2023 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

kahn said:
I've been absent from the "Our Rides" thread for a while. I guess I fell too far behind.

So, while I rode Jan 1, 2 and 3, no photos.

So to top off the latest trio of rides for today and the last two days, all the same basic route with variations of the theme. Nice days and a view of Puget Sound on such nice days deserves some coverage.

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Missed your presence and glad to see you back better late than never. I fell behind a while back too but it wasn’t for a lack of trying as much as it were the brutal conditions in December. It will be a while yet before I can even think about hitting the road so not much to report for the time being.
 
It was nice enough the last couple of days I rode 12 miles yesterday and 24 today. I found a barn that has so far remained I photographed by me.
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Chargeride said:
Well its stopped rai....
Oh no, its started again.
This vid is a compilation of two years offroad trail riding in the luverly UK.
The musics a bit annoying, and its certainly not a chill experience.
This is mostly Wales, Cumbria, Peak District and Devon.
Warning its a bit full on and the song has one mild swear word
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BRAVO. Encore..... Wow. I'm exhausted and duly impressed.

I also have to admire you setting up shots and running back/forth to position the camera for those shots.
 
I
Stefan Mikes said:
Kaszotto
I do not feel particularly well (some infection?) Yet the afternoon sunshine made me set off for a ride. I pedalled Vado SL right away to the "Girls" in Rozalin, arriving there at the sunset...

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I was misled by the initial temperature of +9 C and the sunshine; my clothes were barely adequate as temperature eventually dropped to 3 C, and there was 20 km/h southerly wind!

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Mushroom cream soup with vegan pasties and vegetarian "kaszotto". The latter is like risotto but with kasha (groats) instead of rice :)

Because of its low power (and my weak legs), Vado SL behaved very much as a traditional bike. The speed was greatly affected by the wind. Suffice to say, I was pedalling at some 21 km/h upwind but as fast as 31 km/h with the tailwind (and with reduced assistance!) A good trip, only requiring me to take a very warm shower post the ride...

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Ride Map & Stats.
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I love KASHE. I don't make it often enough. While I stick with the simple kashe. Grandma made Kashe varnishkes. Leftover makes a great breakfast cereal, too.
 
Readytoride said:
Third in a Row

Yesterday my neighbor, G, sent me a text.

1 or 1:30?

That was it. No explanation. None was needed, however. I turned to hubby sitting next to me in the car. It was just pass noontime and we were on our way home from a morning of shopping, the car's outside thermometer reading a warm 53°f, (12°c) the skies open, blue, and inviting. "I'm going riding at 1:30" I said to him, and then voice-to-text the same back to G.

Right at the stroke of 1:30 I was riding the Vado up G's driveway. She was waiting for me alongside her Vado, zippering up her new battery heated vest that she was trying out for the first time. Smart of her to try it on a tempid day because if it failed to live up to it's on-line reputation, and the hearty recommendation of her builder currently doing renovation on her house this winter, at least she wouldn't freeze to death on our planned 27 mile ride.

G and her new heated vest halfway through the ride:
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Once again, the entire ride was a chat-and-pedal with us too busy talking for me to stop for pictures. G had spent her morning schooling her foxhunter in the ring (which she said was more exhausting than riding a bike - her horse being the type to be completely uninspired by endless circles and jumping the same fence again and again). Our ride was a welcome respite, she said, and the last we were going to squeeze in before less agreeable weather rolled back in 24 hours later.

So it was talk, talk, laugh, talk, laugh, and talk even more as the miles rolled under our wheels. A great way to close out the warm mid-January afternoon, cruising back home as the sun was sinking in the sky, the air giving way from the early afternoon warmth to the cooling chill of the late afternoon.

We had begun at her driveway, and parted way at mine after a wonderful ride on our favorite loop. Glad to report her new heated vest was a resounding success. She loved it. Hopefully next ride I'll be able to try out my new heated gloves. They have been waiting since Christmas for me to give them a go.

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What heated VEST and GLOVES are you folks using? I've got Lenz heated socks - I could not ride this time of year without them.
 
Chargeride said:
The wife dragged me out of bed at 8am for a bike ride on the beach.
It was -2C, but cloudless and strangely bright feeling for no reason, we took the van simply because the roads were lethal, a thin layer of solid ice across the entire surface.
Crawled to beach car parks with the traction control cutting in at every takeoff.
I was in no mood for it, but once I was on the bike I started to get enthused for a blast.
Fingers numb, wooly hat over my ears, nose running.
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I was amazed to find a lot of people there, I guess this was the first day that didnt feel January dank, but seeing families walking at 8am at these temperatures was quite a surprise.

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Long shadows, constantly testing the grip, but moments of sheer simple beauty as that fleeting feeling of something special flashes into your mind, the one that for a split second alters your perception of familiarity.

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With a bit of creative path choosing, you can ride for 10 miles though this elevated terrain, constantly choosing a path though the trees and calculating the steepness of the next descent.
With the added assurance no bears are going to join in the fun or that getting lost is always just a half hour walk to a coffee stand.


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The weather guys have told us this was the last cold day...waves to the gulf stream....we never got any proper snow up here, but springs coming and I'm looking forward not back.

All the coffee shops were full to the brim, so we rode to our local Garden centre after the roads thawed out ,which is mostly used by local retirees.
Its recently had a makeover and the cafe is very pleasant indeed.
Ive just discovered its part of the Klondyke and Strike brand, which seems such an odd name for a British company.

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But sat there it suddenly dawned on me that Im 60 this year and here I am sat in a garden centre, and worst of all I walked around admiring the displays and nearly bough a body warmer.

Next I'll be walking about holding my hands behind my back.

I asked the lovely old ladies if I could bring the bike in, no problem at all they said.
But as I wheeled my fatbike in their faces dropped, I might as well been bringing in a Hells Angel Harley Davidson.
Probably get discussed at Bridge club.
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Oh, that explains a lot - a mere KID! :)
 
Magda's Valentine Day

You suddenly realize there's an hour and a quarter to your meeting with daughter who is 19 km away. You madly put the cycling clothes on and now realize that if you wanted to retrieve your strong speed e-bike from the storage and prepare it for the ride then you would certainly not be on time. So you just grab your lightweight low power e-bike that is within the reach of your hand, and run downstairs outside :)

Then you find out there is a strong and very cold headwind, and you wear lightweight bibs. Nevertheless, you pedal like a madman upwind, and reach the destination just two minutes before the appointment :D

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Magda specifically asked for a bag of "fried & salted" (not "roasted" but "fried" - a marketing gimmick of Felix) peanuts. We were also discussing the choice of the video streaming service to be used by both her and me (I cancelled Netflix). She surprised me with her wish to watch Snooker on Eurosport, and I could with delight demonstrate to her she could already watch Eurosport! ❤️

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I used to be a fan of Artezan Brewery in the past. Not anymore, really, as now Artezan mostly brews "hazy, multiple cold hopped, less bitter" ales, which I don't like. Quite recently, Artezan brewed two more classical ales: a Double West Coast IPA (9% abv), an a New Zealand (hopped) West Coast IPA (7% abv); and a 12% abv Imperial Stout. I took a chance to ride to the brewery, where I surprised the owner (who thought I got estranged with him) and praised the clear & bitter IPAs he's just brewed!

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As I could return with tailwind, the ride home was fast, pleasant, and using less battery charge. I like this bend that is 2800 m away from my block of flats, with the view at the notorious Moszna Smoke Stack :)

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A 37 km ride.
 
Stefan Mikes said:
Magda's Valentine Day

You suddenly realize there's an hour and a quarter to your meeting with daughter who is 19 km away....

I like this bend that is 2800 m away from my block of flats, with the view at the notorious Moszna Smoke Stack :)
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Glad you made it to your daughter's on time without freezing. If the smokestack's notorious for pollution (or bringing down planes), you might enjoy this:

 
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Jeremy McCreary said:
If the smokestack's notorious for pollution (or bringing down planes)
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The fun fact is the district heat plant in Moszna was never completed as it was being built in the period of system transformation from Communism to democracy & market economy. Suddenly, heat became expensive and people started saving the energy. Nowadays, that perfectly visible stack is a landmark on A2 freeway and a valuable mobile telephony aerial. As the tallest chimneys of Poland are 350 m high, the Moszna Stack is just 300 m (as not to bring planes flying to Warsaw Chopin Airport down) :)
 
I hadn't planned on riding 20 miles yesterday.

It just sorta...happened. I had a small slot of time between running errands and appointments, and with the unexpected stunningly warm (64°f) and clear weather it was just logical to ride outside rather than on the trainer in the living room.

The gravel roads are quite nice at the moment. The tire tracks are pounded flat and smooth by the light traffic, plus the roads are between graveling schedules, so it is similar to riding paved roads without the high speed traffic. Along the way one or two other cyclists passed me, sharing a wave hello, as did a few motorcyclists. The rare warm winter days are sure to bring out the motorcycles, rather like springtime brings out the robins. Not often do you see them on the gravel roads, but when you do they are always traveling slowly and politely. Taking a spill on slippery gravel is no picnic on a motorcycle. It pays to take your time and enjoy the scenery on these gravel roads, even on a bicycle.

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Not much has changed with the bland winter scenery, although I have heard reports that in some places the forsythia shrubs are starting to bloom their vibrant show-stopping yellow flower displays so often associated with the arrival of Spring. A tad early, I'm thinking.

I was rolling along listening via Bluetooth to the soundtrack of the cycling workout I watch while on the trainer indoors. I was musing on getting a GoPro to record a one hour cycling video of our gravel roads, setting it to snappy music, and loading it online so others can watch it while cycling indoors. I'd want to wait until summer, of course, when everything is green and beautiful, not now with everything so gray and morose (although the lack of landscape color sure makes the blue sky pop!)

Today will be another spectacular day, close to 70°f. My neighbor G plans to ride with me once I'm back from having my new electric car's windows tinted. I suspect the summer heat and sun are going to be unbearable, and I wanted to ensure I wasn't going to broil my skin via the sun shining in the car windows while driving this summer. I plan to get enough of a tan biking this coming summer.

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The United States: The Home of Gravel Cycling! My riding mates would be jealous! (Ever considered trying a gravel e-bike, Flora?) :)
 
Stefan Mikes said:
The fun fact is the district heat plant in Moszna was never completed as it was being built in the period of system transformation from Communism to democracy & market economy. Suddenly, heat became expensive and people started saving the energy. Nowadays, that perfectly visible stack is a landmark on A2 freeway and a valuable mobile telephony aerial. As the tallest chimneys of Poland are 350 m high, the Moszna Stack is just 300 m (as not to bring planes flying to Warsaw Chopin Airport down) :)
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Now I want a picture of Stefans bike leant against it.
 
That is lovely, fried nuts, sounds tasty and I'll be searching for them.
Makes me feel bad just sending the wife a text
Happy Valentines xxx
Didnt get back to me, still annoyed I didnt go to Gran Canaria with her.
 
Chargeride said:
Now I want a picture of Stefans bike leant against it.
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Haha! I once made a fascinating trip... I wanted to explore all small roads around the place I live so I entered one of such secluded roads... it soon turned into a path, and then it was a patch of off-road. As I hate turning back, I continued until I entered an industrial park. That side of the park was so secluded it had no fence! Intrigued, I continued my ride...

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...up to this point :D The closest you can get to take the picture of the entire stack.

Then, I had to leave the property. I pedalled through the industrial park gate outside, just waiting for the "Hey, you!" from the security guard :) He must have been very much surprised seeing me :D

I said the Moszna Stack was perfectly visible.

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It is the 10x zoom photo of the Stack from 13.3 km straight line distance! (To get to that viewpoint, you need to pedal for 19 km road distance).
 
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