2020 : Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[TomD]

With the weather forecast to return to more typical (rainiy) Seattle weather this week it was a good excuse to get out while the getting was still good. Rhododendrons are peaking everywhere. Hopefully rain means the blooms will last a little longer.

 

[PDXzap]

I needed to go to the post office and to the bank. The weather was fantastic so I decided to roll the "to do's" into a tour of some of the sculptures peppered around Lake Oswego, OR. I've seen some of it but wanted to see more.
I loosely planned a trip and headed out.
I used Public Art Archive and it appears that site is not quite caught up with how the city rotates/rearranges (?) the sculptures so apologies if any are mislabeled.

Fairy Tree
J. Uppinghouse 1983
Not sure why it was cordoned off... maybe it's also used as a bench/jungle gym?

Swoop II
D. L. Field 2005

Wormy Apple II
E. Humpherys 2009

Sunflower
P. Vader 2013

Beacon
W. Kangas 2018

Balanced Butterflies
R. M. Swanson 2018

Spirit of the Marsh
M. Andrew 2005

Angkor I
L. Kelly 2014

Sail
R. Squirrell 2018

First Footsteps
J. Demetro 2006

Know Time
B. Mefford 2016


And... some flowers...

 

[byunbee]

One of the things I realized when I started riding bikes again is that you notice a lot of things in your surroundings that you otherwise wouldn't driving a car. It made me appreciate my area much more. Many of you are very lucky to live in such beautiful environments.

 

[steve mercier]

I vote for first Footsteps and Ankgor 1. Know Time comes in last.

 

[PDXzap]

Know Time comes in last.

That's interesting... Know Time is one of my favorites.
I think I posted less than half of the ones I took photos of and only photographed a fraction of the ones on display.

 

[RabH]

Another lovely day here so I wasn't going to waste it, just over 33 very enjoyable miles which means I have now covered 2,017 miles in 2020 already! This would never have been possible without the lockdown so I have to consider myself very fortunate as the lockdown has coincided with a very long spell of dry weather, most unusual for this part of the world!

It was actually very quiet on the roads today which surprised me as there have been signs of traffic increasing recently, probably because the lockdown has been extended for another 3 weeks! Not many cyclists around today either which surprised me, maybe they were waiting for warmer weather in the afternoon as it was a bit chilly this morning when I was out!

Somebody was enjoying a spot of sunbathing!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Over the river on the Story Bridge and back down again …

Story Bridge across the Brisbane River, looking downstream.​

My usual ride through the city takes me down the right bank of the Brisbane River between the mangroves and the southern pillars of the Story Bridge and, after about ten minutes making a 360º clockwise sweep, over the Story Bridge.

Now on the left bank, the ride continues along the clifftop visible above the old shipping line warehouse which now is an upmarket conference centre (temporarily closed). If you look carefully, you should see a 'rusty' tower near the large tree on the far left which is a bike lift down to the old wharves and along the pedestrian/cycle path over the river shown in the cropped section of photo below.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

View attachment 52229

@RabH is the screen with the ride metric the one you are getting with the RideControl App?

@David Berry, your pictures are so lively!

 

[byunbee]

I didn't notice any night time photos.
So I present you with night rider.

Venturing out at 9:30PM

Can't keep the camera steady while riding!

A new bridge they built last year near my house.

 

[pmcdonald]

Night is a lovely time to ride, less cars on the roads, less people on the paths, nocturnal animals to spot. It's a vastly underrated experience!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Night requires a good low-light capable camera. A tripod is highly advised. It is at least good more and more smartphones become capable enough.

 

[byunbee]

Night requires a good low-light capable camera. A tripod is highly advised. It is at least good more and more smartphones become capable enough.

My iphone 11 takes photos fine in the dark with their night shot. None of the photos above used flash.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Some ride night pictures from me.

The pictures below are still amateurish, good enough, far from being perfect, noisy. These, however, are sharp, not blurred and retaining colour and proper blacks. I took these pictures on a Warsaw group ride (by the name "Warsaw In Snapshots"), September 9th, 2015 with my previous camera. Since I own a better camera now, I'm tempted to do some better night photography in the near future.

The building on the opposite is the former Norblin factory that made plated metal wares (1832-1982). It is a marketplace and a cultural center now.

The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, completed in 1955, originally named "Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science". It was so-called "gift of the Soviet nation to the Polish nation". The skyscraper is marble clad, was built by Soviet masons and is one of the tallest buildings in Poland (I guess it is still the tallest one). It is taller than any of the Moscow "palaces" of the same kind. Designed by Lev Rudnyev, who was inspired by the architecture of NYC but added the Socrealist taste to the building looks.

"Toreador", a sculpture of a great Mexican artist Juan Soriano in the front of Warsaw Financial Center.

Palace of Jakub Janasz (1880) in the heart of Warsaw's City. Warsaw was completely annihilated by the Nazi in a revenge for the Warsaw Uprising 1944, The whole Vistula left-bank Warsaw was razed to the ground. It was a sea of ruins in 1945. The Janasz palace was one of few building left intact. The rest of the city was rebuilt post-war.

Hotel Bristol, the most posh of Warsaw hotels. It was built by Ignacy Paderewski, a pianist and the first Prime and Foreign Minister of Poland since 1919. The construction of the Art Nouveau hotel was completed in 1901.

The guy at the left is my great friend Jerzy, a strong pedal-only bike rider. The guy in the helmet Piotr Wierzbicki dubbed "The King of Punks" is now an experienced Warsaw guide.

 

[byunbee]

@byunbee, I like the fact you share your photos but it is not the professional quality. No offence meant, truly!

Maybe it's because I'm not a professional?.. There are too many retired cyclists on this forum with a lot of time on their hands honing their photography skills....I can't compete!! I still work full time.

 

[pmcdonald]

Not to divert down this rabbit hole too much further, I think the current crop of smartphones come really close to closing the gap with Dslr and mirrorless cameras. The combo of multiple inbody lenses and AI wizardry are capable of shots I wouldn't have believed in years past. I think tele and action shots are the key areas where dedicated cameras still rule. (I work as a video director and occasional stills photographer)

 

[byunbee]

Not to divert down this rabbit hole too much further, I think the current crop of smartphones come really close to closing the gap with Dslr and mirrorless cameras. The combo of multiple inbody lenses and AI wizardry are capable of shots I wouldn't have believed in years past. I think tele and action shots are the key areas where dedicated cameras still rule. (I work as a video director and occasional stills photographer)

and macro photography.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@byunbee, I have deleted my remark that might seem offensive to you. I'm really sorry. Attribute my impolite remark to me being Polish. We're rude and direct. I'm learning to be polite. I apologise again.

@pmcdonald and @byunbee: Smartphone cameras are almost unbeatable for macro. My London gf makes macro miracles with her Samsung smartphone, yet, she learned even better macro with her Panasonic 1" sensor camera.

Although smartphone cameras are better and better, it is hard to beat a full-frame DSLR or a mirrorless camera with fast lens in terms of low-light capability. I went with Pentax, especially as the K-1 full frame sports one of the best low-light sensors in the market.

I'm attracted to the concert photography. The photo below was taken with Pentax K-1, a 35 mm lens at f/1.4 with ISO 3200. The singer stood in the complete darkness. Yes, I used a soft flash (the light bounced from a tall ceiling). No smartphone could do that.

P.S. It was a time when I played electric bass actively; I was doing photography, too. I had shown my hopeless concert photos to a fellow bassist at a Forum. He said: "You have to choose a single hobby. If you want your concert photos to shine, give up the bass and invest money and time in photography". (I'm still working).

 

[byunbee]

@byunbee, I have deleted my remark that might seem offensive to you. I'm really sorry. Attribute my impolite remark to me being Polish. We're rude and direct. I'm learning to be polite. I apologise again.

No worries. I didn’t get offended. If you’ve noticed from my other posts, I tend to be sarcastic or add humor. So my wasn’t me getting offended, but me being sarcastic.

 

[RabH]

@RabH is the screen with the ride metric the one you are getting with the RideControl App?

@David Berry, your pictures are so lively!

No Stefan, its from Ridewithgps!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

No worries. I didn’t get offended. If you’ve noticed from my other posts, I tend to be sarcastic or add humor. So my wasn’t me getting offended, but me being sarcastic.

The dreaded language barrier!
Though I admit I happen to be terrible on Forums. Sometimes I make direct remarks that are perceived negatively.