Mr. Coffee
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
Evening ride. Made complicated by the shifter breaking. Zero traffic after a busy holiday weekend. Bonus: saw a bear.
2023 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos
- Thread starter Saratoga Dave
- Start date
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
@Prairie Dog: I could "see" your group ride on @RandallS' Strava 
When I read the title of your post only, I actually wondered whether you had flown to Italy, haha!
When I read the title of your post only, I actually wondered whether you had flown to Italy, haha!
RandallS
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Calgary
Did you notice how much faster the camera moved when there wasn't that blue shirted slow-poke leading the way!@Prairie Dog: I could "see" your group ride on @RandallS' Strava
Prairie Dog
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Red Deer
In my dreams! But it was a blast to ride somewhere else for a change and it sure beats sitting in a dental chair for over an hour which is where I found myself today.@Prairie Dog: I could "see" your group ride on @RandallS' Strava
The Tuscany Coulee had some great flow to it and Randall fortunately has the enviable task of picking which urban trail to ride on any given day. It was an absolute privilege to hook up with him again.
BlackHand
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Western WA
Took the day off yesterday for some 'me' time and headed down to the ferry over to Kingston for a biking day. It was cool and cloudy, but I expected things to clear off shortly after noon like it usually does this time of year.
Ended up with just over 70mi biked with a little over 1 mile vertical.
It was slow going from the start as I took a 'short cut' through the North Kitsap Heritage Park and after a nice easy start picked a trail that had some deadfall as well as blackberries vines starting to grow across the trail.
First real stop was the 'Viking' town of Poulsbo where I took a break and had a snack while watching an otter snacking in the marina.
On the way out of Poulsbo I stopped at a garden store that always has crazy lawn decorations.
After that, I headed down towards Silverdale and Bremerton. Busy road
Down in Bremerton, I found out that all the Navy museums are closed on Tuesdays. Oh well, still things to see.
The sail from the USS Parche , the most decorated vessel in the history of the US navy. Pretty much all top secret as it was a 'spy' sub in the 70's-90's.
They also have a cool sculpture garden, where I snacked and changed batteries since I knew I would need the fresh battery before I got back up to Poulsbo.
On the way back from Bremerton looking up the inlet towards Silverdale.
Stopped for lunch in Poulsbo, before doing the final stretch back to the ferry at Kingston. Might not have been a good idea to sit down for lunch as my legs felt cooked when I started moving again, so jacked up the assist as I just needed to make sure I saved enough juice for the 400ft climb up to home at the other side of the ferry ride.
I finally felt some sun on my neck a few minutes from the ferry terminal(65 miles into my ride). Then of course the clouds burnt off while I waited for the ferry:
All in all a good ride, I just wish it was easier to get to the nice roads without having to ride on busy 2 lane highways in between.
Ended up with just over 70mi biked with a little over 1 mile vertical.
It was slow going from the start as I took a 'short cut' through the North Kitsap Heritage Park and after a nice easy start picked a trail that had some deadfall as well as blackberries vines starting to grow across the trail.
First real stop was the 'Viking' town of Poulsbo where I took a break and had a snack while watching an otter snacking in the marina.
On the way out of Poulsbo I stopped at a garden store that always has crazy lawn decorations.
After that, I headed down towards Silverdale and Bremerton. Busy road
Down in Bremerton, I found out that all the Navy museums are closed on Tuesdays. Oh well, still things to see.
The sail from the USS Parche , the most decorated vessel in the history of the US navy. Pretty much all top secret as it was a 'spy' sub in the 70's-90's.
They also have a cool sculpture garden, where I snacked and changed batteries since I knew I would need the fresh battery before I got back up to Poulsbo.
On the way back from Bremerton looking up the inlet towards Silverdale.
Stopped for lunch in Poulsbo, before doing the final stretch back to the ferry at Kingston. Might not have been a good idea to sit down for lunch as my legs felt cooked when I started moving again, so jacked up the assist as I just needed to make sure I saved enough juice for the 400ft climb up to home at the other side of the ferry ride.
I finally felt some sun on my neck a few minutes from the ferry terminal(65 miles into my ride). Then of course the clouds burnt off while I waited for the ferry:
All in all a good ride, I just wish it was easier to get to the nice roads without having to ride on busy 2 lane highways in between.
Attachments
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
@BlackHand: I could see in your ride metrics you had a very good leg power. Could you tell me please what assistance you used and what was the battery consumption on your long and steep ride?
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Ha,I do love bridges and ferries, the Windermere ferry is cable, but not attatched tug, there was one with a tug attatched in Canada, Northwest territories, but my favourite is the Glenelg- Skye ferry, the whole top turns to get you off and is the only one left in the world.Especially for @Chargeride
View attachment 154768
A drone photo of the popular ferry crossing between "this" side (Gassy at the left Vistula bank) and "that' side (Karczew at the opposite bank). There is no bridge between the Warsaw's Southern Bridge and the Góra Kalwaria Bridge (the approximate distance between these bridges being 22 km), making the ferry a favourite Vistula crossing for cyclists (and motorists)! Combined with the low fare, riding the ferry is a must!
The ferry is fastened by a strong steel cable connecting both river banks, and is propelled by a tiny tug connected to the boat's side.
ChezCheese:)
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Kitsap Co, WA
View attachment 154846
Glad you found the Miloslaw ale! You'd never know you weren't drinking a regular IPA. Except you don't get drunk. Great stuff. Europe really has a lot of very good alcohol free beers. Estrella Galicia Oro from Spain is the best that we've had so far.Yes, I could buy a bottle of "Miłosław Alcohol Free" at the BP service station. What delicious ale it is! It contains up to half percent alcohol, meaning a male body can dispose any alcohol present there in a quarter of an hour
View attachment 154847
I could probably shave something off the distance were I not making detours
ChezCheese:)
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Kitsap Co, WA
You were about a mile and a half from my house!
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Only it was the United States that taught us what IPA and craft beer were!
Jeremy McCreary
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
I'll have to hunt down the Estrella here in SoCal. My favorite NA beer by far is Clausthaler, an excellent German pilsner with under 0.5% ABV. Have yet to find a drinkable 0.0% — must be a different process.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
That's the Euro definition of alcohol free beer. Now, I don't drink lager or pilsner, so finding weak IPA made me happy!
Friends tell me there are more good IPAs of that type in Poland. Typically, tea is added during the brewing to improve the taste. Or, hemp
RabH
Well-Known Member
I felt like a change of scenery so I booked the ferry to the Isle of Arran as I noticed the weather was going to be perfect, as soon as I embarked at Brodick I was in cycling heaven!
With a view like this leaving the ferry you just know its going to be an awesome day and it was!Last September I cycled the island in the anticlockwise direction so I was going for clockwise today, straight off the ferry its right into a climb! I had a nice view of Brodick from the top of the climb!
Then its a huge descent down into Lamlash and another climb quickly followed by yet another descent down into Whiting Bay, then a big climb up past Dippen and a lovely twisty up and down road with a nice view of Pladda Lighthouse with Ailsa Craig almost hidden in the haze!
This will give you an idea of what the roads are like, almost after every climb there's a descent like this!
This is looking west over the bay to the mainland, down the coast road to Campbeltown!
I continued along the coast and soon Blackwaterfoot came into view, just round the corner here is another awesome descent!
The tiny harbour at Blackwaterfoot!
I then had a couple of climbs to take on out of Blackwaterfoot followed by another nice descent and some flat roads for a bit before a sharp climb and another nice descent down into Pirnmill! I have been fortunate the last couple of trips here to catch the seal colony along this stretch of the coast but I was out of luck today as the tide was in! At least I caught the Guillemots on their usual perch on the rocks!
At Pirnmill looking across the bay to Sunadale I believe!
The beach at Pirnmill which actually has some sand, most of the beach along this coastline is covered in pebbles and rocks!
I continued on round the coast to Lochranza where I had a nice picnic at the pier and waited for the local ferry to arrive to grab some photos! The ramp was just starting to open as it approached the jetty!
Starting to load her up!
After a nice break it was time for the biggest climb of the day followed by the biggest descent down into Sannox! This is part way up the climb, the last time I got to fly down this lovely descent!
Love this view at the top of the climb!
Then I plunged down this amazing descent at 42mph into a headwind, this is the view back up to the top! I remember struggling up that climb the last time along with a load of other cyclists who mostly had to push!
From here it was downhill all the way back to my starting point at Brodick, this is looking across to the mainland at Ardrossan where I boarded the ferry this morning!
The water was so calm in the bay and crystal clear!
A couple of brave paddle boarders!
I reached Brodick about 20 minutes before the ferry was due with 56 miles covered so I went back up the climb towards Lamlash to add another 6 miles to make a metric century!
Just about to board the ferry!
This poor guy leaning on his bike fell off before even baording the ferry this morning, thankfully he wasn't hurt...only his pride as 4 of us saw him bite the dust! We were waiting for the ferry to unload before boarding, first on but always last off at the other end!
I just love Arran, it ticks all the boxes for me with all the hills and twisty roads and views to die for! I had such a brilliant day, everything just clicked into place!
Even the journey home was timed to perfection to avoid the rush hour traffic!Attachments
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Beautiful, I had a look on the map and was amazed to see Arran is further south than Glasgow.
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Random 
Mulezen
Well-Known Member
I had my best ride since getting a cast off my hand…unfortunately I broke something else at the ride’s conclusion.
I glided into my barn, dismounted, and so did my fabled, indestructible Brooks saddle. A bit of hardware clattered to the floor. Yet an important piece was nowhere to be found. The rails had broken off…yet I don’t when Or even how I finished the ride in this shape.
I glided into my barn, dismounted, and so did my fabled, indestructible Brooks saddle. A bit of hardware clattered to the floor. Yet an important piece was nowhere to be found. The rails had broken off…yet I don’t when Or even how I finished the ride in this shape.
Taylor57
Well-Known Member
Does it taste good?
Jeremy McCreary
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Is the idea that Palm Springs is also unsafe at any speed?
