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

Indeed another awesome ride Rab - I often think that if you compiled your ride reports into a book you would have a travel best seller!!! For one reason or another my rides have been few and far between and I soon hope to change that ... After 5 weeks helping out on the family ranch in British Columbia (included is a picture of my daughter instructing a grandson on the finer details of wrestling a calf) we came home to an amazing countryside in southern Alberta which is a testament to what the return of regular rain showers can provide as this picture taken from my back yard tonight emphasizes.
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I did 18 miles today. I posted a picture of an old silo a couple days ago, this is how they do it today. I’m not sure exactly how long these white plastic tubes are, maybe 300 feet. They are a like a heavy garbage bag. There is a machine that loads them and unloads them.
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After 5 weeks helping out on the family ranch in British Columbia (included is a picture of my daughter instructing a grandson on the finer details of wrestling a calf) we came home to an amazing countryside in southern Alberta which is a testament to what the return of regular rain showers can provide as this picture taken from my back yard tonight emphasizes.
Nice Bill. I see you don’t stray far without your can of capsaicin.
 
We’ve been riding virtually every day for the past couple of weeks but have had to alter our ride times to accommodate the constantly changing weather patterns. Morning outings have been more conducive to favorable winds but some days we were forced to ride in the wet.

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The missus enters a round-a-bout. With the exception of one incident involving an unyielding vehicle, it’s been a relatively routine practice otherwise. The nice thing about morning rides is that there is less traffic to deal with.

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These cute yearling Holsteins were seen running up as I stopped to take a pic. I suspect that they were curious to see if I had something in my hand for them to nosh on.

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One thing I can say about the rural traffic along our routes is that it rarely is boring.

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Blue sky in sight, mowers delight.

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This field of canola that is just beginning to bud out will transform itself into vibrant yellow booms in a week or two.

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Love to see other roadies riding along the same routes. Everyone that we come across acknowledges with a wave or just a simple raising of digits from the drops or hoods.

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More video footage this one of the challenging Highline Trail that I rode over a week ago in Canmore. Ebikes apparently are not permitted in the backcountry but we did see four Trek Rails pass by us in the opposite direction and the all too familiar hum of their motors. There is simply no way to police the trails so folks simply carry on which I’m in complete favor of. Other riders that I spoke to had no issue with powered bikes cruising the singletracks and, for that matter, I hardly doubt if anyone else would give it a second thought.

 
Canola was flowering in Poland in April!
You and your wife need to take a selfie in the front of the yellow canola field! It is mandatory for any cyclist! :)
I guess selfies just aren’t our thing. Whenever we ride together, it’s not unusual for us to complete a ride without dismounting. I prefer instead to capture the mood with a GoPro snapshot or sometimes I’ll simply stop for a brief moment to take a pic using my phone cam if the setting is appropriate.

July 2023

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We’ve been riding virtually every day for the past couple of weeks but have had to alter our ride times to accommodate the constantly changing weather patterns. Morning outings have been more conducive to favorable winds but some days we were forced to ride in the wet.

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The missus enters a round-a-bout. With the exception of one incident involving an unyielding vehicle, it’s been a relatively routine practice otherwise. The nice thing about morning rides is that there is less traffic to deal with.

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These cute yearling Holsteins were seen running up as I stopped to take a pic. I suspect that they were curious to see if I had something in my hand for them to nosh on.

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One thing I can say about the rural traffic along our routes is that it rarely is boring.

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Blue sky in sight, mowers delight.

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This field of canola that is just beginning to bud out will transform itself into vibrant yellow booms in a week or two.

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Love to see other roadies riding along the same routes. Everyone that we come across acknowledges with a wave or just a simple raising of digits from the drops or hoods.

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More video footage this one of the challenging Highline Trail that I rode over a week ago in Canmore. Ebikes apparently are not permitted in the backcountry but we did see four Trek Rails pass by us in the opposite direction and the all too familiar hum of their motors. There is simply no way to police the trails so folks simply carry on which I’m in complete favor of. Other riders that I spoke to had no issue with powered bikes cruising the singletracks and, for that matter, I hardly doubt if anyone else would give it a second thought.

Those stream crossings were superb, the mountains in the background, Id be planning a route up them the entire ride...then get there and be like...nope.
 
Guys, I hardly can believe it.
I have posted a Facebook event, inviting people to join a gravel group ride for the coming Saturday. Called 'Bolimovian Classic', it will reproduce many of the rides in the Bolimów Landscape Park I have already had. I have limited the trip distance to some 70 km, and chose only premium gravel or asphalt roads (50/50). Only really interesting points will be visited. I requested wearing helmets, posted the route in Komoot, Strava and RideWithGPS formats, and said the participants should be able to ride at least at 20 km/h on packed gravel.

What was important, I explained it was a unique chance for "lazy Warsawers" to enjoy a comfortable ride in the forest that is reachable by Mazovian Railways. I wrote it because so many Warsaw cyclists have never been to that beautiful nature park!

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A day later, five firm confirmations and 77 "Interested".

If the weather held, and I had at least 20 riders, it would be the most successful ride I have ever organized! :)
 
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My wife and I are now settled into being fully retired and in our new home in Sealy Texas. The trails at the State park near me have been closed to dry up from heavy rain, but should be open now. I got the trike ready and took it for a test ride today. I will wait for the crowd to thin out after the 4th of July and before the new storm in the Gulf brings more rain to take in the park.
 

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