Sunday, March 29, 2020

Riding in the Time of Covid

What's different about riding during a pandemic? Safety rises on the priority list and seeking thrills and adrenaline bumps down.

With that in mind let me introduce the concepts of "over bike" and "under bike."  Simply, the "over bike" will more than easily handle the terrain and conditions you're riding, and on the "under bike" the terrain and conditions are more than the bike is built to handle.

For example, riding a full suspension mountain bike on the pavement is a severe case of over bike while riding a road bike down a technical mountain bike trail is a big time case of under bike.

The over bike tends to be slow and boring and the under bike will be fast and terrifying! 

I like to dip my toe in the waters of slightly under biked - like riding the gravel bike on tight trails, sandy washes, and rocky roads or taking the road bike on graded dirt paths, but in the name of safety I've been pedaling decidedly in the over bike category.

I got my old hard tail together with some comfy touring style handlebars and have been riding a lot of the roads I would normally ride my gravel bike on. The pandemic over bike!

I've also been riding almost entirely on roads, so if I happen to have a mishap I won't need  a gaggle of rescuers to get my broken butt from the trail to the trailhead.

Take me to the river!


The grand Sierra above Big Pine

Looking down on the hamlet of Bishop

The Whites are finally white

Not sure what this structure is. It stands in an area that was once irrigated agricultural land.

I just call it the obelisk.

Looking west towards my home, Wilkerson.

 Flowers are starting to pop!

 The hills above Keoughs. Rugged and wild.

Keeping it safe while keeping my sanity.
Hope you can do the same!

3 comments:

Bob Shattuck said...

I like the nameless monument. Reminds me of one quite a bit larger and more established on the west side, near Merced--some farmer had it erected in his honor upon his death, or something to that effect. Maybe this is an unfinished Monument or someone just couldn't figure out how to build the rest of the house and left the chimney?

Wilkerson? I can see it on the map--it's one of those places you see or don't see as you ( me, anyway) drive along 395 and think, I shold drive out on the is road and see where it goes, bu maybe next time.

Bob Shattuck said...

p.s. I saw no Crows "Corvid" in any of your photos . . . ( but it is feeding time in my backyard )

Scott E said...

No Ravens or, my personal favorite, Magpies either!
Doh!

Yep, Wilkerson is just above 395 south of Bishop.
Pure residential.

The obelisk is a stumper.
Not a chimney. It's closed on top.
Doesn't seem like a monument, more like something functional.
Saw a similar structure in Hawaii of all places.
Will try to dig it up.