2020 : Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Mulezen]

The SO wanted to come along and see some of the stuff I've been riding, so I stuck her on the Revolt and rode my Motobecane. Very nice 22 mile loop out of Philmont. She enjoyed blowing me away on the hills. As much as I love the Revolt, it was nice to experience true suffering again. Going up some of those steep Loudoun hills is more painful without the electric pixies helping.

She also water tested the Revolt on the Jeb Stuart crossing. I got there first and as I'm taking my shoes off, she charges down the hill, yells "it looks doable!" and proceeds into 3 feet of water at full speed. Lets just say the bike works fine after it dried out, and fortunately it was at the end of the ride so she didn't have to ride sans motor for very long.

Best part of the bike group photo is the cow peeing in the background. I'm with the right woman, because after we placed the bikes, she yelled "the cow is peeing, take the picture!"

You ’nawthin’ Virginia types Are so risqué

 

[PDXzap]

@Sierratim I guess you have a "built in" reminder of that day.

Mt. St. Helens was one of the first trips we made when I moved here.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Taking a break before heading home …

Redcliffe Peninsula (north of Brisbane).
Looking east to Moreton Island.​

 

[Sierratim]

Taking a break before heading home …
View attachment 52737

Redcliffe Peninsula (north of Brisbane).
Looking east to Moreton Island.​

Beautiful Fall weather. For N. California, Winter has returned with wind, rain and high elevation snow. It should let up tomorrow after 2 wintery days. The warm fire is nice, but lets ride for cryin'out loud...

 

[Readytoride]

The SO ... also water tested the Revolt on the Jeb Stuart crossing. I got there first and as I'm taking my shoes off, she charges down the hill, yells "it looks doable!" and proceeds into 3 feet of water at full speed.

I'm sorry, but that just made me laugh!

 

[steve mercier]

Beautiful Fall weather. For N. California, Winter has returned with wind, rain and high elevation snow. It should let up tomorrow after 2 wintery days. The warm fire is nice, but lets ride for cryin'out loud...

How far away are you from Lake Shasta ?

 

[Sierratim]

How far away are you from Lake Shasta ?

We're about 2-1/2 hrs SE. Our oldest son, the Mt St helens kid, lives with his family ~40min south of the lake.

 

[steve mercier]

We're about 2-1/2 hrs SE. Our oldest son, the Mt St helens kid, lives with his family ~40min south of the lake.

Beautiful country!

 

[McCorby]

Stefan, nice bike! One suggestion....You should avoid laying your bike on the derailleur side.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stefan, nice bike! One suggestion....You should avoid laying your bike on the derailleur side.

Thank you! Also for the advice. Won't happen again!

 

[McCorby]

Thank you! Also for the advice. Won't happen again!

 

[Alaskan]

@PaD as a Swede has good reasons to remember what day of May it is
/A joke from the traditional Swedish-Norwegian collection/

another joke from the Swedish/Norwegian collection:

Do you know what the Norwegians do on Norwegian independence day? They line up on the Swedish border and throw fire crackers.
Do you know what the Swedes do? They light them and throw them back.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Well, you know I approve of this joke!

(Lundgren)

 

[Cowlitz]

another joke from the Swedish/Norwegian collection:

Do you know what the Norwegians do on Norwegian independence day? They line up on the Swedish border and throw fire crackers.
Do you know what the Swedes do? They light them and throw them back.

Good tu know. I have both in my heritage. I can do both.

 

[PaD]

another joke from the Swedish/Norwegian collection:

Do you know what the Norwegians do on Norwegian independence day? They line up on the Swedish border and throw fire crackers.
Do you know what the Swedes do? They light them and throw them back.

I have some more like that but I’ll spare you
It’s been a while since I saw a post from Norway. I guess they’re busy riding their bikes.
I had dream. and a plan, for a trip to Norway this summer. The idea was to rent a small van just big enough to take my Vado and then go to Norway, stay a few days in some kind of lodging and do day rides. I don’t think it will be possible this summer. If I’m lucky travel restrictions will ease up so I can drive somewhere in Sweden and do something similar exept for fjords.
Or just try out how far away from home I can ride with battery support all the way home

 

[Cowlitz]

It was a bright and sunny and windy and cloudy day. I left home after checking the weather radar because there were some dark skies around here. I was hoping the "O" effect would work. I was once told that Okanogan was the inside of an O and storms often just went around. This is what it looked like when I got up to where there was a view.

I adopted the attitude of one who has lived where you save your old toothbrushes so you can get the moss out of all the nooks and crannies on your vehicles. I might get wet, but I'd be dry later. So I continued and sorry for the blurry picture. I just rode zig zagging around on county roads, trying to stay close to home, but then decided to ride the detour in place while a bridge is replaced. That project had a sign in town with one of those removable squares on it announcing when the project would be done. At first it was Nov. 30, then December, then February and I think for a while it was blank and now somebody has used a Sharpie crossing out the last entry and scribbled May? on it. Anyway, I took the detour and had to dodge a big snake that was strung out in the road. My goodness, pedals seem really low to the ground, with your feet on them, when you have to go by a snake that may be a rattler, but as I went by, I saw it was a bull snake--a very fat one. I couldn't stop in time so that's why I swerved around it.

I stopped and got a picture to show you what the cherries look like now. They are my favorite fruit to eat fresh and the season will start in June. I make every other day trips to a fruit stand to get my fix during cherry season. Yum. They gotta be FRESH -- picked on the same day to be the best. I missed them whilst living away.

At this point, a stanza of the Charge of the Light Brigade came to mind only modified to Rain to the left of them, Rain to the right of them, into the valley of storms, rode the Gazelle. I was surrounded, but still in the middle of the "O". I took off for home. This is what it looked like in the direction I had to go.

I got home, and within about 10 minutes of my arrival, it rained. But not much. That's the ride for today.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

A ride with friends …

Brisbane River at Lowood​

Another short ride, this time with my friends Neil (Cube Touring ebike) and Jack on his traditional touring bike which has already logged a dozen European adventures.

A pleasant ride, good coffee in the park at Lowood… a morning well spent. We'll meet up again in a month's time.

 

[RabH]

Yesterday was one of those days when the sun was out and gone within minutes followed by rain, it pretty much stayed like that all day so I decided to have a day off! Today was so much nicer, light winds from the south and warm sunshine which was most welcome! Next was the decision of where to go, sometimes its hard to decide so I just headed east where the roads are the quietest and made it up as I went, nothing like freestyle riding! 43 glorious miles today, it was just so much fun in the sun! Lots of cyclists out today which was nice to see, the sun and warm weather sure makes a difference!

I saw this young foal and its mother in the field as I passed and stopped to take a photo, it was about 100 yards away when I stopped but luckily they both came over to say hello and pose for a photo!

 

[RabH]

Your roads are so empty!

What I see over here in Switzerland (and to a less extent in France) is that since the "opening up" the roads are absolutely jam-packed during the day. Then after 7PM, because nothing is open and everyone is eating, they are fairly empty. It's really strange but gives for some great sunset riding.

Yes I'm very lucky indeed! The roads to the west and south of me are much busier normally but ok at the moment due to the lockdown!

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Actually, a funny story and the answer to a mystery today.

A few weeks ago I noticed a large (about 12x12 feet square of concrete) with a big square hole in it in the middle of the river. Now that is something you don't see every day and it was a bit of mystery where that hunk of concrete came from.

On Monday I figure out where that square came from:

Mystery more or less solved. This section of the road has concrete decking with a giant steel grate in the middle and high water is normally allowed to flow over the road. So in recent weeks with the snowmelt and all the drain probably got clogged with debris and the whole assembly got washed downstream into the river.

An interesting point: nearly all roads here are "paved" with oiled gravel, commonly referred to as "chip seal" and/or "asphalt". Actual concrete road surfaces are rare which made that large hunk of concrete an even bigger mystery...