In honor of JSP’s birthday

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Renee
Today would've been Ron's mom Judith's ## birthday. In this classic old photo, Ron sits by his mom as she blows out candles on her birthday cake. So beautiful!

Today would’ve been Ron’s mom’s ## birthday.
(Nobody knows how old she really was ; )
In this classic old photo, Ron sweetly sits by his mom as she blows out candles on her birthday cake. So beautiful!

In her memory, we ate breakfast at her local diner in Chelsea today.

In her memory, we ate breakfast at Judith’s local diner in Chelsea today.

Then we biked around town. (This shot is taken looking up 5th Ave towards the Empire State Building. On the left, the gold-topped building is the 1898 Sohmer Piano Co. Building. And on the right is the backside of the Flatiron Building).

Then we biked around town.
(This shot was taken looking up 5th Ave towards the Empire State Building. On the left, the gold-topped building is the 1898 Sohmer Piano Co. Building. And on the right is the backside of the Flatiron Building.)

There are still pretty leaves here in NYC. (City Hall Park)

There are still pretty leaves here in NYC.
(City Hall Park)

Tonight we biked through Times Square and headed downtown for a little birthday celebration.

Tonight we biked through Times Square and headed downtown for a little birthday celebration.

We had a very pleasant dinner, including homemade tagiolini with fresh white truffles from Alba, Italy.

We had a very pleasant dinner, including homemade tagliatelle with fresh white truffles from Alba, Italy.

I toasted Judith with a glass of bubbly, a favorite of hers... Happy Birthday. Love you and miss you.

Happy Birthday Judith. We love you and miss you.
(I toasted her with a glass of bubbly, a favorite of hers.)

Categories: Bike & BIte, NYC | 3 Comments

Rainy day : )

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Renee
Splashdown! Rain didn't stop us today. We ran errands and laughed through the deluge.

Splashdown! Rain didn’t stop us today. We ran errands and laughed through the deluge.

Ron is laughing here, as we head uptown.

Later, it was like a monsoon as we headed uptown and Ron kept a smile on his face.

We met cousin Kelli at The Meatball Shop for sliders... Do you want beef, pork, chicken or veggie? Sauces include marinara, mushroom, parmesan, pesto, etc. Decent food.

We met cousin Kelli at The Meatball Shop for sliders… Do you want beef, pork, chicken or veggie? Sauces include marinara, mushroom, parmesan cream, pesto, etc. Decent food.

Then we headed over to The Comic Strip. We saw Erin Jackson perform in Central Park over the summer and we finally caught up with her again.. Very funny.

Then we headed over to The Comic Strip. We saw Erin Jackson perform in Central Park over the summer and we finally caught up with her again.. Very funny.

Happy campers. Good laughs.

Happy campers. Good laughs.

Heading back downtown, the rain is finally lightening up..!

Heading back downtown towards home, the rain is finally lightening up..!

Categories: Bike & BIte, NYC | 5 Comments

Mister Fix It

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Renee
Since selling our company, people are curious what we do with our time. If you follow this blog, you’ve seen that clearly we do a lot of biking. You may have also seen blog posts of Ron building and modifying bikes, which he loves. Well, he’s also got a hobby of helping people with random, on-the-spot bike repairs, whether it be for friends, family, strangers or delivery men.

Since selling our company, people are curious what we do with our time. If you follow this blog, you’ve seen that we do a lot of biking. You may have also seen blog posts of Ron building and modifying bikes, which he loves.
Well, he’s also got a hobby of helping people with random, on-the-spot bike repairs, whether it’s for friends, family, strangers or delivery men.

Queensboro Bridge fix.. tightening down the stem and handlebars. When someone looks like they have an issue, Ron asks if they need help and you should see the smiles.

Queensboro Bridge fix.. tightening down the stem and handlebars.
When someone looks like they have an issue, Ron asks if they need help and you should see the smiles.

This delivery guy down in NYC's Alphabet City had crashed. Despite the blood pouring out of him, Ron fixed his wheel and retensioned his chain. (I helped too.. I gave him a band-aid : )

This delivery guy down in NYC’s Alphabet City had crashed. Despite the blood all around, Ron fixed his wheel and re-tensioned his chain.
(I helped too.. I gave him a band-aid : )

Fixing the derailleur and resetting the chain.

Fixing a derailleur and resetting the chain. It helps that Ron always carries tools.

Brooklyn brake fixer.

Brooklyn brake fix.

No matter what it is that has to do with bikes, Ron's happy to fix it. Here he's straightening out the sign at Sussex Bike & Sport. "Happiness On Two Wheels"

No matter what it is that has to do with bikes, Ron’s happy to fix it. Here he’s straightening out the sign at Sussex Bike & Sport.
“Happiness On Two Wheels”

My own personal roadside bike repair service on the East River bikeway..!

My own personal roadside bike repair service on the East River bikeway..

Gear issues on a Pennsylvania trail.

Gear issues on a Pennsylvania trail.

This guy was stuck with his chain snarled in his front derailleur. Ron fixed it.

This guy was stuck with his chain snarled in his front derailleur. Ron fixed it.

Ron traveled across the country to San Fran to rebuild the back hub of a custom Ron bike for our friend Jay.

Ron traveled across the country to San Fran to rebuild the back hub of one of his custom bikes for our friend Jay.

Fixing his own rental bike in California.

Fixing his own rental bike in California.

This cutie pie needed a seat adjustment. Yep, starting him early... no pedals, no training wheels.

This cutie pie needed a seat adjustment. Yep, starting him early, not even two years old.. no pedals, no training wheels.

This Central Park bike renter had a problem with her seat, which kept sliding down. She was miserable, but Ron tightened it up in a jiffy. Mister Fix It..!

This Central Park bike renter had a problem with her seat, which kept sliding down.
She was miserable, but Ron tightened it up in a jiffy.
(I try to take pictures of the repairs because I’m proud of him being so handy and helpful.)

Categories: California, New Jersey, NYC, Pennsylvania, Random R&R | 14 Comments

Girders and shadows

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Renee
Bright blue, beautiful day today. The Queensboro Bridge beckoned us out of Manhattan. It was interesting to see the Roosevelt Island tramway just sitting there, suspended over the East River.

Bright blue, beautiful day today. The Queensboro Bridge beckoned us out of Manhattan.
It was interesting to see the Roosevelt Island tramway just sitting there, suspended over the East River.

Maybe it was regular maintenance, but it was quite a sight to see a guy hanging there. All is a day's work, eh?

Maybe it was regular maintenance, but it was quite a sight to see a guy hanging there. All is a day’s work, eh?

Under the tracks of the 7 trains in Queens.

Under the tracks of the 7 train in Long Island City, Queens.

Avocado tartine and Ron's favorite smoked whitefish salad at Bakeri in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Avocado tartine and Ron’s favorite smoked whitefish salad at Bakeri in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Williamsburg, woo hoo..!

Williamsburg, woo hoo..!

Flushing Ave near the Navy yards. Signs say along this route say "No Trespassing. Government Property."

Flushing Ave near the Navy yards. The shadows make it look like Ron’s riding his bike on top of the railing.

More cousin time. Jason and Kelli welcomed us into their Fort Greene, almost Clinton Hill walk-up penthouse.

More cousin time. Jason and Kelli welcomed us into her Fort Greene, almost Clinton Hill walk-up penthouse.

Jason was jetting out of town, and Kelli was due on set, but we got to say HI, hug hug, kiss kiss.

Jason was jetting out of town, and Kelli was due on a movie set, but we got to say Hi, hug hug, kiss kiss.

What a view from Empire Fulton Ferry park...!

What a view from Empire Fulton Ferry park…!

To mix things up, we decided to take the Brooklyn Bridge today. Although beautiful, it's a bit dangerous with all the tourists walking into the bike lane. And today, a lot of tourists on Citibikes were parked in the bike lane.

To mix things up, we decided to take the Brooklyn Bridge today.
Although beautiful, it’s a bit dangerous with all the tourists walking into the bike lane. And today, a lot of tourists on Citibikes were parked in the bike lane.

Always nice to see Lady Liberty, especially on an epic blue sunshine-filled day..!

Always nice to see Lady Liberty, especially on an epic blue sunshine-filled day..!

Categories: Bike & BIte, NYC | 1 Comment

Tuesday.

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Renee
After a good visit to the dentist this morning, we hit Central Park for a lap.

After a good visit to the dentist this morning, we hit Central Park for a lap.

We couldn't help but stop and enjoy the beauty of the trees in the 74 degree temperature.

We couldn’t help but stop and enjoy the beauty of the trees in the 74-degree temperature. We watched the ducks and saw a redtail hawk flying above us.

The bench had a dedication that said: Sit & feel the peaceful comfort here. Relish the sweetness that life is. Smile, laugh & enjoy the company.

This bench had a dedication that said:
Sit & feel the peaceful comfort here.
Relish the sweetness that life is.
Smile, laugh & enjoy the company.

Beauty is everywhere: reflections on St Patrick's...

Beauty is everywhere: reflections on St Patrick’s…

Tonight we had an early birthday celebration for cousin Angela... dinner and a movie. HAPPY BDAY ANGELA.!

Tonight we had an early birthday celebration for cousin Angela… dinner and a movie.
HAPPY BDAY ANGELA.!

Good. Night.

Good. Night.

Categories: Bike & BIte, NYC | 2 Comments