Photos from your rides.

[kiwisimon]

This is a few hundred meters away from home. Was a clear day and that reef break in the bay (2nd pic) is sometimes surfable with a good northerly swell (winter). 1.5 kilometers away is a good left hand beach break. Last pic is from our back yard. 2011 the tsunami covered everything including the seawall in front of the grass and reached about 6 feet below this point. My FIL had walked down to take a look. We are on a headland so not as bad an idea as it sounds. The rise was not so rapid. He could have retreated to slightly higher ground. People north and south of our town were killed but they mostly lived in steep coves, bays and inlets so the water kept coming in and rising, tragically they had nowhere to escape to or not enough time to.

[Baron Blubba]

7 miles from my front door is this little gravel paradise. A 2 mile dirt road with an 8 mile dirt road loop attached to it. It's an incredible 10 mile stretch of unbroken gravel that I could ride forever and never get tired of, although I would get pretty tired. The way this loop changes with the seasons is fantastic, always something different, dipping down to the riverside then up up up then back down again. There are fast sections, a few hills that'll make one feel some burn, and some descents and twisty corners that have really helped me become a better off-road bike handler (I still suck, but I'm better than I used to be!) 4 cars, dozens of cows, a Siberian Husky + his little terrier pal, lots of lurking cats, a llama, some donkeys, a goat, and two old men in a Klunker rustbucket black Pontiac with yellow racing stripes. All in 2 hours, I'll take it.

[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

...And here are a couple from yesterday's ride. The pic below is Locke's Mill, which is still active. No relation.
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

And this is an unexpected little-to-mid sized waterfall. Easily missed since it's at the bottom of a hill that most people bomb down at 40+ mph, but worth stopping for if you know about it, it's really nice. (Most people don't do this road in the opposite direction, as it's more fun to bomb down a quarter mile hill at 40 mph than climb it at 4 mph.)
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

[mhespenheide]

Jealous!