Playing With Fire is back!

In years past the Playing With Fire series would have several blues concerts a summer. Last years flooding and the bad economy slowed that down. This past Saturday it was back in full force at Lewis and Clark Landing down on the riverfront. Thanks to Dave N. for sending me these photos. We got there in time to hear The Pounders (local band) finish up their set. Then we heard the first tune from Meena Cryle's band and we decided to head up by the stage. This was one of the better performances I have seen at PWF. They came all the way from Austria. Meena Cryle's band should have been the headliner.

We did not stay long after Rick Vito started. They probably should have had those two bands switched around in the order but I'm glad they didn't. Turned out to be a great night for an outdoor concert.

Chicago - French Consulate Trip

Cali and I just got home from Chicago safe and sound. We were there two days and covered quite a bit of ground. The Photos in the link pretty much cover it.

Chicago - June 7, 2012

The French Consulate was not quite what I was expecting. The Visa office was pretty much like the DMV with the French people behind glass. Oh well, got r done.

snapped

I got a big surprise on my ride in to work this morning. It was on the right side of the pavement on the Big Papio trail. I was looking around and off into the distance and then I noticed just before I was about to hit it. I made a quick swerve and it snapped out at me. It was a large snapping turtle. It was abut the size of a large frozen turkey. I stopped, went back and snapped this photo.

Lee's Schwinn Typhoon Deluxe

My friend Lee owns some classics. Most of these have four wheels and were built in the USA by Plymouth. He owns one with two wheels, no motor and also built in the USA by Schwinn. It's a Deluxe Typhoon cruiser bike. It has 3 speeds and a "nice rack".

Lee was not the original owner. He purchased it for $25 from a co-worker at Valmont who lived in Arlington. Lee has owned this bike since the 70's when his kids were little. It had previously been fitted with a child carrier. It's one of those bikes that could tell many stories about the places and people it's encountered in it's 45 years of life.

Based on the serial number (FA41930) it came off the Schwinn assembly line on June 14th, 1965. Lee did most of the cleanup on the bike. I took care of the mechanicals. The original black tires were hard and cracked so they were replaced with some classic white walls. The brakes are adjusted with new cables. The hubs and bottom bracket are lubed. A missing spoke was replaced and the wheels trued.

Lee's Schwinn Typhoon Deluxe Cruiser

New life has been breathed into this classic cruiser. It's ready to roll into the next 45 years. It's been a privilege and a pleasure to work on this bike.

Check out www.singletracks.com and win THOR a grant!

There is a good trails website called www.singletracks.com . Why do I say it's good? It's one of the best resources I have found on the web to get information about trails I have not visited yet. There are also well written, interesting articles and photograhy about trails. For these reasons alone it's worth checking out www.singletracks.com.

Now there is an even BIGGER reason to join. They will select the two (2) $500 grant recipients on June 1, 2012 based on which clubs have the most singletracks members associated with the club. Each club has a page on singletracks.com but this link says more about this opportunity to win THOR a grant. If you are a friend of THOR, help us win!

First 2012 THOR Trail Day @ Tranquility

Tranquility Park Trailwork, this Saturday, March 10th, from 08:30-09:30AM. Meet at west entrance, 126th Street and Fowler. Tree trimming needs to be done, especially on the NorthHill Descent due to the heavy snow bending the evergreen branches down. Bring handsaw, loppers and maybe a rake. We will walk other sections clearing out of the mow zone (trail corridor) the deadfall and garbage from the high winds. Meet at the Fowler Street West Entrance (Green Placemark on Map)

View Tranquility TH in a larger map

Ponderosa Ride II

Another mild winter day gets us out to see some countryside. Brian and Greg were already at the parking lot of the Prairie View Lake when I arrived at 1PM. Dave P. was going to be a little late so we rode the limestone path around the lake. There were hundreds of geese in the water and in the fields along the path. Once back at the parking lot Dave P. was there and ready to go. There was a pretty stiff west wind so we rode out Dutch Hall Rd heading right into it. The hills out there are killer. However, the surface of the gravel was really compact and smooth.

We made a quick stop at the Ponderosa to fuel up for the ride back. The combination of the wind at our backs and the hills in our favor made the ride back fast and fun. Great ride today. And thanks to Dave P. for remembering to bring a camera. Here is the google map for the Ponderosa Ride...

View Ponderosa Ride in a larger map

MNR/MNS

(Monday Night Ride/Monday Night Snowshoe) Some did the ride and some were on snowshoes last night. We got a little bit more snow yesterday on top of the crusty snow we already had. Dave and I didn't want to fall down on our "skinny tire" Mountain Bikes. So we set off packing down the snow for Chris P, Mike W, and Dale. It was a cold night but there was no wind and the fog rolling in added some nice effect. Dave rigged up snowshoe lights...

Dale - Fat Tires, we don't need no stinking Fat Tires!

Chris P and Mike W - Ten pounds of air is too much.

Paul and Dave - Is there snowshoeing in the Winter X Games?
Not a great video but gives you the idea