Rivergreenway Ramble

Alex and I rode part of the Fort Wayne Rivergreenway today. The St. Joseph River from the north meets the St. Marys River from the south to form the Maumee River in the heart of downtown Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne Parks Department built the Rivergreenway paths along all three rivers in Fort Wayne.

Here's the north end just south of Johnny Appleseed Park.


This is a floodwall that was built along the St. Joseph River. The Rivergreenway follows along the top of the floodwall for many miles.


This is Historic Fort Wayne, a replica of the fifth and final fort at Fort Wayne. I worked here as a soldier in the summers of 1980 and '81 while I was in college.


Looking across the St. Joe River, Don Hall's Gas House (a restaurant) has a deck right on the river. The restaurant is located just north of where the original fifth fort was located, and is next to the location of a former basin on the Wabash and Erie Canal. The basin was essentially a parking lot for canal boats where goods were loaded and unloaded.


Across Spy Run Avenue from the fort, I took a photo of downtown.


The temperature got up into the low 80's today - a beautiful day to get out on the bikes.

Bike to Work Week complete

Well, my Bike to Work Week is complete, having ridden 4 out of 5 work days, covering 158.8 miles total just from my commuting. I figure I saved 9.9 gallons of gas not having driven my truck those 4 days. That is 9.9 gallons of gas not burned which means 188.6 lbs of carbon dioxide not released into the air.




I'd like to personally prevent releasing a ton of CO2 into the atmosphere this year by commuting which will mean 44 more days of riding my bike to work. That's a little over 1700 miles, which, added to my current 1218 miles accumulated since Jan. 1 will pretty much meet my goal of 3000 miles for the year. That doesn't include other rides in the evenings or on weekends, since I'm not substituting miles driven. So, if I can prevent releasing a ton of CO2 into the air from commuting alone this year, I will very easily smash my goal of 3000 miles for 2009.

I've already ridden to work several times this year, but no more than twice in one week. I won't count those trips. My next goal is commuting 5 days in one week. That won't happen for at least two weeks, since next week is only a 3 day week for me. Alex and I are going to Wisconsin to go biking on some of the rail-trails there next Friday and Saturday.

Bike to Work Week for me

"Sunrise Over Front Wheel" taken Wednesday morning at 6:45 am, just north of the Allen-DeKalb county line.

I have been enjoying my Bike to Work Week this week. The mornings for the last two days started in the mid 40's warming to 80 for my commute home, with not a cloud in the sky since Monday. Outrageously nice weather for riding. I've been wearing my heavy long sleeved jersey with my rain coat over the top, which is warm enough but not so warm that I'm covered in sweat by the time I get to work.


This is my bike locker, a storage closet I share with another office. The only thing I claim in this closet is my bike. We pay half the rent for the closet - crap's going to start disappearing.

But it won't start disappearing until I have to drive to work again, and judging from the forecast, it could be quite some time away. I hope the weather is good for all of you folks out there.

Happy Riding!

Work to Bike Week

We're hoping this is the last frost for the season. This is what I saw when I left this morning at 6 am on my commute. My toes were plenty cold by the time I got to work (1 1/2 hrs later).

I know that last week was "Bike to Work Week", but due to my work schedule last week I was unable to ride to work at all. Fortunately, I treated myself to several evenings of bike therapy (nice long rides) ending at dusk. I did feel especially bad on Friday, but alas, I have vowed to ride 4 out of 5 days to work this week. Tomorrow (Tues.) is the only day I can't ride to work.


Last week for me was "Work to Bike Week", this week is my "Bike to Work Week".

May Madness

Alex (above) and I rode the May Madness bike ride today. It started out cool (40 deg) and warmed up to a balmy 55 by the time I got back. She rode the 14 mile route and I rode the 54 mile route (which was actually 59 miles).

I discovered something cool. If you like a particular car, have someone take your picture while you are standing next to it with your bike. Then, when other people see the photo, they ask, "wow, nice car, is that yours?" If you don't want to lie, make sure at least a little of your car is in the photo, or change the subject right away. Of course, it helps to not tell people about this trick and then show the photo.

I don't claim to be particularly smart.

Despite the wind and the hills, I managed to average 15 mph, which is good for me. The last 5 miles was directly into the headwind with roller coaster hills, so I was especially glad to see the water tower which was next to the school where we started.
I saw this Terra Trike on the way, complete with its own windsock. It's a great idea for pilots that want to ditch their planes on the road in front of you. Seriously though, these trikes sit so low to the ground you need to have something stick up so cars and trucks can see you.

Van Zile Bridge

I thought this was a nice scene on my ride tonight. It's on the Van Zile Bridge over the St. Joe River. Most of the trees are fully leaved out, and the weather is consistently in the 60's for high temps. It got up to almost 70 today and tonight was a great night to be out on the bike.

Green grass of home.

Took this photo last night on a 22 mile ride. It's great to see green grass again. It's growing like crazy. I'm still thinking about getting a herd of goats to graze the yard, if only Alex would be a little more willing.

The weather here lately has been great for biking, especially when it's not raining and windy. The soreness from the TOSRV is almost gone now. Thinking about a 54 miler this weekend in Roanoke (Indiana).

Having accomplished the TOSRV is a great feeling and has added to my enjoyment of biking this spring. Looking forward to more rides and more centuries this year.