Show us pictures of where you ride your ebikes!

[Jeremy McCreary]

Can I show someplace I wish I could ride?

Bataquitos Lagoon Trail entrance overlooking the east end of the lagoon. The trail runs the length of the long north shore and part way around this end, where it's fed by its 2 main tributaries — San Marcos and Encinitas Creeks.

Would love to explore the whole trail gently by bike — especially this end. But the lagoon and its shores are an Ecological Reserve allowing nothing on wheels.

Both agree and benefit. Our patio and the canyon wall beyond get lots of wildlife — including roadrunners, coyotes, and raptors. Pretty sure that living ⅔ of a mile up-canyon from a big nature preserve has a lot to do with that.

Of course, there are also the rattlesnakes to consider (bottom sign above). We all know that they're trained to deal with hikers from an early age. But cyclist strikes are also taught, and landing one brings great honor.
;^}

 

[6zfshdb]

Took my first trip of the season down to ride the trails in Southwest PA & MD this week. Usually, I've made several by this time, but the weather has been just awful here this spring. Overnight it went from too cold & wet to just plain hot. Got out on the GAP trail at 5:45AM to beat the heat.

The ride was going well until I encountered this 12" Locust tree across the trail just north of Frostburg, MD.

It fell between two fences, effectively blocking the trail. There was no easy detour and I had already invested an hour, and half a battery, on the 1700' climb up Big Savage Mountain. I could have unloaded the bike and dragged it on it's side under the trunk through mud and ankle deep water. It isn't easily seen in the pic, but there was a puddle in the grass under the trunk.

No one around at that hour to help move it so instead, I got out my 12" folding saw. In 10 minutes, I had enough of the tree removed to get the trail open. This was the sixth time that saw has come in handy and I never ride without it.

The ride went well on the rest of the GAP and C&O Canal trails:

The newly repaved Western Maryland Rail Trail was a real pleasure:

That was until I hit an unseen rock in the shadows and busted a chunk out of the rim of my rear mag wheel:

There's no tool you can carry that will fix that kind of damage, and I was 16 miles from my truck. luckily, the Tannus Armor tire insert kept the tube from blowing out, and I was able to limp slowly back. It's going to be an expensive repair since the rear motor is integrated into the mag wheel.

I was thinking of cutting the trip short anyway because of the heat, but this made the decision for me. All in all, quite an adventure, hopefully not to be repeated.

 

[6zfshdb]

Duplicate

 

[DaveMatthews]

Took my first trip of the season down to ride the trails in Southwest PA & MD this week. Usually, I've made several by this time, but the weather has been just awful here this spring. Overnight it went from too cold & wet to just plain hot. Got out on the GAP trail at 5:45AM to beat the heat.
View attachment 195697

The ride was going well until I encountered this 12" Locust tree across the trail just north of Frostburg, MD.

View attachment 195699

It fell between two fences, effectively blocking the trail. There was no easy detour and I had already invested an hour, and half a battery, on the 1700' climb up Big Savage Mountain. I could have unloaded the bike and dragged it on it's side under the trunk through mud and ankle deep water. It isn't easily seen in the pic, but there was a puddle in the grass under the trunk.

No one around at that hour to help move it so instead, I got out my 12" folding saw. In 10 minutes, I had enough of the tree removed to get the trail open. This was the sixth time that saw has come in handy and I never ride without it.

View attachment 195700 View attachment 195701

The ride went well on the rest of the GAP and C&O Canal trails:

View attachment 195702 View attachment 195703

The newly repaved Western Maryland Rail Trail was a real pleasure:

View attachment 195704 View attachment 195705

That was until I hit an unseen rock in the shadows and busted a chunk out of the rim of my rear mag wheel:

View attachment 195706 View attachment 195707

There's no tool you can carry that will fix that kind of damage, and I was 16 miles from my truck. luckily, the Tannus Armor tire insert kept the tube from blowing out, and I was able to limp slowly back. It's going to be an expensive repair since the rear motor is integrated into the mag wheel.

I was thinking of cutting the trip short anyway because of the heat, but this made the decision for me. All in all, quite an adventure, hopefully not to be repeated.

Quite the adventure indeed!
Awesome scenery, and nicely done with the saw. What a bummer about the wheel though. Could have been a lot worse mate!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

That was until I hit an unseen rock in the shadows and busted a chunk out of the rim of my rear mag wheel:

Bummer! Had my own hard lesson about deep road shadows on bright sunny days. Ran over a totally hidden, deeply recessed drainage grate right in the middle of a road at 12-15 mph. Launched me high off the saddle, hands barely reaching the bars, but somehow didn't fall.

Miraculously, no visible rim, tire, or fork damage on the scene! My mechanic confirmed.

 

[stompandgo]

Holy hell, what the heck is in your cockpit? It looks like a MiG-21. Do you have a build thread?

 

[DaveMatthews]

A cloudy day, and cooler than it should be at 17C. Rained a lot yesterday, and a bit this morning.
Wanted to get out anyway, so off to the sports fields...



Replacing the turf is in progress on a couple of the fields...



Usually the kids are playing on a Sunday afternoon, but today the big boys were out...





Wandered off around the hood and was not sorry that I wasn't Costco shopping...



Looking first SE and then NW at rail tracks slicing King Geo Hwy...





Pondering...



Heading home...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A cloudy day, and cooler than it should be at 17C. Rained a lot yesterday, and a bit this morning.

I cannot see you riding a bike!

 

[6zfshdb]

Holy hell, what the heck is in your cockpit? It looks like a MiG-21. Do you have a build thread?

First of all, I'm a retired engineer and something of a gadget freak. Half the enjoyment I get when riding, comes from being able to see statistics and conditions at a glance. I'm also a DIY'er and get a lot of enjoyment modifying the bike to suit my needs.

I don't have a build thread for the bike as a whole, but almost all the devices you see in the pic have been posted individually. If you're serious and have questions, I can point you in the right direction.

The bike is equipped with Jones H bars and four RAM ball mounts which make it easy to mount whatever I need for a particular ride . All the accessories shown in the pic are easily removeable, most without tools. On this particular ride, I had planned to do around 100 miles on some fairly rough & remote trails, so the bike is almost fully equipped. The only things missing are the cell phone mount and high output tunnel light.

The dual stem mounted bottle cages and GPS receivers do make it look quite congested. I like an upright riding position and the bottles are easy to grab without reaching or stopping. The dual GPS receivers allow me to see stats and map at the same time without having to button press my way through menus.

Yeah, equipped like this, it looks like a fighter jet cockpit, but the bars are pretty bare boned for most shorter rides. With everything attached, I do get funny looks and some questions from other riders, but hey, it works for me.

At my age, it's function over form and I've long since ceased to care what the bike looks like or what others think.

 

[Nvreloader]

6zfshdb
"At my age, it's function over form and I've long since ceased to care what the bike looks like or what others think."
Looks sharp, Plus 2,
I like the dual GPS I don't see any mini cam's, for security or more photo's etc? On the back?
Tia,

 

[6zfshdb]

6zfshdb
"At my age, it's function over form and I've long since ceased to care what the bike looks like or what others think."
Looks sharp, Plus 2,
I like the dual GPS I don't see any mini cam's, for security or more photo's etc? On the back?
Tia,

No security devices, just battery locks and a hidden power switch. I maintain security by never letting the bike out of my sight.

 

[Nvreloader]

Thanks 6Z
On the mini cam's. I was thinking along the line of security while
riding on the roads, watching for stupid drivers from coming up from behind you etc.
Tia

 

[6zfshdb]

Thanks 6Z
On the mini cam's. I was thinking along the line of security while
riding on the roads, watching for stupid drivers from coming up from behind you etc.
Tia

I don't ride on road much and those cam devices aren't much good on the trail. I rely mostly on my helmet mounted mirror for anything approaching from behind.

 

[DaveMatthews]

I cannot see you riding a bike!

I'd realized when I got home that I had neglected the obligatory bike shot/s.

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. I rely mostly on my helmet mounted mirror for anything approaching from behind.

+1 on the helmet mounted mirror !!

I've been using one for over a year now, and it works great !!
I can see around corners and up and down hills by moving my head around while looking behind me.

It took almost a dozen rides to get used to it, and stop looking down at my handlebars where my mirrors used to be.

I don't feel safe riding without knowing what's coming up behind me.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@6zfshdb: I apologise for my laughter. I am the same data freak as you are (and saw the picture a long time ago) but I would not put that many gadgets on the e-bike myself.

Fancy you own a modern connectable e-bike (Like Specialized, Giant/Yamaha, Shimano, TQ or Fazua system but not Bosch). You put a single Garmin on the bars (touchscreen to flip the pages). Now, with multiple data screens selectable you have everything you need of the information on a single device with a lightweight e-bike and a minimalist cockpit...

With a Bosch E-bike, you would have a smartphone with all e-bike and ride parameters, and a Garmin for navigation; or, you could navigate with a new Kiox display. That's it.

Probably the same data as you are getting,

 

[6zfshdb]

@6zfshdb: I apologise for my laughter. I am the same data freak as you are (and saw the picture a long time ago) but I would not put that many gadgets on the e-bike myself.

Fancy you own a modern connectable e-bike (Like Specialized, Giant/Yamaha, Shimano, TQ or Fazua system but not Bosch). You put a single Garmin on the bars (touchscreen to flip the pages). Now, with multiple data screens selectable you have everything you need of the information on a single device with a lightweight e-bike and a minimalist cockpit...

With a Bosch E-bike, you would have a smartphone with all e-bike and ride parameters, and a Garmin for navigation; or, you could navigate with a new Kiox display. That's it.

View attachment 195776
Probably the same data as you are getting,

No offense taken Stefan, I realize you are more of a "purist" than I am. I don't ride all the time with this much gear. I simply like the option to add as many devices as I deem necessary for a particular ride. Unfortunately, most of the pics I post are of my longer rides with the bars loaded. Someday, I post a few of a short ride with only a single GPS attached.

 

[PCeBiker]

@Stephan,..

I remember when when I first got my helmet mirror, and you suggested that it could poke my eye out if I crashed, but I always wear goggles and the mirror will break away from the helmet quite easily in the event of a crash.

You also suggested that it would affect my focus.
I thought that you were referring to my eyes trying to adjust their focus to see what's in the mirror, but the mirror is far enough from my eyes that my eyes aren't constantly refocusing.

I realized later that you were probably referring to my mental focus and taking my mind off the road in front of me while I'm looking at what's behind me.

That was actually a problem at first, and I found myself staring at the mirror for quite a while trying to aim the mirror by moving my head around.

I've gotten a lot more used to using the mirror now and I do a split second check of the mirror about twice a minute.

Only my eyes move to check the mirror, so my head is always facing forward.
My peripheral vision takes over while I'm checking the mirror, and without looking down to the handlebars to see the mirror, my peripheral vision works better.

 

[PCeBiker]

And to get back on topic, I'm posting a picture of some sun turtles that I saw on my ride a couple weeks ago,..

And a muskrat,..

And a duck,..

 

[6zfshdb]

@Stephan,..

I remember when when I first got my helmet mirror, and you suggested that it could poke my eye out if I crashed, but I always wear goggles and the mirror will break away from the helmet quite easily in the event of a crash.

You also suggested that it would affect my focus.
I thought that you were referring to my eyes trying to adjust their focus to see what's in the mirror, but the mirror is far enough from my eyes that my eyes aren't constantly refocusing.

I realized later that you were probably referring to my mental focus and taking my mind off the road in front of me while I'm looking at what's behind me.

That was actually a problem at first, and I found myself staring at the mirror for quite a while trying to aim the mirror by moving my head around.

I've gotten a lot more used to using the mirror now and I do a split second check of the mirror about twice a minute.

Only my eyes move to check the mirror, so my head is always facing forward.
My peripheral vision takes over while I'm checking the mirror, and without looking down to the handlebars to see the mirror, my peripheral vision works better.

I agree. There is an adjustment period with these helmet mirrors. It took awhile for me, but some never get used to them.