Chargeride
Well-Known Member
I'm so sorry for that loss, he featured in so many of your ride posts, fit and sharp right to the end would be my hope, of course many would say I'm lacking in both already
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RIP Jerzy
![Face with tears of joy :joy: 😂](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/7.0/png/unicode/64/1f602.png)
RIP Jerzy
Sorry to hear of the loss of your good friend. Sounds like he enjoyed life to its fullest right up to the last day. Despite losing track of your group, it appeared that you had a decent ride and were able to sample its sweet rewards.1st of May: The International Workers' Day
May 1st is celebrated in Poland as the Labour Day since the Communist times. Poland is very specific about that as the holiday is followed by May 3rd, the Constitution 1791 Day. That makes many people take the whole week off! Unlike other big holidays (when everything is closed), the May Holidays mean all businesses related to leisure (i.a., cafes and restaurants) are working! A man from a cycling group had invited people for a Metric Century group ride in the Bolimów Landscape Park for May 1st. I arrived in Sucha Żyrardowska by a train literally swarmed by cyclists!
To make a long story short: A group of three was a train stop behind me (I told them I would not ride the rough terrain from Żyrardów where they started). I also was riding faster than they (Vado 6.0, very well prepared for gravel rides). The people in the group ignored my messages, missed me, and eventually we only shortly met near to the end of my ride. You cannot imagine how irritated I got when I saw the stupid happy face of the group leader who turned my potential nice group ride into a solo effort! Good the day was just gorgeous at least!
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It was at least 26 C, it felt like a proper Summer day. There was a strong SE wind that was pleasantly cooling the body on the ride! Here, at the Bolimów Lake. A big number of cyclists were hiding from the sunshine in the trees behind me. It was one of my several stops so the group riding behind could catch up with me.
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Waiting for the group at the "nodal point", where different loops of the route were converging. My Vado 6.0 is on its way to become a proper "premium-gravel e-bike". The recent changes involved installing Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss 700x47 tyres run under low pressure.
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At the "nodal point".
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Any gravel cyclist riding through Nieborów must take a stop at the Buffina Cafe, as it is usually the most remote point on the trip. I sent a message of my wherebouts to the group: No-one cared to read the message, and they must have passed the cafe when I was not watching the road. I waited for those people for 40 minutes there to no avail! At least I could eat a lot of desserts meanwhile
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The group leader messaged me late on my ride: 'We are making a diversion to the Oberwanka Beach on River Rawka. Please wait for us'. Then I realised the lack of communication put the group far ahead of me. When I arrived in the beach, the group was just leaving the site. None of those people even managed saying 'I'm sorry for the situation'! I'm not riding with any of them in the future.
My good humour was all gone. I could have easily made a Metric Century on the day but decided to take a train home instead.
View attachment 175056
As I had to wait for the train for some 50 minutes, I consoled myself with ice-cream in the nearby Ice Land cafe
View attachment 175057
85 km for the day.
Jerzy Has Passed Away
Jerzy Bańkowski, one of the most distinctive persons I have ever known, a man extremely popular on my social media, a friend for 10 years and my cycling buddy, passed away on Friday April 26th, 2024 at age 77.
As he had gone silent on Facebook and Strava, and his phone was off, @Brix suggested I could visit our mutual friend to check the status on Monday. As I arrived at his home, a family member told me what had happened.
Jerzy swore he would be cycling on the pedal power as long as he could. The man has always kept his promises! He, for instance, accumulated as many as 10,000 km ridden in 2023! Last Friday, he finished his last 43 km ride, made a lunch and posted his last message on Facebook. As he was eating his lunch, he suddenly died. We will remember him long and well!
View attachment 175058
Jerzy on one of our numerous rides. R.I.P. Jerzy!
That SUCKS!1st of May: The International Workers' Day
May 1st is celebrated in Poland as the Labour Day since the Communist times. Poland is very specific about that as the holiday is followed by May 3rd, the Constitution 1791 Day. That makes many people take the whole week off! Unlike other big holidays (when everything is closed), the May Holidays mean all businesses related to leisure (i.a., cafes and restaurants) are working! A man from a cycling group had invited people for a Metric Century group ride in the Bolimów Landscape Park for May 1st. I arrived in Sucha Żyrardowska by a train literally swarmed by cyclists!
To make a long story short: A group of three was a train stop behind me (I told them I would not ride the rough terrain from Żyrardów where they started). I also was riding faster than they (Vado 6.0, very well prepared for gravel rides). The people in the group ignored my messages, missed me, and eventually we only shortly met near to the end of my ride. You cannot imagine how irritated I got when I saw the stupid happy face of the group leader who turned my potential nice group ride into a solo effort! Good the day was just gorgeous at least!
View attachment 175046
It was at least 26 C, it felt like a proper Summer day. There was a strong SE wind that was pleasantly cooling the body on the ride! Here, at the Bolimów Lake. A big number of cyclists were hiding from the sunshine in the trees behind me. It was one of my several stops so the group riding behind could catch up with me.
View attachment 175047
Waiting for the group at the "nodal point", where different loops of the route were converging. My Vado 6.0 is on its way to become a proper "premium-gravel e-bike". The recent changes involved installing Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss 700x47 tyres run under low pressure.
View attachment 175048
At the "nodal point".
View attachment 175049
View attachment 175050
Any gravel cyclist riding through Nieborów must take a stop at the Buffina Cafe, as it is usually the most remote point on the trip. I sent a message of my wherebouts to the group: No-one cared to read the message, and they must have passed the cafe when I was not watching the road. I waited for those people for 40 minutes there to no avail! At least I could eat a lot of desserts meanwhile
View attachment 175051
View attachment 175052
The group leader messaged me late on my ride: 'We are making a diversion to the Oberwanka Beach on River Rawka. Please wait for us'. Then I realised the lack of communication put the group far ahead of me. When I arrived in the beach, the group was just leaving the site. None of those people even managed saying 'I'm sorry for the situation'! I'm not riding with any of them in the future.
My good humour was all gone. I could have easily made a Metric Century on the day but decided to take a train home instead.
View attachment 175056
As I had to wait for the train for some 50 minutes, I consoled myself with ice-cream in the nearby Ice Land cafe
View attachment 175057
85 km for the day.
Jerzy Has Passed Away
Jerzy Bańkowski, one of the most distinctive persons I have ever known, a man extremely popular on my social media, a friend for 10 years and my cycling buddy, passed away on Friday April 26th, 2024 at age 77.
As he had gone silent on Facebook and Strava, and his phone was off, @Brix suggested I could visit our mutual friend to check the status on Monday. As I arrived at his home, a family member told me what had happened.
Jerzy swore he would be cycling on the pedal power as long as he could. The man has always kept his promises! He, for instance, accumulated as many as 10,000 km ridden in 2023! Last Friday, he finished his last 43 km ride, made a lunch and posted his last message on Facebook. As he was eating his lunch, he suddenly died. We will remember him long and well!
View attachment 175058
Jerzy on one of our numerous rides. R.I.P. Jerzy!
Sorry to hear about your friend's passing.1st of May: The International Workers' Day
May 1st is celebrated in Poland as the Labour Day since the Communist times. Poland is very specific about that as the holiday is followed by May 3rd, the Constitution 1791 Day. That makes many people take the whole week off! Unlike other big holidays (when everything is closed), the May Holidays mean all businesses related to leisure (i.a., cafes and restaurants) are working! A man from a cycling group had invited people for a Metric Century group ride in the Bolimów Landscape Park for May 1st. I arrived in Sucha Żyrardowska by a train literally swarmed by cyclists!
To make a long story short: A group of three was a train stop behind me (I told them I would not ride the rough terrain from Żyrardów where they started). I also was riding faster than they (Vado 6.0, very well prepared for gravel rides). The people in the group ignored my messages, missed me, and eventually we only shortly met near to the end of my ride. You cannot imagine how irritated I got when I saw the stupid happy face of the group leader who turned my potential nice group ride into a solo effort! Good the day was just gorgeous at least!
View attachment 175046
It was at least 26 C, it felt like a proper Summer day. There was a strong SE wind that was pleasantly cooling the body on the ride! Here, at the Bolimów Lake. A big number of cyclists were hiding from the sunshine in the trees behind me. It was one of my several stops so the group riding behind could catch up with me.
View attachment 175047
Waiting for the group at the "nodal point", where different loops of the route were converging. My Vado 6.0 is on its way to become a proper "premium-gravel e-bike". The recent changes involved installing Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss 700x47 tyres run under low pressure.
View attachment 175048
At the "nodal point".
View attachment 175049
View attachment 175050
Any gravel cyclist riding through Nieborów must take a stop at the Buffina Cafe, as it is usually the most remote point on the trip. I sent a message of my wherebouts to the group: No-one cared to read the message, and they must have passed the cafe when I was not watching the road. I waited for those people for 40 minutes there to no avail! At least I could eat a lot of desserts meanwhile
View attachment 175051
View attachment 175052
The group leader messaged me late on my ride: 'We are making a diversion to the Oberwanka Beach on River Rawka. Please wait for us'. Then I realised the lack of communication put the group far ahead of me. When I arrived in the beach, the group was just leaving the site. None of those people even managed saying 'I'm sorry for the situation'! I'm not riding with any of them in the future.
My good humour was all gone. I could have easily made a Metric Century on the day but decided to take a train home instead.
View attachment 175056
As I had to wait for the train for some 50 minutes, I consoled myself with ice-cream in the nearby Ice Land cafe
View attachment 175057
85 km for the day.
Jerzy Has Passed Away
Jerzy Bańkowski, one of the most distinctive persons I have ever known, a man extremely popular on my social media, a friend for 10 years and my cycling buddy, passed away on Friday April 26th, 2024 at age 77.
As he had gone silent on Facebook and Strava, and his phone was off, @Brix suggested I could visit our mutual friend to check the status on Monday. As I arrived at his home, a family member told me what had happened.
Jerzy swore he would be cycling on the pedal power as long as he could. The man has always kept his promises! He, for instance, accumulated as many as 10,000 km ridden in 2023! Last Friday, he finished his last 43 km ride, made a lunch and posted his last message on Facebook. As he was eating his lunch, he suddenly died. We will remember him long and well!
View attachment 175058
Jerzy on one of our numerous rides. R.I.P. Jerzy!
Quite interestingly, there are so many people saying 'I have never actually met Jerzy in person but I feel I knew him well from his posts and your ride reports'. Today, I rode to my brother for the Vado crankset replacement, and to test several Kampinos National Park roads. Jacek said the same of Jerzy as I quoted above!Sorry to hear that, Stefan. I’ve been reading about and seeing your pics of this guy for quite some time now. Sounds like he went out properly though, if maybe a teeny bit early.
Likewise
Jerzy was your cycling friend. You posted photos of you and him on your ride reports. I specifically remember the photos when both of you rode to a famous bridge in Warsaw. There were islands forming on river bed.
I said those are alluvial.
He doesn't like to wear helmet.
Rip. Jerzey.
Every spring around this time, we ride out to the historic city of Lacombe, AB which is widely known for its rich heritage and culture. Landmarks such as the Flatiron building, Michener house, the Lacombe Blacksmith Shop and the many colorful murals are permanent highlights for this thriving city.
There are a number of routes that one can choose to get there but the most logical choice would be the Trans Canada corridor which for many begins along the scenic Red Deer to Blackfalds connector. Instead of an out and back we decide do a loop around the rural roads and back towards the town of Joffre. We both started out with 90% charge on the Creo batteries and completed our ride with 72% remaining. We both used PAS sparingly and only on assents where we felt it necessary to do so particularly on the last leg of the ride.
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Starting out along the tree lined connector to Blackfalds. There really is no signage indicating direction of the TC Trail so one must either be familiar with the route or use the online interactive map.
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Clang! Clang! We bolted over this rail crossing just in the nick of time before the guard rail came down.
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This would be our first powered road ride of the season. It sure was a treat and pretty plush compared to the training wheels that we’re accustomed to riding week in and out but nevertheless these still remain fast rolling bikes even without PAS. They’ll be called into duty over the course of the riding season.
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Picturesque Blindman River.
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Is that a
We spotted this garter snake sunning itself in the middle of the warm pebbled pathway. It was just large enough that we couldn’t avoid not seeing it. It wasn’t long before it slithered
A second footbridge further along the trail and yet another a restful spot to ponder the day’s events.
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A quick descent along this township road was all that remained to reach the outskirts of Lacombe.
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Arriving on main street we stopped in for a shot of java at the Ona Café and Bakery and took in a bench view of the iconic Flat Iron which is likely the highlight of the city’s center and the oldest of its kind in the province. The café wasn’t too shabby either and this likely reflected in the primo price of our lattes. It’s one of several chic joints that have popped up over the past couple of years that seem to have adapted well to the town folks.
. What a great trip and the weather conditions were sublime. It was especially gratifying to have a tailwind coming home which doesn't occur frequently.
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That Grizl is one good looking allrounder and I really like those integrated taillights. She sports an older Varia RVR315 which is mounted on the saddle rails of her Creo. The Cygolite Hot Shot on the seat stay is still quite visible though I don’t think it holds a candle to her Cannondale. Her CD Synapse RL2 is equipped with the Smartsense system with radar, front and rear lights is much easier to maintain with only one battery pack to charge.Looks like it was a great ride!
Does Sai always ride with her taillight on the seatstay like that?
I've been daydreaming lately about the Canyon Grizl:ON which has built in lights down at the bottom of the seatstays.
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