I needed some images for a project and while searching photos from 2020 I came across these. Taken when I was able to get out on longer gravel rides on the back roads. Taken on an early morning ride when there was still a bit of fog in the low lying areas.

    The golden sun is rising through early morning fog and trees.

    An early morning foggy sunrise over a field with two small horses

    A foggy morning sunrise over a distant hill beyond a mostly open field with scattered trees

    From today's trail ride.

    Ramaria caulifloriformis, coral fungi

    A pale yellow fungi that looks like a coral or califlower growing in the woods

    A fat back leaning against a very large tree near a creek in the woods

    Cortinarius distans or Laccaria, not sure!

    A orange-brown mushroom grows out of decomposing leaves in the forest

    After breakfast this morning I had about 90 minutes before the rain was scheduled to come in so I got out for a walk with the dogs.

    There was a lot of bird song so I took the binoculars and went slow. They were deep in the woods, so I didn't see many but they were all around me: blue-winged warbler, Wilson's warbler, white-eyed vireo, red-eyed vireo, summer tanager, ovenbird, Carolina chickadee.

    Birds that I did get to see were: indigo bunting, chipping sparrow and a gray catbird

    Got back just in time to take a quick ride down to the creek. A peaceful twenty minutes before the storm listening to the birds and the light rain dripping through the forest.

    A few hours later an unexpected visit from a friend who I've not seen in awhile (Hi Bill!). We spent some time catching up on the porch and listening to the bird song. He has an uncanny ability to identify birds by their song and it's always a delight to visit with him. While we chatted another welcome visitor stopped by, a bright red summer tanager landed on a branch not too far away.

    From the trail ride today: Polystichum acrostichoides, Christmas fern Tradescantia, Spiderwort

    A vibrant purple flower with 3 petals and bright yellow anthers

    A fat tire bike leans against a tree next to a trail in the woods

    A green fern photographed from above. The plant consists of six stems of leaves and the ground around it is a mix of decomposing leaves, soil, sticks.

    My photos only show a small area along the trail but this hill is covered in Mayapples. It's quite something.

    A woodland trail through a large patch of Mayapple plants which grow low to the ground and look like small umbrellas. The trail is on a steep hill that slants upward towards the right.

    A woodland trail through a large patch of Mayapple plants which grow low to the ground and look like small umbrellas.

    Lots of Mayapples on the trail as well as Andersonglossum, wild comfry which has simple, five petaled flowers. Very pretty evening bird song including: summer tanager, northern parula, and red-eyed vireo.

    A fat tire bike leans against a tree in the woods near a trail. To the right of the trail is a group of low growing, large leaved mayapple plants that look like small umbrellas

    A large leaved plant with simple looking flowers that are grouped at the top of a hairy stem. The flowers are blue and have five rounded petals

    A fat tire bike leans against a tree in the woods near a trail.

    A large leaved plant with simple looking flowers that are grouped at the top of a hairy stem. The flowers are blue and have five rounded petals

    Observed along the trail on the ride this evening: Larkspur, Delphinium tricorne.

    A mostly white Larkspur flower growing in the woods. The top rear portion is purple and aims up and backwards. A stem of four mostly white Larkspur flowers growing in the woods. There are hints of pale purple along the top of some of the flowers. A fat tire bike leans against a tree between a creek and a trail through the woods.

    With all the rain we've had recently the creek is flowing really well. My favorite place to stop and be still. These are the best moments in my simple, slow life. Learning to be content in a smaller radius and with as little external fossil fuel input as possible.

    A fat tire bike leans against a tree in the woods an near a creek

    The blurred running water of a creek in the woods, a bike leans against a tree on the far left side

    A woodland trail on the left and a bike leaning against a tree. To the right of the bike is a creek.

    Really nice trail ride today. Lots of wild flowers. Hypoxia hirsuta, common goldstar, one of those that's currently blooming.

    A fat tire bike leans against a tree near a trail through the woods

    A macro image of a yellow, six petaled flower. The petals are pointed giving it a star shape.

    A macro image of a yellow, six petaled flower. The petals are pointed giving it a star shape.

    A macro image of a yellow, six petaled flower. The petals are pointed giving it a star shape.

    A fat tire bike leans against a tree in the woods, near a creek. The sky is blue and early green leaves are on the trees.

    Some nice trail rides in recent days. Always a treat to observe the woods wake up in the early days of spring.

    I love early spring rides in the woods. I can feel spring right around the corner! It's the time of year when I can hear the spring peepers and in a couple of weeks the first wildflowers will start to pop!

    A fat tired bike leans against the moss covered remains of a fallen tree. In the background is a creek in a winter woodland.

    After a few days off the fat bike I finally got out for a nice ride on the still snowy trails.

    A fat tire bike leans against a tree next to a snowy trail in the woods

    A fat tire bike leans against a tree on a snow covered trail in the woods. A creek is behind the bike.

    Photo from yesterday's trail ride. Taken along the backside creek inflow to the lake. Some pretty grasses in this area.

    A fattire bike leans against a tree next to a trail through tall golden brown grass. A lake is in the background

    Had a fun ride on the snowy trail yesterday.

    hey fat, tired bike leans against a tree next to a snow covered trail in the woods..

    Feeling grateful for the green moss and flowing creeks that I get to visit on my trail rides.

    a fat tire bike leans against a tree next to a creek a mosque covered tree branch with a small cedar tree sprig leaning against it a close-up of a green patch of moss set against a flowing creek in the background

    A rainy day yesterday but there was a break just long enough to enjoy a ride on the trail. A fat tire bike leans against the tree next to a trail

    Creamy colored fungi grow on a tree Creamy colored fungi grow on a tree

    One of my favorite trail ride sections is a patch of cedar trees with an abundance of moss near the trail providing some winter color. A fat tire bike is leaning against a tree next to a trail

    Winter fat-biking sunset. The trail is so quiet this time of year, always relaxing.

    A fat bike parked near a lake at sunset  A fat bike leaning against the tree near the onl at sunset

    “Globally, only one in 50 new cars were fully electric in 2020… even if all new cars were electric now, it would still take 15-20 years to replace the world’s fossil fuel car fleet.”

    Cycling is ten times more important than electric cars for reaching net-zero cities

    Sun light shinging through clouds with green grass and tree landscape below Sun light shinging through clouds with silhouette landscape below Sun light shinging through clouds with green grass and tree landscape below

    Sunrise photos from my last bike ride on 9/19. An hour later I was so dizzy I could barely stand. Three weeks later and I’ve adapted. Still dizzy but I can function with it. Humbling to be so suddenly incapacitated.

    Photos taken same time, different sections of sky.

    Morning ride moody cloud landscape.

    A green pasture foreground with trees and clouds further in the distance

    A nice ride this evening. September is slowly bringing in the cooler air and it’s so refreshing. I’m ready for some fall color. Green pasture with a black cow in foreground. Further out is a tree covered hill and white clouds in a blue sky

    “On this Day” feature of Photos app popped up a few images from two years ago. One of my longer gravel routes, 52 miles with some nice hills and fantastic views. Need some adventure in your life? Get a gravel bike and go get lost on a back country gravel road!

    A green bike on a forested gravel road A forested gravel road A beardy guy with glasses wearing a bluy cycling helmet and orange jersey A dark green bike in foreground with a gravel road crossing cree in background

    🚲📷 More bike love! This is a follow-up to my post yesterday where I shared my beloved gravel bike. Today it’s my equally loved fat bike. Years ago I used a mountain bike for trail riding, this time around I opted for an over-sized fat tire bike. The tires for fat bikes range from 3.5" to 5", mine has 4" tires. As I understand it fat bikes were created for year round riding allowing for winter riding on snow and also easier access to softer surfaces like sand.

    While many of the newest more expensive fat bikes include front or even full suspension I opted for a ridged frame and fork because I tend to ride slower and on trails that are not overly rough. I also use it for gravel rides when we’ve had rain and the gravel road base is softened up as will be the case for todays ride. While a fat bike tends to be a bit heavier than a standard mountain bike that has much lighter 2" tires they do offer a soft, plush ride, the tires more easily going over fallen branches, larger rocks or other obstacles. They’re a blast to ride!

    Have a bike you love? Share it!

    A black bike with oversized tires leans against a tree in a woodland A black bike with oversized tires leans against a tree, surrounded by tall grass and trees A black bike with oversized tires leans against a fencepost, an old barn in the background A black bike with oversized tires leans against a tree and fence, a foggy landscape is in the background

    🚲

    Hey fellow bike nerds, share your bikes! I’ve got two that I ride. This is my gravel bike. As the name suggests, this is the bike I ride for routes that are a mix of road and gravel. My daily short ride is about 2 miles of gravel, 2 miles rough county pavement. The photos in this post were taken on a much longer ride into the Mark Twain National Forest into a neighboring county, also a mix of gravel and pavement and options for dirt trail as well.

    A green gravel style bike is propped up by a bike helmet on a gravel creek bed with a tree-lined creek in background. A green gravel style bike is on a gravel road with forest all around A green gravel style bike is on a gravel road with forest all around
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