Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Prairie Dog]

I managed to order the wrong wheels for my bike, in my rush to order them on Friday to arrive on Saturday I ordered centrelock wheels by mistake! Instead of returning the wheels I have ordered adaptors which will convert the wheels to a 6 bolt fitting, they are due to arrive in the next few hours so no ride today! My £40 saving on the wheels has now evaporated due to my error but with the adaptors they are about the same price as 3 years ago so the mistake hasn't cost me a fortune! All going well I will get to test the wheels tomorrow, the weather is looking good all week!

Glad to hear that you were able to resolve your rotor issue with little delay and more importantly you’ll be back on the road soon enough. For me, it’s a different matter altogether. A bit of a setback but not totally unexpected for the first day of spring in this part of the country. Luckily, it won’t stick around for very long and the forecast will be much like yours for all of next week.

 

[kahn]

Careful what you wish for.

That's Posh Bear (not Pooh Bear) and he'll set you back a good deal more than posh tea and Madeira cake did.

Ah, a lead in to a madeira cake story. The leader of our trip purchased one and served it at our reunion months later. Pulled it out of its wrapping. Hmmm. Hard as a rock. Was it supposed to be that firm? NOT. It was about four months past "serve/use by date!!!!" I shoved it in the microwave and kind of made it almost edible. Not meant to be schlepped back to Seattle and served months later.

 

[Chargeride]

In Warsaw
Preparing for a leisurely Graveloza Addicts group ride.

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The National Bank of Poland, Świętokrzyska (Holy Cross) Street by Napoleon Square.

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Tamka (Little Dam), or one of the steepest of Warsaw streets.

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The most important statue of the Warsaw Mermaid, George Patton Bvd., by River Vistula. The Holy Cross Bridge in the background.

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Yours truly by the Warsaw Mermaid. The photo as shot by a Ukrainian female.

Thats an interesting pic of the bank, Im not going to mention it, but Poland is putting us to shame.

 

[Art Deco]

Thats an interesting pic of the bank, Im not going to mention it, but Poland is putting us to shame.

Reflecting blue sky and yellow brick buildings nicely too.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

For CR: leaving on a jet plane…

This plane's a little fella, so it cannot be going too far. Somewhere tropical?

And a sign of the times? The control tower at Brisbane Airport is obvious, but it is dwarfed – in girth, if not in height – by the airport's short-term parking building to its left.

Schulz Canal & Brisbane Airport​

The stretch of water here is the Schulz Canal which is the estuary of the Kedron Brook where the bikeway (photos on previous page) was washed away. Here it is as innocent as could be: Who me, destroy all in sight in a wild temper tantrum?

Inonically, the rowers and scullers (correct terminology?) are taking refuge here, away from the flotsam-strewn Brisbane River (their normal training area) on the far side of the airport. Strange: surround the airport by water, so it won't be flooded! (Runways are 11 metres above sea level.)

Yellow arrow : photo
Red X : photo at top of this page (2 days previously)

 

[RabH]

Glad to hear that you were able to resolve your rotor issue with little delay and more importantly you’ll be back on the road soon enough. For me, it’s a different matter altogether. A bit of a setback but not totally unexpected for the first day of spring in this part of the country. Luckily, it won’t stick around for very long and the forecast will be much like yours for all of next week.

View attachment 117289

What should have been straightforward turned into a bit of a faff...the adaptors arrived and I was about to fit them to my rotors but noticed they would only fit one side of the rotors (my rotors have a centre flange which protrudes more at one side) which I was certain was the wrong side! I fitted the front one because its the easiest just to confirm my thoughts, the rotor was fouling against the forks!!! I was then thinking I would have to purchase centrelock rotors to fit my wheels, when I had a light bulb moment! I filed the 6 corners of the adaptor to allow me to fit the adaptor to other side of the rotor and it worked a treat! So my bike is all set to go in the morning, hoorah!

Of course something else had to happen to confound matters, I decided to remove the front pads to clean them up before refitting the wheel and the retaining screw sheared right at the head!!! So I just cleaned the pads in situ and will endeavour to fix the problem later as the pads have plenty of meat left! The really annoying thing is the screw was brand new as the last one had rounded! I lightly greased it before fitment but I guess the winter salt got into the threads....sigh!

I hope your weather forecast turns out to be correct and you can get out and enjoy your trails! I love your videos, your camerawork is so good!

 

[PDoz]

 

[Prairie Dog]

What should have been straightforward turned into a bit of a faff...the adaptors arrived and I was about to fit them to my rotors but noticed they would only fit one side of the rotors (my rotors have a centre flange which protrudes more at one side) which I was certain was the wrong side! I fitted the front one because its the easiest just to confirm my thoughts, the rotor was fouling against the forks!!! I was then thinking I would have to purchase centrelock rotors to fit my wheels, when I had a light bulb moment! I filed the 6 corners of the adaptor to allow me to fit the adaptor to other side of the rotor and it worked a treat! So my bike is all set to go in the morning, hoorah!

Of course something else had to happen to confound matters, I decided to remove the front pads to clean them up before refitting the wheel and the retaining screw sheared right at the head!!! So I just cleaned the pads in situ and will endeavour to fix the problem later as the pads have plenty of meat left! The really annoying thing is the screw was brand new as the last one had rounded! I lightly greased it before fitment but I guess the winter salt got into the threads....sigh!

I hope your weather forecast turns out to be correct and you can get out and enjoy your trails! I love your videos, your camerawork is so good!

When it comes to riding, where there’s a will there’s a way. Nicely done! I find that the retaining screws on my own road bike make for a slightly more expedient method to service the pads than the cotter pin setup on the Trance. Never gave a second thought about the longevity of them until you mentioned it. Then again, they do tend to be exposed where all of the road grime/spray would have a more negative impact on parts. Plus, with the number of days and mileage that you log it’s no wonder they don't fail sooner.

With a vastly improved weather forecast, I hope to make it out to Banff next week for a ride with @RandallS . Fingers crossed.

 

[DiggyGun]

Today was the last day of our holiday and we went to Rutland Water Reservoir for our final ride.

The weather was chillier today with the temperature starting off at 2oC with a wind of 9mph. It warmed up a bit during the day, but we did have some extra layers on compared to the last few days. One thing we have noticed over the last week, is that after about 15.00 the temperature does drop and it becomes noticeably colder.

There was some good varied terrain today and at times, there were some steep hills to climb. We didn’t take Champagne with us today, only Bovril and Coffee. Mind you we did celebrate with some cheese and onion rolls to mark the occasion.

Our stats for today.

Our mileage this week has been:
- Van 767
- Bike 165

Both the bikes handled well with all the surfaces that we encountered. The only issue we had was the one puncture to the R&M Nevo3 GT Vario GX. Mind you, we’ve got a fair bit of cleaning to do tomorrow.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Graveloza Addicts Lazy Sunday

8:00 am: Riding out on my Vado SL. 8:11: 4 km ridden to PKP Parzniew (PKP is for Polish State Railroads and we use that acronym for a train stop or station). 8:25: Start of the train ride. 8:59: Ready to ride at the Warsaw Central (Station). 9:15: Arrived at the Warsaw Mermaid (the Vistula statue).

Repeating the photo taken by the Ukrainian woman, higher quality.

9:42. By coincidence, I was on a ride together with the young man Cezar (sitting) a year ago. He has turned out to be one of the most active members of Graveloza Addicts CC since. The guy in the colourful jersey, Marcin, turned out to be a very pleasant ride companion. When asked, he told me the SL motor seemed to be very quiet (I'm surprised so many EBR members think the motor is noisy!). He was shocked to learn my Vado SL only weighed 17-18 kg ("Wow! The e-bike my old man rides is 36 kilograms!")

9:46: More and more people gathering.

9:56: Mat, the organizer.

That was the format of the "Lazy Sunday" group ride:

• The group has to ride slowly. Not at performance speed
• The group rides together, behind the leader
• No-one is left behind or alone.

It worked out! As long as we were riding in the urban environment (until the store in Łomianki), I was fine. When we entered off-road, I and an Italian guy by name Alessandro turned out to be the weakest members. We both were never let alone!

The only and last store on the ride. Gravel cyclists only carry a lot of water, and tools. They buy food and eat it at stores. It is not easy to find an open store on a Polish Sunday, as the ruling political party enforced "no-trade Sundays". The guy at the left rides a British gravel bike, Ribble. The brand is very popular in the UK, and readily available by mail order in Poland. Ribble is meticulous about custom painting of their bikes, a value added!

As soon as we got into the first forest, it was a demanding singletrack with a lot of short but intensive climbing. Vado SL performed as a dream! (I only need to remove the front fender for the warm season, as the original one tends to picks twigs too often, which blocks the wheel). During cornering in the sand, I majestically crashed onto the right hand side. I professionally fell on my back. Guess what? No slightest pain or injury!

By the bat mural at the former Warsaw Pact Atomic Command Centre. 17 people on the ride, including yours truly (who was taking this picture).

At a cyclist-friendly restaurant (and bike rental) in Palmiry. There were two girls in the group.

The Ruthenian (Ukrainian) Pierogi. There's been some confusion about that staple food name recently. The Polish name is Pierogi Ruskie. "Ruski" historically means Ruthenian, or "Poland's Ukrainian". Many people, however, think the name means "Russky" (Russian), and nothing Russian is popular here anymore! By the way, the pierogi as served at the Palmiry restaurant were the most "true" I could eat recently. The filling of true Ukrainian pierogi is totally potato based. The "untrue" or "Polonized" version has curd added to the filling.

2:33 pm, 60th kilometre of my total travel, and I had to say goodbye to my riding mates. 15 km still left to ride home directly!

I actually made 75 km on that day.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

One story more!
We were about to clımb the ramp of the Gen. Grot Bridge. I brightened up, switched the SL Turbo mode on, yelled "ON YER LEFT!" and zoomed onto the bridge at a lightning speed! That made the impression on the group!

Later, we had a talk by the Łomianki store:
-- That climb of yours was impressive indeed!
-- Sorry! I just meant to impress you people This specific e-bike is designed to be ridden without assistance. You only switch the assistance on when you need it. Of course I cannot ride without the assistance...

The proof I was on that ride!

 

[DiggyGun]

Another day out on a disused railway line, this time in Northamptonshire. It is now called the Brampton Valley Way, which closed in 1965. It was used for a small Iron Ore Quarry and used to run from Northampton to Market Harborough. At one end now, is a preserved railway line called the Northampton and Lamport line.

Quite interesting to see some if the old railway infrastructure and paraphernalia in place.

Although basically a straight line the trail trail does have some interesting features, including two tunnels that you can go through which was good fun. We use Moon USB lights, which have a high lumen rating, mine on full power is 4000 lumens, so the tunnels were nicely lit up.

The weather was extremely kind to us today with virtually no wind and the temperature around 12oC. However, with the sun out, we actually had to remove the gloves and some layers as we got too warm.

All was going well, until I got a puncture at about 20 miles, unfortunately, that was about ten miles from our van. Luckily it hadn’t gone completely down, but was soft. So I checked it over and found nothing sticking out. Took the risk of re-inflating the tyre using my CO2 kit, pumped up OK and so we rode the ten miles or so back to the van with no further issues.

So far it has stayed up. Looks like the WeldTite sealant is doing its job, but will check it again in the morning to see if all OK.

Here are some photos from today.
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Today‘s stats.
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[DiggyGun]

Another day out on a disused railway line, this time in Northamptonshire. It is now called the Brampton Valley Way, which closed in 1965. It was used for a small Iron Ore Quarry and used to run from Northampton to Market Harborough. At one end now, is a preserved railway line called the Northampton and Lamport line.

Quite interesting to see some if the old railway infrastructure and paraphernalia in place.

Although basically a straight line the trail trail does have some interesting features, including two tunnels that you can go through which was good fun. We use Moon USB lights, which have a high lumen rating, mine on full power is 4000 lumens, so the tunnels were nicely lit up.

The weather was extremely kind to us today with virtually no wind and the temperature around 12oC. However, with the sun out, we actually had to remove the gloves and some layers as we got too warm.

All was going well, until I got a puncture at about 20 miles, unfortunately, that was about ten miles from our van. Luckily it hadn’t gone completely down, but was soft. So I checked it over and found nothing sticking out. Took the risk of re-inflating the tyre using my CO2 kit, pumped up OK and so we rode the ten miles or so back to the van with no further issues.

So far it has stayed up. Looks like the WeldTite sealant is doing its job, but will check it again in the morning to see if all OK.

Here are some photos from today.
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Today‘s stats.
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[DiggyGun]

A small video of Kelmarsh Tunnel from the Brampton Valley Way.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Cycling beside the sea …

9:50 am; 63 km
Moreton Bay Cycleway
Deception Bay, near Brisbane
​

Clearly no one else cared for Monday's weather, so I had this section of the cycleway all to myself on Equinox day.

Run an imaginary line straight up from the pole behind my Homage: the white speck seen through a break in the mangroves (3 km distant) is the new community hall which just happens to be the turnaround point of my regular ride up the Moreton Bay Cycleway.

 

[Readytoride]

Consistently Inconsistent

March weather in Virginia has never been known for any consistency other than being inconsistent. So stealing time away to cruise around the countryside can only to be done when the inconsistent weather has a fleeting mental hiccup. Like the other day. Which was a stellar example of a perfect day sandwiched into a spat of too chilly/too windy/too rainy days designed to keep one at home, working, while reminding one that March was a fickle month when it comes to planning bike rides.

The day offered a wonderful opportunity for a 15 mile bask in 70°f+ sunny (albeit windy) weather. All I had to do was climb on my bike and chose a route that kept me out of the wind as much as possible. I had all afternoon to take my time and sightsee.

The gravel roads were dry, recently graded, and amazingly empty - probably due to the astonishing rise in gasoline prices that have caused a lot of folks to rethink the wisdom of driving their gas cars anywhere for frivolous reasons. On the main road I saw lots of Teslas. On the gravel roads I had them to myself.

Springtime is rapidly making headway in the fields with the grass bounding upwards almost by the minute. It's nice to see colors other than browns. grays and dark browns.

This big farm tractor has been silently sitting in this field for at least a month, waiting for spring, or some other event like moving hay rolls for cattle, for it to go back to work. I expect the next time I pass by, it will be moved to another spot or another field.

A rather tortured old soul of an oak tree. Not sure if it had been eons of wind, or the vigilance of the electric line crews keeping a watchful eye on any arborist intrusions to the lines on the far side of the road, that had forced the tree limbs into such an artistic pattern. In another week or so I suspect the old tree will come back to life, adding some tall greenery to that of the surrounding fields.

When the daffodils are blooming, the lawn mowers aren't far behind. Up on the mountain the bulbs are still waiting to bloom. It won't be long now.

4 miles from home on a rise in the road with an open view. I didn't mind the wind hitting me at this point. It was worth it.

My neighbor wants to get together today for a ride since our ride yesterday was preempted by some of that inconsistent March weather so disagreeable to cycling for us fair weather folk. Today will be Springtime perfect, guaranteed to be optimum biking and picture taking weather.

 

[RabH]

After the disappointment of missing out on a Sunday ride, it was quickly forgotten on a glorious spring day! Well I say spring but it started like winter, it was just below freezing when I set off but quickly warmed up in the glorious sunshine! The frost was quickly melting as you can see in my first photos!

The wind was a southeasterly today which meant the first 35 miles were into a headwind, although it was only about 15mph I could feel it in my legs! I was sure glad when I had it at my back! I stopped here to grab a snack as a farmer was herding about 50 cows from one field to another, they were taking so long I decided to turn off my intended route which turned out to be a great decision!

The detour took me to roads I know well, roads like this which are just awesome to ride!

This is my particular favourite, such a blast riding this amazing road! Its even more fun on the motorbike!

I decided to turn on to the back roads once it had warmed up and I was treated to a field full of geese, when I dropped my kick stand they scattered due to the noise! Luckily they all landed in the pond!

My first 100km ride of the year and the bike was back to its glorious best, just like riding a brand new bike despite being 4 years old next week! I'm just 85 miles short of 19,000 miles, so around 4750 miles per year which would never have happened on a standard bike! E bikes sure are life changers, best decision I have ever made! Our weather is looking great for the next week or so, I'm just hoping I can get out as much as possible but I'm limited as my dad is getting more frail by the week!

 

[Chargeride]

One story more!
We were about to clımb the ramp of the Gen. Grot Bridge. I brightened up, switched the SL Turbo mode on, yelled "ON YER LEFT!" and zoomed onto the bridge at a lightning speed! That made the impression on the group!

Later, we had a talk by the Łomianki store:
-- That climb of yours was impressive indeed!
-- Sorry! I just meant to impress you people This specific e-bike is designed to be ridden without assistance. You only switch the assistance on when you need it. Of course I cannot ride without the assistance...

View attachment 117399
The proof I was on that ride!

Ha the one guy in a lumberjack shirt, that would be me.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Ha the one guy in a lumberjack shirt, that would be me.

He's wearing the helmet though.

 

[Chargeride]

So Im searching for Trapper hats for a reply and this monstrosity popped up.
What in gods.....
You'd give people a heart attack.