Ping goes the Spoke

I have been having a terrible time with spokes. Always on the back wheel. Always on the new bike. In the beginning the spokes were popping on the drive side of the wheel. The wrench replaces all of those spokes which cured that problem. Now the non drive side is beginning to do the same. The general consensus is that I weigh too much. I am working on losing weight and riding is the main technique. A catch 22 if there ever was one. I am biking to lose weight but my bike can't handle my weight. 220 is the cut off for spoke problems according to the experts. Two weeks more should get me over that hump. In the mean time it's a good thing I have two bikes.

The problem bike is the Marin, the commuter. I retrieved the wheel from the shop yesterday, mounted it and got it all ready for the AM commute. In the AM I had second thoughts and decided to take "ole blue", (the roadie) instead.

I did get a few shots with the new camera. I am still practicing some the shooting techniques and learning how it works. I need to be ready for the five boroughs ride in two weeks. Here are a couple of shots.



Morning fog over Engell St. river.

Evergreen St. Stream

Hiking the Sanctuarys and Reserves

Sue saw an article in a magazine that spoke about the Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary. Neither of us knew of this place and decided, because it was so close, to visit. I packed up my camera and binoculars and off we went.

We decided to go for ice cream after the hike and came across another good hiking prospect,the Slocum's River Reserve.

Sue reading the rules and routes.

Can't see the trees for the forest.

Allens Pond path.

Sue dwarfed by the rocks.

Stone walls are sure signs that this was once farmland.

A nice touch to keep visitors feet dry.

On our way home we spotted this sign and decided to check the place out.

This "river reserve" was a whole different experience than the "wildlife preserve" we just left.

Slocum's River

After two hours of hiking Sue and I piled into the mini to drive home.

We skipped the ice cream.