A new year, with a new Grand Tour, so we need a new blog.

My 2025 Grand Tour - Planning

As always, please feel free to skim, read comment or ignore as you see fit.

Game on, clutch out, let's ride

As I patiently sit here counting down the days to 01-March (14 for you, 15 for me), I though I'd post another chapter of my 2025 Grand Tour Blog.

My 2025 Grand Tour - Routing

As always, feel free to skim, read, comment or ignore as you feel appropriate

And after waiting till 02 March (my time), my Grand Tour has started.



Let's ride . . . .

Yippee, at long last, I have been able to "get away" for a few day's bonus bagging.

My ride report is at :- The Southern Loop

As always, please feel free to skim, read, comment and/or ignore, as you see fit.

Let's ride . . . again soon.

I wish I was going for 3 day rides instead of 3 hour rides.

I have the advantage of being a Retired Baby Boomer.

After what seems like an age, but has only been 4 weeks, I have been able to get away for another Grand Tour ride.

Here is the link to my Ride Report :-- North West Loop

As always, please feel free to skim, read, comment or just ignore, as you see fit.

'Apexes' works as a plural of 'apex'.

So does 'apices'.

Hope Tim heals up fast.

Thanks for the blog posts. They're a good read!

I doubt I'll ever be able to travel down there, and if I do it won't be very much of the country considering its size. I'm glad I can live vicariously through ride reports.

Thank you, I am glad that you both enjoyed my ride report.

More of an update than a ride report.

My update is at :-- Intermission

As always, please feel free to skim, read, comment or just ignore, as you see fit.

Well, winter makes us crazy. We have it for 5-7 months out of the year depending on your definition of the season. I have been known to ride to work when it's below 0°F (-18°C for you metric folks). It helps that the ride to work is only 2.5 miles. My record for below freezing (32°F/0°C) ride length is 176 miles @28°F. It was 10C all day today in Ontario, Canada and in Minnesota. I rode about 400 miles through intermittent drizzle and rain. Definitely wouldn't choose to do that if I had a choice.

And people think I'm crazy . . . .

How's Tim doing?

(06-09-2025 06:09 AM)theemightyorbit Wrote: [ -> ]How's Tim doing?

Tim's final diagnosis was that he had suffered a partial tear to his right hamstring muscle and developed a trauma haematoma. (internal bleeding from torn tissue).

This became evident when the back of his leg developed a large bruise from just below his bum down to his calf. This is according to Tim as I don't pay much attention to Tim's rear-end.

He was given medication for the pain and to help dissipate the blood clot and he has subsequently been able to walk freely again and reasonably pain-free.

However, he has said that his leg strength is not reliable especially after he has been sitting for a while, and he doubts that he would be able to support the weight of his BMW at a set of stop-lights.

He has further appointments with his physiotherapist and hopes for a revised exercise program. I am sure that he will be back riding again in a month or two.

The Rain Gods granted me 3 consecutive mid-week days of sunshine, with no rain forecast, so I have been able to get away for another Grand Tour ride.

Unfortunately, things did not go entirely to plan.

Here is the link to my Ride Report :-- North Coast Loop

As always, please feel free to skim, read, comment or just ignore, as you see fit.

More a bed-time story than a ride report :-- Winter Maintenance - Part 1

As always, please feel free to skim, read, comment or ignore as you see appropriate.

"Cold as in 0*C ~ 15*C"

(Laughs in Minnesotan)

That's about the spring temperature I do my maintenance too, if I didn't get it done in the fall. Warm enough to easily heat up the garage with the kerosene heater, but not so cold I have to run that heater until I see sounds and hear colors.

That's a fair statement. My Winters are mild, almost "tropical" compared to Minnesota. Still, they feel cold to me.

The good thing is that in 4 weeks time, it will be my Spring, and the beginning of 6~8 months of sunshine, surf, sand and t-shirt weather ( said with an evil Sydneysider chuckle )

A kerosene heater, you say. Now that is a real "blast from the past". I haven't seen one of those since the 60's. Everything these days is either electrical or LPG.

Still very popular in agriculture country. You can run them on kerosene, or with the small turn of a screw you can adjust them to diesel.