rons bikes blog dot com

to rewind a little bit from the last entry, this blog is a photo smearing of rides and hangs in the woods between getting home from out west in early April, to right before I left for Japan. of course Japan needs its own blog post, and I have so many photos to go through and stories to type … so maybe in 2 weeks.

I also feel like I am doing pretty well with the YouTube stuff, so I am attempting to balance my time between this, that, and IG. IG is really only to announce “new blog post!” so if you like to “like” both, then “thank you for your likes”. but really, thanks for the fun on YouTube. I have a fun one I am editing right now about how I like to set up my bikes focused on someone who might be making the leap from …ahem… sr@m. 😅

lets start with a little (kinda big) Sunday ride up to Eagles Beak Peak. love our riding crew around here. this is a riding crew appreciation post ive just decided.

we had some really warm early spring weather right when I got back. was an easy transition from southern AZ… our home here in southern NE is getting more and more like the clime of northern SC. will I live long enough to complain about it? we definitely have had some weird droughts in recent years … emerald ash borers … spongy moths … hemlock blight … flooding on the coast …. well, its nice to sit in the sun when you run off the sun (me), so I will just try and stay positive.

run on sentence ready : been riding this new bike of mine that frank made for me that crust will pay for half of and maybe fitful orders if I can’t secure a long term mechanic. I do this sort of thing to support my bicycle addiction. that other photo is Arya riding her tiFAT. I will do a video on it when I get a chance to change the cranks out. they are currently too boring for such a cool bike.

my neighbor Peter Weigle invited me over for a look at a few bikes he brought back to home to where they were made here in Lyme/East Haddam. Collectors specials, so these were all mint condition. he had a few of his local friends over to take some photos and do some saddle sniffing. that red number in the middle went to a local from down by the ferry landing. he also purchased an Alumalith, so you know there is some good taste here!

same photo taken a week apart. ha! almost exact. our riding group does a ride every Saturday and Sunday, sun or fog — this is the typical Sunday loop that heads down to the shoreline in Old Saybrook. in the summer time we go swimming at the beach. this is our typical snack/safety spot in a preserve that overlooks the cove.

we have nice bikes around here — i want to say that we aren’t judgmental and that anyone is welcome — but it sure is nice when the bikes look at home in their surroundings. anyone is welcome though — but typically after a few rides you will be like — okay, lets talk about front derailleurs here, how do I get one?? and then we have you!

those first warm days of the year (now a days) when there is no leaf cover yet are pretty weird! feels like out west.

I don’t think it was overly warm in these photos though. this was a romp to Haddam Neck. one of my fav places to get some elevation. the far right photo is the first production Sklar to our area. it was the frame Adam pedaled around here when he visited for the Nor’easter. JW did a nice build on that frame — except for the crankset. its 4 arm. 5 arm only folks

then the heat came back again. did I mention I love it? I really do. I am also the kind of white person who loves to talk about the weather. I am reminded this by Namz pretty often. I accept that.

spring in all it’s delights! wow I love New England, and not many people do according to the data! everyone leaves here at some point … but maybe they are coming back now. I have grand plans to make our little area a bag’d bike barn super center. all lol’s aside, the age is elderly around here — we will age in soon though.

Namz has been riding like crazy. I call her Namz, but you call her Arya. Names… amiright??? she is attempting the tour divide again in 2 weeks, so plenty of long days in the saddle ahead for her! still need to build her Alumalith she will be doing it on …. thats gonna be a cram next week.

enjoying Josh’s found fitness this year … since moving down the road 2 years ago he has lost double digit lbs and has been ramping up the milage along with the rest of us. he’s a great neighbor, and such a kind gentle soul. and he’s single!

one Sunday we paid tribute to the lords of pizza… our friends Fire in the Kitchen. you know them from the Nor’Easter. wow, its pure bliss. here they were serving a benefit for Dear Lake — this also happens to be the venue for the October 22nd 2023 Nutmeg Nor’easter.

and then I went to Japan and did a bunch of walking. more on that soon!

hope everyone has a nice long weekend in the sun on the bike!

XO

Ronnie