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

It has been around for so long, my cousin used to build motorised contraptions with tank tracks and pulleys, huge cranes and working looms.
That was 50 years ago.
Your cousins were my kind of builders! Working gizmos, science demos, spinning tops, and kinetic art made from loose parts are my mainstays. I have 50 year-old LEGO motors that still work like new.

When my LEGO comes out of storage, I'd like to build something bike-related. A much-simplified working schematic of a 2-speed IGH might be possible with existing LEGO mechanical parts.
 
Not A Martial Arts Training :)

We had a significant snowfall in Mazovia last night. I thought all my weekend riding plans were over as none of my e-bikes could really handle snow. I was under pressure in the Saturday morning as I needed to buy beverages and cigarettes. Ventured to ride on my Vado SL a.k.a. Fearless. I didn't like the ride. The roads have been salted but there still was some snow and ice on the pavement, and bike paths were not cleared. I felt scared on the access road to my favourite BP service station...

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Well, not that bad as I thought!

I had a scheduled meeting of our Graveloza Cycling Club for 4 p.m. I admit I was not inclined to ride to Warsaw at all! However, the club president as well as the most active member were very convincing on WhatsApp, and they encouraged me greatly to come, car, train, bike, whatever! I decided to give a try with my trusty Fearless...

I will only tell you that the situation on the roads greatly improved by the afternoon.

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We met at the Crane & Tiger Kung-Fu Academy :) Here, Tomek Dee playing with a katana :)

I was asked not to publish any other photos from the Club meeting. I was really interested in the discussion about the future Club apparel. Cannot wait until we order and get our gravel-cycling-style-branded-clothes! :)

On the way back, I felt it had become really frosty. We rode for several kilometres together with the Club president Mati. At some red lights he told me he was actually freezing and would prefer a fast ride home; I let him go. Besides, many Warsaw bike paths were either not cleared or cleared but icy. It was a pleasure for me to ride home at -5 C as my clothes were still adequate, and especially the electrically heated boot insoles and socks worked properly! I think I would put the Heavy Winter Armour on me for the Sunday ride though! :)

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The morning ride...

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The afternoon/evening ride.

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I spotted a
boar on the return ride! I got scared! :)
 
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My new next door neighbor invited me to join him on a road ride north to Oceanside harbor, so charged the battery for an hour, and off we went on this glorious 63°F winter day.

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Don has only a non-electric road bike here -- an all-Campy Italian beauty that, compared to my ebike, weighs basically nothing. From the neighborhood laps we'd ridden together, figured I'd just follow him at PAS 1/9. Turned out to be a comfortable pace for both of us.

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Rode straight to our north harbor turnaround (above). Holding Don's (red) bike here. All shots below were from the much lazier ride back.

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Having skipped lunch, Don called a stop at his favorite saltwater taffy source at the south end of the harbor. I was hoping against hope for some salted licorice instead. Serious candy shops are the only brick-and-mortar sources in the US. This place wasn't that serious.

Next, took the (theoretically) one-way beachfront drag south to Oceanside's famous pier, our vantage for the next 3 shots. The pier took some wave damage in the Pacific bomb cyclone of several weeks ago but was definitely open for business today.

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If the Santa Margaritas dark ridge to the north had a more symmetical crest, this could've been a tropical island shot. Some 100-120 million years ago, its igneous rocks were part of a subvolcanic plumbing system that froze up kilometers underground.

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Much more sand here than on beaches to the south. Longshore sand transport is generally to the south below LA, and Oceanside is the first stop south from the mouth of the Santa Margarita River, one of coastal SoCal's largest.

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The surf was lowish today but still put on a good show from the pier.

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On entering Carlsbad Village from the north, we were greeted by this young lady. Beach Street turns out to be a nearby salon and day spa. Heck, if they can make you look like that, I might make an appointment!

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Next and last stop (for beer) was a popular south Carlsbad hangout -- The Camp Store at Carlsbad State Beach campground.

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That black and white Specialized S-Works road bike under the store sign was almost as good-looking as the Beach Street girl.

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Quite the scene on this beautiful Saturday afternoon. The campgound was full, but there were surely many locals here as well.

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The store hosts free live music on weekends throughout the year and most summer evenings as well. Often you get what you pay for, but today's band, The Midlifes, was quite good. The midlife lead singer, who sounded a lot like John Fogarty, did several passable Credence Clearwater covers.

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(Cloudy sunset from the Camp Store 2 days earlier.)

From there, it was just 7 minutes up Poinsettia Lane to our neighborhood. Still getting a feel for battery range. Nice to see that I used only 25% of my 20Ah on this mostly flat 22-mile ride at PAS 1/9.

Correction: A seemingly authoritative college website on local geology led me to think that the dark ridge on the skyline in the 5th photo down belongs to the Santa Margarita Mountains. But after taking some compass bearings from Carlsbad and plotting them in Google Earth, that can't be right. Instead, it's the high ridge above Camp Pendleton. Must have a name but can't find it on any map.

Turns out that you can see the more distant Santa Margaritas farther to the east (right) from that vantage. I just cropped them out. The remark about the igneos rocks is definitely true of the Santa Margaritas. It may or may not be true of the dark ridge.
 

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I hate that turn into a forecourt in slippy conditions, my brain quickly plays out the front tyre not making it over the ridge, me face planting the cold floor and the bike sliding under a passing bus.
How true! One year ago I did something very stupid. After a successful 26 km ride including a lot of ice (Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus studded tyres are very good) I rode into our forecourt.
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I could have just walked my Fearless in but I was trying to ride it. One of the baddest crashes I have ever had and at least 6 weeks of aches of my shoulder and chest! Studded winter tyres work very well as long as the ice stretch is, well, flat.

On the other hand, my earlier crash with my e-MTB on black ice made me buy and believe in Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro tyres. I could ride black ice on those 27.5x2.6" terrifying tyres with 344 big studs without any fear! (@Prairie Dog rides frozen lakes on the same tyres).

Don has only a non-electric road bike here -- an all-Campy Italian beauty that, compared to my ebike, weighs basically nothing.
It was quite opposite with the "winter bike" used by Mati yesterday. He -- as an ultramarathon gravel cyclist -- of course owns a featherweight gravel bike. However, he would not ride it for the city in the winter! So he arrived with a big Batavus utility bike. We had to carry our bikes up a narrow and winding staircase. It was no issue for me to carry my Vado SL upstairs even if it had several kilograms of extra weight (like a U-lock, two water-bottles, a Range Extender). Then Mati asked me to lift his own Batavus to compare the weight. Man! That was a heavy bike! Heavier than my SL with all the extra weight on it!

Jeremy, I'm so jealous! It must be good to live in SoCal!
 
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I finally got February under way, we had some pretty mild weather recently but it was a bit stormy until today when the sun made an appearance and was very welcome! No 63F here @Jeremy McCreary that's about our average summer temp 😂 You sure live in a beautiful part of the world! It was -1C when I set off and it warmed up to +3C eventually, it didn't feel that cold as the wind was pretty light for a change! I had decided I wouldn't take any photos unless I could get my phone to work with my heated gloves still on, luckily it worked today!

Looking back down the big climb I just battled up on the road to Auchengray!
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There was some ice around but thankfully only at the roadside for the most part!
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There are lots of farms along this road and today the farmer left it in a right mess, thankfully the mudguards did a great job though! From Auchengray I went down the big descent over the railway line, some of the fields here were still covered in frost!
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These roads have very little traffic so its always a joy to ride them, this is looking towards the Tinto and Pentland hills in the distance!
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I continued on towards Carnwath to join the main roads again, only because it was a Sunday and whats not to like about roads like this?
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This road goes up and down like a rollercoster all the way to Carluke and the views aren't too shabby either!
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When I reached Carluke I had covered 38 miles and its just under 10 miles home from there so I took to the back roads to Law Village to make sure I got over 50 miles, luckily the roads were quiet until I reached the main A73 which leads to home! I thought about using the quiet back roads to home but they are very prone to icing so I decided to play it safe! The drivers were all behaving today thankfully so I arrived home incident free and very satisfied with a great day on the bike!:D
 

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@Jeremy McCreary -
Not everyone's cup of tea, to be sure. But when I count my blessings these days, it's pretty much at the top of the list. The only thing better (for us, anyway) is living in SoCal with ebikes.
Swell pics. Lol. I can almost feel the ocean breeze. Your images certainly portray a far different scenario than what it’s like here and reminds me of the times we spent out at Long Beach (Van Isle). Thanks for sharing.

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I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s not my cup of tea as it looks so inviting….well maybe ice tea for folks like us in more northern latitudes. ;)

Looking forward later on to a night ride.

I could have just walked my Fearless in but I was trying to ride it. One of the baddest crashes I have ever had and at least 6 weeks of aches of my shoulder and chest! Studded winter tyres work very well as long as the ice stretch is, well, flat.

On the other hand, my earlier crash with my e-MTB on black ice made me buy and believe in Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro tyres. I could ride black ice on those 27.5x2.6" terrifying tyres with 344 big studs without any fear! (@Prairie Dog rides frozen lakes on the same tyres).
Now that’s what I’m talking about Stefan. No comfy, cushy, dry paved ride for you on that day. On a more serious note, just glad to know that you didn’t suffer anything worse than a sore shoulder. Winter riding for the uninitiated can be a bit intimidating but under the right conditions, the rewards can far outweigh the negatives based on a few simple guidelines.

I finally got February under way, we had some pretty mild weather recently but it was a bit stormy until today when the sun made an appearance and was very welcome! No 63F here @Jeremy McCreary that's about our average summer temp 😂 You sure live in a beautiful part of the world! It was -1C when I set off and it warmed up to +3C eventually, it didn't feel that cold as the wind was pretty light for a change! I had decided I wouldn't take any photos unless I could get my phone to work with my heated gloves still on, luckily it worked today!
Another lovely ride Rab and I’m sure that it felt comforting having the gloves along to take the chill off. It won’t be long now before you’ll be logging more metric Cs that you're known for. 👍
 
@Jeremy McCreary -

Swell pics. Lol. I can almost feel the ocean breeze. Your images certainly portray a far different scenario than what it’s like here and reminds me of the times we spent out at Long Beach (Van Isle). Thanks for sharing.

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I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s not my cup of tea as it looks so inviting….well maybe ice tea for folks like us in more northern latitudes. ;)
Colorado treated us to many breath-taking snow scenes in our 20 years there, both at home and in the mountains. Not in your league, I know, but will definitely miss that.

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The good and bad news: The snow at home in Denver seldom lasted more than a few days. The meltwater would refreeze every night, and voila -- ice on every street leading away from the house.

Wasn't biking much then and wouldn't have risked the ice to ride the snow anyway. (Walking the dog was dangerous enough.) But riding on really cold packed snow in beautiful scenery must be wonderful! I can feel the serenity and hear the crunch now.

Will also miss the spectacular summer thunderstorms -- a violent beauty all their own. The few we get now and then in coastal SoCal pale in comparison. However, NOT missing the spectacular hail.

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"Two Cycling Friendly Cafés" Ride, Or The Icy Tale

I made a resolution on last Saturday: If only possible, I would visit two biker-friendly cafes of my greater neighbourhood on Sunday and post Graveloza.cc stickers on each of them. Each of these cafes is located approximately 20 km away from my place. Only they are on the opposite sides! :)

First of all, I prepared for the ride re the clothes to wear. I decided to wear snowboarding trousers, and I made sure the heating for my feet would indeed work. Predicting a long ride, I chose my Highway Star (Vado 6.0), taking a spare battery with me.

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Honestly, I did not expect that. The number of local roads covered with bare ice (basically, black ice in most of places) probably exhausted my limit of patience for a month! Here, I stopped to take the picture and straddled my HS. My boots were slipping under me, and only holding onto the e-bike allowed me not to fall! However, delicately restarting the ride proved Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus 50-622 (studded winter tyres) were worth every grosz! As @Prairie Dog knows the best, studded tyres are the only cure for ice! At one segment, I encountered a gravel road covered with solid ice (cars were slipping there) but I could ride my Highway Star safely and with confidence albeit slowly (to diminish the risk).

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The stickers of cycling clubs on the front door of the Klimatyczna Cafe in Leszno (MZ). Graveloza is the only gravel cycling club posted here (since today); the rest are roadie clubs. Ms Ewa the owner inspected my work and laughed to say: "Well, we are moving to a new fully owned cafe this Spring. Any club would need to repost their stickers there!" :)

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Inside Klimatyczna. See my lunch! :)

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Sometimes, it is beneficial to be a cyclist! As the railroad crossing was under reconstruction, drivers or motorcycle riders had to take a detour while I could just walk my e-bike through the site. I was pedalling southwards with tailwind.


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At the southernmost point of my ride: "At The Girls" in Rozalin. I was welcomed warmly there (the personnel can already recognize me).

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Another Graveloza sticker posted there. The one below is for Mazovian Gravel, our big brother (MG organizes gravel races in our voivodeship).

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Zhur (nourishing soup with sausage) and Winter Tea. I needed to warm up a little!

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Grilled Halloumi, a vegetarian meal. The cook Marcin (who is a roadie) makes too many hipster meals to my taste! :)


The first part of the return ride was dangerous a little bit because of uneven ice found in the ruts made by cars. Later, the roads turned out to be well maintained. I decreased the assistance and still my Vado was a little bit too fast! (I returned home in no time!)

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Temperature started at -1 C and it was -6 C on my return. Nobody of the followed Strava friends rode such a long distance on the day! :)
 
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Hi all, it's been a while since I posted anything, nice to see a new thread going for 2023. After taking December off from riding (long work days, short solar days, and a couple ice storms) as well as social media I was gearing up to take my first ride of the year on 1/1 when I pulled my back on New Years Eve. Didn't get back on the bike until a few weeks ago when I thought it fitting to revisit my first ride of 2022 - a check in at the estuary restoration project at Meadowdale Beach. A nice easy 20 mile ride to get back in the swing of things.

This was the only beach access for people and fish for 50+ years and what I saw here last year:
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Now, they have finally put in a nice long span and have continued the rehabilitation of the estuary to encourage salmon and chum spawing
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Felt good to get back on the bike and to amble around the small beach.
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Got in a nice 28 mile ride last weekend in freezing (but dry) temps. And I even got to commute to work once this week when my kids' school was delayed due to the internet being shut off.

Today was warmer around 45F, but damp. Still a good day for a ride so I took off to ride a couple spots above the water that I haven't been to before. Just short of 28 miles and about 2000 ft of climbing.

I guess i haven't been up this way in a while.
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So I was a little surprised to find a bus stop had been built IN the bike lane. I'm guessing they were trying to solve a problem, and either didn't care or didn't think about what the solution might mean for cyclists.

Once I got up north I headed towards Norma Beach where the road splits and goes up to the view properties on the bluff and down to the private properties near the water. No a lot of pics, but this bench is at the end of a culdesac looking up towards Picnic Point
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Not a bad view.

Also grabbed this stump art that looks like it's been here for a while
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PS: @Chargeride , anytime you want to come over and take back some of your damn ivy please do! That stuff is noxious.

Finally, this parking lot/pond always amuses me. Everytime it rains the it becomes hard to tell where the parking ends and where the pond begins. The geese don't seem to care though.
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Hi all, it's been a while since I posted anything, nice to see a new thread going for 2023. After taking December off from riding (long work days, short solar days, and a couple ice storms) as well as social media I was gearing up to take my first ride of the year on 1/1 when I pulled my back on New Years Eve. Didn't get back on the bike until a few weeks ago when I thought it fitting to revisit my first ride of 2022 - a check in at the estuary restoration project at Meadowdale Beach. A nice easy 20 mile ride to get back in the swing of things.

This was the only beach access for people and fish for 50+ years and what I saw here last year:
View attachment 146431
Now, they have finally put in a nice long span and have continued the rehabilitation of the estuary to encourage salmon and chum spawing
View attachment 146432

Felt good to get back on the bike and to amble around the small beach.
View attachment 146433
Got in a nice 28 mile ride last weekend in freezing (but dry) temps. And I even got to commute to work once this week when my kids' school was delayed due to the internet being shut off.

Today was warmer around 45F, but damp. Still a good day for a ride so I took off to ride a couple spots above the water that I haven't been to before. Just short of 28 miles and about 2000 ft of climbing.

I guess i haven't been up this way in a while.
View attachment 146436
So I was a little surprised to find a bus stop had been built IN the bike lane. I'm guessing they were trying to solve a problem, and either didn't care or didn't think about what the solution might mean for cyclists.

Once I got up north I headed towards Norma Beach where the road splits and goes up to the view properties on the bluff and down to the private properties near the water. No a lot of pics, but this bench is at the end of a culdesac looking up towards Picnic Point
View attachment 146437
Not a bad view.

Also grabbed this stump art that looks like it's been here for a while
View attachment 146438
PS: @Chargeride , anytime you want to come over and take back some of your damn ivy please do! That stuff is noxious.

Finally, this parking lot/pond always amuses me. Everytime it rains the it becomes hard to tell where the parking ends and where the pond begins. The geese don't seem to care though.
View attachment 146439
enjoyed reading your back in the saddle report, I need to follow suit - I must admit the school being delayed because of the "internet being down" had me chuckling - hmm, I think I need the internet to go down and get a few chores off the list . . .
 
The number of local roads covered with bare ice (basically, black ice in most of places) probably exhausted my limit of patience for a month! Here, I stopped to take the picture and straddled my HS. My boots were slipping under me, and only holding onto the e-bike allowed me not to fall! [emphasis added] However, delicately restarting the ride proved Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus 50-622 (studded winter tyres) were worth every grosz! As @Prairie Dog knows the best, studded tyres are the only cure for ice!
....
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Zhur (nourishing soup with sausage) and Winter Tea. I needed to warm up a little!
You're a braver man than I when it comes to ice. Those must be some tires, but the slipping foot problem remains.

At the seat height I have to ride to get acceptable knee extension, my touch-downs are barely safe on good footing. Having fallen 3 times on black ice in the last few years, can't even imagine touching down on ice.

Unless... I had on cycling crampons! If anyone knows a venture capitalist, please have them call me. I feel a start-up coming on.

That soup looks delicious! Loved the hearty soups my Czech grandmother used to make, but don't know that she ever used fermented rye.
 
I must admit the school being delayed because of the "internet being down" had me chuckling
yes, we haven't gotten the full story yet - but every teacher and student had to reset their passwords and they still haven't restored network access at any of the schools. Got word tonight that after working through the weekend they will start turning on systems over the next several days. My theory on the delay is that the school had no process in place to take attendance without working computers.

Love the carving! But you say "stump art" like it's a thing. There's been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about lately, so I have to ask.
I guess it's not uncommon around here to see where someone had to take a tree down and then instead of removing the stump they carve it or sometimes use it as a base to put some chainsaw art or something similar.
 
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