2020 : Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Cowlitz]

Stefan, those berries look like huckleberries. I have spent a lot of time hunting and picking huckleberries. They are a delicacy here. The huckleberries grow in Washington, Idaho and Montana and like to have sun. I used to pick them in old logging units where the trees were clearcut, removed and the unit burned and replanted. Huckleberries like that. Then, such logging became a thing of the past, the trees that were planted grew well and blocked out the sun, AND this is what I really hate, herds of professional pickers arrived by the van full. They found our secret but easy to get to spots so one had to hike quite a ways in to find huckleberries that were not picked. That was one of the reasons I bought an e bike. Then, I moved to a different climate where there are a few, very small berries.

I have seen huckleberries advertised for $60 a gallon. I think you got a good deal.

Oh, huckleberries are related to blueberries. They are a variation, I think.

Knowing where they are is like having a good fishing spot. You only tell very close friends and family where your berry patches are. When a newcomer asks, you tell them a place that is over run with pickers and never reveal your secret spots. I would give away quart jars of huckleberries for gifts and also make pies out of them. My mouth is watering now.

If you want to know more about the huckleberry experience, there is a fictional murder mystery called The Huckleberry Murders and the author is the late, great, Pat McManus.

 

[Cowlitz]

Today's ride went as planned. A headwind out, a tailwind back. I was pessimistic about that because the wind was supposed to switch "in the afternoon" and I thought it would switch earlier just out of spite. It did not.

Traffic was pretty light but there were more bad drivers than usual. I almost had to ride into the ditch and then for some reason got honked at later. I don't know if it was a polite honk or a hateful honk. I could have followed them into their driveway and asked, "Whataryou honking at?" This is an area of heavily armed people so I did not think that to be wise. I rode on by.

This is the thriving city of Riverside. And yes, there is a river nearby. Gas is three cents cheaper here too. I did not socialize or go into the store. I did stop and drink some water because I had a long hill to pedal up.

The hill was 3 miles long but the tailwind really helped. I stopped at the top where there was a bit of shade alongside and heard somebody softly singing in Spanish. On the other side of the scraggly tree was an orchard that had been cut. I think he was grafting scions onto the stumps.

Here's the top of the hill looking back towards Riverside. The ride went as planned. Thank you wind.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stefan, those berries look like huckleberries. I have spent a lot of time hunting and picking huckleberries.

It looks huckleberries is the American name for bilberry (the latter being the British name). I'll tell you what.

Bilberries (as I call them) are plentiful in Poland. When I was a young university student, I and my (late) best friend Julian (who eventually passed away in Rhode Island for the record) went on another hiking escapade to Bieszczady Mts, which border with Ukraine and Slovakia, and are the wildest of Polish mountains. That is, these are not the tallest but wild.

Of course, we ate a lot of the berry during our longest hike but what we could see there was exceptional: we met bilberry pickers. They had homemade "combs" made of very thick wire and they were just combing many kilograms of the fruit in short time!

It might be also interesting to know Norway is even more plentiful with their variety of bilberry (we Poles call it "czarna jagoda" or "black berry" while the blackberry is "jeżyna" here. The Norwegian call their variety "blåbær", that is, blueberry even if it's not the American high-bush blueberry). I absolutely loved the blåbær juice when I was a frequent visitor to Norway!

Bilberry is very popular in Poland. Unluckily, the blackberry (that is, "jeżyna") is in decline, and it has become an expensive delicacy here.

This is an area of heavily armed people so I did not think that to be wise. I rode on by.

And the area is?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

If you want to know more about the huckleberry experience, there is a fictional murder mystery called The Huckleberry Murders and the author is the late, great, Pat McManus.

Thank you Cowlitz! Will look it up on Amazon! I love murder mystery fiction!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Time for breakfast …

I suspect this is 'dumped' EU produce!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Whers

Time for breakfast …
View attachment 61180

I suspect this is 'dumped' EU produce!

Where's that actually made, David?

 

[fooferdoggie]

went to a new to us town of lake oswego outside of Portland Oregon. nice rich area with some really nice houses along the lake. saw a cool looking great Dane at a dog training class. there wre soem serious expensive houses here with boat houses no less. I mean when you have artwork that looks like cattails is that yuppy or what? (G) How about a emergency call box on a Forrest path.

 

[steve mercier]

 

[steve mercier]

This always reminds me of that lame old movie " It's a mad mad mad mad mad world" When Jimmy Durante utters his dying words that the treasure is buried under a big W.

 

[steve mercier]

 

[steve mercier]

100 km today. The building behind the trees holds my motivation for riding a century as it is about 50 km from my home and makes the best capuccino in the city.

 

[Cowlitz]

It looks huckleberries is the American name for bilberry (the latter being the British name). I'll tell you what.

Bilberries (as I call them) are plentiful in Poland. When I was a young university student, I and my (late) best friend Julian (who eventually passed away in Rhode Island for the record) went on another hiking escapade to Bieszczady Mts, which border with Ukraine and Slovakia, and are the wildest of Polish mountains. That is, these are not the tallest but wild.

Of course, we ate a lot of the berry during our longest hike but what we could see there was exceptional: we met bilberry pickers. They had homemade "combs" made of very thick wire and they were just combing many kilograms of the fruit in short time!

It might be also interesting to know Norway is even more plentiful with their variety of bilberry (we Poles call it "czarna jagoda" or "black berry" while the blackberry is "jeżyna" here. The Norwegian call their variety "blåbær", that is, blueberry even if it's not the American high-bush blueberry). I absolutely loved the blåbær juice when I was a frequent visitor to Norway!

Bilberry is very popular in Poland. Unluckily, the blackberry (that is, "jeżyna") is in decline, and it has become an expensive delicacy here.


And the area is?

The upper north central part of Washington State. It's a very very conservative area. Washington the state is divided by a mountain range and the mountains also are a political divide and that's all I'm going to get into on that. Suffice it to say that I like the areas on both sides of the mountains.

How high are your berry bushes? The ones that I like to pick are about 4 feet high. My parents would come over and camp in the patch and carry chairs along so they could sit and pick. That particular spot was flat, which is rare.

It is customary to try to scare other pickers away by talking about seeing bears and such. My dogs liked to eat the berries so sometimes I'd have to make them go find another place to "pick". Ahhh, huckleberry picking! It is a whole cultural thing. Speaking of culture, the Native Americans are big time pickers and there are some areas which are reserved for them to pick. Before the Europeans arrived, they would burn areas to keep the berries growing and also make habitat for animals. There are some spots where it is said that the ground is "sterilized" because it was burned so many times.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

How high are your berry bushes? The ones that I like to pick are about 4 feet high.

Perhaps that's the major difference between huckleberries and bilberries, as the bushes of the latter are very low.

The specific thing about bilberry is the inside of the fruit is purple making your hands and inside of your mouth stained when you eat the fruit. The bilberry bushes can easily grow in coniferous forests, forming a deep "carpet" on the forest floor. At locations where there are no trees but a lot of sunshine, these grow even better (for example, in Bieszczady Mts, known for their "połoniny" or high mountain pastures).

Sjusjøen (Seven Lakes), Norway, 2003. That's the Norwegian mountain ski resort for cross-country skiers in Lillehamer area. There, the blåbær (same thing as bilberry: just European blueberry) grow knee-deep. You can see goats merrily feeding there

Blåbær form the only undergrowth here. No wonder you can buy blåbærsaft (bilberry juice) and blåbær preservatives at any Norwegian store!

100 km today. The building behind the trees holds my motivation for riding a century as it is about 50 km from my home and makes the best capuccino in the city.

Congratulations, Steve!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

After breakfast ride* …

Redland Bay
Moreton Bay Cycleway – Sothern Section​

Southeast Queensland's Moreton Bay Cycleway is separated by the Brisbane River. I mainly ride the northern section but last week decided that it was time to revisit the south. What a disaster…

With the Homage loaded onto the rack I set off, as already indicated, straight after breakfast. Why didn't I heed my satnav's prediction of 72 minutes instead of the usual 57! Well, I found out on the motorway: Accident ahead. It was considerably more than an extra fifteen minutes. I gave up and pulled into the nearest railway station – always a good place to leave the car (believe me, I know from expreience!).

There followed a ride downriver to Brisbane and up the well-known northern section the cycleway that ended with the train ride 'home' (post #2186). And so, eventually, to the southern section after breakfast yesterday.

I have mixed feelings about it… I think I'll give the southern section a skip for a few months before revisiting: about a third of the route is right next to the bay (photo above), another third through wetlands and other attractive areas (photos to come) and the final third beside, sometimes on, busy arterial roads. The straight, or almost-straight, lines on the map are the unpleasant bits.

Moreton Bay Cycleway​

• The photograph of the dinghy was taken looking northeast from Victoria Point (15 km on map).
• Coochiemudlo Island can be seen in the 'distance' beyond the dinghy.
• As usual, the photo was taken with a wide-angle lens (28 mm).

* To be truthful, a ride after yesterday's breakfast. Today's ride was into Brisbane with a friend (riding his R&M Delite) to raid a delicatessen for nuts, biscotti, halva, baklava, dried muscatels and whatever else could be crammed into panniers.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The photograph of the dinghy

A lovely one!

 

[Alaskan]

Nancy and I went for a ride yesterday. I am so blessed to have such a spirited, fun companion in life.

 

[Mulezen]

Did she buy you that jersey? I love it

 

[PDXzap]

Pedal only...

 

[Alaskan]

Did she buy you that jersey? I love it

I actually bought it for her.

 

[ElRojo]

Another short escape!