Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[m@Robertson]

Glorious day today. Sun is out. Its not too cold on the coast - its freaking freezing - literally - in the Central Valley that I just left. Surf is up and the beaches are still churned up pretty good from the recent storms. Funny thing the big waves all look so small in the pictures but they're big suckers in person.

 

[Chargeride]

All set to go out, cracked a tooth, like in half with one bit flapping about attached to the gum, tried to yank it free.
no chance, pain indescribable.
Not actually hurting as long as I didn't mess about with it, so set off.

omg, as soon a the cold air hit it...
Marathon Man level agony.
Retreated and tried to warm it with coffee, same pain!!
It settled down, reduced to eating luke warm soup.
Its booked in for removal anyway, 5days to go, unfortunately its a tooth you can see when talking.
Im going to look like Sam Pilgrim till I can get an implant.
The wife thinks Im on the way to being a hobbo.
I hope thats not an offensive word.

 

[DiggyGun]

All set to go out, cracked a tooth, like in half with one bit flapping about attached to the gum, tried to yank it free.
no chance, pain indescribable.
Not actually hurting as long as I didn't mess about with it, so set off.

omg, as soon a the cold air hit it...
Marathon Man level agony.
Retreated and tried to warm it with coffee, same pain!!
It settled down, reduced to eating luke warm soup.
Its booked in for removal anyway, 5days to go, unfortunately its a tooth you can see when talking.
Im going to look like Sam Pilgrim till I can get an implant.
The wife thinks Im on the way to being a hobbo.
I hope thats not an offensive word.

I broke my largest molar in two lengthways Last year. As you said, the pain was incredible when it happened and intense whenever you ate anything.

I was really pleased when it was extracted. When the Dentist stops a number of times during the procedure, commenting, “that it’s not going expected”, you know you are going to be a pain later on. It eventually took one and three quarter hours and I had an infection the following two weeks.

But after that all was fine.

 

[Mulezen]

I had one pulled and the dentist after changing tack a few times kept speaking in a calm voice until it came out suddenly and he landed on the floor. An extra root (Neanderthal ancestry 4%) Responsible.
After my posts last weekend about my 70 F riding conditions it came back to bite me in the form of 10” of wet snow, 21 C to -5 C overnight. Thousands of trees down in my riding area but I did just get power back Which, of course, doesn’t help the trees but at least I get a shower and shave.

 

[Readytoride]

@Readytoride Please post more mesmerizing reports. PLEASE.

I will. I promise. I need the weather to cooperate first and stop looking like below!

 

[Catalyzt]

The visuals show it would have been a challenge. Well done.

Thanks... the thing that made me walk the baby rock gardens was the drop on the left, the steep slope on the right, the late hour of the day, and how difficult getting help would have been if something had gone wrong. Exactly the same trail with a grassy meadow on either side, a few friends nearby, and a mild summer day would have made it seem like a much more manageable proposition.

Catalyzt, thats my dream track, a fantastic first of the year ride

Thanks! I should have said, "I do not recommend this trail... for anyone except Chargeride"! Or maybe PDoz & family, but they have plenty of mad trails closer to home.

 

[Catalyzt]

Sunnier skies?

View attachment 111100

Inland from Brisbane, Queensland
7:20 am; 8 km from home​

For the first few days of 2022, the remnants of a tropical cyclone has been wandering around the Coral Sea (South Pacific) off the east coast of Australia. With gales lashing the coast, it seemed wiser to head inland rather than risk a long ride along the coast.

This morning I woke earlier but left late, heading east towards the Great Divide – didn't make it that far, of course! Quiet roads: mostly sealed but some, thankfully, still gravel. After 20 km travelling through flat farmland, my route turned sharply upward. The Homage's gentle assistance was appreciated up Evans Hill to the old hilltop cemetery, a pleasant, but temporary, resting place for me.

Clouds were gathering. Forget them: if it rained – it most certainly would! – the cooling refreshment would be welcomed.

View attachment 111101

View to the south from Evans Hill
8:15 am; 25 km​

My route to Evans Hill was through the flat farmland in the above photo. The distant mountains on the right are part of the continental divide: our side drains to the Pacific Ocean; beyond the Great Dividing Range streams form part of the Murray-Darling Basin that empties – assuming water makes its way to the sea – into the Southern Ocean.

View attachment 111102

Tallegalla Cemetery
Looking west from Evans Hill, Queensland​

View attachment 111106

Absolutely stunning, David! Great photography-- fantastic resolution and depth-- as well as serious distance and elevation! Dead impressed!

 

[reed scott]

So much gorgeous literary description here.
I need a ghost writer.
Catalyzt, thats my dream track, a fantastic first of the year ride

You read all that stuff?

 

[Mulezen]

Of course…if she takes the time to write it I’ll take a shorter time to read it. But I did wonder what kind of dogs they were

 

[Deleted member 18083]

I did wonder what kind of dogs they were.

They're JJ and Molly? Beautiful dogs!

White Shetlands?

Ours were:

• 1970s : Gordon Setter X – Yamba (seaside town in New South Wales)
• 1970s : Rhodesian Ridgeback – Jos (after dog we looked after in NZ)
• 1980s : German Shepherd X – Raz (abandoned dog from animal shelter)
• 1990s : Gordon Setter – Milly (my mother's name, Millicent)
• 2000s : Rhodesian Ridgeback – Zoë (name chosen for our second child; turned out to be Ben)

The first Gordie – a young stray with a bit of something else in her lineage – adopted us when we were camping in our Kombi half a century ago: just turned up one afternoon, was patted and then firmly shut out when we turned in for the night. When we departed the next day, she chased the van down the road (with both Jen and I looking in the rearview mirrors instead of at the road ahead). We stopped: and so Yamba, named after the place where we had been camping, entered our lives. That was 1972. She lived until 1986 and is buried in our garden.

Of course, none of the other dogs could match the first: they had competition from human children!

Jen and I were also employed as staff by several cats. Loved them, too.

 

[Readytoride]

Dave - They are white rough Collies. JJ (on the left) is a puppy at 9 months old and still growing, Molly (on the right) is 6 years and is somewhat small for a Collie. We got her at 2 years of age. They are loving the snow and the cold and will happily spend all day outside in it playing, watching the horses, and sleeping. Very sweet, very intelligent breed.

We originally started with Shelties. Smartest dogs on the planet next to a border collie.

 

[Frank/Delaware]

Dave - They are white rough Collies. JJ (on the left) is a puppy at 9 months old and still growing, Molly (on the right) is 6 years and is somewhat small for a Collie. We got her at 2 years of age. They are loving the snow and the cold and will happily spend all day outside in it playing, watching the horses, and sleeping. Very sweet, very intelligent breed.

We originally started with Shelties. Smartest dogs on the planet next to a border collie.

We have have had Shelties for nearly 50 years - they rock!

 

[dodgeman]

No ride today, roads are still icy and snow covered and the wind chill is a killer. I hauled some firewood up to the house and about froze my nose off, I’ll just kickback and enjoy it.

 

[kahn]

Sunnier skies?

View attachment 111100

Inland from Brisbane, Queensland
7:20 am; 8 km from home​

For the first few days of 2022, the remnants of a tropical cyclone has been wandering around the Coral Sea (South Pacific) off the east coast of Australia. With gales lashing the coast, it seemed wiser to head inland rather than risk a long ride along the coast.

This morning I woke earlier but left late, heading east towards the Great Divide – didn't make it that far, of course! Quiet roads: mostly sealed but some, thankfully, still gravel. After 20 km travelling through flat farmland, my route turned sharply upward. The Homage's gentle assistance was appreciated up Evans Hill to the old hilltop cemetery, a pleasant, but temporary, resting place for me.

Clouds were gathering. Forget them: if it rained – it most certainly would! – the cooling refreshment would be welcomed.

View attachment 111101

View to the south from Evans Hill
8:15 am; 25 km​

My route to Evans Hill was through the flat farmland in the above photo. The distant mountains on the right are part of the continental divide: our side drains to the Pacific Ocean; beyond the Great Dividing Range streams form part of the Murray-Darling Basin that empties – assuming water makes its way to the sea – into the Southern Ocean.

View attachment 111102

Tallegalla Cemetery
Looking west from Evans Hill, Queensland​

View attachment 111106

Also loved that second picture. But if they won't let in a anti-vax tennis great, what chance do I have!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Beside Queensland country roads…

Disused Cattle-loading Ramp
Thagoona, Brisbane Hinterland​

Rust-prevention Coating?
Evans Hill, near Rosewood, SE Queensland​

Glamorgan Vale Road
near Lowood, SE Queensland​

It's a hard climb to the top of the hill overlooking our inland village of Lowood – well, it used to be before ebikes came into my life. From where I'd stopped, the road sweeps to the right past the town's water tank ('reservoir'?), before plunging down to Lowood and a much appreciated visit to the Coffee at the Park café.

Last year I resolved: no pedalling down this hill. The temptation to urge the Homage past another 'click', 60–65–70–75–80 km/h, must be banished from one's mind. It's been done on a road bike in the past and need not be repeated! The descent, beyond where it disappears from our view, is steep and twisty. Go fast and you'll need to brake hard and lean over even harder.

I behaved myself and didn't look at the speed readout until I had a mug of coffee in hand: 68.5 km/h. Drat: why hadn't I kept fingers off brakes for just another five seconds! (Because I'm not riding Rab's Giant; nor am I young anymore.)

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Jacek's Adventure

Three Kings Day Ride (Epiphany)

 

[Catalyzt]

Beside Queensland country roads…

I behaved myself and didn't look at the speed readout until I had a mug of coffee in hand: 68.5 km/h. Drat: why hadn't I kept fingers off brakes for just another five seconds! (Because I'm not riding Rab's Giant; nor am I young anymore.)

I had wondered what the recommended speed limit was for Special Needs Senior Extreme Sports eBikers.

We now have the answer: 68.5 km/h -- almost exactly the same as my top speed for the Solstice Run = right about 43 MPH.

Two different continents, two very different hills, two very different bikes, two different riders with very different health issues-- very interesting that we both held back just a bit and wound up with such similar top speeds.

Actually, of course it's just a coincidence -- but I think we should start throwing this number around immediately to wind people up -- as if it's some well-accepted medical, legal, or ethical standard. "Over 55 and you have and diabetes / high blood pressure / history of blood clots / whatever? Well, then you must not exceed 68.5 KPH. What do you mean, how did I come up with that number? Don't be ridiculous, everyone knows this. Extensive testing has been done all over the world..."

 

[Mulezen]

I can get mine to about 36-38 mph but only when I have to pee

 

[Deleted member 18083]

A switchback country ride …

Click four-arrow icon to view full-size video.
Glamorgan Vale Road, Queensland

January 2021 on 2019 R&M Homage Rohloff. It looks like a similar day: same green grass and cloudy sky. The photo above was taken from a short distance beyond the faux Mexican hacienda homestead.

• Link to original post.

It's worth following this link to see what we were up to last January.

 

[Mulezen]

Very nice…but everybody’s on the wrong side of the road