Tag: Mango

Small Window for a Bicycle Ride

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“Cloudy Bicycle Ride” Cedar Park, 2021

It has been raining a lot the past couple of days, but today the storm paused for a few hours in the afternoon and I went out for a nice bicycle ride on Mango, my 2000 Kona Blast. It’s over 20 years old but it feels so modern as compared to my early 70s Peugeot that I am restoring.

It seems like I haven’t ridden the bicycle for a long time and I was worried that my legs would get tired soon, but I had plenty of energy and was able to power up the small hill near our house in a higher gear without much problem. I was also concerned that my neck would be sore because it has been bothering me for the previous week. I’m happy to say that I didn’t feel any discomfort in my neck. 😀

Also, I bought some new cycling gloves and they felt great! They are a vintage-style mesh fabric and leather style, and I bought them because this is the type of glove I wore when I rode my Peugeot bicycle from San Francisco to Los Angeles back in the 80s. These new ones have some padding which my old ones lacked so these are a lot more comfortable. In fact, I didn’t even notice them once while riding today which I suppose is a good thing.

Please enjoy the GoPro video I made of my bicycle ride if you have a few minutes. Have a great day!

Afternoon Bicycle Ride Snapshots

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/5.6, 1/300 sec, ISO160
 “Mango at the Mailbox” Cedar Park, 2021
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/6.4, 1/480 sec, ISO160
 “Bike Trail” Cedar Park, 2021
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 27mm, f/6.4, 1/120 sec, ISO160
 “Snapshot” Cedar Park, 2021

Running an Errand on the Bicycle

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Photo info: motorola moto g(6), 3.95mm, f/1.8, 1/620 sec, ISO100
 “Wilco Annex” Cedar Park, 2021

Today I had to pay the registration fee for my motorcycle and decided to ride my bicycle to the county tax office to take care of it. It was a nice feeling to use the bicycle instead of the car to get things done. Soon, though, the Texas heat will be upon us and any bicycling will involve lots of sweat, so trips like this will be less pleasant than it was today, but for now, I will enjoy the comfortable weather.

In related news, my motorcycle is now registered again. Yay!

New Bicycle Light for Riding after Dark

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/15 sec, ISO6400
 “Night Ride” Cedar Park, 2021

I’ve been enjoying evening rides lately, just cruising around in the cool night air, but my front light have a very weak beam, rated at something like 150 lumens. So I bought a new, more powerful light: the IPSXP 1000 Lumens Bike Light. I’m not sure it really puts out 1000 lumens, but it is a heck of a lot brighter than my old light (which I will keep as a backup). The extra power on the new light is great when traveling in places that don’t have street lamps, such as the bike path I went on tonight. Safer bike-riding is more fun!

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2, 1/10 sec, ISO6400
 “Night Ride” Cedar Park, 2021

On tonight’s ride, I explored some shopping areas that I haven’t looked at very closely just to see what kind of shops are there. Nothing really seemed to interesting, but it was fun to pass by the wine bar and burger bar and smell the delicious food. I also rode past a small pond and the frogs were out croaking away. It was really cool! I really like night riding and I am looking forward to the summer when it stays light later into the evening.

I hope you had a great day! またね～

Morning Ride to the Sculpture Garden

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Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/1600 sec, ISO200
 “Gotcha Bird with Fish” Cedar Park, 2021

Today I woke up early and went for a 7:30 a.m. bicycle ride to check out the Sculpture Garden at the Cedar Park Recreation Center. They say it’s not about the destination, but the journey… but sometimes it’s really both! The sculptures on display at this time are really cool, and I especially liked the piece in the photo above entitled “Gotcha Bird with Fish” by Siri Dehipitiya. Isn’t it awesome?!

Speaking of birds, the “journey” over to the sculpture garden took me past the small ponds adjacent to the park, and I spotted a beautiful Great Egret just chilin’ in the morning sun. Super cool.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/1800 sec, ISO200
 “Great Egret” Cedar Park, 2021

Although it was only about 41°F / 5°C, the ride was super fun and relaxing because of the light traffic (being an early Sunday morning). I don’t usually ride this early but I think I should make it a habit. It’s a special way to start the weekend day.

Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4.5, 1/600 sec, ISO200
 “Morning Mango” Cedar Park, 2021

Please take a look at this morning’s ride if you have some free time:

Bicycle Ride to Relax

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“Sunset Glow” Cedar Park, 2021

Bicycles are kind of magical. They can be fun, push you to your limits, scary, and relaxing. People use them to commute, for exercise, to travel, for competition, and to simply go for joyrides. Sounds like a dream, right? I wish we lived in a world without cars… just bicycles, trains, and ships. And motorbikes. 😄

Anyways, here’s a video of a ride I took after work. A nice way to unwind and get some fresh air: