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

[RabH]

I planned a ride to go over the Campsie hills today but I was torn on whether to do the climb at Lennoxtown or from the Denny end, the wind was from the SW and around 20mph which would have favoured Lennoxtown as I would have had a nice tailwind on the way back but a lot of climbing! So I decided to go up from the Denny side and battle the wind and after the climb over the Campsies I would have a tailwind most of the way home! I made my way out to Slamannan on the back roads and got my first view of the Campsies!

From Slamannan I took the road down to Falkirk, where I had this awesome view of the Ochil hills early in the afternoon!

The descent down into Falkirk was a real blast, 41.3mph was my top speed today! From Falkirk I turned west into the wind to take the back road down to Bonnybridge and then north to Denny to start the climb up to the Carron Valley! Its a tough 4 mile climb and it was right into the wind all the way up, just after reaching the summit I stopped for a couple of photos of the River Carron!

This is looking east!

These are looking west and as you can see it didn't look very inviting with dark clouds hanging over the Campsies!

I set off to head along the valley and had a change of plan as I didn't want to get soaked again, my new route would take me NE over the Campsies to Bannockburn and that would mean I would have a tailwind and lots of big descents! It started with a climb though!

Soon Loch Coulter came into view!

At the top of the climb I had this view of the hills and mountains to the north!

A now had a closer view of Loch Coulter!

Now I had this lovely big descent to salivate over with the wind right at my back and the Ochils ahead of me!

What an inspired decision to take this route! I arrived in Bannockburn and continued down into the city of Stirling, I only went this way because of the time of day and I wanted to take the road out to Airth and have a nice tailwind for 7 miles or so! The road is great fun to ride after getting through the city, I know it well so I was able to avoid the worst of the traffic! After passing through Fallin the road opens up and you get amazing views of the Ochils!

I continued on into Airth and was now heading due south towards Grangemouth but turned west to take the road to Carronshore as its much quieter and I was rewarded with this photo of the young Clydesdale horse that I took a photo of when it was only weeks old a few months ago, it has grown fast!

It came right up to me this time, probably thought I had food!

I passed through Carronshore and tackled the toughest climb of the day back up into Falkirk and then up the climb to Slamannan! At the top of the climb I was rewarded with these incredible views of the Ochils and the mountains to the north with the sun starting to set! Amazing cloud formations also!

I reached Slamannan and turned west for home, into the wind again but I had lots of juice left in my second battery so I made short work of the 20mph headwind and all the climbs remaining! I arrived home just before dark and completely dry this time! What a brilliant ride this was, I definitely picked the best route and had an absolute blast!I now only need 487 miles to beat my 6223 miles I managed in 2020 during lockdown, we were allowed to ride our bikes while the roads were deserted and I made the most of it!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Back From London

This time, London Underground, London Heathrow Terminal 5, and British Airways performed just flawlessly, and Warsaw Chopin Airport didn't disappoint, either!

A Saturday photo from a short stop in Battersea Park. A huge and beautiful park was full of joggers, runners and cyclists! I could notice Londoners were keen runners! Cycling in the capital city of the United Kingdom was an impressive phenomenon as well!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Eleven Cycling Bridges of London
Saturday, 26 October 2024

• There is no bridge in Greater London east of the Tower Bridge because of many historical, social, and economical reasons
• There are several railway and two pedestrian bridges in London. Those were out of my interest
• Greater London extends as far as Heathrow Airport in the west. It was not practical for me to "collect" all the Thames bridges.

The Saturday weather was some 14 C (it felt warm), it ranged between some drizzle and dry with traces of sunshine (that's why some pictures look gloomy). No wind to speak of!

The iconic Battersea Power Station. It is now an expensive housing area. (The skies were grey at that time).

The most often rented e-bike in London: A Lime/Uber (you can hire a bike from either app). It is a real hard working mule! Usually in a good technical shape, the e-bike has an easily adjustable saddle height, and is equipped with adequate drum brakes and lighting. It is a single speed e-bike with a constant (maximum) power (which I estimate to some 100-150 W), and with the assistance activated by pedalling. The e-bike is restricted to 15.5 mph. No London hill was too steep for this e-bike! As long as you hire a Lime with a full battery, even 20 mile ride does not seem to affect the battery charge! The hire is very expensive. A 3 hour ride might cost you £50. I recommend buying a Lime Pass for long rides as a 260 minute ride would cost less than £20!

Yes, I brought my own helmet from Poland! As you can see, I was riding in an unzipped rainproof jacket all the time on that day.

The first bridge on my trip: Battersea.

One of the most beautiful London bridges: Albert (1873). #2 on my trip.

Albert Bridge has always been unstable despite two major overhauls.

It is a "weak bridge" with the maximum allowed weight of a single vehicle of 3 metric tons. I wonder what the limo weighed!

Albert Bridge Road flanks the western side of Battersea Park. You can see a real swarm of Lime e-bikes here! I had bad luck; my Lime's battery went flat after just 6.1 km ridden, so had to change to another e-bike at that point. (That time, the battery of the new Lime was full!)

The 1985 Buddhist Pagoda of Peace, Battersea Park. You will notice other people on Lime e-bikes very often in London!

An unusual sight: Chelsea Bridge (#3) looking as if merged with Grosvenor Railway Bridge! (Chelsea Bridge flanks Battersea Park from the east).

In Pimlico, a beautiful upscale residential neighbourhood of London.

Vauxhall Bridge (#4) overlooking the impressive business district of Vauxhall.

Vauxhall is also an important communication hub in London, including a big railway and coach/bus station.

A Historical Note
The railway station was built in 1848 but it was reconstructed (and renamed to Vauxhall Station) in 1862. The railway station was the most modern in its times. A delegation of Russian officials visited Vauxhall at that time and were as impressed as the word "vakzal" means a "railway station" in Russian language until this day! Another site, Vauxhall Gardens (a public park now) was as liked by the Polish aristocracy as a beautiful little green street of Warsaw (with its adjacent park) was named Foksal!

Lambeth Bridge (#5) and Westminster behind. For a reason, I had to ride Lambeth Bridge twice on that day!

Houses of Parliament, Westminster.

An unusual view: Westminster devoid of traffic! A planned extreme Right march by name "Standing Up To Tyranny" (the tyranny of one Keir Starmer, who else!) had cut the area off the rest of the city! After getting information from a friendly police officer, I had to back track to Lambeth Bridge, totally losing my orientation and course! (Elizabeth Tower with Big Ben clearly seen in the picture).

After getting to the south bank of the Thames, I could eventually ride onto Westminster Bridge (#6).

Vauxhall and Lambeth Bridge as seen from Westminster Bridge.

London Eye as seen from Victoria Embankment. (There are many bike paths along the Thames!)

The bridges that didn't count and were only a nuisance for me Hungerford Bridge is a railway crossing while two Golden Jubilee pedestrian bridges flank it from both sides. No bike access!

On Waterloo Bridge (#7). You get the best London views from that very bridge! City of London with St. Paul's Cathedral on the left, Blackfriars Bridge in the centre, and Southwark on the right. Pay attention to a relatively small red building with a grey tower at the right. It is the iconic OXO Tower. OXO was a food company. The London council forbade OXO posting a logo or advertisement on its façade, so the company designed the tower windows to look like 'OXO'

The dual bridge of Blackfriars (#8). The railway bridge behind is actually a railway platform! This bridge marks the western border of the City of London, formerly the Roman Londinium.

My beloved Southwark Bridge (#9). You can see the highest building in the whole Europe (The Shard) in Southwark. (The Warsaw's Varsó Tower is the highest only in the European Union!)

Southwark Bridge gets the least traffic in London. It is because of hardly any communication link on its northern end! I spent a lot of time to find the way onto the bridge myself!

The fourth London Bridge in the history (#10). It connects Southwark to the City of London, the business heart of the capital of the UK.

• The Roman bridge of Londinium
• The medieval London Bridge (11th to 19th century)
• The modern era London Bridge (19th to 20th century)
• The contemporary London Bridge (1967 to present).

HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge (#11) as seen from London Bridge.

Tower Bridge is the only of 11 Thames crossings I rode not to have at least a bicycle lane! Trust me, it is rideable if you are not afraid of traffic! (Many London cyclists are not, and I was not the exception)

Tower of London, and The Shard that can be seen from many places in London!

Southwark Street. The "razor blade" building is adjacent to Mercure Hotel London Bridge (behind) that we lived in.

General impressions:

• You need to master the left-hand traffic. Now, I have no issues with that!
• You ride with traffic or in a bike lane or in a protected bike lane or on a bike path in London. Bike lanes are usually one-way. There are many streets where a cyclist can ride against the traffic direction.
• While London drivers are considerate, the food couriers on illegal e-bikes are evil incarnate! The only situation in which I felt unsafe was a close call with a food courier!

Unfortunately, my Wahoo got "paused" in my pocket for some 3 km. I estimate the distance ridden to 26 km on the day. Note: The SE1 is the tourist-attractive Borough of Southwark [SUDH-ərk]. The neighbourhood of Bankside there is highly saturated with the hotel industry.

1. Battersea
2. Albert
3. Chelsea
4. Vauxhall
5. Lambeth (2x)
6. Westminster
7. Waterloo
8. Blackfriars
9. Southwark
10. London
11. Tower.

 

[Chargeride]

Lovely pics there Stefan, I need updating on London , it changes so fast, Ive learnt more about London bridges in your trip than my entire schooling.

Vauxhall is also the British brand for German Opel cars and Buick , Saturn in the States, Holden in Australia.
We have a large plant up here in Merseyside.

50 quid for three hours!!
I checked, its 27p a minute, that is simply ludicrous, for a bicycle!!
Obviously encouraging short rides or up front cost for all day use, but still.
It doesnt stack up very well against paying your congestion charge and having a car.

 

[Chargeride]

Brain is battering with pictures because hes all excited with his Insta360.
Its like cycling with an influencer.
Weve done 20 mile rides everyday, that are 20% hike a bike, and my back and knees are suffering, I would be in the spinal ward without my suspension seatpost.
Ive found keeping a more knees in pedalling posture really helps and its barely keeping me in the saddle, plus weve carted tons of rubbish from my dads to the tip.

Yes, its not really a bike path, but out of season and the trail is empty, it was 18 degrees that day and I was sweating in late October.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Lovely pics there Stefan, I need updating on London , it changes so fast, Ive learnt more about London bridges in your trip than my entire schooling.

My pleasure, Chris! I still have issues to understand 'what is where' in London. For instance, we went in Oxford Street on Sunday; I could have bought a new suitcase there if I only thought a little

Wardour Street, Chinatown.

This time I could eventually understand the relative location of several London's "hot places" in West End... It cost me a mile of walking but it was worth it! (Before, I did not realise Wardour Street was in the heart of Chinatown!)

Vauxhall is also the British brand for German Opel cars

I was aware of that!

50 quid for three hours!!
I checked, its 27p a minute, that is simply ludicrous, for a bicycle!!
Obviously encouraging short rides or up front cost for all day use, but still.
It doesnt stack up very well against paying your congestion charge and having a car.

Lime has a good discount scheme called a Lime Pass. I could have paid around eighteen quids for 4 h 20 min of the e-bike use!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Dozen of London Cycling Bridges
Sunday, 27 October 2024

Following my Saturday ride, I was allowed by @Brix to go for an e-bike ride for part of Sunday as well. I was smarter this time: rode anti-clockwise starting with the Tower Bridge. The weather was just magnificent! At some junction (red light) I asked a blonde female cyclist: 'It that the Southwark Bridge Road?' (I said 'SUDH-erk') She thought for a while then brightened up and replied 'Ah, south-wark! No, I think it is the next intersection!' You do certainly guess now? She caught up with me when I stopped past the intersection junction and was sorry for misleading me Yes, that had been SUDH-erk Bridge Road and she was definitely not a local

Ah, that works both ways! On my Saturday ride, I was unsure how you do ride Battersea Bridge. I asked a cyclist: 'Do we ride the bridge on the sidewalk or on the street?' He thought for a while and then he said 'We ride by road, of course!' Well, I should have said 'pavement' instead of 'sidewalk' As much I'm trying to speak British English as often I'm forgetting myself! My spoken English leaves a lot to desire as well!

A beautiful view from Waterloo Bridge facing south. Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges ahead. You can see one of the Thames piers in the foreground. There are a variety of ships you can take a river cruise by. I do not recommend taking the Uber Clippers (these are only good as commuter boats) but a cruise on a proper cruise boat with a good guide is worth every penny!

A Waterloo Bridge view facing northeast (the river makes a bend there). It is the City of London in a nutshell!

Elisabeth Tower with Big Ben. I could actually listen to the clock's famous chime!

A view from Vauxhall Bridge. Again, I missed the James Bond's MI6 building (because of my ignorance).

Following Vauxhall Station, I rode off course and found myself in South Lambeth I had some guessing how to return on-course but with the help of Komoot...

...I soon reached the famous Battersea Power Station!

The next mistake I made was riding a bike path against the traffic! I was scolded at by an angry cyclist, and you should hear mine 'Sorry! Sorry! So sorry, mate!'

There the Lime e-bike automatically stopped my ride: 'We notice your ride has been unusually long, so...' Chelsea Bridge seen at a distance.

It was THAT warm!

Known vibration issues of Albert Bridge

Past Battersea Bridge, I entered protected upscale housing enclaves of Chelsea Harbour (cycling was allowed though). I reached the twelfth and the last bridge, Wandsworth. Then, I navigated by the feeling to reach our hotel in exceptionally short time!

1. Tower
2. London
3. SUDH-erk
4. Blackfriars
5. Waterloo
6. Westminster
7. Lambeth
8. Vauxhall
9. Chelsea
10. Albert
11. Battersea
12. Wandsworth.

 

[Chargeride]

My pleasure, Chris! I still have issues to understand 'what is where' in London. For instance, we went in Oxford Street on Sunday; I could have bought a new suitcase there if I only thought a little

View attachment 185089
Wardour Street, Chinatown.

View attachment 185091
This time I could eventually understand the relative location of several London's "hot places" in West End... It cost me a mile of walking but it was worth it! (Before, I did not realise Wardour Street was in the heart of Chinatown!)

I was aware of that!

Lime has a good discount scheme called a Lime Pass. I could have paid around eighteen quids for 4 h 20 min of the e-bike use!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Exactly!

Or,

 

[MartsEbike]

A Dozen of London Cycling Bridges
Sunday, 27 October 2024

Following my Saturday ride, I was allowed by @Brix to go for an e-bike ride for part of Sunday as well. I was smarter this time: rode anti-clockwise starting with the Tower Bridge. The weather was just magnificent! At some junction (red light) I asked a blonde female cyclist: 'It that the Southwark Bridge Road?' (I said 'SUDH-erk') She thought for a while then brightened up and replied 'Ah, south-wark! No, I think it is the next intersection!' You do certainly guess now? She caught up with me when I stopped past the intersection junction and was sorry for misleading me Yes, that had been SUDH-erk Bridge Road and she was definitely not a local

Ah, that works both ways! On my Saturday ride, I was unsure how you do ride Battersea Bridge. I asked a cyclist: 'Do we ride the bridge on the sidewalk or on the street?' He thought for a while and then he said 'We ride by road, of course!' Well, I should have said 'pavement' instead of 'sidewalk' As much I'm trying to speak British English as often I'm forgetting myself! My spoken English leaves a lot to desire as well!

View attachment 185094
A beautiful view from Waterloo Bridge facing south. Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges ahead. You can see one of the Thames piers in the foreground. There are a variety of ships you can take a river cruise by. I do not recommend taking the Uber Clippers (these are only good as commuter boats) but a cruise on a proper cruise boat with a good guide is worth every penny!

View attachment 185095
A Waterloo Bridge view facing northeast (the river makes a bend there). It is the City of London in a nutshell!

View attachment 185096
Elisabeth Tower with Big Ben. I could actually listen to the clock's famous chime!

View attachment 185097
A view from Vauxhall Bridge. Again, I missed the James Bond's MI6 building (because of my ignorance).

Following Vauxhall Station, I rode off course and found myself in South Lambeth I had some guessing how to return on-course but with the help of Komoot...

View attachment 185098
...I soon reached the famous Battersea Power Station!

The next mistake I made was riding a bike path against the traffic! I was scolded at by an angry cyclist, and you should hear mine 'Sorry! Sorry! So sorry, mate!'

View attachment 185099
There the Lime e-bike automatically stopped my ride: 'We notice your ride has been unusually long, so...' Chelsea Bridge seen at a distance.

View attachment 185100
It was THAT warm!

View attachment 185101
Known vibration issues of Albert Bridge

View attachment 185102
Past Battersea Bridge, I entered protected upscale housing enclaves of Chelsea Harbour (cycling was allowed though). I reached the twelfth and the last bridge, Wandsworth. Then, I navigated by the feeling to reach our hotel in exceptionally short time!

View attachment 185103

1. Tower
2. London
3. SUDH-erk
4. Blackfriars
5. Waterloo
6. Westminster
7. Lambeth
8. Vauxhall
9. Chelsea
10. Albert
11. Battersea
12. Wandsworth.

Great photos Stefan! Your idea of riding the bridges really paid off! You caught so many of the sights and attractions that I'm thinking of one day doing it myself!

 

[Chargeride]

Lets go to Dartmoor we said, visit the Avon dam, do a 15 mile loop.

What followed was three hours of the most torturous, hideous, body smashing riding over a million rocks, dropping into a million mud pits, pushing the bike 500ft up twice.
Getting lost, riding over unrideable terrain, chased by cows, carrying the bike over river crossings on loose , slimy rocks, had a really heavy fall.
Never going back.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Your idea of riding the bridges really paid off!

It was actually the idea of one Leonhard Euler back in 1736. Euler set the problem: Could you find a route to cross all bridges of a complicated city (Konigsberg in his case) if the number of bridges was odd, and you were to cross each bridge only once? (The answer is: it is not possible, you need an even number of bridges)

The Euler's problem was bogging me in Warsaw with her nine cycling-capable bridges until our President of Warsaw made the construction of the Chain-Link Bridge (MUP) happen this year, making the number of Warsaw bridges even

I had the idea of riding London Bridges for years, only I was too afraid to ride there If you happen to be in Warsaw, we have public share bikes and e-bikes, too. The full route is around 50 km long and it is 100% safe bike paths

Lets go to Dartmoor we said, visit the Avon dam, do a 15 mile loop.

Ask @Rás Cnoic He is a Dartmoor expert in cycling and he tells me the area is gravel cycling capable

 

[DaveMatthews]

Lets go to Dartmoor we said, visit the Avon dam, do a 15 mile loop.

View attachment 185107

What followed was three hours of the most torturous, hideous, body smashing riding over a million rocks, dropping into a million mud pits, pushing the bike 500ft up twice.
Getting lost, riding over unrideable terrain, chased by cows, carrying the bike over river crossings on loose , slimy rocks, had a really heavy fall.
Never going back.

Oops...

 

[MartsEbike]

First ride out on my new Turbo Vado SL 5.0!

I have to admit I had about 4 hours sleep before setting off and I paid the price - I was knackered after my ride!

Rode to a usual haunt the Ashridge Estate.

Picked up a few refreshments at the Visitor Centre / Cafe they have near the Bridgewater Monument.

There's no way I'll ever cover 5000 acres!

The fallen leaves of autumn hid many rocks and bumps... This was pretty challenging on the skinny tyres the bike came with, especially further down the hill where it was a bit muddy! It definitely put the Specialized "Future Shock" to the test.

After leaving Ashridge Estate I passed through Aldbury Village. They still have Stocks and a Whipping Post in the middle of the village that date back to the 17th century. These were a public punishment device! You'd be locked up in the stocks and locals would abuse the criminals by spitting, kicking, and all other horrible things to grim to mention. They were used in England for over 500 years! Some say they should return!

Here's two poor souls in stocks!

Another pic showing more of the village.

The Grand Union Canal.

The light was starting to fade but got one last pic of my new bike, outside a Champneys luxury Hotel and Spa.

Many more miles to come yet!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

First ride out on my new Turbo Vado SL 5.0!

Have you connected your Garmin to the Vado SL yet?

 

[BlackHand]

Is the sky in London always that filled with contrails on clear days?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Is the sky in London always that filled with contrails on clear days?

There is something called Royal Air Force
I think they fly in all weathers.

 

[BlackHand]

Closing in on the end of the month and I've been splitting time on my 2 bikes, riding the Falcon(Bulls Desert Falcon EVO S) on sunny day commutes. Trying to get used to it before the weather completely turns for the season.

Either my body or the bike is finally adjusted as the neck/back pain disappeared about a week ago. Now I'm at 268 miles on it (I passed 13k miles a few weeks ago on the Haibike).

Had a sunny afternoon yesterday so took some shots while doing midday errands during work.

 

[MartsEbike]

Have you connected your Garmin to the Vado SL yet?

Hi Stefan, I have connected my garmin but I noticed on a few of your strava screenshots that it displays more data than mine! I only have a Garmin Edge Explore - and its the older Gen 1 version too. I might need an upgrade!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Hi Stefan, I have connected my garmin but I noticed on a few of your strava screenshots that it displays more data than mine! I only have a Garmin Edge Explore - and its the older Gen 1 version too. I might need an upgrade!

I'm no Garmin expert. What I know Garmin Edge 530 and the newer 540 are compatible with Specialized e-bikes. If you ever plan to buy a Range Extender, I can recommend Wahoo ELEMNT Bolt or Roam, as these are fully compatible (Garmin has no idea of the Range Extender!)

Could you write your ride details (e.g. assistance modes used, battery use, experience) in the respective thread?