Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Prairie Dog]

@Prairie Dog: A friend of mine, an experienced travelling journalist asked me to show you this video: "Norilsk, the Hell of the North". Sorry it is in Polish only.

Norilsk, a Russian city above the Polar Circle in the Asian part of Russia. It is not only the cold that makes living there hopeless.

• White bears capable to collapse a small wooden house
• The fifth most polluted city in the world
• Dilapidated housing
• Local authority dictatorship
• No warm water during the winter
• The only way to get there is by ship or airplane
• As it is an enclosed industrial area, you need a permission from the Russian authorities to get in

One minute of watching tells you the whole story.

Compared to that, Canada is a paradise...

Stefan, I have no doubt that those are horrific living conditions and yes, most regions of Canada in comparison would be considered paradise. However, your journalist friend should realize that there are many places in the world where populations in remote areas within industrialized countries live in third world conditions including Canada which is not immune from its own woes. Case in point, our northern indigenous peoples have faced similar circumstances without clean water, overcrowded or inadequate housing for many, many years. This has occurred under the watch of current and past governments who have continually turned their backs on the suffering and anguish of these peoples until recently. You would think this wouldn’t be the case in such a rich country such as ours but it is. Many first nations communities are also isolated and only accessible by plane or ice road. Fort Hope, NWT is a prime example.

Clearly, we should all be grateful for what we have. Clean drinking water, a roof over our heads and a secure source of food. Recently, a homeless shelter in my home town closed its doors due to complaints from downtown businesses. That left many struggling to find a place to stay the night. It’s difficult to imagine where they would take shelter when it’s -41C outside. On top of that, many are struggling with drug addiction, mental health issues and a life of crime to feed their habit. Sometimes we don’t have far to look when individuals within our own communities are in need of help. Sorry for the rant, back to regular programming.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I made a couple of changes to my winter apparel today to better protect me from the cold. One more Merino layer next to my body and a thicker insulated GoreTex outer jacket. Every piece of clothing/gear worked perfectly in unison but I couldn’t say the same for the Trance, in particular the hydraulics. Brakes and dropper post virtually shut down due to the cold and I was forced to head home after only an hour in the saddle.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

including Canada which is not immune from its own woes

Thank you Art! Such discussions broaden the perspective!

I have watched the whole Norilsk documentary (it was filmed in the Summer this year). It is not that the people there have been living for years and got abandoned, no. The area is, like, owned by a private company "Norilsknickel"; nickel ore mining and smelting is the essence of the very existence of that city. Most of inhabitants have come from poor areas of Russia and other former Soviet Union republics for work (you need to be a Russian citizen to be allowed to work there). The "immigrants" are lured with high pay (compared to the poor Russian regions), and an employee gets a relatively high "northern pension" after having worked for 15 (men) or 10 years (women). Only the employees of the company get that pension, the others have to charge a lot for their work and products, making the cost of living high, too. People get used to the conditions and most often stay there.

Of course the city is plagued by crime, drug addiction etc.

Norilsk as seen on the globe. I have watched the details. First, you need to get to Dudinka on the Yenisei River. The couple that made the video got to Norilsk from Dudinka by a cargo train (as they said "There is nothing impossible in Russia").

Brakes and dropper post virtually shut down due to the cold

How cold was that? (Now, you would want a glycol based system such as SRAM, just for the winter!)

 

[kahn]

Thank you Art! Such discussions widen the perspective!


How cold was that? (Now, you would want a glycol based system such as SRAM, just for the winter!)

Or an alcohol based system just for blood!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Or an alcohol based system just for blood!

Glycol is an alcohol! Poisonous but still an alcohol

 

[DiggyGun]

I made a couple of changes to my winter apparel today to better protect me from the cold. One more Merino layer next to my body and a thicker insulated GoreTex outer jacket. Every piece of clothing/gear worked perfectly in unison but I couldn’t say the same for the Trance, in particular the hydraulics. Brakes and dropper post virtually shut down due to the cold and I was forced to head home after only an hour in the saddle.

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Nice photos

 

[Prairie Dog]

Thank you Art! Such discussions broaden the perspective!

I have watched the whole Norilsk documentary (it was filmed in the Summer this year). It is not that the people there have been living for years and got abandoned, no. The area is, like, owned by a private company "Norilsknickel"; nickel ore mining and smelting is the essence of the very existence of that city. Most of inhabitants have come from poor areas of Russia and other former Soviet Union republics for work (you need to be a Russian citizen to be allowed to work there). The "immigrants" are lured with high pay (compared to the poor Russian regions), and an employee gets a relatively high "northern pension" after having worked for 15 (men) or 10 years (women). Only the employees of the company get that pension, the others have to charge a lot for their work and products, making the cost of living high, too. People get used to the conditions and most often stay there.

Of course the city is plagued by crime, drug addiction etc.

View attachment 110397
Norilsk as seen on the globe. I have watched the details. First, you need to get to Dudinka on the Yenisei River. The couple that made the video got to Norilsk from Dudinka by a cargo train (as they said "There is nothing impossible in Russia").



How cold was that? (Now, you would want a glycol based system such as SRAM, just for the winter!)

Thanks for the enlightenment Stefan. Norlisk would be a brutal place to live. The long harsh winters and pollution alone would make for a very miserable existence. However, a glimmer of hope lies in its residents many who appear to be steadfast and resilient.

A DOT system would certainly have been more effective.I actually might have been better off riding my old Trek with its mechanical cable actuated caliper brakes. It faithfully got me through the entire winter last year.

 

[RandallS]

I made a couple of changes to my winter apparel today to better protect me from the cold. One more Merino layer next to my body and a thicker insulated GoreTex outer jacket. Every piece of clothing/gear worked perfectly in unison but I couldn’t say the same for the Trance, in particular the hydraulics. Brakes and dropper post virtually shut down due to the cold and I was forced to head home after only an hour in the saddle.

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While you were out doing that, i took a more sensible (for me) route and stayed indoors and did a long overdue dropper service. But I'd like to thank you for verifying the limits of our bike's systems.

 

[RabH]

I managed to catch a break in the weather this afternoon, so I grabbed the chance to get out! It was really mild for the time of year but with a cold easterly wind which thankfully wasn't strong! I had to return home for a little while to check on dad who wasn't feeling too great but luckily he was well enough to allow me to get back out! It was good to see some sunshine!

It was such a joy to get out and enjoy my awesome local roads, usually at this time of year I have to use the main gritted roads so it was a real bonus! Some nice clouds around today also, after days of dark clouds it was a welcome sight!

That was probably my last ride of 2021, a year I will be glad to see the back of for sure...thankfully the one bright light was being able to get out on the bike and try to forget about all of the tragic events that occurred during this awful year! Lets hope 2022 brings some hope and we can all live a near normal life again! Sunday is looking hopeful for another ride and we are supposed to have a high of 9C, 12C on Saturday but no chance of a ride that day....

 

[DiggyGun]

Checked the weather forecast this morning, which stated that the rain would stop at 1030 and be dry until 1400. Temperature was showing as 8oC but with wind chill, 4oC. Great I thought, I may be able to get a ride in. Put some layers on and off we go at 1100 to do a ride around the villages of North Buckinghamshire.

Unfortunately, the weather had a mind of its own and it was still raining. Checked the forecast and it now shows rain till 1500. I think that they’re not forecasting anymore, but just reporting what the weather presently is. I think I need to go back to hanging up Seaweed as that was more accurate.

What the hell, I’m all dressed up with waterproofs on, so what can go wrong?

So off I go. I was nice and dry, apart from my face and the overspecs did a good job of allowing me to see. Had done about 14 miles and decided to have my lunch, sandwich and Bovril. Found a nice large shelter in Padbury which covered the bike as well, nice to get out of the drizzle. Took off my Sealskinz waterproof gloves and found that my liner gloves were damp, but that may be perspiration. Anyhow, settled down and had my lunch.

This is a picture of the shelter, not from today, but from Google StreetView.

After about 45 minutes, the rain had stopped and there was some blue sky in the distance. Packed everything away, changed my gloves over to my new Goretex Mittens and set off to complete my ride. This time, although not raining now, the wind has picked up which made it a bit harder when riding into the wind. But this at least dried out my waterproofs. The mittens are really nice and warm.

Got back to home after picking the wife up from work and then we walked back.

Since being back home, did some research on weather apps for the phone and found one called AccuWeather, which has some good reviews. I’ll try this for a while and hopefully it will be better than the Weather Channel that comes with the iPhone.

 

[Prairie Dog]

While you were out doing that, i took a more sensible (for me) route and stayed indoors and did a long overdue dropper service. But I'd like to thank you for verifying the limits of our bike's systems.

Oh, no doubt and I would likely have done the same and stayed inside but felt compelled to venture out. My neighbor, who is somewhat of a nature enthusiast informed me earlier that he had spotted a bull moose and a cow with its calf along the MacKenzie Trails which don't happen to be far from home even by bike. It’s not very often one gets the opportunity to view these magnificent animals in their natural habitat. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any trace of them but still managed to enjoy my ride despite the HYD glitch.

 

[DiggyGun]

@Prairie Dog: A friend of mine, an experienced travelling journalist asked me to show you this video: "Norilsk, the Hell of the North". Sorry it is in Polish only.

Norilsk, a Russian city above the Polar Circle in the Asian part of Russia. It is not only the cold that makes living there hopeless.

• White bears and wolverines are a real issue there
• The fifth most polluted city in the world
• Dilapidated housing
• Local authority dictatorship
• No warm water during the winter
• The only way to get there is by ship or airplane
• As it is an enclosed industrial area, you need a permission from the Russian authorities to get in

One minute of watching tells you the whole story.

Compared to that, Canada is a paradise...

Very interesting video Stefan. My wife, who’s Polish, translated it on the fly for me.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

despite the HYD glitch

My brother considers replacing the original Shimano brake mineral oil with the ATF, which is also highly processed mineral oil, is good down to -45 C, and strangely resembles so-called "Magura Blood"

 

[RabH]

My brother considers replacing the original Shimano brake mineral oil with the ATF, which is also highly processed mineral oil, is good down to -45 C, and strangely resembles so-called "Magura Blood"

I wouldn't use ATF in a braking system as its petroleum based and would destroy the seals!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I wouldn't use ATF in a braking system as its petroleum based and would destroy the seals!

And what do you think the mineral oil is...?

 

[RabH]

I would check with a qualified cycle mechanic before messing with any type of brake fluid, brake failure is not something I would mess with...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Don't confuse the bike brake fluid with the automotive one. Cars (and SRAM) use ethylene glycol, a non-freezing heavy & hygroscopic alcohol. Mineral oil for bikes is a highly processed hydrocarbon mixture of petroleum origin, same as ATF.

 

[RabH]

All I'm saying is be very careful, brakes aren't something to mess with!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Here’s a helpful link explaining the merits and deficiencies of both DOT and mineral oil.

DOT Brake Fluid vs. Mineral Oil - and the Winner is..

Ever wondered which brake fluid is best - DOT or Mineral Oil? We've got the answer. We outline the advantages and disadvantages to expose the overall winner.

epicbleedsolutions.com

I don’t think it warrants a drastic decision such as changing over the brake system on the Trance though I probably will avoid riding it on extremely cold days.

 

[Chargeride]

I would check with a qualified cycle mechanic before messing with any type of brake fluid, brake failure is not something I would mess with...

Absolutely, I only use original three in one household oil for my brake fluid as a top up.
Stopped using sunflower oil, the wife started moaning when I left the bottle in the garage.