Bicycling is great fun … and more so when I notice new things while trying to get those cycling miles done. Recently I learned not to look too high in the sky at flying birds while I’m bicycling … were there 2 red-tailed hawks flying up there? Geez, and need to keep my eyes on the road!
So I have been thrilled with wildlife sightings at eye level or below. I’ve seen lizards run across the road and make it successfully … and others not so successful. Coyotes often walk across the road from their usual trails. Wished I had my camera available when a bobcat walked across the road! It casually looked at me and moved on. The most fun sighting was watching a mother quail step onto the road, then turn back and indicate something to her chicks, and they all followed her as she crossed the road. Wow!
What will I see when weather warms?
What wildlife have you observed on your bicycle rides? I know some of you are under snow at the moment, but share what you have seen even in the past! You’ll be on your bicycle again in a few months!
Bicycle riding is great fun! I have been slow in getting going. In July I was watching the Tour de France on television. Unfortunately Peacock streaming service was needed to view each day’s ride. Cable television only had 4 of the 21 riding days broadcasted.
I love watching the Tour de France each year. It gets those cycling juices in me going and brings back memories of when I was in France. Was it 2007 or 2014, not sure, but been in France both those years. We were on a bicycle tour and happened to be near Mount Ventoux. Mount Ventoux has been ridden by cyclists in various Tour de France from each side.
We decided to bicycle up one side of Mount Ventoux … because it was there and just seemed like it was worth a try. Okay, we are not professionals. We pedaled uphill for about an hour, a fraction of the uphill distance, and flew down to our starting point in 10 minutes. The uphill journey was with some switch-backs we created on the road, but the downhill ride was STRAIGHT down! To this day, I am not a fan when I am over 33 mph on my bicycle. That experience has remained a memory every time, and especially when I watch the Tour de France each July.
Hangs on my bulletin board.
Had to buy myself a shirt for my tiny ride!
Now many cyclists are readying for the El Tour de Tucson. Yup, that’s right here in Tucson Arizona and the neighboring towns! Maybe you are signed up for the November 22 tour. It’s a popular event. People must register ahead for either the 102 mile Century, or the 63 mile Metric Century, or the 32 mile Half Metric Century. Someday I should ride this tour. I think about it. Would be more impressive if I actually cycled it … to bicycle ride again … a tour here in my hometown.
If you are riding the El Tour de Tucson, I wish you a great ride!!
Mountain biking requires me to truly focus on what I am doing while pedaling various trails. Some are smooth, others rocky. Some uphill, some downhill. Some steep and others even less enjoyable! But as seasons change I take notice of the wildlife, plants and animals. I actually find myself stopping to photograph the flowers that sprouted after a monsoon rain:
When especially lucky, I may see a squirrel or on this particular day, elk moving through an area! I know elk migrate here in northern Arizona, but rarely do I get this opportunity to see them. By the time I pulled my camera out, they were a distance away, but still seen:
Mountain biking is not for the faint of heart! Even while riding “easy”, “green” color-coded mountain bike trails, a rider will approach short, steep hills or ridiculously rocky areas at uphill and downhill sections of the trail. I love the challenge of it all!
While exploring new areas on my mountain bike, I stop and smell the vanilla scent of Ponderosa pines in Flagstaff, Arizona and see the seasonal change of tree colors in Park City, Utah. I chat with other bikers from various areas of the USA. We commiserate about tough mountainous trail sections and smile while reminiscing about rolling, long miles through meadows.
We love this meadow ride section!!
E-bike riders are now on the scene. I have mixed emotion about them. The purist in me wants to keep me pedaling for many more years; however, I also need to acknowledge the day will come when I want to be on a mountain trail and an e-bike is what I will need too. Just thinking back 15 years ago, I easily rode the intermediate, blue-coded trails and now they can be tough for me. So we all respectfully co-exist on trails to enjoy the outdoors.
Bikes are wonderful machines when working. Recently I ended an 8 mile mountain bike ride in my smallest chain ring and with my left-hand shifter not working! Nothing allowed me to shift into my middle or big chain ring, so I could only be happy that it was in the small chain ring while on the mountain trail.
Bike repair people see and solve all kinds of mechanical issues. I had an unusual jammed derailleur that took some time to be solved. The guy discovered a small stone wedged in an area that could only remove itself when the bicycle was upside down. Once it and shifter were fixed, I was back to cycling another day!
There is the little rock causing all to jam my chain rings!
Mountain biking is great fun, despite requiring more energy from me when I compare it to riding my road bike. But the opportunity to be on a forest, desert, meadow or mountain trail away from vehicular traffic is a bonus I want to continue to enjoy for years to come!
Colorado is the state I chose to, once again, drive through as I return to Arizona. This time to explore areas outside of Colorado Springs, Salida, Durango and Cortez.
For starters, I had a Harvest Host night at a brewery in downtown Colorado Springs! Great beer, easy walking the downtown area and time spent chatting with a couple from State College, PA. They left early the next morning to complete the Manitou Incline. I wish I was in shape to even think of accomplishing that!
A great day for bicycling in Colorado Springs: started on the New Santa Fe Trail from the E. Woodmen/Edmondson Trailhead. Wow, the altitude and heat made for a shortened bike ride. Another day, I visited the Fountain Creek Nature Center and took a bicycle ride at the Fountain Creek Regional Park. Very nice trail and a well – done nature center … worth a visit. (I saw a red-headed, 2.5 foot long snake… still not sure what it was!)
Fountain Creek Nature Center
Remember: we need bees in our lives!
Red rocks of the Garden of the Gods!
Drove along the Arkansas River and watched people rafting. If I had one more day here, I would have signed up for a rafting trip. Two of my Salida friends were not available, but I did catch up with my friend in Poncha Springs! Great fun for a couple of days. Bicycled on a trail in Salida, cycled right in for lunch, and watched surfers on the “standing wave” downtown. Amazing balance to ride that wave!
Rafting looked like great fun!
Surfing on the “standing wave” in the river is a challenge!
My ride from Poncha Springs to Colorado City was through the San Isabel National Forest. It rained and hailed!! The few vehicles on the road were driving half the normal speed limit. Thank you! Crazy weather! Next day, beautiful!
I stayed at a KOA, Kampgrounds of America, for 2 nights and the day in-between was a “No Drive” day. I got distracted doing too many things in the morning, so by the time I got on my bicycle it was hot. Throwing in a lunch stop was enough motivation to at least do a few miles in this altitude. I’m getting better but the heat does not help me.
Couple of Harvest Host nights … Pagosa Springs area and then Cortez … with a drive through Durango. Interesting to see how this area has changed! We had a bicycle tour across southern Colorado decades ago. We cycled from Cortez to Alamosa. Beautiful country in Colorado and it still is. But the crowds of people, developed land, and overall congestion made me wonder where it was we cycled years ago!
Before arriving in the congestion and construction traffic of Pagosa Springs, I enjoyed a short hike to Treasure Falls.
Treasure Falls, CO
My Harvest Host location was outside of Pagosa Springs at a ranch. I am parked in their pasture with the cows just over there, goats walking toward me, and a couple of killdeer squawking as if I am to close to their nest. A deer is running across the nearby hill. It is silent here, except for the wind that continues to blow and I see a distant plane. Will check out the stars in a few hours as this is the best open sky! Good night!
Colorado landscape varies as you travel south to north in this state. I had snow in the Pueblo area, brisk weather in Fountain and Lakewood, and finally conditions good enough for bicycle rides three days in a row!
Pueblo, Colorado did have some snow. While I was sleeping in my winter sleeping bag in my van, I chose to let solar energy melt away enough of the snow and ice from the windshield before I took off from the campground that morning. I had my newly purchased ice scraper but did not use it.
Fountain Creek Regional Park and Fountain Creek Nature Center were on my “to visit” list. While the nature center was not open, the numerous trails at the regional park were great! I need to remember this place for future “to stretch my legs” stop and hopefully visit the nature center some day.
Lakewood is where some friends live, but since they were elsewhere I stayed at a Harvest Host location. (If you camp with an RV or camper, more info about Harvest Host is a click away right here.) There I enjoyed conversation with a science teacher and natural/wildlife resource person along with a meal and beer before hitting the sack.
Fort Collins area is my favorite place to bicycle ride from a campground onto the Poudre River Trail. For 3 days I bicycled various parts of the trail plus some trails off the main trail. Temperature was 55 – 60 degrees Fahrenheit, so I kept moving! The wind was more of an issue at times, but as they say … wind at your back is great … did someone say that? Not sure.
Then drove through Nebraska and Iowa to Wisconsin to visit with friends. Here are photos from my Colorado days:
Sunrise in Colorado
Hairy Woodpecker
Bicycling on boardwalk section on the Poudre River Trail
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Favorite place for my meals
Bird watched me while I was eating my entire meal!
My second national park on this trip is a beautiful park with the world’s longest cave system. With over 460 miles of interlocking passageways, the Domes and Dripstones tour had hundreds of steps up and down, while we only walked 3/4 mile through the cave! No photo captures the magnificence or the hugeness of the cave system, whether I stood in large rooms or squeezed through narrow passageways.
Some cave photos:
The grounds above the cave system are green and well-maintained as was the campground. There are many hiking options, plus an almost 10 mile bicycle trail. With a sunny, 82 degree day ….great time for a bicycle ride! Or so I thought, as I headed out on my bicycle. I discovered about 4 miles in this was not enjoyable on my hybrid bike tires and wished I had my mountain bike. What took me almost a half hour one way was 14 minutes back on the road!
Staying at the national park campground with no water, electricity and wifi was wonderful. Four days to truly unplug. As I write this draft blog post, ants, centipedes and other small critters drop in on me. People from different campsites stop by and visit; tours of my van have been provided too! The birds were singing; the squirrels running around and up trees. I think we’re all enjoying the sunshine since we knew rain was in the future. At night while walking the grounds near the lodge and visitor center, the deer were asking why I was in their area. The park really does empty out at this date, but all staff here know the holiday and summer crowds are coming! The cave tour I was on typically has 100-110 people on it. Our tour group had 8 people; quite the personal tour for us!
The park service does a wonderful job of spreading the message: we need to protect and care for our national parks. I like the fact that canned water was available for purchase …. Not in plastic bottles! And no paper towels in the restrooms.
Canned water
Yes the rain came and the Arkansas leak fix did not work. My van was leaking below the lights in front of my rearview mirror from the previous night’s rain. Damn! I waited for the lodge and visitor center to open. I was 15 minutes early. I decided I should eat breakfast so I stopped at a cafe in the lodge. When the woman asked what can I get you, I asked if she knew of a good auto repair place… it was a Friday; nothing would be open on the weekend. She did and a maintenance guy there also added he has had cab lights on his truck tightened. Off to the GMC place in Glasgow, Kentucky (1/2 hour away) and they tightened the lights and siliconed around them and the antennae. I was very fortunate for them to squeeze me in. I did also say I would sit there all day till they found time. I was out by noon!
Back at the campground I was fretting the upcoming rain so I booked the Historic Cave tour to be underground for 2 hours. This tour was so different! When the cave system was first discovered this was the only entrance and it was into large rooms! African American enslaved individuals mined the saltpeter used in the Civil War. You can see the hollowed-out tree trunks once used as water pipes. The history of the mine was fascinating as we walked 2 miles on this tour. The cave’s rooms on this tour were large in width and height!
There is a fungal disease affecting bats, white-nose syndrome. To protect them we walked over a bio-security mat to wash the bottoms of our shoes so we did not spread any fungi from one cave to another. Interesting!
I attended a ranger talk at night, walked some trails, birded at another and watched the Green River ferry in action. You jam so much in at a time when the rains stops! I was only a short distance away from my next campground so I visited 3 Amish-owned businesses, grabbed a sandwich, bought some items, and unfortunately was driving the back country roads in torrential rains, thunder and lightning! Yes, the van leaked. It seems a 50 mph drive through an impactful rain causes water to find its way to my misery. Will deal with it another day and hope for sun in the in-between time!
Photo of a very sweet-tasting chess cake. Bet you never heard of a “chess cake”. I purchased it at an Amish-owned bakery. Also bought a sandwich with lettuce and tomato; a luxury to enjoy when on the road.
I was on my way to camp at the Salton Sea Recreation Area in California. I know no cold drinks are available there. I looked at the Google map to see if a store was on my route so I could buy an Arizona green tea before arriving at the campground. What’s this also on the map … the tallest flagpole in the world?
An advantage of solo travel is I can check out whatever I want. I decided to drive by this site, then buy a cold drink. Yes, and interestingly the TOP of the flagpole is at sea level! So this town of Calipatria, California is 184 feet below sea level. Okay, while they claim to have the tallest flagpole in the western hemisphere … truth be told there are taller ones in the world and USA.
I finally arrive at a store to buy my cold drink and before entering the place I am in a discussion with 2 bicyclists. A husband and wife team cycling from San Diego to Flagstaff, Arizona by way of the Grand Canyon … and this town of Calipatria. Jokingly I said, you too wanted to see the tallest flagpole in the world? Well they thought I was pulling their leg. I pointed it out to them. We laughed and talked plenty about cycling cross states and then each went our own way before the rain started to fall. All simply a fun day!
Here is the flagpole:
No flag flying above sea level here; maybe after their work at base.
The van is packed for bicycling and birding fun in southern Texas. Do you know how large Texas is? I am not going to bore you with the details, but let’s just say it will take me days to drive 1200 miles to South Padre Island on the Gulf of Mexico, also not many miles to the Mexican border. (Before I arrive there, I will spend time visiting and bicycling in San Antonio.)
The birding festival in Texas at this time of year is in Harlingen Texas so I will be there the next week. Thankfully I have a good routine packing my van, so for this trip more time has been preparing for the birding opportunities. I like having an idea of what some birds look like before I actually see the bird. It is impossible to do if there are a hundred new birds for me in an area; however, I like to zero in on a few birds.
Texas is east of the Rocky Mountains, therefore bird species are listed in the eastern bird field guide of North America. It’s sort of funny because I rarely think of Texas as eastern. Maybe the cowboy films, oil wells, beef lots, and whatever else make me think western … oh well, Eastern North America it is!
You may recall I drew a poorly-sketched, black oystercatcher that helped me locate the bird in California. Well, my sketching is back with an attempt at a few other birds. I would love to see a Great Kiskadee:
Great Kiskadee
When I first researched what birds may be in the area, I thought it great to see a green jay. But then I thought it would be cool to see the grooves on the beak of the ani. I also wondered how plain the plain chachalaca could be. After seeing it in the field guide and drawing one, it is as plain as plain can be!
Colorful green jay and a groove- billed ani.
Plain chachalaca
Whatever birds I observe in Texas will be of interest to me. Other festival attendees will be helpful in sighting some of these birds too. Many eyes on an area, especially those trained to know silhouettes of birds will be most helpful to me. I am off to Texas! Wish me luck!
Last night was my first of three nights camping in Spokane Valley, WA. It was a hot 94 degrees during the day with every piece of technology reporting “heat advisory”. I left the air vents in the front windows of the van, plus the side door open with screening, and even the back doors open with screening till it started to rain. After 11pm the air temperature was finally about 73 degrees. It dropped to 60 degrees by the time I was up in the morning.
Knowing my history with heat, I decide to cycle about 15 miles and turn around before the heat in my first full day here got to hot. I love cycling right out of my campground and onto a trail. I cycled the Centennial Trail east, thus Washington into Idaho. I recognized some of the trail as I did bicycle it years ago.
Water is an issue in this area. Signs on the trail are informative about water issues and the area’s history.
I was glad I followed my bicycling plan. I turned around about 15 miles and stopped for lunch at the 23 mile mark. The trail does have some toilets, benches, picnic tables and bike tools along it, and you pack out whatever you pack in. When I finished my lunch and readied to cycle the last 7 miles or so, a couple of heat advisories were flashing on my Garmin. Good idea to be done with this ride real soon! Finally, 31.6 miles … yeah and done!
Fortunately yesterday afternoon and this day, I am watching Serena and Venus playing at the US Open. Isn’t technology amazing! I love tennis and have missed my playing time during the pandemic and these months. I also love watching quality tennis and there are many fantastic matches being played at the US Open.
Day 2: No Bicycling today….
I expected to be bicycling both full days while visiting Spokane Valley. How is it the daytime air temperature is high here as in Arizona? No wonder the animals are moving north? I was reading about wildlife photographers now traveling to northern Canada for larger herds to observe and photograph, especially as the elk begin their rut.
I decide to go birding … surprise! I saw on eBird a mention of a bird I may not already have, so I head to the Saltese Flats Wetland Area in Spokane Valley. Three miles, two hours later, no new birds. Here are a few birds:
Looks like a young American coot.Wilson’s snipeGreater yellowlegs
The US Open Tennis is now playing as I write this. Serena is in a third round match. I decide to watch this match in air-conditioned, available wifi, environment and not in my van using my phone’s hot spot. The challenge was the library parking, per a city ordinance, is only 2 hours. Fortunately the library staff told me where I can park for no fee. At the table next to me is a homeless woman sleeping. I do not know what services are available for the homeless in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. An affluent community and like many places in the USA people are struggling financially and emotionally. I think this woman is familiar to the library staff as they have allowed her to sleep here and charge her phones for more than 3 hours now and the library closes in a half hour. I wonder where this woman spends her night? She has her bags with her. I wish her safety and some amount of success with hopes there is support for homeless in this community.
I have a 5.5 hour drive, if non-stop, to Three Forks, Montana tomorrow.
