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

[Mulezen]

These recent additions to the ‘written‘ language…emojis among them, can leave me guessing, which is what I won’t do now at my age. The string of of consonants for the former ‘gay’ which was itself an adaption…one example that particularly aggrieves me recently is /s. You get it or you don’t.

 

[Mulezen]

31 degrees F here today, winds in the 20 to 30 mph range, no riding for me today. Next Saturday is suppose to be 70 so I haven’t given up yet.

We’ll be getting the same the next few days…thanks

 

[Chargeride]

These recent additions to the ‘written‘ language…emojis among them, can leave me guessing, which is what I won’t do now at my age. The string of of consonants for the former ‘gay’ which was itself an adaption…one example that particularly aggrieves me recently is /s. You get it or you don’t.

Capital letters dont survive speaking and sarcasm doesnt survive writing.

 

[Mulezen]

The need to soften with a warning…takes the starch out of whatever the point is. /s.
dodge man’s weather front just banged through dropping the temperature 20 degrees.

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

Fritz, was that the chimney bell?

Chimney bell?

 

[BlackHand]

Chimney bell?

Don't mind him, he's British. Probably some obscure Dickens reference...

 

[Twin Valley]

We’ll be getting the same the next few days…thanks

o.k. now we'll go the other way, this time we subtract 32 first rather than add 32 at the end, so 31 - 32 equal - 1 x 2 equal -2 and take off 10% um still -2C I checked AI in case dementia arrived earlier than anticipated and they were close, still pretty balmy for pedalling in this neck of the woods!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I know loads of roadies with the same mentality, tbh some of my mates are the mtb equivalent.
An old friend of ours has become a roadie snob, he turned up to do a ride with us, he looked at the wifes 1400 quid Giant road bike and said.
'I thought you had a proper bike'.

I will re-iterate the video you showed was very informative! I still cannot stop thinking about it.
Hardcore roadies, MTBers... A cult.

It is easier to live in the gravel cycling community (at least here). There are very few gravel race organisers in Poland who actually demand riding "true gravel bikes", that is, ones with the drop handlebar (some do). Usually, you can ride any bike you want as any type of a bike has its pros and cons; it is unheard of a rider of anything else than a gravel bike ever won a gravel race. (Yes, there was a single occurrence when a rider of an endurance road bike came the second in an ultramarathon).

The atmosphere on gravel group rides is relaxed. People wear and ride whatever they feel is comfortable and no one gives bad or funny looks. See me: I ride e-bikes an no one has ever rejected me from a gravel group ride Moreover, more and more gravel cyclists I know either had some contact with or even own an e-bike!

This young MTB chap would've smoked us all if he only wanted

Three fun facts about our latest group ride:

• As the guys were inspecting my Wahoo ACE at the restaurant, the owner of a Wahoo Roam 3 was playing with my device. Suddenly, he shouted: "Is your e-bike battery almost empty now?!" to which I replied "Yes, it is below 20%!" -- "What will you do now?" -- "I carry a spare battery in my pannier..." -- to which everybody laughed "A cunning guy, you!"
• We were riding a gentle downslope, everybody accelerated. Untypically for me on descents, I started pedalling hard to keep up with the group. At a point, my Vado stopped accelerating! Why? Well, I rode past the 45 km/h motor cut-off
• As we started climbing a steep flyover, I even didn't touch the assistance mode button but dramatically downshifted and pedalled at 128 rpm with the burst leg power of 428 W. My Vado accelerated to 30 km/h uphill, I took the group over, merrily yelling: "Cadence is the King! Or, the Queen!" -- how they laughed!

 

[Chargeride]

Chimney bell?

its a joke based on the fact that visitors are at roof level, so I imagined a humurous situation where you have to fit the front doorbell to your chimney.

The joke is unlikely to survive this detailed explanation.

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

its a joke based on the fact that visitors are at roof level, so I imagined a humurous situation where you have to fit the front doorbell to your chimney.

The joke is unlikely to survive this detailed explanation.

I was amusing myself picturing the mailman dropping packages down the chimney, then I remembered they are on strike again.

 

[Chargeride]

I will re-iterate the video you showed was very informative! I still cannot stop thinking about it.
Hardcore roadies, MTBers... A cult.

It is easier to live in the gravel cycling community (at least here). There are very few gravel race organisers in Poland who actually demand riding "true gravel bikes", that is, ones with the drop handlebar (some do). Usually, you can ride any bike you want as any type of a bike has its pros and cons; it is unheard of a rider of anything else than a gravel bike ever won a gravel race. (Yes, there was a single occurrence when a rider of an endurance road bike came the second in an ultramarathon).

The atmosphere on gravel group rides is relaxed. People wear and ride whatever they feel is comfortable and no one gives bad or funny looks. See me: I ride e-bikes an no one has ever rejected me from a gravel group ride Moreover, more and more gravel cyclists I know either had some contact with or even own an e-bike!

View attachment 202133
This young MTB chap would've smoked us all if he only wanted

Three fun facts about our latest group ride:

• As the guys were inspecting my Wahoo ACE at the restaurant, the owner of a Wahoo Roam 3 was playing with my device. Suddenly, he shouted: "Is your e-bike battery almost empty now?!" to which I replied "Yes, it is below 20%!" -- "What will you do now?" -- "I carry a spare battery in my pannier..." -- to which everybody laughed "A cunning guy, you!"
• We were riding a gentle downslope, everybody accelerated. Untypically for me on descents, I started pedalling hard to keep up with the group. At a point, my Vado stopped accelerating! Why? Well, I rode past the 45 km/h motor cut-off
• As we started climbing a steep flyover, I even didn't touch the assistance mode button but dramatically downshifted and pedalled at 128 rpm with the burst leg power of 428 W. My Vado accelerated to 30 km/h uphill, I took the group over, merrily yelling: "Cadence is the King! Or, the Queen!" -- how they laughed!

I found some of the sections from his book almost autistic but actually clearly truthful.
If you love cycling then pick a partner who likes your type of riding or it will eventually cause friction.

Keep a spare bicycle to loan to a potential partner so you can gauge their suitability.

Its uncomfortable good advice, the type you know but refuse to allow yourself to descended into emotionless calculated subtefuge to follow.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

If you love cycling then pick a partner who likes your type of riding or it will eventually cause friction.

It is darn idiotic. When you choose your lifetime partner, you might have no idea you would ever fall in love with cycling. My beloved late wife could cycle but I wouldn't even dare involving her in my rides since 2013. Each of us had own interests, only we fully supported the partner in doing what they loved.

Sheila spent the last years of her life weaving ware made of paper straw (which she also made herself).

I was a keen photographer at that time. Sheila made a paper straw hat for me, 101 cm wide!

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

Keep a spare bicycle to loan to a potential partner so you can gauge their suitability.

Doesn’t a suitable partner show up to the first date on a hand built custom steel bike?

something covered in polished aluminium bits and fitted with an NOS vintage group set.

or am I setting my sights rather high.

 

[stompandgo]

When my wife and I were first dating, I gave her a new bike as a present. Her father, a heavy equipment operator, joked "Wow. To him, that's better than a ring".

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

I met my wife when her motorbike broke down and I stopped to help, so I literally picked her up in the gutter.

I had a Jawa in those days, rare as hens teeth over here even when they were still importing them. The guy I was riding with that day got off his bike, walked back and saw a pretty blond and her bike, another Jawa, and quietly muttered to me “ you’ll marry this one”.

that was over 41 years ago.

 

[Chargeride]

He was referring to the bike

 

[Chargeride]

It is darn idiotic. When you choose your lifetime partner, you might have no idea you would ever fall in love with cycling. My beloved late wife could cycle but I wouldn't even dare involving her in my rides since 2013. Each of us had own interests, only we fully supported the partner in doing what they loved.

View attachment 202136
Sheila spent the last years of her life weaving ware made of paper straw (which she also made herself).

View attachment 202135
I was a keen photographer at that time. Sheila made a paper straw hat for me, 101 cm wide!

Has it survived?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Has it survived?

No... Lost in a fire.

 

[Chargeride]

That fire must have knocked the stuffing out of you Stefan, but here we are watching you organise popular bike rides, waiting patiently for you to be winched out of a mud pit again.

Oh.. .is that just me?...and Sheila

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

its a joke based on the fact that visitors are at roof level, so I imagined a humurous situation where you have to fit the front doorbell to your chimney.

The joke is unlikely to survive this detailed explanation.

I thought you Brits might need chimney bells as MPEWAs — Mary Poppins Early Warning Systems. Can't very well have her poppin' in unannounced when you're watching the tele in your undies.
;^}

I'll let myself out.