2026 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[Chargeride]

A gorgeous day for a bike ride and a record breaking 801 mile total for April!

Back in March 2012 at the age of 54 I managed 752 miles on my Focus Cayo road bike, until today that record still stood!

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It was a great bike and my first ever carbon frame, the only issue was the rear gear cable was forever breaking! In fact in August 2012 I set off for a 154 mile ride to St Andrews and back and just 50 miles into my ride I had problems going up the gears, no issues going down the gears though so I decided to carry on and managed to complete the ride! On checking the cable after the ride I discovered it had frayed badly at the bottom bracket and was very close to snapping, that sure was my lucky day!

My stats from March 2012, week 3 was a massive one!

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My stats from April 2026!

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Amazingly both months had 11 rides but as you can see 2026 had a lot more climbing involved, thank goodness for e bikes!

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On to today's awesome ride, it was a beautiful but blustery day with a 20-25mph wind from the ENE and with 75 miles needed to break 800 miles for the month a ride to the Forth bridges was just perfect mileage wise! The temp was around 14C when I set off at 11am but it felt a lot colder due to the wind! I made my way to Linlithgow and stopped for lunch there, then stopped for a couple of photos after passing through the town!

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I was now heading for Winchburgh where I turned north towards Newton, a new cycle path had been laid but it was a very short one sadly...

The Pentland Hills in the background!

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I passed through Newton which is less than 2 miles from the crossing over the Forth Road Bridge and stopped for some photos, I timed it nicely to catch a ship passing under the bridges!

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Minutes later I was crossing the bridge and stopped for photos of the iconic rail bridge!

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After crossing I used the cycle path which gives you a nice view of the Queensferry Crossing!

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The view across the Firth of Forth from the same position!

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I then made my way up the climb into Rosyth where I finally got to enjoy a lovely tailwind after 35 miles! From there I took the coast road to Limekilns where I stopped for a couple of photos!

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Then I headed up the short cobbled climb into Charlestown and stopped for more photos, the rapeseed is in full bloom now!

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At the end of the road I joined the cycle path to Crombie and stopped for this photo looking north, the hill to the right of the photo with the masts on top overlooks Knockhill Racing Circuit! Guess the name of the hill...

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I then took the coast road through Torryburn and Culross, I took these photos from the cycle path at Culross but rejoined the main road which was way quieter than the path...

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I continued along the coast road and joined the cycle path to the Kincardine Bridge and took this photo of the Clackmannanshire Bridge with the Ochil Hills in the background!

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I stayed on the cycle path for a couple of miles before joining the main road again towards Carronshore and arrived in Falkirk where it was time for some big climbs, I decided to head up the big climb from Glen Village!

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From the top of the first part of the climb looking back down!

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The final climb is a tough one!

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I then enjoyed the big descent down into the valley at almost 42mph before heading up the climb to Slamannan, thankfully with a nice tailwind helping! From Slamannan I took the back road to Longriggend and Caldercruix where I turned for home with less than 5 miles to go! I arrived home just in time for a well deserved dinner, what a brilliant ride on my fantastic bike! I only need another 19 miles to reach 46000 now, what a great decision I made to buy this bike back in 2018! Maybe I should rest up in May now...not a chance!

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Yes Wales was full of rapeseed, its such a beautful sight, that bike is retro stunning.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

There is a twelve minute long video of Jack Ramsay, an English expat in Poland. I'd like to ask @Chargeride to watch it and tell me what Chris thinks about it. If what Jack's saying is true, it might explain the different goals of Charge and my rides. (Charge actively searching for interesting areas to ride bridleways while I just get into a forest but almost never ride through someone else's property).

 

[Chargeride]

Its complicated..
The population density of England is 440 per km2, Polands is 120.

These may seem strange, forests are beautiful..but dare I say can get a bit samey after a while.
That is an enormous simplification, but I felt the same after driving to Inuvik, we eventually got bored of trees and mountains, the truly huge wildernesses are breath taking, but also the scale is outside the human experience, its becomes a static backdrop that takes so long to scroll into that the terrain in front of your feet becomes the challenge.

These paths through the countryside, firstly are the only way to cycle offroad in those areas and they are ancient , a few are thousands of years old and their lack of upkeep gives them..to me..a connection to the human desire for exploration that is long lost.
Only Scotland comes close to Polands wild areas, in fact its so raw that few travel there, Scotlands population density is 70 per km2.

The reality though is few mountainbikers explore them so its not really a description of English desire, in fact without me none of my friends would be interested and most still arent.
Im actually riding a real world Disney ride called 'The British Isles'.

I like it that way.

As for Boars on the beach, I cant speak for anyone, most people would be enthralled, Im honest enough to admit Ive watched that much David Attenborough that animals bore me now, in fact Im calling it that we all are because the show had to morph into Anthropomorphism to keep viewing figures.
'Dirk the Meerkat nervously watches Chandra the snake approach his mother Susha'.
Unpopular opinion I know, but Im watching you all

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Thank you for your extensive, interesting, and honest answer, Chris!

Poland's forests (except some) are not that big. For instance, a good trip we had in the Białowieża Forest was a day's long adventure, some 140 km with stops at populated areas. What is nice about Poland, we have five principal types of Nature here:

• Mountains
• Hills
• Lakeland
• Seaside
• Boring flats

Jack Ramsay is right about the close contact with Nature here in Poland. Ride a trail among the farming fields are you are guaranteed to meet pheasant, hare or deer Storks love breeding families in Poland in the warm season. One of the eye opener though is a ride around the Kampinos National Park. An old forest on one side, Christian crosses often seen on the roadside, and civilisation on the other. It becomes clear people living around (even if they used to live off the forest) were actually scared of the wilderness and evil spirits living there, not even mentioning the wolves (reflected in numerous location names such as Wilków). Once, I was approaching the Forest by an old church. There was a chime calling people in for the Holy Mass. The majestic old forest was just behind the road. Oh, the wilderness just around the corner!

A very simplified view

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Three remarkable things about yesterday's 21 mi hill and lap ride: (1) The missus joined me for the 16 mi hill part and took the 92 ft/mi of climbing in stride. (2) Ditto for the 2-3 mi of gravel involved — some of it pretty steep and rutted. (3) She enjoyed every bit of it.

Took few photos this time, so I'll supplement with some earlier shots of the same subjects.

She's evolving into an eager and confident rider — all thanks to trading her 1st ebike for that blue Velotric Breeze 1. This stable but agile 50 lb, 750W, 65 Nm step-thru hub-drive cruiser is exactly the right ebike for her right now in this hilly terrain. Can't tell you how happy this makes me.

First stop, lunch at the tasty outdoor cafe at the Carlsbad Public Library. The library's a surprisingly popular local hangout.

Then a few doors over to a favorite coffee shop for a favorite dessert — high-icing, high-nut, low-cinammon carrot cake, just the way I like it. No negative caloric balance on this ride! After the climbs it takes to get here from home, that shaded outdoor sofa looks pretty good.

As we looked over the map to see where next, the Leo Carillo Ranch Historic Park caught her eye. I said, lots more climbing between here and there. And that's when I heard words never imagined from her lips: "I don't care about hills. Let's go!"

YES!!!

Leo Carillo the successful actor was best known for his role as sidekick Pancho in the hit TV western The Cisco Kid but also had many movie credits. After acting, he moved back to his 7-generation family ranch in upper Carlsbad, now open to the public, and entered public service, eventually landing important diplomatic and commission assignments at state and national levels. Quite a life. Great place to explore by ebike.

From the end of the fun gravel segment after the ranch, a NNW view across the canyon carrying Poinsettia Lane, our way home. From the Coast Highway inland, Poinsettia's just one big climb and descent after another. We had 2 of them to go before turning off to home just short of the ocean.

Love that final descent — especially when the deep blue Pacific finally pops into view over a rise. The similar view above is from the next street over.

Once home, picked up my bone conduction headphone (below) and headed right back out to push the ride to 20+ miles with some neighborhood laps to music. Neighborhood's looking good right now with the jacarandas in full bloom, each with its own carpet of fallen purple below.

With nothing in or over my ears to block ambient sound, the sleepy streets are a safe haven for riding to music — this time to a playlist carefully curated for pedaling in sync at my 90±10 rpm preferred cadence.

Riding in strong sync to good music that really makes you wanna move induces a beautiful mind+body+bike+road flow state I highly recommend — provided you have a safe place for it. This time I pedaled to 5 great tunes. These 2 standouts from 2 totally different worlds happened to come back to back:

Vastly different rhythms, but got very satifying pedal syncs with both. Without the resulting flow states, the flattish 1-mile laps get boring fast — even in this setting. With the flow states, the needed 5 mi went by before I knew it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Den ersten Mai ride

There is a wonderful anecdote from the novel "The Good Soldier Svejk" by Jaroslav Hasek. As the May 1st is the Labour Day in Europe, the Austro-Hungarian military command denied any soldier leaving the barracks on that date (well before the WW1 outbreak). A Czech soldier by name of Zelezny (Iron) reasoned that if he went AWOL on April 30th, he wouldn't be denied getting back to the barracks on May 1st. As he roamed the city, he was unfortunate to meet his Austrian colonel, who took the soldier's credentials (for not saluting him) and promised the punishment. To make the long story short. As Zelezny could not be found, the colonel raised an alarm and gathered all the soldiers including the sick ones. As Zelezny was tall, he was spotted easily. The colonel was jumping like a monkey in his excitement, and was yelling, partly Czech, partly German: "Oh, I found you, du Selesny! I though he was Copper, Lead or Zinc, but he was Iron! Oh, now I gotya, Selesny! I will arrest you, I will keep you! You're mine, du Copper, Lead, Zinc, du Selezny! I will show you Den ersten Mai!"

It was the first very warm day of this year as I met my daughter Magda.

As I tasted her crisps, those were suspiciously tasty Ah, I was starving! Rode to the Łowisko restaurant. Waiting for less than half an hour paid off: It was an extremely tasty lunch!

I was lazy and slow on my return ride. Here, the townhall in Błonie.

I even extended my ride to give my Roadrunner a Spring wash!

43 km for the day. The max temperature was 23 C, at last!

The song of the day!

 

[Chargeride]

And after all that he became the Ukranian president by typo.

 

[RabH]

I just got my Ridewithgps recap for April, I doubt I will ever beat this one but never say never!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The Photo Of The Day

Me crossing a tributary of River Fiszor. The motor is completely immersed in water yet the headlight works I'd like all e-bike brands to be as good as Specialized is

That's Mazovian Gravel for you, folks (And gravel cycling in general worldwide, too!)

 

[Chargeride]

If I go outside I can hear your main bearings rusting while you mash the ON button

 

[Stefan Mikes]

If I go outside I can hear your main bearings rusting while you mash the ON button

They don't call them "sealed bearings" for nothing I feel you are jealous now And, have you noticed that chick with a gravel bike?

She won a Queen Of Mountain crown riding in the sand today!

 

[Chargeride]

I can also smell those shoes after a night on a radiator

 

[Stefan Mikes]

They were dry by the ride's end. So warm it was! @Chargeride now I realised you as a Brit might be unaware of the existence of the ultimate dryer by name of the Sun It even kills bacteria with UV!

 

[Chazmo]

I just got my Ridewithgps recap for April, I doubt I will ever beat this one but never say never!

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Impressive, Rab!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The Photo of The Day, May 3rd, 2026. Both of us had to carry the photographer's Anna Bosch e-bike over the tree trunk!

 

[edobici_forza]

I wanted another cappuccino, after my own, at home, and a pastry too. Was surprised with a bit of light rain drizzle at the start. Nice uncrowded cafe. I tried the Pistachio Kouign Amann - very good!
Then on the way back I see a crowd in the lot where I sometime park for road rides... I found the annual Woodside Soapbox Derby in full effect. I had to stop. So fun to see the excited kids. Lots of creative car designs! Video clip link: Finish Line

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I wanted another cappuccino, after my own, at home, and a pastry too.

When doctors recommend cycling to patients who need exercise, wonder how many realize that coffee and pastries come with the package?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Elektroza Poligonoza with Anna and Tommy
May 3rd, 2026

"God loves Trinity" so three of us, blessed by stunningly beautiful weather (24 C, cooling weak wind, sunshine), set off for a mixed terrain ride on the Poland's Constitution 1791 Day from Mińsk Mazowiecki.

Anna (riding a Swiss Bosch E-Bike with a carbon belt and an IGH) leaves a mysterious tunnel behind her.

As we met that fallen tree and helped Anna carry her Flyer over the obstacle, I commanded a technical stop.

Using my new XOSS electronic pump, I set the wheel pressure to 35/35 psi for Anna (she is a very lightweight person even if she rides a heavy e-bike); and 42/45 psi for heavyweight Tommy. Both really appreciated the improved ride comfort after their wheels' deflation!

Following my advice, Anna had swapped her Schrader inner tubes to Presta. We have to determine yet what wrench she should carry to remove the rear wheel for a field repair!

A Third May fire-fighter parade in Pustelnik.

We're approaching the Poligon...

...and then that happened. "The million Euro worth Shimano electronic shifter" broken on the first longer ride! The paddle fell off because of the road vibration! (Initiating a warranty dispute).
@stompandgo: You're gonna see it!

I had a taste for a fast gravel ride. I was shouting "ALLEZ! RIDE FASTER! BANG IT! I WANNA CHASE YOU!"

"Go TURBO, Anna! You have a plenty juice in the battery!"

At the finish line!

Then Anna invited us to her home, where we cold try genuine Vietnamese coffee she recently brought from her trip. (Anna is a world traveller!)

Ride map. 54 km total for the day/

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Korboloza Boogoza, or A Gravel Group Ride Along River Bug
Saturday May 2nd 2026

As we met at the Wieliszew train stop, there was a new person waiting for us: Żaneta (Jeanette), a young female riding a custom gravel bike, and who later turned out to be a real powerplant! The first five kilometres were... a difficult trail as to say My brother Jacek intercepted us in Nieporęt; he was a gift from Heaven, as he was the only person to match the performance of Żaneta!

My group (L to R): Krzysiek, Tommy, Żaneta, Jacek. The photo was taken atop a sandy River Boog embankment.

The young woman getting her QOM crown on a sandy Strava segment (QOM is the female segment record). It was a sandy ride!

"DON'T EVEN TALK TO ME UNTIL WE REACH WYSZKÓW!" Tommy roared at me. The sand sapped his energy very soon! (It was a good banter, by the way: Tommy is deaf and cannot hear without a hearing aid, which he cannot wear while riding).

Krzysiek is a stubborn like mule. I invited gravel cyclists to the ride; Krzysiek is a roadie, and despite my head-ups, he brough a slim tyre bike for the ride. To make the story short: he gave up after some km more and returned to Warsaw on the wheels soon.

A beautiful photo of my group (see Krzysiek struggling!)

The flooding area of the Bug is very wide with multiple river branches meandering here and there...

YOU RIDE IN.
SEE THIS.
WAT DO.

I had no worries myself. Just walked my Vado across that R. Fiszor branch. Cold feet were a bonus on that hot day!

The men walked via the concrete telephone poles, and carried their bikes with them.

Chivalrous Jacek helped Jeanette carry her bike...

While she struggled a little

We had a lunch in Rybienko Leśne near Wyszków. As the location is a spa on the Bug, there is no lack of restaurants there!

Tommy reported being exhausted. Past Wyszków, I advised Jacek and Żaneta to ride according to their Garmins at their favourite pace, while I would accompany my best friend. So we did.

"Oh, no! Forest again!" - Tommy moaned Even if he's deaf, he decidedly can talk, read lips and interpret gestures.

Well well well... That footbridge was intact just a week ago. WHODUNIT? Not Tommy, not I...

A whirlwind! Tommy stood in the way of the phenomenon intentionally (filming did not turn on my smartphone, regrets!) "I felt a strong wind from my left side, then there was silence, and then the wind hit me from the opposite!" He got heavily covered with the soil!

He was tired but I was tired, too

The majestic Bug.

A beautiful river!

I asked Tommy to alter our course to see even more (we were both exhausted at that point). We climbed atop the anti-flood embankment to watch the Bug confluence with the Narew. Why wouldn't we just come there like proper Muggles to have a barbecue?!

Following the confluence of the Bug and Narew, there is Zegrzyńskie Lake.

We were forced to climb the embankment again by stairs (Walk Mode of my Vado helped!)

But there was no exit stairs! The surface of the embankment was extremely bumpy!

Tommy could somehow get down onto the road!

And when I met the next stairs, he brought my Vado down, too.

After crossing the Narew, we rode on bike paths, low traffic roads or -- unfortunately -- on the main road with the traffic. And yes, we made a Metric Century with the "gravel tax" and even could catch the last train to Warsaw!

110 km for the day.

 

[BlackHand]

Vietnamese iced coffee is the way to have that No. 1 Moka!

Stefan - you seem to have bad luck with electronic shifting. Is SRAM up next?