Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Stefan Mikes]

A truly epic ride today in perfect conditions, I set off at 4.20am and it was a very pleasant 15C with a light southerly wind and it pretty much stayed like that all day! No sign of any rain which is always a bonus in these parts! I haven't checked yet but I'm pretty sure this was my quickest ever imperial century, just over 6 hours! I started with my original battery and managed 52 miles with over 3,500ft of ascent which is pretty impressive considering its over 3 years old now!

Nooooo! Again?! Congratulations!!!

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Terrific! 4:30 in the morning, though?? Is this your Lachlan Morton imitation?

 

[Art Deco]

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A truly epic ride today in perfect conditions, I set off at 4.20am and it was a very pleasant 15C with a light southerly wind and it pretty much stayed like that all day! No sign of any rain which is always a bonus in these parts! I haven't checked yet but I'm pretty sure this was my quickest ever imperial century, just over 6 hours! I started with my original battery and managed 52 miles with over 3,500ft of ascent which is pretty impressive considering its over 3 years old now! Not the most scenic ride today, certainly not up to @Prairie Dog standards, your photos were truly breathtaking!

It has been almost 2 years since I visited Ayrshire (Rabbie Burns birthplace) and I forgot how amazing the roads are, some were pretty rough but some were super smooth like this! This is called Eaglesham Moor which boasts the largest offshore wind farm in Europe, I can actually see it clearly from my home and its 30 miles away!

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This is only a small part of this huge wind farm!
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Somebody was obviously checking out the wind turbines and not concentrating on the road, I do hope they weren't badly hurt! Over the years there have been many accidents on this road, mostly fast cars which treat it as a racetrack...they have now made it a single track road with cycle lanes and its now much safer!

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Last week I cycled through California, this week it was Moscow!

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I have ridden my motorbike on this amazing road many times, its a lot of fun on the bicycle also!

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It was so good to enjoy these amazing roads again, I wish I lived a little closer to them but I shouldn't complain as my local roads aren't too shabby either! It was quite a workout today, I'm sure I will feel it tomorrow but it was sure worth it! The weather is looking good for the next week or so, but I will rest up until Wednesday to let my old legs recover! Its not easy getting up so early but very rewarding when you don't see a single car for hours!

Not just a century...101.0... just a extra mile. Easy. Sure.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

From Siberia to Volhynia (A Lot Of Vodka Meanwhile!), Or E-Bike Group Ride Over Łódź Heights

It was two of road-cycling friends of ours (people with great sense of humour!) to tell us about that very route. For some reasons (unknown to anyone), the area of the Landscape Park of Łódź Heights is full of place-names funny to Polish ear. The trip of Jacek, Justyna and me was special because:

• It was purely an e-bike ride;
• Instead of some road cycling route, we took the cross-country/touring attitude, often taking unpaved roads;
• Justyna refused to use e-bike assistance! She returned from the 80+ miler with 130 of 150% of battery charge! (It only proves how close to a traditional bike the Vado SL is).

The weather was fine. No single raindrop, neither too cold nor too warm, only we had to counter stiff 5.2 m/s (19 km/h or 11.8 mph) headwind on the outbound trip leg. And we were climbing against headwind (the elevation gain was 937 m or 3000 ft). Despite of riding the strongest e-bike (Vado 5.0) and using two 600 Wh batteries, I turned out to be the weakest rider in our group, especially as I had to economize on the battery for the first 67 km (42 mi) to ensure electrically assisted return.

Jacek turned out to be a champion of "bike-packing" He managed to fit as many as three e-bikes (and as many as three people) inside his Toyota RAV 4. Kudos!
(L to R: Vado 5.0, Vado SL, Trance E+).

Mikulskis, probably at their family estates in Mikulin (In reality, only our grandpa Jakub owned land; most of our other ancestors were landless peasants).

Friends and family call me by different names and nicknames. Stefan is my given name which I only prefer to use for formal purposes.

Mroga is a touristically attractive river. It's pity that the old watermill is in ruin, instead to be converted to, say, a restaurant. Sadly, most of old Polish watermills have been left to demise.

"Road to Siberia". We chose a straight dirt road among the fields to get to Siberia. (It was a demanding part of the trip, trust me; good all our e-bikes were ready for such terrain).

In Syberia (Siberia), LD, Poland. (Trivia: Siberia is an enormous region in Russia known from its harsh winters; in Imperial Russia at peacetime, convicts used to be sent to Siberia instead of death penalty. Poles who were taking part in uprisings against Russia were in most of cases exiled to Siberia).

In Moskwa (Moscow), LD, Poland. (Trivia: Moscow, now the capital city of Russia was captured by the Polish forces only once, in 1612. The city lost its status in 1703, replaced by St. Petersburg in that role. Moscow was made the Soviet/Russian capital again only in 1918).

Mr Navigator On the ride again!

In Wódka (Vodka), LD, Poland. The village inhabitants must be people full of good sense of humour! Here: Rye Vodka, Wheat Vodka, Barley/Wheat Vodka, and Cereal Vodka streets. A Moonshine Vodka street is there, too! In the second picture, I'm showing the Polish gesture of drinking vodka ("cut-neck"). Is that gesture known elsewhere?

In Ukraina (Ukraine), LD, Poland. Scenes from the life of Ukrainian peasants: Cossacks posing, dancing, farming (Trivia: The Ukrainian flag is blue and yellow. The colours in the picture are upside down).

Yes, we even have Palestyna (Palestine) in the Land of Łódź! "No vehicles over 8 metric tons. Excluding vehicles serving inhabitants of Palestine, Józefów, and Ukraine"

In Podole (Podolia), LD, Poland. (Trivia: Podolia is a region in Ukraine now, long in the past belonging to Poland).

Going bananas in Wołyń (Volhynia), LD, Poland. (Trivia: Volhynia is a region now shared by Belarus and Ukraine. It was part of Poland since 1939).

In Boginia (Goddess), LD, Poland. Although I WUZ THERE before, it took me some time to find the village's name-plate.

I took Justyna and Jacek to see Lipce, the village made famous by Wł. St. Reymont in his Nobel Prize winning novel "The Peasants". As Reymont used to work for a railway company in his early life, railroad motives motifs can be seen there.

Ride map with POI.

 

[ActionJackson]

Justyna refused to use e-bike assistance! She returned from the 80+ miler with 130 of 150% of battery charge! (It only proves how close to a traditional bike the Vado SL is).

She rode 80+ miles on Vado SL and only used 20%? Wow. Big testament to her fitness but also the Vado SL - noting it has a large pannier attached as well!

 

[steve mercier]

Trying to get back in the saddle. My biking friend died suddenly this week and it's a sad time here. Yesterday, I just hopped on not knowing where I'd go. It was hot. I stopped in some shade, which is rare in these parts. I guzzled some water and saw that these chickens were also hanging out there.
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I was also having a problem with the Ortlieb or is it Ortleib? bag on the back. It's hot so I have a half gallon insulated growler that I carry cold water in. That was causing the bag to bend inward a bit and was twanging a spoke once in a while. I had to do some rearranging. Any other suggestions would be welcome. Strapping the growler to the rack took care of the twanging problem.
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That was it.

 

[steve mercier]

The only thing I can think of is to try repositioning the bag forwards and backwards until it clears. I dont have that particular bag but on my back rollers I use a zip tie around the bottom arm and the stay where they meet because I put a powerpack in each bag and the weight tends to cause the lower arm to dislodge after a time on rough going. Without the zip tie if the lower arm is loose the corner of the back may touch the spokes after a large bump ,especially if I dont have the bag centered over the hub.

 

[steve mercier]

Took advantage of the cool weather (between rain events) to get my 27+ mile workout ride in! The increased rain has really made the crops and other plants explode! And I turned over 1700 miles on the Allant+7!View attachment 92857View attachment 92859View attachment 92858

It looks like the headlight shines pretty high up on that wall ?

 

[steve mercier]

Though Roy and Dale and Bullit and Trigger, Buttermilk too were much loved when I was very young .... by the time I was nine or ten I was more of a Have Gun Will Travel and Marshal Dillon kind of kid. A man without honor in a savage land ... Paladin . BANG BANG Was into the Rifleman too but that kid was such a twerp.

Who would win in a fist fight or wrestling match? ...Ron Howard or Johnny Crawford (-: Answer = Neither but the ruthless Rifleman would have shot Andy Griffith before he could say " Awww Shucks...."

 

[steve mercier]

I bet you didn't know that James Arness ( Mat Dillon ) and Peter Graves ( original Mission Impossible ) were brothers.

Yes I did... but now who would win in a fist fight or westling match? ...Mr Phelps or Marshall Dillon : Answer = Mr Phelps would cheat (ear biting) so he would win

 

[Stefan Mikes]

the Vado SL - noting it has a large pannier attached as well!

It was reasonably lightweight: Some 3.5 kg maximum. Still, she rode mostly on her leg power, and that's the reason I call her "That Woman is beating me!"
I need to mention my brother (who rode full power Giant Trance E+) covered the outward leg of the trip unpowered as well (to economize on the battery). He switched the lowest possible assistance (Giant 50% Eco) on only for the way back. He returned with 70% of the 625 Wh battery.

 

[reed scott]

It was reasonably lightweight: Some 3.5 kg maximum. Still, she rode mostly on her leg power, and that's the reason I call her "That Woman is beating me!"
I need to mention my brother (who rode full power Giant Trance E+) covered the outward leg of the trip unpowered as well (to economize on the battery). He switched the lowest possible assistance (Giant 50% Eco) on only for the way back. He returned with 70% of the 625 Wh battery.

Not criticizing now Stefan, loved your report ( and envious ) but the word is 'motif' regarding the train pics.

 

[Prairie Dog]

A truly epic ride today in perfect conditions, I set off at 4.20am and it was a very pleasant 15C with a light southerly wind and it pretty much stayed like that all day! No sign of any rain which is always a bonus in these parts! I haven't checked yet but I'm pretty sure this was my quickest ever imperial century, just over 6 hours! I started with my original battery and managed 52 miles with over 3,500ft of ascent which is pretty impressive considering its over 3 years old now! Not the most scenic ride today, certainly not up to @Prairie Dog standards, your photos were truly breathtaking!

I’m afraid that riding the areas around my hometown pales in comparison to your neck of the woods. I would absolutely look forward to getting up every morning if provided that opportunity so I'm quite envious! To capture images in most of the mountainous regions here, at times, requires a lengthy drive which makes for a long day. The drive out to Abraham alone was 4 hours return. It sure beats riding the local MUPs which I now do less frequently.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Another wonderful trip report Stefan! The photos of the signage taken with you and your group were very entertaining. Which begs the question, Wotyn the world was on your mind in this image!?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Which begs the question, Wotyn the world was on your mind in this image!?

It is all about the Polish character Ł (lowercase ł), which is the crossed L. We pronounce Ł the same way as English speakers pronounce W. That is, WAY would be written as ŁEJ in Polish. While the Polish W is the English V. The last character, which is Ń (ń) is -- broadly speaking -- pronounced as "ñ" (n-yah).

So the pronunciation of Wołyń would be Voh-wyñ, Art.

 

[Haystacks]

Wotyn the world was on your mind in this image!?

 

[Prairie Dog]

It is all about the Polish character Ł (lowercase ł), which is the crossed L. We pronounce Ł the same way as English speakers pronounce W. That is, WAY would be written as ŁEJ in Polish. While the Polish W is the English V. The last character, which is Ń (ń) is -- broadly speaking -- pronounced as "ñ" (n-yah).

So the pronunciation of Wołyń would be Voh-wyñ, Art.

I figured there would likely be a ‘lost in translation’ moment on my part. Thanks for enlightening me, Stefan.

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

I bet you didn't know that James Arness ( Mat Dillon ) and Peter Graves ( original Mission Impossible ) were brothers.

Actually, I did know that Thanks for the update, couldn't remember the exact wording so I made it up

 

[reed scott]

Actually, I did know that Thanks for the update, couldn't remember the exact wording so I made it up

Actually there are a few verses. I think you got it right but you might have skipped to the third verse.

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Stefan, please, I am going to send you some longer shorts! hahahaha

Here is this week's showing at the drive-in


Cannot wait for the Frog Round Up!


Another couple of beauties at the Inner Harbor


Another day of Sun with 35 C, c'mon rain, rain already, guess I'll just have to shake my rain stick.