2020 : Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[FlatSix911]

That is literally the most beautiful bike I've ever seen! Totally in love...

Thank you... it's now used exclusively for some town fun and occasional beer runs.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Betting that it turns a lot of heads!

 

[RabH]

2 dry days in a row, I'm being spoiled now! It was a bit murky today but mild and windless once again, 20 miles less than yesterday but still very enjoyable! I stuck to the quiet back roads today but the downside was they were rather muddy after all the recent rain, my bike was filthy when I got home! Its now looking pristine again though, ready for the next adventure which will probably be Thursday as tomorrow is looking nasty! Once again Ridewithgps is giving incorrect stats, my top speed was 40.2mph and the max gradient was 19%!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Close to home?

Pine Mountain Road, Brisbane Valley​

This is on my local ride, about 4 km from home or, in this case because I rode all over the place without any plan, about 21 km.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Good morning, David! (7:27 a.m. here)

 

[Jetsfan901]

From Battery Park up to the George Washington bridge. What a great day it was for a ride.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Holy cow, Randall and Prairie Dog, I just saw a weather video from today in Alberta... you guys weren’t kidding about the riding season getting a little short! It was still 70 farenheit and sunny here today... our turn will come, but you’re setting the bar pretty high up there!

Yes, it’s been snowing steadily all day today but still relatively warm. We hit a high of 0 C (32 F) but tomorrow it’s only expected to reach -10C (14F) with wind gusts of 32 kph. Randall might be a bit luckier as I believe Calgary will be a couple of degrees warmer.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what the temperature was out east. Parts of Ontario were over 20 C (68 F)!

I’ll likely be tasked with shovelling snow tomorrow morning but still plan to ride the local trails and test out some new winter gear. Sooo....I guess from this point on I will be e-biking vicariously through those of you in warmer climes.
…..and so it begins.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

JF, thanks for sharing your ride.

Despite our local football club being the Ipswich Jets, I cannot claim to be a 'Jets Fan'. Both the football (Rugby League) and the jets (currently F/A-18F Super Hornets) are somewhat different.

Please, keep documenting your adventures.

 

[Readytoride]

The last few days have been off-the-chart gorgeous here in Virginia. Perfect weather for riding a bike. Which I have been doing every chance I get. Most rides have been with ebike friends, few solo.

The days have melded together as far as remembering stuff, and as I've been too busy to detail each ride (and my brain is a sieve at the best of times, and has flipped the store sign to "Out To Lunch" most other times), I'm just going to throw the rides in a pile with a bunch of photos and flip through them here in Cliff Notes style:

G had 3 of her BFF from college (S, K, and L) last weekend at her new place, and wanted a group ebike ride as part of one afternoon's entertainment. She has an extra ebike, and I have two. There is nothing more fun than a gaggle of 5 funloving, bright, outgoing, college educated 60something ladies out for a bike ride. Picture giggles, laughter, stopping mutiple times for multiple group photos, and unending gossip of new events and old. Combine with picturesque scenery, spectacular weather, and 15 miles of gentle quiet gravel roads, and you have the perfect afternoon.

(Left to right): S on my Class 2 (hub drive), K on my LaFree, and L on G's LaFree. S was plenty nervous as she's never ridden an ebike before and I'm sure she was convinced it would bolt on her the second she put her foot on the pedal. But we paired her with my old tried-and-true vintage 21 speed Giant specifically designed for women, and I told her the bike would take care of her. I explained the hub drive was like having a sled dog team in front of you. All you had to do if you wanted an e-boost was put your thumb on the button next to the grip and say "MUSH!". By mid ride she was passing us all, giggling and laughing!!

L on G's LaFree. L's an absolute hoot! An avid cyclist at home (where the land is pancake flat) this was her first experience on an ebike. She was hooked! She's had lots of bike distance touring experience, including the Allegany Gap Trail. Fun lady, and very bright.

G (blue) on her Vado, K (red) on my LaFree, and S on my vintage Giant Nutra (ebike conversion). Shadows: me and L (to the right)

Me in my famous "tour guide pose" being the consummate fount of local trivia dishing out facts, dirt, and all sorts of delicious gossip one only learns by living 33 years among the entrenched locals that hark back to some fairly juicy eras with equally juicy ancestors and aren't afraid to share some pretty revealing family skeletons, all of which I freely dispense to any eager and willing ears. The ladies gave my tour speel 5 gold stars.What can I say? I like to share.

Neighbors L on her new ebike (a Giant "Momentum") and G on her Vado for an 18 mile "maiden voyage" for L's new bike. My Vado in the foreground. I picked a nice level course to get L acclimated to her bike's talents and abilities. L purchased her ebike about 2 weeks ago (using my and G's recommendations) so that she could cycle with her avid cycling hubby. She said it wasn't fun riding with him because he was "too intense" and she'd often quit halfway through a ride. Once she got her ebike, however, the tables turned. G told me L texted her after L's first ride on her new bike with hubby. Curious, I asked G what L had said. "She said she smoked him," G laughed.

Saw L and her hubby out riding together the other day. I was in my electric car passing by, and saluted her with a hand wave out the window. L, looking cool as a cucumber and pedaling with a languid, relaxed stroke, waved back as she patiently waited for her hubby who was behind her, his pedals spinning away as he struggled to keep up. I think I see an ebike in his future...

A solitary 28 mile ride on my favorite route in the county below us (Fauquier). Taken by stealth during a busy day. I needed a break from the endless responsibilities of home, plus I wanted to check out the autumn colors that were all too quickly going to become nothing more than a memory in only a matter of days. It turns out that the majority of "visiting" cyclists were all busy enjoying my local Loudoun County roads, while I had the northwestern paved Fauquier County roads to myself.

Well, I did have the roads to myself with the exception of one lone gentleman enroute to Marshall about 5 miles further than my loop. We exchanged greetings several times as I passed him only to stop further on to take photos before passing him yet again. Such a nice gentleman! He looked like he was thoroughly enjoying his solitary ride through the beautiful countryside as well.

Back in my own county, cruising the gravel roads enroute to home, I came across a living Stubbs painting (see below top image) that was so striking that I immediately stopped, hoping to capture the tableaux (bottom image) on my camera.

I was somewhat successful, although my stopping the bike, dismounting, putting down the kickstand, rummaging around to find my phone in the depths of the panniers, noisily climbing up the weed-choked embankment to the pasture fence, and framing the shot - all that was met with curiosity which included several equines breaking pose and strolling up to the fence to check out what I was doing. I got one decent shot in (see above)

This was my second shot (see below).

My rides are always an entertaining adventure.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Distant rain shower …

Scarborough, Moreton Bay
10.35 am; 50 km​

We, that is our midweek oldies cycling group, dodged the showers this week. This photo is from outside the Sea, Salt and Vine Café. We lingered too long! Is that possible?

Foreground:

• Scarborough Beach
• The strangely-shaped sandbar is known as First Avenue. Just how that came to be I do not know, but the local streets are named Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth Avenue. Why not?
• The lines of dark flotsam on the beach are chomped up seagrass. Blame the dugongs!
• The other 'litter' is a mix of dead coral and pumice stone (Volcanoes here? Yes, long, long ago! Photos some other time.)

Horizon (from the left):

• Beachmere (a quiet 'forgotten' bayside village)
• Bribie Island (the very low land beyond the spit)
• Coral Sea (being rained on!)

Sea:

• This is where I sailed my yacht long ago. My parents spent their retirement years on Bribie Island. Paradise? To them, most definitely!
• All of these waters can be referred to as Moreton Bay but the section to the west (photo looking north) is known as Deception Bay (confusing?); the calm strait separating Bribie from the continent is Pumicestone Passage; the open ocean being rained on is the South Pacific (for obvious reason – think Great Barrier Reef – known as the Coral Sea).

Photo looking north from 50 km​

 

[Prairie Dog]

Wow, what a sublime setting! I can see why your parent chose to retire there.

 

[Mulezen]

David...I appreciate how you and others give some context to fine pictures.

 

[reed scott]

Distant rain shower …

View attachment 71170

Scarborough, Moreton Bay
10.35 am; 50 km​

We, that is our midweek oldies cycling group, dodged the showers this week. This photo is from outside the Sea, Salt and Vine Café. We lingered too long! Is that possible?

Foreground:

• Scarborough Beach
• The strangely-shaped sandbar is known as First Avenue. Just how that came to be I do not know, but the local streets are named Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth Avenue. Why not?
• The lines of dark flotsam on the beach are chomped up seagrass. Blame the dugongs!
• The other 'litter' is a mix of dead coral and pumice stone (Volcanoes here? Yes, long, long ago! Photos some other time.)

Horizon (from the left):

• Beachmere (a quiet 'forgotten' bayside village)
• Bribie Island (the very low land beyond the spit)
• Coral Sea (being rained on!)

Sea:

• This is where I sailed my yacht long ago. My parents spent their retirement years on Bribie Island. Paradise? To them, most definitely!
• All of these waters can be referred to as Moreton Bay but the section to the west (photo looking north) is known as Deception Bay (confusing?); the calm strait separating Bribie from the continent is Pumicestone Passage; the open ocean being rained on is the South Pacific (for obvious reason – think Great Barrier Reef – known as the Coral Sea).

View attachment 71178

View attachment 71183

As an ex-photographer I question a bit the saturation settings on your camera. Yes your pics really pop but ... not realistic. A little extra saturation is ok but this is pretty blatant. Sorry.

Thank you... it's now used exclusively for some town fun and occasional beer runs.

View attachment 71027 View attachment 71028

Gotta admit ... purple that well done is a thing to behold.

 

[percymon]

The last few days have been off-the-chart gorgeous here in Virginia. Perfect weather for riding a bike. Which I have been doing every
View attachment 71141


My rides are always an entertaining adventure.

good to see you and your young ladies out enjoying life and the ebikes

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Gravel road blues …

Wanora Road, Queensland​

Riese & Müller's Homage should be 'at home' on roads like this.

Unfortunately not; the battery compartment lid, held shut with a press stud (yes, really!), shook loose resulting in loss of power and the dreaded 530 and 532 error messages ("Contact your R&M dealer"). I pulled to the side of the road and, not for the first time, zip-tied and velcro-strapped the shaken-to-bits parts together again.

I wonder what the 2021 Homage has in store. Will it inherit the 2019–20 Homage's inadequacies? Or have its own unwanted surprises? Mutter, mutter…

My Trek Powerfly, at under one-third of the Homage's cost, is a decidedly superior ebike. Since the Homage's serious problems started nine months ago, the Powerfly has had to be used as a substitute ebike for over ten weeks whilst the Homage sat idle.

The Homage will have to last another six months or so until a proper selection of 2021 ebikes becomes available; then it'll go into the shed to live out its retirement years as a spare.

 

[Readytoride]

Gravel road blues …

Wanora Road, Queensland​

Riese & Müller's Homage should be 'at home' on roads like this. Unfortunately not; the battery compartment lid, held shut with a press stud (yes, really), shook loose resulting in loss of power...

Wouldn't it be lovely if the carbon belt drive bike designers really thought about how most of us use a carbon belt drive - ie: on gravel roads - and took that into account for battery mounts and battery security?

I do feel your pain. At least you could jury rig your battery to make it work.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

At least David doesn't need to continually replace the chain, cogs/cassette, chainring, clean and grease the drivetrain... in his R&M.

 

[Mulezen]

At least David doesn't need to continually replace the chain, cogs/cassette, chainring, clean and grease the drivetrain... in his R&M.

Yeah...because its idle in the shed

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Yeah...because its idle in the shed

I meant David was able to ride insane distances on his Homage before the issues started; all without taking care of drive-train.

 

[Mulezen]

I meant David was able to ride insane distances on his Homage before the issues started; all without taking care of drive-train.

Just making a joke at R&M’s expense