2020 : Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

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Would the vibrations from the ride cause any damage to the camera? If it's full frame, I'm assuming it's an expensive camera.
Nay, the camera is a hard beast, and the camera-insert protects the gear against the vibration well. I think I even had some falls with the camera in the pannier, no side effects. I guess the mirror and the sensor are locked when the camera is off. Besides, it is a durable magnesium alloy housing. I love the quality of pictures made with this gear but it is too heavy for everyday rides. The coming Sunday will be extraordinary for me :) P.S. Only roads and quality bike paths will be ridden.
 
Would the vibrations from the ride cause any damage to the camera? If it's full frame, I'm assuming it's an expensive camera.
Vibration can be an issue. On rural and gravel roads I use the iPhone camera, on overnight tours I carry fixed lens camera in the front handlebar bag. But for photos that might be for publication or exhibit I am usually on somewhat smooth city streets. The cameras seem to holdup well, the camera on the rear rack is suspended in a sling which dampens some of the vibrations. A full suspension bike would be an added shock absorber.
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Today I took my commuter bike, 2019 Evelo Aurora Limited, out for 23 miles on the Erie Canal. Around mile 18 my tendinitis flared and the throttle got me back to my car. What would have been abject misery on an acoustic bike stayed fun on my e-bike. A dirty bike is a happy bike. ;)

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That will be the last 100 km ride for a while.

Once again the Homage, a beautiful but seriously flawed ebike, is kaput. I've lost count of how many times this bike has suddenly stopped in the middle of a ride! Error Code 532 this time.

Breaking down seems to be what my Riese & Müller Homage does best – especially when it is ridden on the rough tracks that its Control Technology suspension was designed to smooth out!

To me appears that piggybacking a second battery on the loose-fitting lid of the primary battery compartment was a catastrophic design blunder. Why didn't R&M position the downtube battery's cover on the side like most other makers do? Or put the second battery on the pannier rack?

I think it's time to pay Giant, Specialized or Trek a visit.

Distance ridden on the Homage: 17,600 km.

From what I can find a Bosch 532 communication error is usually caused by a loose connector. Sounds like one of the barrel connectors on a wire shook loose.
 
ThanK you very much, all of you for contributing these gorgeous photos. Isn’t amazing how beautiful nature is, and you‘re sharing it through your eyes. Thanks again and I will try to contribute my vision of beauty.
 
Coffee with Jazza (A Fast Vado Commute to Warsaw, Afternoon Traffic)

The early afternoon meant riding my e-Trance to the garage to collect my car from a repair. The quick release Fox thru-axle is very practical: It takes only several seconds to remove or replace the front wheel and putting my Monster into my station-wagon is very easy. Soon later, I rode the Monster to the local pharmacy, as there was no chance to park the car in the downtown.

Yet I needed a longer (and pleasure) ride that afternoon/evening. I gave my friend Jazza a phone call and yes, she told me she had already started admitting guests under the condition of social distancing (fine for me!) We have been friends with Jazza for the past 17 years. Now she lives in a very nice house with a garden in a residential quarter of Warsaw, at a very good distance for Vado with a single battery.

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I travelled light only wearing a backpack. This time, I decided to move with the traffic on main roads, and to move fast. The downwind part was just terrific. I had the Smart Control on and was at Jazza's place in an hour (so slowly only because I was hungry and had to stop at a gas station to buy and eat a sandwich). Often, one hour driving is not enough to get to Jazza's, especially during the afternoon traffic jams.

The drivers were cooperating nicely. Since there are many bike paths around, it is unusual to see a cyclist in the far Aleje Jerozolimskie or in Łopuszańska Street; I am banned by law from the bike paths and have to use the roads with the Speed-Vado. There was only one driver, a young woman who honked at me; I admit I verbally attacked her (she must have heard that as she drove with an open window). I should have honked back at her instead. Sorry!

I need to add the Smart Control was very efficient and left me with 72% battery when I entered Jazza's garage. Jazza has a nice dog (a bitch), 10-months old Bernese Mountain Dog, Frezja. Frezja is already a large beast (sorry for not taking pictures) and she's so sweet! Coffee was good, we had a nice talk with Jazza after all those months of lockdown...

Electronic gremlins attacked my Vado on the way back. "Error motor" twice, "No battery" message four times. I simply ignored that; I'm normally a good-humoured person and the gremlins must have eventually understood that :) (I guess the erratic behaviour had something in common with the Smart Control, which I disabled). The way back was upwind but I found out I had so much of the battery left I could ride in the Turbo mode all the way! Oh my! 40 km/h (25 mph) or more! Upwind! It really is a guilty pleasure to overtake a road cyclist at 45 km/h when the poor bastard reaches only 30 km/h while fighting the headwind 🤣

Ah. I was able to determine the peak power of the Vado with the Specialized 1.2s motor: It was 666 Watts! (37 V * 18 A) :D

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Ride stats & map.
Climbed a local hill today with the MC app running. The motor hit 795 watts for a sustained period. Pretty amazing for a '250W' mid-drive!
 
My thumb was less painful today and there was a little weather window so I took a chance, for the most part it paid off! On my way back home I could see the dark clouds looming so I knew I was going to get wet again! This time it was just heavy rain which I can handle easily after last week's monsoon! ;) It was a very enjoyable 32 miles despite the rain, I wasn't going to take any photos today but I changed my mind and grabbed a few, you can see the changing conditions...

Tomorrow it will rain most of the day and we will have 45mph winds, a day of rest for sure! Monday is looking much nicer, I might even get home dry for a change, nothing is ever certain though!;) I fitted the pins to the other side of my pedals so hopefully no more slippage... Happy Indepedence day folks!

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Tired but excited with the first Cracow trip of the two planned for this weekend. I arrived in Cracow at 13:30 with my car and decided the marvellous weather could not be wasted. So I set off on my Vado as soon as 19 minutes later!

The quality pictures will have to wait until I return home.

The first segment led through the Old Town, which is just beautiful. I had to negotiate my way among crowds of people. Soon after I crossed River Vistula, I hit the Vistula Bike Trail, which is the best made part of the future "bike freeway" from Beskidy Mts at our southern frontier up to the Baltic Sea up north. The Trail was impressive and loaded with thousands of cyclist. As I am legally not allowed riding my Vado on bike paths, I was riding in Eco mode at the speed of traditional cyclists. It was great on the battery range.

After having ice-cream in Tyniec by an ancient monastery, I was riding roads, to Skawina first and then by a broader loop back towards north part of Cracow where I stay with my friends. More electrons used since the route was quite hilly 😊

I heard no single negative comment on my e-bike. People I spoke with very either fascinated or interested or made joyous remarks like "see that guy, he must have ridden all the way from Warsaw to Cracow by bike!" when they saw my number plate. The view of a bike with the number plate was shocking to many 😃 I could see several e-bikes and it looks the Austrian KTM is well represented in Poland.

Cracow - excellent bike path system, people in love with cycling and extremely polite as well.

More stories tomorrow!

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Ride map.

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Ride stats.

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On the return way.
 
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Getting going after the break …
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As can be seen in the photo below, the Homage is now being ridden without its second battery. On Friday I rode into Brisbane to arrange for the hinge to be replaced: the long wait for the bike to be restored to health has begun but, with the help of some velcro straps (not visible in photo), it'll be able to ridden on paved roads and trails.

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Corinda Pony Club
Clearly, I wasn't on a 'paved road or trail' when these photos were taken! On my ride in to the R&M dealer, I wandered down a quiet side road and came upon this enormous paddock separating suburbia from a light industrial area. Of course, the walking track around it would be the perfect place to test my splint-job on the broken battery lid. (It survived.)

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