Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Stefan Mikes]

Streamable.com Told Me I Should Pay For Storing My 6/14/21 Video...

so I transferred it to YouTube. Surprise! No fees, only ads would appear with this short video.

One of the most adventurous trips of 2021 so far (non-mountainous). Part of the route involved the same segments my group cleared on last Sunday.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

In Forks. I swear Stephenie Meyer got it right, if anyplace in Washington has vampires, this is the place.

Elwha River Bridge:

Day started out slow and I didn't exactly feel all that great. The riding along the Juan De Fuca highway was sketchy and not exactly pleasant. Things improved greatly when I got on the Spruce Railroad Trail:

West of Lake Crescent, the trail had some long sections in cool second-growth forest. The needle cast was wet and slippery, though:

 

[Stefan Mikes]

In Forks. I swear Stephenie Meyer got it right, if anyplace in Washington has vampires, this is the place.

I'm simply jealous

 

[kahn]

I'm simply jealous

Actually, we hit Forks (one of the rainiest populated places on Earth!!!!) on the way to the excellent Makah Museum at the end of the known universe (much like Forks). The visitor center was a Vampire Haven!!! Neither I nor my friend cared a bit and she is into romance novels!!!

Unfortunately, we had planned the weekend months in advance and it was the period when the US Government shut down. Can you imagine signs at ocean pullouts saying "CLOSED!" And a couple of people got fines for ignoring the "closed" signs and walking down the beach to the ocean!

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Actually, we hit Forks (one of the rainiest populated places on Earth!!!!) ...

Not at all true.

Forks is a soggy place that gets around 110 inches of rain in a typical year.

Hilo, HI gets quite a bit more at around 142 inches of rain in a typical year.

None of those places are even in the top ten, though.

Mawsynram, Meghalaya State, India averages 11800 mm (or about 460-odd inches) of rain in a typical year.

 

[Dallant]

Walking back from dinner tonight (while in Jasper) we came across a bear warning sign placed along the sidewalk in the neighborhood where we were staying. Kind of freaked me out at first but I presume this is a common sight among the locals particularly since it’s the start of the fall season. Oddly enough we didn’t recall seeing these here when we were visiting the town around the same time last year.

https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/jasper/bulletins/9443AD2F-CB0A-402D-878F-7ED5118F845E?v=a&v=a

On our ride this morning out to Athabasca Falls from the townsite along Hwy 93A, we parked our bikes by a gravel pull out and walked up a nearby embankment to take some photos and almost immediately stepped in a pile of bear scat at the top. It didn’t appear to be fresh. However, that isn’t an excuse to let one’s guard down and we departed the area almost as quick as when we arrived.

Do you carry bear spray? I did buy a can and carried it the whole time we were out west. Saw several instances of fresh scat but the closest bears we saw were two separate instances of grizzly from about 150-200 yards away in Yellowstone and two young brown bears ( much closer) near Glacier NP and those sightings were both from the highway so no worries.

 

[BlackHand]

Do you carry bear spray? I did buy a can and carried it the whole time we were out west. Saw several instances of fresh scat but the closest bears we saw were two separate instances of grizzly from about 150-200 yards away in Yellowstone and two young brown bears ( much closer) near Glacier NP and those sightings were both from the highway so no worries.

We were in Yellowstone and the Tetons 2 years ago. We got spray and kept it at the campsite and on all of our hikes except for the Jenny Lake hike in the Tetons since it's such a busy trail. Of course, that was the day we encountered our only bear that vacation - about 25 feet off the trail just above Jenny Lake! The little guy was way more concerned with getting every berry off the bushes than the stream of tourists quietly walking by him though.

 

[Prairie Dog]

But then I do have my funny story - funny to me, at least. On a six day ski trip in Alaska, we were still hiking on the road. My friend was a "bear nut" but I was with another guy in the lead. Came across the pile of older scat. I carefully took my aim and urinated on the pile, moistening it well. The other guy said that will never work. Oh, boy, did it. The other two finally caught up to us and shouted, did you see that fresh scat. We feigned innocence and said we saw nothing. He talked about it for about and hour or more when I finally fessed up. I loved it.

After reading this, I'll never look at scat the same way! Hilarious!

Here's a shot of that bear warning sign that I was referring to that was placed on a corner near where we were staying.

 

[Prairie Dog]

We returned home from Jasper a bit weary eyed but content that we were able to fit this cycling trip into a very narrow window of relatively cooperative weather conditions. Here are a few shots of our drive along the David Thompson Hwy and the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper. The DT Highway has got to be one of the nicest stretches of road we’ve ever hand the pleasure of driving or cycling on.

As we approached Sunwapta Pass it started to snow but once we summited Parker Ridge the sun broke through. Just glad we weren’t on the bikes this day.

More e-bike related adventures from Jasper, AB to come.

 

[kahn]

We returned home from Jasper a bit weary eyed but content that we were able to fit this trip into a very narrow window of relatively cooperative weather conditions. Here are a few shots of our drive along the David Thompson Hwy and the Icefields Parkway towards Jasper. The DT Highway has got to be one of the nicest stretches of road we’ve ever hand the pleasure of driving or cycling on.

View attachment 100747
View attachment 100748

As we approached Sunwapta Pass it started to snow but once we summited Parker Ridge the sun broke through. Just glad we weren’t on the bikes this day.

View attachment 100749
View attachment 100750

More e-bike related adventures to come.

INCREDIBLE. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Can you imagine signs at ocean pullouts saying "CLOSED!" And a couple of people got fines for ignoring the "closed" signs and walking down the beach to the ocean!

We had our National Parks closed in the earliest phase of the pandemic. That didn't stop anybody from hiking or riding there...

 

[Prairie Dog]

Do you carry bear spray? I did buy a can and carried it the whole time we were out west. Saw several instances of fresh scat but the closest bears we saw were two separate instances of grizzly from about 150-200 yards away in Yellowstone and two young brown bears ( much closer) near Glacier NP and those sightings were both from the highway so no worries.

Grizzlies are pretty tough hombres but I guess goats are in a class of their own too.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mountain-goat-kills-grizzly-bear-1.6184779

 

[Dallant]

Grizzlies are pretty tough hombres but I guess goats are in a class of their own too.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mountain-goat-kills-grizzly-bear-1.6184779

Damn…I got really close to a bunch of those! And was out of my truck!

 

[Alicia Margaret]

It is possible to find real "new wave" craft beer brewed by the British in the UK, too. Brewdog in Scotland is the example of a large company than cannot be described as a microbrewery, for instance. It's true the British typically brew weaker Ales than the American do. The American IPA starts with 6% abv. Imperial Stout is typically 11% or even more.

View attachment 98623
Enjoying the best British craft ales with my gf and friend five years ago in London.

I have bought air-tickets and booked hotels in England for the last 6 days of September. If governments won't stop me, I'm going to England to re-unite with my gf in London. One of my plans is to make a share-bike ride along the Thames in London (I think getting anything electric would be too complicated?) Then we will relocate to Kingston upon Thames for car trips over Southern England.

The peace of mind is lively, the expression of joyful smile

 

[Deleted member 18083]

A short ride from home …

Pine Mountain Road
Ipswich, Queensland​

I had no one to ride with today: that isn't supposed to happen on Wednesdays which are designated as 'hump days' to remind us, the tyred/tired/retired old people (TOP cyclists), of our freedom to go ride mid-week!

Everyone had something more important to do! Alas, some (not I) had grandchildren to care for during their spring school holidays, others (the farmers!) were rostered on to look after the cows, and yet others (guilty as charged) had to visit the dentist (again!) later in the morning; so, it was time to head up the rail trail on my own not long after sunrise. It was cold and my gloves and fleece jacket stayed on for the entire ride.

The photo was taken shortly before arriving home (52 km on map). I had stopped on the way north to take a photo of two mothers and their young (kangaroo and joey with a mare and foal in the background; 4 km on map) but my hands were just too cold to do anything but fumble: a lost opportunity, so proper gloves next time!

Note on the map how it is almost 700 metres (under two minutes) from home to the country's longest rail trail. Tough.

 

[Dallant]

Aloha you all!
I am not good at detailed reports.
Our railway is closed (covid 19 )
It is a museum now.
I will let them pictures do the talking.

I believe I wrote about our extended backpack outside of Jasper and the constant THOUGHT alone of THEM made the trip somewhat uncomfortable. My partner thinks of the wilderness as her sanctuary and likes the silence and occasionally strolling alone. We were joined at the hip and constantly singing and tinkling our bells. Anything but peaceful silence. When above treeline, it was not as bad. In brush, it was frightening. I had to make one midnight stroll to the facility. I heard a crashing noise and totally panicked. Flashlight darting here and there. Pulled the pin on the bear spray and thrashed my way back to the tent. It was probably a deer but .... (that reminds me, it was 20 years ago this month)

Like you, we were hiking in Glacier National Park and hit the high point of a hike and turned around. On the way back down there was a FRESH large pile of scat on the trail which had not been there before. We reported it to the rangers.

But then I do have my funny story - funny to me, at least. On a six day ski trip in Alaska, we were still hiking on the road. My friend was a "bear nut" but I was with another guy in the lead. Came across the pile of older scat. I carefully took my aim and urinated on the pile, moistening it well. The other guy said that will never work. Oh, boy, did it. The other two finally caught up to us and shouted, did you see that fresh scat. We feigned innocence and said we saw nothing. He talked about it for about and hour or more when I finally fessed up. I loved it.

On the Bowron Lakes Canoe route way back when, we sought out grizzlies or, at least, their tracks. I no longer do things like that.

Speaking of bears and trains, these were found in Deadwood SD. Worlds largest carved Smoky and one of the trains that used to ride the rails on what is now the Mickelson trail.

 

[RabH]

The gusty winds weren't stopping me today, thankfully they weren't too bad and certainly no problem for a very capable e bike! I had a lovely tailwind for the first 20 miles but once I turned for home it was a very different story riding into the 35mph headwind! I'm so glad I had my spare battery with me, level 3 assist all the way home made it very manageable! I was lucky to avoid the rain just to the north of me, check out the rainbow!

One of my favourite roads has been closed for quite some time but I noticed it was finally open today and I couldn't have timed it better as one of the canal boats was just passing!

I was so glad I decided to chance it today as it turned out to be such a brilliant ride on amazing roads, I really am blessed to have these roads on my doorstep!

The next 2 days aren't looking very promising at all, wet and windy with 40mph gusts so I will be resting up! On Sunday I'm going to a Rallycross meeting so no cycling that day either, hopefully a few rides next week to close out the month!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

35mph headwind!

The List Of Countries I Would Not Immigrate To:

• Canada: Bears, tyre flats
• The United States: Earthquakes, hurricanes, tyre flats
• Australia: Spiders, snakes, magpies, tyre flats
• Scotland: Wind, cold (tyre flats?)
• ...

 

[RabH]

The List Of Countries I Would Not Immigrate To:

• Canada: Bears, tyre flats
• The United States: Earthquakes, hurricanes, tyre flats
• Australia: Spiders, snakes, magpies, tyre flats
• Poland: Wind, cold (tyre flats?)
• ...

Fixed that for you! Now I'm going to get a puncture next ride!

 

[kahn]

Grizzlies are pretty tough hombres but I guess goats are in a class of their own too.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mountain-goat-kills-grizzly-bear-1.6184779

A hiker was gored to death by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park a few years ago. Goat managed to hit a large vessel in his thigh. I've been close a few times and that horn looked like a very sharp shinny stiletto. And they can sometimes hold their ground and you have better be prepared to circle around CAREFULLY. The pass I want to visit with the Larch trees is a goat haven!