early because she has been power working (20 hours) over the weekend and was ready for bed.  I stayed on to enjoy the home brewed hard cider and company.  Fortunately, this problem had been anticipated and I had strategically stashed a bike in the back of the car for the trip home.  I ended up departing about 8:15 just as it was going from dusk to dark.

Fortunately there are really good bike lanes along the entire route.

It was actually fun and relaxing to do a solo night ride.  The bike lanes are great in this section and with good front and rear lights and light traffic it's kind of a zen ride.

A blurry picture that illustrates you are definitely riding in a non-lighted area.  A good front (and rear) light makes this a non-issue.

 

Good light or not...there are some really dark areas out here.  However, the bike lane makes it a little better.

And just so you don't feel alone while riding at night....you get to pass this other rider every 1000ft or so!

So don't let the early darkness keep you from sneaking in that late evening ride.  You might be surprise how enjoyable it can be!

The Verdi Loop.....by the numbers!

If you ride a bike in Reno you've probably been on some version of this ride.....

I'm not sure where, but somewhere on this little loop the group that built up the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway has put a traffic counter out (I'm not sure exactly where).  What you might like to hear is some of the numbers!!

The counter was put out on May 1st.... and by May 6th it had recorded 1675 trips.  When the tally was done for all of May it averaged out at 198 trips/day.  By July the monthly tally had swelled to 234 trips/day.  To cap it all off, to date (from May 1st) there have been 17,710 trips recorded!!

That, my friends, is a whole lot of bicycling!!  So go give it a spin and add to the tally!

Just to reiterate:

198 trips/day in May!
234 trips/day from May to July!
17,710 trips recorded to date!!

p.s.  I do know that the sensor is placed in a location where only bike traffic will hit it....so anyone thinking a couple cars got in on the count need not voice their concerns.  Overzealous cyclists jumping up and down on the counter are discouraged!

Weekend Shenanigans (Biking and Beer)

I'm sure I mentioned that we're going to be doing Cycle Oregon this fall.....so after a few warm up rides in Moab last week, we decided some longer rides on the weekend were in order.  We kicked it off last weekend with a ride on the Verdi loop (accompanied by the Preacher and his wife).

Step 1.  Find friends with bikes...who enjoy longer rides.

Step 2.  Make sure to bring wifey!

Step 3.  Try to keep ups with friends and wifey.

Step 4.  Be sure to keep the ride interesting!

Step 5.  Add upper body workout.....

Step 6.  Make sure ride ends with caloric input...preferably in liquid form!