Who doesn’t love cake eh? but sadly this cake is a little too far for me.Ah ok. I get it now. It looks like a very nice place. Google reviews are excellentPerhaps if I had mentally logged some of your previous rides I would have noticed this was a common waypoint for you.
So far I have only noticed Komoot giving me quite dull names for my rides. I will keep an eye out for more esoteric ones.
I heard about an invention by the name of "aeroplane"
They are so unpredictable tho. This week we had a flight supposed to land in Edinburgh but diverted 900km to Cologne.I heard about an invention by the name of "aeroplane"
Yes, because of Storm Isha. I've heard of yet another (unbelievable) aviation story from the past. An airliner was due to Dusseldorf but the crew was misled to think they should fly to Edinburgh...This week we had a flight supposed to land in Edinburgh but diverted 900km to Cologne.
True story!
I then turned north and tackled the 16% climb up Drumcross road, this is actually the first time I have gone up this climb as I usually enjoy it going down into Bathgate!Great effort Rab. You must have felt VERY alive about all that air.View attachment 170161
I noticed a break in our crazy weather today and headed out at 1.40pm with a tailwind of 35mph or so and a double rainbow ahead of me, luckily I only caught the edge of the rain and was flying along! It was mild and wild but the 55mph winds from Storm Jocelyn were gone and the wind was forecast to reduce to around 25mph as the day progressed! I took the back roads to Salsburgh and enjoyed the 9 mile descent down to Bathgate, that was a real blast!
Near the top of the climb I turned on to the back road to Cairnpapple which meant more big climbs and then round the awesome corkscrew and on to the back road to Linlithgow which is a cracking descent, starting at just over 1000ft down to 150ft in Linlithgow! I only just skirted the town and quickly turned on to the back road I took last Friday out past Muiravonside Country Park, now into the headwind which was still very gusty! There was quite a flood on the main road at Linlithgow bridge but thankfully I wasn't going that way! I then took the rollercoaster road through Standburn which leads to Avonbridge, all I could see was trees down all over the place!
From Avonbridge I took the back road to Slamannan, another rollercoaster which is pretty sheltered thanks to all the trees which survived the storms! Then I joined the back road from Slamannan to Longriggend and on to Caldercruix in darkening skies, at least the wind had now decreased! I had no choice but to take the exposed Telegraph road down to Caldercruix, was I glad the wind had dropped by then! I was then passing through Plains with only a couple of miles to go when the rain started to fall, at least I didn't get soaked and arrived home a short time later feeling very happy with my decision to go out! I definitely got lucky and could have got absolutely soaked, the strong wind helped push the rain through very quickly!
No photos again today, I just didn't have the time as I wanted to get home before dark and only just made it...
On a different note. My bike is going in for its first ever service. The bike shop where I purchased offers two free services at 6 weeks and 1 year. I’m quite intrigued to see what they do for as everything running pretty smoothly.Great effort Rab. You must have felt VERY alive about all that air.
My cycle to work often takes me up Leith Walk to the city centre. Yesterday I had a full on headwind which was predictable to deal with in the right gear on 35% assist. This morning the wind wasnt as strong, but because it was more W than SW I kept getting slammed with gusts on passing each side street - very inertia sucking. I thought why am I putting myself through this and immediately whacked up the assistance
Was still a good workout though. I’m definitely finding that however much assistance I apply I end up shifting up the gears until I hit 80-85 rpm and my usual non-assisted cycling effort.
This is to be expected as long as you are mentally in the "workout mode". Active/enthusiast cyclists always land on their optimum cadence and the power they can muster. However, your effort is masked by the 25 km/h speed restrictor. Were your e-bike unrestricted, you would just ride faster with the same effort.
Not sure how it is done in Scotland but where I live Specialized requires you do a single paid maintenance of your new e-bike within 6 months or several hundred kilometres ridden. The fact of the first maintenance should be logged in the Warranty Card to keep the warranty alive. (The other condition is registering your e-bike at Specialized.com).
Exactly. Ebike as barrier buster: Whatever your exertion tolerance, when a barrier to enjoyable riding like a big hill or stiff headwind rears its ugly head, more assist to the rescue! As a recreational rider, not killing myself on a ride means a better chance of getting off my duff next time.I thought why am I putting myself through this and immediately whacked up the assistance
Same here. If I couldn't keep a cadence of 85±5 rpm with a combination of gearing and assist in this hilly and sometimes windy area, my knees would walk off the job. Usually ride at lowest assist and solve cadence problems with gearing first, but without added assist to fall back on, I wouldn't be cycling.
For the record: He had been on his ride of today earlier, and has ridden for 850 km this year while I could only make 530 km! I thing you were spot on Stefan. I dropped the bike at 09.05 and it was ready to collect by 10am. They indeed just did a tightness check, brakes and derailleur check. I had already told them headset was a bit loose so they adjusted the preload. I’d also mentioned that the rear wheel was a bit out of true. The mechanic said this sometimes happens with new machine built wheels if any twisting stress in the spoke nipples is released during initial use. They sorted that. No firmware update or log of the work on The apps bit perhaps that will come with the 1 year service - which is also free.This is to be expected as long as you are mentally in the "workout mode". Active/enthusiast cyclists always land on their optimum cadence and the power they can muster. However, your effort is masked by the 25 km/h speed restrictor. Were your e-bike unrestricted, you would just ride faster with the same effort.
Not sure how it is done in Scotland but where I live Specialized requires you do a single paid maintenance of your new e-bike within 6 months or several hundred kilometres ridden. The fact of the first maintenance should be logged in the Warranty Card to keep the warranty alive. (The other condition is registering your e-bike at Specialized.com).
The shop will check the bolts/screws for being tight, adjust the derailleur, check the brakes, and probably run e-bike diagnostics and apply software updates. I would not ignore that "first maintenance". I bought my first e-bike online in August 2019 (non-Specialized). I should have given that e-bike to any friendly Local Bicycle Store for a paid First Service (not to keep the warranty but that was the clear recommendation from the manufacturer). Just before I could visit the LBS, a friend damaged the derailleur and the derailleur hanger in my Lovelec because the derailleur already was out of adjustment... It meant a month waiting for a spare derailleur hanger. Meanwhile, I bought a Vado
Yes this seems to be what feels the most natural for me too Jeremy. I do sometimes see folk on full power e-bikes almost floating along on full power with very low cadence but my guess is that battery will not last so long doing that.
Seems a very respectable distance given the amount of freezing weather and snow your have had.For the record: He had been on his ride of today earlier, and has ridden for 850 km this year while I could only make 530 km!
That does sound like a fun day Chargride. You should have definitely persevered with that boat. I am a complete Womble in that way. Even my partner has started eyeballing skips these days having seen some of the good stuff I’ve salvaged
I wouldn’t have been mad about getting all that sand over my drive-chain thoughThat does sound like a fun day Chargride. You should have definitely persevered with that boat. I am a complete Womble in that way. Even my partner has started eyeballing skips these days having seen some of the good stuff I’ve salvaged
I’ve been umming and ahhing about buying a drone for a few years now but I’m terrible at getting rid of rubbish photos, and curating the decent ones from my phone so Dred to think what would happen if I ended up to TB’s of drone footage to deal with.
Are you aware you can control your e-bike using a HRM and Specialized Smart Control?At some point I will get a HRM and that will be interesting to see what power levels I can generate with a given heart effort. It might help me “chill out” out a bit more. It’s so addictive trying to fly along at the top speed one can sustain tho
I've used a Polar OH-1 wrist HRM to try it out and it worked but I discovered my medications controlled my heart rate themselves, so it turned out to be impractical for me!
No, I don't think so. You might get info about the software upgrades available but that's all. A Vado SL requires some maintenance actions like a regular bicycle (inflating the tyres, maintaining the chain, occasionally replacing brake pads, maintaining the drivetrain) but the e-bike part is maintenance free except recharging the batteries.
The LBS does not need to actually log their actions but an entry about the first service in the warranty card is advisable in case you would need to make a warranty claim.
It was not that simple! I love the LovelecDo I get the impression you had already secretly wanted to buy the Vado before the Lovelec got damaged Stefan?
and would be happy to ride it until this day if not the derailleur hanger damage that happened just six weeks post purchase! I was a complete noob at that time. I used to watch a lot of YT e-bike related channels and once bumped into the EBR video about the 45 km/h (28 mph) Vado. I was even not aware it was legally a moped in Europe! An incompetent LBS in Warsaw ordered a 2017 Vado 5.0 S-Pedelec for me and cheated me it was a 2019 e-bike! It was a time I also owned a Giant Trance E+ e-MTB and I bought a Vado SL as well Now, I'm down to two e-bikes. A long story! MTBing has turned out to be not for me! I splashed out on a bottle of dry lube, it really does stop the sand sticking to the chain, its a beach bike and a hub drive, the drivetrain is only under my weak power stress.
260km, that might as well be a trip to the Moon for meNo, I don't think so. You might get info about the software upgrades available but that's all. A Vado SL requires some maintenance actions like a regular bicycle (inflating the tyres, maintaining the chain, occasionally replacing brake pads, maintaining the drivetrain) but the e-bike part is maintenance free except recharging the batteries.
The LBS does not need to actually log their actions but an entry about the first service in the warranty card is advisable in case you would need to make a warranty claim.
It was not that simple! I love the Lovelec
I've learned a lot since, and the Vado 5.0 grew together with me to become a modern Vado 6.0
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Old and fat when I got my first e-bike... (I still own it but another person is riding it).
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The 2017 Vado 5.0 that is now a current Vado 6.0.
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The Giant Trance E+ now belongs to my brother
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Just after the purchase of a Vado SL
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Crossing the finish line of a 263 km gravel ultramarathon on Vado SL, 2023. I feel so young now
