Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

Mr. Coffee said:
It is dry enough that sparks from lawnmowers and weed whackers (with the steel wire) are an issue.

The county has sent multiple alerts over the last several days about how fireworks are banned here. Given that most wildfire starts are on the 4th here that makes sense:

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We've had quite a few bangs and blasts, and a fire in an empty lot a block away, yesterday afternoon. Freedom on North Whidbey Island, I guess...

Where were those bike cops yesterday 🤪???
 
I have been both, but I haven't been to Memphis since I was child. Nashville a few times,
 
Can A Road Bike Be Ridden Off-Road? (Sunday July 4th Group Ride)

"I strongly recommend that you take your full-power Vado for the ride" -- brother Jacek messaged me early on Sunday morning. Jacek, who is forced to work on all Sundays this month (but is a member of our small cycling club) was so right. I would have probably become a disgrace of the "gravel biking" group ride, and would have suffered if I chose Vado SL on that day.

Dramatis personae:
  • Przemek "The Gravel Biker", riding a Merida Silex 400 gravel bike, and expertly using a Wahoo GPS bike computer. Przemek is a natural group leader with great sense of responsibility and camaraderie. His only little foible is the fact he loves off-road cycling above anything else and is apt to drag his group into a real jam :D
  • Ania "The Roadie", riding a Decathlon Triban road bike on 25 mm tyres. Although she thinks she's a shy person, she's really ambitious and never declines a challenge.
  • Justyna "That Woman", riding a Haibike Land 8.40, a Cross Country bike, the best suited for the terrain we rode on Sunday's trip. She is a strong and fast rider, dreaming of a gravel bike.
  • Michał & Leszek: Przemek's riding buddies. Good match for our ride leader!
  • Yours truly, riding Speed-Vado 5.0 on 47 mm Smart Sams. I was the author of the ride route, and Przemek executed the plan perfectly using his Wahoo.
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"You better revoke your opinion road bikes could not be ridden off-road!" - snapped Ania in her Facebook comment :) So I made a route involving some easy off-road segments (unpleasant for a road bike though). The two bikes seen in this picture are so different! The one standing upright (Ania's) is a classic road bike that normally requires perfect paved surface. The other one (Przemek's) is a gravel bike, of very different geometry, gear, and especially with off-road suitable tyres. I was the only person to bring my bike with a car (I wanted to make the ride on a single battery). That made all other participants ride at least a metric century on that day.

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At Zamczysko (The Burgh, or the remnants of a 13th c. burgh) inside the Kampinos National Park (KPN), on the first off-road segment. (Przemek tells me the Burgh should be sight-seen in the winter, when lack of foliage makes the sight really impressive). Left to right: Ania, Leszek, Michał, Przemek, and Justyna. I need to mention Ania made the off-road segment on her "Princess" pretty aptly, which proves it is all not about the bike type but about the person who's riding it! :)

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At a road-side store. We cyclists in Poland actually suffer our Government policy of banning trade on Sundays. Only some small family run stores can operate (and petrol stations, too) on Sundays. There are places like this countryside store in Stara Dąbrowa where cash-payments are allowed only, and who carries cash on them nowadays? Anyway, such rare open store on a popular cycling route is a place where you can unexpectedly meet friends or neighbours. For one, Justyna met her neighbours, and Ania met members of her cycling club there! :) Bottom: On the ride. Notice I'm panting here as I had to sprint to the pack front to be able to take that photo! (Przemek, Ania, Justyna and the two other guys following me here).

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On-road. I went Turbo and made a good sprint to get enough of lead to photograph the peloton but nobody appeared! It turned out my buddies took a rest behind the bend while I was waiting for them... :D

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At the Biker Pub at the southern edge of KPN (by the way, only 14 km from the place I live). It was a new place for all five companions of mine. I had a proper lunch there (sour soup with white sausage, Ruthenian pierogi, and an apple tart followed by tea). Przemek and Ania tried some Czech alcohol-free beer.

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And then it poured! After some waiting, we decided the raining wouldn't stop and we had to ride home. I had 13.5 km of a lone ride in downpour to reach my car. Turbo on, and my Vado brought me to the safety. Oh man! Don't tell me riding a 45 km/h Vado in Turbo mode has anything to do with cycling! It is like riding a lightweight motorcycle. Delicate pedalling, and I was constantly cruising at 35 km/h to cover the distance in 25 minutes at average speed of 31.1 km/h (19.3 mph). How right my brother was that morning! And the battery dropped from 43 down to 13%...


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It was a good ride albeit a little too short for me! :D
I mentioned a "Memorial Site" in the map. It is about the place where Nazi mass murdered many Polish civilians during WW2. No picture taken there.
 
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Stefan Mikes said:
And then it poured!
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Memories, Stefan!

For a long time I worked in a 1970s building with those funnel-and-chain downpipes featured in your Biker Pub photos. A sensible design that never seems to have become popular.

In areas like ours 'saving every drop' – by running rainwater it into storage tanks – is considered environmentally responsible (because it is); however, 'chainpipes' do enhance the experience of a downpour without requiring excessive involvement!
 
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Taylor57 said:
Yes! First time back in the water. We decided to stay local and try out a river cruise. American Cruise Lines gets great reviews and the boat we are on is practically brand new. Neither of us have ever been to Memphis or Nashville. I kinda like country music too!
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I haven’t been to Memphis in years and haven’t been to downtown Nashville in quite a while either but they sure do attract the crowds. Nashville is more than just country music but that is our biggest recognition. The cruise sounds great. Have fun!
 
Can Vado SL Be Ridden As A Straight Handlebar Gravel e-Bike? (Saturday, July 3rd, 2021)

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Oh yes it can. Just replace stock tyres with Schwalbe Smart Sam 38-622, and you are good to go! Gravel, cobblestone or sand (choose one), fire-road, single track.

I chose riding (to see my brother Jacek) through the Kampinos National Park to avoid struggling nasty headwind.

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Back to civilization. I hated the weather, hence my angry look :D Never buy Racktime Tour Box. Utter rubbish. The lock doesn't work due to poor workmanship. I wonder how the German company Tubus could have manufactured a box that cannot actually be closed because of too high wall elasticity.

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"Brother, would you go to the nearest store and bring some no-beer for me?" -- Jacek remarked. "No-beer" is my own name for International Pale Lager, which I despise. Bud or Heineken would belong to the broad category of more than 95% of "no-beer" made worldwide. So I went to the store and brought some Danish Tuborg for my brother (no-beer can be worse or better anyway). Upon my return, my brother exclaimed: "Close your eyes! You are not going to see that! That was the reason I'd sent you out..." :D Jacek loves dismantling bikes and reassembling them! The greatest hobby of his... :D (Now we at least know there is a folded sheet of plastic in Vado SL headtube that prevents internally routed cables be rubbed by the steerer tube). Besides, the other brother Piotr (who joined us for awhile and had some "no-beer" with Jacek) told me the colour of my Vado SL was indeed not white but Dove Gray. (Piotr is another fan of motor technology).

The ultimate thing done by Jacek was wrapping my Bike in layers of transparent protection film. We all know how much of damage I do to my bikes, so it was appropriate to protect the paint against me scratching it.

It was past 6:00 pm when we were sitting at Jacek's kitchen, and I was sipping coffee. "Jacek! I must fly right now! It's @Brix birthday today! I need to be at my place before 8:30 pm UK time for her online birthday party, or I'm damned!" :D

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I was not in hurry in the morning at all...

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...But I was in big hurry in the evening! :D
 
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We spent a wonderful weekend with our grandchild. What a blast! The Allant+7 is The Bike to him. He talks a LOT about grampa’s bike and when we stop for a water break he says “MORE grampa, MORE!”
 

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