Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Mostly hand brushed Egyption gravel.
2026 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos
- Thread starter RabH
- Start date
mschwett
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
cloudy morning for a nice loop ride. 37.2 miles and 2,000 feet, 16.6mph average. used 82wh of the addict eRide's battery.
into the redwoods!
back out onto the open road
adjacent to and winding around a reservoir
back up into some hills for the last climb
cows of various sizes!
into the redwoods!
back out onto the open road
adjacent to and winding around a reservoir
back up into some hills for the last climb
cows of various sizes!
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Ah, western Marin! Spent a lot of quality time there on bicycles and motorcycles. Good to see you riding like this again. That 2nd shot over the bars is a keeper.
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Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Home: "I'll just turn around at Village Drive."
Village Drive: "OK, Buena Vista Lagoon's just another mile or so."
Lagoon: "OK, that overlook on the far side of the lagoon."
Overlook: "OK, Buccaneer Beach!"
That's how Friday's 17 mi Coast Highway ride north went — classic mission creep.
Buccaneer's a small, little-used mostly cobble beach in south Oceanside. If it weren't for the very popular Buccaneer taco stand and tiny Bucaneer Park across the street, it'd see even fewer visitors.
Behind the cobble beach berm is the outlet of Loma Alta Slough, a small estuary at the mouth of Loma Alta Creek. The outflow percolates to the ocean through the base of the berm. Decided this needed further investigation.
Poking around, found a run-down creek-side MUP (left) ending here, maybe 0.4 mi upstream. This view looks back down the creek toward the ocean. Sadly, the creek and adjoining wetland to the right are in pretty bad shape.
Later read that folks have been complaining about this for years. Good to see that remediation's finally underway.
Following my nose is one of my favorite ways to ride an ebike. If you have the time and battery, the marginal cost of tacking on another mile or five for whatever reason is negligible.
Village Drive: "OK, Buena Vista Lagoon's just another mile or so."
Lagoon: "OK, that overlook on the far side of the lagoon."
Overlook: "OK, Buccaneer Beach!"
That's how Friday's 17 mi Coast Highway ride north went — classic mission creep.
Buccaneer's a small, little-used mostly cobble beach in south Oceanside. If it weren't for the very popular Buccaneer taco stand and tiny Bucaneer Park across the street, it'd see even fewer visitors.
Behind the cobble beach berm is the outlet of Loma Alta Slough, a small estuary at the mouth of Loma Alta Creek. The outflow percolates to the ocean through the base of the berm. Decided this needed further investigation.
Poking around, found a run-down creek-side MUP (left) ending here, maybe 0.4 mi upstream. This view looks back down the creek toward the ocean. Sadly, the creek and adjoining wetland to the right are in pretty bad shape.
Later read that folks have been complaining about this for years. Good to see that remediation's finally underway.
Following my nose is one of my favorite ways to ride an ebike. If you have the time and battery, the marginal cost of tacking on another mile or five for whatever reason is negligible.
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Chargeride
Well-Known Member
I was brought here under false pretences, a loop of the Marin trail to Betws y coed they said
They had no intention of visiting the town
I will admit the trails were stunning in the sun with high foilage from all the rain
I ditched them to take a beautiful 4 mile descent into the town
I had to use the brakes to stay under 30 mph for most of it
I was shouting 'ding ding' from hundreds of yards away
Very immature, but the rush of screaming through the forest was quite intoxicating
Betws was packed but chill, a clasic Victorian resort.
Our scenic attractions are very much human sized
Cruised the town in Turbo, what a lovely way to get around
They are building a new bridge over the river here, very ornate steel construction
Rode off to the zip line, the cycle path ended here, but I stayed on this.
Everyone calls it Bettsie Coed, its too annoying to pronounce it properly
This is the end of the forest gravity ride
Anywhere else you would presume this to be Chinese, but in Wales you cant be sure,
The shading from the trees makes it relaxed and cool
Rode back to the van via a detour to see this stately home
They were 45 minutes away so I rode two miles up a steep tarmac road and was rewarded with this gorgeous path back down that had various jumps and obstacles.
The bike didnt falter once, possibly fixed
They had no intention of visiting the town
I will admit the trails were stunning in the sun with high foilage from all the rain
I ditched them to take a beautiful 4 mile descent into the town
I had to use the brakes to stay under 30 mph for most of it
I was shouting 'ding ding' from hundreds of yards away
Very immature, but the rush of screaming through the forest was quite intoxicating
Betws was packed but chill, a clasic Victorian resort.
Our scenic attractions are very much human sized
Cruised the town in Turbo, what a lovely way to get around
They are building a new bridge over the river here, very ornate steel construction
Rode off to the zip line, the cycle path ended here, but I stayed on this.
Everyone calls it Bettsie Coed, its too annoying to pronounce it properly
This is the end of the forest gravity ride
Anywhere else you would presume this to be Chinese, but in Wales you cant be sure,
The shading from the trees makes it relaxed and cool
Rode back to the van via a detour to see this stately home
They were 45 minutes away so I rode two miles up a steep tarmac road and was rewarded with this gorgeous path back down that had various jumps and obstacles.
The bike didnt falter once, possibly fixed
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Photos from Varmia Gravel 2026
'You must be the Stefan?' -- the man in white remarked as we rode together -- 'I'm Pawel W. You could have noticed me on our cycling WA group" -- he continued. 'Pleased to meet you Pawel! Where are you from?' -- 'I live in Olsztyn, so I'm a local'. (Olsztyn is the capital city of both Varmia as well as of Varmian-Masurian voivodeship).
We could spot Mateusz Klimek the photographer, so we both started pretending we were racing
Who said Poles couldn't smile?
'You must be the Stefan?' -- the man in white remarked as we rode together -- 'I'm Pawel W. You could have noticed me on our cycling WA group" -- he continued. 'Pleased to meet you Pawel! Where are you from?' -- 'I live in Olsztyn, so I'm a local'. (Olsztyn is the capital city of both Varmia as well as of Varmian-Masurian voivodeship).
We could spot Mateusz Klimek the photographer, so we both started pretending we were racing
Who said Poles couldn't smile?
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Chargeride
Well-Known Member
The Chester ride started on a bridleway right next to the motorway
It turned into miles of delicious tree covered trail
Back and forth over the road
Slowly the trails got more overgrown
This trail was falsely marked as a footpath, I just beat the electric gates
Now we are on an official cycleway
Bumped into a guy who was quite upset, he hadl ost his family heirloom walking stick
This village was chocolate box, cottages and weeping willows
A planning notice to repair and old pump
A chute for the bike
They are building a controversial CO2 reclamation pipe fo ra new cement factory, it will pump it back into the under sea caverns
The bridleway through Chester Zoo, its the UKs biggest wildlife attraction and voted the third best zoo in the world.
You can casually watch Elephants and Rhinos from the completely open bridleway
it felt very Jurassic Park riding through
The next path was ludicrously overgrown, but we soldiered through
Good mile in and not turning around
Finally appeared in the lovely lane, the guy in the first house came out to enquire how bad it was, its his job to clear it with a flailing attachment on his mini tractor
Chimp grooming took place
Dan is testing organic chain lube
Heres the pipeline, we popped out right in the middle of the construction site
Another path through someones driveway
And yes it was Amazon jungle
It turned into miles of delicious tree covered trail
Back and forth over the road
Slowly the trails got more overgrown
This trail was falsely marked as a footpath, I just beat the electric gates
Now we are on an official cycleway
Bumped into a guy who was quite upset, he hadl ost his family heirloom walking stick
This village was chocolate box, cottages and weeping willows
A planning notice to repair and old pump
A chute for the bike
They are building a controversial CO2 reclamation pipe fo ra new cement factory, it will pump it back into the under sea caverns
The bridleway through Chester Zoo, its the UKs biggest wildlife attraction and voted the third best zoo in the world.
You can casually watch Elephants and Rhinos from the completely open bridleway
it felt very Jurassic Park riding through
The next path was ludicrously overgrown, but we soldiered through
Good mile in and not turning around
Finally appeared in the lovely lane, the guy in the first house came out to enquire how bad it was, its his job to clear it with a flailing attachment on his mini tractor
Chimp grooming took place
Dan is testing organic chain lube
Heres the pipeline, we popped out right in the middle of the construction site
Another path through someones driveway
And yes it was Amazon jungle
RabH
Well-Known Member
I finally caught a break with the weather and got the chance to check my bike out after the shifter repair, I was enjoying the the flawless gear changes that much I just kept going and going...
I had a rough 60 miler planned in my head but that was blown out of the water! As always it was pretty windy, around 25-30mph from the WSW but the forecast was showing the wind dropping as the afternoon progressed and amazingly it was correct! I was enjoying my amazing back roads again as I made my way down to Carnwath! It was under leaden skies though and I did catch a few showers but nothing too nasty this time!From Carnwath I took the awesome back road to Libberton, I just love this descent!
Time for a big climb!
Tinto Hill was almost completely hidden today!
The Pentland Hills were shrouded in thick cloud!
Another awesome descent, I stopped for some photos on the way!
The road down to Biggar but I wasn't taking this one today, the Coulter Hills were also shrouded in cloud!
I turned north for Elsrickle and stopped for photos along the way!
This descent is so much fun but its straight into a big climb out of the valley!
At the end of the road I continued north towards Walston, another amazing road with nice views of the surrounding hills!
Then came this descent which is just sublime!
I was now riding alongside the Pentlands!
I passed through Walston and took this amazing little back road to Newbigging!
No cars around but I had to pull over to let 2 tractors pass me just before this very tough 20% climb, I was very happy to have all my gears working again up this one!
I stopped for these photos before tackling the climb!
I had a break and a snack at the top of the climb and grabbed my last photos of the day, I wanted to just enjoy riding the bike now and I certainly did!
The rain started to fall as I was making way to Newbigging, just light rain thankfully but I was battling a strong headwind now so it wasn't so pleasant! From Newbigging I had a big climb up to Kaimend where an even bigger climb awaited me, at the end of the road I joined the back road to Auchengray and things were looking a little brighter now and the roads were all dry! The road starts with a long gradual climb before plunging down into the valley and rising up all the way to Auchengray, some lovely twisty parts make it such a fun road!
From Auchengray I continued north towards Woolfords where another big climb awaited me, then it was time to enjoy some big fast descents! I did have a crosswind to contend with on the descents though but still managed 41mph down the steepest one! At the end of the road I turned east for West Calder and got to enjoy a tailwind for 2 glorious miles, its a very gradual descent and I was flying along at over 30mph! I then arrived in West Calder and it was time to turn west into the headwind again, thankfully I chose a nice sheltered road passing through Addiewell and Stoneyburn!
I then turned north up the big climb into Longridge and flew down the descent into Whitburn where I turned west towards Harthill and got caught by a heavy shower! I got lucky with some tree cover on the cycle path though! After the shower passed the wind dropped significantly and my ride home got so much easier, the weather improved also and I had a dry ride all the way from Blackridge to home! The bike was just superb today, I sent the mechanic a nice message thanking him for doing such a great job at short notice! I know where I will be taking my bike from now on if any work is beyond my competence!
What a brilliant bike ride that was, a good 15 miles more than I intended but the bike was just so much fun to ride I didn't want to stop!
Watana Bob
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Chris, you need to start carrying a machete. You could look like a Samurai.
DaveMatthews
Dave's not here. Cheating since 2018
- Region
- Canada
Awesome to hear you have your shifting back!View attachment 212295
I finally caught a break with the weather and got the chance to check my bike out after the shifter repair, I was enjoying the the flawless gear changes that much I just kept going and going...
View attachment 212296
From Carnwath I took the awesome back road to Libberton, I just love this descent!
View attachment 212297
View attachment 212298
Time for a big climb!
View attachment 212299
Tinto Hill was almost completely hidden today!
View attachment 212300
The Pentland Hills were shrouded in thick cloud!
View attachment 212301
Another awesome descent, I stopped for some photos on the way!
View attachment 212302
View attachment 212303
View attachment 212304
View attachment 212305
The road down to Biggar but I wasn't taking this one today, the Coulter Hills were also shrouded in cloud!
View attachment 212306
I turned north for Elsrickle and stopped for photos along the way!
View attachment 212307
View attachment 212308
This descent is so much fun but its straight into a big climb out of the valley!
View attachment 212309
At the end of the road I continued north towards Walston, another amazing road with nice views of the surrounding hills!
View attachment 212310
View attachment 212311
View attachment 212312
Then came this descent which is just sublime!
View attachment 212313
I was now riding alongside the Pentlands!
View attachment 212314
I passed through Walston and took this amazing little back road to Newbigging!
View attachment 212315
View attachment 212316
No cars around but I had to pull over to let 2 tractors pass me just before this very tough 20% climb, I was very happy to have all my gears working again up this one!
View attachment 212317
I stopped for these photos before tackling the climb!
View attachment 212318
View attachment 212319
View attachment 212320
I had a break and a snack at the top of the climb and grabbed my last photos of the day, I wanted to just enjoy riding the bike now and I certainly did!
View attachment 212321
View attachment 212322
The rain started to fall as I was making way to Newbigging, just light rain thankfully but I was battling a strong headwind now so it wasn't so pleasant! From Newbigging I had a big climb up to Kaimend where an even bigger climb awaited me, at the end of the road I joined the back road to Auchengray and things were looking a little brighter now and the roads were all dry! The road starts with a long gradual climb before plunging down into the valley and rising up all the way to Auchengray, some lovely twisty parts make it such a fun road!
From Auchengray I continued north towards Woolfords where another big climb awaited me, then it was time to enjoy some big fast descents! I did have a crosswind to contend with on the descents though but still managed 41mph down the steepest one! At the end of the road I turned east for West Calder and got to enjoy a tailwind for 2 glorious miles, its a very gradual descent and I was flying along at over 30mph! I then arrived in West Calder and it was time to turn west into the headwind again, thankfully I chose a nice sheltered road passing through Addiewell and Stoneyburn!
I then turned north up the big climb into Longridge and flew down the descent into Whitburn where I turned west towards Harthill and got caught by a heavy shower! I got lucky with some tree cover on the cycle path though! After the shower passed the wind dropped significantly and my ride home got so much easier, the weather improved also and I had a dry ride all the way from Blackridge to home! The bike was just superb today, I sent the mechanic a nice message thanking him for doing such a great job at short notice! I know where I will be taking my bike from now on if any work is beyond my competence!
What a brilliant bike ride that was, a good 15 miles more than I intended but the bike was just so much fun to ride I didn't want to stop!
View attachment 212323
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