Tag biking

Fort Bragg: A Moment to Say Thanks

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

After selling our Ashland, Oregon home two months ago, Sue and I vowed to remain focused on the moment and make the most of our freedom.

We came to Fort Bragg, California, planning to stay a few days. The weather, charming town, spectacular trails, combined with fun times with old and new friends, have stretched our stay to three weeks.

Four state parks, practically within shouting distance of our camp at Pomo Campground, offer trails that took us to coastline scenes that exploded in beauty and to redwood giants that displayed their rugged beauty.

And my friend Bob, whom I met 10 years ago through an Ashland area bicycling club, invited me to join his biking group here. (Fort Bragg is his primary home.) Friendly members of the Seniors on Bikes (SOBs) welcomed me on several rides on the bike path along the coast to MacKerricher State Park.

We felt part of the community during our stay, taking part on the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot, a fund-raiser for the local food bank and high school track and field team.

Now we say so long to Fort Bragg. Thanks for the memorable times. And for so many great moments.

Warm Up Your Bike on Tucson’s Loop

Reg Spittle Leave a comment

Want to escape the cold and discover one of the nation’s hot spots for biking? Sue and I like Tucson, Arizona for January temperatures in the 60s and 70s and for the area’s hiking and biking trails. We sampled The Loop, a 60-mile-plus paved bike path around the city that took us through desert cactus scenery. We bought inexpensive Trek hybrids at a great shop here; road bikes would work well on The Loop, but we plan to ride unpaved paths later this year. (We walk the mountain paths around Tucson.)

Spectacular Seguaro cactus forests climb nearby mountains that offer hundreds of miles of hiking trails, many open to bikers. I will share more of Sue’s photos on future posts.

It was tough to give up our Giant 90s-era hybrids that Sue’s parents rode around Europe and the USA. But their weight and the pull of new technology finally drew us to updated bikes. We donated the Giants to Bicas, a Tucson warehouse and workshop that connects bikes to people in need. Mom and Dad would approve, I am sure.