2020 : Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Readytoride]

The 1 HP vehicle is costly on the maintenance though

Well, not really if you keep at home and do your own farrier work (40 years shoeing and still thanking the stars for having a healthy back). Daily requirements: grass, hay, water, salt. Two out of the four are free via Ma Nature. Required fenced field and barn is an upfront cost but expensed for over 25-30 years and considered a property asset. Plus you get to look out your window at your pretty horse grazing in your own fields.

Now if you board and use a professional farrier (required every 6 weeks) for trims and shoes, and possibly take weekly lessons, the cost can reach or exceed a rental or mortgage payment. Or so I've been told by those who pay such bills.

So, I can easily and quickly trim a hoof and shape shoes and nail them on/take them off any pony horse, but am hopeless at changing a flat tire on a bike, or installing new brake pads, etc. Or pretty much anything to do with bike maintenance. That's what I pay my bike mechanic is do. All the stuff I don't wanna. Playing the "girly-girl" card works for me!

 

[Cowlitz]

Readytoride: I understand the girly girl card. When I worked in the woods and had flat tires, loggers would come by and take the tools out of my hands and change my pickup flats! One guy actually came running out of the brush to do so. My male coworker complained that they never did that for him. My mom would not let us drive until we showed her that we could change a flat tire so I was quite capable of doing it. When I was short on money, I'd rotate my own tires.

I'm carrying a tube and bike tools for just in case. There are no young loggers to help me change my bike tire, and I haven't done many bike tires in my life, but I think I can.

 

[Readytoride]

Bless all those guys who are so delighted and eager to show off their manly skills when a lady has a mechanical issue. Bless them, every one.

Now on the flip side - a story from yesterday's ride..

I was barely 2 miles down the road when I see, in the near distance, a garden tractor stuck caddycorner in a roadside ditch. These ditches are shallow, but narrow, and tend to enjoy snagging any garden tractors that fail to heed how close their tiny tractor wheels are to the "just right amount of depth" to catapult the tractor into the clutches of the ditch.

So this poor garden tractor was now held captive, even though the driver was on the ground trying fruitlessly to push the heavy item out of the ditch.

I watched the poor man struggle with no success as I cycled closer and closer. By the time I reached him he had partly given up, and was standing staring at the tractor as if hoping the tractor could possibly aid itself in the rescue. Which the tractor wasn't about to do, at least not in this lifetime.

I stopped and asked if he needed help. Well, not asked, per say, but pantomimed an offer to help as the stuck tractor' s engine was still running and making that infernal earsplitting racket all unshielded gas powered engines make. Couldn't hear yourself think.

The man, who turned out to be an older gray haired gentleman, smiled politely but shook his head no. I just sighed, because there was no way on this green earth he was going to move that piece of equipment by himself. I parked the bike, kicked down the kickstand, and walked over to the back of the tractor and pantomimed that he was to push the front end while I would pull from the back. He nodded OK, and I got in position to pull.

But before I did so I glanced down at the small lock pin that all garden tractors come with to make sure their wheels are locked when the tractor is stationery. Sure enough, the pin was in locked position. Sigh, yet again. No wonder his efforts were all for naught. I reached down, released the pin so that the tractor wheels were unlocked, then signaled the man to push while I pulled.

It took just two push/pulls...and the tractor was back on level land. I reached down, reengaged the lock pin, and pantomimed a successful thumbs up to the man. He gave me the biggest grin, and returned the thumbs up.

I walked back to my bike, released the kickstand and mounted up, waving goodbye as I took off down the road. I left behind a very happy gentleman.

Never did tell him about the pin. Didn't want to embarrass him. Hopefully someone else will clue him later, should his tractor ever find itself diving into a ditch again. Which will happen. Garden tractors seem to find ditches irresistible. Trust me. Been there, got the t-shirt. Hence my knowledge of the lock pin.

 

[Cowlitz]

Oh yes. I was out on a logging unit doing my forester stuff--checking to see that things were going like they were supposed to go. This crew was an excellent one, but they were having trouble rigging up a piece called an intermediate support, or jack in a tree. That piece adds lift to the skyline when the ground is not shaped properly.

They had not rigged one for years. Their boss asked me if I it looked right. I told him no, I think it is on backwards. They communicated with the yarder engineer who said it was correctly positioned. I wandered on, heard the yarder start pulling, then I heard the whistle blow the STOP signal. All was quiet. Then I heard, "Hey, you want a job with us as a hooktender? You were right!" Made my day.

I did have the advantage of having jacks used recently on units I worked on. That was why I knew it was backwards.

 

[steve mercier]

Today we were resting at our secret grotto when a brightly lit solitary ebiker approached from the distance...lo and behold it was my wife's sister. Her husband is in two weeks quarantine but she is not. She gave me the finger when I told her to get the hell away from me but she did keep her distance. Oh well ...what did I expect? When you share your secret with people It tends to diminish the secrecy.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Today, after complete hand-wash of my Vado, I was replacing the inner tubes with Michelins. Nobody told me I would have to fight those stubborn, very strong and stiff Electrak 2.0 tyres. I was almost crying from the frustration. Dropped the wheels into my car and saw my brother Jacek in person. "No handshakes!" he merrily greeted me and we indeed kept the distance!

(Replacing the tubes and reinserting the tyre beads was as easy as ABC for my brother...)

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Today we were resting at our secret grotto when a brightly lit solitary ebiker approached from the distance...lo and behold it was my wife's sister. Her husband is in two weeks quarantine but she is not. She gave me the finger when I told her to get the hell away from me but she did keep her distance. Oh well ...what did I expect? When you share your secret with people It tends to diminish the secrecy.

Looks like Golden Ears?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Went to a locked-down town today, and also stopped at the Town Trailhead:

 

[steve mercier]

Looks like Golden Ears?

You are close...actually yes that is Golden Ears in the backround on the right! ..this spot is on the West side of the Pitt River , .5 km North of Minnekhada Park
49°17'23.7"N 122°41'11.2"W

 

[PDXzap]

Woody and I go for a spin!


Woody and I first started riding together about 11 years ago. Our rides together have rarely been the long distance kind, more often they are rides to the store or a leisurely "neighborhood" jaunt. When we first started riding together he would just tag along behind, slowing me down... but that didn't last long and as our rides continued Woody started carrying his own weight... and then some!
When our rides first started Woody didn't have gears. Currently he is limited to five gears from which to choose but he seems to do just fine with only five.

I know Woody inside out and I'd like to think Woody knows me too even though we have never actually talked to each other.
Even with the lack of conversation, I would be hard pressed to describe Woody as the quite type. When asked to pick up the pace Woody tends to whine!

I know how Woody works and I can usually tell when Woody is getting tired... or when he's most likely to get a little too hot when we are out for a ride.

Woody is very pushy but in good way. In fact... his pushiness is one of his best attributes!


Meet Woody!

We went to recycle some bottles and cans but unfortunately...

... due to the pandemic the recycling deposit machines are closed off. The trip there looked much like the trip home
It was still a fun ride.

The tow bike is an old GT Outpost fitted with a throttle and a three way switch which is used for shifting Woody's gears.

Find more about Woody here:

Homemade. Show us your stuff!

These may seem out of place for EBR but considering they are "bikecentric" and have to do with electricity I feel they belong... and in a pinch you could charge your ebike up when no other power is available. This is my first real pedal generator. I had cobbled a few thing together before...

electricbikereview.com

 

[Cowlitz]

It was a bright and sunny day here in the Not Canada part of the Okanogan Valley. Or, Okanogan, not Okanagan. The spelling changes when you cross the border. I'd walked The Demon Dog and could take off on my bike. So I did. The PLAN was to ride a round about way, avoiding the scary road behind my house and eventually change course and arrive in Okanogan, the town. Then I'd pedal on back home. The reality was different.

It is definitely Spring. Things are greening up, the irrigation is filling up and will soon be operable, flowers are starting to bloom and you can hear some kind of cranes way up in the sky heading back north. The nose runs, sneezes happen, eyes itch, and Benadryl is taken. Stupidity can set in, but it didn't, or I didn't notice it today.

Looking up the valley. I pedaled past the house of the Chihuahua from hell, but he only half heartedly chased today.

I pedaled on, stopping to drink water frequently because Benadryl causes dry mouth. Saw some Balsam Root blooming in a warm spot. We always called them Sunflowers, but I get sternly corrected by folks when I call them that, even though there was a Sunflower Relay in the valley to the west of here that is cancelled this year.

A closer up because the far away picture makes them hard to see. Just a few were out. More will bloom soon.

Just a bit more of pavement and then I'd turn off onto an unpaved road, which is my favorite part of this ride. There's a bit more up to do, then a fair bit of down and on into Okanogan.

I was starting on the downhill, when I came across Roadwork Ahead signs. Thinking it couldn't be too serious I rode on down.
I saw a grader working and thought, How bad could it be? There'd be a way to get by. Note the attachment on the machine.

It looked like the grader was blading and packing.......sand on the road. I rode on and hit the sand. Ruh roh. The wheels were sinking and squirrely. If it was this bad where the grader was blading, how bad would it be ahead of it? Abort! Abort!

The bike is turned around looking back at where I came from.

So, I rode back uphill and on back home. No Okanogan the town today. It was mostly downhill and I survived the scary road behind my house that people are driving fast on right now. In fact, one house along it put a large sign up reading Why You Drive So Fast? on it. It was last used two years ago.

My ride was 26 miles. That's as technical as I can get.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

49°17'23.7"N 122°41'11.2"W

I'm curious about one thing and now I can ask, I think. In the area, there are three roads connecting BC with WA. Is the Border Control set up at each of these border crossing?

It looked like the grader was blading and packing.......sand on the road. I rode on and hit the sand. Ruh roh. The wheels were sinking and squirrely. If it was this bad where the grader was blading, how bad would it be ahead of it? Abort! Abort!

I hate the sand...

 

[Cowlitz]

I'm curious about one thing and now I can ask, I think. In the area, there are three roads connecting BC with WA. Is the Border Control set up at each of these border crossing?



I hate the sand...

If there is a road going through, there is a border crossing. There is a small one called Nighthawk, and it is not open all the time. The main one is about 40 or 50 miles north near Oroville, WA and it is pretty good sized and open all hours. Except now, the border is closed to everybody except trucks hauling stuff because of....the virus. There are several more small crossings that are not open at night.

I finally went across in January. I hadn't been up since 1990 something and was amazed at how the border crossing was now a big maze going back into the U.S. You have to concentrate hard to follow it. Going into Canada is pretty straight forward. Nope, we have no guns with us. I should ride across at Nighthawk, but then I don't know where I would go. There is no town and it looks to be a ride on a busy highway to get anywhere once in Canada. Nighthawk is another place that used to be a real town but is not now.

 

[steve mercier]

I'm curious about one thing and now I can ask, I think. In the area, there are three roads connecting BC with WA. Is the Border Control set up at each of these border crossing?


Yes the border is closed to all " non-essential " traffic right now. This is the first time in my life that has happened.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Yes the border is closed to all " non-essential " traffic right now. This is the first time in my life that has happened.

I meant: was there the border control at any of the border crossings before the epidemics?

 

[steve mercier]

I meant: was there the border control at any of the border crossings before the epidemics?

Yes

 

[Stefan Mikes]

No Rides Today (and "It Won't Be Any Cleaner")

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Tide's out at Sandgate Beach …

Lovers Walk & Sandgate Beach.
Looking north.​

I usually cycle only part of the Moreton Bay Cycleway. It's about 150 km in total, mostly on paths shared with pedestrians – like this section along the Sandgate foreshore. On my last ride the tide was out, so I diverted along a quiet path overlooking the Lovers Walk section.

And with the tide mostly in (last year with my brother)…

• Location of Lovers Walk : Click for map.

The third photo – again, from an earlier ride before the Homage's prolonged illness – was taken looking back from the furthest point that can be seen in the first photo.

Sandgate Beach.
Looking south.​

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I'm curious about one thing and now I can ask, I think. In the area, there are three roads connecting BC with WA. Is the Border Control set up at each of these border crossing?

Actually there are quite a few crossings. Going from West to East across the whole state (WA) and most of the province (BC):

1. There are two ferry crossings which are primarily used by tourists.
2. There is a weird little enclave called Point Roberts where you can only get to the rest of WA by crossing into BC. High school kids who live there have to make four border crossings per day when attending school.
3. There are three big 24/7 crossings on the West Side of the Mountains
4. There is one crossing (with the interesting name of Hozomeen) in the mountains, accessible from BC by a 50km gravel road and by boat and/or trail in WA. This is mostly used by campers and fishermen and sometimes by smugglers and terrorists.
5. 120km to the east you get to Nighthawk, which is a great shortcut if you are an American and want to go skiing at Apex but otherwise isn"t all that useful.
6. There is a big 24/7 crossing at Oroville/Osoyoos. At this point you are about halfway across the state.
7. There are five more crossings to the East. I think perhaps two of them are open 24/7, although hours vary pretty randomly.

There are numerous roads and trails that also more or less connect. In Pre-9/11 days there were many places you could cross the border on trails with varying levels of legality, but since then non-controlled border crossing is pretty much impossible unless you want to be a guest of the government for an extended period.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thank you @Mr. Coffee for the detailed answer! I'm very much attracted to that region (even if in theory only), especially after reading the "REAMDE" novel from Neal Stephenson. Ah, I was to BC once, so it is not just theoretical interest I can still remember the U.S. Border Control at the Vancouver Airport on the way to Houston TX.
P.S. It was in 1999.