2020 : Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[PDXzap]

Around here much of nature seems to be ignoring the pandemic.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

(I've just replaced the video with a longer version. The background music is mine Had to mute the original audio track as the neighbour was making noise with a lawn-mover but left the original braking sound near to the end).

 

[Oscar56]

Thanks for starting this thread, it's great to see where others are riding around the world. I am also curious as to how others mod and deck out their bikes.

It has taken me about 4 days of casual browsing to make it to the end of the thread. Now I feel inspired to take a few photos of my rides to add to this thread. It also adds a bit of additional motivation to do a bit more exploring on my ebike.

Grant

 

[PDXzap]

I've just replaced the video with a longer version.

For a second or two at the end I thought that might be a cop car coming to arrest you!
Nice video!

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Just another day of social distancing. Upper Bear Creek Road, WA:

 

[Mulezen]

from my ride the other day as well as a few from late October when the pasture was still breathing. My friend Hank (story behind the name) now 22.
Local movable chicken houses (Friday shopping). Minatures that were not happy with my presence. Bartram Springs not mine.
had a fine conversation with the Mistress of the two little ones. She checked on the ruckus the donkeys were making then relaxed when I explained I had one too and lived about ten miles away next door to a horse farm she knew.
I haven't tried to post from my big computer before...apoligizing in advance if the pictures don't come through

 

[Twin Valley]

Beyond the seventh cattle grid …
View attachment 47998

Coominya, Lockyer Valley​

The inquisitive cows can be seen on the far left, just beyond the ploughed field. This is not really cattle country – no fences – which is how the 'timid' creatures were able to saunter over to the road and beg apple slices. Actually, this photo was taken on the way 'out' and the cows were snapped on the return trip from Coominya village about thirty minutes later.

The rail trail runs parallel to the road between the patch of long grass on our right and the cornfield that just visible on the right edge. The rail trail is rough – gravel riders' delight – and the country road is the way you see. In times past, the railway would have been the smooth option and the road indescribably rough, often impassable. I suspect, that over a century ago, the surveyors decreed a two-chain separation of road and rail.

Beyond the fields are trees that are peeping up from the gully through which the Lockyer Creek flows. We'll cross the bridge later, after taking a break in Coominya village which is at the end of this straight. (Be patient; it's a ride in the country.)

after a month away to the Cook Islands nice to come home and view your posts, David, something always relaxing and calming about them - just what is needed after wondering if we were going to get home after Australia and New Zealand closed borders and rumours the Yanks were not going to let us through to Canada, Rarotonga would have been a good spot if we couldn't get back but of course, nothing like home during unsettled times, now the 14 days of isolation and where I live miles and miles of e-biking with no worries about space and keeping the fingers crossed that we made it through so many unscheduled airports to get home

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I promised not to ride this week. Darn it! I need to manage two things in Warsaw, one distantly related to the covid situation and one related to my Vado. 80 km (50 mi) ride guaranteed. No photos, no time. I have never thought I would be riding such distances for the commute with an e-bike... Luckily, the wind somehow slacked, only for today. Even not that cold.

P.S. Owning and using a torque wrench for the first time in my life!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Fill 'er up!

Coominya General Store​

I wonder whether the culprit for wrecking the verandah's new roof owned up!

Coominya has two stores, a few houses, a primary school and a railway station without a railway…

Coominya Station, Brisbane Valley Rail Trail​

It was time to head back to Lowood on the rural roads and rail trail (~13 km) and then take the hilly route to Glamorgan Vale and south to a favourite coffee shop in Marburg. All would not go well…

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Dammit Dave, there you go again! A killer kangaroo? A brown snake jumping out of the trees? We will all wait for the next exciting episode

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I can only admire your photos and stories, David! It's a pity we cannot "like" individual photos the way Facebook operates.
P.S. You are the Master of Suspense, better than Alfred Hitchcock!

The Last Ride (Before The Lockdown) [Poland]

I had been on the ride to Warsaw; when stopped after the first 18 km.... No! I have to tell you this story first!

I rode my Vado 5. As probably everyone here knows, the bike is Class 3 meaning it is treated as a moped (a road vehicle) in Poland (and in the EU). I was pedalling vigorously against very cold wind but in glorious sunshine when I heard a sensurround sound:

-- WE INVITE YOU TO USE THE DEDICATED BIKE LANE!

Whoever and whatever that was, I lost my patience immediately and yelled at the top of my lungs:

-- WHAT THE F**K BIKE?!

I was not aware what the source of the message was but I was furiously pointing my bike's registration plate behind. It turned out it was a City Guard van. The guys must have noticed the registration plate too late. The van overtook me and that would be the end of the story but there was another City Guard van driving on the opposite side of the road and the guys in the van must have had a lot of fun about the faux pas of their colleagues; I could see the guys' faces I simply am not allowed to use bike lanes. Which is often good as using the road is just a faster way of commuting.

Stopped at the gas station for coffee and checked the messages. "Stop riding and give me a call. Urgent!" it was from my girlfriend from London. She knows my position live on Endomondo. It turned out London was put on lockdown and thus our little business became irrelevant. I could have returned home.

No, I made a workout instead. Taking the last rest, I read the news. Poland is on lockdown effective Wednesday. The last ride until April 12th. I only did one more thing: Rode to the hardware store of Mr. Kazimierz in Brwinów to buy the T8 wrench I was lacking in my toolbox.

Ah. Need to drive to the parcel locker. My Marathons e-Plus have just arrived. Too late.

 

[Mulezen]

nice long ride (for me) through Goochland county...small population mostly rural poor with enough of the very rich to, per capita, list it at least some years back as the richest county in the US. Tobacco heirs, Reynold's Metals etc. Old money and the new money managing the old money. I had the lanes mostly to myself with so many horses staring at me I thought I was Gulliver.
One photo is of the portable chicken houses I mentioned in my previous post. The friendly giant horses made me wish I had some of
my donkey snacks with me.

ofmy

 

[Mulezen]

Stefan...I’m surprised they include biking in the lockdown. I ordered an Allant9s the other day. Erin at Carytown Bikes called this morning to tell me she couldn’t find the Marathon E-plus. Bike tire Direct lists the tires as coming in in the next week or so.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Sorry to hear you’re out of business for a while, Stefan. Over here we’re encouraged to stay in, and I wouldn’t be out on the real streets anyway these days, but I can buzz through the neighborhood and get on a path running along the locks of the Erie Canal down to the Hudson River without seeing a soul. So it ain’t much, but I can get a quick ten or so miles without really going anywhere. Once this little five inches of surprise snow last night melts, anyhow.

Other than that, it’s in the house and taking turns selecting the next puzzle.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

To be 100% clear: I'm out of cycling, not of business I've been working fully remotely since 2000, and partly remotely since 1996 (the fax/early e-mail times).

The executive order is crystal-clear: "Stay at home, unless..." If I were commuting to/from work, use of an e-bike would be welcomed and praised. I work at home. I may do some grocery shopping using the bike, that's it. I intend to spend spare time on upgrading my e-bikes.

Marathon e-Plus are a novelty. Made in Germany; and Germany is the direct neighbour of Poland. Still, my delivery was greatly delayed, perhaps because of the covid situation.

I have made a promise to myself and to my girlfriend: Once the pest is over, we're going to see Canada and the U.S. My heart longs to Vancouver and Seattle but Brix may have a different opinion. California? Texas? Virginia? Rocky Mountains? Who knows what the future holds...

Having more time, I will read the Forum more. @Mulezen, waiting for your report on the Allant!

 

[Readytoride]

No coronavirus lock downs in Virginia...yet...so my friend and I are still getting out and about on our ebikes.

I texted her this morning to see if she was riding. I had several projects going at the time, put my phone aside as I worked through lunch, and somehow missed her text that she had embarked on her ride at 12:30pm. It was 2pm when I glanced at my phone. She was, by then, already 1 1/2 hours down the road. And I was still at home, mid-project.

Drat!! Late again!

I dropped what I was doing, grabbed what I needed for a 30 mile ride including two jackets to combat the chill 47°f air, said goodbye to hubby twice (the second time for coming back inside to get something I'd forgotten in the first go around), leaped on my bike, and headed out 10 minutes before my friend rode back up her driveway and finished at 31.64 miles.

Now it was my turn.

I had already been formulating in my mind the direction I wanted to take, incorporating new roads and new scenery. North seemed like a good choice, and staying on the paved road a better choice since the newly graded gravel roads might still be iffy.

Traveling North meant that I had the opportunity to check out a huge new development about 7 miles up the road. The locale used to be a massive old farm that had waited forlorn and unattended for so long that the fields had been growing woodlands rather than crops. Now it was growing houses. Lots and lots of very expensive houses. Houses proudly presenting their handsome faces to nicely paved curvy roads gracefully winding their way, sometimes with a bit of uncertainty, through the houses and construction sites, trying, at the same time, with minimal success to follow the shoreline of the lake in the center of the development which was, not surprisingly, called...are you ready for this? ... "Lakeview".

Yeah. That's some next level creative name selection now, isn't it.

So I tootled along on my bike, taking in the sights of houses in all forms of construction; from finished with families in residence and mulched gardens and toys in the driveways, to moving vans with doors wide open employing a line of men, as industrious as ants, emptying a steady stream of goods and furniture into a brand new, just finished, paint-barely-dry-on-the-walls house ready to become a home, to piles of lumber being raised as the skeleton framework for a future house, to plots of empty land with fancy lot number markers in unobstructed view, the land quietly waiting their turn for a house of their own.

And all boasting a view of the lake. Didn't matter how tiny. The view was there. Or so they claimed. I wasn't one to judge. I was just passing through.

My turn around the development, while not inspiring, had been somewhat entertaining and the people I saw walking the roads, walking their dogs, walking baby strollers, etc, were very friendly and happy to wave back at my waves hello. The obliging road eventually took me back to the main road where, after a moment of decision, I opted to head south, back the way I'd come.

A few miles later I jumped on a familiar, and much liked, road heading west, content to enjoy the few miles peddaling along on the smooth byway, admiring the scenery as the mountains crept closer and closer. It wasn't until I came up to my old familiar turnoff to head back, that I decided to continue heading towards the mountains, right up to the historic little village of Bluemont, a quaint enclave that snuggled its eclectic mixture of colorfully painted Victorian houses and old time buildings right up and into the foot of the mountain.

Photo c.1901

Built originally as a stage coach stop, the village later found fame as a summer escape destination for the 1800's era Washington DC population, anxious to flee as far as possible from the squalid heat and humidity of summertime. The W&OD train line, starting in Alexandria near Washington DC, had its final stop in this delightful village well known for its "salibriquious mountain air". Hotels and boarding houses sprang up to accommodate the hordes of summer visitors in those heady days before cars took over the world. The village also included a rare "hollar" - an old hillbilly term for a "hollow" -this being a sharp crease in a steep mountain side often carved just wide enough by a stream to afford space for a log house or a shanty shack as the case may be.

Bluemont's "hollar" was bounded on one side by the steep ascent of a very narrow paved road that went straight up the mountain side, making a pin hook near the top just before emptying out onto a 4 lane divided highway.

I looked up as I reached the bottom of that ascent, and smiled. A challenge! It was too inviting to resist. I drive it in my car all the time because it's such fun, plus the views at the top are breathtaking. But I've never tried climbing it on a bike.

I bumped up the assist to high, dropped my gears to low, and started pedaling.

And pedaling, and pedaling, and pedaling. Higher and higher. The road didn't rest, it just kept going up and up and up the mountain. I once had an old time cyclist tell me that the secret to climbing hills was never to look up. You keep your eyes down, and just keep turning the pedals, and before you know it, you're at the top. I discovered that afternoon that he was right. I only peeked up the road once, then immediately dropped my eyes and concentrated on the road under my wheels, my breathing, the fact that halfway up I wished I'd removed one, or both, of my jackets, and the song coming through my headset that kept time with the rhythm of my pedal stroke.

Around the pin hook turn, a bit more pedaling...and I was at the top of the road. 905' above sea level. Not exactly at the top of the mountain (which is 1,200 at Snicker's Gap), but close. I smiled as I looked over the landscape far, far below.

The mountains in the distance are The Short Hills which form a precise line separating the western and eastern parts of our county.

The stats that I downloaded later show the climb (though the plateau is weird and shows no discernable mileage between the two points. Baffling.)

I stood and admired the view to my heart's content. All the times driving this road in the car, I had never allowed myself the freedom to stand at the guardrail and look over the edge as Nature tumbled down the steep slopes in a tangled conglomeration of weedy brush and broken old trees.

But eventually, all good moments must be packed away in pictures and memories, as the bike is pointed towards home.

I had a bit of giddy delight bombing down the road with the wind howling around me. I had barely begun my descent and had already hit 30mph. Before the gps could record beyond that and into ludicrous speed, I lost a bit of my bravado and grabbed a tight handshake with my trusty brakes to affect a more moderate, yet still fun, downhill speed.

Back down in the valley, and once again on familiar roads, I opted to try one or two gravel roads in hopes that their recent grading had been squashed into a more packed surface by the local car and truck traffic.

I was in luck! The going was smooth enough for a decent speed, and the scenery was still beautiful.

I had been pleasantly surprised to see quite a few people out walking the gravel roads. Recreationally walking. Strolling, to be precise. Mostly in pairs, rarely as singles. All were fairly young, too - collage age. It was nice to see them and engage in friendly greetings, as I have never seen, in all my years of riding these roads, people simply walking the roads for something to do. How much this pandemic is changing our lives. Hopefully, for the better when people find they do have the time now to get outside to appreciate Nature in all her raw beauty.

The gravel miles rolled on, the people walking the road in twos drifted into view, waved and said hello as we passed, then receded in my rear view mirror just as a new couple came into view. Only once did I see a single person walking alone. I felt a twinge of sadness for him, but it was only momentary, and the the wind in my face, the soft crunch of gravel under my tires, and the pedals turning and turning and turning under me stole my attention away. I was headed home.

By the time I reached 31 miles, I was pedaling up my driveway, having stopped first at the mailbox for the mail which was now shoved in the panniers. I had only 6 miles left on my battery as I dismounted at the house, but a mind crammed full of wonderful memories inspired by the ride.

I'll finish my projects tomorrow while it rains so they don't hold me back on what is promised to be a stunning biking day on Thursday.

I might even be able to go out at the same time as my friend.

(Yeah, I'll believe that when that happens.)

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Now, it is the time you ride to and show us Paris VA, Flora! What about a trip to Shenandoah River?
When do you think some warmer weather would come?

 

[Deleted member 18083]

A very senior moment …

I looked up as I reached the bottom of that ascent, and smiled. A challenge! It was too inviting to resist.

I bumped up the assist to high, dropped my gears to low… The road didn't rest, it just kept going up and up and up the mountain.

And so it was after I left Lowood… I'd take the scenic route to a delightful giftware shop in Marburg – that just happens to serve the best decadent treats and coffee in town (actually the only) – then head over another range to Rosewood (coffee shop yet to be discovered) and home.

But, first, the really hilly bit between Lowood and Glamorgan Vale; not the easy route along the rail trail through Fernvale (purple line) that I'd followed on the way out…

Turbo mode! Why pass it up when the stricken Homage's PowerPack was weighing the pannier down, waiting to take over. The road went straight up the ridge line as if the surveyors had been keen to see where they were going and where they'd come from! The Purion's range prediction dropped into single digits, enough to get me up the second sharp ascent after the dip just ahead…

Looking east from hills between Lowood and Glamorgan Vale.​

Looking northwest back towards Lowood & Coominya.​

And then I realised that I had forgotten something: the key. The embarrassment of it! An exhausted battery and a spare at the ready but no way of swapping them over!

Forget Marburg's little café; forget the hills separating Marburg and Rosewood and the scenic route home from there!

I had no option but to hurtle down into the dip – the speed need not be mentioned – and power over the second ridge before figuring out how to limp home with the lowest assist or, sometimes, none at all. Just made it!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

And then I realised that I had forgotten something: the key.

My worst nightmare, David. Reminds me of my slamming the garage door with the keys inside. Now, before I ride out, I'm checking whether I have on me:

1. The full set of bike-related keys: the garage door-key, the battery-lock keys (Vado and Lovelec), the keys to the different bike-locking devices;
2. The second set of keys for the main door and for the garage door in another pocket;
3. The spare battery;
4. The U-lock;
5. The set of hex wrenches and the chain-tool.

I actually triple-check these items. Often, I think what I would do stranded without the possibility to replace the battery.

Ah, what beautiful photos you take, David!

 

[steve mercier]

Discovering leaving the battery key at home is only marginally better than a flat tire and it depends on where you are when you find it absent. In order not to repeat that mistake I have attached a very small top bar bag right in front of my nose, the sole purpose of which is to hold my key ring. Peeking in that bag is job one before takeoff.