Alaskan
Well-Known Member
Ouch!!
Saratoga Dave
Well-Known Member
Holy crap, Dave, we weren’t ready for that! “Big break” in American lingo usually is a good thing... apparently not so much over there on the wrong side of the world 
Omg, my leg hurts just looking at that!
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
David ..shocking...not that you broke your leg ,,but the fact that you kept a set of X rays ? This has me thinking you must have been in some collisions while cycling too? I know I have twice. Once was a T-bone with a car on a side street and once was a knock down by an oncoming car side mirror.
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Alaskan
Well-Known Member
Hey Steve, David is a retired computer guy and a photographer. As such, I suspect he keeps meticulous records and has a very well organized file system...both on his computer and for his papers and images.
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Just saying...if it was me I would want to forget all about the pain.
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steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Two sure signs that Spring is near on today's ride. 1= Many sailboats
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
2= Many Daffodils. Hurray!
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Brrrrrr. I am sipping hot tea whilst doing this. The temperature dropped and the wind really picked up. It was a headwind then tailwind ride and the last bit was downhill and chilly. I wanted to ride 20 or more miles, but only got 15 in after we had a bit of rain. I also had a brain malfunction. The map I store in my head told me a road existed that didn't so I ended up on a not too busy, but busier road where.......I got honked at by an irate pickup driver. There isn't much of a shoulder so I stayed in the road thinking there was a good chance of getting sideswiped if I got over. Two cars were nearing so the guy had to slow down. I'm thinking maybe he had to go buy more toilet paper and bottled water?
Originally, I was going to wear shorts and no coat. I changed that plan and during the ride found myself wishing I had gone back to winter layering. Brrrr. Here are some pictures showing the evil sky that was ahead of me. Then winter is still going on in the mountains. And the sunny way back, kinda, with a nice enough tailwind to allow me to turn off the assist. Typical March weather today.
Originally, I was going to wear shorts and no coat. I changed that plan and during the ride found myself wishing I had gone back to winter layering. Brrrr. Here are some pictures showing the evil sky that was ahead of me. Then winter is still going on in the mountains. And the sunny way back, kinda, with a nice enough tailwind to allow me to turn off the assist. Typical March weather today.
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Haha yeah , toilet paper ,bottled water and hand sanitizer ...the holy trinity at Costco
D
Deleted member 18083
Guest
Pootling along the Moreton Bay Cycleway …
I've managed to sandwich in two rides – one wet and one idyllic – between my R&M Homage's trips to the service centre. (Yes, it's broken down again.)
Sunday couldn't make up its mind concerning the weather. Rain? Sunshine? Howling winds? Calm? Meteorological schizophrenia… a bit like the trees at Shorncliffe Pier that can’t decide whether to grow up or sideways and so compromise with a bit of everything!
Above us were clear skies but across Moreton Bay rain clouds hung low over the islands which were, for once, lost in the haze. Clearly, only one thing could be reliably predicted – the excellence of Mario's coffee. (That's the main reason for stopping at Shorncliffe Pier!)
Forty minutes after leaving Shorncliffe Pier (about a quarter of the way in from the left of this photo), I pedalled past the remains of the good ship Gayundah at Woody Point on the Redcliffe Peninsula. The wind was increasing!
Watch your head! Along the eastern shore of the Redcliffe Peninsula the Moreton Bay Cycleway hugs the beaches. This is ebike heaven!
Lunchtime at Deception Bay. Apparently one of the early explorers of Moreton Bay was 'deceived' into thinking that the extensive mangrove areas were a sure sign that a large river entered the sea here. The pair of chairs mark my usual turnaround point.
Some hours later and it's time to leave the Redcliffe Peninsula and head back to Brisbane (via Mario's coffee stop, of course).
I've managed to sandwich in two rides – one wet and one idyllic – between my R&M Homage's trips to the service centre. (Yes, it's broken down again.)
Sunday couldn't make up its mind concerning the weather. Rain? Sunshine? Howling winds? Calm? Meteorological schizophrenia… a bit like the trees at Shorncliffe Pier that can’t decide whether to grow up or sideways and so compromise with a bit of everything!
Above us were clear skies but across Moreton Bay rain clouds hung low over the islands which were, for once, lost in the haze. Clearly, only one thing could be reliably predicted – the excellence of Mario's coffee. (That's the main reason for stopping at Shorncliffe Pier!)
Shorncliffe Pier, Brisbane.
Forty minutes after leaving Shorncliffe Pier (about a quarter of the way in from the left of this photo), I pedalled past the remains of the good ship Gayundah at Woody Point on the Redcliffe Peninsula. The wind was increasing!
Remains of the gunboat Gayundah, Woody Point, Redcliffe Peninsula.
Watch your head! Along the eastern shore of the Redcliffe Peninsula the Moreton Bay Cycleway hugs the beaches. This is ebike heaven!
The Tunnel Tree, Moreton Bay Cycleway, Redcliffe Peninsula.
Lunchtime at Deception Bay. Apparently one of the early explorers of Moreton Bay was 'deceived' into thinking that the extensive mangrove areas were a sure sign that a large river entered the sea here. The pair of chairs mark my usual turnaround point.
Moreton Bay Cycleway, Deception Bay — Bribie Island on the horizon.
Some hours later and it's time to leave the Redcliffe Peninsula and head back to Brisbane (via Mario's coffee stop, of course).
Ted Smout Bridge across Bramble Bay, linking Brisbane (ahead) and Redcliffe Peninsula.
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Geez what failed now on the Homage?
D
Deleted member 18083
Guest
Monday Blues! Actually it was more of a grey day. Unlike yesterday, the weather knew what was expected of it: pour down!
Notwithstanding the forecast, I set off at 6.00 am on my local rail trail ride with only the faintest Scotch mist for company. Just twenty minutes out the Kiox chirped up with its thought for the day which I duly recorded…
As I headed for home I realised that the Rohloff E-14 wasn't changing gears.
I did the obvious things – cleaned contacts and sprayed them with WD-40 Contact Cleaner – but to no avail. The Bosch Wizard in Brisbane is in Vietnam for a few weeks of mountain biking so I'll have to be patient. The Powerfly is working and I have the Homage's PowerPack to take along to double its range.
Mustn't complain. Not too much, anyway.
Last edited by a moderator:
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
An error on communication with the Rohloff. Darn!
Readytoride
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Virginia
So, shall we start off with yesterday's 30.58 gravel road ride? No...wait. Let's start off with the prior prior day's ride which started that morning first with a ride in the electric car to the Specialized dealer to purchase a sweet 28 mile assist 10 speed 2020 Turbo Vado 4.0. They have to order it in, so hopefully within a week or so the new Vado will soon be joining my 8 speed 2019 Giant LaFree E+1 and the converted vintage 21 speed 1994 hub drive ebike at home.
Why another ebike? Well, this one will only be for the group rides with the road bikes. Since it has a chain and derailleur I only want it used on paved roads. The carbon belt drive on the Giant is perfect for my gravel road rides, and for the long distance charity rides.
Besides, I needed a new ebike. Just saying!
Once back home it was time to hop on the Giant and get in some quality time pedaling down 23.3 miles of gravel roads, looking for signs of Spring.
I had decided that rather than detaching my phone from the bike mount every time I wanted to take a picture, I would carry in my pocket an old phone and use that as my camera. Pretty clever, huh?
And find pictures I did. Lots of them. Lovely scenery shots, long distance road shots, art-y shots. Every one a masterpiece of photography. The gravel roads were peaceful and serene, and I had them all to myself as I selected the smoothest parts to ride on, those parts of the surface that had been flattened into abject submission by countless car tires until it was as smooth as glass. It was fairly easy to expertly dodge any potholes, and I found I was becoming much bolder about going fast down the hills, and not clutching the brake handles with a death grip.
Altogether a lovely warm day just perfect for cycling and photography.
Got back home, pleased as punch to see all the great photos I'd taken with the old phone. And that's when the trouble started. There was a reason I had thrown that old phone in a drawer - that reason being that the phone and my laptop had a hate/hate relationship going on, plus it only connected with wifi when it felt like it. I had forgotten that, but it came back with a horrified rush when the old phone resolutely refused to connect to my internet for downloading. Absolutely refused outright. Despite all my pleading, cursing, and offering of both bribes and blood sacrifices, the phone would only allow me to look at the stunning photos, not download them. I tried plugging the phone into the laptop to download, and both computer and phone renewed their feud and pretended the other didn't exist. I'm not a slouch when it comes to computers and I know every trick in the book to get electronics to talk to each other. But this phone had me at wits end. As did the laptop. They did not want to acknowledge each other's existence, and that was that.
I finally gave up, tossed the old phone back in the drawer with some well spoken words of disgust, and rooted around in that drawer for my old aim-n-shoot camera, vowing to reshoot the scenery with a true camera on my ride the next day.
Cue next morning. Temps due to soar into the low 70's (23°C), sunny, bright, calm, and clear. Perfect for a 30 mile gravel road ride. I packed the panniers with lunch, drink, portable battery for keeping my phone charged, and the old camera which I had carefully checked to make sure it worked. It did so. Flawlessly. The batteries were surprisingly still robust after months of sitting in the drawer, and there was plenty of room on the disk card. Couldn't remember exactly why I had tucked that camera away and no longer used it. I'd find out later on, though.
That morning we had just received from Amazon a hitch for the Prius, which my poor husband was attempting to mount. He has an entire lifetime of being under cars, working on them (he was born in Detroit Michigan - "Motown" USA - if that gives a clue) but apparently the aero plastic panels under the Prius, which help give that hybrid such brilliant gas mileage, were in the way of allowing the hitch to be mounted and being less than easy to remove. There were lots of scattered tools around the garage floor behind the car, and an increasing volume of cussing being heard from under the car, which was my cue to hop on the bike and take off, leaving said hubby to his project and the invention of some rather colorful language.
Now, I had already carefully planned out my route on one of my phone's many GPS cycling apps, taking in some new gravel roads that I had never traveled. So I had a "follow the moving dot" map up and ready, and all I had to do was follow it. Which I did, faithfully, for about 10 miles before I forgot and went off course, going down what could have been an awesome ski slope had we had snow and then into a development with a paved road that went round and round ending in lots of cute cul-de-sacs. I kept staring at my map with the moving dot, alternately nodding hello to the nice people in the development out walking their suburban dogs, while trying to figure out how the heck to get out of this place and back on route without having to go back up the ski slope. Going one way put me on a dangerous road that I don't like to even drive in my car. That was a hard NO. The only other way was to cut across someone's back yard and up a steep hill full of brush and tall grass. That, or go back up that horrific gravel road climb.
I chose the gravel road. Had to drop into 2nd gear with maximum assist, but.. I made it. Got back on route, took some photos of the views which were gorgeous, and pedaled on.
It was about at this point, when I stopped to take another shot, that I remember why I'd tossed that old camera in the drawer and hadn't used it since. The very next shot the camera lens decided not to slide out. It stuck midway, the camera now beeping in a "Danger, Will Robinson!" type of "Lost In Space" robot arm waving alarm. And the camera instantly bricked itself. I sighed, and waited. I now remembered the drill from long ago before I'd retired this camera to the drawer. Turn off then turn on and point the camera at the ground to let gravity help release the lens. It worked. Picture taken, and I was off cycling again.
The miles rolled on, the hills rose and fell, and the camera continued to work, but only when it felt like it. The day got hotter and hotter. Before long my cycling jacket was removed and strapped to the back rack, and I was breezing along in a short sleeve shirt, cool and comfy. Had to take 3 miles of paved road connecting two gravel roads, and had a ton of juvenile fun racing downhill in aero position around a steep curving bend, hitting almost 36mph. It was AWESOME!
Back on the gravel roads, traveling at a more sedate pace because...well, it was gravel after all … I took my final photos. The camera had decided it was done for the day and I was spending too much time standing on the side of the road trying to reboot it so that the lens would expand and not stop halfway and freak out the camera for the millionth time in a row. Besides, I was back on my local roads and had already retaken those same shots from the ride the day before - those shots being forever and ever held captive on the old phone which is back to being buried in that drawer. I didn't need any more photos. Just riding was more than enough pleasure, and my final miles were a breeze under a summer-like sun.
Three hours after I set off on my ride, I was cruising back up the driveway. There, in the garage, remained the plethora of tools scattered behind the Prius, a prone body still underneath, one plastic panel off to the side, the hitch still waiting patiently off to the side on the garage floor, and lots of cuss words still echoing under the car chassis.
I parked the bike and headed inside to put my feet up, turn on some classical music, and download the photographs from the camera to the laptop. At least those two were on friendly terms with one another, unlike some aforementioned plastic aero car panels and one particular human trying to remove them.
Maybe by tomorrow the hitch will be on. If not, I'll simply go for another bike ride. Or go buy a new camera. Or do both.
A zoomed in view of the Blue Ridge Mountains (northern Virginia) from my local gravel roads.
VDOT doing grading and repairs on some of the worse rain damaged gravel roads. The sign in the distance says "road closed". It wasn't, but it did discourage any cars from venturing on the newly graded road until VDOT could complete their work.
Some of our beautiful rolling scenery in Middleburg foxhunt territory. My bike is parked in front of a 3'6" chicken coop - a typical hunt jump orginally designed for safe passage over a section of barbed wire fence, but now used as a classic jump between wood paneled fences.
Another closed road due to "flooding" (again, not really, and I'm guessing they forgot to take down the sign) over a low water bridge about 15 miles into the ride.
Most of the estates out this way have names, some classic, some whimsical. This one seriously borders on comedy. Who in their right mind names a 5 acre parcel? One of these days I'll do a ride with photos of the best farm signs enroute. Lots to chose from out our way!
Stats:
Time: 3:32
Elevation Gain 1,805
Average Speed 8.7mph
Top Speed: 35.5mph
Percentage of 400w battery remaining: 17%
Assistance levels: 3 and 5 of 5
Why another ebike? Well, this one will only be for the group rides with the road bikes. Since it has a chain and derailleur I only want it used on paved roads. The carbon belt drive on the Giant is perfect for my gravel road rides, and for the long distance charity rides.
Besides, I needed a new ebike. Just saying!
Once back home it was time to hop on the Giant and get in some quality time pedaling down 23.3 miles of gravel roads, looking for signs of Spring.
I had decided that rather than detaching my phone from the bike mount every time I wanted to take a picture, I would carry in my pocket an old phone and use that as my camera. Pretty clever, huh?
And find pictures I did. Lots of them. Lovely scenery shots, long distance road shots, art-y shots. Every one a masterpiece of photography. The gravel roads were peaceful and serene, and I had them all to myself as I selected the smoothest parts to ride on, those parts of the surface that had been flattened into abject submission by countless car tires until it was as smooth as glass. It was fairly easy to expertly dodge any potholes, and I found I was becoming much bolder about going fast down the hills, and not clutching the brake handles with a death grip.
Altogether a lovely warm day just perfect for cycling and photography.
Got back home, pleased as punch to see all the great photos I'd taken with the old phone. And that's when the trouble started. There was a reason I had thrown that old phone in a drawer - that reason being that the phone and my laptop had a hate/hate relationship going on, plus it only connected with wifi when it felt like it. I had forgotten that, but it came back with a horrified rush when the old phone resolutely refused to connect to my internet for downloading. Absolutely refused outright. Despite all my pleading, cursing, and offering of both bribes and blood sacrifices, the phone would only allow me to look at the stunning photos, not download them. I tried plugging the phone into the laptop to download, and both computer and phone renewed their feud and pretended the other didn't exist. I'm not a slouch when it comes to computers and I know every trick in the book to get electronics to talk to each other. But this phone had me at wits end. As did the laptop. They did not want to acknowledge each other's existence, and that was that.
I finally gave up, tossed the old phone back in the drawer with some well spoken words of disgust, and rooted around in that drawer for my old aim-n-shoot camera, vowing to reshoot the scenery with a true camera on my ride the next day.
Cue next morning. Temps due to soar into the low 70's (23°C), sunny, bright, calm, and clear. Perfect for a 30 mile gravel road ride. I packed the panniers with lunch, drink, portable battery for keeping my phone charged, and the old camera which I had carefully checked to make sure it worked. It did so. Flawlessly. The batteries were surprisingly still robust after months of sitting in the drawer, and there was plenty of room on the disk card. Couldn't remember exactly why I had tucked that camera away and no longer used it. I'd find out later on, though.
That morning we had just received from Amazon a hitch for the Prius, which my poor husband was attempting to mount. He has an entire lifetime of being under cars, working on them (he was born in Detroit Michigan - "Motown" USA - if that gives a clue) but apparently the aero plastic panels under the Prius, which help give that hybrid such brilliant gas mileage, were in the way of allowing the hitch to be mounted and being less than easy to remove. There were lots of scattered tools around the garage floor behind the car, and an increasing volume of cussing being heard from under the car, which was my cue to hop on the bike and take off, leaving said hubby to his project and the invention of some rather colorful language.
Now, I had already carefully planned out my route on one of my phone's many GPS cycling apps, taking in some new gravel roads that I had never traveled. So I had a "follow the moving dot" map up and ready, and all I had to do was follow it. Which I did, faithfully, for about 10 miles before I forgot and went off course, going down what could have been an awesome ski slope had we had snow and then into a development with a paved road that went round and round ending in lots of cute cul-de-sacs. I kept staring at my map with the moving dot, alternately nodding hello to the nice people in the development out walking their suburban dogs, while trying to figure out how the heck to get out of this place and back on route without having to go back up the ski slope. Going one way put me on a dangerous road that I don't like to even drive in my car. That was a hard NO. The only other way was to cut across someone's back yard and up a steep hill full of brush and tall grass. That, or go back up that horrific gravel road climb.
I chose the gravel road. Had to drop into 2nd gear with maximum assist, but.. I made it. Got back on route, took some photos of the views which were gorgeous, and pedaled on.
It was about at this point, when I stopped to take another shot, that I remember why I'd tossed that old camera in the drawer and hadn't used it since. The very next shot the camera lens decided not to slide out. It stuck midway, the camera now beeping in a "Danger, Will Robinson!" type of "Lost In Space" robot arm waving alarm. And the camera instantly bricked itself. I sighed, and waited. I now remembered the drill from long ago before I'd retired this camera to the drawer. Turn off then turn on and point the camera at the ground to let gravity help release the lens. It worked. Picture taken, and I was off cycling again.
The miles rolled on, the hills rose and fell, and the camera continued to work, but only when it felt like it. The day got hotter and hotter. Before long my cycling jacket was removed and strapped to the back rack, and I was breezing along in a short sleeve shirt, cool and comfy. Had to take 3 miles of paved road connecting two gravel roads, and had a ton of juvenile fun racing downhill in aero position around a steep curving bend, hitting almost 36mph. It was AWESOME!
Back on the gravel roads, traveling at a more sedate pace because...well, it was gravel after all … I took my final photos. The camera had decided it was done for the day and I was spending too much time standing on the side of the road trying to reboot it so that the lens would expand and not stop halfway and freak out the camera for the millionth time in a row. Besides, I was back on my local roads and had already retaken those same shots from the ride the day before - those shots being forever and ever held captive on the old phone which is back to being buried in that drawer. I didn't need any more photos. Just riding was more than enough pleasure, and my final miles were a breeze under a summer-like sun.
Three hours after I set off on my ride, I was cruising back up the driveway. There, in the garage, remained the plethora of tools scattered behind the Prius, a prone body still underneath, one plastic panel off to the side, the hitch still waiting patiently off to the side on the garage floor, and lots of cuss words still echoing under the car chassis.
I parked the bike and headed inside to put my feet up, turn on some classical music, and download the photographs from the camera to the laptop. At least those two were on friendly terms with one another, unlike some aforementioned plastic aero car panels and one particular human trying to remove them.
Maybe by tomorrow the hitch will be on. If not, I'll simply go for another bike ride. Or go buy a new camera. Or do both.
A zoomed in view of the Blue Ridge Mountains (northern Virginia) from my local gravel roads.
VDOT doing grading and repairs on some of the worse rain damaged gravel roads. The sign in the distance says "road closed". It wasn't, but it did discourage any cars from venturing on the newly graded road until VDOT could complete their work.
Some of our beautiful rolling scenery in Middleburg foxhunt territory. My bike is parked in front of a 3'6" chicken coop - a typical hunt jump orginally designed for safe passage over a section of barbed wire fence, but now used as a classic jump between wood paneled fences.
Another closed road due to "flooding" (again, not really, and I'm guessing they forgot to take down the sign) over a low water bridge about 15 miles into the ride.
Most of the estates out this way have names, some classic, some whimsical. This one seriously borders on comedy. Who in their right mind names a 5 acre parcel? One of these days I'll do a ride with photos of the best farm signs enroute. Lots to chose from out our way!
Stats:
Time: 3:32
Elevation Gain 1,805
Average Speed 8.7mph
Top Speed: 35.5mph
Percentage of 400w battery remaining: 17%
Assistance levels: 3 and 5 of 5
Attachments
Last edited:
Readytoride
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Virginia
Hitch is now on the car. Hooray! Husband is doing the proud happy dance, and will get homemade chocolate chip cookies as a reward tonight. We will put the bike rack on tomorrow and try it out. It is designed specifically for e-bikes with a nice little ramp to let you roll your bike right up onto the rack, so no heavy lifting required.
Quick question: how do you allay your fears of your expensive bike traveling on a rack outside the back of your car? I know I'm going to be a nervous wreck because I have never had a bike rack before. Ever. All of my bikes have always traveled inside the car with me.
So how do I go about telling myself that everything will be okay. And will it?
Am I worried for nothing?
Quick question: how do you allay your fears of your expensive bike traveling on a rack outside the back of your car? I know I'm going to be a nervous wreck because I have never had a bike rack before. Ever. All of my bikes have always traveled inside the car with me.
So how do I go about telling myself that everything will be okay. And will it?
Am I worried for nothing?
D
Deleted member 18083
Guest
R2R …
Yes, there are reasons for concern…
- collision
- theft
- falling off.
To thwart thieves the rack is locked to the tow ball with the same key that locks the seat post clamp. These locks are part of the Thule package.
In adddition, one end of a heavy duty cable is locked to the car hitch with the other locked around the bike and carrier.
I use a ramp to load the bike onto the rack. Bags are removed but batteries and Kiox computer remain on the bike.
… David
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steve mercier
Well-Known Member
If your rack is Ebike rated and you follow the instructions I am sure your bike will be fine. I always remove the battery before loading.
Readytoride
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Virginia
Thank you. I absolutely plan to remove the battery for transport. Removing some weight is better for the rack, and I feel more comfortable with the battery safe in the car. Those things are very expensive to replace.
I guess I will have to devise some type of velcroed rainproof cover for the Ride control unit in case I end up transporting the bike in inclement weather.
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- Deleted member 18083
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