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

[JGcycle]

A few pics from today's 21km ride:

 

[RabH]

I planned a route last night to allow for the 20mph+ SE winds today, I wanted to do Kirknewton but didn't want to take the busy A71 on a week day! So I came up with a route that worked perfectly, only the wind didn't play ball though! I set off around 9.15am and headed east into the wind, using as many back roads as possible out to Armadale where I used the cycle paths for a good few miles out to Uphall! I then turned south passing through Pumpherston and East Calder, it turned out to be a great choice on a road I had never used before! Way more fun than the awful A71...

At East Calder I saw a sign for Kirknewton but I decided to continue east to Wilkieston before turning SW for Kirknewton where I joined the cracking A70 where I thought I would have the wind at my back! Well the wind decided to switch to a southerly which meant I would be riding into the 20mph+ wind for 44 miles now! My first battery had to be changed at 33 miles which was no surprise really! To compound matters the sun decided to hide behind some clouds for a while and the temp dropped dramatically! The A70 starts at around 300ft at Kirknewton and climbs up to over 1100ft so I had to climb over 800ft into that wind...it was brutal and sure gave me a workout in level 2 assistance!

The A70 while the sun was still shining!

The Pentland Hills to the south!

The climb up to Harperrig Reservoir!

Looking back down, this road is sure needing some work but its fine for the bike..

The reservoir before the clouds moved in...

At the far end of the reservoir now!

I battled on into the wind and I was intending to go to Carnwath and take the road to Carluke but a few miles from Carnwath I decided to head north for Auchengray and have that wind at my back finally!

A few more photos from the A70 before truning north!

The last of the climbs before some welcome descending!

The view to the north!

This is usually the most fun descent on this road but the wind was brutal here today and I struggled to hit 25mph!

That was the last of my photos, it was time to get my head down and keep warm by cycling hard! The road to Auchengray is so much fun and with the wind at my back it was just incredible today, just before the village I turned SW and passed over the railway line and reached a road that is sheltered from the wind! Eventually I came out at the main road from Braehead to Carnwath and took the back road to Yieldshields! Another fun road with little to no traffic except for the odd tractor! At Yieldshields I could have taken the back road to Carluke but my bike was spotless so I decided to give the back road a miss as its a bit rough and doesn't get any sun and would almost certainly be a mess in parts...

So I enjoyed the fast descent down into Carluke and headed through the town before turning north again to take the back roads to Allanton, I knew I would have the wind at my back all the way home now so my second battery was doing well thankfully! At Allanton I headed for Bonkle and then tackled the big climb up to Hareshaw where I found my favourite back road closed, so I headed down into Cleland and joined the main road for home which was getting rather busy now! Luckily I wasn't on the main road for long as I turned off on to the back roads to Hareshaw again, I would have been gutted if this road was closed also but thankfully it was open! Its a bit of a climb but much more fun with no traffic, at the top of the climb I saw the road closure to my right but I was going left to Hareshaw!

From Hareshaw I joined the road to Newhouse, where I took the cycle path and passed all the stationary traffic at the roundabout! That put a smile on my face! Then it was down the awesome descent into Chapelhall and a straight road home, arriving in my home town with a big line of cars on the main road through town due to roadworks! Once again I took to the paths and shot past all the cars and climbed the final hill feeling pleased but very tired after a hard ride! Another awesome ride despite that brutal wind, I sure got a workout today!

@Saratoga Dave The exclamatiion marks are back mate... Dave was a bit disappointed with my full stops in my recent posts!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Saratoga Dave The exclamatiion marks are back mate... Dave was a bit disappointed with my full stops in my recent posts!

 

[Art Deco]

View attachment 172236

I planned a route last night to allow for the 20mph+ SE winds today, I wanted to do Kirknewton but didn't want to take the busy A71 on a week day! So I came up with a route that worked perfectly, only the wind didn't play ball though! I set off around 9.15am and headed east into the wind, using as many back roads as possible out to Armadale where I used the cycle paths for a good few miles out to Uphall! I then turned south passing through Pumpherston and East Calder, it turned out to be a great choice on a road I had never used before! Way more fun than the awful A71...

At East Calder I saw a sign for Kirknewton but I decided to continue east to Wilkieston before turning SW for Kirknewton where I joined the cracking A70 where I thought I would have the wind at my back! Well the wind decided to switch to a southerly which meant I would be riding into the 20mph+ wind for 44 miles now! My first battery had to be changed at 33 miles which was no surprise really! To compound matters the sun decided to hide behind some clouds for a while and the temp dropped dramatically! The A70 starts at around 300ft at Kirknewton and climbs up to over 1100ft so I had to climb over 800ft into that wind...it was brutal and sure gave me a workout in level 2 assistance!

The A70 while the sun was still shining!

View attachment 172241The Pentland Hills to the south!

View attachment 172242The climb up to Harperrig Reservoir!

View attachment 172243Looking back down, this road is sure needing some work but its fine for the bike..

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The reservoir before the clouds moved in...

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At the far end of the reservoir now!

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I battled on into the wind and I was intending to go to Carnwath and take the road to Carluke but a few miles from Carnwath I decided to head north for Auchengray and have that wind at my back finally!

A few more photos from the A70 before truning north!

View attachment 172251
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The last of the climbs before some welcome descending!

View attachment 172254
The view to the north!

View attachment 172255
This is usually the most fun descent on this road but the wind was brutal here today and I struggled to hit 25mph!

View attachment 172256
That was the last of my photos, it was time to get my head down and keep warm by cycling hard! The road to Auchengray is so much fun and with the wind at my back it was just incredible today, just before the village I turned SW and passed over the railway line and reached a road that is sheltered from the wind! Eventually I came out at the main road from Braehead to Carnwath and took the back road to Yieldshields! Another fun road with little to no traffic except for the odd tractor! At Yieldshields I could have taken the back road to Carluke but my bike was spotless so I decided to give the back road a miss as its a bit rough and doesn't get any sun and would almost certainly be a mess in parts...

So I enjoyed the fast descent down into Carluke and headed through the town before turning north again to take the back roads to Allanton, I knew I would have the wind at my back all the way home now so my second battery was doing well thankfully! At Allanton I headed for Bonkle and then tackled the big climb up to Hareshaw where I found my favourite back road closed, so I headed down into Cleland and joined the main road for home which was getting rather busy now! Luckily I wasn't on the main road for long as I turned off on to the back roads to Hareshaw again, I would have been gutted if this road was closed also but thankfully it was open! Its a bit of a climb but much more fun with no traffic, at the top of the climb I saw the road closure to my right but I was going left to Hareshaw!

From Hareshaw I joined the road to Newhouse, where I took the cycle path and passed all the stationary traffic at the roundabout! That put a smile on my face! Then it was down the awesome descent into Chapelhall and a straight road home, arriving in my home town with a big line of cars on the main road through town due to roadworks! Once again I took to the paths and shot past all the cars and climbed the final hill feeling pleased but very tired after a hard ride! Another awesome ride despite that brutal wind, I sure got a workout today!

@Saratoga Dave The exclamatiion marks are back mate... Dave was a bit disappointed with my full stops in my recent posts!

In truth, most of your reports deserve the exclamation points.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

See? All is right in the world again!

 

[Art Deco]

See? All is right in the world again!

Well, not everything, but enough. Spring alone is a lot...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A person very important to me has got so interested by my constant talking on e-bikes that he eventually visited a Specialized store in Oslo Norway to do some demo rides.

• Turbo Levo: No comment. I think my man disliked the e-MTB for the urban environment purposes
• He loved the feel of Turbo Vado!
• He liked the light weight of Turbo Vado SL, and confirmed he could climb a quite steep hill on the SL despite a pretty steep climb grade!

Not sure if he eventually buys a Specialized as he hates spending a lot of money on that kind of "toy" but he certainly has appreciated the Specialized quality. I'm glad he eventually did not buy an e-bike of another brand last Autumn!

I also learned from him the Oslo police are very serious about e-bikes and often do routine checks to find and eliminate speed-limiter tampered or illegal e-bikes.

 

[Chargeride]

The French don't mess about either, they will throw le book at you for even destretricting a legal ebike.

 

[jason.flood]

Wow! I disappear from the radar for one week and soo many updates - and another 500 miles from @RabH
Glad your bike is OK @Stefan Mikes

I've getting jealous of everyones phots where is looks like spring is arriving. I've been working such long hours of the last two weeks I've blearily had time to see outside what the weather is like apart from my 5K short commutes in the morning and night.

I am on holiday in the French Alps from tomorrow so now cycling for a whole week!! But there will be a lot of sliding and full-fat beer
I will post from very impressive VAM stats from the comfort of a chair lift to give you a target @RabH

However, I am really looking forward to testing out my (finally arrived after 10weeks) 650b wheels + 1.9in gravel King tyres (a la Mrs @e-levity 's bike ) very soon for some (more comfortable) off road fun!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've getting jealous of everyones phots where is looks like spring is arriving.

We had an exceptionally frosty day today. I think real Spring is still far away from us here.

Glad your bike is OK @Stefan Mikes

The new crank arm has come to the LBS today. I'm riding tomorrow to have the arm replaced. I'm replacing the 10-speed drivetrain with a 11-speed 11-51T one the coming week.

I am on holiday in the French Alps from tomorrow so now cycling for a whole week!!

What bike would you be riding there? Jealous!

However, I am really looking forward to testing out my (finally arrived after 10weeks) 650b wheels + 1.9in gravel King tyres (a la Mrs @e-levity 's bike ) very soon for some (more comfortable) off road fun!

Interesting! Myself, I am very happy with the proper 700x38c Pathfinders Pro 2 Bliss. My intention is to convert my wheels to tubeless before the races that are starting in May!

 

[jason.flood]

We had an exceptionally frosty day today. I think real Spring is still far away from us here.

The new crank arm has come to the LBS today. I'm riding tomorrow to have the arm replaced. I'm replacing the 10-speed drivetrain with a 11-speed 11-51T one the coming week.

What bike would you be riding there? Jealous!


Interesting! Myself, I am very happy with the proper 700x38c Pathfinders Pro 2 Bliss. My intention is to convert my wheels to tubeless before the races that are starting in May!

That was suppose to say "... so no cycling for a whole week..." what a difference one little 'w' can make
.
I will be skiing/boarding so any impressive ascent/descent stats will be fakery.

I think when my stock Nimbus tyres wear out I will try some of these "mythical "Pathfinder pros on the 700 rims too. My new wheel set is setup tubeless so looking forward to a less jarring ride off road with lower pressures. Will be my first experience riding tubeless. I will be completely clueless if anything goes wrong

was it 60 buck for both left and right crank arms or just one side?

I had a sneaky peek at the praxis site. They make the custom cranks for the 2022 vado 5.0 SL. They also make them in carbon! - not sure I can justify 300 bucks though.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

was it 60 buck for both left and right crank arms or just one side?

The matter is not that simple. I could get a complete L + R set from a German online store for some 70 euros. However, Specialized charge about 48 pounds for a single arm if delivered from the Swiss headquarters to a Warsaw LBS... Still, I like that LBS and don't mind the lovely people there get several zloties of earning Plus, a nice 60+ km e-bike ride as a bonus!

That was suppose to say "... so no cycling for a whole week..." what a difference one little 'w' can make

Hahaha!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Well, let's just say that we got off to a roaring start. That’s what it felt like as we ushered in the month of March with wind chill values of -20C and what seemed like an endless amount of snow. It’s been a dreadful two weeks since I was last out on the bike and logging time on the indoor trainer doesn’t do a thing for me. That being said, it finally looks like there's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Riding outside will definitely make the time go by as opposed to staring at a screen. Today’s 2-hour outing in sometimes heavy snow was a good workout and the warm and sunny conditions made for an enjoyable ride. My desire to start road riding by the end of the month seems like fanciful dream but I remain optimistic.

Short clip from today’s ride.

 

[jason.flood]

Well, let's just say that we got off to a roaring start. That’s what it felt like as we ushered in the month of March with wind chill values of -20C and what seemed like an endless amount of snow. It’s been a dreadful two weeks since I was last out on the bike and logging time on the indoor trainer doesn’t do a thing for me. That being said, it finally looks like there's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Riding outside will definitely make the time go by as opposed to staring at a screen. Today’s 2-hour outing in sometimes heavy snow was a good workout and the warm and sunny conditions made for an enjoyable ride. My desire to start road riding by the end of the month seems like fanciful dream but I remain optimistic.

Short clip from today’s ride.

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Some great footage there. Are you using multiple insta 360 cameras for shots from behind/side vs from the front looking back at you?

 

[Prairie Dog]

Some great footage there. Are you using multiple insta 360 cameras for shots from behind/side vs from the front looking back at you?

I use a RAM Toughclaw clamp and ball attachments for both GoPro and Insta 360 applications. On today’s ride, I clamped the X3 on to the seatpost as well as the front bar using an 11" CF extender and a Ulanzi quick release mount. My main camera lost power minutes into the ride so I had to rely solely on the X3 which is why the video was shorter than usual.

 

[RabH]

Well, let's just say that we got off to a roaring start. That’s what it felt like as we ushered in the month of March with wind chill values of -20C and what seemed like an endless amount of snow. It’s been a dreadful two weeks since I was last out on the bike and logging time on the indoor trainer doesn’t do a thing for me. That being said, it finally looks like there's a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Riding outside will definitely make the time go by as opposed to staring at a screen. Today’s 2-hour outing in sometimes heavy snow was a good workout and the warm and sunny conditions made for an enjoyable ride. My desire to start road riding by the end of the month seems like fanciful dream but I remain optimistic.

Short clip from today’s ride.

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I can hurtle down mountains at 50mph with no fear but riding on ice is a whole different level of bravery...not for me! Awesome camerawork PD, I hope you can get out on the roads soon buddy!

 

[Prairie Dog]

I can hurtle down mountains at 50mph with no fear but riding on ice is a whole different level of bravery...not for me! Awesome camerawork PD, I hope you can get out on the roads soon buddy!

I think that you would be pleasantly surprised how much grip the studs possess. One just has to be a bit cautious when it comes to weaving your way around toddlers. j/k That small rink is on my way toward the trails so I’m inclined to take a lap or two if there isn’t anyone else around. It’s too tempting to pass up but it also won’t be long before it becomes just another huge puddle.

It might be some time before the roads here will be clear of snow and ice so in the interim I’ll be content with viewing images of your countryside’s clear blue lochs, lush hills, glens, rivers, mist shrouded lowlands, mountains……..

 

[Nvreloader]

Hey PD
How many critters do you see on your trail rides? Seeing that critters always take the path of resistance, that bike path would be a super Hiways for them. I know that you have Moose and Deer around there, any wolves or those big pretty kitty's, Pine Martens etc. Thanks Don

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Hey PD
How many critters do you see on your trail rides? Seeing that critters always take the path of resistance, that bike path would be a super Hiways for them. I know that you have Moose and Deer around there, any wolves or those big pretty kitty's, Pine Martens etc. Thanks Don

You mean besides these?

Trailside sign posted by @Prairie Dog last winter.

 

[Nvreloader]

I'll be sure to have the front, back and helmet camera's running,
while I am beat feeting outa there.........Lol