2024 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[jason.flood]

Spring was definitely in the air today and after my lazy Saturday just tinkering with the bike I decided to head out Sunday afternoon directly into the sunshine (and wind) to checkout some of RabH’s playground in West Lothian. Wasn’t sure where I was headed but I though just head into the wind for as long as I could and the return journey will be a breeze

After 1.5h on low assist I was surprised to already be in Linlithgow. In my mind I was thinking that was more that 2h from where I live - more with a headwind.

After grabbing coffee from a petrol station I realised my local geographical knowledge of the area was pretty poor so decided to fire up Koomot and have it guide me to Beecraigs country park which I knew to be somewhere not too far away, then onto Threipmuir reservoir and then home.

I was not expecting to be hit with a 10% gradient climb within minutes of departing Linlithgow (with a big belly full of foamy milk from my cafe latte) I would have immediately chosen a different route if I hadn’t been able to crank the assistance to 60%.

Once up at the park I was guided through a bit of a forest trail with a good descent. pretty fun but was wary it might get too muddy for my city tyres.

upon climbing back out of the park I was presented with an absolute blast of so really nice quite country roads with some really fast decents through to Uphall. Again getting to understand how RabH gets some of his amazing max velocities

Between Dechmont and Uphall I had a flat 1km section with a direct 13-15mph tail wind. I felt like I was flying at 42km/h on pedal power only. However the previous night I had watched something on GCN on YouTube where they said 42km/h was the average speed of the entire Tour de France. Mind blowing

Getting tired now so cutting my ramble short. Overall a great afternoon out. I thought if I could to two laps of Arthur’s Seat near the end I could hit 100km but after 1lap I decided I wanted my dinner more.

I’m not sure I’ve ever done 57km/h on a bike before . Back in the old days I was always riding around with 26in mtb tyres. What a gas this bike is.

 

[AvalancheRun]

'Mr Bartek, has your store got a Creo 2 for the floor yet?' -- to which he triumphantly smiled, made the way to this e-bike and proudly announced: 'This is a Creo 2 in size 54, your own size!' Oh my. Needed I a new e-bike, I would buy it right on the spot! @AvalancheRun - Poland is not a bad country, is it

The country that produced Frederic Chopin will always have my gratitude ( :
Would love to visit some day!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Now that you mention it, I should have installed my oversized helium filled balloon tires before I left the house. They're also the lower rolling resistant versions.

Have you considered a cycling dirigible?

Hydrogen- and helium-filled models available.
;^}

 

[Prairie Dog]

Have you considered a cycling dirigible?

View attachment 171480

Hydrogen- and helium-filled models available.
;^}

Ooh..my own personal blimp. Can’t wait! I say dangle a portable skate park from it, get airborne and have at it. Go big or go home? Isn’t that the mantra a famous energy drink giant keeps whispering to its faithful following?

 

[RabH]

I decided to have a lazy weekend to recover from my vaccinations and Fridays tough ride, despite a nice day on Sunday like Jason @jason.flood reported earlier. Nice ride Jason, the roads around Beecraigs are excellent I looked at the weather for today and thought it was time for a longer ride, especially given the forecast for the rest of the week... It was a bit breezy but nothing crazy and no more than 25mph and very mild for the time of year. I opted for a ride over the awesome Dukes Pass in the Trossachs, probably the first time I have tackled it in February as its notorius for sheet ice and I remember a foreign couple getting stranded in a VW Camper years ago and having to be airlifted out of the pass as it was impossible to get any rescue vehicles near them! With a temp of 8C I knew it would be safe this time

I set off shortly after 7.30am and took the roller coaster back road from Glenmavis down to Cumbernauld, what a road to start my ride onAt Cumbernauld I took the road down into Croy and just before Kilsyth I turned on to the quieter back road towards Twechar which runs right alongside the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Eventually the road takes you into Kirkintilloch where I turned north for Milton of Campsie and then northwest to Lennoxtown in the foothills of the Campsie Hills, stopping at Whitefield Pond for a couple of photos and it was looking very nice in the morning sun.

From here I took the main road to Strathblane which was pretty quiet at this time thankfully, just before Strathblane I stopped for this photo with the Campsies lit up with the sun.

At Strathblane I turned northwest on the main A81 towards Aberfoyle, this is an excellent road with some fast descents and luckily it wasn't busy which surprised me. The sun soon disappeared and I noticed some nasty looking rain clouds passing over the hills and soon the rain arrived, the forecast had said a 10% chance of rain it suddenly really closed in and the rain was getting heavier! As I got closer to Aberfoyle the sky started to clear again, although it didn't look great over the pass ahead...

I arrived in Aberfoyle and it was time to start the climb over the Dukes Pass, my summit software reported a climb of 2.5 miles with an average gradient of 5.7%. The start of the climb is very steep and has quite a few switchbacks, thankfully the rain was holding off on the way up and as I crested the steep part of the climb the road flattens for a bit. I stopped here to change to my second battery with 40 miles covered, I started with my original battery which is almost 6 years old now and still doing a good job.

A little further up the pass.

I reached the summit and had Loch Drunkie in view.

I was now looking forward to the descent, its very twisty and the road was wet so I had to keep my speed down but it was still a blast I stopped further down for some photos looking across Loch Achray with the impressive holiday apartments and cottages of Tigh Mor in the background.

I continued round Loch Achray towards Brig o' Turk, the loch is well sheltered here by the hills and was looking so nice with the calm water.

This is looking back across the loch at the Dukes Pass, I was now heading due east and had the wind at my back for the first time and it was very welcome after 44 miles.

After passing Achray Loch Venachar soon comes into view, I had to wait until I was at the far side of the loch to get some photos. Venachar is a much larger loch and the water was a bit choppy in the breezy conditions.

Eventually the road leads to Kilmahog, just before there I stopped for these photos as I passed over the fast flowing river Garbe Uisge.

At Kilmahog I joined the main A84 to Callander, I stopped just before the town to capture this photo of the bridge I always stop at in the middle of the town. The car park in the foreground is notorius for being flooded due to the 2 rivers merging there.

These photos are from the bridge, the first looking west and the second looking east.

I thought about continuing over the bridge and tackling the big climb up to Thornhill but it would have been into the wind again so I opted to continue through Callander and follow the main road to Stirling which would mean I would have a tailwind for the most part. I reached the city centre and made a wrong turn not long after passing the castle, I made the same mistake last year also I about turned and found my bearings to take the road over the Campsies at the Stirling end, now I would be back into the strong headwind pretty much all the way up the climb.

My summit software reported a 3.7 mile climb with an average gradient of only 3.2% which was utter nonsense...the profile picture tells the real story and its way more than 3.2% average. This is near the summit and its nowhere near as steep but still around 10%, I used level 3 assist all the way up and was relieved to reach the top.

This is looking back down from the summit, it would have been fun going down that today with a strong tailwind.

Loch Coulter was to my left at the summit.

Now it was time to enjoy the descent, the road is pretty rough though so I had to be careful. I stopped for this photo looking across the River Carron where I would be riding a short time later on the road down into Denny. This is the road I use regularly when passing the Carron Valley Reservoir. I changed to my 3rd battery here with almost 80 miles covered.

This is on the other side of the river.

I now had an awesome 6 mile descent with the strong wind at my back again, it was just sublime I was flying along and hit 40.3 mph down into Stoneywood, after reaching Denny I took the road to Bonnybridge and passed over the canal.

From here I took my usual back road to Falkirk and as i started down the big descent before the climb up to Slamannan, my gears wouldn't shift past 4th...I now regret recently mentioning the gearshift problems I had on my carbon road bike back in 2012! Its time to change my rear gear cable, it was shifting down fine but just wouldn't pass 4th gear going up the gears. I only had 12 miles to go and it was mostly uphill anyway so I just freewheeled down the descents so it wasn't really a problem.

I arrived home with a big smile on my face after a truly brilliant ride, I did get a little more rain here and there but nothing nasty and arrived home dry. My bike was absolutely filthy so it got a real scrub and is looking pristine again, I will renew the gear cable tomorrow probably but looking at the forecast for the rest of the week the bike will be going nowhere...

 

[jason.flood]

View attachment 171487

I decided to have a lazy weekend to recover from my vaccinations and Fridays tough ride, despite a nice day on Sunday like Jason @jason.flood reported earlier. Nice ride Jason, the roads around Beecraigs are excellent I looked at the weather for today and thought it was time for a longer ride, especially given the forecast for the rest of the week... It was a bit breezy but nothing crazy and no more than 25mph and very mild for the time of year. I opted for a ride over the awesome Dukes Pass in the Trossachs, probably the first time I have tackled it in February as its notorius for sheet ice and I remember a foreign couple getting stranded in a VW Camper years ago and having to be airlifted out of the pass as it was impossible to get any rescue vehicles near them! With a temp of 8C I knew it would be safe this time

I set off shortly after 7.30am and took the roller coaster back road from Glenmavis down to Cumbernauld, what a road to start my ride onAt Cumbernauld I took the road down into Croy and just before Kilsyth I turned on to the quieter back road towards Twechar which runs right alongside the Forth and Clyde Canal.

View attachment 171493
Eventually the road takes you into Kirkintilloch where I turned north for Milton of Campsie and then northwest to Lennoxtown in the foothills of the Campsie Hills, stopping at Whitefield Pond for a couple of photos and it was looking very nice in the morning sun.

View attachment 171494
View attachment 171495
From here I took the main road to Strathblane which was pretty quiet at this time thankfully, just before Strathblane I stopped for this photo with the Campsies lit up with the sun.

View attachment 171496
At Strathblane I turned northwest on the main A81 towards Aberfoyle, this is an excellent road with some fast descents and luckily it wasn't busy which surprised me. The sun soon disappeared and I noticed some nasty looking rain clouds passing over the hills and soon the rain arrived, the forecast had said a 10% chance of rain it suddenly really closed in and the rain was getting heavier! As I got closer to Aberfoyle the sky started to clear again, although it didn't look great over the pass ahead...


View attachment 171497
I arrived in Aberfoyle and it was time to start the climb over the Dukes Pass, my summit software reported a climb of 2.5 miles with an average gradient of 5.7%. The start of the climb is very steep and has quite a few switchbacks, thankfully the rain was holding off on the way up and as I crested the steep part of the climb the road flattens for a bit. I stopped here to change to my second battery with 40 miles covered, I started with my original battery which is almost 6 years old now and still doing a good job.

View attachment 171498
A little further up the pass.

View attachment 171503
I reached the summit and had Loch Drunkie in view.

View attachment 171504
I was now looking forward to the descent, its very twisty and the road was wet so I had to keep my speed down but it was still a blast I stopped further down for some photos looking across Loch Achray with the impressive holiday apartments and cottages of Tigh Mor in the background.

View attachment 171505
View attachment 171506
I continued round Loch Achray towards Brig o' Turk, the loch is well sheltered here by the hills and was looking so nice with the calm water.

View attachment 171507
View attachment 171508
This is looking back across the loch at the Dukes Pass, I was now heading due east and had the wind at my back for the first time and it was very welcome after 44 miles.

View attachment 171510
After passing Achray Loch Venachar soon comes into view, I had to wait until I was at the far side of the loch to get some photos. Venachar is a much larger loch and the water was a bit choppy in the breezy conditions.

View attachment 171511
View attachment 171512
Eventually the road leads to Kilmahog, just before there I stopped for these photos as I passed over the fast flowing river Garbe Uisge.

View attachment 171513
View attachment 171514
At Kilmahog I joined the main A84 to Callander, I stopped just before the town to capture this photo of the bridge I always stop at in the middle of the town. The car park in the foreground is notorius for being flooded due to the 2 rivers merging there.

View attachment 171515
These photos are from the bridge, the first looking west and the second looking east.

View attachment 171516
View attachment 171517
I thought about continuing over the bridge and tackling the big climb up to Thornhill but it would have been into the wind again so I opted to continue through Callander and follow the main road to Stirling which would mean I would have a tailwind for the most part. I reached the city centre and made a wrong turn not long after passing the castle, I made the same mistake last year also I about turned and found my bearings to take the road over the Campsies at the Stirling end, now I would be back into the strong headwind pretty much all the way up the climb.

My summit software reported a 3.7 mile climb with an average gradient of only 3.2% which was utter nonsense...the profile picture tells the real story and its way more than 3.2% average. This is near the summit and its nowhere near as steep but still around 10%, I used level 3 assist all the way up and was relieved to reach the top.
View attachment 171518
This is looking back down from the summit, it would have been fun going down that today with a strong tailwind.

View attachment 171519
Loch Coulter was to my left at the summit.

View attachment 171520
Now it was time to enjoy the descent, the road is pretty rough though so I had to be careful. I stopped for this photo looking across the River Carron where I would be riding a short time later on the road down into Denny. This is the road I use regularly when passing the Carron Valley Reservoir. I changed to my 3rd battery here with almost 80 miles covered.

View attachment 171521
This is on the other side of the river.

View attachment 171522
I now had an awesome 6 mile descent with the strong wind at my back again, it was just sublime I was flying along and hit 40.3 mph down into Stoneywood, after reaching Denny I took the road to Bonnybridge and passed over the canal.

View attachment 171523
View attachment 171524
From here I took my usual back road to Falkirk and as i started down the big descent before the climb up to Slamannan, my gears wouldn't shift past 4th...I now regret recently mentioning the gearshift problems I had on my carbon road bike back in 2012! Its time to change my rear gear cable, it was shifting down fine but just wouldn't pass 4th gear going up the gears. I only had 12 miles to go and it was mostly uphill anyway so I just freewheeled down the descents so it wasn't really a problem.

I arrived home with a big smile on my face after a truly brilliant ride, I did get a little more rain here and there but nothing nasty and arrived home dry. My bike was absolutely filthy so it got a real scrub and is looking pristine again, I will renew the gear cable tomorrow probably but looking at the forecast for the rest of the week the bike will be going nowhere...

What an epic journey Rab. Your encyclopaedic knowledge of all the roads and landmarks is amazing too.

I don’t know what it is about Stirling but whenever I drive back to Edinburgh via Calender I almost always take a wrong exit somewhere. Then to add insult to injury I usually forget to take the slip road off the M9 onto the M9 to Edinburgh and end up with. 10mile detour via Bonnybrige.

Great photos btw.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I reached the summit and had Loch Drunkie in view.

I don’t know what it is about Stirling but whenever I drive back to Edinburgh via Calender I almost always take a wrong exit somewhere. Then to add insult to injury I usually forget to take the slip road off the M9 onto the M9 to Edinburgh and end up with. 10mile detour via Bonnybrige.

@jason.flood , perhaps less time at Loch Drunkie en route?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

What Rab has been doing for years now is just amazing, and his latest ride made me speechless! 110 miles with almost 7,000 ft of elevation gain during the Scottish winter! My most sincere KUDOS to you! I can also see you Jason are on the best way to be yet another long-runner Scot! What a feat on a single-battery Vado SL! Wow!

My own performance has dropped throughout this winter, and that's the story I want to tell you now.

(A Sunny Mild Winter) Brix Tribute Ride (On Fearless)
I have been riding my Vado 6.0 as my daily e-bike since the outbreak of a real Polish winter. As you know, I did my last ride on just 15% assistance and was very happy with it. Now I've taken my Vado SL out of storage, thoroughly maintained it and planned a 105 km ride for last Sunday. I had promised @Brix to dedicate this ride to her. However, I didn't realise how much I had lost my form since 28 December last year!

The day was sunny (!!!) with mild NW wind and the temperature between 4 and 5 C (short high of 9 C). I started the ride malnourished, and had a small breakfast only at a service station 12 km away.

My legs felt tired after only 30 km ridden! I realised I would not make the Metric Century on that day! (I did not need the pannier at all as it turned out later).

The favourite Polish place-name for @Chargeride He thinks it is pronounced "Oh-pie-pie" while a good starting point for an English speaker would be Oh-'pee-pee Opypy are a sentimental location for Brix, that's why I took that photo.

My muscles felt as if they were made of cotton wool when I could see Leszno MZ at the 58th km!

Finally at the Klimatyczna Café (60th km, from where I could blow kisses towards Brix in far London!

Meringue based cakes were the Cafe's specialty of the day!

Despite having very tired legs, I pedalled to my 'home base' service station for some shopping, and a delicious pączek. I cannot understand why people wait in kilometre long queues to renowned bakeries on Fat Thursday if the pączek freshly baked at a petrol station on a regular day was ultimately good!

I cannot understand the reason of my fatigue. 55/55% SL assistance is the last truly economic setting for an SL e-bike, allowing for a 116 km ride with a Range Extender. The battery consumption factor was 3.74 Wh/h. My Vado 6.0 with 15% assistance used only 3.56 Wh/km on my last ride... The only reason I can think of was I pedalled really hard, which is confirmed by the average rider's power and calories burnt figures...

I decidedly need to ride more! So Vado SL has become my everyday e-bike again!

@RabH has ridden for 214 km more than I this year! I need to chase him! (No chance, I'm on a business trip next week!)

 

[jason.flood]

What Rab has been doing for years now is just amazing, and his latest ride made me speechless! 110 miles with almost 7,000 ft of elevation gain during the Scottish winter! My most sincere KUDOS to you! I can also see you Jason are on the best way to be yet another long-runner Scot! What a feat on a single-battery Vado SL! Wow!

My own performance has dropped throughout this winter, and that's the story I want to tell you now.

(A Sunny Mild Winter) Brix Tribute Ride (On Fearless)
I have been riding my Vado 6.0 as my daily e-bike since the outbreak of a real Polish winter. As you know, I did my last ride on just 15% assistance and was very happy with it. Now I've taken my Vado SL out of storage, thoroughly maintained it and planned a 105 km ride for last Sunday. I had promised @Brix to dedicate this ride to her. However, I didn't realise how much I had lost my form since 28 December last year!

The day was sunny (!!!) with mild NW wind and the temperature between 4 and 5 C (short high of 9 C). I started the ride malnourished, and had a small breakfast only at a service station 12 km away.

View attachment 171529
My legs felt tired after only 30 km ridden! I realised I would not make the Metric Century on that day! (I did not need the pannier at all as it turned out later).

View attachment 171530
The favourite Polish place-name for @Chargeride He thinks it is pronounced "Oh-pie-pie" while a good starting point for an English speaker would be Oh-'pee-pee Opypy are a sentimental location for Brix, that's why I took that photo.

View attachment 171531
My muscles felt as if they were made of cotton wool when I could see Leszno MZ at the 58th km!

View attachment 171532
Finally at the Klimatyczna Café (60th km, from where I could blow kisses towards Brix in far London!

View attachment 171533
Meringue based cakes were the Cafe's specialty of the day!

View attachment 171534
Despite having very tired legs, I pedalled to my 'home base' service station for some shopping, and a delicious pączek. I cannot understand why people wait in kilometre long queues to renowned bakeries on Fat Thursday if the pączek freshly baked at a petrol station on a regular day was ultimately good!

View attachment 171535
I cannot understand the reason of my fatigue. 55/55% SL assistance is the last truly economic setting for an SL e-bike, allowing for a 116 km ride with a Range Extender. The battery consumption factor was 3.74 Wh/h. My Vado 6.0 with 15% assistance used only 3.56 Wh/km on my last ride... The only reason I can think of was I pedalled really hard, which is confirmed by the average rider's power and calories burnt figures...

View attachment 171536
I decidedly need to ride more! So Vado SL has become my everyday e-bike again!

@RabH has ridden for 214 km more than I this year! I need to chase him! (No chance, I'm on a business trip next week!)

I think we all have days were we are not feeling it. But 87km is an amazing outing if you are not feeling great.

I need to start planning my routes around god good places to eat!

 

[DaveMatthews]

View attachment 171487

I decided to have a lazy weekend to recover from my vaccinations and Fridays tough ride, despite a nice day on Sunday like Jason @jason.flood reported earlier. Nice ride Jason, the roads around Beecraigs are excellent I looked at the weather for today and thought it was time for a longer ride, especially given the forecast for the rest of the week... It was a bit breezy but nothing crazy and no more than 25mph and very mild for the time of year. I opted for a ride over the awesome Dukes Pass in the Trossachs, probably the first time I have tackled it in February as its notorius for sheet ice and I remember a foreign couple getting stranded in a VW Camper years ago and having to be airlifted out of the pass as it was impossible to get any rescue vehicles near them! With a temp of 8C I knew it would be safe this time

I set off shortly after 7.30am and took the roller coaster back road from Glenmavis down to Cumbernauld, what a road to start my ride onAt Cumbernauld I took the road down into Croy and just before Kilsyth I turned on to the quieter back road towards Twechar which runs right alongside the Forth and Clyde Canal.

View attachment 171493
Eventually the road takes you into Kirkintilloch where I turned north for Milton of Campsie and then northwest to Lennoxtown in the foothills of the Campsie Hills, stopping at Whitefield Pond for a couple of photos and it was looking very nice in the morning sun.

View attachment 171494
View attachment 171495
From here I took the main road to Strathblane which was pretty quiet at this time thankfully, just before Strathblane I stopped for this photo with the Campsies lit up with the sun.

View attachment 171496
At Strathblane I turned northwest on the main A81 towards Aberfoyle, this is an excellent road with some fast descents and luckily it wasn't busy which surprised me. The sun soon disappeared and I noticed some nasty looking rain clouds passing over the hills and soon the rain arrived, the forecast had said a 10% chance of rain it suddenly really closed in and the rain was getting heavier! As I got closer to Aberfoyle the sky started to clear again, although it didn't look great over the pass ahead...


View attachment 171497
I arrived in Aberfoyle and it was time to start the climb over the Dukes Pass, my summit software reported a climb of 2.5 miles with an average gradient of 5.7%. The start of the climb is very steep and has quite a few switchbacks, thankfully the rain was holding off on the way up and as I crested the steep part of the climb the road flattens for a bit. I stopped here to change to my second battery with 40 miles covered, I started with my original battery which is almost 6 years old now and still doing a good job.

View attachment 171498
A little further up the pass.

View attachment 171503
I reached the summit and had Loch Drunkie in view.

View attachment 171504
I was now looking forward to the descent, its very twisty and the road was wet so I had to keep my speed down but it was still a blast I stopped further down for some photos looking across Loch Achray with the impressive holiday apartments and cottages of Tigh Mor in the background.

View attachment 171505
View attachment 171506
I continued round Loch Achray towards Brig o' Turk, the loch is well sheltered here by the hills and was looking so nice with the calm water.

View attachment 171507
View attachment 171508
This is looking back across the loch at the Dukes Pass, I was now heading due east and had the wind at my back for the first time and it was very welcome after 44 miles.

View attachment 171510
After passing Achray Loch Venachar soon comes into view, I had to wait until I was at the far side of the loch to get some photos. Venachar is a much larger loch and the water was a bit choppy in the breezy conditions.

View attachment 171511
View attachment 171512
Eventually the road leads to Kilmahog, just before there I stopped for these photos as I passed over the fast flowing river Garbe Uisge.

View attachment 171513
View attachment 171514
At Kilmahog I joined the main A84 to Callander, I stopped just before the town to capture this photo of the bridge I always stop at in the middle of the town. The car park in the foreground is notorius for being flooded due to the 2 rivers merging there.

View attachment 171515
These photos are from the bridge, the first looking west and the second looking east.

View attachment 171516
View attachment 171517
I thought about continuing over the bridge and tackling the big climb up to Thornhill but it would have been into the wind again so I opted to continue through Callander and follow the main road to Stirling which would mean I would have a tailwind for the most part. I reached the city centre and made a wrong turn not long after passing the castle, I made the same mistake last year also I about turned and found my bearings to take the road over the Campsies at the Stirling end, now I would be back into the strong headwind pretty much all the way up the climb.

My summit software reported a 3.7 mile climb with an average gradient of only 3.2% which was utter nonsense...the profile picture tells the real story and its way more than 3.2% average. This is near the summit and its nowhere near as steep but still around 10%, I used level 3 assist all the way up and was relieved to reach the top.
View attachment 171518
This is looking back down from the summit, it would have been fun going down that today with a strong tailwind.

View attachment 171519
Loch Coulter was to my left at the summit.

View attachment 171520
Now it was time to enjoy the descent, the road is pretty rough though so I had to be careful. I stopped for this photo looking across the River Carron where I would be riding a short time later on the road down into Denny. This is the road I use regularly when passing the Carron Valley Reservoir. I changed to my 3rd battery here with almost 80 miles covered.

View attachment 171521
This is on the other side of the river.

View attachment 171522
I now had an awesome 6 mile descent with the strong wind at my back again, it was just sublime I was flying along and hit 40.3 mph down into Stoneywood, after reaching Denny I took the road to Bonnybridge and passed over the canal.

View attachment 171523
View attachment 171524
From here I took my usual back road to Falkirk and as i started down the big descent before the climb up to Slamannan, my gears wouldn't shift past 4th...I now regret recently mentioning the gearshift problems I had on my carbon road bike back in 2012! Its time to change my rear gear cable, it was shifting down fine but just wouldn't pass 4th gear going up the gears. I only had 12 miles to go and it was mostly uphill anyway so I just freewheeled down the descents so it wasn't really a problem.

I arrived home with a big smile on my face after a truly brilliant ride, I did get a little more rain here and there but nothing nasty and arrived home dry. My bike was absolutely filthy so it got a real scrub and is looking pristine again, I will renew the gear cable tomorrow probably but looking at the forecast for the rest of the week the bike will be going nowhere...

Not only are your rides epic, the photos never disappoint!

 

[Mulezen]

What Rab has been doing for years now is just amazing, and his latest ride made me speechless! 110 miles with almost 7,000 ft of elevation gain during the Scottish winter! My most sincere KUDOS to you! I can also see you Jason are on the best way to be yet another long-runner Scot! What a feat on a single-battery Vado SL! Wow!

My own performance has dropped throughout this winter, and that's the story I want to tell you now.

(A Sunny Mild Winter) Brix Tribute Ride (On Fearless)
I have been riding my Vado 6.0 as my daily e-bike since the outbreak of a real Polish winter. As you know, I did my last ride on just 15% assistance and was very happy with it. Now I've taken my Vado SL out of storage, thoroughly maintained it and planned a 105 km ride for last Sunday. I had promised @Brix to dedicate this ride to her. However, I didn't realise how much I had lost my form since 28 December last year!

The day was sunny (!!!) with mild NW wind and the temperature between 4 and 5 C (short high of 9 C). I started the ride malnourished, and had a small breakfast only at a service station 12 km away.

View attachment 171529
My legs felt tired after only 30 km ridden! I realised I would not make the Metric Century on that day! (I did not need the pannier at all as it turned out later).

View attachment 171530
The favourite Polish place-name for @Chargeride He thinks it is pronounced "Oh-pie-pie" while a good starting point for an English speaker would be Oh-'pee-pee Opypy are a sentimental location for Brix, that's why I took that photo.

View attachment 171531
My muscles felt as if they were made of cotton wool when I could see Leszno MZ at the 58th km!

View attachment 171532
Finally at the Klimatyczna Café (60th km, from where I could blow kisses towards Brix in far London!

View attachment 171533
Meringue based cakes were the Cafe's specialty of the day!

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Despite having very tired legs, I pedalled to my 'home base' service station for some shopping, and a delicious pączek. I cannot understand why people wait in kilometre long queues to renowned bakeries on Fat Thursday if the pączek freshly baked at a petrol station on a regular day was ultimately good!

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I cannot understand the reason of my fatigue. 55/55% SL assistance is the last truly economic setting for an SL e-bike, allowing for a 116 km ride with a Range Extender. The battery consumption factor was 3.74 Wh/h. My Vado 6.0 with 15% assistance used only 3.56 Wh/km on my last ride... The only reason I can think of was I pedalled really hard, which is confirmed by the average rider's power and calories burnt figures...

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I decidedly need to ride more! So Vado SL has become my everyday e-bike again!

@RabH has ridden for 214 km more than I this year! I need to chase him! (No chance, I'm on a business trip next week!)

With desserts like that are you sure its your legs that “have lost their form”
I say this with envy…my local stops have only packaged trash

 

[Prairie Dog]

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I decided to have a lazy weekend to recover from my vaccinations and Fridays tough ride, despite a nice day on Sunday like Jason @jason.flood reported earlier. Nice ride Jason, the roads around Beecraigs are excellent I looked at the weather for today and thought it was time for a longer ride, especially given the forecast for the rest of the week... It was a bit breezy but nothing crazy and no more than 25mph and very mild for the time of year. I opted for a ride over the awesome Dukes Pass in the Trossachs, probably the first time I have tackled it in February as its notorius for sheet ice and I remember a foreign couple getting stranded in a VW Camper years ago and having to be airlifted out of the pass as it was impossible to get any rescue vehicles near them! With a temp of 8C I knew it would be safe this time

I set off shortly after 7.30am and took the roller coaster back road from Glenmavis down to Cumbernauld, what a road to start my ride onAt Cumbernauld I took the road down into Croy and just before Kilsyth I turned on to the quieter back road towards Twechar which runs right alongside the Forth and Clyde Canal.

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Eventually the road takes you into Kirkintilloch where I turned north for Milton of Campsie and then northwest to Lennoxtown in the foothills of the Campsie Hills, stopping at Whitefield Pond for a couple of photos and it was looking very nice in the morning sun.

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From here I took the main road to Strathblane which was pretty quiet at this time thankfully, just before Strathblane I stopped for this photo with the Campsies lit up with the sun.

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At Strathblane I turned northwest on the main A81 towards Aberfoyle, this is an excellent road with some fast descents and luckily it wasn't busy which surprised me. The sun soon disappeared and I noticed some nasty looking rain clouds passing over the hills and soon the rain arrived, the forecast had said a 10% chance of rain it suddenly really closed in and the rain was getting heavier! As I got closer to Aberfoyle the sky started to clear again, although it didn't look great over the pass ahead...


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I arrived in Aberfoyle and it was time to start the climb over the Dukes Pass, my summit software reported a climb of 2.5 miles with an average gradient of 5.7%. The start of the climb is very steep and has quite a few switchbacks, thankfully the rain was holding off on the way up and as I crested the steep part of the climb the road flattens for a bit. I stopped here to change to my second battery with 40 miles covered, I started with my original battery which is almost 6 years old now and still doing a good job.

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A little further up the pass.

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I reached the summit and had Loch Drunkie in view.

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I was now looking forward to the descent, its very twisty and the road was wet so I had to keep my speed down but it was still a blast I stopped further down for some photos looking across Loch Achray with the impressive holiday apartments and cottages of Tigh Mor in the background.

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I continued round Loch Achray towards Brig o' Turk, the loch is well sheltered here by the hills and was looking so nice with the calm water.

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This is looking back across the loch at the Dukes Pass, I was now heading due east and had the wind at my back for the first time and it was very welcome after 44 miles.

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After passing Achray Loch Venachar soon comes into view, I had to wait until I was at the far side of the loch to get some photos. Venachar is a much larger loch and the water was a bit choppy in the breezy conditions.

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Eventually the road leads to Kilmahog, just before there I stopped for these photos as I passed over the fast flowing river Garbe Uisge.

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At Kilmahog I joined the main A84 to Callander, I stopped just before the town to capture this photo of the bridge I always stop at in the middle of the town. The car park in the foreground is notorius for being flooded due to the 2 rivers merging there.

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These photos are from the bridge, the first looking west and the second looking east.

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I thought about continuing over the bridge and tackling the big climb up to Thornhill but it would have been into the wind again so I opted to continue through Callander and follow the main road to Stirling which would mean I would have a tailwind for the most part. I reached the city centre and made a wrong turn not long after passing the castle, I made the same mistake last year also I about turned and found my bearings to take the road over the Campsies at the Stirling end, now I would be back into the strong headwind pretty much all the way up the climb.

My summit software reported a 3.7 mile climb with an average gradient of only 3.2% which was utter nonsense...the profile picture tells the real story and its way more than 3.2% average. This is near the summit and its nowhere near as steep but still around 10%, I used level 3 assist all the way up and was relieved to reach the top.
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This is looking back down from the summit, it would have been fun going down that today with a strong tailwind.

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Loch Coulter was to my left at the summit.

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Now it was time to enjoy the descent, the road is pretty rough though so I had to be careful. I stopped for this photo looking across the River Carron where I would be riding a short time later on the road down into Denny. This is the road I use regularly when passing the Carron Valley Reservoir. I changed to my 3rd battery here with almost 80 miles covered.

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This is on the other side of the river.

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I now had an awesome 6 mile descent with the strong wind at my back again, it was just sublime I was flying along and hit 40.3 mph down into Stoneywood, after reaching Denny I took the road to Bonnybridge and passed over the canal.

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From here I took my usual back road to Falkirk and as i started down the big descent before the climb up to Slamannan, my gears wouldn't shift past 4th...I now regret recently mentioning the gearshift problems I had on my carbon road bike back in 2012! Its time to change my rear gear cable, it was shifting down fine but just wouldn't pass 4th gear going up the gears. I only had 12 miles to go and it was mostly uphill anyway so I just freewheeled down the descents so it wasn't really a problem.

I arrived home with a big smile on my face after a truly brilliant ride, I did get a little more rain here and there but nothing nasty and arrived home dry. My bike was absolutely filthy so it got a real scrub and is looking pristine again, I will renew the gear cable tomorrow probably but looking at the forecast for the rest of the week the bike will be going nowhere...

More stellar riding from mile meister....and those vistas? Nuff said.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I need to start planning my routes around god good places to eat!

With desserts like that are you sure its your legs that “have lost their form”

It was one of my cycling buddies who said "I actually do hate riding but I do ride a lot to be excused for eating dem kookiez"
Honestly, I put on weight significantly this winter! Cannot wait for fair weather to go down with 10 kg!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Chargeride: Just watched your fantastic Anglesey ride video on YouTube!
Keep on the good work!

 

[RabH]

I started the ride malnourished, and had a small breakfast only at a service station 12 km away.

Stefan, that's part of your problem right there! Breakfast is very important before your ride and thank you for your kind words

I forgot to mention an absolute idiot draughting behind a motorised scooter on a road bike, his front wheel was about 6 inches from the rear of the scooter and it was on a main road I'm pretty sure they were mates...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Funny Information

Next week, my cousin is taking me in his car to Puławy (Land of Lublin) so that I can do a 3-day large training session for an industrial client. I asked him to take my Vado SL with him as well. Why should I need an e-bike there?

The customer has requested me to start the training session at 7 am every day. A good hotel nearby is serving breakfasts at... 7 am! Having an e-bike with me, I will be able to ride to a service station for breakfasts. And... the 4 km route (12 min ride) from the hotel to the manufacturing plant is a perfect bike path! (Many workers commute by bike). Yes, I will be admitted to the plant with my bike if I wear a reflective vest and a helmet

What's even better, the 3 days I'm staying in Puławy are forecast to be sunny and pretty warm! How lucky I am!

Hopefully, I could take some pictures from my rides and show them here.

The river as seen in the map is the Vistula.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Centimetre Too High...

The reason for my fatigue on last Sunday 86 km ride has been explained. It turned out that in my stupidity (and I don't know why!) I had raised my saddle by.... one centimetre (0.4")

That foolish centimetre made me pedal so inefficiently that already after 30 km I felt my leg muscles as if they were made of cotton wool (I have already corrected it).
I now think that when I rented the Specialized Diverge EVO gravel bike for testing last Summer, the saddle was even 1.5 cm too high, (and I didn't have the tools with me to correct it). After about 34 km I was crying from fatigue....

The saddle height is very important. A centimetre too low or too high might turn your pleasant ride into a nightmare!

 

[RabH]

A bit of a bonus ride today, the forecast wasn't looking great but when I looked out of the window the sky was looking promising so I went with my gut and set off at 9.15am. It was a chilly morning, around 4C and a 20mph westerly wind was blowing which was making things feel pretty cold. I was really feeling the chill so I decided to start my ride off with a big climb to warm me up, surprisingly my legs were feeling good after Mondays big ride. I had 2 lazy days to recover though and shot up the climb with gusto and it sure warmed me up nicely, the climb started at Plains and took me up past the Blackhill transmitters.

As you can see the sky was pretty clear despite the forecast, this is looking west towards Roughrigg Reservoir.

The road was soaking wet after heavy overnight rain but my mudguards are excellent so not a problem. The road brings you out at Kirk of Shotts where I turned east and enjoyed the 20mph tailwind up the climb before hurtling down the descent into Harthill at 41.3mph, that sure was a blast After passing through Harthill I took the excellent cycle path at Greenrigg and headed for Whitburn, there I used the new cycle path towards Bathgate where I turned north and took the big climb up to Cairnpapple hill at 1000ft.

I had remembered taking this road recently when it was crazy windy and I knew it would be way more fun today with the lighter winds. Its a tough old climb and keeps going and going all the way up to Cairnpapple, there is a flat part for a short time after the initial 16% climb. Then there's this beast...I usually shoot down this in the opposite direction at over 40mph...

My gps was showing over 18% despite Ridewithgps saying the max grade was 15.1%, at least this was the last part of the climb and the views at the top are well worth the effort!

The Forth brdiges could be seen today, its not often you can see them from up here...

Now it was time to descend the corkscrew, what a piece of road this is

Thankfully the climb at the other side isn't too difficult, at the end of the road I took a right turn which takes you past Beecraigs Country Park and with that wind at my back and a lovely descent it was just amazing The best part is the descent continues right down into Linlithgow and you get a nice view of the Ochill hills on the way down

I reached the bottom of the first part of the descent and grabbed this photo looking back up the hill before continuing down the descent into town.

The road here has speed humps all the way down and its probably for the best as it would be easy to hit 40mph all the way down...

I stopped part way down for this photo, somebody wealthy lives here for sure

At the bottom I turned left to avoid the busy road through town and it took me out near Linlithgow Bridge where I turned into the wind again and headed west towards Whitecross and up through Standburn, a proper rollercoaster road that is way more fun in the opposite direction but still a lot of fun even into a 20mph wind! I reached the top of the final climb and turned south to take the quiet back road to Avonbridge, another amazing road with many descents and twists and turns.

This is the first descent which is very fast and super smooth.

Further down its a bit rough in parts but still a lot of fun, the road runs alongside the Bowhouse Burn which is flowing like a river at the moment!

I arrived in Avonbridge and took the road towards Limerigg but I turned off to take the back road into Slamannan, another awesome road.

There are so many farms along this road.

I stopped before the next big climb for more photos.

Its not too difficult a climb but into a 20mph headwind it takes a fair bit of effort!

The surrounding views are excellent around this part.

Near the top of the climb here, looking back down the hill.

I arrived in Slamannan soon after this and continued right through the village towards Greengairs, as I was approaching the village I noticed my distance was just over 40 miles so I turned off the main road and took the back road down towards Luggiebank and continued along the back roads to take the climb up to Glenmavis, the one I was flying down last Monday As I started the climb I could feel some rain in the air for the first time but it wasn't heavy thankfully, but as I reached Glenmavis with only a few miles to go I got battered with hailstones Man they were painful, as I arrived in my home town the sun came back out and it was lovely for the last mile. I don't think I can call it a recovery ride with over 4000ft of climbing but what a ride once again

It was good to have all my gears at my disposal again, just as I thought the inner cable was frayed at the shifter and luckily this time it was easy to remove. Unlike the last time when it was a real pain as it had become wound up in the mechanism and I had to painstakingly remove it with tweezers...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My gps was showing over 18% despite Ridewithgps saying the max grade was 15.1%

What could be the cogs F/R you were in there?

 

[RabH]

What could be the cogs F/R you were in there?

50/28 as I was using level 4 assist lol