2025 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[Chargeride]

Ive never heard of a thru axle snapping, I'll have to call around and see it.

 

[Twin Valley]

3 weeks into our month long stay in Rarotonga the largest of the Cook Islands. We seem to head back here each year enjoying the lifestyle that is not tourist driven like other places we have visited. Each week we head back to Tike bikes to get the saltwater grime cleaned up and bike lubricated and there is no better way to experience the island than by bike. I've logged 680 km in 3 weeks and maybe I'll make the 900 click before we leave. The last picture is the garden outside of our villa a bit different than the snow swept landscape we left at home.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

3 weeks into our month long stay in Rarotonga the largest of the Cook Islands.

The first time I saw your ride on Strava, I had to check whether it was not a "virtual ride"

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Ive never heard of a thru axle snapping, I'll have to call around and see it.

Me neither but the story was good! I was indeed lucky to not have my chain jammed in the derailleur.
This morning, I installed new pulleys and brake pads on my big Vado. The dirt accumulated inside the parts, on the threads etc made the work annoying despite I was using a lot of a fluid similar to WD-40! I hope I wouldn't have the Vado broken after the first corner!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Chargeride: believe or not but this very tank was stolen on March 8th 2025. Interestingly, the Cyberpunk Car (an art form) beside the tank was not touched!

I need to ride there and verify now!

The current photo. The night after stealing the tank, someone set fire at the junkyard office.

 

[Chargeride]

Dont mess with bovverboot girl.

 

[Chargeride]

Rode around the Wirral again and visited the famous Port Sunlight Billionaire fantasy village, built by Lord Lever, the soap magnet, the company became Unilever and was sold to venture capitalists and is now called a very boring Konex.
Levers was the worlds first multination corporation and he used the wealth to build this highly stylised village for the shopfloor workers in an experiment to see if these beautiful houses and amenities would improve their well being.

Lots of different styles, all incredibly well built.

Got to have the Lion and Unicorn

Very unusual for its time, a central park, community halls ,theatres, the attention to detail, these things are timeless

It was built over many years and you can see later additions became cheaper looking.

A complete mini Mall with a gorgeous monument at the end

The detailing on the English church, bearing in mind this was built just for this experiment

Every house is lived in, its amazing they have managed to keep it so pristine

No not THAT Duke of York

His wifes art gallery Lady Lever

Built for the working classes, probably partly to see if they'd stop being so common

Get your glad rags on Doris, we're going the park.

The local dive, my kind of place.

 

[Chargeride]

It gets better, turns out it also broke the motor bearings, how about this for a turnaround.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Where is the Amflow?

 

[Chargeride]

probably hasnt been built yet

 

[Stefan Mikes]

When you own two e-bikes and ride them a lot, the maintenance is never cheap! P.S. The chain lube is made in Canada!

On a rainy ride to CentrumRowerowe.pl, which is located near to the airport.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

View attachment 190547
When you own two e-bikes and ride them a lot, the maintenance is never cheap!

View attachment 190548
On a rainy ride to CentrumRowerowe.pl, which is located near to the airport.

You seem to be having a lot of (expensive) trouble with your drive train recently. Such a shame nobody has come up with a way of protecting the drive train. Some way to cover and protect it all from the elements, a sealed unit if you will...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

You seem to be having a lot of (expensive) trouble with your drive train recently. Such a shame nobody has come up with a way of protecting the drive train. Some way to cover and protect it all from the elements, a sealed unit if you will...

Have you bought a Pinion.MGU e-bike yet?

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Have you bought a Pinion.MGU e-bike yet?

Not yet. As you know I bought a Cairn Brave. Pinion bikes are drop dead gorgeous but would cost around ten times more meaning I'd have to sell the kids. Not the worst option to be fair... But money is no problem for yourself I'm sure over there in euroland and with your gaze these days wandering to the elevated and rarefied plains of the cArbOn FibRE bicycles you could instead, surprise everyone and head for the Dark Side.

Seeing loads of happy rider reports of the MGU on the Youtube. Great for sloshing around in the winter in places like Wales with all that icy mud. That Nicolai one very popular and I see Haibike are bringing out one now as well.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

OK, Ras, now seriously. A chain lasts on my big Vado for 1,000 miles, and it is a little bit more for Vado SL. Of course, the chain needs to be degreased and lubed (unless someone prefers waxing it). I'd rather replace the chain in time instead of working on the cassette too early. Everything has its price. The problem with 1x drivetrain with either 44:46 granny gear ratio or 40:51 is you need a long chain (128 or 122 chain links respectively), and long chains don't want to be cheap It is still nothing compared to cargo e-bikes or recumbent bikes that need several chains connected together... (Not sure about the tandem, @fooferdoggie?)

The disintegrated derailleur pulley was shocking to me as I usually was replacing the pulleys every two years... Besides, the Deore XT SGS derailleur on my Vado 6.0 is one of a very few original parts! (The e-bike was built in 2017).

 

[Chargeride]

View attachment 190547
When you own two e-bikes and ride them a lot, the maintenance is never cheap!

View attachment 190548
On a rainy ride to CentrumRowerowe.pl, which is located near to the airport.

Is English used often on products in Poland?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Is English used often on products in Poland?

If we are talking of global products, that will always be English. (The importer often puts a small label with the Polish translation at the back of the packing; it is mandatory for the imported food).

Now, you wouldn't get lost when buying groceries in Poland as there usually is some extra English text (and possibly in some other languages) telling you what the product is. That's why Polish exporters do not usually need to re-label their products for the British market.

The same products can be bought in Poland and the UK.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Chargeride: if you have a simple taste but like nourishing food, try this (available in England):

(There are plenty manufacturers of this product, only the product name must be as shown; it is to be eaten cold with bread). @Brix tells me you are authorized to eat Paprykarz Szczeciński only if you can pronounce the name!

This food was invented in Poland only in 1960s!

 

[Chargeride]

I'll be honest, most people would pull a face at buying something that had the product name and description written in Polish outside of the Polish mini marts.
Mainly because most brits wouldnt know if it was Polish or Albanian.
Though that has begun to change, more and more I'm seeing an awareness developing, your army gets mentioned daily
Are you considering rejoining

 

[Chargeride]

@Chargeride: if you have a simple taste but like nourishing food, try this (available in England):

View attachment 190584
(There are plenty manufacturers of this product, only the product name must be as shown; it is to be eaten cold with bread). @Brix tells me you are authorized to eat Paprykarz Szczeciński only if you can pronounce the name!

This food was invented in Poland only in 1960s!

Ah the goulash, but it is always cold by the time you get back to your cell