The Ride of the Barrowdrim
 

Does your barrow have a bicycle in it?

I'm wondering if there are some Barrowdowners who ride their bike regularly and would like to Tolkienize their rides.

There are a couple of places we could take this thread-- either saying which part of Middle-Earth you are riding through; or what Tolkienish name you've given your bike; or maybe even a low-key "walk To Rivendell" sort of analogy. (I don't have the time to do it up big, like the original Walk to Rivendell-- a rather large web-wide phenomenon).

For those cyclists or mountainbikers who aren't familiar with The Walk to Rivendell, the idea was to keep track of the miles you walked, and figure out how much progress you were making along The Road to Rivendell, starting at Bag End and followed Frodo's footsteps. Maybe as Barrowbikers (Barrow-Riders? :p ) we could follow some different rides mentioned in the books. Does this spark anyone's interest?

Have you named your bike after a Tolkienish horse? I'm debating names for my bikes, and haven't decided on one yet. Shadowfax seems too obvious, and since I'm no Lance Armstrong, it also seems too presumptuous. Stybba? Hasufel? Can't decide.

I live in the hills of Rhode Island (yes, it has them, small but steep.) I need to scan a map to figure out which M-E hills best approximate ours...

I am no Ivan Basso, but I really enjoy ridding my bike. I rather like the idea of "walk to Rivendell" for bikes, as it is easier for me to keep track of how much I am biking. (I walk alot, but have no means of keeping track of it).

I don't have a name for my bike yet, but I shall look for one.

For those who want to join the Walk to Rivendell at the Éowyn Challenge site, it's also possible to collect mileage by biking and/or other exercising. The charted paths can give you inspiration for your rides, and if you register on the Shields page, be sure to sign up for the Barrow-Downs group and add lots of nice black shields for us!

Wow, Esty-- is the competition still raging??? I thought it would have been over by now. I wonder if I still have an account there. I did for a while.

Well, in that case, I heartily encourage cyclists to sign up as Estelyn suggested...

...but you can still post here-- steed's name, roads taken, vistas viewed, miles galloped...

Although I don't ride regularly enough, I've always liked Firefoot, the name of Eomer's horse. So when I do ride...that's it's name!

Funny... so have I. ;) :D

I love biking, but I'd have the same problem with that as walking - no good way to track mileage.

Elf-Mart has good odometers for cheap. The magnet goes on a spoke, the sensor goes on your fork. Feanor invented them, but Schwinn isn't giving him any royalty fees. I think Feanor should sue.

Ooh. Will have to check that out. :cool:

My big black mountain bike
 

My bike is named The Witch-king of Wagner, after The Lord of the Ring-cyclists..

Ouch!!!! ... Yo-to-to-ho----Oh! Now we know what the wraith screeam sounds like...

What's your "local" trail like, and where else do you ride? Shire, Bree, Mirkwood, Lothlorien, Old Forest, Druadan Forest.... Misty Mountain Hop? Dunharrow Downhill? EEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess i should describe my "local"-- actually I have several.

We own two acres, the house sits on thr front acre and the back acre is wooded with little trails. That'll be Hobbiton. But I don't ride those trails very often. I should; they are challenging.

Just north of our platte is a square mile of woods; this is full of trails, including some technical singletrack. I might call that The Old Forest.

Just west of our platte is a good-sized reserve, which has lots of open, grassy doubletrack. I'll call that Green Hill Country. I've been riding there a lot lately.

Once in a while we drive to Arcadia state park-- I'll call that.... hmmmm. It's huge, and the terrain is very varied, and there are some views, and the highest natural point in the state (not really all THAT high.) What to call that? I'll have to think that over.

Baguio City (where I'm studying) is pretty much steep... so I can't really bike. But back at home on our village, I bike everyday. I used to imagine that the big houses with overgrown gardens were Mirkwood (those really look like Mirkwood!); and our garden is Valinor (it's free to dream). I haven't got names for other places there.. and my bike prefers to be unnamed.

I just revisited the Walk TO Rivendell site, and I'm amazed. They've done marvellous work, expanding the milage to include Frodo's entire quest-- even, astoundingly, to the Grey Havens, and back to Bag End with Sam.

hats off to them.

And I guess-- it's now worth going back through my logs (rowing and biking both) and entering my miles, and seeing where I've gotten to over all these intervening years.

Thanks, Estelyn, for the nudge. I had been hesitating, because it never did seem fair to me to use biking miles, since Frodo walked most of the way to Mount Doom. But then, on the return trip, he did ride.

I guess I can change my ergometer kilometers into "Anduin" miles. :)

Now I have to decide whether to pick up where I left off, or, start over... I'm not sure I still have the old data.

(Prepares to rummage through several dusty old wooden chests)

I've been a little more into biking recently, and my bike will now be called Tharbad, the place where Boromir lost his horse on the way to Rivendell.

I just found this thread...
 

My bike is not a bike! It's a horse!

Well, not actually, but I talk to it, I pat it when we make good timing, and say Noro lim! when I think we're late... Even though it's for my own benefit, not for the bike's...

I didn't give it any official name, but in my head it's Asfaloth.

And most of my "trails" are to the grocery shop or thereabouts. But I think that imagining that you're one of the Grey Company squeezing the most out of your horse does add a certain touch to it. :)