2020 : Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Art Deco]

Nothing special about these pictures, except that today's ride was our first ever ride on our new Comos. First bikes we've owned in decades, actually the very first bikes I ever bought new.

Our downtown square and on the riverfront .


About 6 miles round trip down to the river and back. Home is atop of the highest hill in town, and would mean walking a mech bike half a mile or more. Our thanks to all on this forum that encouraged this.
Art and Barb

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Moreton Bay …

Moreton Bay Cycleway …​

Moreton Bay Fig … ​

Dave and Trekkie taking a break. We had no valid reason for doing so; but, on an unhurried autumn afternoon, there were excuses aplenty. Photo courtesy of our companions, Gitzo and Q2.

The furthest island is North Stradbroke (Straddie) and beyond is the almost-customary cloud bank over the warm East Australian Current, the South Pacific's equivalent of the Gulf Stream.

Straddie was once a single island, then one stormy night in the 1890s a small freighter was blown ashore on the ocean side of a particularly low and narrow section of the island. Salvage mongers, descending on the loot which included a considerable quantity of explosives, had to choose between relieving the wreck of its booty via the ocean or the calm waters of the bay. Let's just say that the explosives were put to good use and, with the assistance of another storm or two, there are now two islands where once there had been one.

Rumour has it that the salvagers failed to submit an environmental impact statement or comply with workplace health and safety regulations… or, maybe, there were no such troublesome regulations a century and a quarter ago.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Rumour has it that the salvagers failed to submit an environmental impact statement or comply with workplace health and safety regulations… or, maybe, there were no such troublesome regulations a century and a quarter ago.

 

[Chargeride]

Nipped up to Whinlatter forest, about 1.5hr drive, roads were pretty busy but it quitened down as we got near.
Practically empty on the mountain.
The usual crew, my mates wife lets him out if he brings his son , who is only 15 and shows us old farts how to do it.
He was filming with his fancy new Hero8 hypersmooth, I'll be interested to see how good it looks and make a full vid of the day with it.
Heres a quick vid..mostly getting there in my tatty van, it hit 26 degrees....freakin gorgeous.

https://streamable.com/t2nw8g

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Not the way ahead …

Thompsons Beach, Redland Bay, QLD​

This ramp is quite useless for launching a boat. What on earth, or sea, were its designers thinking of! Boat ramps need to be steep (within reason, of course) so that the trailer is properly in the water and the wheels of the towing vehicle are decidedly out of it.

Thirty or forty years ago, I visited this place with my father who had spent his war years servicing and crewing PBY Catalinas and Short Sunderlands. He immediately recognised the ramp for what it had been or, more exactly, what it should have been.

During the nineteen-fifties and sixties this stretch of water was Brisbane's international airport. Could there be anywhere in the world as idyllic to 'land' a flying boat? (Answer: Yes, many places!)

In the 1970s along came jet airliners and the flying boats' days as long-distance passenger aircraft were over. The first aircraft that I flew in was a de Havilland Comet (from Blantyre, Malawi, to Dar es Salaam and return; sometime in the 1960s). Surely, the Comets were the most beautiful jet airliners ever built; however, you did need to be brave to fly in them.

As far as I can find out, the old Grumman G-73 amphibian (built 1947, current registration N2950) is enjoying a quiet but still active retirement in southern California.

 

[steve mercier]

Downtown from Little Mountain / QE park

 

[steve mercier]

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Been busy doing business stuff and also letting the bruises heal a bit before a really hit it again.

Yesterday I checked out the local swimming hole and a nice waterfall close by:

The river is unfortunately still too fat to safely hit. But in a few weeks it should be good to go.

 

[Cowlitz]

A friend and I rode this yesterday in the morning. It was an OK ride and kept close to home, so I did it again today but in the afternoon when the temperature was 80 something. This time I stopped at the top to guzzle water and took a couple of pictures. The hill starts at the bottom and goes for a mile and ?? to here where you get a view up and down the valley. No snakes were out today. No dogs were along. There was road construction to be ridden through and one old fart that came up behind and ran me and a car just about off the road. $%#@*

Here are pictures of the not very pretty valley and the road from the top. The Gazelle likes to do the hill in 2 and 3 gear at the Sport assist level. No turbo needed.

Looking across at the colorful casino.

Looking down river a bit.

At the top of the hill where it levels off.

 

[AlanDB]

Not the way ahead …
View attachment 53547

Thompsons Beach, Redland Bay, QLD​

This ramp is quite useless for launching a boat. What on earth, or sea, were its designers thinking of! Boat ramps need to be steep (within reason, of course) so that the trailer is properly in the water and the wheels of the towing vehicle are decidedly out of it.

Thirty or forty years ago, I visited this place with my father who had spent his war years servicing and crewing PBY Catalinas and Short Sunderlands. He immediately recognised the ramp for what it had been or, more exactly, what it should have been.

During the nineteen-fifties and sixties this stretch of water was Brisbane's international airport. Could there be anywhere in the world as idyllic to 'land' a flying boat? (Answer: Yes, many places!)

In the 1970s along came jet airliners and the flying boats' days as long-distance passenger aircraft were over. The first aircraft that I flew in was a de Havilland Comet (from Blantyre, Malawi, to Dar es Salaam and return; sometime in the 1960s). Surely, the Comets were the most beautiful jet airliners ever built; however, you did need to be brave to fly in them.

View attachment 53548

As far as I can find out, the old Grumman G-73 amphibian (built 1947, current registration N2950) is enjoying a quiet but still active retirement in southern California.

That ramp would also be great for one of these:

 

[Readytoride]

View of the sky as I set out for a short ride (a whopping 5 miles total) to rest my mind a bit from writing, and take advantage of the welcomed exit of the wretched humidity and wilting heat that had held the entire day in a miserable stranglehold ever since this morning.

Not quite a fan of riding at dusk, or night for that matter. Not being able to see the ground unnerves me, and night bugs flying into my face are seriously annoying. But it was the only time it was cool enough to pedal off to enjoy some quality time with the LaFree, and our local gravel road.

So, here ya go. Enjoy the Virginia sunset in photos taken only a few moments apart...

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Enjoy the Virginia sunset in photos taken only a few moments apart…

Gorgeous colours!

 

[Chargeride]

You are so lucky to have such expanses of nature, I'd come over except I hear the entire nation is on fire with looters.
I'll wait till the shooting stops

 

[E-Wheels]

That ramp would also be great for one of these:

i hope it is a better car than it is a boat

 

[Deleted member 18083]

On the B-road from Plainland to Brightview …

Brightview, Queensland​

Plainland or Brightview: take your pick; both seem appropriate.

I hadn't intended to ride along this 40km-stretch of B-road between Laidley and Lowood (see map). The surface was acceptable and, rather obviously, there were no ups or downs to contend with.

There had been hills aplenty before Laidley! Long, sweeping curves with a smooth but not slick surface. Judging by the number of motorcyclists out for a Friday ride, the stretch over the Liverpool Range was a favourite. I look forward to riding out to Laidley again but…

After Laidley the road designers had not taken cyclists into consideration. (Why should they?) What was awkward was the too-narrow strip between the white line and the rough stuff. There were more cars and trucks than I'd have liked but, as usual, their drivers were considerate.

The scenery was… well, you can see what it was like!

The ride was enjoyable – I'm glad I did it! – but the Laidley-Lowood section will have to be omitted from my regular ride-from-home list. That's easy; there're plenty of backroads to choose from. The 'problem' is the A2, the always-busy ~3500 kilometre interstate highway linking Brisbane and Darwin. To cross it safely on an overpass, one must be on a B-road and being on a B-road necessitates sharing with too many other vehicles!

I have three rides planned for next week; all on quiet roads or not on roads at all. (Three rides per week is the max until Jen's Alzheimer's respite centre reopens.) No need to worry about the weather; it's always perfect in June.

And looking the other way…

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My plan was a 50 km quickie on-road to determine the real Vado range under the current conditions. Meanwhile, stuck in sands over the River Utrata because I dared entering the offroad on inadequate e-bike again ☺

 

[RabH]

Early ride today to beat the heat and the inevitable melee due to a slight easing of our lockdown which means we are now allowed to sunbathe as long as we only travel 5 miles and keep 2m away from others! At 8am it was already 16C which is very unusual for these parts but it was just perfect for cycling in our lovely countryside! I decided to take a chance and head west for a change, hoping the road traffic wasn't going to be too busy given the weather and the lockdown changes!

It was defintely busier than it has been for a while but it was ok for the most part, no crazy close passes is always a bonus! Our garden centres were reopened today also so I made sure I kept my distance from them, I'm pretty sure they will be extremely busy, I'm not a garden person anyway so...

It was such a beautiful day, 40 glorious fun filled miles with beautiful views all around, certainly something to be savoured while it lasts! I was trying some panoramic shots today but they didn't come out as well as I was hoping for, maybe I just need to keep working on them and I'm sure they will improve...I need to work at keeping my shadow out of them! 611 miles now covered in May, only 16 more miles to beat last months total with 2 days left and the weather is going to be wonderful!

 

[Readytoride]

You are so lucky to have such expanses of nature, I'd come over except I hear the entire nation is on fire with looters.
I'll wait till the shooting stops

Naw. That's just Minneapolis. Home of the Northern Redneck. (Quasi human, nothing to do with ornithology ). Here in the more civilized Mid-Atlantic/Gentrified South we tend to ignore the Midwest as just fodder for the less esoteric news stations...like Fox news. Not much to do in the Midwest anyway except watch corn grow and sit around in lawn chairs outside one's mobile home while drinking beer and cleaning a shotgun, so those people are easy to slide into utter boredom in a lockdown and look for a bit of burning and looting they can video and load up on YouTube to pass the time.

Bunch of trailer trash. They should strive to be more like us Virginians. At least we're civilized enough to sit on a stately old home veranda drinking mint julips while discussing at length and in depth, like true gentleman and southern bred ladies, how the South should have won the Civil War.

Bet those carpetbaggers in Minnosota wouldn't be burning no buildings today if Lee had been victorious. No siree.

They should just all go for a bike ride. Get out all that road rage by pedaling their Midwest carcasses a few miles - enough to have them wobble back home and collapse back into their lawn chairs with a cold brew in hand. Maybe stick with just torching up the barbeque for a few steaks and then laze around for the rest of the evening swapping tall tales and bike stories and not stupidly setting fire to the very stores they frequent on a daily basis to supply their daily life needs. Idiots.

Besides, they were on the wrong side of the war, and did the same stupid stuff down here then as they are doing up there now. We never did much like them anyways.

 

[Chargeride]

Its funny you should mention that little scrap you had a few years ago...Im in the middle of a vid about Englands part in it, the HQ for the confederate navy was just down the road from me and we built and manned all the ships.
Its quite a story if you dont know it

 

[Chargeride]

On the B-road from Plainland to Brightview …
View attachment 53616

Brightview, Queensland​

Plainland or Brightview: take your pick; both seem appropriate.

I hadn't intended to ride along this 40km-stretch of B-road between Laidley and Lowood (see map). The surface was acceptable and, rather obviously, there were no ups or downs to contend with.

There had been hills aplenty before Laidley! Long, sweeping curves with a smooth but not slick surface. Judging by the number of motorcyclists out for a Friday ride, the stretch over the Liverpool Range was a favourite. I look forward to riding out to Laidley again but…

After Laidley the road designers had not taken cyclists into consideration. (Why should they?) What was awkward was the too-narrow strip between the white line and the rough stuff. There were more cars and trucks than I'd have liked but, as usual, their drivers were considerate.

The scenery was… well, you can see what it was like!

The ride was enjoyable – I'm glad I did it! – but the Laidley-Lowood section will have to be omitted from my regular ride-from-home list. That's easy; there're plenty of backroads to choose from. The 'problem' is the A2, the always-busy ~3500 kilometre interstate highway linking Brisbane and Darwin. To cross it safely on an overpass, one must be on a B-road and being on a B-road necessitates sharing with too many other vehicles!

I have three rides planned for next week; all on quiet roads or not on roads at all. (Three rides per week is the max until Jen's Alzheimer's respite centre reopens.) No need to worry about the weather; it's always perfect in June.

View attachment 53634

And looking the other way…
View attachment 53653

Its so weird.
My nearest city is Liverpool...my mother lives in Crosby and the wifes mum lives in Woodend.
Couldnt the poms think up any new names?