Chargeride
Well-Known Member
I'm imagining Magda remotely directing Stefan around a supermarket.
I'm waiting for the Strava track.
You're not on the bike are you dad?
I'm waiting for the Strava track.
You're not on the bike are you dad?
2025 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos
- Thread starter Saratoga Dave
- Start date
Chazmo
Active Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Central Massachusetts
I saw the nasty ice shelf in one of your pictures and figured it couldnāt quite be āwarmā yet.
Happy riding!
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Ha! It was fun! I had the camera pointed towards the shop and walked among the shelves with no hope to find either the hairband or the chewing gum in sachets. We were talking. Out of sudden, I found myself in the section for beauty products and Magda shouted 'Dad, the hairbands are there!' Then I was scanning the shelves with chewing gum and Magda said she could see the sachets
(I even didn't know chewing gum could be available in 21 pcs sachets!) As you know GPS doesn't work inside buildingsI'm waiting for the Strava track.
Once, we set off for a longer South London walk with @Brix. I turned Strava on but forgot to terminate the recording at the end of the trip. We could have walked for 5 kilometres but as the GPS was inside the hotel, Strava decided we walked for 14 kilometres!I named the workout "Sex In The Big City"
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Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Like A Dwunken Wabbit
Guys, if you have a Strava App on your smartphone, please click this link just for fun
Strava Flyover 3D Replay
The fun about that is I set off for a very specific shopping ride but as the ride progressed I was discovering more and more things I needed to buy...
20.2 actual kilometres of nonsensical riding The temperature dropped to -4 C but I wore pretty lightweight clothes! So I had to pedal hard to keep myself warm!
Guys, if you have a Strava App on your smartphone, please click this link just for fun
Strava Flyover 3D Replay
The fun about that is I set off for a very specific shopping ride but as the ride progressed I was discovering more and more things I needed to buy...
20.2 actual kilometres of nonsensical riding
The temperature dropped to -4 C but I wore pretty lightweight clothes! So I had to pedal hard to keep myself warm!
Last edited:
Watana Bob
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Stefan you have way too much fun !Like A Drunken Wabbit
Guys, if you have a Strava App on your smartphone, please click this link just for fun
Strava Flyover 3D Replay
The fun about that is I set off for a very specific shopping ride but as the ride progressed I was discovering more and more things I needed to buy...
View attachment 190735
20.2 actual kilometres of nonsensical riding
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
first time we road up to Forrest park after it had rained. we were not going to ride far as the roads are not paved. sure saw the water falling for the first time and rocks falling. small streams and waterfalls turning into large ones. The boulder was wedged into tree roots even.
RabH
Well-Known Member
I was hoping to get out yesterday as I have a big ride planned for Thursday but the weather had other ideas! So I decided to wait until today and after a bittterly cold morning with a hard frost things warmed up nicely in the afternoon, a pleasant 7C but with a chilly ENE wind around 15-20mph! It was perfect conditions for a ride over the Campsie Hills from the Denny end, I headed north over the back roads to Cumbernauld where I had this view of the Campsies!
Then I made my way to Bonnybridge where I stopped for a snack and a photo of the canal!
I then headed north to Denny and started up the 3 mile climb into the Carron Valley with a nice tailwind making the climb easier than it usually is, this is why I chose this route! I stopped for this photo part way up!
At the top of the climb the River Carron came into view!
The ride along the valley was just amazing with the tailwind and a very smooth road for the most part!
The Carron Valley Dam!
I got a nice surprise as I approached the rough part of the road to find some lovely new tarmac had been laid!
Then came my favourite part, alongside the reservoir!
I was hoping they had fixed the next rough part of the road but I was out of luck but thankfully its only about half a mile before the smooth surface returns! This part is amazing and with a tailwind its a very fast downhill section!
The view of the hills to the north!
I then had a climb before the fastest descent on this section of the valley, 41mph down this one! This is looking back up the hill I just hammered down!
Now looking west and this brave cyclist was battling the big climb into a 20mph headwind!
I enjoyed the remainder of the descent and stopped for a couple of photos looking south before tackling the 3.5 mile climb up Crow Road and over the Campsies!
The hill I was just about to tackle!
I stopped for a few photos and some much needed snacks on the way up!
Nearing the summit now, looking back down!
Then it was time for the fantastic descent down into Lennoxtown, the first part was wind assisted where I managed 43.3mph before turning into the wind on the next part and I was pretty much over 30mph all the way down despite the headwind! I stopped at Whitefield Pond in Lennoxtown for a couple of photos!
I then headed SE towards Kirkintilloch and got one last photo of the Campsies!
The traffic was very busy in the town and I was very glad to turn off the main road and join the back road to Twechar which runs alongside the canal!
Not much traffic on this road...
A photo of the canal before arriving in Twechar!
From there I headed east back to Cumbernauld and took mostly quiet back roads to home, with 59 miles in the bag I did a little circuit to bring up the 60 miles! I'm hoping I didn't overdo it today with my big ride coming on Thursday! I'm making the most of it while the weather is still nice, the good weather will end on Friday...
Attachments
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Between 2 of last week's Pacific storms came a very nice surprise ā a glorious sunny afternoon with a mild south wind and crystal clear air.
Perfect day for a coast ride south to Cardiff Beach and back ā with the obligatory stops to commune with the ocean along the way. This is how the day looked from the south turnaround.
To add some vertical and avoid some traffic, I kept to the ridges flanking the Coast Highway through Leucadia, a district of Encinitas.
After 2 hilly all-ECO rides the week before, treated myself to an all-SPORT ride just for kicks. Still got a decent workout ā just at a zippier pace.
Have a very hard time passing South Ponto Beach without riding out onto the gravel berm for at least a few minutes of wave- and cloud-watching. No sign yet of the storm due to arrive that night.
Surprisingly subdued post-storm surf: Just low swell with some chop left over from the local storm winds of the day before.
Looking east across the San Diego Freeway (I-5) from the 140-180 ft ridge just east of the Coast Highway in Leucadia. Typical weekday afternoon traffic.
Big yellow lemon slices dot the back of this blue house on the ridge above the freeway. Lots of traffic noise here, but a killer ocean view from the other side of the house to make up for it ā a common trade-off along the I-5 corridor south of San Clemente.
Farther down the ridge crest, Orpheus Park. Peaceful enough now, but a good place NOT to be when the nearby K-8 lets out and total ebike and pedestrian pandemonium ensues.
The ride went seriously coastal again after coming off the ridge. View SW from the Encinitas rail trail.
Escondido Creek discharging into the Pacific at the north end of Cardiff Beach after meandering through the San Elijo Lagoon estuary. The estuary has only a groundwater connection to the ocean most of the year.
The pelicans, gulls, and small wading birds gathered on the sand bar beyond my bike were having a very loud conversation but didn't seem to be fighting.
Cardiff Reef heading offshore at the south end of Cardiff Beach ā a popular tide-pooling spot at lower low tides but nearly deserted this day.
The slightly tilted sedimentary rock making up the reef is marine mudstone of the Del Mar Formation. You can tell by its dark green color, fine-grained texture, and distinctive layers of fossil oyster shells some 45 million years old.
The Del Mar strata were originally laid down flat on a quiet seabed shallow enough to accumulate oyster shells. But they've since been lifted partially out of the water in several places along the coast here. They've also been tilted gently down to the SW at this location.
What happened in the intervening 45 million years and exactly when is just the kind of puzzle geologists work to solve.
Offshore continuation of Cardiff Reef in Google Maps satellite view.
The cliff below these zillion-dollar view homes on the bluff above the reef is actively slumping. No way to predict when they'll become uninhabitable, but I bet they're already uninsurable.
The bluff-top park overlooking Swami's Beach was the only stop on the way home. Here, the same Del Mar Formation strata we saw at Cardiff dip gently to the NW.
This change in dip direction can mean only one thing: In the 2.5 miles between the NW-dipping Swami's Reef (S) and the SW-dipping Cardiff Reef (C), the Del Mar Formation has warped upward from its originally flat geometry. This is direct evidence of rock folding along the coast at some time after the oyster fossils were first buried in the Middle Eocene. But exactly when and why?
Looking south from Swami's toward the La Jolla Peninsula, some10 14 mi away. The peninsula's high point, Mt. Soledad, marks the biggest of the rock folds along the San Diego County coast.
This upwarp's a direct consequence of compression across a mechanically unfavorable bend in the 4 million year-old Rose Canyon fault, a San Andreas helper carrying substantial seismic risk. The lesser fold between the Cardiff and Swami's Reefs could well be part of the same tectonic squeeze. If so, it's gotta be younger than the fault.
Perfect day for a coast ride south to Cardiff Beach and back ā with the obligatory stops to commune with the ocean along the way. This is how the day looked from the south turnaround.
To add some vertical and avoid some traffic, I kept to the ridges flanking the Coast Highway through Leucadia, a district of Encinitas.
After 2 hilly all-ECO rides the week before, treated myself to an all-SPORT ride just for kicks. Still got a decent workout ā just at a zippier pace.
Have a very hard time passing South Ponto Beach without riding out onto the gravel berm for at least a few minutes of wave- and cloud-watching. No sign yet of the storm due to arrive that night.
Surprisingly subdued post-storm surf: Just low swell with some chop left over from the local storm winds of the day before.
Looking east across the San Diego Freeway (I-5) from the 140-180 ft ridge just east of the Coast Highway in Leucadia. Typical weekday afternoon traffic.
Big yellow lemon slices dot the back of this blue house on the ridge above the freeway. Lots of traffic noise here, but a killer ocean view from the other side of the house to make up for it ā a common trade-off along the I-5 corridor south of San Clemente.
Farther down the ridge crest, Orpheus Park. Peaceful enough now, but a good place NOT to be when the nearby K-8 lets out and total ebike and pedestrian pandemonium ensues.
The ride went seriously coastal again after coming off the ridge. View SW from the Encinitas rail trail.
Escondido Creek discharging into the Pacific at the north end of Cardiff Beach after meandering through the San Elijo Lagoon estuary. The estuary has only a groundwater connection to the ocean most of the year.
The pelicans, gulls, and small wading birds gathered on the sand bar beyond my bike were having a very loud conversation but didn't seem to be fighting.
Cardiff Reef heading offshore at the south end of Cardiff Beach ā a popular tide-pooling spot at lower low tides but nearly deserted this day.
The slightly tilted sedimentary rock making up the reef is marine mudstone of the Del Mar Formation. You can tell by its dark green color, fine-grained texture, and distinctive layers of fossil oyster shells some 45 million years old.
The Del Mar strata were originally laid down flat on a quiet seabed shallow enough to accumulate oyster shells. But they've since been lifted partially out of the water in several places along the coast here. They've also been tilted gently down to the SW at this location.
What happened in the intervening 45 million years and exactly when is just the kind of puzzle geologists work to solve.
Offshore continuation of Cardiff Reef in Google Maps satellite view.
The cliff below these zillion-dollar view homes on the bluff above the reef is actively slumping. No way to predict when they'll become uninhabitable, but I bet they're already uninsurable.
The bluff-top park overlooking Swami's Beach was the only stop on the way home. Here, the same Del Mar Formation strata we saw at Cardiff dip gently to the NW.
This change in dip direction can mean only one thing: In the 2.5 miles between the NW-dipping Swami's Reef (S) and the SW-dipping Cardiff Reef (C), the Del Mar Formation has warped upward from its originally flat geometry. This is direct evidence of rock folding along the coast at some time after the oyster fossils were first buried in the Middle Eocene. But exactly when and why?
Looking south from Swami's toward the La Jolla Peninsula, some
This upwarp's a direct consequence of compression across a mechanically unfavorable bend in the 4 million year-old Rose Canyon fault, a San Andreas helper carrying substantial seismic risk. The lesser fold between the Cardiff and Swami's Reefs could well be part of the same tectonic squeeze. If so, it's gotta be younger than the fault.
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RabH
Well-Known Member
From Zero to Hero, what a day!
I had a big ride planned for today, around 120 miles with a 32 mile drive to Powmill where I was going to park the car in a layby and cycle up to St Andrews and head back down the east coast! I had everything in the car yesterday except my batteries, with a temp of -2C expected this morning I didn't want to leave my batteries in the car overnight! So all I had to do this morning was put the batteries in the car and go, 30 miles into my drive a shiver ran down my spine when I realised I hadn't brought my batteries!!! My mood changed from total excitement to absolute dread! So I had no choice but to drive home, I got back at 9.25am and knew it was pointless using my car now!
So I quickly came up with a new route from home, the temp was now 5C and expected to rise to a very pleasant 12C and there was very little wind! So after my awful start to the day I was now in my happy place sat on the bike, I made my way down to the Clyde Valley and tackled the big climb up through Hamilton where I joined the back road to Chapelton and grabbed my first photo!
From there I made my way to East Kilbride which isn't my favourite place but I worked there for almost 10 years and know all the shortcuts to avoid the worst of the traffic, I made it through without incident and headed for Eaglesham! A 3.5 mile climb up over the moors! Part way up I stopped for some photos, its such a great road and pretty quiet for the most part!
Lochgoin Reservoir in the background!
The climb just keeps going!
Time for the big descent!
At the end of the road I joined the main A77 which is quiet since they built the M77 motorway which runs alongside the old road! I then turned south on the A719 which is one of the best roads in the country and the main reason I chose this alternative route! This certainly put the disappointment of this morning way to the back of my mind, it was proper cycling heaven!
The lambs are growing fast!
I had a real blast down the final descent into Galston where I joined the back road to Sornhill, a 2 mile climb and you can see why its called this!
Then I continued up the climb and the awesome roads just continued!
A short time later I arrived in Sorn and stopped on the bridge for a photo before battling up another 2 mile climb!
The climb out of Sorn is a real tough one and the road is a proper boneshaker so I was glad to make it up the climb and get back on smooth roads again!
I had a nice view of the hills here also, I believe this one is called Cairn Table!
Cairn Table is the highest of the hills which dominate the moorland landscape to the south of Muirkirk, rising 593m above sea level. The hill takes its name from the two large prehistoric cairns which stand on the summit.
I was now heading east towards Muirkirk and the wind was starting to pick up, only around 15mph though ( a light breeze in these parts) and from the SE which would mean a nice tailwind from Muirkirk to Strathaven! Another amazing road, in my motorbiking days it was a real favourite!
Glengavel Reservoir!
I was nearing Strathaven now but turned east on the back road to Sandford to avoid the busy town, it starts with a climb and is followed by some nice undulations!
I was approaching Sandford and spotted a quiet side road and decided to check it out, it was a bit rough in places but I enjoyed the little change of scenery! Eventually it brought me out on the road to Kirkmuirhill which was my planned route and I came across more young lambs which were very vocal!
From Kirkmuirhill I took the back road through Auchenheath, a big fast descent quickly followed by another big climb and then the awesome descent down into the valley! Then it was another big descent through Hazelbank and on to Crossford with the big climb out of the valley ahead of me!
My last 2 photos on the bridge at Crossford over the River Clyde!
I had 88 miles in my legs now so I cranked the assist up to level 3 up the climb, I don't think I would have made it up in eco mode...
I had only covered 8 miles with my 3rd battery so I had lots of juice left to make it up all the climbs into Carluke! The road up past Carluke railway station was closed so I had to follow the diversion which took me out at the far side of the town, from there I took the back road to Allanton and up the big climb to Kirk of Shotts and part way up 100 miles appeared on my gps! Level 3 assist was a real blessing up this one, near the top of the climb I turned west for Hareshaw which was mostly downhill and wind assisted! It was just amazing and had me grinning from ear to ear! 
I then took my usual back roads home and was pretty tired when I got there but absolutely buzzing after a brilliant day on the bike!
I have now passed 1500 miles, 1528 to be exact and have already climbed 102,719 ft this year from just 20 rides! I think I will sleep for at least 10 hours now...
Attachments
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
112 miles...
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
So let's see: Your overall gain rate was 7942/112.2 = 71 vertical ft/mi, you used Level 3 sparingly, and you still averaged 17 mph over 112 mi??View attachment 190926
From Zero to Hero, what a day!
I had a big ride planned for today, around 120 miles with a 32 mile drive to Powmill where I was going to park the car in a layby and cycle up to St Andrews and head back down the east coast! I had everything in the car yesterday except my batteries, with a temp of -2C expected this morning I didn't want to leave my batteries in the car overnight! So all I had to do this morning was put the batteries in the car and go, 30 miles into my drive a shiver ran down my spine when I realised I hadn't brought my batteries!!! My mood changed from total excitement to absolute dread! So I had no choice but to drive home, I got back at 9.25am and knew it was pointless using my car now!
So I quickly came up with a new route from home, the temp was now 5C and expected to rise to a very pleasant 12C and there was very little wind! So after my awful start to the day I was now in my happy place sat on the bike, I made my way down to the Clyde Valley and tackled the big climb up through Hamilton where I joined the back road to Chapelton and grabbed my first photo!
View attachment 190927
From there I made my way to East Kilbride which isn't my favourite place but I worked there for almost 10 years and know all the shortcuts to avoid the worst of the traffic, I made it through without incident and headed for Eaglesham! A 3.5 mile climb up over the moors! Part way up I stopped for some photos, its such a great road and pretty quiet for the most part!
View attachment 190928
View attachment 190929
Lochgoin Reservoir in the background!
View attachment 190930
The climb just keeps going!
View attachment 190931
View attachment 190932
Time for the big descent!
View attachment 190933
At the end of the road I joined the main A77 which is quiet since they built the M77 motorway which runs alongside the old road! I then turned south on the A719 which is one of the best roads in the country and the main reason I chose this alternative route! This certainly put the disappointment of this morning way to the back of my mind, it was proper cycling heaven!
View attachment 190934
View attachment 190935
The lambs are growing fast!
View attachment 190936
I had a real blast down the final descent into Galston where I joined the back road to Sornhill, a 2 mile climb and you can see why its called this!
View attachment 190938I stopped for a short break and a snack near the top of the climb and grabbed this photo!
View attachment 190939
Then I continued up the climb and the awesome roads just continued!
View attachment 190940
View attachment 190941
A short time later I arrived in Sorn and stopped on the bridge for a photo before battling up another 2 mile climb!
View attachment 190943
The climb out of Sorn is a real tough one and the road is a proper boneshaker so I was glad to make it up the climb and get back on smooth roads again!
View attachment 190944
I had a nice view of the hills here also, I believe this one is called Cairn Table!
Cairn Table is the highest of the hills which dominate the moorland landscape to the south of Muirkirk, rising 593m above sea level. The hill takes its name from the two large prehistoric cairns which stand on the summit.
View attachment 190945
View attachment 190946
I was now heading east towards Muirkirk and the wind was starting to pick up, only around 15mph though ( a light breeze in these parts) and from the SE which would mean a nice tailwind from Muirkirk to Strathaven! Another amazing road, in my motorbiking days it was a real favourite!
View attachment 190947
View attachment 190948
Glengavel Reservoir!
View attachment 190950
I was nearing Strathaven now but turned east on the back road to Sandford to avoid the busy town, it starts with a climb and is followed by some nice undulations!
View attachment 190951
View attachment 190952
I was approaching Sandford and spotted a quiet side road and decided to check it out, it was a bit rough in places but I enjoyed the little change of scenery! Eventually it brought me out on the road to Kirkmuirhill which was my planned route and I came across more young lambs which were very vocal!
View attachment 190953
From Kirkmuirhill I took the back road through Auchenheath, a big fast descent quickly followed by another big climb and then the awesome descent down into the valley! Then it was another big descent through Hazelbank and on to Crossford with the big climb out of the valley ahead of me!
My last 2 photos on the bridge at Crossford over the River Clyde!
View attachment 190954
View attachment 190955
I had 88 miles in my legs now so I cranked the assist up to level 3 up the climb, I don't think I would have made it up in eco mode...
I have now passed 1500 miles, 1528 to be exact and have already climbed 102,719 ft this year from just 20 rides! I think I will sleep for at least 10 hours now...
Pretty much blows your cover as a human. Which advanced cycling civilization are you from? Zargon VII or Cylon III?
Watana Bob
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Most people facing an eight thousand foot climb would be packing a rope and pitons,
RƔs Cnoic
Hillrider
- Region
- United Kingdom
- City
- Dartmoor
Milan San Remo is on this weekend Rab. First of this year's Monuments. Grab yer Scottish kit and get yer arse over there pronto!
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Specialized Turbo Vado SL 2 6.0 Carbon Demo Ride (preview)
What an e-bike!
Test ride at Specialized Warsaw Soho.
What an e-bike!
Test ride at Specialized Warsaw Soho.
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
You can be sure of the accuracy of those dates, he wrote them in his diary
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
well there's a pic for the Specialized 2025 calender.
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
I was only 3 back then.
Base
Active Member
RƔs Cnoic
Hillrider
- Region
- United Kingdom
- City
- Dartmoor
It looks very good!
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