DaveMatthews
Dave's not here. Cheating since 2018
- Region
- Canada
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...
2025 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos
- Thread starter Saratoga Dave
- Start date
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Great, I ve come back with Haggis money.
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Scotland day one : the reckoning
The day started calmly, I had no idea was was waiting for me.
This is the local pub in Pitlochry
Everything stops for golf, we waited patiently.. probably just putting him off.
So I'm filming backwards after telling everyone I never fall off while filming
I crashed straight into the back of Grahams Levo and rolled down the wet grass of the hill.
We stopped for piccies at the top
It was so damp and slippery that even our resident hero log jumper took to walking over obstacles.
Then reality dawned , no dropper post, bald fat tyres, 100mm front suspension only, it quickly became a trial of endurance for me.
I mean just look at that fall exposure
I'm already well into the woods, it's too steep to even walk down, I can't turn back and don't know how far it goes.
I had to man up and soldier on.
Eventually it ended and I got a cheer for trying, but decided to ditch it and do some sight seeing in the town
Immaculate tourist town
But just lovely to visit, surrounded by large hills and forest and rotund Scottish mothers you wouldn't mess with.
Who exactly mowed that grass down to the edge
Turkish barbers are now officially everywhere.
It just feels like an endless homage to something old and kept alive by nostalgia., love it though.
The day started calmly, I had no idea was was waiting for me.
This is the local pub in Pitlochry
Everything stops for golf, we waited patiently.. probably just putting him off.
So I'm filming backwards after telling everyone I never fall off while filming
I crashed straight into the back of Grahams Levo and rolled down the wet grass of the hill.
We stopped for piccies at the top
It was so damp and slippery that even our resident hero log jumper took to walking over obstacles.
Then reality dawned , no dropper post, bald fat tyres, 100mm front suspension only, it quickly became a trial of endurance for me.
I mean just look at that fall exposure
I'm already well into the woods, it's too steep to even walk down, I can't turn back and don't know how far it goes.
I had to man up and soldier on.
Eventually it ended and I got a cheer for trying, but decided to ditch it and do some sight seeing in the town
Immaculate tourist town
But just lovely to visit, surrounded by large hills and forest and rotund Scottish mothers you wouldn't mess with.
Who exactly mowed that grass down to the edge
Turkish barbers are now officially everywhere.
It just feels like an endless homage to something old and kept alive by nostalgia., love it though.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Nothing wrong with e-bikes?!
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
McKay's looks like my kind of place.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Crossing Red Sea River Fiszor
Paweł Jońca crossing River Fiszor during Mazovian Gravel 2025 race. The rider preceding Paweł is Paul Newbery (white jersey, blue helmet). Then Paweł turns and can see a line of racers crossing the river. The second in the line, yellow jersey and white helmet is my brother Jacek.
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Crocodiles!!
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
No, no, no, there are no crocodiles in Poland! It's the freshwater kraken you need to worry about.
And you have this guy to thank for it...
Last edited:
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
I would be more worried of the rubble at the bottom
That's why most riders crossed the river in their cycling shoes; Paweł took his shoes off and later regretted that!Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Thanks Stefan, are you posting keywords into my comments 
Chazmo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Central Massachusetts
Wow! Wow! Wow! 160 miles? I’m awestruck. And what a beautiful ride!View attachment 195508
I have been doing this ride every year since 2022 to remember my dad who passed away in 2022, I had my older brother in my thoughts also as he passed in April this year! St Andrews is a special place for our family, we holidayed there for many years and it was my dad's favourite place to relax from his busy work life! I also did it in 2018 not long after I purchased my e bike and I did it with a single battery back then, not a chance I could do that now!
I will continue to do this trip from my doorstep every year until its no longer possible, I usually wait for a calmish SW wind for this one but conditions were pretty much perfect with light winds from the SE which would increase as the day progressed so I would have a nice tailwind most of the way home if the forecast was correct! It was a pleasant 11C when I set off at 4.50am, St Andrews was only going to be 18C due to the easterly winds and that suited me just fine!
I used the cycle path from Plains to Caldercruix and caught the 5am sunrise!
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The low mist looked stunning at this early hour!
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I made my way out to the Clackmannanshire bridge and stopped for a couple of photos on the bridge, the Ochil hills were looking amazing!
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I arrived in Kincardine after crossing the bridge and made my way NE towards Forestmill, stopping for another photo of the Ochils on the way!
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I paid a price for taking this photo though, as I set off my front tyre was as flat as a pancake! I removed the tube and checked inside the tyre and couldn't see or feel anything that could have caused the puncture! I checked the outside and eventually found a tiny thorn, if I had left it then the result would have been another puncture as it would have pierced through the tube once the weight was on it again! Thankfully all was fine after that! I was now heading towards Powmill and took to the cycle path to Crook of Devon, I grabbed this photo of the Ochils from the path!
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I continued NE towards Kinross and then took the road to Milnathort which then leads to Gateside, I passed the Lomond hills here and they were looking spectacular today!
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I was using the main road at this time and it wasn't too busy thankfully!
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At Gateside I turned north to head for Newburgh, I enjoyed the awesome descent down into the valley here before turning east towards Abernethy! I stopped for a break at Newburgh and grabbed a couple of photos of the River Tay from the park!
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From Newburgh I headed east for Cupar, its such a great road with lots of ups and downs and twists and turns and some stunning scenery also!
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I then had this big climb directly into the wind and at 63 miles I changed to my second battery!
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I arrived in Cupar and took the road to Pitscottie and headed up the climb to St Andrews, thankfully its followed by a lovely big descent! I had only just arrived in St Andrews when a wasp flew into my mouth and the little blighter stung me on the inside of my bottom lip, I can tell you it hurt and continued to hurt for a few hours before finally settling down! I headed to the harbour cafe for an early lunch at 11am and grabbed some photos at the harbour and the beach!
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On my way out of town I stopped at the top of the hill for this photo!
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At this point I made the decision not to take the coast road to Crail, it would have been really hard going as the wind had picked up now and it would have been a direct headwind plus it would have extended my ride by 10 miles or so! I decided to take the road south to Anstruther instead, it starts with a massive climb and ends with a really sublime descent! From Anstruther it was time to turn west and I finally had a nice tailwind! I passed through Pitenweem and Colinsburgh and arrived in Upper Largo where I took this photo of the Forth estuary!
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A short time later I arrived in Leven and the 100 miles appeared on my gps, I stopped at the beach for a couple of photos!
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I continued down the coast road to Kirkcaldy and headed for Kinghorn passing Pettycur Bay where I stopped for more photos, I timed it nicely to catch the train passing!
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The beach was looking amazing once again!
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I then passed through Burntisland and continued along the coast to Aberdour and at 118 miles I switched to my 3rd battery and I was now heading for Inverkeithing! Then I turned south to cross the Forth road bridge and stopped for a couple of photos of the iconic rail bridge!
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From there I took the road to Winchburgh and then headed for Beecraigs country park where I enjoyed the big descent into the valley and then tackled the big climb using assist level 3 to get up this one, thanks to the tailwind my final battery had lots of juice left! After the climb I had the awesome descent down into Torphicen, there are 2 parts to this descent and both are amazing! I then passed through Westfield and continued west for Avonbridge, then up the climb to Limerigg where I found the road to Caldercruix closed! A bit ironic as I usually have to battle a headwind here but today would have been a lovely tailwind! So I was forced to head down to Slamannan, a cracking descent though before taking the back road to Longriggend and down into Caldercruix and west for home!
What a fantastic day that was, I couldn't have asked for better weather! I didn't quite match my 170 miles from last year but I'm more than happy with 160 miles! It was 24C when I arrived home at 5.30pm, I'm glad I wasn't riding around my local roads today....This was actually my 700th ride on my awesome Giant road bike, I only need another 307 miles to reach a milestone of 40000 miles! When I purchased it in 2018 I would never have imagined doing this kind of mileage, who knows how long it will keep going but I will keep enjoying it until that day eventually comes!
Thanks for sharing that, Rab!
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Day two Tarland and the mast
Typical view driving across the lowlands to Tarland MTB trails, this is through a heavily tinted window
This young woman fell off at this point, but seemed OK, her dogs were running around in panic
This is Brian on my Haibike, he though he could easily handle it, but the 4.8s have a mind of their own
An AA box on the way back, havent seen one for thirty years. Stands for Automobile Association, one of the two major recovery services in the UK, these call boxes
used to be al over the country.
Endless scenery of like this, there are only 5.4 million Scots and their country is two thirds of the size of England, obviously things get very remote on the top of the NW coast.
This is pretty well urban
This German guy went through half a dozen fuel and credit cards before one worked, we stood behind patiently as he shook his head in disbelief every time some obscure
schaffegottenpozzen card failed.
There are some ski resorts here, but they don't run the lifts in the summer and there are no bike trails.
The Dutch couple with the white car were unbelievably miserable and vented their frustration at the bike being in the way, the man started shouting at his wife, obviously
he didn't consider actually complaining to us because he didn't fancy his chances, he then made her back out the car while he oversaw by shouting and banging on the roof.
Angry Dutch sounds exactly like German to us, we had to stop Mike from goose stepping past him.
That blue Landrover Defender is a Chinese clone, really nice.
They did a trail and I rode through the town to the Mast, there are buildings of this style everywhere.
It took me just ten minutes to climb up here from the car park, ebikes are just bleedin awesome.
Mock castles everywhere, but they sure add to the ambience.
The Beatrix Potter garden, it seems she holidayed here in Dunkeld her entire childhood and the area was the inspiration for her stories.
It doesnt take much trimming to give a magical vibe to house, though I'm pretty sure it was the English who were behind all this.
There we go, much more Scottish, nice and stern.
Made in Scotland from Girders.
Typical view driving across the lowlands to Tarland MTB trails, this is through a heavily tinted window
This young woman fell off at this point, but seemed OK, her dogs were running around in panic
This is Brian on my Haibike, he though he could easily handle it, but the 4.8s have a mind of their own
An AA box on the way back, havent seen one for thirty years. Stands for Automobile Association, one of the two major recovery services in the UK, these call boxes
used to be al over the country.
Endless scenery of like this, there are only 5.4 million Scots and their country is two thirds of the size of England, obviously things get very remote on the top of the NW coast.
This is pretty well urban
This German guy went through half a dozen fuel and credit cards before one worked, we stood behind patiently as he shook his head in disbelief every time some obscure
schaffegottenpozzen card failed.
There are some ski resorts here, but they don't run the lifts in the summer and there are no bike trails.
The Dutch couple with the white car were unbelievably miserable and vented their frustration at the bike being in the way, the man started shouting at his wife, obviously
he didn't consider actually complaining to us because he didn't fancy his chances, he then made her back out the car while he oversaw by shouting and banging on the roof.
Angry Dutch sounds exactly like German to us, we had to stop Mike from goose stepping past him.
That blue Landrover Defender is a Chinese clone, really nice.
They did a trail and I rode through the town to the Mast, there are buildings of this style everywhere.
It took me just ten minutes to climb up here from the car park, ebikes are just bleedin awesome.
Mock castles everywhere, but they sure add to the ambience.
The Beatrix Potter garden, it seems she holidayed here in Dunkeld her entire childhood and the area was the inspiration for her stories.
It doesnt take much trimming to give a magical vibe to house, though I'm pretty sure it was the English who were behind all this.
There we go, much more Scottish, nice and stern.
Made in Scotland from Girders.
dodgeman
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Macomb, Illinois
I rode 10 miles this morning. The weather is turning brutal, high heat and high humidity. When I got back the air temp was 86, not bad but the feels like was 96. A couple pictures along the road to my house, this is less than a mile from where I live. The deer was a picture in front of my house last night before sunset.
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
What kind of hedge is that?
DaveMatthews
Dave's not here. Cheating since 2018
- Region
- Canada
Fund...
JGcycle
Two-Wheeled Shaker
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Saint John
Some kind of lilac--I'm not sure what variety--French Lilac, maybe?
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Drawing A Map of Warsaw's City Limits With An E-Bike
This is my project for this weekend. I rode for 70 miles total on Saturday, and it looks 48 miles might do on Sunday. When I'm done, my ride maps combined will form a very rough outline of Warsaw
I will report for both days when finished!
Have a wonderful weekend! (Saturday was the longest day of the year!)
This is my project for this weekend. I rode for 70 miles total on Saturday, and it looks 48 miles might do on Sunday. When I'm done, my ride maps combined will form a very rough outline of Warsaw
I will report for both days when finished!
Have a wonderful weekend! (Saturday was the longest day of the year!)
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