Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[kahn]

I checked the smoke forecast map before we left and it showed most of the section of the Parkway where we were planning to ride relatively clear. It looked extremely doubtful the day before and after so we made the decision to ride. It wasn’t bad starting out but when we began climb that’s when we started to notice more smoke.

Neither of us felt any after effects at the end of the ride but that’s not to say that there could be any potentially longer lasting impairment. On the return leg, things began to look up and we even noticed a bit of blue sky peeking through. I can’t imagine what highway construction workers have to deal with breathing that compromised air in on a daily basis. With that said, we won’t be doing a repeat performance along the Parkway until the skies begin to clear.

Those shoulder rumble strips look innocuous from a car but I would hate to hit one of them on a road bike going downhill at a decent clip. Rolling over them at slow speed is bad enough.

I crossed and recrossed those darn rumble strips on my road bike at a pretty good clip on I-90 when a vehicle was pulled off on the shoulder requiring us to take to the road ACROSS those strips. Then, again I-90 has these huge grid drains and an elevated section to allow rain and snow melt to drop below. Not only are the grids awful but since they are metal and expand differentially than the adjacent concrete there's these webs of cracks radiating from them! Only done it twice and learned my lesson.

Hopefully, you'll get some clearing. Our air quality has held up well compared to the last two years but the last day it has gotten in the high "good" range.

 

[Anna]

I checked the smoke forecast map before we left and it showed most of the section of the Parkway where we were planning to ride relatively clear. It looked extremely doubtful the day before and after so we made the decision to ride. It wasn’t bad starting out but when we began climb that’s when we started to notice more smoke.

Neither of us felt any after effects at the end of the ride but that’s not to say that there could be any potentially longer lasting impairment. On the return leg, things began to look up and we even noticed a bit of blue sky peeking through. I can’t imagine what highway construction workers have to deal with breathing that compromised air in on a daily basis. With that said, we won’t be doing a repeat performance along the Parkway until the skies begin to clear.

Those shoulder rumble strips look innocuous from a car but I would hate to hit one of them on a road bike going downhill at a decent clip. Rolling over them at slow speed is bad enough.

Be careful. I spent a year of my life dissecting humans… the base of our lungs have a hard time clearing out small particulates (fire, cigarettes, exhaust etc.). Those deep breathes of tailpipe really annoy me too! That being said, your photos leave me longing for an adventure.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Be careful. I spent a year of my life dissecting humans… the base of our lungs have a hard time clearing out small particulates (fire, cigarettes, exhaust etc.). Those deep breathes of tailpipe really annoy me too! That being said, your photos leave me longing for an adventure.

Thanks Anna. We’ll definitely be heeding your advice and will likely stick closer to home until the smoke subsides. We still have a few key rides in mind along the Parkway including one northbound from Lake Louise but there’s still plenty of time for that. Fall is likely the best time to view the colors and also signals the end of summer traffic woes. What the western provinces/states need now is a solid week of rain (without the light show) to help control the devestation caused by the advancing fires.

 

[Prairie Dog]

A while back Humpty the Camel* who lived (note the past tense) near Fairney View (10/80 km) took exception to a group of horse trekkers 'invading his paddock', and went into full attack mode. Bull camels are not nice when they lose their tempers, so no more Humpty.

May he rest in peace.

 

[Readytoride]

How much do you need to drink? I like dill pickles and I get leg cramps - I'll try it!

You don't necessarily need to drink the juice. If you take a bite of a dill pickle (about 1/4 of a 6" pickle) simply munch on it like a cow chewing it's cud. Masticate that pickle in your mouth, rolling that mashed pickle around your entire mouth for about 30 seconds to let the vinegar hit the oral neuroreceptors that will fool your system into releasing a hold on any cramped muscles. Only after 30 seconds of chewing should you swallow the remains of the chewed pickle.

The release from cramps will happen within 45 seconds.

Always a smart idea to carry a sliced half of a dill pickle in a plastic sandwich baggie with you on any bike ride.

 

[steve mercier]

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ Download this FREE app to your phone and use the Sound ID feature to find rare birds on your trips...it is a great deal of fun! I am really enjoying finding birds that have the little gold " uncommon" or "rare " medallions on my rides. So far I have found 6 uncommon birds in my area in 3 days as well as dozens of others that seem special to me. Today I found a Hairy Woodpecker , Golden-crowned Kinglet , Coopers Hawk , and Western Wood-Peewee. Yesterday the app found a Merlin. It even picks up bird calls while you are riding ,but best if you can stop and be quiet for 30 seconds.

 

[BarnBoy]

@steve mercier -thank you. I have been using books and failed for years. I just got the app and plan to abuse it….. (THANK YOU!!!)
-BB

 

[Mulezen]

I’ve been a supporter of Cornell lab for years…a great resource. I just finished a couple of fine bird books…one “A most Remarkable Creature” is about a bird I’d never heard of, and probably the world’s smartest...a sort of raptor (Falcon genus).…Caracaras. Wikipedia is not much help, but this book is. Wonderful natural history by a great stylist that has cameos, lots of them, of such folks as Darwin and WH Hudson (‘Green Mansions”. The various species are mostly in South America but are increasingly seen in North America.
the author is Jonathan Meiburg (Knopf)

 

[PedalUma]

Be careful. I spent a year of my life dissecting humans… the base of our lungs have a hard time clearing out small particulates (fire, cigarettes, exhaust etc.). Those deep breathes of tailpipe really annoy me too! That being said, your photos leave me longing for an adventure.

The LBS dropped off 15 bike boxes today so I can make air scrubbers. I made the red one electric and dropped off a case of beer in the front basket to the bike shop.

 

[PedalUma]

I’ve been a supporter of Cornell lab for years…a great resource. I just finished a couple of fine bird books…one “A most Remarkable Creature” is about a bird I’d never heard of, and probably the world’s smartest...a sort of raptor (Falcon genus).…Caracaras. Wikipedia is not much help, but this book is. Wonderful natural history by a great stylist that has cameos, lots of them, of such folks as Darwin and WH Hudson (‘Green Mansions”. The various species are mostly in South America but are increasingly seen in North America.
the author is Jonathan Meiburg (Knopf)

Check out "Shallow Kingdom" sometime for a good read. It is inspired by the research on crows at University of Washington and stars a crow with a foul mouth during a global pandemic that wipes out humans. It is a very funny and touching book.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Czersk Castle Ride (A 70-miler)

-- Are you going on a ride together with me Justyna? -- I messaged That Woman -- Yes, why not?
I didn't actually expect any group ride for last Saturday, as I was taking my Bike (Vado SL) with me. Inherently low power of the Bike combined with my bad legs and the necessity to conserve the main battery + Range Extender charge for long range normally eliminates The Bike from group rides, as I would be stalling the group.

In approximately 30 minutes, we both met in Pruszków (I rode from my current place in Moszna, and Justyna is a far neighbour from Piastów). I explained Justyna we would ride rather slowly, and she readily conformed to that.

The weather, with its balmy air, clouds covering the sky and mild wind was ideal for the long ride. I need to give a credit to Mapy.cz the Czech bike route-planner and GPS navigation app: The route to Czersk as planned was very much interesting, not boring at all, very safe and not requiring too much of pedalling effort save some gravel roads that were an agreeable change from pure sealed road riding. (Necessary to mention, I pedalled hard to ride not too slowly, and that made me really exhausted).

Once, Mazovia was an independent duchy. Duke Janusz I of Mazovia started the construction of the castle in Czersk in 1380's. Sometime around 1408, River Vistula dramatically changed its course, making the castle ill-located, so Janusz moved his capital city to Warsaw. Still, he ordered completion of the Czersk Castle, finished in 1410. In 1526, Mazovia got incorporated into the Crown of Poland. Queen Dowager Bona Sforza received Czersk as part of her dowry, and the castle flourished during her times.

The riding mates.

Justyna took her time for sight-seeing while I was left to my own devices See the strip of River Vistula far away in the background.

Because of lot of calories burnt on the ride, I was forced to eat. There is a single "inn" in Czersk (pictured), and the cook was swamped by orders. For that reason I chose bread with lard and fermented cucumber, and kvass (all making together proper medieval food!) It was a little bit too warm for lard but cold kvass was delicious! (And bread slices were huge!)

A place where only Yes-people (or, Jes-people) live

The return way was hard for me; I was simply tired. Yet, the presence of Justyna, the fact she was trustworthy, strong, (so I didn't need to worry about her), and we occasionally talked, made the return surprisingly fast. We even rode off-road for a couple of kilometres for more fun!

Justyna bagged two pythons at my old homestead and rode home for 15 km with them!

My backside is sore, my legs hurt. Not sure if I'm going for a new ride for Sunday!

P.S. 55% assistance (that's 31% assistance of full power Vado), 16% left from total 150% of batteries. Effectively, the remaining usable 6% of the batteries would be good for 4 km more. Only.

 

[Mulezen]

I’ll be looking for SK on Amazon. Through the years I’ve read many books about crows/ravens intellengence by Bernd Heinrich a U of Vermont professor of biology. In the books some of his personal history creeps in. Check out his wiki bio…an interesting movie could be made of his life From running from the Nazi’s to setting records as an ultra marathoner, and also the leading authority on Covid Intelligence.
Steve M’s post above got me thinking of bikes and birds and wondering what kind of list we could generate as sited from our bikes. Many continents represented on here.

 

[Mulezen]

Czersk Castle Ride (A 70-miler)

-- Are you going on a ride together with me Justyna? -- I messaged That Woman -- Yes, why not?
I didn't actually expect any group ride for last Saturday, as I was taking my Bike (Vado SL) with me. Inherently low power of the Bike combined with my bad legs and the necessity to conserve the main battery + Range Extender charge for long range normally eliminates The Bike from group rides, as I would be stalling the group.

In approximately 30 minutes, we both met in Pruszków (I rode from my current place in Moszna, and Justyna is a far neighbour from Piastów). I explained Justyna we would ride rather slowly, and she readily conformed to that.

The weather, with its balmy air, clouds covering the sky and mild wind was ideal for the long ride. I need to give a credit to Mapy.cz the Czech bike route-planned and GPS navigation app: The route to Czersk as planned was very much interesting, not boring at all, very safe and not requiring too much of pedalling effort save some gravel roads that were a agreeable change from pure sealed road riding. (Necessary to mention, I pedalled hard to ride not too slowly, and that made me really exhausted).

View attachment 95016

Once, Mazovia was an independent duchy. Duke Janusz I of Mazovia started the construction of the castle in Czersk in 1380's. Sometime around 1408, River Vistula dramatically changed its course, making the castle ill-located, so Janusz moved his capital city to Warsaw. Still, he ordered completion of the Czersk Castle, finished in 1410. In 1526, Mazovia got incorporated into the Crown of Poland. Queen Dowager Bona Sforza received Czersk as part of her dowry, and the castle flourished during her times.

View attachment 95017
The riding mates.

View attachment 95018
Justyna took her time for sight-seeing while I was left to my own devices See the strip of River Vistula far away in the background.

View attachment 95019
Because of lot of calories burnt on the ride, I was forced to eat. There is a single "inn" in Czersk (pictured), and the cook was swamped by orders. For that reason I chose bread with lard and fermented cucumber, and kvass (all making together proper medieval food!) It was a little bit too warm for lard but cold kvass was delicious! (And bread slices were huge!)

View attachment 95020
A place where only Yes-people (or, Jes-people) live

The return way was hard for me; I was simply tired. Yet, the presence of Justyna, the fact she was trustworthy, strong, (so I didn't need to worry about her), and we occasionally talked made the return surprisingly fast. We even rode off-road for a couple of kilometres for more fun!

View attachment 95021
Justyna bagged two pythons at my old homestead and rode home for 15 km with them!

View attachment 95022
My backside is sore, my legs hurt. Not sure if I'm going for a new ride for Sunday!

Stefan…you deserve such good weather after what you experienced earlier this year.
Your comment of “I pedaled hard to ride not too slowly.” Has a kind of poetry to it. Your English has become excellent.

 

[PedalUma]

I’ll be looking for SK on Amazon. Through the years I’ve read many books about crows/ravens intellengence by Bernd Heinrich a U of Vermont professor of biology. In the books some of his personal history creeps in. Check out his wiki bio…an interesting movie could be made of his life From running from the Nazi’s to setting records as an ultra marathoner, and also the leading authority on Covid Intelligence.
Steve M’s post above got me thinking of bikes and birds and wondering what kind of list we could generate as sited from our bikes. Many continents represented on here.

I have watched a breeding pair of Peregrines trying to catch Barn Swallows on the wing from my bike.

 

[steve mercier]

I have watched a breeding pair of Peregrines trying to catch Barn Swallows on the wing from my bike.

I feel sorry for the Barn Swallows which used to be so abundant around here. I have only one hit of those in 3 days so far although at least it was a small flock and not just a singleton. Years ago I knew a guy who was trying to breed Peregrines to sell to the Arabs. Yes I know it is illegal. Come to think of it I feel sorry for all birds, trying to make a living the hard way.

 

[Mulezen]

I also recently read Jennifer Ackerman’s most recent ‘The Bird Way’ which describes and examines such aspects of the bird brain as the more densely packed neurons, senses like vision where a fourth primary color is utilized which supercharges vision. Intelligence
One single uptick arrived with the exodus of DDT. Some ten years ago I was speeding down a shady local hill on my acoustic and swept past a defiant bald eagle squatting on a deer carcass

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Czersk Castle Ride (A 70-miler)

-- Are you going on a ride together with me Justyna? -- I messaged That Woman -- Yes, why not?
I didn't actually expect any group ride for last Saturday, as I was taking my Bike (Vado SL) with me. Inherently low power of the Bike combined with my bad legs and the necessity to conserve the main battery + Range Extender charge for long range normally eliminates The Bike from group rides, as I would be stalling the group.

In approximately 30 minutes, we both met in Pruszków (I rode from my current place in Moszna, and Justyna is a far neighbour from Piastów). I explained Justyna we would ride rather slowly, and she readily conformed to that.

The weather, with its balmy air, clouds covering the sky and mild wind was ideal for the long ride. I need to give a credit to Mapy.cz the Czech bike route-planner and GPS navigation app: The route to Czersk as planned was very much interesting, not boring at all, very safe and not requiring too much of pedalling effort save some gravel roads that were an agreeable change from pure sealed road riding. (Necessary to mention, I pedalled hard to ride not too slowly, and that made me really exhausted).

View attachment 95016

Once, Mazovia was an independent duchy. Duke Janusz I of Mazovia started the construction of the castle in Czersk in 1380's. Sometime around 1408, River Vistula dramatically changed its course, making the castle ill-located, so Janusz moved his capital city to Warsaw. Still, he ordered completion of the Czersk Castle, finished in 1410. In 1526, Mazovia got incorporated into the Crown of Poland. Queen Dowager Bona Sforza received Czersk as part of her dowry, and the castle flourished during her times.

View attachment 95017
The riding mates.

View attachment 95018
Justyna took her time for sight-seeing while I was left to my own devices See the strip of River Vistula far away in the background.

View attachment 95019
Because of lot of calories burnt on the ride, I was forced to eat. There is a single "inn" in Czersk (pictured), and the cook was swamped by orders. For that reason I chose bread with lard and fermented cucumber, and kvass (all making together proper medieval food!) It was a little bit too warm for lard but cold kvass was delicious! (And bread slices were huge!)

View attachment 95020
A place where only Yes-people (or, Jes-people) live

The return way was hard for me; I was simply tired. Yet, the presence of Justyna, the fact she was trustworthy, strong, (so I didn't need to worry about her), and we occasionally talked made the return surprisingly fast. We even rode off-road for a couple of kilometres for more fun!

View attachment 95021
Justyna bagged two pythons at my old homestead and rode home for 15 km with them!

View attachment 95022
My backside is sore, my legs hurt. Not sure if I'm going for a new ride for Sunday!

P.S. 55% assistance (that's 31% assistance of full power Vado), 16% left from total 150% of batteries. Effectively, the remaining usable 6% of the batteries would be good for 4 km more. Only.

Great story and a history lesson! Thanks Stefan!

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Finally caught the new pedal powered Trolley Pub in action!

Burned through some calories today


So I had some freshly shucked oysters and crabcake and fries. Man oh Man were they good.

I surprised myself getting 11,144 meters of climbing here in Baltimore, we are almost at sea level

Later Taters...

 

[PatriciaK]

https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ Download this FREE app to your phone and use the Sound ID feature to find rare birds on your trips...it is a great deal of fun! I am really enjoying finding birds that have the little gold " uncommon" medallion on my rides. So far I have found 6 uncommon birds in my area in 3 days as well as dozens of others that seems special to me. Today I found a Hairy Woodpecker , Golden -crowned Kinglet , Coopers Hawk , and Western Wood-Peewee . Yesterday the app found a Merlin. It even picks up bird calls while you are riding ,but best if you can stop and be quiet for 30 seconds.

I've used the Merlin app for awhile, but not the sound feature - can't wait to try it!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Hour by hour by hour…

Shorncliffe Pier, Bramble Bay
Brisbane, Queensland​

Usually my first glimpse of the bay is from the Shorncliffe Cliffs, 22 km or one hour into the ride.

It was 7:30 am this morning when I reached Shorncliffe, meaning that I had left the car at 6:30 and in turn left home at 5:30 which, of course, necessitated having the alarm set for 4:30 am… and after all that I was greeted with haze as far as the eye could see, which wasn't very far at all. Grump!

I phoned Tom, our son, who lives somewhere in the distant murk: "I'll be with you in an hour!"

I knew there would be a cup of tea waiting… to clear my mind, if not the sky.