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

@Readytoride: There is a very important rule in cycling.

Your car shall be less expensive than the cheapest of your bikes.

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Not sure whether the Rivian fits the description.

:D :D :D
 
Jeremy McCreary said:
An exceptional 9-day forecast for SoCal: Three unusually cold Pacific storms in 5 days, a 2-day rest, then storm number four. Today's opening act for the 1st storm: A strong NW wind and high surf under partly cloudy skies.

By tomorrow (Thursday), San Diego County could get snow down to 1,000 ft in elevation — only 5-10 miles inland in places. Then torrential rain from an atmospheric river (aka Pineapple Express) swept in from the central Pacific on Friday.
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Follow-up: True to the forecasts, the mountains in East County (some over 6,000 ft) got lots of rain and snow out of this series of storms.

But down here at the coast, the promised atmospheric river was a day late and more like a medium-sized creek. The lower than seasonal temperatures and Wednesday's high winds were the only forecasts that played out exactly as predicted.

And that's fine by me. I like my planets with a little mystery to keep things interesting.
 
I was talking to my friend who I climbed the mountain, havent seen him for a bit.
They all have ebikes now thanks to yours truly.
The level of mechanical carnage is incredible, every single one of them have had a new battery and motor under warranty.
Thats six bikes of various manufacturers, and they come to the joint conclusion its servicing by bike shops who dont know what they are doing, they took the motors apart themselves to find broken seals and gaskets, missing grommets, wires under strain, partly pulled apart and batteries pushed into frames with huge score marks on the casings , so bad it has compromised waterproofing.

I presume the constant innovation is hard to keep up with and maybe bike shops are servicing on a wing and a prayer on tech they havent seen before.
 
Chargeride said:
I presume the constant innovation is hard to keep up with and maybe bike shops are servicing on a wing and a prayer on tech they havent seen before.
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Toatally agree, though "explosive" might be closer to the truth than "constant". Just look at all the brands (let alone models) in the step-thru thread.

When I took my ebike to its LBS for a long-overdue free post-purchase check-up last month, I saw ebikes from at least 10 different manufacturers -- including Yamaha, Gazelle, Momentum (Giant), Super73, and Surface 604 — with several different models from each.

The LBS seems commited to servicing what they sell, and their 2 mechanics seem sharp and generally knowledgeable. But how could they possibly keep up with all that?
 
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A perfect day for cycling with light winds for a nice change, it was just above freezing when I set off at 8am but it didn't feel cold due to the lack of wind! I decided to head for Kirknewton today as I haven't been out that way for a while, I got a nice surprise when I arrived there :D It was mostly main roads today because it was a Sunday, it was nice to see dry roads after a couple days with no rain! This is the A71 which I used all the way from Newmains to Kirknewton, its a fun road to ride when there is little traffic!
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I came across this beautiful 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air I believe? a year older then me and looking way better🤣 its a shame it was parked in such an awful place but hey ho...

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It reminds me of the car my dad had when I was a toddler, a 1950's Vauxhall Cresta which had very similar lines but it was a boring grey colour;) I reached Kirknewton and I was passing the RAF base when I spotted a glider taking off, time for a break then:D
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I was trying to follow them passing over the Pentland Hills and hoping they would land soon to get more photos, it was my lucky day!

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The sign was telling where I was heading next, the A70 to Carnwath which is a very popular cyclists route and its not hard to see why as its like this all the way to Carnwath with big climbs and big descents!

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Harperrig Reservoir!
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2 lady cyclists enjoying the road also, they cheated though and used a car....I passed them shortly before this ;)

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I was catching them up a few miles later but they turned off the A70 and missed some amazing views like this!

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I passed through Carnwath and took the A721 towards Carluke, another amazing road on a quiet day! I stopped at a farm entrance here for a snack before the final climbs home.looking back at the Pentland Hills!

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Looking south towards The Tinto Hills!

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Around 18 miles to go now and as I arrived in Carluke I decided to take the quiet back roads as the main roads were starting to get busy now! I was pleasantly surprised to find the back roads mainly dry and I sure wasn't complaining, I never saw a single car until I was a couple of miles from home!:D I got home incident free and a little tired but delighted with a brilliant day on the bike!😁 350 miles covered in February from 6 rides, 17 miles short of January but I'm happy with that for a short month! Lets see what March brings, my bike will be 5 years old at the end of March which blows my mind as it seems like yesterday I went on my first ride! My first ride was actually to Kirknewton also on 1st April 2018, what a day that was!

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There was some snow on the hills that day!
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My bike looked a little different then and much lighter...

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RabH said:
I came across this beautiful 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air I believe? a year older then me and looking way better🤣 its a shame it was parked in such an awful place but hey ho...

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Passing a '57 Chevy and a glider in one ride — doesn't get much better than that! I was 9 yo in 1957. That Chevy was my dream car for the next 6+ years.

Your rides are an inspiration to me. Every time I debate adding another 5 mi to my longest-yet ride, I think, "C'mon, @RabH wouldn't even notice a ride that short."
 
I was hoping the new melted more it was 40 and we had some rain last night. but still too mcc snow I had to dodge snowy patching o the bike lanes and the bike paths were not all clear. made riding stressful. the we were getting out of petsmart and this. but it was 40 when it started snowing.
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fooferdoggie said:
I was hoping the new melted more it was 40 and we had some rain last night. but still too mcc snow I had to dodge snowy patching o the bike lanes and the bike paths were not all clear. made riding stressful. the we were getting out of petsmart and this. but it was 40 when it started snowing.
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Gotta hand it to ya for stickin' it out.
 
Prairie Dog said:
Way to go Foofer for not letting the snow prevent you and the Missus from getting out. Just remember that you folks are not out of the woods yet.
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who knows its 40 degrees now. but getting to work may be fun tomorrow as there was more snow at my work. it was raining a bit then come out to snow.
 
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