winter cycling thoughts
Posted: November 24, 2014 Filed under: cycling | Tags: 2wheels2kids, cycling, give a bike to a kid, winter 26 CommentsCycling in bad weather can still be fun, you just need to dress properly…
layers are what it’s all about in winter cycling
Turn yourself into a layer cake… under-shirt, shirt, fleece, jacket, leggings, jeans, inner socks, wool socks, gloves, ear-band, balaclava will keep you warm. I can promise if you commute to work this way, you will be wide awake when you arrive!
And for those of you in the holiday spirit, we are set to give away at least two bikes to kids at 2wheels2kids.wordpress.com – here’s what we did last year.
Ride safely – and watch out for dark ice.
a little miracle
Posted: November 16, 2014 Filed under: pearls of wisdom | Tags: gabe, hope, miracles, mutual assured exhaustion, preemie 14 CommentsNot sure if you remember Gabe ( here’s the link to his arrival as a preemie )
We had to do a spot of babysitting and I found he’s thriving. I was supposed to tire him out, but I think we agreed on mutually assured exhaustion.
Who’s tiring out who ?
Children are hope. Children are miracles.
Gilman Trail – cycling – food and bridges
Posted: November 9, 2014 Filed under: Chicago, cycling, food | Tags: beer, cycling, Two Brothers Roundhouse, V Gilman trail 25 CommentsThe Gilman trail, just off of the Fox River trail in Aurora Illinois runs just over twelve miles to Sugar Grove. It was a blustery day, gusty and cold. It starts on an old railroad right of way and I was struck with the thought that who doesn’t think engineers are artists has not contemplated bridges.
A converted rail-road bridge across the Fox river.
Crossing rivers, or highways
crossing the highway in style
Or streams
A little suspension bridge over a stream
And if you bike back to the Two Brothers Microbrewery at the old roundhouse at the train station in Aurora you can get a craft beer ( Prairie Path Ale ), and food to keep you pedaling in the cold.
Two Brothers Brewery Prairie Path Ale
Beer and a mufaletta… a fine lunch for a bike ride and fuel for the last 10 miles home.
Mufaleta.. what’s that ? Better try one to find out !
philly – cycling and food
Posted: November 2, 2014 Filed under: cycling, food, Philadelphia, travel | Tags: cycling, food, monk's cafe, philadelphia, rim's cafe, schuylkill river 42 CommentsIt was blustery, I mean windy in Philly when my favorite youngest and her boyfriend took me through the city traffic to the bike path along the Schuylkill river. We had seven hard miles out, and then blew back like leaves tossed in the wind.
Cold, Sunny and windy along a tributary to the Delaware
You just don’t go anywhere in Philly without finding something historical, and some of the stonework on the bridges or off the path is outstanding. But when we passed Paine park, which surely must be named after Thomas Paine, the author of “Common Sense” where he railed against primogeniture and the monarchy for the right of the common man, I thought history has a sense of humor. He got a skate park.
Returning, windswept we could see the setting sun reflecting gold against the sky-scrapers, and I was reminded of how the Spaniards must have felt about El Dorado, the city of gold. The city skyline is very nice, and nicely lit at night.
If you get to Philly, stop at Monk’s Cafe for Chimay beer, brewed in Belgium by Trappist monks where it with the restaurant’s wonderful scallops and mussels will fill you with pleasure.
And the one place that is a must visit is the Rim Cafe in South Philly. It is truly the best hot chocolate I have found ( my previous favorite was a little place near Garmisch at the border of Germany and Austria ) but at the Rim cafe, they are passionate about chocolate and everything is hand made. it’s expensive but the drinks are lovingly prepared
Each glass is meticulously prepared
When they have drizzled the salty caramel, or the dark chocolate and add the molten hot chocolate ( either dark or milk ) you won’t regret it. I almost tried the edible gold cannoli ( but Jan convinced me a $24.00 pastry was over the top )
Here’s two of our drinks almost ready, before they added shavings of chocolate truffle and other amazing toppings…
almost ready… just a perfect cookie, and hazlenut, berry and chocolate truffle shavings to add….
Philly – a good place to cycle and enjoy the table.
boca raton just desserts – food
Posted: October 24, 2014 Filed under: boca raton, food, travel | Tags: boca raton, city oyster, dessert, food, key-lime pie, pecan pie 19 CommentsMaybe the last merger trip brought us down to Boca Raton where it was a sultry 80 degrees to the Chicago 40. If you get down to the Del Ray beach you can sit along the sidewalk at the City-Oyster and watch the pretty girls go by and enjoy a drink and delicious food. From the Prince Edward Island mussels cooked in white wine with caramelized onion to the smoked fish dip served with home made saltines you won’t be disappointed. A sip of one the local craft beers, a bite of saltine and the fish spread… a wonderful combination.
But the desserts were perfect too – key-lime pie which is cool and tangy, just the right cooling sensation for the warm weather.
never underestimate the subtle pleasure key-lime pie delivers
And because we were sharing – we tried the pecan pie. Brash and bold, this pie was served in a glass with pie on the bottom, a layer of vanilla ice-cream, and then home-made marshmallows with a touch of caramel on top. It was the complete opposite of the pie, but outstanding in itself. The nice thing was that all the desserts were made in the restaurant, I like that. It makes the dining unique.
pecan pie taken to the next level
Consider adding the City-Oyster in Del Ray to your dining list.
mackerel sky and food and cycling
Posted: October 20, 2014 Filed under: cycling, food | Tags: bob chin's wheeling, cycling, des plaines river trail, dessert 20 CommentsWe set out to ride along the Des Plaines River but it was a Mackerel Sky – Never long wet, never long dry. At fifteen miles of rain it was time to turn about and admit defeat and try to get warm. There was a bit of color to offset the drab raining sky.
Chris and some of the lovely maple trees along the river
Once back, we were near Bob Chin’s Seafood Restaurant in Wheeling Illinois where ( we were amazed they let out wet muddy selves in ) and I enjoyed a fine clam chowder followed up by mussels and then finished off with a family recipe for dessert unlike any I have tried. It was pie, with the purple base made from potatoes grown in Okinawa which are regular potatoes with the purple color. It is whipped finely with coconut milk and served on a graham cracker and macadamia nut crust and topped with a layer of coconut with a texture like custard and that topped with whipped cream. It was rich and tasty and not overly sweet.
The perfect dessert, unique and satisfying
Of all the place in Chicago, Bob Chin’s is right up with the Publican in restaurants not to miss. It makes a day cycling in the rain and mud seem not so bad.
birds
Posted: October 18, 2014 Filed under: art | Tags: art, birds, cardinal, goldfinch, woodpecker 10 CommentsMore birds from my favorite youngest daughter. Birds make me happy.
Goldfinch, Woodpecker, Cardinal
The gift of beauty
Shared between two hearts as one
Goldfinches bring good luck
mountain blue-bird
Posted: October 13, 2014 Filed under: art | Tags: art, mountain blue bird, print making 17 CommentsIf you ride in the meadows of the Big Horn mountains, you might discern small non-descript birds alone or clustered in groups of five or ten along the fences. Nothing much to see until startled they take flight and sunlight sparkles off their wings in the brightest blue.
Mountain Blue-Bird in Wyoming @Megan Webb 2014
My favorite youngest daughter captured this in her series of birds. She’ll have a series of eight birds out soon. How fleeting and precious are the moments.
iowa, planking, cycling, rootbeer and chicken livers
Posted: October 8, 2014 Filed under: cycling, food, Iowa, travel | Tags: chicken livers, cycling, iowa, nishnabota river, onion rings, rootbeer 23 CommentsIowa was so friendly, and the Wabash Trace so nice that it needs a second post. In Shenandoah at the restaurant called the Depot – you can get a locally crafted root-beer. Rich and smooth with just a hint of anise it was a treat.
Root beer from the Depot in Shenandoah – served in a frosted mug…..
We stopped at several other nice restaurants, but I couldn’t find one that sourced local Iowa beef, maybe that’s something to find in nearby Omaha which is a larger city, but when I asked the waitress what they recommended everyone said “Onion Rings” and “Chicken Livers”.
Now that’s an Iowa onion ring, served at J Brunners
I have to admit that all my life I’ve never tried a chicken liver, though my mother a farm girl loved them. So to honor Mom’s memory we tried the chicken livers and they were very tasty.
Breaded hicken livers, mushrooms and provolone – rich and tasty
Maybe this is Iowa foie gras? It was pretty good but very rich.
So, if we’re going to enjoy the table – we’d better do some extra along the trail…
My favorite oldest daughter planking on a break in the trail
Well, we can’t let youth have all the fun….
planking on the bridge over the Nishnabotna river
Safe riding everyone!
wabash trace cycling in Iowa
Posted: October 6, 2014 Filed under: cycling, Iowa | Tags: birds, cycling, iowa, wabash trail 27 CommentsIf the Wabash Cannonball still runs, it runs in Iowa along the Wabash Trace, sixty miles of delightful trail in Iowa. The original Cannonball, as legend goes was the death caboose that took the hobos of the depression to a better place. I suppose I’ll defer my ticket till a later date and trust my bicycle along the converted trails.
Iowa is prettier than I imagined with it’s rolling hills and miles of grain. Some of the hills are terraced to conserve the soil, and I could feel the farmer’s love for the land as we rolled along the converted trail, with 73 bridges along the 63 miles and the gentle long inclines that the old steam engines so favored.
The Wabash Trace near Shenandoah Iowa
The many bridges span ravines, little streams or the Nishnabotna River…
Across the river and onward….
Pictures don’t do Iowa justice. On the cold blustery day the sky is so blue and brilliant the vistas so large I liken it to the ocean. We a red-headed woodpecker, a black vulture flew overhead and a state where the goldfinch is the state bird has to be just fine.
Every hill has a new vista
You can hop on the trail at Council Bluffs, and ride the length in a day, the hills are gentle but long and the people of Iowa seem to be friendly. This trail and all the bridges are all volunteer build, so there is a small fee at the trailhead. It’s very worth it to see a piece of history in a great state.
bwthoughts 