Category Archives: Day Ride

Posted on January 23, 2014 | 1 comment

I have been thing about starting to post again on my site.

Until I figure out how to work WordPress again, and I find things to write about. Here is a video Angel made during the first new back in the beginning of December, Enjoy!

1 Comment

Posted in BIKE, Day Ride, News, OTHER

Tagged bicycle, bike, eugene, Fat Bike, LHT, Long Haul Trucker, Oregon, Puglsey, Snow Bike, Surly, video, winter

When I Wasn’t Posting

Posted on December 11, 2012 | 1 comment

I haven’t been posting a lot lately, not because I haven’t been doing anything. If anything it’s because I have been doing too much. With the winter months coming, the day light is getting short, but I still find lots to do. Here are some photos from things Angel and I have been up to, but haven’t had time to post.

Spent some time trying to make my grandma’s recipe for pizzelle vegan for Angel. It worked out alright, although they ended up a little more crunchy then they should be. I still need to spend some time tweaking it. I ended up making 2 batches, the first batter failed miserably. *reminder to self, don’t use the solid fat from coconut milk, It just melts everywhere, and doesn’t work.

I got some new rain gear for this winter season. Showers Pass makes great rain gear, the Club Convertible 2 Pants, and Club Shoe Cover are the new addition with my rain cape. The pants and shoe covers work awesome. My good old rain cape on the other hand, hasn’t ever really held up to heavy wind and rain. Maybe someday I will replace the cape with something nicer, but until then my rain cape is great for shorter rides around the city, and my rain pants and booties will do their job well.

We spent some time hiking around Mount Pisgah Arboretum. With a nice break in the weather that day, we spent a couple hours exploring around. You can watch a video of the trip in my post from yesterday, or here on YouTube.

The days around Thanksgiving were spent cleaning and setting up our Christmas tree. My mom sent me all my ornaments so we had something to hang on our tree this year. And we just lazed around a bit.

I had some time to organize my work space, hang out with friends a little, meet new friend, play with tesla coils, and go to the library. What could be better?

Angel made some great baklava! It was the first time I ever had it, it was delicious, so tasty and sweet. I don’t normally eat too much sugar, and after having a bit I felt a little rush. *After writing that last sentence, I must go to the fridge and eat some more. **reminder to self, don’t eat more then one piece, again, too much sugar.

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Posted in BIKE, Day Ride, FOOD, OTHER, Trips

Tagged anise, bicycle, bike, bike commute, camera, Christmas, Club Convertible, Club Convertible 2 Pants, Club Convertible Pants, Club Shoe Cover, Crate and Barrel, eugene, falling sky, Falling Sky Brewing, food, Hacker Space, leaf, leaves, LHT, Long Haul Trucker, Maker Space, Mount Pisgah, Mount Pisgah Arboretum, Mt Pisgah, nature, Oregon, Ortlieb, outdoors, photo, Pizzelle, Rain Cape, rain gear, Showers Pass, Smith Family Books, Surly, tesla, Tesla Coil, Thanks Giving, tools, transportation, vegan, winter, Xmas, Xtracycle

Angel and Her Videos

Posted on December 10, 2012 | 3 comments

Angel has been spending a lot of time over the past year taking video footage and teaching herself to edit them. In November she even spoke at an event in Seattle, talking about how easy it is to take and edit videos with whatever gear you have.

Along with taking photos, Angel started taking some simple video with her basic Canon Powershot SD1400 IS. The camera took pretty nice video, 720p HD. She used the camera every day and it has the wear marks to show for it.

She replaced the camera in April, after the camera focusing motor started to act up and make weird noises, a couple weeks after that she accidentally dropped the camera, cracking the screen. It was time for a new one, so she bought the Canon Powershot 110HS. This was a nice up grade for her. Allowing for full 1080p HD video shooting. She has taken a lot of great photos and videos with the camera. This is what she currently uses for almost everything.

Along with those cameras, she also occasionally uses the GoPro HD Hero I picked up at an REI Garage Sale last year. We have been able to take a lot of great video with this.

With the use of these cameras, and her MacBook Pro with iMovie, she is able to make these great little videos. In the past couple weeks she has made some of my favorite videos.

In Monday Tradition, she simply filmed what she did on Mondays, when she’s not at school, and I’m at work. Featuring one her favorite places to get vegan biscuits and gravy, Wandering Goat.

Mount Pisgah Hike, last week we spent a couple short hours, while it was dry out, hiking around Mount Pisgah.

Winter Soup, This is a great short little video of her making soup. She makes a big pot of soup almost every week, then eats it thought the week. A friend had asked her how she makes it. She had a great creative way to share it with them. You can read about it, and see the recipe HERE.

You can watch more of Angel’s great videos by going to my BreadBikeBlog YouTube Channel. Most the videos on there have been made by Angel. Some she helped me with, but now because of her I can help shoot video footage and help her produce great videos.

3 Comments

Posted in BIKE, Day Ride, FOOD, OTHER, Video, Video, Videos

Tagged Apple, bicycle, bike, bike commute, camera, Canon, Canon Camera, eugene, Eugene Oregon, food, GoPro, hike, iMovie, iPhone, Linus, mixte, Mount Pisgah, Mt Pisgah, Oregon, photo, rain, REI, soup, vegan, vegetarian, video, Wondering Goat

Halloween and Moonlight Monster Mash 2012

Posted on November 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

Yesterday was Halloween, Angel and I carved some pumpkins. Nothing fancy. I prefer a classic jack-0-lantern. We re-used some past costumes, Angel went as a fox and I went as a Frog.

So every month here in Eugene there is a gathering of cyclists who ride under the full moon. The Moonlight Mash is always fun with music and friends. This month the full moon was actually on the 29th but the ride was held instead on Halloween (Wednesday the 31st) so that it would be a lot more fun. We got to ride through the neighborhood streets of Eugene, entertaining the kids and parents as they were trick or treating. We got a lot of hooting and hollering. It was a great ride. Sadly, though there were many great costumes out there tonight, due to the darkness and riding, there is not much to share in the realm of photos, but there are a couple from before it got too dark, along with the jack-o-lanterns Angel and I carved this year and carried on our bikes as we rode.

We put some spare rear red bike lights inside the pumpkins to make them glow; it worked out wonderfully.

If you are interested in joining the Moonlight Mash for a ride you can find out all the information on their Facebook Page Here.
Here is a previous post about the Moonlight Mash.

As alway, it’s nice to stop at Falling Sky Brewing for some great microbrew sodas, Watermelon Fizz, Carrot Ginger,and Strawberry-n-Spice(my favorite of the night).

I hope everyone had a good Halloweeen last night.

Photos From August

Posted on September 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

It has been a while since my last post. I have been really busy lately, with some trips, visitors, work, moving into a new place, and Angel’s birthday. Here are just a couple photos from the past couple weeks.

July Bike Camping with Friends

Posted on July 24, 2012 | 2 comments

Last week Angel and I went on our first camping trip of the summer. We haven’t had enough time since she got done with the school for summer. We went with two of our friends Tuesday night until Wednesday morning. This was a quick bike camping trip we spontaneously decided to do just days before. It was super fun. The weather called for some rain and thunder, and that is what we got. Even so, it was fun.

Due to the secret location of where we camped, I’m only going to post the elevation of what we did. There were some great hills with some gravel logging roads on the way home.

We left Eugene late in the evening, just a couple hours before sunset. It was a nice ride through the country with some nice hills between here and where we camped. Right before we arrived at the camping location we started hearing some thunders. And right when we got there it started sprinkling, although that ended really fast and it didn’t rain anymore that night.

The next morning one of our friends had to leave early to get back to work on time. So it was just 3 of us on the way home. We took our time because none of us had anything to get to that day. We took a longer way home, featuring some long down hill gravel roads where Angel ended up getting a rear flat tire at one point, which got patched up quickly. We got a nice strong bout of rain at one point, which let up quickly. And we only had a couple very small spouts of rain after that. We ended up coming across one of Oregon’s many covered bridges.

Here is a 360° Photo from a clear cut along our route.

Overall it was a great trip and ride. Angel did super well riding her Linus Mixte 3speed, climbing most the hills with no or very little (at least verbal) complaints. Hopefully soon we can get her something with more gears. I’m just trying to figure out what frame would be great for her right now. Hopefully doing an internally geared hub again like a Nexus or Alfine 8 or maybe even an Alfine 11. I’m sure she would appreciate it. It was a great trip, and I hope Angel and I can go on more trips like this before the end of the summer.

Here are Angels Photos:

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Posted in BIKE, Day Ride, Events, OTHER, Trips

Tagged bicycle, bike, bike camp, bike camping, bike packing, bike tour, bike touring, camp, camping, eugene, LHT, Linus, Long Haul Trucker, mixte, Oregon, photo, Rivendell, Surly

Photo: Mid June – Early July

Posted on July 11, 2012 | 2 comments

Here is a collection of photos I haven’t posted from Mid June to Early July. There are a lot of photos in here I like including fresh cookies, new bike tools, fun trips, and fireworks. Enjoy!

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Posted in BIKE, Day Ride, FOOD, OTHER, Trips

Tagged belt drive, belt drive bike, bicycle, bike, bike path, camera, carbon drive, carbon drive bike, cookies, eugene, fire truck, fireworks, flower, hanafuda, homemade soda, ice cream, iPhone, KEEN, LHT, Linus, Long Haul Trucker, Mario, mixte, MKS, MKS Pedals, Nintendo, Nutcase, Nutcase Helmet, Oregon, park, Park Tool, Park Tools, photo, Playmobil, soda, Stein Tools, sunset, Surly, vegan, vegan cookies, vegetarian, watermelon

100th Post, Here’s Some Flowers

Posted on June 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

It’s my 100th post on this blog. I wanted to do something a little more exciting for this post, but I think this will do for now. Angel and I have been in Eugene for 11 months now. We find new places to go, and things to do everyday. Here is a link to my first post from right after we moved here and rode the Fern Ridge Bike Path all the way out for the first time. Since then we have found so many more places to ride, but Fern Ridge is still one of the nicest places we like to ride here in Eugene. Our last adventure didn’t include the FRBP, but instead one of our favorite places to gets treats, Sweet Life Patisserie. Angel loves their chocolate tortes and pies, and I always get an oven-warmed cinnamon roll.

The other day we went to the Owen Rose Garden, and here are some photos I took there. I’m not a big fan of roses, so I tend to take photos of all the other pretty flowers at the garden. I did take one photo of a wild rose though, but they look nothing like a cultivated rose.

Biking McKenzie Pass

Posted on May 30, 2012 | 2 comments

On Memorial Day, Monday the 29th, I got the chance to ride Scenic McKenzie Pass (Highway 242) for the first time. Being my first year in Eugene, I really wanted to do this ride. I had seen a lot of photos of other cyclists on the ride before, with the high packed snow walls; it just seem incredible. Also, last October, Angel and I had a chance to drive it while going to the OHBS in Bend, it made me really want spend more time there and revisit the Pass.

They close off Hwy 242 during the winter months due to snow. They open it back up in May for a couple weeks only to cyclists, which is a great time to venture out, because you have no fear of cars coming up the hill behind you. The pass is about 4o miles from the turnoff at 126 to Sisters, OR. I chose only to ride up to the Dee Wright Observatory, (22miles) the summit of 5325 feet elevation. 3600 feet of climbing with great views throughout of the Willamette Nation Forest, Mount Washington Wilderness Area, Three Sisters Wilderness Area, and into the Deschutes National Forest (if you continue or start in Sisters). Up towards the top there are amazing lava fields, it’s kind of crazy to think about the lava fields, and how much volcanic activity Oregon had just a couple thousand years ago. At the top, like I mentioned, is the Dee Wright Observatory where you can look out at all the amazing mountain and land formations.

It was a super fun ride. I tend to ride a little slow, taking about 4 or 5 hours on my way up, but that includes a lot of stops for photos, food, making a couple snowmen, and just enjoying the view. It then only took about 45mins to get back down to the bottom. An incredible descent after riding that same route up. I totally recommend this ride for anyone who ever gets a chance. Just be prepared to climb a lot. Here are my photos from the ride.

Along the way I decided to made a couple snow men just for fun. I thought other cyclists would like the encouragement while going up and down the pass. The one in the road has 2 faces. I had to climb the snow wall to get his features, but that was really cool itself.

360 Degree View along Highway 242

360 Degree View from atop Dee Wright Observatory

Here is a 360 Degree View from atop Dee Wright Observatory from the first time Angel and I drove the pass last October on our way to Bend for the OHBS. We took a lot of photos that day. I’m really glad I got a chance to ride the pass, hopefully I get to do it again.

History of McKenzie Pass – HERE

2 Comments

Posted in BIKE, Day Ride

Tagged Bend, bicycle, bike, bike tour, eugene, LHT, Long Haul Trucker, Oregon, Surly

My Surly LHT Turns 2 Years Old

Posted on May 10, 2012 | 3 comments

I have had my Surly Long Haul Trucker for 2 years now, and I have never doubted myself for choosing it over a different bike. The love story between me and the LHT began long before I got her. For years I knew I wanted the bike. I would try out other bikes at shops and never be happy with how they felt or how they were set up. I knew I wanted to do long rides and touring so why not go with a full out touring bike such as the LHT? The one thing was I already had a decent amount of bikes and not a lot of money. Also, I didn’t like the colors it was offered in for a couple years. They were dull colors: Utility Blue, Olive Green, Truckaccino Tan, I wanted something brighter, and then they showed off the new color at Interbike in October 09, Blue Velvet (also known as Hill Street Blue) and I knew I really wanted it.

I moved to Oregon in late March of 2010. A month later, on April 25th, I bought my Surly Long Haul Trucker. I was so happy that day, finally getting a super comfortable bicycle to ride for a long time.

This year on April 25th I happily was able to do a nice 20mile ride with a friend in the morning. Then after he left to go home I kept going, ending up riding just over a metric century that day, 67.58miles in total.

Last year on Surly’s birthday I got him the Surly Rear Nice Rack, and this year I got him the Surly Front Nice Rack to Match. This rack is massive, and will certainly see a lot of use. Now I just need to get myself a set of Ortlieb Front-Roller Panniers to match my Back-Roller.