Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Stefan Mikes]

Oh, all rright Stefan, I'll switch on Strava for my next ride (just once, mind you).

I didn't say you should! Strava is bad if used from the smartphone level...
Strava is excellent from social networking viewpoint but if you don't use a GPS bike computer or your e-bike cannot save the rides to Strava, it is not a good system.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Snowcrash!

I usually get up very early. Well before the sunrise, I walked out onto my balcony to discover it was snowing! Uh-oh. My plan had been to ride to the shopping mall just to make another 15 km.... I could spot a cyclist commuting to work, and he was riding in a straight line and very confidently. Well. I waited for the sunrise, put lighter clothes on me (it was snowing very much but the temperature was 0 C) and went for the ride.

Surprise! Big portions of the long Moszna - Brwinów - Podkowa Leśna bike path had already been cleared of snow! (The mayor of Brwinów likes to be popular, it seems!) Unfortunately, not the whole path was clear. I was riding extremely cautiously over a long segment among fields in pretty deep snow.

On the dissapointing segment.

I was very happy with the performance of Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus studded tyres, even if these tyres were just 35 mm wide. The things became worse inside Brwinów: Some streets were covered with re-frozen slush and it was pretty slippery there! I was smarter on my way back: Rode 600 m or so on the main road and turned into cleared bike path. I was very much aware you needed to respect such kind of weather, as crashing in a snowcrash would be very easy!

Meanwhile, Jacek was commuting on his Trance E+ equipped with 2.6" Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro: He reported he was moving "as if it were a train on the railroad!" An MTBer tried to chase Jacek in Warsaw but gave up when my brother went just over 20 km/h

Luckily, no ice (yet).

273 km left to my yearly goal!

 

[RabH]

As the outcome of Endomondo collapse, I could find an Android app to transfer all my Endomondo rides to Strava. The social networking of Strava is priceless! I can admire @fooferdoggie's daily exploits, @rochrunner trainer workout, or be updated with @PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee status (he's on the ride again!). I'm in touch with @Mulezen, @RandallS, @Twin Valley, @minigrrl, @FlatSix911 and other EBR Fora members there! It is fantastic to learn Lee's riding a Cannondale Bad Boy 1 traditional bike nowadays as his Powerfly is still with his lawyer (for insurance case).

View attachment 108949
View attachment 108950

The nice thing about Strava is there are many Strava features David you actually don't need to use

Like I said, it doesn't appeal to me! It was very icy again this morning so no ride today either...Sunday is looking promising though, around 8C so it should be much safer!

 

[Chargeride]

As the outcome of Endomondo collapse, I could find an Android app to transfer all my Endomondo rides to Strava. The social networking of Strava is priceless! I can admire @fooferdoggie's daily exploits, @rochrunner trainer workout, or be updated with @PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee status (he's on the ride again!). I'm in touch with @Mulezen, @RandallS, @Twin Valley, @minigrrl, @FlatSix911 and other EBR Fora members there! It is fantastic to learn Lee's riding a Cannondale Bad Boy 1 traditional bike nowadays as his Powerfly is still with his lawyer (for insurance case).

View attachment 108949
View attachment 108950

The nice thing about Strava is there are many Strava features David you actually don't need to use

All my friends use Strava, it feeds some serious pub arguments over ebike use on trails and the resultant record breaking times.

 

[Chargeride]

Managed to get out for a quick blast in the hills, started in the cute little Yorkshire town of Settle, it's next to the Pennine trail,
which is a set of bridleways across North England, its a good 800ft climb just to get to the trail start and I past these two local walkers
on the way, got the friendly Northern 'aye'.

I was hoping to visit this local attraction of a few caves, but it was out of bounds for the bike and protected by rather large stiles, couldn't be arsed walking so passed it by.

At this point I'd already climbed...well the bike had...1400ft, and yes that is snow, the tiny remnants of quite a good coverage last week, the path started off very rough and full of broken branches, but dried out and the only challenge was very sharp rocks and various steep climbs over them

Quite a climb, and a feeling of accomplishment, took a lot of concentration to make it up over the rock gardens without taking chunks out of the rims.

This wasnt snow, it was some evil substitute called white quicksand, it was like trying to ride through half melted ice cream, even the fattie tyres failed miserably.

Got to the top and bleak didnt describe it, windswept, featureless, cold and quite daunting actually, these horses seemed unconcerned and it was rather odd to find them here.

This is as close as I got to the caves, even though this is obviously a farmers track in good use, on this day I felt like I was the only human alive.

I'd battered the battery so it expired after 12 miles, luckily in the perfect place for a free ride back down the trail in Settle.
Nothing spectacular to report, a bit muddy and windy to really enjoy it and even for me just a bit too close to dangerous by myself.
The area has much more to offer than this short ride, its even in one of the Harry Potter movie, but I'll wait for the summer to return

 

[kahn]

@Chargeride
Thanks for sharing. There's something about "bleak" landscapes that entrances me. The wild, openness, endless expanse, perhaps. Thanks for sharing these places.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I took advantage of a relatively mild afternoon yesterday and rode MacKenzie Bluff as usual. It was obvious that the singletrack there was mainly void of snow with the exception of a few exposed sections.

View of the partially frozen Red Deer River from atop the bluff.

Plenty of coniferous cover made for great trail conditions in particular was the section further down towards the river.

Upon completing my run at MacKenzie Bluff, I rode the double track that would lead me up a hill and eventually have me exiting out at the XC ski trails at Riverbend.

On frozen Pond. The distant hill in the center of the image is an alternate (round about) means of reaching Riverbend rather than the more direct level route.

A timely snowfall would have made for a more preferable view of the landscape below. Nothing like @Chargeride ‘s daunting ‘blast in the hills’ but quite charming nonetheless.



An Indication that life on the prairies can be brutal. Just before I came across the deer skull, a large coyote came out of the woods gazed at me then bolted back under cover as I rode by.

A tranquil ride along the rolling and wide open trails at Riverbend.

Two solitary contrails above captured at the moment I came to a bridge crossing near Riverbend. Perhaps a sign that the end of the ride is near.

With the first day of winter less than two weeks away, the days become increasingly shorter and bit by bit the once vibrant flowing river transforms into one deliberate mass.

My final reward for the day was this icy road towards home base.

 

[RandallS]

Been a while since I posted in this thread, but today I went for a ride down to a LBS to test ride a new bike.
Well - I now own a Full Suspension eMTB - a LIV Intrigue X E+ 3. I'll ride my Fathom through the winter and sell it in the spring after it's tuneup.

Strava exports:


Pics - winter is here and Ice Spikers are on.
Amazing tires - I need to watch for a sale on some new ones as the new ride is on 29" wheels.
About the time I took those last 3 pictures, the temps were starting to drop so it was time to head for home.



Lunch was great, until my temporary bridge broke - thankfully I was going to the dentist Monday morning anyways.



The new bike:

 

[Prairie Dog]

Nice looking bike Randall! Look forward to getting out on a ride with you and your Intrigue soon.

 

[dodgeman]

I agree, nice looking bike.

 

[Mulezen]

Very nice…and I’m not talking about the sandwich

 

[Stefan Mikes]

As a former owner of a Trance E+, I can only say Randall will be delighted with his new ride!
Meanwhile, I need to get some sleep as I go for a 80 km ride around 10:30 a.m. It's gonna be called "The Bigos Ride" I like the weather forecast: 0 to -1C, no precipitation, mild western wind.

 

[RandallS]

Nice looking bike Randall! Look forward to getting out on a ride with you and your Intrigue soon.

Now I need to bling it out.
With the Fathom - it was easy.
Keep applying either Red or Black stuff.

To be honest, it's just grips and pedals.
Grips will be Ergon GA3's.
Pedals will be One Up Composite.

What colours remains to be seen. I may just move the Red stuff over, but we'll see.

I have too many spare parts now, time to put some up for sale on the local forums and see how it goes.
Grips, Racks, trunk bags etc... I am pretty tuned into my requirements now and need to clean up the accessory box.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

My new trailer?

6:35 am; 24 km
Brisbane Valley RT
Lowood, Queensland​

A Lowood truckie, home for the weekend, chose to leave his rig beside the rail trail. My guess is that the prime mover, fitted out to upstage some motorhomes, was sitting proudly in the driveway at home.

On Monday, before dawn probably, he (it's usually, but not invariably, 'he') will hitch up and head west across the Great Dividing Range and then north to Mareeba in Far North Queensland (FNQ) to pick up a load of mangoes and bring them back to Brisbane (SEQ) for folk who could quite easily grow them in their backyards. 3,600 km return.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Now I need to bling it out.
With the Fathom - it was easy.
Keep applying either Red or Black stuff.

To be honest, it's just grips and pedals.
Grips will be Ergon GA3's.
Pedals will be One Up Composite.

What colours remains to be seen. I may just move the Red stuff over, but we'll see.

I have too many spare parts now, time to put some up for sale on the local forums and see how it goes.
Grips, Racks, trunk bags etc... I am pretty tuned into my requirements now and need to clean up the accessory box.

Can’t go wrong with basic black. On a personal note, a full rear fender for mucky terrain is an indispensable piece of winter gear to avoid skunk stripes and mud butts. Great to have during times when those down sloping Chinooks blow in from the Rockies.

 

[kahn]

My new trailer?

View attachment 109097

6:35 am; 24 km
Brisbane Valley RT
Lowood, Queensland​

A Lowood truckie, home for the weekend, chose to leave his rig beside the rail trail. My guess is that the prime mover, fitted out to upstage some motorhomes, was sitting proudly in the driveway at home.

On Monday, before dawn probably, he (it's usually, but not invariably, 'he') will hitch up and head west across the Great Dividing Range and then north to Mareeba in Far North Queensland (FNQ) to pick up a load of mangoes and bring them back to Brisbane (SEQ) for folk who could quite easily grow them in their backyards. 3,600 km return.

View attachment 109096

Good photo. Fun

 

[kahn]

Can’t go wrong with basic black. On a personal note, a full rear fender for mucky terrain is an indispensable piece of winter gear to avoid skunk stripes and mud butts. Great to have during times when those down sloping Chinooks blow in from the Rockies.

Got skunk stripped yesterday just riding on the road - no fenders. Intense storm after we started in broken sun. Outrageous headwinds when we turned around and were pelted by rain and there might have been a bit of hail.

 

[dodgeman]

Rode to a nearby town of Colmar Illinois today. Not sure of the population but probably less than 100. Not a bad ride but windy.

 

[BlackHand]

My new trailer?

View attachment 109097
A Lowood truckie, home for the weekend, chose to leave his rig beside the rail trail. My guess is that the prime mover, fitted out to upstage some motorhomes, was sitting proudly in the driveway at home.

View attachment 109096

@David Berry Curious what you call the guard on the front of the rig? Where I grew up we called it a cow-catcher even though there was no open range and deer were by far the most likely to impact it. Kangaroo-katcher?

What about you @Prairie Dog ? Moose rack, bull bars, or just plain ole cow-catcher?

 

[Twin Valley]

Randall - going to follow your adventures on the Intrigue as a family member was going to purchase one but by the time a decision was made our LBS was sold out of them . . . today's ride could be called "Fire in the Hole" or what the heck . . . about a mile north of our house is a series of hills that I often take the Golden Doodle to run off some of her never-ending energy - there is never a person around just a good habitat for deer, fox and so forth, today to my astonishment I met a fellow in all white camo carrying a long range rifle (and hunting season is over here) who was upset that my dog and I crested a hill that he had a target there for shooting long range (600 metres) - I had spotted his truck at a gas well and thought some maintenance was going on - guess not - we had a long chat and he promised to call before future shooting events but my little biking paradise won't be quite the same in the future, picture has a fox den hole holding the Levo up and "Missy" concerned about what might be in the hole under the bike . . .