Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

Flying to London UK soon. I have been admitted to the flight. Travelling with my national ID (it's doable by Sep 30th, 2021).
Update: I was stopped by the Polish Border Guard. Following the fire of my home, I changed my address, and my ID was invalidated. Nobody told me. Not flying.
I'm addicted to reading Kindle books, even more so if they have an Audible narration. The current ebook is The Voyage of the Southern Sun, an account of a solo circumnavigation in a tiny amphibious flying boat.

The author, travelling on a UK passport and flying a US-registered aircraft, encountered kindness in the most unlikely places; but there were exceptions, notably UK and US immigration and customs! Of course, once admitted to those countries, the everyday people were generous and welcoming.

And to get us back to ebike adventuring, minus the hassle of border controllers, here is another take on the 'southern sun' as my Trek Powerfly is readied for take-off this morning.

Trek Powerfly leaving home
 
Just a small update, so you can understand how much pissed off irritated I am.
In 2014, the street numbers where I lived were re-organized (so the houses would be uniquely identified at a street shared by two towns). At that time, you had to make a new national ID (nobody told us, so the IDs for the whole family got invalidated). Later, the law changed and you didn't need to have any address in your ID. I was travelling to non-Schengen countries (UK, Norway) for many times since, always using the same invalid ID and nobody ever cared! Only today, my ID was thoroughly inspected against a digital database, and I had to return home in shame, losing quite a lot of money spent on non-refundable expenses (only Covid tests were over 100 quids!).

I attribute the detailed Polish border control to Brexit.

I don't want to say anything more.
 
Bummer to hear. How about a train?
Not to avail. Even if there are many transportation means (e.g. minibus, coach), the expensive Covid test would be invalid already tomorrow. I have agreed with gf she would come to Poland in 1-2 months, her work arrangement allowing that. Meanwhile, I need to make a new ID and passport.
 
Curious to know what the coiled wire is for that’s seen routed into the non-drive side port along the top tube? Are those cables for the road remotes? Sharp looking Creo, BTW.:cool:
Good eye, there! 👍

Well, I sprung (pun possibly intended) for some of those coil springy bracelets so that I had something colorful to place on my saddle or handlebars or somewhere obvious so that I was reminded that had engaged my Abus Cafe lock. At my age I needed some memory aid so that I did not just try rolling the bike with the spokes entangled in that lock. Any purchase like that from Amazon meant I got about 3 gazillion of them.

The original question - yes, the wires from the remote were fairly thin and hung fairly loose. They have to be somewhat loose to allow the handlebar/wheel to rotate extremely left/right. But they looked like they could get caught on something including my fingers. I found the black (not colorful and matched the wire color) springy bracelet and tugged on it to find if it was weak or I could find its seam. Did not, so I just cut it and wrapped it around those wires. I could probably cover more of the wire further up but would have to settle for a dark brownish color - what a clash that would be! o_O

And I should THANK YOU for the lead to that "kickstand" idea. Yesterday was my first opportunity since getting it (he was away for vacation for two weeks). If I had to do it all over, I would have opted for the heavier duty one since that one has a larger accessory foot which might help in sand. It does not fit the thinner version. But I'm sure that I could manage something in the field.


And now I have 3 gazillion minus 1 coil bracelets for all kinds of other things! ;)

Oh, I wish I could take credit for the Creo's paint job but Specialized did all of that. I could go down to the basement and take a picture of my red/purple fade custom steel frame to show my skills. Alas, the top tube on that frame cracked after it rusted through - I have incredibly toxic, salty sweat and a paint chip on the bottom rusted and spread. And, I have too much crap on this bike!
 
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Just a small update, so you can understand how much pissed off irritated I am.
In 2014, the street numbers where I lived were re-organized (so the houses would be uniquely identified at a street shared by two towns). At that time, you had to make a new national ID (nobody told us, so the IDs for the whole family got invalidated). Later, the law changed and you didn't need to have any address in your ID. I was travelling to non-Schengen countries (UK, Norway) for many times since, always using the same invalid ID and nobody ever cared! Only today, my ID was thoroughly inspected against a digital database, and I had to return home in shame, losing quite a lot of money spent on non-refundable expenses (only Covid tests were over 100 quids!).

I attribute the detailed Polish border control to Brexit.

I don't want to say anything more.
An acquaintance was leading a Himalayan group trip about two years ago. Showed up for the flight - "sorry, your passport expires in 6 months and you need a new passport!" He could not board the flight and the co-leader had to take over. Some of you are probably aware that you cannot exit the country and go somewhere if your passport MIGHT expire in about six months." So the pull date (use by date) like on milk is completely useless for a passport!!!!

Really sorry that they threw a monkey wrench into your plans.
 
Good eye, there! 👍

Well, I sprung (pun possibly intended) for some of those coil springy bracelets so that I had something colorful to place on my saddle or handlebars or somewhere obvious so that I was reminded that had engaged my Abus Cafe lock. At my age I needed some memory aid so that I did not just try rolling the bike with the spokes entangled in that lock. Any purchase like that from Amazon meant I got about 3 gazillion of them.

The original question - yes, the wires from the remote were fairly thin and hung fairly loose. They have to be somewhat loose to allow the handlebar/wheel to rotate extremely left/right. But they looked like they could get caught on something including my fingers. I found the black (not colorful and matched the wire color) springy bracelet and tugged on it to find if it was weak or I could find its seam. Did not, so I just cut it and wrapped it around those wires. I could probably cover more of the wire further up but would have to settle for a dark brownish color - what a clash that would be! o_O

And I should THANK YOU for the lead to that "kickstand" idea. Yesterday was my first opportunity since getting it (he was away for vacation for two weeks). If I had to do it all over, I would have opted for the heavier duty one since that one has a larger accessory foot which might help in sand. It does not fit the thinner version. But I'm sure that I could manage something in the field.


And now I have 3 gazillion minus 1 coil bracelets for all kinds of other things! ;)

Oh, I wish I could take credit for the Creo's paint job but Specialized did all of that. I could go down to the basement and take a picture of my red/purple fade custom steel frame to show my skills. Alas, the top tube on that frame cracked after it rusted through - I have incredibly toxic, salty sweat and a paint chip on the bottom rusted and spread. And, I have too much crap on this bike!
Good call on wrapping those remote wires as they can be quite thin and somewhat finicky to deal with. I used a length of 3/8” heat shrink tubing to bundle mine and left enough slack so that it doesn’t impinge when rotating the bars.
IMG_20201217_1636045.jpg
The cables on the non-drive side of my Trance came installed with a spiral wrap which seems to work just as well.
IMG_20210805_0900270.jpg
The Click Stand certainly comes in handy when there’s nothing around to prop up the bike. Forgetting to release the brake band before setting off can be a bit unsettling though. :oops:
Seeing SPECIALIZED emblazoned in hypergreen on your bike is what sold me! 👍
 
Good call on wrapping those remote wires as they can be quite thin and somewhat finicky to deal with. I used a length of 3/8” heat shrink tubing to bundle mine and left enough slack so that it doesn’t impinge when rotating the bars.
View attachment 100989
The cables on the non-drive side of my Trance came installed with a spiral wrap which seems to work just as well.
View attachment 100990
The Click Stand certainly comes in handy when there’s nothing around to prop up the bike. Forgetting to release the brake band before setting off can be a bit unsettling though. :oops:
Seeing SPECIALIZED emblazoned in hypergreen on your bike is what sold me! 👍

I was going for one of those wire wraps and have thick, heavy spiral in the basement and then thought of my coil bracelets! But I was on Amazon looking at what they have and had these two in my shopping cart:


wire wrap.jpg


While my shop had that color in my size, I also preferred it to the two other choices. I don't need eye catching red.

blue gray.jpg


red black.jpg


Forgetting brake bands or Cafe locks was what led me to those coil bracelets.

coils.jpg
 
Is she going to have Brexit issues working there?
No, she's a British resident. Britons would be very stupid to get rid of the remaining workforce of the UK.

Let us go back to Our Rides. I plan a very intensive cycling weekend.
 
For the first and hopefully last time i applaud our border control, it's also good to hear that at least one European is able to enjoy British sausage, probably tired of the bland, shrivelled Polish variety. 🍆
 
Haven't posted in a while, for various reasons, including I spend too much time in front of a screen as I've gone back to work for a while.
Retirement #4 was over and I was getting bored.

But often it's because I ride mostly in the same place all the time because it's so close to home and how many pictures of Nose Hill and the Rockies in the distance do you want to see???

However, autumn is here and it was a glorious day - these pictures are all from around 10-15 minutes from my house.

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Hope everyone here is doing well!
 
Moved my Envoy home last week so I can have a bike for shopping duty instead of the car. Went to the local bakery that morning, grabbed a breakfast Brötchen and a baguette for later. Cruised to the shore and polished off the world's best egg sandwich. This is a fantastic place to be a utility rider, as posted speed limits are right at home with the bike's pedelec cruising speed, and there are bike racks all over the place. Thats a fog bank in the background, not the crest of a tsunami. Also back where I am temporarily residing in the Central Vallley, its about 100 fahrenheit vs. 60 here. Only 160 miles separate the two places.
PXL_20210922_160915490.jpg
PXL_20210922_160806662.jpg
 
Haven't posted in a while, for various reasons, including I spend too much time in front of a screen as I've gone back to work for a while.
Retirement #4 was over and I was getting bored.

But often it's because I ride mostly in the same place all the time because it's so close to home and how many pictures of Nose Hill and the Rockies in the distance do you want to see???

However, autumn is here and it was a glorious day - these pictures are all from around 10-15 minutes from my house.

View attachment 101020 View attachment 101021 View attachment 101022 View attachment 101023 View attachment 101024

View attachment 101025 View attachment 101026 View attachment 101027 View attachment 101028


Hope everyone here is doing well!
Sure is good to see you back on the forums Randall. I’ll make it down to your neck of the woods one of these days or perhaps we could risk it all and ride Goat Creek. ;) Nice to see some fall colors up on the Nose. 🍂
 
Haven't posted in a while, for various reasons, including I spend too much time in front of a screen as I've gone back to work for a while.
Retirement #4 was over and I was getting bored.

But often it's because I ride mostly in the same place all the time because it's so close to home and how many pictures of Nose Hill and the Rockies in the distance do you want to see???

However, autumn is here and it was a glorious day - these pictures are all from around 10-15 minutes from my house.

View attachment 101020 View attachment 101021 View attachment 101022 View attachment 101023 View attachment 101024

View attachment 101025 View attachment 101026 View attachment 101027 View attachment 101028


Hope everyone here is doing well!
Nice Fall colors coming through.
 
Hey Randall I've been indirectly called Dr Jekell and Mr Hyde. I'm new to the forums. From Hawaii. My trails are also within 15 mile radius from home base. I was on a 11 mile ride today
It gets pretty colorful here on the Island during autumn It's rainy time of the year.
I have photos from my ride to a nearby Coast Guard base commissary to buy my favorite beverage to go with my Lady's spicy Korean dish
The flowers on the trees are wild bougainvillea.
I had to snap a shot of the roadie bike.
Must be a new coastie on the Island. Two locks on his bike!!! On Federal properties I don't lock my bike.
I like the wild bougainvillea images.
 
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