Reverie

Sunday mornings often find me on Clark Street, and subsequently taking a ride through Keney Park. It's a nice way to clear my head. I lost a cousin in a motorcycle accident this past week, so I was especially appreciative of this morning's brisk ride. I didn't see another person inside the park, which made it all the more peaceful and reflective. This was just what I needed. The weather was bright and beautiful, more picturesque than my last overcast trip down this particular path.

The snow on the path was crunchy and compacted, well-suited to the smooth and relatively skinny 40+ year old tires on my Robin Hood. I know I really ought to change them, but nobody makes a red line tire in the 650A size. They complement the patina of my stately Nottingham beater so nicely as it is. The age cracking adds grip.

Be well, ride safe. Read more!

Keney Park in Winter

An appointment near our city's northeastern corner ended earlier than expected, giving me a few extra minutes to enjoy the ride to my next stop. In such a circumstance, there's no better route than one through Keney Park.

I rode through the northern entrance in Windsor and took the paved road past the cricket fields, pausing to inspect a puzzling milk crate full of tropical produce sitting atop some fresh-split wood. The traffic noise faded quickly, and there were few other people around to disturb the silence. Even Tower Ave. was unusually quiet as I made my way between the upper and lower park.
In the southern section of the park, I took the nature/ fitness path. Nobody has bothered to clear the snow from this and many other paths in the park. I guess that's not very good from a park maintenance standpoint, but to be honest, It was kind of nice that way. There was just enough snow for ambiance without making pedaling significantly harder. The lack of seasonal leaves opened up the view to the horse corral. At the southernmost end of the park I pedaled hard and fishtailed the bike on the black ice-covered walkways. Again, this is not very safe or good maintenance on the city's part, but I found it entertaining.


When I lived in New Jersey, my friends and I would avoid the Jersey shore like the plague until after Labor Day. It was then that we were free to fly our kites and enjoy the warm water without traffic or interruptions. Parks in the winter can be like that. Most people don't think to enjoy them this time of year, so you can have the whole place to yourself.

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late, late night ride and drive through drama

Any ride starting at 12:20am at the North Main Street entrance to Keney Park is pretty much expected to be interesting. I left Babaganush's house in Frog Hollow in a rush after a grueling, great, but losing table tennis match. North Main Street's clubs and bars were bustling with people. Seemed like everyone was having a fun, peaceful night. I arrived late to Keney Park. A tall person in a white T lingered in the darkness next to the entrance gate. He called out to me! Whew... it was Joel and he was full of stories of the randomn crazy shit he had watched while waiting for me.

"Where we riding?"

"I dunno, where do you want to go?"

"I don't care, but I'm kinda hungry. I want food. Or maybe a Frosty!"

Yep, conversations like that can only lead to dumb ideas. Joel suggested Wendy's at Buckland Hills. And with that, we took off to cross the river on the 291 Bridge. What a great ride. I got my ass handed to me several times on several hills, but loved every minute of it. Joel kept exclaiming how we were geniuses for riding at night, the coolest time of the day. It was hilarious! "WIll, we're freakin' geniuses! Everyone should be out right now! We're freakin' geniuses! Geniuses!" Too, too funny. And totally, completely true!

With Joel as a trusted guide, we wound through East Hartford and Manchester and finally arrived at Wedny's. I rode to the drive through window. A man sweeping kinda ignored me until I asked, "Are y'all open?"

"yeah...for cars!" He replied, smiling, but serious.

"Huh? Dude, I just rode here from Hartford C'mon now, hook me up!"

He consulted with a manager out of my view and quickly got permission to serve me. After taking my order and money I asked if i should pedal up to the next window. He cracked up and said yes. All worked out, but really!?!? Really Mr. Man at Wendy's!? Its onefrreakingthirty in the morning...so what if I am on a bicycle?!?!?

We ate. We joked. Joel seriously suggested some exploring. I seriously wanted a hammock. We retraced our steps most of the way. We parted ways at the East entrance of the pedestrian ramp in...in...I dunno. East Hartford or South Windsor? We actually got a bit lost and rode into SW for a ways before making a u-turn and figuring things out. Joel crossed the Connecticut River on 291 and went home. I decided to avoid the North End at this crazy hour and pedal South through East Hartford and cross at the Buckley Bridge.


Crossing at 2:56AM! What a random ride for crappy fast food. This is summer in Hartford to me. Fun rides with friends for no real reason. Life is wonderful.

By the way, if anyone reading this will be in Columbus Ohio tonight in the Short North, gimma a holla if you need a ride. I'll be pedicabbing for my friends' company; ECT Pedicabs! Holla!





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late night bicycle beer delivery

It was wonderful being back in da 'beat for a week; especially all the late night bike rides with friends i miss dearly. I forgot what kissing the river with Krash and Joel was like and on Tuesday night mistakenly brought out the island fixie. whoops! Fatter tires, gears and brakes were far more useful than a basket...especially on the Myrtle Street Tuck'n'Bomb! We picked up Rick enroute to PHH and enlisted him for the ride and had a great time. Playing chase at the EH ghetto velodrome with four bikes was crazy fun! Congrats to Joel for winning and taking home with him...bragging rights til next time! My biggest surprise was forgetting how shitty and potholed the roads are in da 'beat. wow! Later, on rides with my road bike, i was super happy to have 35's between my bike and I, and the roads. Props and 'nuff respect to everyone battling the crappy roads and crazy drivers in the city. Stay safe y'all.


Wednesday night Krash and I decided to ride out to Joel's spot with a sixer and give him some company. I have no idea how far we rode, but it was cool to ride Joel's commute from Windsor, though we did take an extra credit night route through Keney Park. Ha! Just as we entered at Tower Avenue a passing car yelled at us not to go in there at night. I wasn't worried about riding though as much as flatting out. But we survived and exited onto 159 and rode North.


We stopped on the bridge over the Farmington River. My biggest regret being back in CT was not taking a swim in this beautiful river's cold water. There are no rivers in Key West and right now the ocean temp is freakin' 90 degrees. Even a CT heatwave was relief for me...especially the wonderfully cool nights. Loved them!


Eventually we made it to Joel's and promptly got a tour of his camper and cracked open the beers. mmmm...beer. The ride back was fun. Joel accompanied us to Windsor Center before u-turning home. Krash certainly exploited my legs which were used to flat island riding, but i mos def beat him up a few hills; which by the way, I really miss hills. Up, down, whatever. Its all good. Hills are a much, much more fun challenge than a headwind!






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Looking for stuff

View keney stuff in a larger map

On Saturday, my job impelled me to chill in Keney Park, which is fine because I love chillin in Keney Park. When chillin disbanded around two, I headed north because of I've wondered what's north of the golf course, as in the mysterious Matianuck State Park and its dunes. There's a trail that runs along the western edge of the golf course, which I had been a little ways down before, but not very far. I figured this would be probably be the best way to access the mysterious park. It goes for a ways and then starts to branch off. It appears that these trails are seldom used except for by a few dirt bikes. Eventually, I must have entered the park, because I saw a few professional-looking white blazes on the trees (like in real state parks). And, I think I found a dune, or least it something sandy. There were also lots of stacks of tires, which led me to think that this state park must have had grand prixes in it at some point. Eventually, I ended up in that big cemetery off of Blue Hills Ave in Bloomfield.

tires

dunes?

Sunday, I found a pond on top of the mountain in Avon off of the secret communications station road at 360 (380?) Montevideo Rd. I guess it must be Hoe Pond. It looks like there's a really awesome house on the pond that goes the pond in its backyard and a view of the Farmington Valley in the front.

pond

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Another one of those "hey! check this out!" posts

So, the 5K at Keney was too hard to execute during the budget season, so it's been reimagined into a car-free day at Keney from 10 to 2. Yay!.

Also, CT-NEMBA is sponsoring a trail work day at Riverside Park on June 6 ahead of the cyclocross race. Way ahead of the cyclocross race. Read more!

Horsey Horse

Horses are weird.

I try not to let my job and this blog overlap very much, but sometimes, I think this place is a good sounding board. Beat Bike Bloggers and their affiliates often find themselves in Keney Park. So, this is probably of interest.

There has been discussion for a long time (since the mid 1990s) about the development of an equestrian center in the northern part of Keney, specifically near the Barbour street entrance, a wooded area. It would be around two hundred acres (slightly less than one third of the park). I'm not going to express my opinion here, but I'd like to know what others think of this plan. What is the role of a 19th century, woodsy, and at times underutilized park at the beginning of the 21st century? Are the present Greater Hartford equestrian centers inadequate? Should parks be retrofitted as economic development drivers?

There's a meeting tonight of the Public Works, Parks, and Environment committee at 5:30 in the Council Chambers at City Hall to discuss this. The plans and more information will be available there. Maybe you should stop by. Read more!

Discover Hartford Walking and Bicycle Tour 2008

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day for a wonderful event here in Hartford. I have no idea what the turn-out was this year, but from all the smiles I saw, it seems like a raging success. Thank you to the CCBA, all the volounteers, all of the sponsors, and to the walkers and riders for a great morning and afternoon. I got some great photos of all the shenanigans!

I saw many more police officers corking intersections this year, it was great. As soon as cyclists arrived at a manned intersection, the officer stopped traffic to let us through. Yeah baby! I also saw riders, not just marshals, stepping up and corking a bit! Well done! We all felt like VIP’s! I also really liked the waterproof maps and cue sheets. Well done CCBA! Great idea! But, just curious, who uses the cue sheets!?!? Who!?!?

I think Keney Park once again stole the show. The cool shade of the tree lined roads felt great as the day warmed up a bit. Enroute some hateful, racist yelled, “Go Home!” from his car on the bridge near Weston Street. I found that sadly funny as I, along with many others, live in Hartford. Ha! I guess that’s why it’s called ignorance! Anyways, Keney Park! Woo-haaa! The riverfront was also nice, but I spent a lot of time in the beginning of the tour helping people with my mini-pump. I really wish I had brought a floor pump, but I wasn’t expecting to be a marshall!


This dude and his doggy are ready to pedal the city!!!

Not sure what else to write. There’s a bunch of photos of the tour and our afterparty @ Kenny’s (Red Rock Tavern) after the jump. They are all in chronological order since I’m kinda anal like that somethines! Enjoy.

Click read more to see more!




“I do it in Hartford” I want that woman’s t-shirt!!!!


Joel and Kristen hard at work at the registration table! Hey, i think he likes you. Get a room!!!


Bianca and a Velomobile with a sticker saying “Bianca Signs” She's says no relation...but who knows!?!? I think she secretly makes bicycles and signs at night in her basement. I forget the dude’s name…sorry!


Krash and Wizzy on the tandem. They later arrived at Kenny’s (Red Rock Tavern) on another tandem. There’s atleast 3 in town right now scooting around. NICE!!


Rick, ohhh Rick. Another flat! Dang dude! What's with you and flat tires. There’s Babaganoush and Lindsey just about to ride past him wondering the same thing!


I dub thee, “The Yosemite RV!” WOW! What a set-up! I love it! Notice the kid's bike on the rack on the trailer!


Sonny showing how much of a safety man he is…tubes and patches! Good thing too, as he later entertained us with an amazing over-the-handlebars dismount on Fern Street. The average judges' score was an 8.6! We were stopped for Ben’s 2ed flat and the homeowner came out with a floor pump! Yeah! Go Hartford! I have no idea why everyone who got a flat…got two? Wierdness indeed.


Do not attempt to adjust yer computer monitor. The water in this pond in Goodwin Park is indeed green...really green! So green, that stuff floats on top of it!


I actually discovered something new about Hartford!; this pathway between Wethersfield Avenue and Brainard Road. I don’t think its usually open though, but what a great little shortcut!


I always seem to get people into situations like these! I wanted to continue along the riverfront and not backtrack so we went this way to avoid being seen and having people mistakenly follow us. Atleast she has a cross bike and well... this is what it is made for!


Donnie taking orders and making us laugh at Kenny’s. I respect and like Donnie a lot, though I pretty much refuse to call the bar by its new name, Red Rock Tavern! I am going to get him elected mayor someday because he runs a great business and really knows how to treat people and keep them coming back. Corner of Capitol and Lawrence Street. Lots of lockable bike parking along the patio fence.


hmmm…Rick again…and now on a different bike! After his second flat, he stopped home and went for the burly mountain bike!


Amy Z and Big Nick chatting amongst the dozens of bikes in and around the bar!


More bikes at the bar. Krash and Wizzy switched to Amy Z’s and Rick’s tandem, seen here. Lots of tandems around. I like that.


Dawn and I took a ride around the block while waiting for our food. It was each of our first times on such a bike. Fun! I’d like to go on another short ride on one.

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Critical Mass. August 2008.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

This was a great ride on a beautiful night with lots of new people and another foray through our beloved Keney Park. Colleen brought her pops, Valdez brought his daughter, everyone brought a great vibe and we all had a great time. There was also a father and son from South Carolina. or was it North Carolina? Gimme a holla! Minimal car issues and more people stepping up to cork intersections when needed and talk to drivers kept things running super smoothly.


i was running super late in a mad dash to get my old school 3speed on the road for the ride. i met up with the group in East Hartford with only one speed, but one sweet looking bike!!! yeah baby yeah! The 3speed was one of a dozen or so free bicycles i picked up last week. Want one? check this post for what's left.

The ride crossed Founders' Bridge and wound its way to Main Street in East Hartford, where everyone pulled over to wait for Dawn, me, Karma and Brenden. It was fun arriving late having no certain idea what had been decided and where we were going. We headed North into South Windsor and across the bike/ped lane of the Bissell bridge. Rachel flatted out in the boat launch park and Rick and Krash got her fixed up as others rode in circles to escape the bugs. Dang skeeters! Others chatted, new friends were made and there was interesting relay riding with tastey, frothy batons!

Then it was off to Keney Park as the sun set. We passed several parking lots full of life; car stereos bumping music, BBQ's and North End peoples enjoying a great Friday afternoon in the park drinking brews. Everyone was super cool, waving, shouting and we all shared some great energy. Ahhhh. Sometimes things in Hartford just flow wonderfully.

We exited the park in the dark at Tower Avenue and rode straight down Barbour Street to Capen St. and then east to North Main Street. Barbour was a pretty crazy, sketchy, wonderous, great, paradoxial ride to say the least. We passed the scene of a recent shooting, though i don't think many knew it. Most groups of people and all small kids waved and yelled with genuine smiles. A few yells of, "Duuuude and Awesome" in faked "white" accents were kinda funny. The large black dude that came into the street and was pretending to grab cyclists as they rode by while yelling, "gimme that bike!" seemed more of a joke gone too far than any kind of threat, but some people certainly didn't enjoy that. There were certainly a few other negative and ignorant comments here and there, but by and large it was all good. No, F that. By and large it was all great!

We took a lane down Main and returned to the club area where many of us went to Mad Dawgs for pizza, 40's, beer and pole dancing. yep, that's a winning combination right there.


Rich was really making it happen!


Corey showing us how its done safely with a helmet and eye protection!


40's are fun! They really make me a better (pole) dancer!


Afterwards we decided to buy copious amounts of beer, pizza, burgers and have a postride firepit bbq party in my backyard. Wow! What a great way to end the night. By the way, the party planning and flat fixing was great to be a part of. I saw lots of people stepping up, wanting to help and really making it happen, especially at the party. Beer was bought at several locations. Krash and Wizzy brought two pizzas. Boz was persistant as not one, but two grills failed him, and he had to finish cooking in a frying pan in my apartment! Everyone really worked together and looked out for one another. I really like that.

Thank you and big ups to everyone in the ride and along the ride, it was a great time!

many more photos if you click Read More below!




North Main Street.


This was fun to carry in my messenger bag and on my handlebars from the local bodega.


i wish i had a better photo of the bicycle parking in my garage for the party. T'was a beautiful sight to behold!


Rich has mad stupid skills; he can even hoolahoop!


But it was Dawn's and she's a hoolahoop master and had the thing going up, down and all around.


hmmm. looks like lucas is handing me a beer. jeff, stop staring at Dawn's butt! Rich, stop bragging about yer skills!


Dang! Rich! You dance too! I also remember dancing with Bianca, but i also remember spinning myself into a fence as i fell into the flowers.


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Bring Your Rubbers alleycat roundup

Holy Shit that 1st band was loud! The hood was scared!

The alleycat popped off very well indeed. The police only came twice and the fire department once...not too shabby. We had three super loud bands and a super unloud stereo for the afterparty as well as a keg and other libations. Many thanks to Krash, El Presidente de China, all the bands (Fruit Punch, Dirty South Revolution and Own Life), the peeps who held down the checkpoints and all the racers. And the sponsors! Manhattan Portage, for the 1st prize messenger bag, Play in Traffic Productions, for the Monster Track DVDs, 5-Boro Generals, for the t-shirts, and CCBA for the stainless steel, non-carcinogenic water bottles and Brendan for the whiskey.


TJ proudly wearing his medal of fastness. He shoulda paid attention and worn some rubbers as he found himself thigh deep in the flooded Connecticut River carrying his bike to the bonus checkpoint. That’s core dude!


manifests and maps

Here’s the list full of misspellings:
1 TJ (dreads)
2 Shanesaw
3 Valdez
4 Sean
5 Aaron
6 Jeremy
7 Tony C
8 Mourad
9 TJ (no dreads)
10 Steve
11 Rich's eyeglass case
12 Robin
11, 12 or 12,11. Who knows!?!?
Opton missed a checkpoint and got a flat, but won a 40 for the breakdown
Rick and AmyZ never left my checkpoint!
Two others?…Orion and Matt didn’t finish? Got swept away? Traded to the Mets?

the checkpoints:
pope park pond, keney park pond, elizabeth park pond, lincoln's horse EH riverfront, park river @ asylum and woodland, constitution plaza fountain, chillwill's backyard, and prove you went to wendy's on airport road. bonus spot: hock river ped bridge in EH


The band, the crowd, the keg, a MP lanyard...i dunno, its freakin dark!

there's prolly another dozen photos after the jump.
click on "read more" fool!


pay up!


robin and jeremy enjoying the park


lauren and that dude whose name i got wrong at the park...help!?


15 minutes til "GO!"


Tony C, an army of one.


where's that sculpture of Lincoln's Horse!?!


that's right suckas, you gotta climb two sets of sketchy fire escape stairs to get yer shit signed.


jeremy and aaron navigating the Stairs of Death


this dude was flying down Cap Ave


steve trying not to eat metal steps


once they pulled out the buds...there was no leaving!


dirty south revolutionaries


steve, bianca, ozzy and more manhattan portage schwag


own life


tony makin' all the right moves


krash, chris, and that dude from the dirty dirty. he was mad cool.


i am not sure i improved much from the 40 i had the night before


ken demands the 'stache is back


bicycles, bicycles, bicycles, bicycles, bicycles, bicycles


el prez lookin' el serious


eva chulita and meeeyoo! i don't sleep anymore cuz of these chicas, but its all good. (be nice when you tell me how to spell yo name)


watching the van back out and in and out and in to get out was funny. i have a cargo van and feel thier pain in that parking lot.


wow! the pope park checkpoint and friends. eva, wizzzzzzy, laura, meeeyooo and leslie who also won the pullup competition!



rich is proud of his DFL prize, an acryllic block with a CT quarter that says, "you belong in connecticut."



el prez on his Xootr just seconds before bailing on going to the diner at 3am






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