Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[FlatSix911]

Team SOB.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've just thought you might be interested to see the inside of the Artezan brewery. The brewery is located just 12 km away from my place. Unfortunately, I cannot drink beer often with my insulin resistance; and Artezan has been brewing the type of IPAs I'm not fond of for several years now (they still excel in Imperial Stouts, though).

Albert presenting Artezan's line of fermentors.

Maciej operating their control system.

Darek the brewer developing new recipes.

At a brewery guided tour in 2017. @Brix and @Jerzy Bańkowski are present in the top photo. We were tasting hops concentrate at that time

Artezan brewery identified at my riding map of last Sunday.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

I'll take the low road …

Vernor, inland from Brisbane​

I took the low road today; the shorter route is hilly – up and over and down and up again and so on.

Trivia: Riding through Vernor always reminds me of my father whose name was Vernon and my parents' homes which were always called Bernor.

My father took his name from his parents' surnames – Mary Vernon & Fred Berry. Following this tradition, my parents' three homes were named Bernor, a combination of Berry and Norris (my mother's maiden hame).

If only Jen (maiden name Yelland) and I had run a dairy farm here… we could have sold our product as Yelland's Cream.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

All-Season Off-Road Tyres Are Not Ice Tyres... (or, "I Fall")

As the all local roads in Podkowa Leśna (except the high road) are kept in natural, snowy shape, I was enjoying riding my Trance E+ today. When I approached the junction shown, there was a craftsman's car waiting for the signal change. When his car moved, I could see its wheels spinning. It should have made me thinking but heck, no way! I started riding vigorously...

...and I fell. There was black ice at the junction. No harm done! I got up, no single bruise, and -- infuriated -- walked the Monster up the shopping mall.

The lesson learnt. Which leaves me with my Vado on studded tyres for awhile

 

[FlatSix911]

All-Season Off-Road Tyres Are Not Ice Tyres... (or, "I Fall")

As the all local roads in Podkowa Leśna (except the high road) are kept in natural, snowy shape, I was enjoying riding my Trance E+ today.
When I approached the junction shown, there was a craftsman's car waiting for the signal change. When his car moved, I could see its wheels spinning.
It should have made me thinking but heck, no way! I started riding vigorously...

View attachment 78054
...and I fell. There was black ice at the junction. No harm done! I got up, no single bruise, and -- infuriated -- walked the Monster up the shopping mall.
The lesson learnt. Which leaves me with my Vado on studded tyres for awhile

Stefan, be careful out there... we're not 21 anymore!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stefan, be careful out there... we're not 21 anymore!

Just ordered Ice Spiker Pro tyres for my Trance E+. The winter is going to stay here...

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Here's Schwalbe's spiked tyres video.

To me it appears to be promoting riding through snow – mountain biking in a winter wonderland – rather than addressing the issue of keeping upright on treacherous ice. Fun to watch…

 

[RandallS]

Just ordered Ice Spiker Pro tyres for my Trance E+. The winter is going to stay here...

You are going to love them! I feel more "traction secure" than in my 4wd Volvo...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@David Berry: @RandallS is a living example you would fall on ice with off-road tyres but Ice Spiker Pro are infallible
(pun intended!)

 

[Mulezen]

^ unlike people and their judgement

 

[Prairie Dog]

...and I fell. There was black ice at the junction. No harm done! I got up, no single bruise, and -- infuriated -- walked the Monster up the shopping mall.

The lesson learnt. Which leaves me with my Vado on studded tyres for awhile

I can't help but feel that I should share some of the blame that resulted in your fall Stefan as I suggested that you ride the un-studded Trance on your last trip. That being said, it appeared that both you and the tires managed quite well on that day. Glad to know that you escaped unscathed.

Those Ice Spiker Pros are the bomb! My Gravdals have been stellar performers too but there are occasions where I can almost sense their limits of adhesion. I shot this footage a couple of weeks ago on one of my favorite runs and I concur that it definitely helps to have the right tool for the job.

There was a dramatic change in the conditions compared to last Saturday. The sun, once again was shining bright but instead it was a balmy -8 C. No need for any goggles nor face mask today. However, it appears that we're back in the deep freeze for much of this week.

I discovered this charming, tight and twisty singletrack loop this morning along the Heritage Trail that was hidden away within the confines of the evergreen forest. Some of the sections were pretty narrow and, on a couple of occasions, I almost had to slow to a standstill to orient my bearings. I managed an acceptable pass but will be sure to attack it a bit more aggressively at the next opportunity I get.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Ride's over. Let's head in for refreshment…

.​

Usually when I ride from home (above), I take the quickest route to the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. That's about 750 metres or around two minutes.

The return trip defaults to a long grind up our street which was laid out in the 1970s. Back then, 'town planning' of suburbs like ours which were neither town nor country often amounted to drawing two parallel lines on a map (a sheet of paper?) and chopping up the space between the imagined roads into plots of around a hectare each.

In the video below, we leave the rough section of the rail trail (state responsibility) as it meets the edge of civilisation and becomes a concrete bikeway administered by the city council. Turning off the bikeway we head into 1990s suburbia in which houses are crowded together on blocks of land that are less than a fifth of the size of those in our neighbourhood. The streets, littered with concrete humps, roundabouts and 'slow points', are named in honour of wine grape varieties. Here the husbands are morally obliged to keep the grass under control rather than let it resemble the antipodean version of the Seregenti which prevails nearby in the semi-cleared scrubland which Jen and I have called home since the mid-eighties.

Click four-arrow icon to view full-size video.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've watched your video David with great interest to recollect how many road-signs in English speaking countries hold textual information (it stunned me on my U.S. travels, too). In continental Europe, road-signs are mostly pictographic because of so many nations and drivers speaking so many languages...

 

[steve mercier]

Just ordered Ice Spiker Pro tyres for my Trance E+. The winter is going to stay here...

I have those Ice Spiker pros. They work well. It is good you have two Ebikes Stefan as they are insanely noisy on dry pavement. May I suggest you augment the Spikers with elbow and knee pads and a downhill helmet. I decided not to Ebike at all in bad weather and put studded Schwalbe Winter tires on my Acoustic bike instead. I can get a great workout in a very short space of time this way and come home in one piece.

 

[steve mercier]

View attachment 77831

Seriously ?? That blows my mind....I start to get nervous at 60 kmh!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

May I suggest you augment the Spikers with elbow and knee pads and a downhill helmet.

I'm very grateful for your concern, Steve! I think the Ice Spikers Pro, Ergodyne ice-cleats for my boots as well as a snowboarding helmet will have to do... until my next fall

 

[RabH]

Ride's over. Let's head in for refreshment…
View attachment 78079

.​

Usually when I ride from home (above), I take the quickest route to the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. That's about 750 metres or around two minutes.

The return trip defaults to a long grind up our street which was laid out in the 1970s. Back then, 'town planning' of suburbs like ours which were neither town nor country often amounted to drawing two parallel lines on a map (a sheet of paper?) and chopping up the space between the imagined roads into plots of around a hectare each.

In the video below, we leave the rough section of the rail trail (state responsibility) as it meets the edge of civilisation and becomes a concrete bikeway administered by the city council. Turning off the bikeway we head into 1990s suburbia in which houses are crowded together on blocks of land that are less than a fifth of the size of those in our neighbourhood. The streets, littered with concrete humps, roundabouts and 'slow points', are named in honour of wine grape varieties. Here the husbands are morally obliged to keep the grass under control rather than let it resemble the antipodean version of the Seregenti which prevails nearby in the semi-cleared scrubland which Jen and I have called home since the mid-eighties.

Click four-arrow icon to view full-size video.

I really enjoyed watching your video while the snow was belting down here, a little jealous too of course Sneaky shortcut across the grass young man

 

[RabH]

Seriously ?? That blows my mind....I start to get nervous at 60 kmh!

I don't think you will ever join me for a ride, Steve...

 

[Art Deco]

I've watched your video David with great interest to recollect how many road-signs in English speaking countries hold textual information (it stunned me on my U.S. travels, too). In continental Europe, road-signs are mostly pictographic because of so many nations and drivers speaking so many languages...

I rented a car in France and didn't have a clue what the icons on the street signs meant ... does that mean don't park here or one way do not enter ? Is that a yield or just an intersection ? I probably should have been ticketed or jailed a dozen times.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I don't think you will ever join me for a ride, Steve...

Neither I would "Need For Speed", aye?

I rented a car in France and didn't have a clue what the icons on the street signs meant ... does that mean don't park here or one way do not enter ? Is that a yield or just an intersection ? I probably should have been ticketed or jailed a dozen times.

On the other hand, any continental Europe driver understands these signs in any country
UK has some signs with textual information. I liked this one the most:

"If you don't look right
Your days are numbered!"
/Angelic Upstarts "Teenage Warning"/