bikejournal.com journal

2007/5/1
(Tue)

106.96

05:26:33

19.65

737

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Slow, aimless, urban metric. Back and forth through the city. Yet another public holiday in Lithuania. A working class solidarization. A couple of decades ago under the Soviet rule we were forced to go to mass demonstrations on this day. Not anymore. The streets were empty and the people looked tired of endless public holidays (twelve off days in April, the May started with a holiday, too). Spent most of the night at a computer, the urban metric was just the right thing my brain needed. Saw piles of white sand in Valakampiai, I suppose it was brought from the beach on the Baltics to decorate local playgrounds. Explored Turniskes and Snipiskes a bit. Saw 97 other cyclists today.

GPS files: .txt .gpx

Weather Conditions: Nice day to ride, light northerly, dry, +6C, dropped to +2C after dark. Some snow in the morning, but the day was nice.

2007/5/2
(Wed)

50.87

03:06:54

16.33

406

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: A bit of geocaching prior to work. Rode to Gudeliai hillfort, checked the geocache there, then Vingio Park, took the Pinguin TB, work. A big 40 year celebration for my coworker went pretty smooth. Started raining, rode to VP again, did some relaxing ride, the birds were singing like crazy. Got home by 8PM. Saw 24 other cyclists today.

GPS files: .txt .gpx

Weather Conditions: +5C or so, did not have a chance to glance at a thermometer. Pretty comfortable riding, light fresh rain in the afternoon.

2007/5/3
(Thu)

179.59

07:54:22

22.72

1,022

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Rode to Rumsiskes museum near Kaunas. Two flats, one of them after dark in subfreezing temps, no problem. Got home at 1:30AM there was a chance to get home earlier, but wanted to check the Estonian Ambasada. Saw only 9 other cyclists today.
GPS files: .txt .gpx

Weather Conditions: Cloudy, temperature was in the range of +5C, light wind.

2007/5/4
(Fri)

52.58

03:21:35

15.65

429

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Commute, two times to the post office with load, two Jumbo backpacks full of packages to deliver. Punctured rear tire near work, walked the bicycle and fixed the flat comfortably. Did some sloooow relaxing park ride. Stopped by an LBS, got some tube patches. Saw 61 other cyclist today.
GPS files: .txt

Weather Conditions: +12C, light wind, cloudy. For a slow ride wanted it to be a bit warmer.

2007/5/5
(Sat)

252.66

10:38:00

23.76

1,542

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Everybody had to go to work today for Monday as Sunday is Mothers day. A global weekday mixup - thanks Lithuanian government. I had a day off today! Wow! No obligations against anyone! Spent too much time at a computer in the morning and was only able to leave at around 8:40AM. Presented myself a little tour: Trakai-Onuskis-Pivasiunai-Alytus-Balbieriskis-Prienai-Rokai-Elektrenai-Vilnius. Enjoyed chatting with locals in Dusmenys, hid geocaches near Pivasiunai hillfort and Balbieriskis. Met a cycle tourist Andres from Poland near Prienai fully loaded. He was able to understand a bit of Russian. Andres said he made himself a one day tour to Lithuania and would get back to Poland by train. Nice man. Very poorly equipped reflectivewise. Punctured my rear tire twice on a streach Prienai to Kaunas. Had plans to walk around the left bank of the Kaunas man made sea, cross the dam and stop by Pazaislis, but the sun was rapidly getting close to the horizon. Decided to cut it short by A1. Saw hundreds of motorcyclists heading west. The night caught me near Electrenai. Fixed the front light and slowly made it home. Saw 27 other bicyclists today comparing to hundreds of motorcyclists. Not so many. Found myself in top 10 BJ rankings among other very respective cyclists. Great feeling. Not sure if I am going to keep it up, but I am very proud of what I happened to achieve. Could not make 300K today, maybe I need to concentrate more on plain riding. No sores, felt like I was able to do another 100K if I just had more time. Maybe in June?
GPS files: .txt .gpx

Weather Conditions: Clear: sunny and moony. The temperature was in the range of +10C when I left and around +5C when I got back. Light wind, seemed like easterly. Perfect day to ride a bike.

2007/5/6
(Sun)

37.60

01:52:52

19.99

249

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Slow evening ride downtown Vilnius and a bit of Vingio Park. Enjoyed watching the cuisine fest. Punctured rear tire by the time I was going to get home, fixed it pretty quick. A three patch cluster in about a couple of inch the tube length! Saw 67 other happy cyclists today.
GPS files: .txt .gpx

Weather Conditions: +15C, no wind. Fantastic!

2007/5/7
(Mon)

36.24

02:08:24

16.93

205

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Rained good portion of the day, so spent most of it at a computer. It is day off in Lithuania today. Stopped raining by evening, rode to Vingio Park, then shower started pouring down again. Thought would overwait it under the Pedagoginio bridge, but it continued raining, so quickly rode downtown and back. Got a bit wet. Saw 62 other cyclists today.

GPS files: .txt .gpx

Weather Conditions: +10C, light wind, rainy day.

2007/5/8
(Tue)

51.02

03:02:38

16.76

346

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Commute and the post office with load. Rained pretty bad in the morning, but not very cold. Then did a very slow relaxing Vingio Park ride. The park is getting similar to automobile race place. Another wooden bench smashed. There are still some places unocupied by motorists. So nice to slowly ride and listen the birds singing. Saw a brave duck, the slugs are showing up. Recent rainy days made the green to cover all over. I continue to amaze the people who commute by cars. The less than hour walk distance they spend over an hour in their cars. That's over two hours a day in traffic jams! Saw 39 other happy cyclists today.
GPS files: txt gpx

Weather Conditions: +10C on average, rainy morning, sunny afternoon. Nice, fresh air.

2007/5/9
(Wed)

44.57

02:25:12

18.42

327

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Rained a good portion of the day. Rode to Vingio Park. The flowers and lit candles showed up next to the tree that a car hit about a week ago. SAD. VERY SAD.
Three post offices: incoming, outgoing and EMS, delivered another jumbo backpack full of packages today.Got a bit wet, replaced front brake shoes, then some more Vingio park ride. Got home by 6PM. Saw 23 other happy cyclists today.

GPS files: txt gpx

Weather Conditions: around +10C, rained heavily several times during the day.

2007/5/10
(Thu)

88.58

04:21:23

20.33

618

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Did some errands in the morning including the incoming post office and the bank. Got home then stopped by the LBS prior to work. Found a nice wheelset there, decided to pick it after work. One of the pictures below shows a nice giant box that I found next to the post office. My 160 liter jumbo backpack is a baby camelback compared to the size of that box. Started raining pretty annoyingly. Got the wheelset and rode back home, replaced the rear wheel as it was getting close to death, put the new tire, too. Will replace the front wheel shortly. Decided to ride a bit by evening. It quit raining, so had a good chance to dry up the shoes and give the new wheel a test. Rode a bit in Vingio Park. Saw one crazy motorist zoom between three cyclists speeding like mad. The municipality doesn't do anything to prevent further deaths. Saw 58 other happy cyclists today.

GPS files: txt gpx

Weather Conditions: +10C on average, light westerly, rained several times during the day, cleared up by late afternoon.

2007/5/11
(Fri)

47.93

02:34:08

18.66

0

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments:

Weather Conditions:

2007/5/12
(Sat)

77.76

04:24:50

17.62

419

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments:

Weather Conditions:

2007/5/14
(Mon)

32.19

02:07:44

15.12

204

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Recovery ride after a bd party. Consumed a bit too much. Did not feel like I could ride very easy, relaxed in Vingio park a bit, rode to the stadium. Saw 133 other happy cyclists today.

GPS files: txt gpx

Weather Conditions: Nice and sunny.

2007/5/15
(Tue)

67.10

03:57:10

16.98

519

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Still not feeling right after wife's bday celebration. Did some slow park ride after commute and the post office. Met Antanas, a fellow who used to be into cycling sports a while ago. Rode a Gariunai-Bukciai loop together, got back to the park, I slowly relaxed making a few lazy kilometers and got home. A nice white doggie unexpectedly showed up in front of me, most likely smelled something tasty while I was having a lunch break on a bank of a river. Saw 63 other happy cyclists today.

GPS files: txt gpx

Weather Conditions: Felt like +18C, some clouds, nice day to ride.

2007/5/16
(Wed)

101.61

05:23:16

18.86

751

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Commute and the post office, typical routines. Rode to Pavilniai, started raining. Wasn't cold, completed the day slowly riding in the Vingio Park. Met Antanas during the day again for a quick circle in the park. Checked the power plant and took some pictures prior to reading the sign forbidding taking movies or still pictures, so not going to publish them here. Punctured the rear tire near the TV tower right before getting home. Saw 93 other happy cyclists today.

GPS files: txt gpx

Weather Conditions: +13C on average, overcast, some rain, light wind.

2007/5/17
(Thu)

104.08

04:53:59

21.24

677

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Another spoke broke and the rim seemed to be unusable anymore so replaced the front wheel. Commute, the post office, some errands, enjoyed slow Sereikiskiu park ride, then Vingio park, Titnago-Lazdyneliai loop, some more Vingio park ride, got home, answered email and rode to Vingio park again. Afterparty recovery is almost complete. Saw 111 other happy cyclists today.

GPS files: txt gpx

Weather Conditions: Nice and warm +15C. Overcast most of the afternoon, but it did not rain. Cyclists dream.

2007/5/18
(Fri)

161.45

06:59:15

23.11

1,048

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Stopped at mom's in the morning, fixed the utility equipment rapidly, then by the office and to the post office. The whole afternoon was free, slowly rode in Vingio Park, then decided to ride to Kernave for a pint or two of cold beer at Kerniaus. Made a small slow loop at Oakery. Kernave was full of kids, Kerniaus too, so turned back home. Thought would detour at Dukstos toward Maisiagala, but changed my mind and made it straith to Avizieniai. Met many hitchhikers and cyclists loaded with paniers and backpacks heading toward Kernave. A sunny and warm weekend is on the forecast. Got back to Vilnius, all thirsty. Bought myself some cold gira with a hot kibinas at a kiosk, ate it within seconds. Rode some extra casual miles to complete the century. A circle around the Gedimino Castle and a few loops near home.
Finally it is warming up! Saw 270 happy cyclists today.

GPS files: txt gpx

Weather Conditions: Felt like +20C, some clouds, seemed like it cleared out late in the afternoon. Light wind, couldn't tell the direction. Most likely, headwind round trip.

2007/5/19
(Sat)

133.51

05:40:09

23.55

0

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments:

Weather Conditions:

2007/5/20
(Sun)

36.41

02:25:24

15.02

314

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments:

Weather Conditions:

2007/5/21
(Mon)

105.54

05:50:34

18.06

549

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Saw 26 other happy cyclists.

Weather Conditions:

2007/5/22
(Tue)

18.95

00:57:26

19.80

114

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Saw 15 other happy cyclists.

Weather Conditions:

2007/5/23
(Wed)

67.58

04:05:47

16.50

489

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Saw other 179 very happy cyclists.

Weather Conditions:

2007/5/24
(Thu)

63.49

04:02:15

15.73

296

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Saw other 216 cyclists today.

Weather Conditions:

2007/5/25
(Fri)

88.19

04:48:39

18.33

522

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Commute, the post office, a bit of Vingio park ride. Made myself a small tour to Trakai afterwards, missed the Critical Mass in Vilnius, but enjoyed a very tasty kibinas in Kibinine restaurant followed by a great night ride back. Only saw 35 other cyclists today.

Weather Conditions: Hot during the day, comfortable at night.

2007/5/26
(Sat)

76.70

04:31:24

16.96

448

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Slow and relaxing ride through the city and parks.

Weather Conditions: Terribly hot +30C or so, I can't stand it. Slow riding in the wind helps a bit.

2007/5/27
(Sun)

118.84

05:07:16

23.21

692

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Explored a newly built expensive bike path Rubezius-Traikai. Only saw three other cyclists on the whole track: a couple with a five year old daughter. No none cyclist on the path met on the way back! The day was great, tried to ride around the lakes, got stuck at eastern part of Luka a bit scared of approaching rain storm so could not complete it, rode Trakai back and forth. Soooo many tourists, but enjoyed the day except for the rear tube blew up. First time this happened to it: part of the stem flew far far away and I could not find it. This is why it is always not a bad idea to carry a spare tube with you. I can only guess why the stem tore. I shouldn't have pumped the tires to the full 100psi prior to leaving at +30C heat, then after I jumped over a pine root and landed on the rear tire the air decided it was time to escape and found the way to do it. Returned through Naujasis Lentvaris and Grigiskes, the motor traffic was huge. Made it really quick Lentvaris to Grigiskes thanks to a nice tailwind combined with a pretty steep descent. Totally saw 104 happy cyclists today and about 15,000 car drivers trying to share the road.

Weather Conditions: Bring me back to February for a few minutes! Incredible! +30C or even above that. Some rain. No mudguards, no big deal. The one and only jersey will soon get unwashable. A backpack helps to keep the back of a jersey just a little bit cleaner. I don't care much.

2007/5/28
(Mon)

49.04

02:33:24

19.18

356

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Quick commute then home, feared to get wet. It did not rain, so took a relaxing park ride by evening. Rode to a gas station for my favorite garlic sausage, brought my own sauce and used half a dozen of napkins I was given to clean up the pulleys. Saw other 124 cyclists today.

Weather Conditions: Hot and humid. Felt like +30, this is when you sweat off the saddle and dry up riding. No big complains tho.

2007/5/29
(Tue)

79.81

04:29:06

17.79

497

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Commute and the post office with load. Left the second jumbo package for tomorrow - too hot to travel back and forth with load. Some slow park ride, rode to Salote, Giluzis. Too many people, too many cars, too loud music. The state heritage Vilkeliske Hillfort is freshly used for quad races. Weird. Will most likely report it to heritage agencies. Some more Vingio park ride later, by the river, plain slow back and forth. Got home before the rain. Saw 126 other cyclists today.

Weather Conditions: Hot, humid and rainy. Strong shower in the morning and in the evening. Happened to stay dry the whole day.

2007/5/30
(Wed)

103.54

05:13:36

19.81

709

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: Checked the post office and rode to Balsys lake. Just wanted to see the monument I saw in one of the online pictures. I had never ridden by that beautiful path before! Will come back later when I have more time. Got to work OK, although it was very hot. The post office with load and some park ride. Got home to continue installing new computer hardware, no luck. Then LBS, got a pair of new shoes, switched the pedals SPD to eggbeaters again, tested the new shoes. Felt pretty good. Had a small b-day party for Paulius by night. Saw 225 other cyclists today.

Weather Conditions: Hot and humid again. Lots of water drunk, lots of sweat. Felt like +29. It seemed like the clouds were dangerously collecting up in the sky in the afternoon, but it cleared up again by 6PM. Nice day.

2007/5/31
(Thu)

28.23

01:31:11

18.58

198

Road: Flat

Trek 520
Touring

Bike Friday

Comments: The hardware installation took most of the day again. A quick commute late in the afternoon, the post office and stopped to watch the horses in Vingio park. Saw 35 other cyclists today.

Weather Conditions: Overcast, rained around noon, rather comfortable. The temperature in the range of +20C. Nice.