2025 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[Jeremy McCreary]

Yesterday's 18 mi ride with neighbor D started with...

Me: "Where to?"
D: "You pick."
Me: "How about the Solar System Trail to the volcano?"
D: "Fine."
And off we went. Then it struck me: Where else could you be serious about that question?

OK, OK, the volcano's been extinct for some 8-15 million years. And little more than its plug remains, the rest long lost to erosion.

Disappointed that it's not active? Not me. I've had some training in volcanology. Hard not to notice the many gruesome and often unexpected ways an active volcano can do you in. Trust me, the only good volcano to have this close to home is a dead one.

When this dacite lava froze up in the throat of the volcano after its final eruption, it broke into the roughly hexagonal vertical columns seen here. The technical name for this contractional cooling phenomenon is "columnar jointing".

The poster child of columnar jointing is everybody's favorite volcanic plug — Devils Tower in Wyoming. (Photo stolen from the web.)

This prominent local peak is formally Cerro de la Calavera, with Calavera Lake below. But many locals call it "Calavera volcano" or just "the volcano". A dozen or so volcanos of this type and vintage dot western SoCal south of LA.

Lots of easy gravel riding right around Calavera Lake, but you'd need an MTB to climb higher.

Wasn't making up the solar system part, either. This favorite local MUP, 3 mi long, is flattish gravel and packed dirt below, then steep pavement up to lake level.

Nicely done signs along the MUP tell about the Sun and planets, with the Sun at the top. The planet signs are spaced in proportion to their actual distances from the sun.

Only a few bike lengths from the sun to Mercury.

Huge jump in sign spacing after Mars. Sorry asteroids, no sign for you.

Surprisingly long ride from Uranus to Neptune.

And much longer still from Neptune to Pluto. Maybe Pluto was still a planet when the signs were made. Or maybe the folks responsible were just Pluto die-hards.

 

[Watana Bob]

We also have a planet walk that starts in downtown, and if I remember correctly, Pluto is about seven miles out on the coastal trail. I'll try to remember to get some pictures next time i'm out that way. Our walk was built before Pluto was demoted.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

We also have a planet walk that starts in downtown, and if I remember correctly, Pluto is about seven miles out on the coastal trail. I'll try to remember to get some pictures next time i'm out that way. Our walk was built before Pluto was demoted.

Wow, 7 miles! Ours is 2.5 mi at most.

The relative planet spacings in ours are best appreciated by bike. Much harder to keep track on foot. Yours is so long that the relative spacings might be most apparent by car.

Another cool demo of this kind is the Trail of Time in Grand Canyon National Park. Runs for 4.65 km (2.8 mi) on the Rim Trail in the south rim's main visitor area at a rate of 1 million years per meter. Every geological period and era from the birth of the planet to present is marked, with informative plaques along the way. Found my own birth about half-way down.
;^}

 

[Stefan Mikes]

May 3rd • South of Kazik • Lublin Highland (a guided tour by Marek K)

Marek gave a green light to our group ride for 8:30 a.m. He rides a good Merida trekking bicycle and is an active cyclist. We made friends many years ago. As a born Puławian, he could show me the things I would have never noticed on a solo ride!

Marynka Palace in Puławy. One of two palaces and several other architecture objects in the huge Czartoryski park in Puławy.

A romantic bridge.

A historical note
The Czartoryskis were one of the most powerful and patriotic aristocratic families in Poland of 1700s. They played an active role in the drafting of the May 3rd Constitution of 1791, which might have saved the country had it not been for the fact that the Government Bill was passed far too late. The Czartoryski family also actively supported Polish uprising until the final Partition of Poland in 1795. The Russian took their revenge: the original Puławy palace was demolished by the Russian army. Princess Izabela Czartoryska was a die-hard; she not only built two new palaces and other buildings but also created the first public museum on the Polish lands. The place earned the name of "the Polish Athens" at that time.

Puławy is proud of several academic institutions acting there, such as the Polar Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences, or the Farming Research Institute.

Kazimierz Dolny (with its petty name of Kazik, as Kazimierz is a male first name) is a gorgeous resort town on the Vistula, which is one of the most expensive locations in Poland. Marek said: 'Everybody goes to Kazik but no step farther. Lets ride South of Kazik and I promise you will never regret it!' So we skipped Kazik as fast as possible

In a quaint village of Mięćmierz (nobody of you could pronounce the name!), which is just 1.8 km south of Kazik.

Mięćmierz is full of historical cottages of fishermen from them olden days.

'Don't even try riding any further!' Marek warned 'the road will become totally unrideable soon!' See a unique type of fence made of wicker. The type was invented by the ancient Hauländers to protect the homesteads against ice floe carried by springtime floods. (Poland is now full of blooming lilac with its beautiful smell).

We continued the ride for many kilometres (I was not taking any pictures). At some point, Marek said 'Expect a long and very steep descent. Take care of the traction and braking!'

I know how to ride in high mountains. I assumed an MTB downhill riding position and sped up to over 61 km/h I loved it! Just to mention the Land of Lublin is not our flat Mazovia; it is actually the Lublin Highland, a hilly area!

At 36th kilometre, we stopped for a longer rest in the garden of a grocery store in Zastów Polanowski. Make no mistake: the locals met there were lovely people! The Poland's edition of World Rally Championship is held in Land of Lublin, and the race route leads just by the shop on a narrow asphalt street! These guys are genuine WRC fans! (I only pretended to drink the beer for a joke photo).

Crossing River Chodelka in Podgórz. "Whenever there is a descent, there must be an ascent..." Climbing was about to start!

There was a series of long 7 then 8% climbs. Riding my Vado SL in Turbo, I had no issues. Marek was just a tad slower there. (Here, emerging from the last climb).

'Wanna see something interesting?' Marek took me to Albrechtówka Viewpoint, which is located on a cliff above Mięćmierz. I only said "WOW!" Now, I could see the Vistula in her full glory!

'Have a look over there! It is Janowiec Castle. We will be riding there soon!'

A proof I was there

The Vistula is an unregulated river, and as such, she doesn't experience a lot of shipping. Here, "Celina" cruise ship.

'Now, a serious warning' my friend said 'it is a dangerous descent. Use your brakes frequently as the road has a dead end, and you might fly down the valley as many before did!' I was modulating my brakes with the top speed of 45 km/h and with hard braking in the lower part of the descent!

Or, when you arrive to a river crossing and can only see e-bikes I told you Kazik was a posh town; people can afford e-bikes there. The man with red sleeves was a Haibike rider. He inspected my Vado SL, asked if it had a Yamaha motor, and was surprised to learn it was a Specialized motor made by Mahle. He even inspected the motor cover to find a stylized "S" there

The ferry arrives. It was full of cars and cyclists. The fare went up 40% over the last two weeks!

Another cruise ship (Pirate) on the Vistula.

We had yet another difficult climb (on the sidewalk!) to get to Janowiec Castle.

At Manes, a private recreational farm. See the infusion liqueurs for sale. I went to buy a bottle, and paid in advance by the instant payment system of Poland called "BLIK to phone" (you instantly send money from your bank app to a bank account associated with a phone number. There were two glasses of liqueur for sampling on the bar. I tasted from one of the glasses and then... 'WHY DO YOU DRINK FROM MY OWN SAMPLES?!' an angry woman turned to me. Oops. I apologized for the miscomprehension. She asked 'Are you at least a healthy person?!' -- 'Yes, I am, had an examination lately' Eventually she returned the glass to me, and I had to drink it! Well, it was a misunderstanding but Karens are everywhere! These were free samples!

'You'll be delighted. Yet another descent!' This time, I only managed 50 km/h

Marek uses a Garmin sports watch for ride recording. Unfortunately, he wears no helmet. (I have to seriously speak to him!)

On an observation deck in Puławy Marina.

Ride Map. It was a wonderful day with temperature of 23 C, sunshine and no noticeable wind.

 

[Watana Bob]

Wow, 7 miles! Ours is 2.5 mi at most.

The relative planet spacings in ours are best appreciated by bike. Much harder to keep track on foot. Yours is so long that the relative spacings might be most apparent by car.

I did some reasearch Jeremy , it turns out that the solar system planet walk was layed out so that at a casual walking pace each minute of walking equates to a minute at the speed of light. From the Sun to the Earth is about an eight minute walk which is about the same time it takes light from the Sun to reach the Earth. Pluto is about a 5.5 hour walk, so it must be about 10 miles down the trail from the Sun. I must have been thinking of Neptune that I remember seeing about 7 miles out.

 

[Chargeride]

Yesterday's 18 mi ride with neighbor D started with...

Me: "Where to?"
D: "You pick."
Me: "How about the Solar System Trail to the volcano?"
D: "Fine."
And off we went. Then it struck me: Where else could you be serious about that question?


View attachment 192998
OK, OK, the volcano's been extinct for some 8-15 million years. And little more than its plug remains, the rest long lost to erosion.

Disappointed that it's not active? Not me. I've had some training in volcanology. Hard not to notice the many gruesome and often unexpected ways an active volcano can do you in. Trust me, the only good volcano to have this close to home is a dead one.

View attachment 192999
When this dacite lava froze up in the throat of the volcano after its final eruption, it broke into the roughly hexagonal vertical columns seen here. The technical name for this contractional cooling phenomenon is "columnar jointing".

View attachment 193001
The poster child of columnar jointing is everybody's favorite volcanic plug — Devils Tower in Wyoming. (Photo stolen from the web.)

View attachment 192997
This prominent local peak is formally Cerro de la Calavera, with Calavera Lake below. But many locals call it "Calavera volcano" or just "the volcano". A dozen or so volcanos of this type and vintage dot western SoCal south of LA.

View attachment 193000
Lots of easy gravel riding right around Calavera Lake, but you'd need an MTB to climb higher.

View attachment 192986
Wasn't making up the solar system part, either. This favorite local MUP, 3 mi long, is flattish gravel and packed dirt below, then steep pavement up to lake level.

View attachment 192996
Nicely done signs along the MUP tell about the Sun and planets, with the Sun at the top. The planet signs are spaced in proportion to their actual distances from the sun.

View attachment 192995
Only a few bike lengths from the sun to Mercury.

View attachment 192994View attachment 192993View attachment 192992
Huge jump in sign spacing after Mars. Sorry asteroids, no sign for you.

View attachment 192991View attachment 192990View attachment 192989View attachment 192988
Surprisingly long ride from Uranus to Neptune.

View attachment 192987
And much longer still from Neptune to Pluto. Maybe Pluto was still a planet when the signs were made. Or maybe the folks responsible were just Pluto die-hards.

Pluto is named after a cartoon dog and I demand it is reinstated.