Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Stefan Mikes]

A Weird Arc

My thought on the day before was to transport my Vado pretty far westwards to gain from the forecast westerly wind. In the morning, I transported my e-bike to Płochocin PKP, the nearest train stop on our main westwards railroad and took a train to Sochaczew. To discover the strong wind actually blew from SSW... Meaning strong headwind on the first segment of my long Sunday ride! It was 0°C, gloomy, windy, and it felt very cold.

After some 24 km of SSW ride, I reached the Bolimów Forest. The gravel fire-roads are of a model quality there! I was experiencing many peculiarities of the route as created by RideWithGPS on that day. For instance, why didn't the route planner direct me through the most obvious and excellent path? (That error added -- I guess -- 4 km extra to my ride).

Becoming hungry, I welcomed a tiny family grocery store in Puszcza Mariańska with delight! Not only I got me some grub but also bought some delicacies for later there! I only missed a warm beverage at that point. And... eating outside in the cold is no fun! (I shudder to think what @Chargeride would say about this photo!)

The next segment led directly to Mszczonów. That RideWithGPS again! Instead of routing me to Mszczonów, the app has invented a weird triangle, adding several km extra, with the peculiarity it was a rail trail. Good thing, however, was I could find a large petrol station by Highway #50, so I could have a large warm coffee with a pączek there!

On yet another rail-trail past Mszczonów. Unlike in Australia, there is no fence along the railroad but rather a very deep ditch instead.

At the southernmost tip of my trip. I regretted I could not continue riding that perfect asphalt forever! Additionally, I finally had tailwind for the rest of my travel from that point on!

A short stop in Żabia Wola (Frogsville). Just 25 kms to go! And what is 25 km for an e-biker? Nothing!

See my route in the shape of a weird arc, actually connecting two stations on the same railroad only to make at least a metric century on an e-bike It was too late to discover I was close to making 70 miles on that Sunday!

 

[PatriciaK]

WA not so much, says Seattle Times...1.1' waves and a 1' surge in Neah Bay.

The only thing I noticed here on the island was a pretty high tide, though it was so foggy yesterday we didn't bother heading over to the west side to check out the shore facing the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

 

[DiggyGun]

Yay, got out and had a ride today.

After having the tuition for the rear wheel removal and the replacement inner tubes yesterday, we decided to get out into the fresh air.

The fog had lifted and not too chilly, we got out for a nice ride around the North Bucks countryside.

Came across these two old military Land Rovers in Adstock. Wonder what their history would be…

Our route today.

 

[reed scott]

Yay, got out and had a ride today.

After having the tuition for the rear wheel removal and the replacement inner tubes yesterday, we decided to get out into the fresh air.

The fog had lifted and not too chilly, we got out for a nice ride around the North Bucks countryside.

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Came across these two old military Land Rovers in Adstock. Wonder what their history would be…
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Our route today.
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Couldn't help but notice the well trimmed hedge in one pic vs the wild and overgrown hedge in the other pic. I'm sure trimming ones hedge is expected thereabouts and the owner of the wild hedge will no doubt be out soon with his cutters. What a job though. Hopefully they have some mechanized saw or something better than just loppers.

 

[DiggyGun]

Different farms across the road from each other. Probably would have used a tractor with some sort of flail attachment.

The only problem with hedge trimming this time of year is thorns and the potential increase for punctures.

 

[redzed]

After a white Christmas and another huge dump of snow on Jan. 6, it's all gone and the temps in the 5-6C range. Managed to get out the last for days. Nice to back on the saddle after a 3 week hiatus. This is yesterdays ride from home in Nanoose to Parksville for coffee with few detours and visits to two beaches.

 

[RabH]

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day with light winds and a high of 6C, sadly things didn't pan out so I didn't get out which was a real bummer! Thankfully it was fine today also and I was able to get out, it was a bit blustery but at least that kept the mist and fog away! I went straight to the back roads to get away from the town traffic, I think I saw about 2 cars on the back roads all day! The roads were a bit cleaner than Friday after Saturdays heavy rain, I even had some dry roads which is most unusual at this time of year!

Almost 4,000ft of climbing so I got quite a workout, some awesome descents also which are such a blast on this bike!

I enjoyed this road in both directions today, its always a fun road to ride when there's no ice around! At close to 1,000ft up it can get pretty rough in the winter, which I'm sure will hit very soon!

Another great ride which was much needed, our weather is looking ok for the next week so I hope there will be more to come! I hope you guys over the Atlantic are doing ok, looks like there are some real nasty storms around!

 

[DiggyGun]

Out and about again today. Weather was sunny, but chilly. There was still some frost hanging about on the ground where the sun hadn’t got on it yet.

During yesterday‘s ride a squealing developed, which turned into a sound like birds chirping, but only when peddling. Initially not too bad, but got to be a bit of a pain with a flock of birds following you. Checked it when got back home and eventually traced it to the right pedal and sorted it out with a quick spray of WD40.

So we tried the repair today with a short ride as Mrs DG had to go to work shortly, so we only had about one hour. I’m pleased to report that all was now quiet, result.

We stopped off at the Churchyard in Addington for a coffee stop and enjoyed the tranquility.

Took some nice photos of the area around Addington.

This was our route today and not too much of a climb.

However, during the ride today Mrs DG’s pedals starting creaking, so checked them when we got back home and found the right one to be a little loose, so tightened it up and sprayed some WD40 to both of them to help them spin a bit better.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

What a Wind!

First of all, I was restless to see whether any of my Strava buddies had ridden more than me this year...

Fortunately enough, not (I cannot compete with David in any case; still, it is the summer in Australia now)

The last night meant a dangerously strong wind. There was a thunderstorm in the morning (unusual as for January in Poland!). Then it strongly snowed. Eventually, the temperature set at +1 C (with frozen snow and ice on roads and bike paths), and westerly wind set at 35 km/h (so called "fresh breeze" on the sea).

On my way for grocery shopping (with the famous Moszna Stack in the background). The headwind actually negated the SL Turbo mode!

An experienced e-bike grocery shopper

On my way back. The "fresh breeze" was as strong as to try collapsing my e-bike! Add the frozen snow to it. Wherever not cleared of snow, I was trying to ride on the unscathed frozen snow (as opposite to riding fresh bike tyre ruts!)

Forty-nine percent of the Vado SL battery used to cover just fifteen kilometres!

 

[Prairie Dog]

I’m envious of some of you who post such wonderful images. It’s somewhat of a solemn reminder that spring is months away and that we’re still much in the grips of Old Man Winter here. I do hope to venture out to the mountains soon for a change of scenery (weather/road conditions permitting) as well as prep for a winter night ride on the local trails.

With that said, it was another glorious sunny day in Central Alberta as I enjoyed my relatively balmy -6C mid morning ride. I rode with a friend who chose not to join me on the trails but preferred instead to stick to the winter-maintained pathways.



The single track at Heritage Ranch was in the finest condition that I’ve it in so far during the mid winter season.

A shot of the sun peeking through the forest canopy and trail.

My friend and I hooked up minutes later and we ice biked around Bower Ponds before making our way towards Riverbend.

A thick white blanket of snow covers the surface of the river below near the entry to the Riverbend Trail.

After a brief stop near the top, we followed up with a short climb up the road towards home.

I parted ways with my buddy near an area called Garden Heights and started off for home. I could have easily ridden the pathways on the return leg but decided instead to head back in a round-about fashion through the trails behind some of the neighboring homes.

The first section of the trail pops out near a residential pathway and a left turn would have me pushing towards a quicker way home but where would the fun in that be?

Kin Canyon is an eloquent public park with a network of pathways leading out in all directions of the city. I feel fortunate that it’s a only short walk/ride from home base. This is one of the bridges that spans Waskasoo and Piper Creeks within the confines of the park.



One more short climb up to the top of the pathway.



The Green Onion is a familiar landmark and only a block from home.

 

[Cowlitz]

I’m envious of some of you who post such wonderful images. It’s somewhat of a solemn reminder that spring is months away and that we’re still much in the grips of Old Man Winter here. I do hope to venture out to the mountains soon for a change of scenery (weather/road conditions permitting) as well as prep for a winter night ride on the local trails.

With that said, it was another glorious sunny day in Central Alberta as I enjoyed my relatively balmy -6C mid morning ride. I rode with a friend who chose not to join me on the trails but preferred instead to stick to the winter-maintained pathways.

View attachment 112065

The single track at Heritage Ranch was in the finest condition that I’ve it in so far during the mid winter season.

A shot of the sun peeking through the forest canopy and trail.

View attachment 112066

My friend and I hooked up minutes later and we ice biked around Bower Ponds before making our way towards Riverbend.

View attachment 112067
View attachment 112068

A thick white blanket of snow covers the surface of the river below near the entry to the Riverbend Trail.

View attachment 112069
View attachment 112070

After a brief stop near the top, we followed up with a short climb up the road towards home.
View attachment 112071

View attachment 112072

I parted ways with my buddy near an area called Garden Heights and started off for home. I could have easily ridden the pathways on the return leg but decided instead to head back in a round-about fashion through the trails behind some of the neighboring homes.

View attachment 112073

The first section of the trail pops out near a residential pathway and a left turn would have me pushing towards a quicker way home but where would the fun in that be?

View attachment 112074
View attachment 112075View attachment 112076

Kin Canyon is an eloquent public park with a network of pathways leading out in all directions of the city. I feel fortunate that it’s a only short walk/ride from home base. This is one of the bridges that spans Waskasoo and Piper Creeks within the confines of the park.

View attachment 112077

One more short climb up to the top of the pathway.

View attachment 112078

The Green Onion is a familiar landmark and only a block from home.

View attachment 112079

The days are getting longer. That's a happy thought.

 

[Prairie Dog]

That’s something to look forward to, for sure. In fact, by the end of this month we’ll have tacked on almost another ½ hour of daylight before sunset.

 

[redzed]

I’m envious of some of you who post such wonderful images. It’s somewhat of a solemn reminder that spring is months away and that we’re still much in the grips of Old Man Winter here. I do hope to venture out to the mountains soon for a change of scenery (weather/road conditions permitting) as well as prep for a winter night ride on the local trails.

With that said, it was another glorious sunny day in Central Alberta as I enjoyed my relatively balmy -6C mid morning ride. I rode with a friend who chose not to join me on the trails but preferred instead to stick to the winter-maintained pathways.

View attachment 112065

The single track at Heritage Ranch was in the finest condition that I’ve it in so far during the mid winter season.

A shot of the sun peeking through the forest canopy and trail.

View attachment 112066

My friend and I hooked up minutes later and we ice biked around Bower Ponds before making our way towards Riverbend.

View attachment 112067
View attachment 112068

A thick white blanket of snow covers the surface of the river below near the entry to the Riverbend Trail.

View attachment 112069
View attachment 112070

After a brief stop near the top, we followed up with a short climb up the road towards home.
View attachment 112071

View attachment 112072

I parted ways with my buddy near an area called Garden Heights and started off for home. I could have easily ridden the pathways on the return leg but decided instead to head back in a round-about fashion through the trails behind some of the neighboring homes.

View attachment 112073

The first section of the trail pops out near a residential pathway and a left turn would have me pushing towards a quicker way home but where would the fun in that be?

View attachment 112074
View attachment 112075View attachment 112076

Kin Canyon is an eloquent public park with a network of pathways leading out in all directions of the city. I feel fortunate that it’s a only short walk/ride from home base. This is one of the bridges that spans Waskasoo and Piper Creeks within the confines of the park.

View attachment 112077

One more short climb up to the top of the pathway.

View attachment 112078

The Green Onion is a familiar landmark and only a block from home.

View attachment 112079

You are one unassailable hard-core dude!

 

[kahn]

I’m envious of some of you who post such wonderful images. It’s somewhat of a solemn reminder that spring is months away and that we’re still much in the grips of Old Man Winter here. I do hope to venture out to the mountains soon for a change of scenery (weather/road conditions permitting) as well as prep for a winter night ride on the local trails.

With that said, it was another glorious sunny day in Central Alberta as I enjoyed my relatively balmy -6C mid morning ride. I rode with a friend who chose not to join me on the trails but preferred instead to stick to the winter-maintained pathways.

View attachment 112065

The single track at Heritage Ranch was in the finest condition that I’ve it in so far during the mid winter season.

A shot of the sun peeking through the forest canopy and trail.

View attachment 112066

My friend and I hooked up minutes later and we ice biked around Bower Ponds before making our way towards Riverbend.

View attachment 112067
View attachment 112068

A thick white blanket of snow covers the surface of the river below near the entry to the Riverbend Trail.

View attachment 112069
View attachment 112070

After a brief stop near the top, we followed up with a short climb up the road towards home.
View attachment 112071

View attachment 112072

I parted ways with my buddy near an area called Garden Heights and started off for home. I could have easily ridden the pathways on the return leg but decided instead to head back in a round-about fashion through the trails behind some of the neighboring homes.

View attachment 112073

The first section of the trail pops out near a residential pathway and a left turn would have me pushing towards a quicker way home but where would the fun in that be?

View attachment 112074
View attachment 112075View attachment 112076

Kin Canyon is an eloquent public park with a network of pathways leading out in all directions of the city. I feel fortunate that it’s a only short walk/ride from home base. This is one of the bridges that spans Waskasoo and Piper Creeks within the confines of the park.

View attachment 112077

One more short climb up to the top of the pathway.

View attachment 112078

The Green Onion is a familiar landmark and only a block from home.

View attachment 112079

While I'm sure that by March you probably never expect to see raw dirt again - I'm the one rather jealous of you effortless (appearances) meanders through the snowy woods. FANTASTIC.

How many gigabytes of video do you have stored away?

 

[Prairie Dog]

While I'm sure that by March you probably never expect to see raw dirt again - I'm the one rather jealous of you effortless (appearances) meanders through the snowy woods. FANTASTIC.

How many gigabytes of video do you have stored away?

March seems so far away but most Albertans know that it can potentially still be a brutal time to be outdoors. According to the forecast below it doesn’t look too promising for western Canada thanks to La Nina.

Welcome to winter, Canada! Prepare for a stormy and changeable season ahead - The Weather Network

The Weather Network is forecasting a come-and-go winter for much of the country, with periods of high-impact weather for the season ahead.

www.theweathernetwork.com

On most days it feels (at least to me) far from effortless as the depth and hardness of the snow pack on the trails are predominantly not ideal for narrower tires. Fatties are the winter ride of choice among many here and so it’s not unusual to see them break the trails shortly after it snows. I’ve fallen more times than I can recall due mainly to indecision and carelessness on my part but thankfully soft snow has always been my closest ally on many of those occasions.

During the winter season, I’m limited to where and when I can ride based on the snow pack conditions so if it appears that I’ve been riding the same trails week in and week out that’s usually the case. As for the videos, the latest tally is around 100 (600 GB) give or take.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

A Pretext For A Ride (IPA, Imperial Stout, Barley Wine...)
Riding on Ice.

I had a hard day at work, finishing several minutes past seven past meridiem. A FB friend wrote the Polish handball team was losing badly against Germany but she had just opened an IPA. Aha... Why not to set off for a ride? (I thought). What's wrong with riding in the dark, with frost, wind, and ice covered roads? A pleasure if you own an e-bike (mind you: Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus tyres are worth every cent!)

As I reached Podkowa Leśna (8.5 km), I bought some good victuals at a store known as "State-Run Greengrocery" many years ago Then I took a photo of the seasonal symbol of the town: The Peacock. Although Podkowa means "Horseshoe", the locals elected the peacock as their symbol because the popular parish priest keeps several peacocks

At the specialized specialist craft beer store in Podkowa Leśna.

The first loot of that evening: four strong IPAs. (Starting this year, it won't be possible to "drink & ride" as the Government introduced draconic fines for riding bikes under influence).

No idea why the deer have become the seasonal symbol of Brwinów!

At the "Alkohole Świata" (Alcohols of the World) specialist store in Brwinów. All beers here are very strong. "Quadrupel" here is 12.5% abv, and "Saisonator" is 12% abv! All ales I bought today are Poland's crafted.

"Preparat" is 9% abv beech smoked American Barley Wine, one of my favourite beer styles:

Barley wine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[RabH]

Back to winter today but what a beautiful day it was, light winds meant it didn't feel too cold! The down side was I couldn't use the quiet back roads but I managed to pick a safe route with not too much traffic, I decided to take it easy today as I was still feeling all the climbing from my last ride...I must be getting old @David Berry puts me to shame This photo was taken just after I set off, very busy road this one so I was glad to get off it just a few hundred yards up the road! In the second photo there are some blue road signs, this is the main motorway between our 2 largest cities which are Glasgow and our capital Edinburgh!

I decided to venture a little west today to visit a local loch, this one is extremely busy in summer but not too bad at this time of year! There are usually lots of swans around but they seemed to be hiding today except for these 2 younger ones who thought I had some food for them! The other one below ventured on to the path and was hissing when this couple passed, the poor lady got quite a fright but I think she was more worried about the toddler in the buggy!

I really enjoyed todays ride but I will be glad to return to the back roads as we seem to be returning to mild weather again after today! I'm hoping to do a longer ride on Sunday but I will have to wait and see how my dad is first, hopefully he will have one of his better days!

 

[Marci jo]

View attachment 112297

Back to winter today but what a beautiful day it was, light winds meant it didn't feel too cold! The down side was I couldn't use the quiet back roads but I managed to pick a safe route with not too much traffic, I decided to take it easy today as I was still feeling all the climbing from my last ride...I must be getting old @David Berry puts me to shame This photo was taken just after I set off, very busy road this one so I was glad to get off it just a few hundred yards up the road! In the second photo there are some blue road signs, this is the main motorway between our 2 largest cities which are Glasgow and our capital Edinburgh!
View attachment 112298View attachment 112299

I decided to venture a little west today to visit a local loch, this one is extremely busy in summer but not too bad at this time of year! There are usually lots of swans around but they seemed to be hiding today except for these 2 younger ones who thought I had some food for them! The other one below ventured on to the path and was hissing when this couple passed, the poor lady got quite a fright but I think she was more worried about the toddler in the buggy!

View attachment 112300View attachment 112301

I really enjoyed todays ride but I will be glad to return to the back roads as we seem to be returning to mild weather again after today! I'm hoping to do a longer ride on Sunday but I will have to wait and see how my dad is first, hopefully he will have one of his better days!

Wow, cool swans! Did not know they came in brown & white.

 

[RabH]

Wow, cool swans! Did not know they came in brown & white.

They will turn pure white soon once their feathers mature, they are only around 8 months old! They usually change around 1 year old!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I Nastily Crashed (Artezan Brewery Ride)

I've got an idea I would ride to meet Błażej and Agata in Warsaw on the coming Saturday. We have not seen one another for the whole pandemics I think! As Błażej is the guy who attracted me to the Craft Beer world, I thought I would ride to the Artezan Brewery and buy so called "stoß" (hit) beer for my friends there.

Hard weather. -2 C is nothing. It was the 35 km/h headwind that made the ride hard again, combined with a snowfall and ice on roads. I can just tell you that 100% SL Turbo on my Vado SL was not sufficient upwind. The headwind was occasionally slowing me down to 14 km/h despite of 240 W of motor assistance!

At the side of the Artezan Brewery in Błonie. It is one of the best craft brewers in Poland, and only 10.5 km away from my place! I met Albert, the son of the owner there, and we had a pleasant chat before he went back to the work, and I went in the brewery's store.

The four top Polish craft beers (all of them are brewed seasonally only and hard to buy):

• Samiec Alfa (Alpha Male): Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with coffee, 13% abv
• Chcesz ciasteczko? (Wanna A Cookie?): Imperial Milk Stout with Raspberry and Cocoa Beans, 11% abv
• (You're) Too Young To Be Herod: Christmas Stout, 11% abv
• Preparat: Beech Smoked Barleywine, 9% abv.

The return way was very pleasant, as I was driven by that very strong tailwind. I was hitting 42 km/h (26 mph) at times.

On last metres of my ride I lost my vigilance: what could have gone wrong? Well, the parking lot where I live now resembles a rough ice rink. And I crashed, painfully crashed. Fortunately enough, I fell on the non-drive side of my Vado SL, which saved the beer My left shoulder hurts badly! I don't think I broke anything though.

Dedicated to @DaveMatthews:

In 2017, my London friends and I made this tune together, online I play the bass and "lead guitar" here