I got new tires and a new tube for the Huffy 3 speed today. Yesterday I realized it will work well for pulling my grand daughters around in their bike trailer. I bought the tires and a tube at Sumner's Schwinn and got some good info on how to lube and take care of the Shimano hub.

Huffy 3 Speed

I bought an old Huffy lady's 3 speed today. A guy who lives a few blocks away had it on craiglist for his mother who bought it back in the seventies.

I got it home, put a little air in the tires, tightened about eight spokes and went for a cruise to the corner. It even shifts. I don't know anything about three speeds so that is especially nice. It has been about an hour and the rear tire is flat. The seller said he thinks they are the original tires.

It has a light/horn combination. I put new batteries in and both work. The horn had a handlebar mounted switch which is missing so I replaced it with an old door bell button. I'll have to figure a way to mount the button next to the left grip.

We've been out of town, camping in the Santa Cruz area and a then to a couple ball games and museums in L.A. I took my bike camping and rode very little. Back home it is 106 today and a little too hot, maybe tomorrow morning. Georgia will be here and she might want to ride the trailer behind grandpa.

Sunday Morning

I took the long way to church this morning. I rode east on Bullard Avenue to McCall. Then wound around south and west to church. Including the ride home that made 12 miles. I've been pleasantly surprised that doing 10 miles or so has been a lot easier than I thought it would in light of not riding at all for more than a month. It is nice to be getting back in the swing of things again. I want to get up to 100 miles a week before too long.

Biking to Volunteer

Summer is here, so I haven't been going to work, but today I volunteered at a food give away. It was about three miles from home for a six mile round trip. A ride to school is 12.5 miles one way so this was a breeze and I was home before the 100 degree afternoon came around.

Bicycle Picnic with two Granddaughters

Greenway

I was out for a short ride this morning and realized that I was riding on a greenway. Luckily I had my phone with me so I shot a few photos. This is a bicycle/Pedestrian path that has been incorporated in a newish housing development in Clovis, CA. A couple friends live nearby and have mentioned that I should check it out. The path meanders around among the homes and in these pictures goes behind H&E Nursery then next to a neighborhood park.

The cool thing is, now I can enter the LGRAB Summer Games.

Old Beard, Older Bike

A couple years ago when I was just beginning to bike more, my daughter, Sara, got me this shirt. I put it up today because a blog I enjoy, CYLRAB was about bikers with beards and I remembered this photo. The bike is a '76, the beard a '77.

I haven't been out on my bike for the longest time. I've had this endless summer cold/sinus infection/allergy thing going on and am just starting to think that a ride would e nice. I'm finally feeling that going to the coast in a couple weeks will be a nice time camping and biking, maybe even a little surfing.

Summer Fun

As I was reading some blogs today, I discovered a cool site I hadn't noticed before. The ladies at Let's Go Ride a Bike are having some summer fun. I think I'll try some of their ideas. Who knows maybe I'll win something?

This weekend I went on two nice rides around town. Today I explored another ride along a canal that runs through town before it winds its way to farmland west of Fresno. The Fresno Irrigation District seems to encourage cyclists, walkers, and horse riders to use the easements along their canals for recreation opportunities. My Giant Cypress handles the dirt and gravel paths nicely. Upon leaving the canal, most of today's ride was on pavement along the Old Town Trail in Clovis, but I plan on exploring the canal farther west to see where it goes. As it get into central Fresno, I think it goes underground for long stretches. I'll see.

Ten Days of Global Prayer

Today after work I went on a ride for an hour and a half and ended up at church for an evening of prayer led by the mid week children's ministry, JUMP. The kids and their leaders did a great job of leading the congregation in a time of prayer for the children of the world. The ride was nice. The prayer time was better.

Enterprise Canal Trail

This is where water from the canal is diverted and some of it goes into Dry Creek. It is where I usually get on the trail.



Once across Sunnyside Avenue, the trail looks like this, dirt and gravel, but very ridable.


Soon the trail is paved.


Eventually, the canal disappears under Highway 168 near Temperance Avenue. Someday I'll check out the other side of the highway to see what the canal and trail do upstream.

Sunday Morning

I rode my bike to church today. Afterward, I rode out the old town trail to Willow and Shepherd, then east on Shepherd to the Dry Creek Trail crossing and across the creek to the Enterprise Canal Trail. I rode the Enterprise Trail along the canal bank as it winds east and south to where the canal disappears under Highway 168 east of Temperance Ave. then back to Temperance and home. Part of the Enterprise Trail is dirt/sand/gravel. I've been trying out the routes along some of the Fresno Irrigation canals and enjoy them.
Clovis and Fresno have many miles of canals running through town and there has been some work at making them available to cyclists.
My Garmin said I went 18.4 miles. I'll do it again soon and take my camera.

I rode across town to Riverpark today. I took the Clovis Old Town Trail to Shepherd then the Sugar Pine Trail. There is a new underpass on the trail at Fresno Street. It is very nice. It would be nice to have a few more around town to make crossing busy streets easier. I'm sure the people in that part of town are taking advantage of the trail and underpass.

Sunday afternoon Anna and I rode the Old Town Trail out to Shepherd and Willow then across to the Dry Creek Trail and back. We started and ended at Clovis Avenue and Sierra. It was a great time. We talked to a gentleman who mentioned that the trail out near Riverpark has a new bicycle underpass. I'll have to ride over and check it out.

Another ride to Willow and Shepherd, I had the wind in my face on the way home today. Tomorrow afternoon Anna is riding with me. I think we'll take the Dry Creek Trail.

End of Winter

Winter is dead in Fresno. We had a high of 78 degrees today.

It feels good to be riding again. This was a beautiful day and I got home early enough to go out for about an hour. I rode across to the Old Town Trail and out to Shepherd and back. My Garmin said it was 12.3 miles and 64 and a half minutes. The wind was in my face going, and still blowing on my way back, lots of fun.

Good to be Back

I went on my first ride in months today. It was just 7 miles but good. When the wind is blowing like today, I like to head into it and have it at my back on the way home. I was surprised that it felt as good as it did. I hadn't done more than ride to the store (about a mile) in a long time.

My daughter, Anna wants to go on a ride sometime soon. I think she wants some exercise after the birth of her second daughter four months ago. She'd like to go about ten miles. I figure we will start from downtown Clovis, take the Old Town Trail out to Teague or Shepherd then over to the Dry Creek trail back to Clovis. It is a little less than 10 miles with a couple areas I think she will like. I'm looking forward to it.