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

[Watana Bob]

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I caught a break in the weather today, despite a dismal looking forecast which was showing rain pretty much all afternoon! I had things to do in the morning and of course the weather was lovely then...I was resigned to staying indoors but I had a look out of my window in the direction of the wind and decided to take a chance and it paid off! The wind was very blustery from the SW, with gusts around 30mph at times and luckily it played a part in making my ride one to remember!

I headed south to Carluke, using mainly back roads and I was keeping an eye on the rain clouds in the distance all the time! From Carluke I took the back road to Yieldshields and had the wind at my back for a while, it was really blowing and I was flying along! I wasn't going to take any photos but things really brightened up so I changed my mind, this was looking south towards the Pentland Hills!

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The road up to Braehead but I wasn't climbing this one today!

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I was enjoying that wind at my back so I took the back road towards Auchengray to take full adavantage of it and soon had another view of the Pentlands!

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I was going up this hill at almost 20mph with the wind at my back!

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All the way along this road you get nice views to the south!

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Then I had this brilliant descent with the wind really pushing me on, I knew eventually I would have to battle into it but I was loving it at this point!

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The descent continues around the bend before the climb up to Auchengray starts just around the bend at the railway crossing, it was crosswind time for this climb!

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At Auchengray I had the wind at my back again and some lovely views to the north!

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Some nasty clouds also but it remained dry thankfully!

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I stopped for a snack and grabbed more photos while it was still dry!

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Soon I would be heading in the direction of these clouds and fearing I would get a soaking at some point!

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I continued towards Woolfords and started the big climb but the wind was helping me here! Soon I would have some big descents but would also have a crosswind to contend with so I had to be careful, but it turned out to be my lucky day as the wind changed to almost a direct southerly and I shot down the descents like a bat out of hell! At the end of the road I turned east towards West Calder to take the road to Stoneyburn as its very well sheltered by trees so the wind was negated all the way to Longridge!

Then I had the big climb up through Longridge with the wind at my back so it was a breeze so to speak! Then I had the fast descent down into Whitburn where I took the cycle path up the climb into Armadale!

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The path joins another cycle path that keeps you away from the traffic through Armadale and then joins the back road to Blackridge, as I neared the village some black clouds appeared overhead and I felt some spits of rain for the first time! It didn't last though as the wind blew the clouds away very quickly! I had covered 46 miles at this point and had around 10 to go, its pretty much a straight road west from there to home! I used the back roads at Plains to avoid the busy traffic through my home town as it was approaching the evening rush hour! It turned out to be a totally dry ride and a very enjoyable one, sometimes gusty winds can make a ride better and that was the case today!

@theloafer Wishing you all the best with your treatment, my older brother has been fighting cancer and restarted chemo last Friday after a 9 month break! He ended up in hospital over the weekend with a racing heart and gave us quite a scare! Thankfully he is home again and recovering, my heart goes out to everybody that has to go through this!

Rab, for all the riding you do you always manage to show us something new. Kudos for a great job recording your rides, I really enjoy reading and viewing your adventures.

 

[JGcycle]

A few pics from this morning's 34km ride:

 

[Chargeride]

Just arrived in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Very trendy, full of cool surf bars, live music beachfront beer gardens.

Theres a shop that sells nothing but Santa Cruz tshirts.

Going for a ride down the beach at 6am.

 

[dodgeman]

My wife and I did 20 miles this morning. Nice weather, temps in the high 70’s and lower humidity. A picture of one of the roads we were on.

 

[Chargeride]

Thats a lot of Mikes, but there is a seperate swingers forum section

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thats a lot of Mikes, but there is a seperate swingers forum section

You and your banter!

 

[Chargeride]

This the 8th August in Wales, its that wet I forgot where I was.

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This video is unavailable.

streamable.com

 

[Prairie Dog]

Yesterday morning our trio rode a full complement of local singles totaling 31km starting out at the Gnome and finishing up at Heritage Ranch. We even crossed paths with some equestrian enthusiasts. Trails were in awesome condition making for fun, expeditious runs.

Beaver logjam.

Proper trail etiquette.

A new rider to the group showing off his GX tranny equipped do-it-all Transition Repeater powered by an EP8. Giddyup.

 

[Chargeride]

Ha beavers!

 

[Chargeride]

Had a good day after the rain dropped for a bit.
Tenby just down the coast, quite busy but rhe beaches were empty.

Its a walled town mostly in good nick, built in 1245 and repaired in 1400, the castle is a ruin but looks good.

Let the missus on the bike.

Now regret her knowing how much it assists.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Changes, changes...

Meanwhile, I got a new laptop, new photography software (Adobe Lightroom and ON1 Effects), and a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra smartphone (with good RAW DNG capabilities). As the latter has new cameras (the ones on my old S21 got somewhat damaged), now I'll be able to show a way better photos from my rides!

Saturday means a ride with a small private group in the area of Rivers Liwiec and Bug (NE of Warsaw). A friend is inviting us to his holiday hideout, barbecue etc We still experience warm and dry weather, with some raining mid last week!

S24U together with photographic software look to be good things!

 

[Chargeride]

Very nice, thats not exactly a quick glance watch, er..its, 122 past 14.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Today’s 41km ride would involve the missus and I taking a different route as a section of road that we normally ride was undergoing major repairs. It now appears that we may not have access to that road until sometime next month.

We decided instead on a route that would take us a bit further east, would involve more climbing but also leave us open to stretches of busy traffic along two highway corridors, 11 and 808. The ride was quite gusty with a stern SE wind blowing against us most of the way.

Exiting Hwy 11 and heading up the hill along 808.

Sai tames the climb as she approaches the crest.

This section of 808 is a short but also affords excellent views of the river valley, striking fields of wheat as well as the highway in the distance that ultimately leads to the tiny hamlet of Joffre.

Further along, more vistas of the prairie landscape. Harvest time has come early for some as many plants have already matured.

A convenient stopover along 808 for anyone overcome with hunger pangs. Shack-eh-licious has become a favourite hangout for those who crave great burgers, shakes, and yummy crepes.

Or if you prefer to just have a go at mini golf and hangout with one of the locals.

Just what the cardiologist ordered. Cinnamon sugar and butter crepes with a side of whipped cream. Pretty decent value at $6 if I do say so myself.

With tummies full, we head west along the Delburne Hwy towards homebase and another climb ahead of us but this time with a decent wind at our backs.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Today’s 41km ride would involve the missus and I taking a different route as a section of road that we normally ride was undergoing major repairs. It now appears that we may not have access to that road until sometime next month.

We decided instead on a route that would take us a bit further east, would involve more climbing but also leave us open to stretches of busy traffic along two highway corridors, 11 and 808. The ride was quite gusty with a stern SE wind blowing against us most of the way.

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Exiting Hwy 11 and heading up the hill along 808.

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Sai tames the climb as she approaches the crest.

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This section of 808 is a short but also affords excellent views of the river valley, striking fields of wheat as well as the highway in the distance that ultimately leads to the tiny hamlet of Joffre.

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Further along, more vistas of the prairie landscape. Harvest time has come early for some as many plants have already matured.

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A convenient stopover along 808 for anyone overcome with hunger pangs. Shack-eh-licious has become a favourite hangout for those who crave great burgers, shakes, and yummy crepes.

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Or if you prefer to just have a go at mini golf and hangout with one of the locals.

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Just what the cardiologist ordered. Cinnamon sugar and butter crepes with a side of whipped cream. Pretty decent value at $6 if I do say so myself.

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With tummies full, we head west along the Delburne Hwy towards homebase and another climb ahead of us but this time with a decent wind at our backs.

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Three things:

1. If you painted your undulating prairie terrain lush green wall to wall, it'd look something like the rolling Scottish terrain we've all come to love through @RabH . (Speaking just of the lay of the land, not the human footprint.)

2. Mouth's still watering from reading that Shack-eh-licious menu and lusting over your crepe.

3. One of the beauties of cycling: Doesn't take much of a ride to fully justify eating AMA (against medical advice).

 

[Prairie Dog]

Three things:

1. If you painted your undulating prairie terrain lush green wall to wall, it'd look something like the rolling Scottish terrain we've all come to love through @RabH . (Speaking just of the lay of the land, not the human footprint.)

2. Mouth's still watering from reading that Shack-eh-licious menu and lusting over your crepe.

3. One of the beauties of cycling: Doesn't take much of a ride to fully justify eating AMA (against medical advice).

I plead no contest as Rab has set the bar high when it comes to epic landscapes not to mention what he achieves in terms of distance and elevation.

Rarely do we stop and eat but, on this occasion, the menu was too tantalizing to resist indulging over a decadent snack. We spotted a couple returning to their seats with a couple of shack burgers and they were definitely over the top. I just might have to schedule a ride by on Taco Thursdays. Good news is that in 2025 the Shack will be moving to a new location along our normal ride route so bib shorts may become a standard dress code.

FOOD — Shackehlicious Food Truck

www.shackehlicious.ca

 

[Chargeride]

Took a beautiful ride down the coastal trails, but its all on the gopro, so heres some pics of an epic walk we took from Saundersfoot to Tenby.

Probably one of the gnarliest trails on the Welsh coastal path and pretty brutal for a man of my age who had already done a 3hr battery emptying 7am ride.

Magical though, but the entire walk I'm speculating the feasibility of a cheeky bike ride on it, soon realised that was out of the question.

I must have climbed and descended five thousand feet ranging from smooth trail to terrifying descents over muddy rocks.

Had a much needed pastie on arrival which turned into two rum and cokes and a box of chocolate brownies.

Got the bus back and thats an event in itself, everyone in Wales knows everyone else and theyve all only just met them on the bus after years of seperation, we ended up in the middle of an complete bus reunion in which we discovered the entire personal history of the area.

Of course I got the taste and we ended up drunk listening to an 80s tribute band at the local sad old people bar till 1am.

Perfect

Travelling to Aberystwyth today for a quieter few days in a sleepy coastal town.

 

[JGcycle]

A few pics from this morning's 22km ride:

 

[fooferdoggie]

Providence bridge pedal. not sure how many people attended the rides today. there is a real early rise start at 6:30 then the miain ride from 6:30 to 8 and a family ride rolled into one.
last year I think it was 15,000 there is also a bridge stride alongside it. its about 18 miles on the main ride we went on. but getting there and back made it a 40-mile round trip. lots of free bananas and cookies and water. then at the end ice cream and such. (I cant eat any of it) not as man traffic jams as last time. there are bottle necks were people get jammed up.
but its cool to be able to ride on freeways going the wrong direction and bridges that you cant have bikes or walk on) one bridge that is a metal grate you go over twice they usually cover in cardboard they used plywood that was rough and really noisy.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Providence bridge pedal. not sure how many people attended the rides today. there is a real early rise start at 6:30 then the miain ride from 6:30 to 8 and a family ride rolled into one.
last year I think it was 15,000 there is also a bridge stride alongside it. its about 18 miles on the main ride we went on. but getting there and back made it a 40-mile round trip. lots of free bananas and cookies and water. then at the end ice cream and such. (I cant eat any of it) not as man traffic jams as last time. there are bottle necks were people get jammed up.
but its cool to be able to ride on freeways going the wrong direction and bridges that you cant have bikes or walk on) one bridge that is a metal grate you go over twice they usually cover in cardboard they used plywood that was rough and really noisy.

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Between the Columbia and the Willamette, Portland has some pretty cool bridges. Must've been fun!

 

[fooferdoggie]

Between the Columbia and the Willamette, Portland has some pretty cool bridges. Must've been fun!

Yes we rode 6 bridges two of them were cars only all in the wrong direction no less. the Freemont Bridge is the tallest with cool views and cars only.