A8. It's not a single memory, but riding with my family from Brookings, OR to SF. This was in the late '70s when you still could tell the difference between one town's businesses and another's (not as many chains). It was blackberry season and since we were cycling at least 100 mi/day, there was no calorie counting as we sampled blackberry pies, blackberry milkshakes, etc. That terrain is some of my favorite in the US and the climate there is as well.#BikeNite
A8: I’ve done a whole slew of cycling tours in the Netherlands, but this one (from 2012) was my very favourite. Mostly because the weather was UTTERLY GLORIOUS right up until the last couple of days. I sure loved cycling on those “Wadden” islands especially.
Every time I rent a bike while I'm on vacation is wonderful. The best was definitely the time I went on a fully-supported bike tour through Hungary. I got to see so many little towns, beautiful countryside, and odd touristy things (like a history of Hungary told through choreographed horseback riding) I never would have had I just gone to a major city and stayed for a week.
A8. There are lots, here are a few that come to mind right now.
1) Riding down Soquel San Jose Rd towards the coast. It was such a long, swooping descent. The curves and pitch were both gentle enough that you didn't really have to brake much. I remember just swaying slowly, side to side, with the wind rushing by and seeing a mix of light and dark green in my periphery.
2) Riding at night with my now partner for the first time. It was lovely company and the streets were so quiet and serene, and riding at night was a novel thing for me then.
3) Riding towards Petaluma with friends on a bike camping trip. We stopped at a few farm stands because we were tired but I remember beautiful hills, pumpkins on fence posts, laying/sitting down in the grass for a break, and cheese samples along the way. We did that trip a few times, so my memories are probably some sort of amalgamation of those rides. I have pictures somewhere, I'll share some in a reply when I'm able.
From the Petaluma rides: 1) When the hills looked like a slightly cloudier Windows XP 2) pumpkins on the fenceposts 2) I guess we were bike camping. I rode an old mountain bike that I kind of can't believe I used given how much I didn't really like that bike.
A8. Riding down the Natchez Trace after dark on my first solo bike-backing trip in honor of Mike Hall. Perfectly cool temperatures, no cars, and no stars or moon. The whole world reduced to the cone of light from my headlight, the sound of my breathing and the hum of my tires on the smooth pavement. #BikeNite
#BikeNite A8. Too many to count, honestly. But if I picked one, it would be the Tour de Nash from this past May. It’s an annual ride around Nashville with different routes each year. My 13yo (who had just learned to bike!) wanted to do the 25 mile ride so we signed up. It poured **the entire time** but we had such an awesome and enjoyable time together & with other cyclists + finishing was a huge confidence boost for all of us, I think.
A8. In high school, I rode my bike from Century City to Santa Monica beach very early in the morning—like 5am—once, and laid out on the sand feeling proud of biking so far. (I know it's not that far!) It was a feeling of freedom that biking was giving me more and more.
Probably the other best memory is my son riding on his own for the first time after many attempts. I yelled super loudly to celebrate with him and everyone in our apartment complex came out to cheer him on.
A8 part 2: Finally, going bike camping with my daughter in Point Reyes was fantastic. Not a long ride but enough to feel like an accomplishment, tons of wildlife, s'mores roasted on a beach fire, and a ton of great talking.
@marcprecipice If you haven’t, I highly recommend camping on Angel Island. I only lived in the Bay Area for a couple months, and camping one night on Angel Island was a real standout of my time there.
@dx @marcprecipice I'd love to try this sometime too. I've only visited it once; we took the kid and friends and they got to act crazy on the ferries and ride a beautiful loop. Crazy views around every bend. My kid went down a relatively fast dirt/gravel descent and handled it so well.
@marcprecipice The great bit about camping there is that, after the last ferry leaves, there’s nobody on the island but you, the other campers, and all the deer and raccoons — but at the same time you see the lights of the cities all around you across the water.
The bummer is that, like so much of Cali camping, spots book up immediately. I only finagled it by catching a midweek cancellation.
The first time I bicycled all the way up Old Bankhead Road going up Monte Sano in Huntsville, Alabama to one of the lookouts. View was incredible and I felt like I really earned it.
Glad I did it when I did. Too much development with too much car traffic now. Glad at least there's a Land Trust so the entire mountain isn't covered with Condos.
BTW, thanks @ascentale for facilitating #BikeNite every week. I truly appreciate the ephemeral community that assembles here to share experiences and perspectives. 😀
A8. Super lame answer, but probably when we gave our kid her strider bike. She was only 18 mo so we didn’t think she would be ready for it for a while, but she immediately wanted to ride it around the house and was so happy. #BikeNite
@dx no way, that's the best. I have so many lovely memories biking with the kid. Just today they were being extra risky and tried biking handsfree with their feet off the pedals. It was terrifying and at the same time I was like, "wow, my kid can actually do this"
Or her first time actually riding a pedal bike. It was a hand-me-down birthday gift that was handed down while we were getting celebratory frozen yogurt. She got on, waddled out the door of the shop, and then started riding away. We had to chase her down and tell her to stop.
lopta
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •Mark Connolly 🍻 🚴🏼♀️ (he, him, his)
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •A8. It’s a collection of memories — riding with my sons when they were small 😀
#BikeNite
Phil (ascentale)
in reply to Mark Connolly 🍻 🚴🏼♀️ (he, him, his) • • •Meta-phobic Megan Moved
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •Phil (ascentale)
in reply to Meta-phobic Megan Moved • • •Idealistic Pragmatist :mstdn:
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •A8: I’ve done a whole slew of cycling tours in the Netherlands, but this one (from 2012) was my very favourite. Mostly because the weather was UTTERLY GLORIOUS right up until the last couple of days. I sure loved cycling on those “Wadden” islands especially.
#BikeNite
panasaurusrex
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •Phil (ascentale)
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •A8. There are lots, here are a few that come to mind right now.
1) Riding down Soquel San Jose Rd towards the coast. It was such a long, swooping descent. The curves and pitch were both gentle enough that you didn't really have to brake much. I remember just swaying slowly, side to side, with the wind rushing by and seeing a mix of light and dark green in my periphery.
2) Riding at night with my now partner for the first time. It was lovely company and the streets were so quiet and serene, and riding at night was a novel thing for me then.
3) Riding towards Petaluma with friends on a bike camping trip. We stopped at a few farm stands because we were tired but I remember beautiful hills, pumpkins on fence posts, laying/sitting down in the grass for a break, and cheese samples along the way. We did that trip a few times, so my memories are probably some sort of amalgamation of those rides. I have pictures somewhere, I'll share some in a reply when I'm able.
#BikeTooter
Phil (ascentale)
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •From the Petaluma rides: 1) When the hills looked like a slightly cloudier Windows XP 2) pumpkins on the fenceposts 2) I guess we were bike camping. I rode an old mountain bike that I kind of can't believe I used given how much I didn't really like that bike.
#BikeNite
Neil E. Hodges
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • •A8: My bicycle tour across 500 miles of the ACA Northern Tier route (photos!) back in 2015. #BikeNite
Now that I've figured out my #BikeFit, I should do another tour like that in 2024! (Shame about all of the Summer wildfires here.)
Cainmark 🚲 🥥 🌳 🧱 🫛 reshared this.
Pete
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •kimu
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •Jennifer Miller reshared this.
Phil (ascentale)
in reply to kimu • • •Marc Hedlund
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •A8. In high school, I rode my bike from Century City to Santa Monica beach very early in the morning—like 5am—once, and laid out on the sand feeling proud of biking so far. (I know it's not that far!) It was a feeling of freedom that biking was giving me more and more.
Probably the other best memory is my son riding on his own for the first time after many attempts. I yelled super loudly to celebrate with him and everyone in our apartment complex came out to cheer him on.
#BikeNite
Marc Hedlund
in reply to Marc Hedlund • • •A8 part 2: Finally, going bike camping with my daughter in Point Reyes was fantastic. Not a long ride but enough to feel like an accomplishment, tons of wildlife, s'mores roasted on a beach fire, and a ton of great talking.
#BikeNite
🚲
in reply to Marc Hedlund • • •Phil (ascentale)
in reply to 🚲 • • •🚲
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •@marcprecipice The great bit about camping there is that, after the last ferry leaves, there’s nobody on the island but you, the other campers, and all the deer and raccoons — but at the same time you see the lights of the cities all around you across the water.
The bummer is that, like so much of Cali camping, spots book up immediately. I only finagled it by catching a midweek cancellation.
Cainmark 🚲 🥥 🌳 🧱 🫛
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •A8. Several, so this one for now.
The first time I bicycled all the way up Old Bankhead Road going up Monte Sano in Huntsville, Alabama to one of the lookouts. View was incredible and I felt like I really earned it.
Glad I did it when I did. Too much development with too much car traffic now. Glad at least there's a Land Trust so the entire mountain isn't covered with Condos.
#BikeNite
Phil (ascentale)
in reply to Cainmark 🚲 🥥 🌳 🧱 🫛 • • •Cainmark 🚲 🥥 🌳 🧱 🫛
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •Mark Connolly 🍻 🚴🏼♀️ (he, him, his)
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •Phil (ascentale)
in reply to Mark Connolly 🍻 🚴🏼♀️ (he, him, his) • • •Bicycling Monterey
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •#BikeNite A8 Some folks shared favorite cycling memories here in Part 1 of "Voices of People Who Bike." https://bikemonterey.org/voices-of-people-who-bike-part-1-who-bikes-why-and-memories.html
Some of our own bike memories are in these 2 posts: https://bikemonterey.org/bike-weeks-past.html https://bikemonterey.org/biking-west-cliff.html
Voices of People Who Bike, Part 1: Who bikes, why, and memories! | Bicycling Monterey | Resources for Anywhere & Monterey County Biking Information Hub
bikemonterey.org🚲
in reply to Phil (ascentale) • • •Phil (ascentale)
in reply to 🚲 • • •@dx no way, that's the best. I have so many lovely memories biking with the kid. Just today they were being extra risky and tried biking handsfree with their feet off the pedals. It was terrifying and at the same time I was like, "wow, my kid can actually do this"
Or her first time actually riding a pedal bike. It was a hand-me-down birthday gift that was handed down while we were getting celebratory frozen yogurt. She got on, waddled out the door of the shop, and then started riding away. We had to chase her down and tell her to stop.