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

[Twin Valley]

Pretty hard to follow those Banff National Park photos, absolutely stunning, we are currently camping for a couple of weeks at Dawson Creek British Columbia which is mile 0 of the Alaskan highway. Yesterday's adventure took us to the Kiskatinaw river bridge (now in disrepair and closed) as we tentatively strolled across for the sights. The bridge and the old Alaska highway was a joint Canadian/US army project built in 1942 and 1943. The bridge itself was a first of its kind wooden curved bridge with a 3 span timber truss and 9 degree curve sitting 162 metres high. My bike of choice on this modest paved section of the old highway is my truly retro folding bike ( no power but wished it did).

 

[Chargeride]

Id be a nervous wreck with a child or adog going across there, that gap!

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Twin Valley, those are some damn fine follow-ups to Prairie’s very bland and ordinary pictures… I’m tempted to just lean my bike up against a dumpster somewhere and post that after you guys. Can’t compete!

There’s a wood bridge on the White Pass RR from Skagway that was pretty impressive as well last time we were up there… love Alaska!

 

[mschwett]

Just spectacular, PD@Prairie Dog Same thing happened to me once with Di2, a real pain but its a great system!

now that i have two di2 bikes, it's actually happened to me twice! always a bummer only using the RD! (on a 2x bike, first the FD stops shifting, for maybe another 50 or so shifts, lol)

 

[Prairie Dog]

what a gorgeous ride!!!! thank you for posting this. i've spent a fair bit of time in calgary (and edmonton) for work but never made it out to banff. kind of tempted to make an excuse to get our there and rent a bike. the scenery looks similar to the sierra nevada, but simultaneously more dramatic and more ridable!!!!!!!!

The Legacy Trail would likely be near the top of the list for anyone wishing to experience cycling safely in the Bow Valley Parkway. A piece of cake for someone like you but the scenery alone would be an excuse to do it. Another ride would be Hwy 1A from the TransCda Hwy Junction to Castle Mt which is closed to traffic from May 1-June 21, Aug 30- Sept 30 and would be an ideal outing for more enthusiastic riders. One could even start from Canmore or Banff and push on further to Lake Louise making for a satisfying full day’s ride.

Just spectacular, PD@Prairie Dog Same thing happened to me once with Di2, a real pain but its a great system!

Thanks Rab. I need to get in the habit of checking it more often. It’s just something that I never prioritized compared to many of my other devices. That will change from now on.

Hope it's an easy fix!

Yep, just a simple matter of charging the battery via the port at the RD.

 

[Twin Valley]

Twin Valley, those are some damn fine follow-ups to Prairie’s very bland and ordinary pictures… I’m tempted to just lean my bike up against a dumpster somewhere and post that after you guys. Can’t compete!

There’s a wood bridge on the White Pass RR from Skagway that was pretty impressive as well last time we were up there… love Alaska!

A dumpster "eh" they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we've met a lot of seniors heading home to Alaska and the Yukon and even in 2024 there is still that sense of adventure and their rv's and trucks packed to the hilt from their Alberta Costco shopping

 

[Chargeride]

Of all the things that surprised me visiting the Yukon and the Northern Territories, visiting Dawson was the strangest, firstly the car ferry was operated by orthodox jews in full outfit, black hat and long curly hairy tails.
Then we visited a bar full of huge cowboys, massive brim hats, boots, tattoos.
Turned out it was a gay bar.

We should have known.

 

[JGcycle]

A few pics from today's 29km ride:

 

[Prairie Dog]

Here’s accompanying video footage of our recent ride in Banff National Park

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

what a gorgeous ride!!!! thank you for posting this. i've spent a fair bit of time in calgary (and edmonton) for work but never made it out to banff. kind of tempted to make an excuse to get our there and rent a bike. the scenery looks similar to the sierra nevada, but simultaneously more dramatic and more ridable!!!!!!!!

Just do it, with or without a bike! Been there 3 times. Even the best photos can't do it justice.

To ride amongst such craggy, heavily glaciated peaks in the high Sierra, you'd have to go at least 4,000 ft higher — with that much less oxygen to work with.

On closer look, you'd find that the Sierra and southern Canadian Rockies are very different kinds of mountains. Some of the topographic features are similar, but only because both have been thoroughly gouged out by glaciers from the Ice Ages onward.

 

[RabH]

The weather has been great all week but I took a couple of days off to recover from Monday's epic! I have been waiting for the right conditions to do one of my favourite rides and today was looking just right so my plan was to put the bike in the car and drive down to Peebles to cycle out to Moffat andf back! I had everything ready last night to get out early this morning, all I had to was get breakfast and jump in the car and go! I set off at 6.40am and enjoyed quiet roads all the way to Carnwath, I pulled up at the traffic signals and noticed a message on my car dash saying no phone connected and then I had that awful sinking feeling...I had put my phone on charge when I got up to make sure I had plenty juice for the day ahead! Yes I left it behind, I had no choice but to head back home and get it so instead of leaving at 6.40 am it turned out to be almost 8am! What a plonker! I'm just glad I noticed half way to my destination...

The forecast was showing light winds from the NE so I chose to have what little wind there was at my back for about 33 miles, I parked the car in a small layby which was well protected from the road and grabbed a photo of the electric car (not fully electric though) and electric bike before setting off into the morning mist! The bike fits in the car pretty easily with the front wheel off and the front passenger seat fully forward!

After just 2 miles I turned off the main road and took the back road through Stobo, a few miles later and the sun managed to break through and started to clear the mist!

I then passed over the River Tweed!

A short timer later the sun really worked its magic!

The hills started to appear!

I reached Tweedsmuir and things came to a halt for around 10 minutes due to roadworks, they had a convoy system in operation which meant following a vehicle at very low speed through the roadworks to protect the workers! At this point I had covered 16 miles which was mostly flat or slightly uphill and now I was about 10 miles away from the top of the climb at almost 1400ft, its a very easy climb so I was in eco mode all the way up!

This was part way up the climb, its such a great road and in great condition!

I now had a lovely 5 mile descent to enjoy down the Devils Beeftub into Moffat, this is the start of the descent!

I had to keep stopping on the way down though, the views were just too good...

I must have taken at least 20 photos on the way down, maybe I should have climbed it today! I did stop taking photos further down to enjoy some of the descent, I then arrived in Moffat and as always it was very busy so I didn't even stop and just made my turn to the NE and into the wind for the first time! Of course the light wind was no longer light and I had a lot of climbing ahead, thankfully some nice descents also!

The log trucks were making their way up the hill in the distance and throwing up lots of dust, the road was very steep after they turned the bend!

A nice descent next but a climb soon after, the road is like this for many miles!

Then the big climb starts up to 1100ft!

I was looking forward to cresting the climb and plunging down the other side, the road is just amazing!

This is the end of the descent and Loch of the Lowes comes into view just around the bend!

I was hoping the water would be like glass today but the wind had picked up so it wasn't to be, not that it was a strong wind though but it was supposed to be less than 10mph...

St Marys Loch was also a bit choppy, its right next to Loch of the Lowes!

Part way round the loch I could see the hills surrounding Moffat out to the west!

I continued on the main road for a few miles and was passed by lots of bikers and they weren't hanging around! I rode my motorbike around here many times and know how much fun it was, especially on days like today! Eventually I reached the turnoff for Peebles and had another big climb ahead up to 1200ft! At the top of this one I had the best descent of the day ahead, initially around 5 miles before a few ups and downs and did I enjoy that! I then reached the turnoff for Traquair which keeps you away from the busy main road, its a bit rough in places and very up and down but not the worst!

The hills were looking amazing today with the clear blue sky!

Somebody was too busy munching to notice me!

I then arrived in Peebles and just like Moffat it was very busy in the beautiful weather, I grabbed a quick photo of the River Tweed in the town centre before heading back towards the car!

My last photo before arriving back at the car, its such a beautiful home this one and always catches my eye on passing!

73 miles appeared on my gps as I reached the car, I was hoping to do 89 or more today to reach 5000 miles for the year but my mishap at the start of the day put paid to that! Just 16 miles to go though and I should be riding to the motorcycle racing on Sunday so the 5000 will be passed then! What a brilliant ride once again, I'm really blessed to live in this part of the world with some of the best cycling roads all around me!

 

[dodgeman]

I did 21 miles on the roads around my house. I see a few fields of corn had been picked but didn’t see any actually working. It’s a little early and if the moisture content of the corn is too high they have to pay to dry it.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

(Part 2 – Banff Hills)

Just gorgeous!

As I continued to meander through Cascade’s trails, it became apparent that I would no longer be able to shift gears but was still able to maintain my pace over the level pathway until we reached our vehicle. I was so grateful that it occurred at this point rather than a place like Norquay. The bike gods must have been smiling down upon me on this day.

I wouldn't give those bike gods too much of a pass. They were probably the ones who thought it'd be fun to kill your shifter battery to begin with.

 

[MTO]

Just do it, with or without a bike! Been there 3 times. Even the best photos can't do it justice.

Is there anywhere you haven’t been?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Is there anywhere you haven’t been?

Yes, all of Asia beyond Turkey and Iran, Africa, Madagascar, Central and South America, most of the Caribbean, Antarctica, the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, eastern Canada, Norway, Finland, the Balkans, the Falklands, Mallorca, Ibiza, Sicily, Corsica, Russia, Indonesia, most Pacific and Atlantic ocean islands, nearly all of Australia and the ocean floor, and Scranton, New Jersey.

Wow, I better get busy!
;^}

 

[MTO]

Yes, all of Asia beyond Turkey and Iran, Africa, Madagascar, Central and South America, most of the Caribbean, Antarctica, the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, eastern Canada, Norway, the Balkans, the Falklands, Mallorca, Ibiza, Sicily, Corsica, Russia, Indonesia, most Pacific and Atlantic ocean islands, nearly all of Australia and the ocean floor, and Scranton, New Jersey.

Wow, I better get busy!
;^}

Yes and you’ll need more than a bike, especially for the underwater stuff.

 

[MTO]

Today, wife and I did a little tour through the vineyards of the Alexander Valley wine country.

Vineyards for miles.

And many high end wineries

The harvest season is under way but these are not quite ready yet

Stopped to show my wife this house along the route. It was a tiny little shack until my buddy (another contractor) and I rebuilt it, basically we added the whole front that you see, along with a major remodel.

Plenty of art along the way

We passed many more cool wineries, including the Francis Ford Coppola, but couldn’t stop as we both picked up the evil goat head thorns in our rear tires and had to race the last 8 miles back before our tires went completely flat. I had a patch kit and tools, but we made it back. We are going to revisit this route again, but this time we will not be pulling off the road into the weeds.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Yes, all of Asia beyond Turkey and Iran, Africa, Madagascar, Central and South America, most of the Caribbean, Antarctica, the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, eastern Canada, Norway Finland, the Balkans, the Falklands, Mallorca, Ibiza, Sicily, Corsica, Russia, Indonesia, most Pacific and Atlantic ocean islands, nearly all of Australia and the ocean floor, and Scranton, New Jersey.

Wow, I better get busy!
;^}

Based on the places where you haven't been to I assume you were to Poland and Sweden?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Based on the places where you haven't been to I assume you were to Poland and Sweden?

Yes on Sweden, no on Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, and the Caucasus. Sorry, forgot about those.

Have you been affected by the flooding in Poland?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Have you been affected by the flooding in Poland?

Thank you for asking. Fortunately for me, the flooding only hit the usual area of southwestern Poland. All normal in the rest of the country. Soon travelling to Masuria for the Great Lakes Gravel race!

Goodnight to you!