Water on the Trail

“Wet Ride” Cedar Park, 2022

I went for a ride on the local hike & bike trail, but had to turn back just a little ways in because last night’s heavy rains had caused a bit of flooding. I started riding in the water, but decided it wasn’t a good idea and turned back. Oh well. It was actually kind of fun!

If you check the video, you can skip ahead to about 15:15 to see the flooded trail.

“Sloshing Along” Cedar Park, 2022
“Water on the Trail” Cedar Park, 2022

Sunset Ride with Rossa

Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/160 sec, ISO32
“Sunset with Rossa” Cedar Park, 2022

It’s been a while since I have biked to my regular sunset spot. This evening, I went for a ride with Rossa around the neighborhood and by chance, the sun was setting just as I was passing the sunset spot.

I wasn’t planning on taking photos, so I left my Fujifilm X-E4 at home and only had my iPhone 12 Mini with me. I think the photo turned out pretty good! I took many photos using both the iPhone’s camera software and the RAW camera app, but the iPhone’s built-in processing handled the sunset scene better than my Lightroom skills did with the RAW file. I’m happy with it!

Anyways, it was fun to get out on the Bianchi bicycle again and just cruise around the neighborhood and seeing the sights and saying hello to neighbors.

Afternoon Ride with Rossa

“Riding” Cedar Park, 2022

It was a beautiful afternoon so I grabbed my GoPro and our new DJI OM 5 gimbal, and went for a ride! I wanted to test out the gimbal and see if it will fit into my bicycling videos at all.

I used it to do some selfies and also a “ride-by” shot. I also tried some various shots of the bicycle, but it didn’t work out. I think hand-held GoPro is better for those shots. But I think the ride-by was nice! And I got a decent photo of myself too. 😀

Please take a look if you have time:

Switching up the Handlebars

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 35mm, f/2, 1/105 sec, ISO1600
“Rossa” Cedar Park, 2021

I decided to switch up the bicycle handlebar situation a bit by putting the Upanbike swept riser bars that were on Mango onto Rossa, then putting the butterfly bars, which were sitting in the garage, back on Mango. Once I replaced Rossa’s flat bars with the riser bars, the riding experience is so much more comfortable!

Rossa is an old mountain bike, and bikes of that era had the handlebars way out front over the front wheel. Modern mountain bikes position the bars farther back (as well as different overall geometry) so the risk of going over the bars is lessened. I don’t take Rossa on any downhills, so for me I just wanted the more comfortable upright position, and the Upanbike handlebars certainly help. It’s so much more fun for me now! As an added bonus, I think they look really sharp. 😁

If you have time, come with me as I take the Rossa’s “new” handlebars for a spin around the neighborhood:

Evening Cloudspotting

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/6.4, 1/1500 sec, ISO640
“Cumulonimbus” Cedar Park, 2021

The clouds were beautiful this evening! A slow bicycle ride while cloudspotting is a wonderful way to spend an hour or two.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/6.4, 1/850 sec, ISO640
“Rossa and Distant Cloud” Cedar Park, 2021
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/7.1, 1/600 sec, ISO640
“Cumulonimbus” Cedar Park, 2021