Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[DaveMatthews]

Yeah, it was nice. This recent warming trend has really provided a much needed boost to everyone’s spirits and the riding conditions at Heritage were great but some of the other trails were still too heavily covered in snow to navigate around.

We had heard that another atmospheric river was set to hit the west coast but not as severe as the last one. Stay warm and dry Dave.

It
Is
Pissing down now. That's the bad news
The good news is I just got back from the LBS with my son's new Giant Talon E 29er
Now he can get to work on his own ride. He got home soaked today.

 

[kahn]

Yeah, it was nice. This recent warming trend has really provided a much needed boost to everyone’s spirits and the riding conditions at Heritage were great but some of the other trails were still too heavily covered in snow to navigate around.

We had heard that another atmospheric river was set to hit the west coast but not as severe as the last one. Stay warm and dry Dave.

.81 of an inch since midnight. Not quite like last week but not really a slouch in terms of moisture. And this follows yesterday's rain and precedes tomorrow's! Sun this weekend if the prognosticators are correct.

 

[RabH]

It was a bit murky and very blustery but a pleasant 6C and dry so after 10 days off the bike it was so good to get out again! With no ice or snow around I could enjoy the lovely quiet back roads again, roads like this are such a joy when there's no ice around and very few cars!

It wasn't the best of days for photos but I did take a few, I just missed a grey squirrel running right past me when I was having a snack...the little blighter was too fast for me! No moose, snakes or bears around these parts It was a great ride, one which I really needed to lift the spirits again! Cycling really is such a joy when the weather plays ball, or in @Prairie Dog 's case even in crazy below zero conditions, hats off to you for getting out! Our weather is staying mild for the next week or so, hopefully more rides to come!

 

[Chargeride]

I havent been catching up, been on a fastrack 48hr literary course...I jest of course...I just read War and Peace, ebike version.

Tooths gone and Im pain free, putting together a hubdrive fattie, so no rides yet, I'll look back over the posts tonight, when I say the tooths gone, that was about 30 mins ago, still numb.

Weathers picking up, but I left the goddam van open and someone nicked my bike helmet, empty backpack, track pump and gloves, so I'll have a new helmet next ride, my mates said it was a hideous piece of crxx anyway, so theyve done me a favour really, the pump was broken and the gloves had holes in them.
Thats the advantage of being a cheapskate.

 

[Prairie Dog]

@DaveMatthews , @kahn - Not sure if I could tolerate that much rain but I’m sure the forecast will drastically improve for you folks soon. It can get awfully cold and snowy here but, on the other hand, we can’t complain about the amount of sunshine that we do receive.

@RabH – A pleasant 6C is what we achieved yesterday. I was too busy running errands but I did manage to get out today. The trails were soft and barely manageable on the bike due to the warm conditions. Bah…no sense in me whining about the weather as long as it stays relatively warm enough to ride. No guessing how long it will last until the next cold front blows in.

 

[Twin Valley]

Finally I got out for my first outside ride of the year on a

beautiful 7 degree C day with just a breeze after yesterday's 100 km hour flip over the transports blast. Seemed so quiet with what I thought was a pretty mundane ride and while stopped for a sip of water I glanced up and saw "company" - a snowy owl also called an arctic owl which we seldom see in our area - apparently, the male snowy owls are all white and the females have the markings seen in this picture or this could be a young male which also sport the dark markings. I have a great horned owl living in the rafters of our barn and often see small burrowing owls in the hills behind our place. They are very welcome with an infestation of mice this year one can appreciate their hunting skills. After stopping to snap a photo of the owl I had the inspiration to head for the hills and attempt some climbs to get the old heart beat up but that was a mistake. I ended up pushing more than riding in soft wind piled snow and never did reach my destination - but as Prairie Dog says quit whining and enjoy the break getting out in our unpredictable weather.

 

[Catalyzt]

Let me share my impression from riding Vado SL in the Kabacki Forest of yesterday. Because of topography, the best route from the west to the Specialized Warsaw Brand Store is riding for 5 km through the Forest, which is a favourite leisure/workout area for Warsawers living in the southern part of the city. The surface type is hardpack, which becomes slightly muddy in the wet season. Now, given the frost, the surface has become pretty rough and interlaced with ice.

To reduce the rolling resistance prior to the ride, I inflated the wheels to the allowed max. The nice surprise I experienced upon riding into the Forest was how good the Redshift ShockStop system was! I was riding well over 20 km/h over that unpleasant terrain with total comfort and control over the bike! And I am sure the studded Marathon Winter Plus tyres were of great help to maintain traction!

Talking about studded tyres, I found them a must-have for the frosty winter! Fancy riding for many kilometres on dry asphalt to just find a 100 metre stretch of solid ice! And try riding through on regular tyres!

I shared my thoughts to the store manager, to which he sighed: "What a shame not everybody can install or afford studded tyres on their bikes! Yet, there is something even worse: Riding without a helmet during the winter! You must have seen those types riding in a warm cap instead of helmet; they cannot of course use the summer helmet but damn! they could wear a snowboard helmet or whatever! Riding in the winter without a helmet is an attempt to commit suicide!" How true.

Uh, Stefan, is it safe to take tire pressure all the way to max?

Because there's often a lot of asphalt between me and the dirt where I ride-- and I kind of like the canyon riding on roads anyway-- I often run higher pressures as well because as you say, it decreases rolling resistance, and also battery usage.

However, my LBS sternly warned me: 'No more than Max PSI -10 PSI.' Meaning, since the Ikons are rated for 60, I never exceed 50.

I'm also thinking that since I'm getting into higher speeds on asphalt, 40 PSI cold is probably a bit more at 40 MPH, and 50 PSI cold would exceed the max at 40 MPH. I understand that the increased risk of a blowout is probably minimal, but the consequences could be severe. I heard from Powerfly Lee a couple of weeks ago-- he had a blowout on his front tire, and was seriously injured! (I don't know if tire pressure was an issue or not. I haven't seen him here in a while, but when he's back we may ask him.) He's just now getting out of physical therapy and back on the road.

 

[Readytoride]

I had promised myself yesterday that if the temps hit mid-40s(f) - this "warm" spell coming hard on the heels of two days of well below freezing temperatures that kept us prisoners indoors - I would venture out for a quick gravel road ride. 2pm rolls around, the thermometer having painfully inched up by fractional degrees all morning and afternoon, finally exhausted from the struggle to even reach 42° (5c). Good enough for a ride around the block. I spent a full half hour digging through a big box of gloves to find just the pair I wanted for the ride, donned all the necessary clothing to survive a winter Arctic onslaught, and set off for an 8.5 mile ride on our lovely gravel roads, full of anticipation that I would...not might, but would ...meet up with some stretches of road covered in ice.

Which I did. Which involved some fairly dexterous maneuvering to navigate, but thankfully nothing involving any type of athleticism in remaining upright that would instantly earn me a place on the upcoming Olympic figure skating team. I simply gripped my handlebar tighter and prayed while my bike glided over the ice with expert grace. Fortunately, the ice patches were few and far between, although I'm sure I rode over several that had camouflaged themselves as mud covered gravel. Sneaky, but harmless.

The ice was more easily identifiable on the wider, quiet stretches of the woodland streams, but none was found where the water tumbled freely. The remaining scatters of the last snowfall still hung around in the roadside ditches and in elongated rows in the fields.

I passed a stone fenceline in the process of being restacked, the work having paused for the winter with everything left as it was when the worker merely stopped what he was doing and walked off the job. The newly stacked section looked impressive, quite neat and very precise, but I was surprised to see a bit further along that the stone wall had already begun to look less impressive with the rocks already beginning to slide out of place. That type of denigration takes a few years or more, making me wonder just how long this stone wall had been under construction. Maybe it was being repaired in fits and starts and it wasn't just the winter snows and cold that was hindering the completion because, only a bit further down the road, I came upon a worker actively restacking a different stone wall. He smiled as I passed and I returned the greeting, watching as he selected exactly which rock from a pile of rocks would be the next one on the wall. The lingering snow around the site didn't seem to bother the man as he worked. He looked comfortable and warm, dressed for the job and the season. This was going to be one wall finished and ready come the springtime.

I did notice, too, that all of the festive Christmas decorations that had adorned every farm and estate entrance, as well as the residential houses along the way, had disappeared. Now that the holidays were over, and all the colorful bows and wreaths and lights and pine tree trappings had been taken down and packed away until next year, the drab winter covered landscape seemed to had hunkered down to patiently wait for spring, like an old person huddled in a warm coat quietly waiting at a bus stop for the next bus to arrive. It would be a long wait as winter wasn't done with us yet.

And before I knew it my loop around the countryside had ended and I was home again. With warm fingers this time, warm toes, and plan to head out tomorrow when the temps are due to soar close to 50°f (10c). Practically a heat wave. A nice respite that is scheduled to be snatched away the following day with a plunge back into bone chilling sub-freezing weather yet again.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Uh, Stefan, is it safe to take tire pressure all the way to max?

Probably it is not. However, I ride my Vado SL really slowly....

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Keeping everyone in their place…

Redcliffe Rail Trail
SE Queensland
​

The trains are kept on their rails, so it's only fair that we cyclists are prevented from straying from our rail trail. A chain-link fence for us!

To that Queensland Rail added a black top panel to discourage the local bounders (of the marsupial kind) from hopping the fence. Kangaroos are quite adept at that sort of thing.

But, of course, nothing can keep those pesky possums out! For them, there are escape poles: go up and over to return home; just don't think of retracing your steps. I bet they do! *

———————
* For a possible explanation of how the possums get in, click to see the photo on the next page: the old problem of one designer not talking to another!

 

[BarnBoy]

Loved the scratches in the metal sleeve of the pole base. Thank you once again for explaining the unusual….
-BB

 

[fooferdoggie]

Wishing her a speedy recovery!

man how do you get on a bike like this?? at least two months before she can ride. she cant even move her shoulder or upper arm for 2 weeks.

 

[Catalyzt]

Probably it is not. However, I ride my Vado SL really slowly....

We all have to do something that's vaguely irresponsible! Perhaps take it down 5 or 10 PSI when the tires are further along in their service life?

I can't really tell the difference between 50 PSI and 42. And by the time I actually refill them, they're usually in the mid 30s.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

We all have to do something that's vaguely irresponsible! Perhaps take it down 5 or 10 PSI when the tires are further along in their service life?

I can't really tell the difference between 50 PSI and 42. And by the time I actually refill them, they're usually in the mid 30s.

Well, I personally don't think riding at the allowed pressure should be extremely reckless. I would certainly deflate the tyres before going off-road. What could go wrong when riding on clean pavement?
We still don't know what made the Lee's tyre explode. I don't think it was because of excessive tyre pressure. And... I think he was riding very fast.
-----------
Back on the topic! I had a thought on this evening's 10 km ride:
-- An e-bike that meets my criteria should allow me climbing an overpass without any assistance.
Vado SL with 44-36T gearing passed the test. I can vaguely remember I could do the same on my big Vado long time ago (need to re-test it on weekend!)

 

[Cowlitz]

Yep, that's our winter so far in the great PNW... Fortunate up here on Whidbey that we only get about half Seattle's rain!

I have been "going to the gym" for the past week. The gym is the snow and my shovel. We didn't get as much as the people south but we got enough to make moving it around a bit of a problem. Since temps finally got above freezing, the roof avalanches have taken place and since my house has a hip roof, that makes for more shoveling of the sidewalks to be done.

The roads are melting and maybe in a couple of days I can venture out on a bike. I have been walking, which is quite treacherous in some areas as the shoulders of roads and sidewalks are plowed shut. I may have to "go to a different gym" and shovel out the preferred walking route.

 

[Marci jo]

I have been "going to the gym" for the past week. The gym is the snow and my shovel. We didn't get as much as the people south now but we got enough to make moving it around a bit of a problem. Since temps finally got above freezing, the roof avalanches have taken place and since my house has a hip roof, that makes for more shoveling of the sidewalks to be done.

The roads are melting and maybe in a couple of days I can venture out on a bike. I have been walking, which is quite treacherous in some areas as the shoulders of roads and sidewalks are plowed shut. I may have to "go to a different gym" and shovel out the preferred walking route.

Hey Cowlitz,
Does Demon Dog like the snow? We had a husky-shepherd for some years and she loved rolling in the snow, making doggie snow angels.

 

[Cowlitz]

Hey Cowlitz,
Does Demon Dog like the snow? We had a husky-shepherd for some years and she loved rolling in the snow, making doggie snow angels.

The Demon Dog gets a good workout in the snow. She built a trail and sticks to it pretty much. It goes under the squirrel tree entertainment center which is pretty well trampled down. I don't think she loves it, but she makes do. She's more of a warm weather dog.

She has figured out that the snow is a bit shallower under trees.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

A breach in border security?

• Is this how the possums get into the rail corridor to play on the pylons and electric cables each night?
• Click to see how they get out before the sun comes up!

Redcliffe Rail Trail
Near Brisbane, Queensland
​

The first two weeks of the year:

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Is this how the possums get into the rail corridor to play on the pylons and electric cables each night?

I wonder what the reason these holes had been left there was....

 

[RandallS]

It
Is
Pissing down now. That's the bad news
The good news is I just got back from the LBS with my son's new Giant Talon E 29er
Now he can get to work on his own ride. He got home soaked today.

He's going to love the Talon. My brother really likes his.