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

[RabH]

I decided to get out early today to avoid the winds, even at 7am it was very blowy and directly from the east so it was rather chilly! I picked the perfect route to take adavantage of the wind, it couldn't have worked out any better! I started off into the wind using the back roads to Bonnybridge so around 15 miles battling the headwind, I then had a good 20 miles with the wind at my back and it was such a blast!

First photo of the day at Lonriggend!

From Bonnybridge I took the road to Denny to use the back roads to the Carron Valley reservoir, there was a lot of climbing involved but I had the wind at my back so it was a breeze so to speak! This is actually the first time I have used this road from east to west and the last time was many years ago from west to east, its such a good road for the bike! It eventually reaches the crossroads where I normally take the Campsie Hills route, I have taken a photo of the River Carron here many times but from the other direction!

I was soon passing the reservoir with that strong wind pushing me on, the water is very high at the moment!

I just love this road, especially the smooth parts like this!

A few miles on I came down this descent at 43.6mph with that wind behind me, the camera doesn't do the hill justice of course!

I was flying along and soon reached the turn where I would be climbing up Crow road up over the Campsie Hills to Lennoxtown! The climb can be seen from here, it starts at around 400ft and climbs to almost 1200ft!

Just before I was leaving today my Wahoo received an update, imagine my surprise when it started telling me when I was approaching a climb! Pretty cool feature, this is what it looked like before the climb up the Campsies! It tells you how long the climb is and how long it will take plus the height at the top of the climb!

I reached the top of the climb, it was a tough one today as I was into the wind for quite a bit but when I reached the summit I then had the wind at my back again and reached exactly 48mph on the descent, that was quite a buzz! I stopped part way down for a snack and a couple of photos of the valley!

Going down this part of the descent I was struggling to hit 25mph as it was straight into the 30mph headwind, it felt like I was pedalling backwards! At the bottom of the descent I stopped at Whitefield pond in Lennoxtown for more photos!

I now had around 21 miles to go and it was mostly into the wind but I was on my second battery and had lots of juice left, that was quite a relief! I was on the road to Kilsyth now which can be busy at times but wasn't too bad today, the drivers all behaved themselves and there were no grannies around... After Kilsyth I was soon on the back roads again and took this photo of the Campsie Hills on the back road to Greengairs!

Of course I had to catch the lambs also, they soon bolted when I stopped!

Only a few miles to home now and no problems encountered, it sure was a day of climbing with almost 5000ft of elevation gain...slightly more than 214m @Stefan Mikes I was surprised how strong I was today after riding 70 miles on Monday, my legs were feeling good! What a fantastic day on the bike, I'm so glad I got out at 7am as the wind was set to get stronger as they day progressed! I even got home with a spotless bike, always a bonus!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A few miles on I came down this descent at 43.6mph with that wind behind me, the camera doesn't do the hill justice of course!

It never does...

Just before I was leaving today my Wahoo received an update, imagine my surprise when it started telling me when I was approaching a climb!

Try the new Summit (or Climbing) data screen. I'm curious if Wahoo applied yet another fix to your device.
It is "KM TO GO" on my Roam v2. When you are approaching your destination or the re-route is required, I was getting "KM TO GO: 866" but that was about metres not kilometres! With the latest fix, I'm getting "M TO GO: 866". What is displayed on your Wahoo? Feet, yards, or?

I reached the top of the climb, it was a tough one today as I was into the wind for quite a bit but when I reached the summit I then had the wind at my back again and reached exactly 48mph on the descent, that was quite a buzz!

Rather scary!

Only a few miles to home now and no problems encountered, it sure was a day of climbing with almost 5000ft of elevation gain...slightly more than 214m @Stefan Mikes

Now fancy what achievements you could do in our Mazovian plains!

 

[Saratoga Dave]

This new Climb stuff that everyone is releasing really does seem impressive. May finally push me out of the iPhone… that and maps that have some contrast to them. The big screen on the phone means nothing when you can’t see a damn thing on the maps due to the colors.

I expect you’re going to be seeing that screen a lot, Rab! Another great ride.

 

[RabH]

Try the new Summit (or Climbing) data screen. I'm curious if Wahoo applied yet another fix to your device.
It is "KM TO GO" on my Roam v2. When you are approaching your destination or the re-route is required, I was getting "KM TO GO: 866" but that was about metres not kilometres! With the latest fix, I'm getting "M TO GO: 866". What is displayed on your Wahoo? Feet, yards, or?

I posted a picture of it, its in feet for me!

300 miles is possible in your Mazovian plains...

@Saratoga Dave It seemed very accurate also, I had 12 summits today!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I posted a picture of it, its in feet for me!

Thank you!

300 miles is possible in your Mazovian plains...

Feel invited to the Mazovian Gravel 500 race in June this year (321 miles). If you prefer, I can give you my start number, so you could try yourself in the Mazovian Gravel 250 (158 miles). Only I do not know whether you would be able to carry your e-bike through a creek (hips deep!) or ride over forest paths

@Saratoga Dave It seemed very accurate also, I had 12 summits today!

Highly commendable!

 

[dodgeman]

I got a little repair work done today and then did about 11 miles. No pictures except my bike in front of my shop.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

From Komin to Modlin...
@Jeremy McCreary: Have you noticed there was no cake or a dessert on that day?

I noticed that no pastry encounters were reported.

Loved this report – especially the first 2 river pictures. So many questions.

Q1. Regarding photo captioned "The officer wearing a Polish Uhlan uniform must be a General." Where can I get a hat like that? No, wait — a bicycle helmet like that!

On the subject of sand: I find riding in the stuff an interesting but tiring challenge on 2.3" hybrid tires — both mentally and physically. Wish I could pay more attention to the scenery while doing it.

Varying proportions of rounded beach cobbles mixed with my usual sand. And that's usually a good thing with my tires — up to a point. Don't even want to think about loose sand mixed with tree roots at all angles!

Q2. Do your long, sandy rides damage your bike in any way?

Q3. What anti-sand countermeasures do you take after sandy rides like this one?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Q1. Regarding photo captioned "The officer wearing a Polish Uhlan uniform must be a General." Where can I get a hat like that?

You would not probably get a high quality Uhlan hat easily. Some Allegro offers do not look good! (It seems these are made for kids!)

https://allegro.pl/listing?string=czapka%20ulanska

(Allegro is the Polish eBay like marketplace).

On the subject of sand: I find riding in the stuff an interesting but tiring challenge on 2.3" hybrid tires — both mentally and physically. Wish I could pay more attention to the scenery while doing it.

Varying proportions of rounded beach cobbles mixed with my usual sand. And that's usually a good thing with my tires — up to a point. Don't even want to think about loose sand mixed with tree roots at all angles!

Your environ is certainly challenging. Not only sand and stone! It is also the ocean salt! (I do not experience that issue here).
Fat e-bikes are believed to handle sand well (ask @Chargeride!) The only e-bike that was good for sand riding was (formerly mine) Giant Trance E+ on 2.6" tyres.

Q2. Do your long, sandy rides damage your bike in any way?

The point is I avoid riding deep sand as much as possible! A kilometre of deep sand is sapping me of all the strength as I often need to walk the bike instead of riding it! There are many sandy fire-roads in Eastern KPN where cyclists "produced" their own singletracks, as it is still easier to ride on the tree-roots than in the sand... Sometimes it is no other way than to walk the e-bike!

Sand and pebbles certainly do some damage to bikes/e-bikes, especially to the frame paint. For that reason, roadies never take their shiny expensive machines off-road. Gravel cyclists and MTBers accept the damage as the cost of their hobby. It is possible to wrap the frame, and indeed my Vado SL frame has been wrapped! (No wrap on the big Vado though: I don't care).

Q3. What anti-sand countermeasures do you take after sandy rides like this one?

Pack my Vado inside my car and wait until the next opportunity to wash the e-bike?
--------------
Back to my post #781:
I have just recollected the Warsaw Modlin Airport was built on the site of one of the Modlin Fortress external Russian forts! In 2018, I and friend set off for an illegal hike over the Swedish Island (which is just a tip of the land in the fork of the two big rivers). See the Granary-on-the-Narew from the correct perspective!

The friend visible here is 2.00 m tall. It gives the perspective of the building size!

How it really looks like.

Unique view through the main water-gate onto the Narew and the Modlin Fortress. Taking that photo was a risky business as the ceiling can collapse at any second, and it has already collapsed in several places!

@Jeremy McCreary: Added some pictures.

 

[RabH]

Feel invited to the Mazovian Gravel 500 race in June this year (321 miles). If you prefer, I can give you my start number, so you could try yourself in the Mazovian Gravel 250 (158 miles). Only I do not know whether you would be able to carry your e-bike through a creek (hips deep!) or ride over forest paths

Let me think about that for a minute...NO

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

You would not probably get a high quality Uhlan hat easily. Some Allegro offers do not look good! (It seems these are made for kids!)

https://allegro.pl/listing?string=czapka%20ulanska

(Allegro is the Polish eBay like marketplace).


Your environ is certainly challenging. Not only sand and stone! It is also the ocean salt! (I do not experience that issue here).
Fat e-bikes are believed to handle sand well (ask @Chargeride!) The only e-bike that was good for sand riding was (formerly mine) Giant Trance E+ on 2.6" tyres.


The point is I avoid riding deep sand as much as possible! A kilometre of deep sand is sapping me of all the strength as I often need to walk the bike instead of riding it! There are many sandy fire-roads in Eastern KPN where cyclists "produced" their own singletracks, as it is still easier to ride on the tree-roots than in the sand... Sometimes it is no other way than to walk the e-bike!

Sand and pebbles certainly do some damage to bikes/e-bikes, especially to the frame paint. For that reason, roadies never take their shiny expensive machines off-road. Gravel cyclists and MTBers accept the damage as the cost of their hobby. It is possible to wrap the frame, and indeed my Vado SL frame has been wrapped! (No wrap on the big Vado though: I don't care).


Pack my Vado inside my car and wait until the next opportunity to wash the e-bike?
--------------
Back to my post #781:
I have just recollected the Warsaw Modlin Airport was built on the site of one of the Modlin Fortress external Russian forts! In 2018, I and friend set off for an illegal hike over the Swedish Island (which is just a tip of the land in the fork of the two big rivers). See the Granary-on-the-Narew from the correct perspective!

View attachment 153048
The friend visible here is 2.00 m tall. It gives the perspective of the building size!

View attachment 153049
View attachment 153050
View attachment 153051
How it really looks like.

View attachment 153052
Unique view through the main water-gate onto the Narew and the Modlin Fortress. Taking that photo was a risky business as the ceiling can collapse at any second, and it has already collapsed in several places!

@Jeremy McCreary: Added some pictures.

Love the Granary's architecture. Interesting choice for a grain storage facility. Definitely puts US granaries to shame.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

View attachment 152981

I decided to get out early today to avoid the winds, even at 7am it was very blowy and directly from the east so it was rather chilly! I picked the perfect route to take adavantage of the wind, it couldn't have worked out any better! I started off into the wind using the back roads to Bonnybridge so around 15 miles battling the headwind, I then had a good 20 miles with the wind at my back and it was such a blast!

First photo of the day at Lonriggend!

View attachment 152982
From Bonnybridge I took the road to Denny to use the back roads to the Carron Valley reservoir, there was a lot of climbing involved but I had the wind at my back so it was a breeze so to speak! This is actually the first time I have used this road from east to west and the last time was many years ago from west to east, its such a good road for the bike! It eventually reaches the crossroads where I normally take the Campsie Hills route, I have taken a photo of the River Carron here many times but from the other direction!

View attachment 152983
I was soon passing the reservoir with that strong wind pushing me on, the water is very high at the moment!

View attachment 152984
I just love this road, especially the smooth parts like this!

View attachment 152985
A few miles on I came down this descent at 43.6mph with that wind behind me, the camera doesn't do the hill justice of course!

View attachment 152986
I was flying along and soon reached the turn where I would be climbing up Crow road up over the Campsie Hills to Lennoxtown! The climb can be seen from here, it starts at around 400ft and climbs to almost 1200ft!

View attachment 152987
View attachment 152988
Just before I was leaving today my Wahoo received an update, imagine my surprise when it started telling me when I was approaching a climb! Pretty cool feature, this is what it looked like before the climb up the Campsies! It tells you how long the climb is and how long it will take plus the height at the top of the climb!

View attachment 152990
I reached the top of the climb, it was a tough one today as I was into the wind for quite a bit but when I reached the summit I then had the wind at my back again and reached exactly 48mph on the descent, that was quite a buzz! I stopped part way down for a snack and a couple of photos of the valley!

View attachment 152991
View attachment 152992
Going down this part of the descent I was struggling to hit 25mph as it was straight into the 30mph headwind, it felt like I was pedalling backwards! At the bottom of the descent I stopped at Whitefield pond in Lennoxtown for more photos!

View attachment 152993
View attachment 152994
I now had around 21 miles to go and it was mostly into the wind but I was on my second battery and had lots of juice left, that was quite a relief! I was on the road to Kilsyth now which can be busy at times but wasn't too bad today, the drivers all behaved themselves and there were no grannies around... After Kilsyth I was soon on the back roads again and took this photo of the Campsie Hills on the back road to Greengairs!

View attachment 152995
Of course I had to catch the lambs also, they soon bolted when I stopped!

View attachment 152996
Only a few miles to home now and no problems encountered, it sure was a day of climbing with almost 5000ft of elevation gain...slightly more than 214m @Stefan Mikes I was surprised how strong I was today after riding 70 miles on Monday, my legs were feeling good! What a fantastic day on the bike, I'm so glad I got out at 7am as the wind was set to get stronger as they day progressed! I even got home with a spotless bike, always a bonus!

You're a real daredevil on those descents!

Realized in reading your report that the assist I get from my rear hub motor feels a lot like the assist I get from a tailwind in that it acts directly on the bike-rider system without going through the chain — hence, the same assist (motive force gain) in every gear.

The torque-sensing power delivery on my ebike is quite well done — just feels like a tailwind that increases with assist level and pedal force in a very natural way.

When a tailwind comes up on a conventional bike, the options are (1) go faster at current exertion level, (2) keep current speed at lesser exertion, or (3) something in between. My hub-drive ebike just puts me in charge of the tailwind.

Not saying that this hub-drive experience is any better or worse than the mid-drive experience, and ZERO interest in re-igniting that tiresome debate. Just describing what the hub-drive experience feels like when well-executed.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

In The Quest of Unicorn
Sailing with tailwind in Northern Mazovia, a Metric Century Ride

Can you remember Sherlock Holmes being constantly bored and finding any suggested crime case to be solved as boring? It was me with any possible e-bike route of the recent. I asked my friends the question where I should actually ride not to be bored, and I got a shockingly good suggestion: "What about riding in the Ostrołęka area?" Well, Ostrołęka is located 150 km north of my place but hey, one of my cycling friends was just riding there with her friend through a place called Jednorożec (Unicorn) recently... I looked up the map, asked several questions and...

Ostrołęka and Mława are cities in Northern Mazovia, equidistant of Warsaw (100+ km away), with reasonable connections by the Mazovian Railways. They are also 100+ km apart. I checked the weather forecast. Well... A steady 22 km/h wind from East... Interesting! If I started from Ostrołęka, I would be propelled by tailwind for all the trip. Now, there was a definitely limited time-window between the trains available. If I rode really fast, I could make it! Very early on Saturday, I began my train travel to Ostrołęka.

The pretty long train travel required changing at the Warsaw-East station. Here, on the train to Ostrołęka. Two bike-packing cross-country cyclists helped me hanging my heavy Vado for the transport.

A steam engine in the Ostrołęka Railway Square.

I started my trip as a race against the time. Had roughly 6 hours gross but I had to buy some food in Ostrołęka first!

The bridge over River Narew in Ostrołęka, and a small marina (before the season). The ride through the city made me lose a lot of precious time!

The whole area was full of place-names sounding very funny to a Polish ear. Like "Whiteshore Nearer" and "Whiteshore Farther" I was vigorously pedalling at 35/35% ECO assistance at the cruising speed between 28 and 38 km/h (that was how the tailwind was helping me!) On that very trip, I was avoiding any stops, only stopping to take a picture.

I deeply regret I did not stop for the photo just 200 m farther. The area (as a greater part of North Poland) was carved by a enormous glacier eons ago. It formed countless sand dunes and made the terrain pleasantly undulated. No big climbs @RabH, no but there were some Wahoo Summit paid its attention to! (The next part of that segment was winding across small hills, very picturesque that was. Polish Masuria is even more attractive in that respect!)

After 49 km of my quick ride, I actually found the place named Unicorn but no horse met had a horn!

Soon, I could find my Unicorn There was the only long stop on the ride as I had to eat and drink something!

As I turned right, I met the only one gravel road segment on my trip, the rest of roads being asphalt. On contrary, my friend and her navigator had taken another route being often bogged with sandy roads. Mazovia is sandy. All the side roads I could see were made of sand, and you could see a lot of sand blown by the wind on the asphalt ones! (I was very smart with my route-planning but I had been warned by the friend in advance!)

It is the rape flowering season now. This picture does not give any justice to the beauty of the views I could see!

The closer I was getting to Mława the more small hills were appearing on my way.

Would you like to live in a village named "Cabbage Soup with Fungi"? What those ancient inhabitants of the area were drinking during the Winter nights to invent place-names like that one?

I won the race against the time. A word on issues I experienced on the trip. For instance, the Warsaw-East Station is devoid of any mobility access facilities! I had to carry my 32 kg combo down- and upstairs there! Mława-City Station was equally bad. The mobility access lift was broken! Yet I was really determined on that trip and all went good!

It started raining south of Mława soon. I had to use the Warsaw public transportation system smartly to avoid getting wet! (That time, all the lifts worked perfectly!)

A bigger picture.

A robot making excellent coffee at Warsaw-City Station. You are getting your excellent coffee quickly and with no spilling!

 

[dodgeman]

I rode about 21 miles today to check out the new John Deere dealership being built east of town. Lighter winds than normal so me speed was a little better than normal.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I rode about 21 miles today to check out the new John Deere dealership being built east of town. Lighter winds than normal so me speed was a little better than normal.
View attachment 153192View attachment 153193

Being a sucker for anything mechanical, I'd ride there just to ogle all the machinery on display once the dealership's open. Lots of great engineering in farm equipment.

The days of e-farm equipment are probably still a long way off. Hard to beat the energy density and portability of diesel fuel.

 

[dodgeman]

John Deere was kicking around an electric tractor, a smaller one that someone with a few acres would own.

 

[Twin Valley]

I was able to find a quiet trail in the Crowsnest Pass area to enjoy and after a light rain yesterday the grass is greening up nicely. This is unlike the central and northern part of our Alberta Province that is literally burning up. Currently we have 107 fires burning with 37 out of control. 20 rural communities with 24,000 people have been evacuated. Normally, for this time of year the most land we would see burning would be around 800 hectares but right now we have an estimated 120,000 hectares burning. Hoping for a few rainy days!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I was able to find a quiet trail in the Crowsnest Pass area to enjoy and after a light rain yesterday the grass is greening up nicely. This is unlike the central and northern part of our Alberta Province that is literally burning up. Currently we have 107 fires burning with 37 out of control. 20 rural communities with 24,000 people have been evacuated. Normally, for this time of year the most land we would see burning would be around 800 hectares but right now we have an estimated 120,000 hectares burning. Hoping for a few rainy days!View attachment 153198

Very sad to hear about all your wildfire. Good thing there's no climate change to make it worse! ;^}

Too much water this winter, too little, or some of both? Are you getting much smoke? We had a week of pretty scary smoke from California wildfires in Denver in 2021 — enough to call the continued breathability of the atmosphere into serious question.

I for one would like to see Earth remain a Class M planet.

 

[Twin Valley]

Very sad to hear about all your wildfire. Good thing there's no climate change to make it worse! ;^}

Too much water this winter, too little, or some of both? Are you getting much smoke?

We live in the southern part of the province and fortunately (for us) a southwest breeze has finally brought spring our way - hence, the smoke has been blowing away from us. Our mountains are still covered in white and spring run-off is usually a June event. It seems so surreal to me that we are dealing with such wide spread fires so early in the season. The out of control fires extend to our neighboring province in British Columbia and must be a real challenge to all of our fire fighting resources.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Went up to Powell butte always fun not too hard offroad some turns we cant make and have to walk. I take it easy as my wife got her shoulder repalced a year ago and I dont want to to fall. so no downhill offroad it freaks her outas she is blind and more chance of falling.

 

[DaveMatthews]

We live in the southern part of the province and fortunately (for us) a southwest breeze has finally brought spring our way - hence, the smoke has been blowing away from us. Our mountains are still covered in white and spring run-off is usually a June event. It seems so surreal to me that we are dealing with such wide spread fires so early in the season. The out of control fires extend to our neighboring province in British Columbia and must be a real challenge to all of our fire fighting resources.

Yeah usually it's us in B.C. leading the way for burning over the last 10 years or so.
I hope our Neighbors in Alta can snuff the fires out soon. They are way harder to put out than they used to be.