Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[RabH]

Once again, Lovely shots! Snow is certainly more of a welcoming sign to winter than the bitter cold. -25 wind chill as I type and I hope that it warms up slightly on my ride out this afternoon. I'm going to try covering the camera in this sleeve before I pull it out of my pocket. I have my doubts but it's worth a try.


View attachment 108668

Hats off to you for even contemplating going out in those temps, far less attempting to record some video!

 

[RandallS]

Hats off to you for even contemplating going out in those temps, far less attempting to record some video!

We Albertans are a hardy lot - but neg 25c is past my limit normally.

It's amazing how much warmer it feels when you are in the sun, and where I live in Calgary, it's one of the sunniest places in Canada.
Art lives 150 Kms north and they get similar (midway between Calgary and Edmonton).

Calgary, Alberta

Although receiving nowhere near as many hours of sun as the US top sunny-destination, Calgary, Alberta tops the sunniest places in Canada and receives a respectable 2405 hours and 333 days of sunshine a year.
Edmonton is also a strong sun spot with 2299 hours and 321 days of sun a year.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

A watery ride…

Scences from my usual twice-a-week up the coast: there was no need to do more than move my ebike a metre off the Moreton Bay Cycleway. Perfect! And pleasant weather, too.

Mangroves, reclaiming old pasture.
Rothwell, SE Queensland.​

Moreton Island (seen from mainland)​

Deception Bay & Glass House Mountains​

Stalking lunch; Kedron Brook Wetlands
Pied Stilt​

 

[RabH]

We Albertans are a hardy lot - but neg 25c is past my limit normally.

It's amazing how much warmer it feels when you are in the sun, and where I live in Calgary, it's one of the sunniest places in Canada.
Art lives 150 Kms north and they get similar (midway between Calgary and Edmonton).

Calgary, Alberta

Although receiving nowhere near as many hours of sun as the US top sunny-destination, Calgary, Alberta tops the sunniest places in Canada and receives a respectable 2405 hours and 333 days of sunshine a year.
Edmonton is also a strong sun spot with 2299 hours and 321 days of sun a year.

So true about the sun, when I was in the shade today it must have been way below zero but in the sun it felt so much warmer! If only we got as much sun as you!

 

[RandallS]

So true about the sun, when I was in the shade today it must have been way below zero but in the sun it felt so much warmer! If only we got as much sun as you!

But @David Berry would likely say "that's not sunny - THIS is sunny" .
To be best - you need an Australian accent, and be of a certain age to be able to understand the reference.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

What a nasty weekend I had!

I started an online training to University students at 9 am on Saturday. After just one hour, the charging section of my laptop died. I contacted the group leader by phone; he told me the group would accept my failure if they got video lectures instead. So much for my planned Sunday ride!

I bought a new laptop on Saturday and configured it. (If you must know, it was the last Huawei Matebook 13 Intel i5 10th Gen, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD in a large store. I specifically needed that model, and even got a nice discount for it as for the last piece).

I spent the last Sunday talking into the air for six hours net, recording the training sessions. I spent say 2 hours to convert recorded videos into MP4 format and posting them online. I had a nap in the afternoon. Now, it is past midnight here and I am done. I'd like to have an online companion, so we could drink a little together, no one available at that time!

And it looks I pinched the inner tube in my Vado SL, the front wheel. I need to replace or fix the inner tube. No time to ride in December! Perhaps I would use the time between the Xmas and New Year to complete my 10k km goal...

 

[Prairie Dog]

It was still rather cold when I left the house after lunch. -22 wind chill but I was fully prepared with appropriate winter attire from head to toe. I usually remove my goggles when arriving at the trail as I'm able to gain a superior field of vision without having them on.



With that said, it looks like a bit of a warming trend is headed our way next week but I expect it to be fleeting at best.

I couldn’t say the same for my gear although my phone was playing nice enough to allow me to snap a few photos along the trail. It didn’t appear that the cover I used for the action camera helped one bit as I only managed to capture a couple of minutes of footage. I rode a few loops along the Heritage Ranch Trails and then popped out to Bower Ponds to check out the ice.

Quite a stark contrast to @David Berry gorgeous coastal pics. The trails are looking more like they should during this time of the year. I guess this is what compels me to hop on the saddle even when it’s cold out like it was today.

 

[redzed]

What a nasty weekend I had!

I started an online training to University students at 9 am on Saturday. After just one hour, the charging section of my laptop died. I contacted the group leader by phone; he told me the group would accept my failure if they got video lectures instead. So much for my planned Sunday ride!

I bought a new laptop on Saturday and configured it. (If you must know, it was the last Huawei Matebook 13 Intel i5 10th Gen, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD in a large store. I specifically needed that model, and even got a nice discount for it as for the last piece).

I spent the last Sunday talking into the air for six hours net, recording the training sessions. I spent say 2 hours to convert recorded videos into MP4 format and posting them online. I had a nap in the afternoon. Now, it is past midnight here and I am done. I'd like to have an online companion, so we could drink a little together, no one available at that time!

And it looks I pinched the inner tube in my Vado SL, the front wheel. I need to replace or fix the inner tube. No time to ride in December! Perhaps I would use the time between the Xmas and New Year to complete my 10k km goal...

Geez, I thought you already finished the 10K!?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Geez, I thought you already finished the 10K!?

Unfortunately, still some kms to go, and no time for rides!

 

[RandallS]

Regardless, amazing stats.
My q3 and q4 2021 was pathetic. Hope to fix that in 2022, but as I will probably focus on trail riding with a FS bike, rides will remain shorter, but likely more intense.

 

[Chargeride]

Once again, Lovely shots! Snow is certainly more of a welcoming sign to winter than the bitter cold. -25 wind chill as I type and I hope that it warms up slightly on my ride out this afternoon. I'm going to try covering the camera in this sleeve before I pull it out of my pocket. I have my doubts but it's worth a try.


View attachment 108668

just used one, they work great as well for windnoise reduction.

 

[Chargeride]

View attachment 108688

It was still rather cold when I left the house after lunch. -22 wind chill but I was fully prepared with appropriate winter attire from head to toe. I usually remove my goggles when arriving at the trail as I'm able to gain a superior field of vision without having them on.

View attachment 108689

With that said, it looks like a bit of a warming trend is headed our way next week but I expect it to be fleeting at best.

View attachment 108690

I couldn’t say the same for my gear although my phone was playing nice enough to allow me to snap a few photos along the trail. It didn’t appear that the cover I used for the action camera helped one bit as I only managed to capture a couple of minutes of footage. I rode a few loops along the Heritage Ranch Trails and then popped out to Bower Ponds to check out the ice.
View attachment 108691View attachment 108692
View attachment 108693

View attachment 108694
View attachment 108696

Quite a stark contrast to @David Berry gorgeous coastal pics. The trails are looking more like they should during this time of the year. I guess this is what compels me to hop on the saddle even when it’s cold out like it was today.

View attachment 108695

leaning on ice, I can feel my legs twitching watching it.

 

[Chargeride]

As usual cant be arsssd cutting up the vid for pictures, mainly because the wife has commandeered the laptop for running club duty and doing it on my phone would be tedious.
Heres a vid of the tree damage from Storm Arwen, in the forest and around town.
very sad actually, a lot of these trees are a hundred years old at least.
Looks like its going to be another big one tomorrow, hopefully no more damage.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've solved the matter of my pinched inner tube in the most effective way: Brought the wheel & tyre to the LBS by car. Five minutes of work, equivalent of $10, and that's cheaper than me doing the job (think of all inner tubes I was able to damage!)

Then, a 15 km Vado SL ride at -3 C on Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus, a great pleasure. It is hard to go out. When you start peddling pedalling, there's only the pure joy of cycling! Bought medicines at a pharmacy, cigarettes, milk, ate at Subway, bought rum at another store. Happy!

327 km to the yearly goal.

There is a Spanish store at Podkowa Leśna Mall. I know the owner. When I was packing outside, the owner went out to have a cigarette. When he spotted me, clad for Winter and with yet another e-bike, he merrily remarked: "A die-hard, eh?"

 

[Deleted member 18083]

327 km to the yearly goal.

You'll make it!
Go, Stefan!

 

[Prairie Dog]

As usual cant be arsssd cutting up the vid for pictures, mainly because the wife has commandeered the laptop for running club duty and doing it on my phone would be tedious.
Heres a vid of the tree damage from Storm Arwen, in the forest and around town.
very sad actually, a lot of these trees are a hundred years old at least.
Looks like its going to be another big one tomorrow, hopefully no more damage.

Wow! Hopefully the local crews will get it all sorted soon enough so that you can go back to your unimpeded rides. I could watch the beach video footage all day long. Dazzling.

 

[Chargeride]

All my mates are eyeing it up for their wood stoves.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

All my mates are eyeing it up for their wood stoves.

A norm in Norway. Any Norwegian household (normally powered by electricity only) keeps a wood stove under the staircase, and a stock of wood. Just in case.

I spoke with my Norwegian manager. He told me he regretted his purchase of a Ford Explorer. He should have bought a Tesla, he said. It is the most economical and practical car in Norway nowadays, the Tesla.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Heading for the Sun:
Crossing the Alps along the Via Claudia Augusta…

R&M Delite & the Zugspitze​

• An interesting story of a young couple's adventure in Europe.​
• Link to article in Riese & Müller Magazine.

 

[Chargeride]

A norm in Norway. Any Norwegian household (normally powered by electricity only) keeps a wood stove under the staircase, and a stock of wood. Just in case.

I spoke with my Norwegian manager. He told me he regretted his purchase of a Ford Explorer. He should have bought a Tesla, he said. It is the most economical and practical car in Norway nowadays, the Tesla.

apparently due partly to other circumstances, the Tesla is the best selling car in the UK.
Its very hard to obtain a new car and second hand models are going for more than the new price.
Teslas are commonplace in the UK now.
Its going to be 35 pounds a day penalty to drive into London if you have an older car, its free in an electric car or the very latest clean city petrols.