Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Prairie Dog]

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Another lovely day for a bike ride, chilly start once again and the fog made an appearance but quickly burnt off! The difference in temperature when the fog descended was unreal, so glad the sun won the day! Just light winds so it felt really pleasant when the sun was out! I had only just started my ride and had 4 layers on and it was feeling nippy. I was just leaving my home town when a roadie passed in the opposite direction wearing shorts and short sleeves!

The local loch was looking nice this morning, you can see how light the winds were from the lack of ripples! Believe it or not but that is actually 2 women swimming in the freezing cold loch, you couldn't pay me to dip my toes in that!

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It was nice to see so many cyclists out today, I'm sure they were getting their rides in before the cold snap returns on Wednesday, 17C this afternoon and a high of 5C on Wednesday with a possibility of some snow! It was good to see one of my back roads getting some lovely new tarmac, I will enjoy descending this one soon!

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I was really enjoying my ride in the sun but I could see the mist and fog descending when I reached Linlithgow! Linlithgow Bridge in the fog!

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A few miles later and the view was very different!

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On reaching the top of the big climb the view of the Firth of Forth was non existent, it was probably shrouded in fog all day! Normally you can see the oil refinery from up here!

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Time for the descent now, love this road so much! Somebody obviously had an accident here, bits of car bumper all over the place and the wall was damaged!

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I had such a great ride today, I finally passed 1000 miles for the year (1032) March has been good to me, 420 miles so far! Possibly one more ride before the end of the month...

Your images of the local loch are stunning. My first thought before reading your comments about the swimmers was that they were birds. Turns out they actually were.

Congrats on reaching the 1K mile marker and you’re only ¼ into the year. Well done RH!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Today’s ride was another local circular route.

However, the weather wasn’t as kind today. The temperature was 11oC with a wind of 7mph, bringing the temperature down to 9oC. Although, at times it did feel colder than that.

Our first picnic stop.
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This is a route marker from the National Cycle Network, No. 51. These are dotted along all of them and each carries a code, but you need all of them to work out the full meaning.
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Our second picnic stop.
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Our stats.
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Kudos to your lovely wife for making those picnics stops something to look forward to DG. In our household, that task is usually left to me which requires zero prep time for our road rides. Fruit/trail mix and a few Stinger Waffles…I think that I need to take a cue from your better half.

 

[RabH]

Your images of the local loch are stunning. My first thought before reading your comments about the swimmers was that they were birds. Turns out they actually were.

Congrats on reaching the 1K mile marker and you’re only ¼ into the year. Well done RH!

I thought they were "birds" at first also until I heard them nattering, I was wondering where the voices were coming from!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

111 km of gravel cycling in a group of 10 men. Over 50 km of upwind riding. Terribly tired.

 

[ChezCheese:)]

111 km of gravel cycling in a group of 10 men. Over 50 km of upwind riding. Terribly tired.

Don't overdo things, Stefan. Moderation in all things.

 

[Nvreloader]

I hope these show up OK. Here is some of the back county areas, I spend time riding in.
This photo is looking East at the Humbolt Range, the highest peak on the left is Star Peak almost 10,000' elevation. The light color strip is I-80 going EB and about 4000'.


This is looking SW into Trinity Mtn Range, as far as you can see is Decomposed Granite Rock, and this road is going down into the bottom.


Going down.......!

 

[Nvreloader]

I hope these show up OK. Here is some of the back county areas, I spend time riding in.
This photo is looking East at the Humbolt Range, the highest peak on the left is Star Peak almost 10,000' elevation. The light color strip is I-80 going EB and about 4000'.


This is looking SW into Trinity Mtn Range, as far as you can see is Decomposed Granite Rock, and this road is going down into the bottom.


Going down.......!

 

[Nvreloader]

This is looking South into the upper end of Lovelock Valley, in the notch between the rounded hills, is the upper end of the valley, elevation about 4000',
I am about 6000'.
Don

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Avoiding 'overdoing things' …

Don't overdo things, Stefan. Moderation in all things.

Although I set off from home at almost exactly the same time as Stefan posted his exhausted message – 8:00 pm in Poland; 4:00 am in Queensland – I had, yet again, the gentlest of rides up the coast. Oh, the joy, even if not the exhausted satisfaction, of not having to keep up with a peloton of gravel enthusiasts!

This time, I stopped for a coffee (thanks Mario!) beneath the tumbled-over trees of Moora Park and watched the sun rise out of the Pacific. No rush.

Looking forward to the report, Stefan!

Moora Park, Brisbane​

Trivia: The posts running between the pier and rock wall are relics from a time when it was deemed appropriate to separate sharks and bathers. I have no idea why, or even when, the nets strung between the posts were removed; maybe, it was because of new enlightened attitudes towards wildlife, sharks included.

 

[fooferdoggie]

ran out of steam wanted to do 42 miles but could not manage on eco and not sure if the bike would do it on tour. Everyone and their dog came to see the cherry blossoms. its been dead the last two years.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Brotherhood of Men, or Through Orchards to Warka

Gravel cyclists are certainly not any sissies. When the ten die-hard men met one another at 9:30 am on Sunday in the "R - RoadBike" LBS, it was 2-3 C outside! We got hot coffee and enjoyed life. Half an hour later, the outside temperature rose to +9 C (to get at +14 C at the warmest point of the ride, and to drop to +8 C at the end).

9 men in the picture, and the tenth of them taking this photo

We were riding -- mostly by paved roads and downwind -- to Góra Kalwaria first. My big Vado is now equipped with Specialized Electrak 2.0 Armadillo/Gripton tyres. I appreciate these tyres only now! They are extremely fast rolling on pavement, very suple off-road (if deflated to 3 bar), and puncture resistant. I switched the (75%) Turbo on and disappeared at distance. I could create a big gap between me and my buddies, so I could take the pictures above.

One segment was a difficult off-road part, involving sand and ruts. I crashed. In a slow, very well controlled manner! No damage!

At Góra Kawiarnia Cafe (which I presented yesterday). I was hungry so selected a tart, and I recommended trying the "Carbon" cake to my mate Marcin. He will be certainly more lightweight after eating that!

We passed the Czersk Castle by a series of dangerous descents and climbs over cobblestone roads to eventually hit the promised part: "Through Orchards to Warka". As some of you already know, there is enormous area of orchards in the area (that's why Poland is a major producer of apple and other fruit). So we rode through orchards for a long time!

Someone has to catch a flat on a gravel-cycling group ride. It is a rule. No one is left alone or behind! (See another orchard to the left).

No-one is to be left behind. A mate got a colic. We waited for him and let him rest for a while.

Sand, sand, sand! The only thing my Electrak tyres could not handle was the sand.

In Warka. By the monument of Hetman Stefan Czarniecki, who won a decisive Battle of Warka against the Swedish in 1656. Another hero, the Polish-American Casimir Pulaski also had his roots in Warka (although he was born in Warsaw). Nowadays, Warka (literally: Brew) hosts an enormous brewery making lagers. Lager beer is not my kettle of fish but for example the "Królewskie" (Royal) Beer is made in Warka.

The return to Warsaw was terrible for all of us. All 50+ km ride was against a strong headwind! I got weak for some part of the ride. Later, it seems the food I ate in Warka helped restoring my strength, and we even tried some Keirin (with me in the front as the pacing motorcycle)

This picture reflects the spirit of gravel cycling very well Camaraderie, and a lot of fun because of the difficulties en route

Ride Map.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Some anecdotes...

As we were waiting for some stragglers, a Frankenstein "e-bike" zoomed by us at very high speed, perhaps 60 km/h or more. One of my mates exclaimed: "Stefan, a friend of yours!" My immediate answer was: "He is no friend of mine. My friends are all pedalling" BTW, I have become a member of the South Warsaw Cycling Club!

Can you see that tall man in the center? He's exactly 2.00 m tall and is still too tall for an XXL gravel bike. He also is a Performing Cyclist (I could see him in action during a Graveloza tour). When I rode up to the front on the group, and we tried to do some Keirin upwind, I consistently kept at the front of the peloton. On some occasion, the tall guy wanted to give me a change, and he overtook me. No way! I pressed on my pedals harder and just replaced him again! He only gasped from the surprise and giggled from amusement (Grandpa Stefan not giving up!)

 

[Marci jo]

Some anecdotes...

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As we were waiting for some stragglers, a Frankenstein "e-bike" zoomed by us at very high speed, perhaps 60 km/h or more. One of my mates exclaimed: "Stefan, a friend of yours!" My immediate answer was: "He is no friend of mine. My friends are all pedalling" BTW, I have become a member of the South Warsaw Cycling Club!

Can you see that tall man in the center? He's exactly 2.00 m tall and is still too tall for an XXL gravel bike. He also is a Performing Cyclist (I could see him in action during a Graveloza tour). When I rode up to the front on the group, and we tried to do some Keirin upwind, I consistently kept at the front of the peloton. On some occasion, the tall guy wanted to give me a change, and he overtook me. No way! I pressed on my pedals harder and just replaced him again! He only gasped from the surprise and giggled from amusement (Grandpa Stefan not giving up!)

I love this group! They sound so fun, welcoming, & encouraging.
And I want some of that fabulous food.

 

[Chargeride]

Havent read any posts, just nipping in to post mine.
Got a quick ride in to a bridleway near Moel Artur in North Wales, it didn't go terribly well, as in the bike pretty well packed in, but only resulted in bit of exercise in the sunshine, so
still a win.

I really need to buy some proper cycling gear

So I came across a herd of cows on the path, no chance of pushing through them, so I climbed up into the field with the bike, walked off to film something, looked around to find they had climbed up to investigate it and were licking the seat, no cows were hurt in this photograph.

I really wasnt expecting to find a modern luxury house half way down this path, very nice indeed, the only access is via this rough track.

OK, Wesh language lesson time, how would you pronounce that?

I do notice that anything important is only written in English, not suggesting anything, the standing English joke is there no Welsh word for Bed and Breakfast

It says, I presume , Please keep the bridleway clear, this sign reminds me of the classic sign that was put up in Wales a few years back, the Welsh translation, bearing in mind it was an official council road sign printed on metal sheet...said ' insert Welsh translation here', oh we laughed.

This was the 'bad' bit, the cutting out fault I thought I had fixed suddenly got much worse and I had to push the bike back to the van over the top of the hill, funnily enough it worked enough to pull me up alongside it, which helped considerably, except for the banging of the shins on the pedal every 10ft.

Final Welsh lesson, this says..if it's a direct translation from the English below
'Think sheep, please keeps dogs on a lead near livestock'

And finally, I dont usually use footpaths in sensitive areas, but needs must in this situation and I was only pushing it anyway, but the walk up the freaking massive hill sapped me so much I had to have a rest halfway through lifting it over.

Im borrowing a proper emtb on Wednesday, so that should be different.

 

[Chargeride]

Avoiding 'overdoing things' …

Although I set off from home at almost exactly the same time as Stefan posted his exhausted message – 8:00 pm in Poland; 4:00 am in Queensland – I had, yet again, the gentlest of rides up the coast. Oh, the joy, even if not the exhausted satisfaction, of not having to keep up with a peloton of gravel enthusiasts!

This time, I stopped for a coffee (thanks Mario!) beneath the tumbled-over trees of Moora Park and watched the sun rise out of the Pacific. No rush.

Looking forward to the report, Stefan!

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Moora Park, Brisbane​

Trivia: The posts running between the pier and rock wall are relics from a time when it was deemed appropriate to separate sharks and bathers. I have no idea why, or even when, the nets strung between the posts were removed; maybe, it was because of new enlightened attitudes towards wildlife, sharks included.

The net should be between the beach and the water.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Im borrowing a proper emtb on Wednesday, so that should be different.

A Specialized Turbo Levo SL comes to one's mind

 

[Chargeride]

Orange emtb actually

 

[Chargeride]

I know its a off topic, but if you want to know what Madeira is like, its only 2 mins.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I know its a off topic, but if you want to know what Madeira is like, its only 2 mins.

Lovely!
And it shows how well you have mastered videography!
But don't lie. The video was 3 minutes long!

 

[Saratoga Dave]

And well worth the three minutes! Terrific.