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

[Chargeride]

After visiting the English Riviera, I stumbled across this classic Pathe News film of its heyday, 1968, I was five and lived down the coast.

The Narrators voice is nostalgia exemplified.

 

[MartsEbike]

After visiting the English Riviera, I stumbled across this classic Pathe News film of its heyday, 1968, I was five and lived down the coast.

The Narrators voice is nostalgia exemplified.

I went down a rabbit hole watching British Pathé videos on Youtube. It was a different world! Fascinating watching it back today!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

After visiting the English Riviera, I stumbled across this classic Pathe News film of its heyday, 1968, I was five and lived down the coast.

The Narrators voice is nostalgia exemplified.

Fun blast from the past — including the narration. For a few years starting around 10, I would have been both a "bucket-and-spade" and a bikini enthusiast.

But hard to imagine the English wanting to add a "dash of French flavoring" to anything.

 

[Chargeride]

Hilariously we pretty well built the French Riveria as a health resort and we also started Skiing in France as a tourist activity.
The Promenade des Anglais, Cannes Cote d'azur were tourists destinations concieved by the English.

And the French never got over it.

Thats why they still blank us at the resorts.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Cake Instead of Pork-Chop!

The plan for Saturday was to ride for 74 km with a stop for a pork-chop in Żyrardów. However, I overslept the best morning hours so a shorter ride was the only option left.

Leszno (Mazovia) as seen from 2.5 km in a straight line. The church is one of the landmarks of this large village. See the wall of trees in the background: It's where the huge Kampinos National Park has its south border.

Leszno in Mazovia is known from the only one fun-fact: It hosts the soccer/football club where the superstar Robert Lewandowski started his career Why do I always write Leszno (Mazovia, MZ)? It is because there is a city of Leszno in West Poland. Once, the owner of the cafe in Leszno (MZ) got a big order for a wedding cake. Turns out, the customer thought the cafe was located in Leszno (Greater Poland)! All ended well but now I always specify what Leszno we are talking about!

One Hundred Ash Tree Avenue. That road, which is straight and almost flat is a part of a series of roads where road cyclists have their regular workouts. When there is a massive westerly wind, roadies ride up there to beat their KOM/QOM records for Strava!

One of so many defunct smoke stacks of Poland. These are used as towers for telecoms.

In Klimatyczna Cafe & Patisserie. For those who do not know it yet, it is a cycling friendly cafe in Leszno MZ, and it is located just 18.5 km from my place! I used to be a regular customer there but have to admit it was my first visit there in six months!

It ended up with two pieces of different cheesecake, Flat White and black tea!

It is a family business with pretensions to sell quality stuff. Nowadays, the owner's daughter and her boyfriend start taking the business over!

While I was enjoying my dessert, the owner started putting the paintings on the easels.

Then I went outside and met a freshly arrived roadie there. He rode a Superior. Superior is a relatively new Czech brand making excellent traditional bikes and e-bikes, which started to be known, and it is successfully selling its products in Europe, even in Norway. The man said he enjoyed the weather and was ready to ride home in Warsaw at night!

Perhaps I was complaining a little on the bike infrastructure (another Forum thread) but I must say there are not many reasons to complain. Here, on a new bike path from Leszno MZ to Błonie. A catch? Missing a two kilometre bike path segment on the #579!

As I approached Błonie, there was a man walking on the bike path even if he had a sidewalk available. I slowed down, and warned the man verbally. He turned towards me and exclaimed in awe: "Man! Your headlight is as powerful as the one in the car!" Hard to deny. The low-beam headlight provides 1100 lumen at 12 W

Ride Map.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Grubooloza

I was quite pleased to meet my old friend Joanna 'Makenzen' at the start line of yet another Fat Man XC group ride. Makenzen is a totally recumbent bike person. I was interested how she would fare on a ride involving a lot of off-road. You need to be aware early December in Mazovia terrain means cold, mud, deep puddles, and mostly potholes but the sand is packed (it was the day I was actually happy I had the Redshift seat-post as it worked very hard under me!)

The group initially was ten or eleven riders. Here, on a classic 'opening route' for all gravel/MTB cyclists leaving south Warsaw into the woods.

I cannot remember that railway crossing ever closed before! (A diesel locomotive).

An unusually early stop at 8th kilometre. I could enjoy warm tea from my new thermal mug!

I warned Fat Man we could not climb the Czarnów Hills because of the recumbent bike. My own ride plan required turning right (no issues) but I was advised to make the detour to the left. Which ended up in several loops we made being completely lost! Only thorough consulting digital maps helped us leave that damned area!

Or, you're riding dirt roads along the woods' edge and you meet Nativity play actors in impeccably clean costumes! Turned our they were members of a choir walking to a rehearsal while female Angels took a car ride instead We later met the Devil and other actors, too!

As the main group was expected to ride off-road as much as possible, I elected riding "Mazovian gravel" terrain (as that was doable for the recumbent). So we arrived at Górki Szymona, a nice recreational area on the ponds.

It was the first time someone explained to me that there actually were two Zalesie: Upper and Lower (I have never grabbed that idea before!) We lost all hope to catch up with the group, so I briefly created a gravel cycling route between Zalesie Upper and Zalesie Lower

We arrived in Mariano Italiano, an excellent Italian restaurant.

Soon, we were joined by five remaining members of the group!

And we returned to South Warsaw together with the group.

Ride Map. Makenzen rode over 70, and I over 50 km on the day.

 

[RabH]

A trouble free ride today, my new tyre is due to arrive tomorrow and with this afternoon being so nice I had to get out! I actually found a small hole in my damaged tyre which I'm sure had a thorn in it, so I used a tyre boot to be safe and did a few circuits around town before chancing a longer ride, thankfully without any issues! For a change we had a northerly wind so I decided to head out to Breich and take on the big climb up towards Forth which is way easier with a tailwind, not that it was a strong one but around 15mph which was nice!

In the morning it was pouring down but the forecast was showing a dry afternoon and amazingly it was correct! No ice today so I used the back roads as much as possible, the road down to Allanton is always great fun and when I arrived there I took the back roads to loop around the town which brought me out at the eastern side where I joined the main road all the way to Breich! Thats where I headed up the climb towards Forth before enjoying the awesome descent through Wilsontown, its one of those roads which just makes you grin from ear to ear when you ride it!

I then headed up the climb into Braehead before plunging down the big descent towards Carnwath, another awesome piece of road! I turned west part way down to take the back roads to Yieldshields and I didn't see a single car for miles, the main reason I love to take these roads! The roads were still wet from the morning rain and my bike was absolutely filthy but I was just loving it! From Yieldshields I took the back road to Carluke which is another amazing road especially since they resurfaced it earlier this year!

I then enjoyed some nice descents down into Morningside where I turned north into the wind back up to Allanton, from there it was a headwind all the way home on pretty much the same roads I used at the start of the ride and I arrived home in full daylight for a change and gave the bike a much needed wash! A fun ride indeed in perfect cycling conditions and no issues with my tyre!No photos today, I just wanted to ride the bike and have fun with no distractions! There was a lot of climbing but the descents were just amazing and the 17.4mph average says it all!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My First "Night BRIDGES Reversed" (A Gravel Group Ride)

"Night BRIDGES" is a regular Monday event for Warsaw gravel cyclists under the auspices of Gravel.Love foundation. On the proper "Night BRIDGES" a big group of extremely strong riders zooms recreational gravel paths along the River Vistula at a very high speed; they usually ride anti-clockwise. The route includes some technical segments, too. Gravel.Love has announced an additional group ride on the "reversed" course and to be ridden at a way lower speed for last Tuesday. My brother had explained me the details of the route and encouraged me to take part in the ride. I thought it would be wise to take my Vado 6.0 for the ride for more motor power.

By the Warsaw Mermaid (1937) at 18:39. The ride would start at 19:00. The light display on the Holy Cross Bridge pillar is for Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a Polish statesman and Prime Minister especially important during the transition of Poland from Communism to a democratic state (died 2013).

The ride started at 19:00 sharp. There was five of us, including one female rider (who I knew from other group rides).

The motor settings for the 'slow' ride. Wrong! Too weak! It should be 30, 40, and 100%! At one place we had to ride up a high river embankment. Had I 100% Turbo, I would ride it up easily! I got surprised and 40% assistance turned out to be too little!

The ride turned out to be just wonderful! It was not exactly easy but I was keeping up with the group. The views were gorgeous! Just fancy a group of several bikes with their tail-lights quietly zooming gravel paths among the trees, little climbs and descents, and the delicate tyre noise on the gravel! I regret I was unable to be taking photos or a short movie!

A 3 minute stop by the Praga Harbour. The weather was gorgeous: not less than 4 C, dry, clear, no wind perceived. I could ride without the goggles!

The "no drop" rule was observed here. On rare occasions where I got slowed down by technical obstacles, the group would wait for me. Once, I literally followed the GPX course that led into some bushes; I got a Messenger call: 'Stefan, you are asking for trouble. Please immediately return. We are waiting for you!' Nice people indeed!

At the finish line!

I had a look at my watch and said 'It was a great pleasure to ride with you! I need to catch my return train! Good-bye!' and only set my TURBO to 100% as I had to climb the Tamka, one of a few harder climbs in Warsaw

A coffee robot at Warsaw-City train station. I usually take a mug of hot chocolate there.

The top metrics include my rides between the Warsaw-City and the Mermaid. The other stats are for the gravel group ride. It takes the Monday riders some 1 h 30 min to complete the loop! (My total Tuesday distance was 55.8 km including the commutes where I live).