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

[fooferdoggie]

wife and I visted the ICE facility thats under fire from invading armies. it was really scary too.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Please dont let your kids see this.

sorry no frogs today.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Graveloza Bolimoza 2025 Re-Enactment Ride
I was surprised to see as many as four mates to join the ride on that cold and rainy day!

Krzysiek, or the Silent One. A way senior to me, he only rides vintage bikes. His road bike on skinny tyres was perhaps not the best suited for the ride but Krzysiek could make it!

I seem to have let down and diminished my close friend! As I knew Tommy hadn't owned proper waterproof clothes, and I doubted he could match strong riders, I hadn't invited him to the ride. Upset, Tommy bought a rainproof jacket and secretly joined the ride I can only say he did extremely well and proved himself! No issue to invite him to advanced group rides anymore!

Marek S, or The Racer. A well trained rider with big ambitions.

Grzesiek, or The Fresh Blood. He is a close friend to Marek, a body abled rider, and a charming person!

A stop at Iceland in Skierniewice-Rawka for some warming up

The Magic Tree in Paplin, Land of Łódź.

I knew those trails by heart as I had many rides in that area, especially on Giant Trance E+ back in 2020. Once we left the village of Lisna via a cobblestone climb and got into mud Tommy bravely followed the GPS course without much thinking. I wanted to watch a map and discuss a possible detour with the men but it was too late! The Green Cycle Trail involved an overgrown path among the bushes with a very soft grass surface! After we emerged from the trail, indignant Tommy snapped at me: 'What the f*ck was that?' to which I joyfully replied: 'That's the Green Trail. Can't you see the sign?'

My mates were happy and liked the adventure. I was proud as I was leading the pack for the most of the course (sometimes I was falling behind to assist Krzysiek on some harder moments). I needed 40/80% ECO and sometimes 70/70% SPORT on my Vado 6.0. As you can see from the Elevation Gain, the route was not totally flat!

 

[RabH]

Total deflation to total elation!

Yesterday I was planning to ride to the final round of the Scottish Championship Car race meeting at Knockhill Racing Circuit but the weather had other ideas, despite a nice forecast with very light winds! It was very wet and very misty when I woke so I decided to have a lie in and go in the car instead! Imagine my disappointment when I arrived at the circuit and you couldn't see for 50 yards, the sun was trying to break through but sadly the fog won this time and there wasn't a single race all day!

Fast forward 24 hours and I had a ride planned that I have been hoping to do all year, everytime I had hoped to do it I was scuppered and I had virtually given up hope now that we were almost half way through October! With light winds forecast for the whole week it was time to head to Ben Lawers to the north of Loch Tay, the mountain peaks at just under 4000ft! The road itself only rises to 1800ft but its a real challenge with a 4.5 mile climb from Glen Lyon and an average gradient of 5%, almost everytime I have climbed it the wind has made it very tough! With light winds I was really looking forward to it this time and with scenery to die for its one of the best rides Scotland has to offer!

The downside is its too far to bike the whole way so I put the bike in the car and made my way to Loch Lubnaig just north of Callander! It was a misty morning which is mostly the case at this time of year when the winds are light, but the forecast showed the mist lifting as the morning progressed! I set off from the car at 8.50am on the main A84 trunk road, I had a plan to use the cycle path if the road was busy but my luck was in and I was able to enjoy the amazing rollercoaster road! After 6 miles of undulations I had a nice 1 mile descent into Lochearnhead before starting up the 4 mile Glen Ogle climb, the mist spoiled the views up the climb but at least the roads were dry! I then had the amazing 5 mile descent down into Killin, that was a real blast!

I stopped in Killin for a snack and a short break and enjoyed the stunning views at the Falls of Dochart!

Now I had a 5 mile climb along the A827 which runs alongside beautiful Loch Tay, nothing steep though and the road is in good condition for the most part!

Loch Tay in the morning mist!

The next 7 miles or so to the village of Fearnan were very undulating, from there I had a short sharp climb up the road to Glenlyon! The road through the glen it just incredible and it runs alongside the River Lyon!

Its pretty much like this most of the way to the foothills of Ben Lawers!

It would be a dream to live in this home!

River Lyon!

The only downside was the council have been laying surface dressing on the roads which is basically loose gravel...thankfully the loose stuff was mostly in the middle!

All the way along the valley I just had to keep stopping for photos!

This view of Ben Lawers just blew me away!

It was so strange climbing with virtually no wind and I sure wasn't complaining, I was able to use eco mode for most of the climb! The amazing views just kept coming!

Ben Lawers was looking spectacular!

The view part way up the climb looking back down the valley!

As I crested the climb at the Lawers Dam I was just blown away with the view at the reservoir, the mist was totally shrouding the reservoir at this point and as I made my way along the awesome road it was dispersing quickly!

The Lawers Dam!

As I reached the far side of the reservoir most of the mist had now lifted, I couldn't have timed it any better!

Normally I would be buzzing about the descent back down the mountain now but with that surface dressing on the road I had to be extremely careful all the way down!

Another stunning view of the mountain part way down the descent!

This part of the descent is usually around 40mph but I was way slower today...

I was soon back on the A827 heading back to Killin, no more surface dressing now and some awesome descents to enjoy! The sun was now shining in Killin and the Falls of Dochart were looking incredible now!

After passing through the village I started the 5 mile climb back up through Glen Ogle and I was really looking forward to the descent back down to Lochearnhead and it didn't disappoint! I had a stunning view of the mountains to the west just before joining the A84!

I knew the A84 would be busy heading back to the car so I turned off the main road at Lochearnhead and joined the cycle path, its a mixture of smooth tarmac and dirt with some gravel thrown in! Nice smooth gravel thankfully!

Last year I made a wrong turn on this path and ended up on a steep forest road, not a place you want to be with a road bike with road tyres... The worst part was a huge descent which would have been difficult enough on a full suspension mountain bike! On the plus side I got some incredible views but I wasn't going to repeat my mistake!

Another amazing view of the mountains from the cycle path!

I rejoined the A84 at Strathyre with 68 miles covered and only a couple of miles to go to Loch Lubnaig where my car was parked! I thought about staying on the cycle path and heading to Callander and turning back to the car on the A84 but I was worried about the amount of traffic at this time of day! As I set off for home in the car I knew I had made the right decision to avoid the A84, the drive home was an absolute joy I have to add! I stayed away from the motorways and used the back roads I cycle all the time, my little car just loves twisty roads! What a brilliant day that was, it will live long in the memory!

 

[Rás Cnoic]

No, I don't know! Please tell me!


Thank you! Not that I'm particularly interested with e-MTBs Yet more knowledge never hurts.

We were as a group of five in Bolimów Forest on a rainy day. Not many photos to show but at least one story should be funny!

Currently there's an awful plague of populist, Trumpian style behaviour, putting English St. George's Cross flags on every bloody lightpost in England. (And occasionally in Wales which is such ridiculousness).

But in Ireland the flags you showed have zero to do with politics, that one is the Donegal county flag. In the summer county flags pop up all over the country in support of each counties GAA teams, Hurling or Gaelic Football, the 2 most popular sports in Ireland. Late July early August sees the climax of the season with the All Ireland final in both disciplines, held in Dublin. There are 32 counties in Ireland so 32 different coloured flags and people start putting them up early summer, on houses, farm gates, little flags on cars, shop windows and towns & cities official flag posts. As you drive through the country or in Norn Irl, you can tell where you are by the flags; Red & White in Cork, Green & White Limerick, Blue and Orange Tipperary, Light Blue & Navy for Dublin and so on. The 2 finals take place at Croke Park in Dublin, Europe's 4th largest stadium holding 82,300 fans and unlike the 3 biggest stadiums which are for football (soccer), Croke Park is solely for Gaelic Games.

The flag waving is an old tradition and the summer excitement grows as county teams get knocked out in the build up to final and the sports headlines, discussion and good natured banter takes over the whole country. Some counties are great at Hurling, some at Football, rarely both. Donegal it's football, making the final this year only to be beaten by the canny Kerrymen who now have won it an astonishing 39 times since 1888.

County flags:

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Graveloza Bolimoza 2025 Re-Enactment Ride
I was surprised to see as many as four mates to join the ride on that cold and rainy day!

View attachment 200845
Krzysiek, or the Silent One. A way senior to me, he only rides vintage bikes. His road bike on skinny tyres was perhaps not the best suited for the ride but Krzysiek could make it!

View attachment 200846
I seem to have let down and diminished my close friend! As I knew Tommy hadn't owned proper waterproof clothes, and I doubted he could match strong riders, I hadn't invited him to the ride. Upset, Tommy bought a rainproof jacket and secretly joined the ride I can only say he did extremely well and proved himself! No issue to invite him to advanced group rides anymore!

View attachment 200847
Marek S, or The Racer. A well trained rider with big ambitions.

View attachment 200848
Grzesiek, or The Fresh Blood. He is a close friend to Marek, a body abled rider, and a charming person!

View attachment 200849
A stop at Iceland in Skierniewice-Rawka for some warming up

View attachment 200850
The Magic Tree in Paplin, Land of Łódź.

I knew those trails by heart as I had many rides in that area, especially on Giant Trance E+ back in 2020. Once we left the village of Lisna via a cobblestone climb and got into mud Tommy bravely followed the GPS course without much thinking. I wanted to watch a map and discuss a possible detour with the men but it was too late! The Green Cycle Trail involved an overgrown path among the bushes with a very soft grass surface! After we emerged from the trail, indignant Tommy snapped at me: 'What the f*ck was that?' to which I joyfully replied: 'That's the Green Trail. Can't you see the sign?'

View attachment 200851
My mates were happy and liked the adventure. I was proud as I was leading the pack for the most of the course (sometimes I was falling behind to assist Krzysiek on some harder moments). I needed 40/80% ECO and sometimes 70/70% SPORT on my Vado 6.0. As you can see from the Elevation Gain, the route was not totally flat!

Hills! Hills, genuine hills by golly!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

(And occasionally in Wales which is such ridiculousness).

Totally agree.

Gaelic Football

Is it what we know by the name of Rugby?

There are 32 counties in Ireland

Judging by the County flags, it is the whole island including Norn Iron?

Thank you for your interesting and informative post!

Hills! Hills, genuine hills by golly!

No need to be sarcastic The area I live in is ironically named Płaskopolska (Flatpoland) by the local cyclists. Go slightly south and there are at least some climbs On the other hand, the high mountains we have on the South border are higher than anything found in the UK or Ireland And I did cycle there

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One of these inconspicuous peaks (only the fifth in the Crown of Polish mountains) is higher than Ben Nevis. I cycled there (not to the top!) in 2021 and was let by the National Park guard to cycle to the most remote road point of Poland (near to the Ukrainian and Slovak borders). Normally, cycling is not allowed there.

 

[JGcycle]

A pic from today's 17km ride:

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Totally agree.


Is it what we know by the name of Rugby?

No, rugby is international, played all over the world, or at least a lot of the world, especially the ex British Empire lands like Oz, New Zealand, South Africa. but popular in Japan, Argentina and Georgia too, as well as the Pacific Island nations, Fiji, Samoa Tonga - amazing athletes. Gaelic Football and Hurling are only played in Ireland or among the Irish Diaspora. New York and London enter the competition some years, but get knocked out in the early rounds.

Here's a taste of both.

Hurling - The fastest game on grass with only Ice Hockey faster according to Guinness book of Records :

Football:

Judging by the County flags, it is the whole island including Norn Iron?

Thank you for your interesting and informative post!

Yes it's the entire Island of Ireland, all 32 counties.

No need to be sarcastic The area I live in is ironically named Płaskopolska (Flatpoland) by the local cyclists. Go slightly south and there are at least some climbs On the other hand, the high mountains we have on the South border are higher than anything found in the UK or Ireland And I did cycle there

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

One of these inconspicuous peaks (only the fifth in the Crown of Polish mountains) is higher than Ben Nevis. I cycled there (not to the top!) in 2021 and was let by the National Park guard to cycle to the most remote road point of Poland (near to the Ukrainian and Slovak borders). Normally, cycling is not allowed there.

Always wanted to visit the Bieszczady National Park, those mountains and forests look beautiful.

 

[Mulezen]

For those who missed this video…it’s like a Charlie Chaplin skit…perfect in its mocking of Authority.
AI Overview

A food delivery rider in Chicago recently escaped from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by using his bicycle to evade them. Separately, cyclists in Portland have protested against ICE by riding bikes, sometimes nude, to the agency's building. These events, documented in various social media videos, show different instances of bike riders interacting with ICE, from evading them to protesting against them.

• Evasion in Chicago:
  In late September 2025, a food delivery rider on a bicycle reportedly outran and outmaneuvered ICE agents in downtown Chicago. Videos show the rider quickly cycling away while the agents struggled to keep up.
  
  
• Protests in Portland:
  More recently, protesters have organized bike rides to the ICE building in Portland, including a "naked bike ride" event. The purpose of these rides was to protest the actions of federal troops and ICE. Authorities reportedly warned protesters against disrupting traffic in the street.

 

[DaveMatthews]

For those who missed this video…it’s like a Charlie Chaplin skit…perfect in its mocking of Authority.
AI Overview

View attachment 200906
A food delivery rider in Chicago recently escaped from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by using his bicycle to evade them. Separately, cyclists in Portland have protested against ICE by riding bikes, sometimes nude, to the agency's building. These events, documented in various social media videos, show different instances of bike riders interacting with ICE, from evading them to protesting against them.

• Evasion in Chicago:
  In late September 2025, a food delivery rider on a bicycle reportedly outran and outmaneuvered ICE agents in downtown Chicago. Videos show the rider quickly cycling away while the agents struggled to keep up.
  
  
• Protests in Portland:
  More recently, protesters have organized bike rides to the ICE building in Portland, including a "naked bike ride" event. The purpose of these rides was to protest the actions of federal troops and ICE. Authorities reportedly warned protesters against disrupting traffic in the street.

Keystone Cops...
Needs Benny Hill music...

 

[Mulezen]

Google Search

I believe the worker was actually Legal though still…SW US circa 1900…Texas and such was referred to as Juan Crow and mirroring the South with its share of lynching.

 

[DaveMatthews]

Well... somebody and I think alike...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Well... somebody and I think alike...

Heaven help us.
;^}

 

[DaveMatthews]

Heaven help us.
;^}

Indeed... One "was" enough...

 

[Chargeride]

We need to get back to bike rides people...

So last week I was riding in Portland and I dropped my phone, some lovely fat American policemen rushed to help me retrieve it.
I gestured thankyou I ve got it ..
But they were very keen to high five me and as much as I love American exuberance I felt the need to retreat in case one of their guns went off and shot me instead of their own foot.

 

[Chazmo]

We need to get back to bike rides people...

So last week I was riding in Portland and I dropped my phone, some lovely fat American policemen rushed to help me retrieve it.
I gestured thankyou I ve got it ..
But they were very keen to high five me and as much as I love American exuberance I felt the need to retreat in case one of their guns went off and shot me instead of their own foot.

I hope you’re joking, Charge. But, I’m a little confused, don’t you live in Scotland? Sorry, it’s hard to remember all the relatively new faces and places I’ve met here… Are you on vacation? Visiting?

For the record, Portland is a pretty big mess for a variety of political and non-political reasons. I hope you don’t base your opinions on American constabulary too heavily on what you’re experiencing there.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

He lives in England and cannot fancy a second without making jokes it is RabH who lives in Scotland.
Besides, there is Portland in England, too , That's why you write Portland OR when you mention that lovely city where fooferdoggie lives

 

[Mulezen]

Naked bike ride protest caps week of Portland demonstrations, more ahead

As many Portlanders return to work Monday after a relatively sedate and rainy weekend of marches and protests, the city awaits word on whether the National Guard will be allowed to deploy to city streets.

www.opb.org

 

[Mulezen]

I mentioned the crowd of vultures last week being harassed by a bald eagle. Here's a turkey vulture warming its wings in the sun on a post in my catch pen.

I returned from a bit of unpleasantness at the VA in town in time for a breezy but warm (21c) ride. I believe the snake was just sunning.