Finally, a Sunday afternoon when all cyclists were glad to be able to say "Here Comes The Sun."

Today was the first really nice day to go for a bicycle ride in several weeks. The high temperature was around 60 and the skies were sunny. There was some wind, but that's OK. 

I rode to Lewisville from my house to join the group ride, that was leaving at 2:00 PM. There are many different groups that meet at the Lewisville,NC  Town Square. I arrived a little early and had time to say hello and visit with friends, that were there to ride their bikes. The group I had planned to ride with was gathering up. We had close to thirty riders today. 

The group I rode with gathering at the Lewisville Town Square.

We rode through the town of East Bend and made a loop through Yadkin county and rode back into Lewisville. 

Everyone was enjoying the sunshine and rode a little quicker than we usually do. The route was forty two miles in length. We rode it at an average speed of close to twenty one miles per hour. 

Back at the square I stopped to visit with the other riders and rode on in.

It sure was nice to have a warm sunny afternoon to go for a ride!

The video below is the group riding into East Bend, NC on Flint Hill Road.

Music by: Lightnin' Hopkins "Tell Me"

Poor ole' Joe kept me company while I cleaned my bike after the ride.

The video below is the Beatles song "Here comes the sun."

"Here Comes the Sun" is a song written by George Harrison from the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road.

Emile Daems

Emile Daems

 Emile Daems (1938) is a former Belgian professional bicycle road racer, whose career spanned the years 1959 through 1966. He spent the majority of his career racing for two power-house professional teams of his era: Philco(Italy) and Peugeot - BP (France). 

During the 1962 racing season Emile Daems had 14 professional race victories. Included in that year's wins are the race Milan-San Remo and two stage victories at the 1962 Tour de France.

He is best remember for his 1963 race victory at the tough spring classic race, Paris-Roubaix.

Emile Daems after his 1963 Paris-Roubaix victory.

Gunnar Roadie - Moonlight Mile

Gunnar Roadie - ready for a moonlight ride

 It takes some ingenuity to work a bicycle ride into your day, when the daylight hours are shorter than your work schedule. It can be done, if you have bright lights for the front and rear of your bicycle. Piling on some extra cloths will get you through the cooler temperatures that you have to deal with after the sun sets.

Finding a safe place to ride after sunset is the hardest part of night riding. Fortunately, there is an industrial park close to my house. After 6:00 PM there is almost no traffic on the roads inside the park. The pavement is good and there are lots of street lights. 

I can get in about an hour of riding, before I get too bored, on the roads in the industrial park. There is a loop that circles the outer edge of the area that is about two miles in length  An hour is about as long as I want to ride a loop that short. 

The temperatures were mild in Winston-Salem today, and it stayed above 50 degrees for my whole ride. The forecast for the weekend is for much colder and wet conditions. I enjoyed getting outside for a bike ride and not being stuck on a trainer. 

It's less than a month till daylight saving hours take effect. Until then, I'll keep on going with my moonlight rides.

Niterider rechargeable rear light

A bright light on the front of my Gunnar Roadie

In the video below The Rolling Stones preform "Moonlight Mile" in Toronto, Canada in the year 1999. They orginally recorded this song in 1967.

The Rolling Stones - Moonlight Mile

Charles Pelissier

Charles Pelissier

Charles Pelissier (1903-1959) was a French professional bicycle racer during the years 1922 through 1939. He was the youngest of the three Pelissier brothers, who all raced as professionals. His older brothers were Francis and Henri Pelissier. Charles knew that he wasn't as talented as his older brothers and was content to rise through the ranks. 

He was the Elite National Cyclo-Cross Champion of France during the years: 1926, 1927 and 1928.

During his career he won 16 stages of Tour de Frances. His most famous year was 1930, when he won eight stages. He also finished in second place during seven stages, and finished third place in three stages of the 1930 Tour de France. That year he was 9th in the overall general classification.

Charles Pelissier

Click here for more information on Charles's older brother Henri Pelissier.
Click here for more information on Charles's older brother Francis Pelissier.

Wonder Wheels: The Autobiography of Eileen Sheridan

Click on the photo to enlarge it

Wonder Wheels by Eileen Sheridan
First Published by Nicholas Kaye Limited - 1956

 Re-printed in 2009 by Mercian Manuals LTD
Hardcover with 158 pages.
www,mercianmanuals.co.uk

Wonder Wheels, the Autobiography of Eileen Sheridan, tells the story of Sheridan's start in club cycling through her eventual career as a professional cyclist. The title of this book, Wonder Wheels, was also a slogan used by Hercules Cycles. She was sponsored by Hercules in the early 1950s as a professional cyclist.

 As a British cyclist during the 40s and 50s Eileen Sheridan broke all the long distance records for time trials. She broke records at 30 miles (1948: 1h 19m 28s), 50 miles (1949 and 1950: 2h 14m 16s), 100 miles (1950: 4h 37m 53s) and 12 hours (1949: 237.62 miles). Her record for 1,000 miles was 3 days and 1 hour. She also found success bicycle track racing.

Sheridan's happy personality comes through in her writing. At 4'11' she is often described as a "dainty" lady. Regardless of how tough the conditions she found herself in,while racing and breaking distance records, Sheridan always smiled and kept a positive attitude. 

She gives the details of her cycling years through the 1956 in the book. Not mentioned in the book are the hardships during World War II that she surely had to endure. 

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun book to read that also tells an amazing story. This book can be hard to find, but well worth the search. Click here for more information on Eileen Sheridan.