Sunflowers and Dahlias

 

The early fall season is some of the best time to go out and enjoy the outdoors. I took an extra day off this week to do some photography. Holland Ridge Farms has a sunflower festival in the fall that I wanted to go to. The farm is on Rue Rd and we have passed it numerous times on our bike rides but I didn't really realize how big the sunflower festival was until some of my friend in the community told me about it. The has acres and acres of sunflowers 

 

and a small section of other types of flowers like gladiolas and dahlias. The festival is mostly a family event. Besides the acres of flowers they have food trucks, hayrides, photo booths and other activities. I wasn't really interested in any of the activities but just wanted to go and take some photos. I got there early and walked to the far end of the farm (which was farther than I thought) to try and get a panoramic photo of the sunflower fields.  

I have never seen so many sunflowers in one field before. It was overwhelming and the picture doesn't real convey what I saw. There were also many different types if sunflowers from small short ones to tall ones that were the size of a car tire. 

I took a lot of pictures of the sunflowers including some with bees on them.

I now have a full portfolio of sunflower pictures so if you need one let me know. 

The best pictures I got were not of the sunflowers but of the dahlias. There are so many varieties of dahlias that they don't look like the same type of flower. 

 

I really like the geometric pattern of the orange one. I also got a good picture of a bee on one of them.

I have been working on my technique for flower photography and I am finally getting results that I'm proud of. I still have more room for improvement but that will just take more practice and will give me more excuses to spent more time outside in some arboretums and gardens.

New York Skyline Ride

The New York City skyline is unique and ever changing. Every time I go in our by the city I always spend a little time enjoying the skyline. This past Wednesday my other club had a ride from Liberty State Park up the bike paths and multi-use trails on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River and I decided to join them. 

It was an easy drive up to Liberty State Park. It took just over an hour and I didn't hit any real traffic. There were 12 people on the ride, a few which I knew. I brought my mountain bike because I thought the roads and paths might be a little bumpy. 

We road north along the path in Liberty State Park until we hit a canal we had to go around. There was a mile or two where we had to ride on the street but there was a bike path most of the way so although we were in traffic I didn't feel worried about getting hit by a car. 

Once we got off the street we road on bike/walkways along the river.

These public paths are required for any new construction along the river but each office or condo complex could design it however they wanted so there was no consistency to the design or material. Most were brick and cement but there were a few sections that had wood like a boardwalk and there were a few asphalt paths along the way. This isn't a true bike path or multi-use trail but more an interconnected set of walkways you can ride on. 

Since there was no overall plan for this walkway there are no signs showing how to get from the walkway of one complex to the next. So basically you just make right turns until you hit the water and if the path goes away from the water you make the next right. As long as you take your time its not too hard to work you way along the river. 

Besides the office building and condos there are also some nice parks and playgrounds along the way. Forty years ago when I went to school in Hoboken the area along the Hudson was mostly docks and warehouses that were rundown or abandon. It's made quite a comeback since then.

I like the fact that they do have some public spaces and parks interspersed with the builds so if you can't afford a waterfront condo at least you can enjoy the parks by the waterfront. 

The walkway ended about 3 miles below the George Washington Bridge. The plan is to eventually continue the path all the way to the bridge but that will take a while to complete.

It took us 15 miles to get to the end of the walkways where we took a look back at the New York skyline. It was a mostly cloudy day so most of the pictures I took are kinda dull. 

On the way back we made more stops just to take pictures of the skyline as the light was a little better. We stopped across from the Intrepid aircraft carrier which actually looked small next to the cruise ships.

 

I also got a few pictures of some interesting new buildings. There is the Via 57 building

Which is a pyramid like building that really sticks out in the sunshine. Then there is the Vessel in Hudson Yards.

It's been closed because people kept jumping off it but is schedule to reopen later this year.

Lastly there is the Twist which looks like it is leaning over but is really just twisted.

These are just a few of the cooler builds we saw. There were also a few monument to 9/11 along the walkways.

On our way back we rode through campus of Steven's Tech where I went to college.

It's changed quite a bit since I was last there.

The biggest change was the addition of two new 15 story builds for new dorms. 

We stopped for lunch in Hoboken and ate at a park by the train station.

The last stop on the way back was in a park where they had a sculpture of a ladies head schussing people.

Then is was back to Liberty State Park where I took one last picture of lady liberty.

It was a long day but it was a interesting ride and something I won't mind doing again sometime.

NY Safari

Click HERE for more Safari Pictures

For the first time since COVID hit I actually had an in person meeting with a number of people that I work with all over the world. I have occasionally been to the office over the past couple of years to meet with my manager and some other architects but this was the first time that the company flew people in from other parts of the world. There were around 20 of us in a conference room for a couple of days working on some new products. It was grueling 10 hours days of discussion but I made some good contacts and have some follow on work that will be interesting. I also got a chance to see a quantum computer. Here is a picture of the insides.

 

You need an advance degree in physics to understand how it works. I doubt there will be a desktop version anytime soon since it needs a supply of liquid nitrogen to keep it cold enough to work.

The meeting was in New York by Bear Mountain. I had to drive up the day before so on my way I spent a day at the Bronx Zoo. I hadn't been there in at least 20 years so thought it was time to go back. It's a big zoo and has a lot of different animals. They have 3 different area's for birds.

I spent a lot of time looking at them and taking pictures as they have so many different types.

They also have a butterfly garden that had hundreds of different butterflies. I manage to take a few good pictures of them.

 

One of my favorite things was the budgie house. They are basically little parakeets. You get a stick with some seed on them and then you hold them out and the birds come and eat off them. 

 

They are very cute and friendly. 

The last exhibit I checked out was the gorilla area. It's a large 13 acre exhibit where you walk down a path with glass on both sides and see the different gorillas. The have a few different types and it was fun to just sit there and watch them.

One of these days I would like to go out on a real safari but the Bronx Zoo was an easy way to go see some cool animals. You can click on the link at the top of the post to see all my pictures from the zoo.

Stats Don't Tell the Full Story

When I go on a ride I usually look at the route to see the mileage and terrain to see how hard the ride is going to be. However the stats don't always give you the full story of what a ride will be like. For example I did a ride down the shore just over a week ago. It was along the ocean which is flat but the headwind made it feel like a slow climb. At the end of the ride I did a loop away from the beach through a couple of neighbors that had a few small hills. Even though at the end of the ride I only had 300 ft of climbing and 28 miles it felt like I did a 40 mile hilly ride. 

This past weekend we had a perfect day for a hilly ride. I decided to lead a ride out of Gladstone through the hills around Califon and Chester Township. It is a hilly route but a route we have done a few times before. It's over 3000 ft of climbing so it is one of the hillier routes we do. However I have been feeling good and wanted to push myself to see how good my hills legs were this season.

The actual ride banter started a day before the ride when the one of the insane posse complained that they didn't want to do anymore hills but signed up anyway. I reminded them that they were mentally unstable for signing up for something they didn't want to do but that is the make up of the people I ride with. I do promise some interesting routes and adventures on my ride but that comes with a certain amount of anxiety and pain.

I have a number or rides that climb over 3000 ft and some feels worst than others. The thing that makes the route out of Gladstone feel harder is that there are no real flat spots to relax. It doesn't help that the ride starts out with a couple hundred feet of climbing within three quarters of a mile of the start. 

And the hills keep coming with a few steep but short ones along the way. Still it is a scenic route with some good downhills and the longest climb up Rockaway is a very gentle 300 ft climb that is enjoyable. My legs were feeling okay at the rest stop at 25 miles but there was still a few tough climbs to go. The steepest one was up Pleasant Hill Rd which the stats says was 13%. It felt a little harder but that was probably because I couldn't get into my granny gear. There were a couple of other tough climbs before the cool downhill on Ironia Rd. I usually put in one last hill before the end of the ride but skipped it this time as I wasn't sure I could handle it. 

At the end of the ride I was glad I was able to do the ride but knew that my legs didn't have anything left. I know the people on the ride will say that it was hard and that they don't want to do this types of rides anymore but if I list another hill ride they will probably come along no matter what the stats are.

Perfect Beach Day

The past few days the weather has been perfect for riding. Today was easily one of the top 10 days of the year. Since I'm off from work on Wednesdays I was able to get most of the retired members of the posse to join me for a ride down to the shore. Now that Labor Day has passed and the kids are back in school the shore is a lot less crowed so I decided to do a ride to Belmar. 

We started at the Manasquan Reservoir which is very close to where I live now. It was a little crisp at the start of the ride but didn't need the arm warmers just yet. My route took us to and through the area around Allarie before heading down through Brielle to Manasquan. We went by the inlet then rode the boardwalk along the beach. The beach wasn't that crowded so we didn't have to dodge too many people. 

From there we headed through Seagirt and up along the ocean to our usual stop in Belmar. We have not been to the beach this year so it was a nice change of pace to hang out by the beach in the sun. 

On the way back I took a different way that head north and along the shark river. I did this for two reason. First to visit my wife, for a few minute, who was hanging out on the beach in Avon by the Sea and because I like the view around the shark river. 

We had an east wind so we quickly cruise back to the reservoir and were back by noon. I have no complains about this ride. We didn't have any mechanical or physical problems. The weather was picture perfect and I didn't get a lot of complains from anybody so maybe we will do this one again sometime.

All Skewed Up

After 25 years I still love my Feather bike. The titanium frame is still comfortable to ride. It shifts well corners better than any bike I have ever ridden. I don't have any plans of replacing it anytime soon. The only complaint I have with the bike is the rear dropouts.

 

They face forward. Not sure why they designed it this way but if I put too much torque on the rear wheel by stamping hard on the pedals in a high gear then some times the rear wheel get pulled out of the dropouts and jams against the frame. Usually this only happens after I change the rear wheel. Because this is a polished titanium frame the drop outs are very smooth so the quick release skewers don't have a lot to grip on. Eventually after a few rides enough dirt builds on on the dropout and I don't have a problem with the rear wheel pulling out. (I have tried using rubber washers or some other material between the skewers and the frame to improve grip but nothing seems to help)

After this past Wednesday ride I had a flat tire on the rear wheel so had to change it out. I then knew on Saturdays ride that the rear wheel would probably pull out a few times before I could get it locked in. About a mile into the ride while going up the hill out of Allentown the rear wheel pull out. I went to tight the skewer after I put the wheel back in place but when I did the cam on the skewer broke. Luckily Neil was with us who carries more spare bike parts than small a bike shop(okay that's a bit of an exaggeration but not by much). The one part he doesn't carry any more is a spare skewer.

I sent the group on with Jim as the lead and slowly made my way back to my car. I was going to put the bike back in the car and head home but I realized that I had plenty of spare skewers in my car. Since my bike rack holds the bike in by the front fork I actually have a few skewers in the rack and even a few more in the car in case the bikes I need to carry have different fork sizes. I even have skewers for thru axle bikes now.

It took me a few minutes to find one that worked and test it out by riding around the parking lot. Eric was in the parking lot doing a ride with another group. I consider going with him but then decided that I could probably take a more direct route to the planned rest stop (Emery's) and meet my group there. 

I headed straight to New Egypt and then on to Cookstown where I join the original route and got to Emery's about 5 minutes before they did. I haven't been to Emery's in a while. They have good muffins and cookies so it's not a bad stop. I think my only complaint is that there is no where to sit. 

Because I missed the first part of the ride with the group I missed the required bridge out. It turns out I don't need to actually lead a ride for there to be a bridge out I just need to plan it. I actually knew the bridge was out because Neil told me the road was closed but as people who ride with me know I don't let a road closed stop me unless it is unsafe. The truth is the crew working on a closed road or bridge out usually needs a way to get along the road or bridge so although a road is closed for car traffic it is usually passable for a bike. 

At the end of the ride I put in a known dirt road. It was only a small stretch and may have surprised the one non regular rider on my ride but it checked off the requirements of a Tom ride.

I fished with about 8 less miles with the group but the replacement skewer held for the entire ride. It's got a different cam design which seems to give it more grip. It was a good temporary fix but I need to get a better one that fits the titanium frame better. If I'm lucky I might be able to find one that looks good and has better grip so it will fix the one main flaw with the Feather.

CLOSED

I am the king of closed roads. On almost every ride I lead there is usually a closed road or bridge out. Usually this isn't a problem as we find a way around or through the closed road. I don't know if this has anything to do with me or just the fact that most of my rides are in New Jersey and there is always a lot of construction going on on the roads. 

On Wednesday I ran into two road closed in the first mile of my ride and I wasn't even out of my neighborhood. I couldn't get by either closure so had to add a couple miles to my ride which I didn't mind as it was perfect weather for a ride.

On Saturday I listed a ride out of MCP to Blawenburg. I only have a few people on the ride as half the posse is away on an epic journey in Nova Scotia on the Cabot Trail. 

Although it was cloudy and a bit humid it was in the 70s so not a bad day to do a mildly hilly ride. The roads were pretty empty as we made our way to and across Rt1. On the way out of Rocky Hill I saw a white blob pass in front of my face and down between my legs. I wasn't sure what it was until I looked at my bag on my top tube and saw a white spot and realized it must have been bird shit. I guess I'm lucky it hit the bag and not me. 

The rest stop for the ride was the Blawenburg Bistro. Although the website said they were open on Saturday there was a sign indicating that they were on vacation. Luckily we all had food with us and didn't need water so we ate what we had and then continued the ride. 

During the last 10 miles there were a few sprites of rain but nothing hard or continuous so it wasn't a problem. 

Closed roads, rest stops and other obstacles are always a possibilities on bike rides but these are things we just need roll with and enjoy the ride.