Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
No goggles, @David Roy?
I ride with goggles when I ride alone and push the pace. Yesterday I was riding with my wife and it is easier to visit without them. We also ride a bit slower so they aren’t as necessary.No goggles, @David Roy?
Paul is riding an XL frame Haibike full suspension with a Bosch High Speed (28mph) I believe it is an XDURO 6 He has wider DT Swiss rims, a Nyon display, wired in Light and Motion Nip and Tuck lights
We are slowly heading back north, visiting our friends Jeff and Rebecca in Ventura. It was a crystal clear, 60 degree day. Today Jeff took Nancy and me on one of his favorite rides up Sulphur Mt. Road a fire road 20 miles east of town and just south of Ojai. We climbed 2,800 feet over 10 miles up this dirt and gravel fire road. It was a baller ten mile downhill rush...so much fun. The faintly visible mountain in the center distance of the last photo is on Santa Cruz Is. in the Channel Islands on the other side of the Santa Barbara Channel.
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I have the Ortlieb Hi Vis bags. They reflect bright white at night when car lights strike them and I think they very good. After reading about the malfunctioning Gates belt from David and the Rohloff hub from Alaskan I no longer feel the urge to abandon the chain.Stefan …
Always two batteries (PowerTube + PowerPack; each 500 Wh) and on longer rides a third (PowerPack 500 Wh).
The final pitch up Mt Warning to the climbing track was steep. I switched the Bosch CX to Turbo and dropped the Rohloff down to #2. At the turnaround the trip meter showed 50 km ridden and the battery's range as 12 km. (The Kiox indicated that my heart rate was fine but this silly little computer was having its own private meltdown in not coping with crossing a time zone. End of aside!)
- Monday : 172 km : Moreton Bay : third battery from 140 km;
- Tuesday : 121 km : Mount Warning : third battery from 100 km;
- Wednesday : 142 km : Moreton Bay : zero range showing at end but no third battery.
The third battery is from my Trek Powerfly 5 and is packed into an Ortlieb E-Mate pannier bag (same as on Nancy's Homage) when the expected distance and terrain trigger a warning.
For some reason Ortlieb doesn't make it easy to find the E-Mate on their website and, in checking for the link a moment ago, I discovered a new E-Glow handlebar bag. Looks interesting.
… David
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True Dat! A chain, derailleur and cassette may be dirty and a pain in the ass to keep up but it's limits are well known and cost of parts is reasonable.
Stefan, what a great family story and story about a challenging winter ride in Poland. I love all the vicarious travel that happens on these pages.Freezing 74 km to see my first cousins ("brethren")
On December 29th last year, I got the new Smart TV set delivered. By chance, my first cousin Jacek and his wife came to me at that day to deliver a wedding invitation of their son. As Jacek's business is television, he helped me set up the new toy. While we were enjoying the 4K television, I jokingly told my cousins "It is my time to pay you a visit with an e-bike". They both were thinking I was joking since it is the wintertime and they believed they lived 40+ kilometres from me. Indeed, it is 40+ km by car if you need a convenient, fast journey. It is 34.3 km by bike the shortest way.
Last morning, I sent Jacek a message asking if he would be at home on the day (Saturday). Yes, he said, feel invited. So I prepared for a ride with my Lovelec, taking two batteries, the camera, a tripod etc etc. Then I rode out guided by Mapy.cz app.
It is quite important to say it is far more between us than just being first cousins german. I have no own siblings. Our fathers lived together in a large family home in then rural part of Warsaw. Jacek and I spent our childhood together. Jacek's younger brother Piotr came when I was 11. By family tradition, Jacek and I address each other by "brother" and we have very strong family ties. That part of family also addresses me by my second name, as my Mother and Father did.
When we were resettled back in 1973, my Dad's brother bought a farm in Kiełpin north of Warsaw and he was doing horticulture there. My brethren live there by this day. Yet, something interesting happened in Łomianki, Kiełpin and all neighbouring villages after 1989: all neighbours started their own businesses. That way, the borough of Łomianki is among the richest areas of Poland today.
Regarding the weather, the sunshine was magnificent, winds acceptable, yet the puddles were frozen. On my way back, there was even less wind but the temperature after the sunset dropped down to -3 C and even -4 C (let's say, 26 F) . Yet I am prepared for any kind of weather now and the trip was just a pure pleasure again.
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At the entry point to the Kampinos National Park (KPN). That's the Warsaw's closest large nature reservation with the moose as its largest animals. The area was formed by a glacier, so it is sand dunes with marshes in between. Yes, there are bike trails in the KPN but I just say: you better ride a fat bike there As you can see, the terrain is made of white sand. The KPN attracts foot tourists mostly. Note: As the forest is indeed a wilderness, it was the home of strong partisan groups during the WW2.
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With my "brother" Jacek. He is a sportsman in his spare time; he showed me his acoustic FS MTB, a beauty! Jacek ages very slowly, being only a bit younger than I am.
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With Jacek's wife Renata and his younger brother Piotr. Piotr looked at my e-bike (he rode it and was very happy) and said: "But your directional front tyre is mounted in the wrong direction?". Damn. The brethren took my bike to the garage and fixed the matter in five minutes
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On my way back. Here, it is the Forest Park of Młociny north of Warsaw. The large clearing is the scene of numerous barbecues all year round. I was told not that many people come there nowadays but only a couple of years ago you could expect there as many as hundreds of barbecue grills or bonfires in deep snow during the frost, with people playing guitars and drinking wine.
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A dedicated bike lane in so-called "Vistula River Trail". That is on the taller, left-bank flood embankment of the river.
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In the Mirrycle.
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74.2 km (46 miles) in 3 h 20 minutes net. Long ride at night on the return way.
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Ride stats.
Freezing 74 km to see my first cousins ("brethren")
On December 29th last year, I got the new Smart TV set delivered. By chance, my first cousin Jacek and his wife came to me at that day to deliver a wedding invitation of their son. As Jacek's business is television, he helped me set up the new toy. While we were enjoying the 4K television, I jokingly told my cousins "It is my time to pay you a visit with an e-bike". They both were thinking I was joking since it is the wintertime and they believed they lived 40+ kilometres from me. Indeed, it is 40+ km by car if you need a convenient, fast journey. It is 34.3 km by bike the shortest way.
Last morning, I sent Jacek a message asking if he would be at home on the day (Saturday). Yes, he said, feel invited. So I prepared for a ride with my Lovelec, taking two batteries, the camera, a tripod etc etc. Then I rode out guided by Mapy.cz app.
It is quite important to say it is far more between us than just being first cousins german. I have no own siblings. Our fathers lived together in a large family home in then rural part of Warsaw. Jacek and I spent our childhood together. Jacek's younger brother Piotr came when I was 11. By family tradition, Jacek and I address each other by "brother" and we have very strong family ties. That part of family also addresses me by my second name, as my Mother and Father did.
When we were resettled back in 1973, my Dad's brother bought a farm in Kiełpin north of Warsaw and he was doing horticulture there. My brethren live there by this day. Yet, something interesting happened in Łomianki, Kiełpin and all neighbouring villages after 1989: all neighbours started their own businesses. That way, the borough of Łomianki is among the richest areas of Poland today.
Regarding the weather, the sunshine was magnificent, winds acceptable, yet the puddles were frozen. On my way back, there was even less wind but the temperature after the sunset dropped down to -3 C and even -4 C (let's say, 26 F) . Yet I am prepared for any kind of weather now and the trip was just a pure pleasure again.
View attachment 45409
At the entry point to the Kampinos National Park (KPN). That's the Warsaw's closest large nature reservation with the moose as its largest animals. The area was formed by a glacier, so it is sand dunes with marshes in between. Yes, there are bike trails in the KPN but I just say: you better ride a fat bike there As you can see, the terrain is made of white sand. The KPN attracts foot tourists mostly. Note: As the forest is indeed a wilderness, it was the home of strong partisan groups during the WW2.
View attachment 45410
With my "brother" Jacek. He is a sportsman in his spare time; he showed me his acoustic FS MTB, a beauty! Jacek ages very slowly, being only a bit younger than I am.
View attachment 45411
With Jacek's wife Renata and his younger brother Piotr. Piotr looked at my e-bike (he rode it and was very happy) and said: "But your directional front tyre is mounted in the wrong direction?". Damn. The brethren took my bike to the garage and fixed the matter in five minutes
View attachment 45412
On my way back. Here, it is the Forest Park of Młociny north of Warsaw. The large clearing is the scene of numerous barbecues all year round. I was told that not that many people come there nowadays but only a couple of years ago you could expect there as many as hundreds of barbecue grills or bonfires in deep snow during the frost, with people playing guitars and drinking wine.
View attachment 45413
A dedicated bike lane in so-called "Vistula River Trail". That is on the taller, left-bank flood embankment of the river.
View attachment 45414
In the Mirrycle.
View attachment 45415
74.2 km (46 miles) in 3 h 20 minutes net. Long ride at night on the return way.
View attachment 45416
Ride stats.
Thank you! Let me add a little to the story. As my family and I had a good time together, the time flew by fast. I noticed I would have to return home at dusk and at night. We talked about it with the family members and Jacek gave me a practical advice:
-- When you ride to the end of our street, you'll find a bike lane. It runs all the way up to our Wawrzyszew (it was our childhood area). You were there at the Wolumen Market only a week ago and you told me there were bike lanes all way up to your place? Go there and then you'll decide if you take a commuter train from Warsaw or you just ride home!
So I rode to Wawrzyszew at dusk, via the Młociny Park. Sitting at a gas station in the area we brethren were so familiar with and having a hot dog, I discovered it was only 27 km to my place. Only 27 kilometres! If someone told me a year ago 27 km on a bike were an easy trip, I would have laughed. That's how electric bikes change the way we live and think!
I cannot wait until the Spring when all the locations will bloom and the pictures will be so nice to the eye! For example, the beautiful Wawrzyszew church of 1542 where my grandparents got their final rites, my parents were married, and I was baptised.
My e-bike used around 720 Wh from two batteries. All the ride was in the PAS 3 to relieve the hardness of riding in the frost.
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On a ride in 2014. The Wawrzyszew church was erected in 1542, and the King Sisigmund III Vasa named Warsaw the capital of Poland only in 1596. He moved his capital there from Kraków as he wanted to be closer to his beloved Sweden.
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That's why it is better to ride a fattie in the Kampinos National Park