tdevery
New Member
- Region
- USA
Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos
RabH
Well-Known Member
That should have said her, not here haha! Yes she was very nice about it, I did have a guy question me one day! He shouted what are you doing? that's my wife there! I quicky replied, I'm taking photos of the wonderful scenery actually, do you have a problem with that? He then apologised and I went on my way, strange guy! His wife was in the doorway of a farm house and actually behind where I was taking my photos!
Welcome @tdevery cool bikes
kahn
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- northWET washington
Ah, so we American's got our belligerent attitude from you folks over there!That should have said her, not here haha! Yes she was very nice about it, I did have a guy question me one day! He shouted what are you doing? that's my wife there! I quicky replied, I'm taking photos of the wonderful scenery actually, do you have a problem with that? He then apologised and I went on my way, strange guy! His wife was in the doorway of a farm house and actually behind where I was taking my photos!
Welcome @tdevery cool bikes
(that should stir up a hornet's nest!)Chargeride
Well-Known Member
No rides, sun mixed with weekends means everywhere is rammed.
Pushed the new creation to the top of a sandune for piccies.
Then decided to ride down it, gopros severely flatten hills and this was seriously steep, I only did so because a crash would have just meant picking sand out from everywhere.
When I let the brakes off it was a roller coaster ride.
Pushed the new creation to the top of a sandune for piccies.
Then decided to ride down it, gopros severely flatten hills and this was seriously steep, I only did so because a crash would have just meant picking sand out from everywhere.
When I let the brakes off it was a roller coaster ride.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Liw Castle & The Heritage Ride #4
'We're going to use possibly low assistance during our Saturday ride' -- Jacek warned me the day before -- 'I'd use the minimum allowed by Giant to see how far I could go on a single battery!'. Half past six in the morning I was riding off the Junkyard by the Tank to quickly cover a 15 km distance to Decathlon Bemowo, or our meeting point. (I had extra clothes on me, as it was cold!) After we met, Jacek packed our gear into his car and we reached Łochów (including a small breakfast on the trip), being able to start the ride at 9:10 a.m. Jacek's "50% assistance" meant "You input 1 watt to get 0.5 W of the motor assistance". Translated to my half as strong legs as brother's, I had to use 35/35% of full power Specialized assistance, with twice as much battery energy expenditure (1.12 W of motor power per 1 W of leg power)!
Before1429, Janusz I of Warsaw, a Prince of Mazovia, told his mason Niclos to erect a castle on the River Liwiec. Nowadays, the Castle in Liw (read: Leev) is a distant tourist attraction of the northeast Mazovia. You better take a train or car to get into the area! The shortest cycling round trip from Warsaw is 160 km, and Warsaw roadies often set the castle as the target for their Double Metric Centuries! (We only had to cycle for 33 km from Łochów).
Warning: As soon as you set your foot on the Castle grounds, you are bound to buy a ticket! I didn't mind, and had a peek inside the Armoury as well.
I don't mind when Jacek drinks a single bottle of beer early on our long trip. The mass-produced lager is disgusting for me. For a company, I had a glass of non-alcoholic Łomża beer. Awful carbonated water with taste of very bad hops, if you ask me We completed our Liw visit with Zhur. It was good but it was not the solid lunch I had expected!
Jacek was on his genealogic trip now. As we are actually first cousins, I was not that interested in his maternal family roots
Top: After a 10 km ride into headwind.
Centre: A library of a borough village of Stoczek Węgrowski. It is located in a historical wooden house.
Bottom: Inside the Bug Landscape Park. During WW2, the villages in the area were occupied by German soldiers in the daytime. The local population were returning to their homes for the night (when the soldiers were out). Actually, people there spent five years of the occupation sitting in the woods with their livestock!
At my Aunt Teresa (Jacek's Mother) family homestead in Bojewo. We met my Uncle, Teresa's brother there. We got excellent coffee from that old pensioned farmer! And I could listen to how the Uncle was speaking with the local countryside vocabulary! (Polish has no difficult or special regional accents or languages -- except of Silesia and Kashubia -- but the countrymen use different wording).
Beautiful weather and vistas as we rode from Bojewo to Sadowne.
Jacek was tracking his ancestors in the cemetery of Sadowne. I looked at a huge church (1909) and was thinking how many people of that village /and around/ had to contribute to be able to erect such an enormous building!
My journey was not over yet. After the return to Decathlon, I still had to pedal to get back to the Tank!
Jacek fancied having a decent lunch in Łochów's "Grill Bar" but it was closed! We could find a private restaurant by name 'Top Drive'. Organized on McDonald's principle, it was McDonald's + KFC + Pizza Hut in one! Clean, tasty, and fast! I must have been hungry but the pizza was just delicious!
Our main trip. Jacek got the range estimate of 187 km (+20% battery left!) for his Giant e-bike and for his strong legs!
My commutes, and the overall ride distance.
Within the map of Poland.
Historical map. 1381: Mazovia being split between Janusz I and his brother Siemowit IV. Janusz establishing the capital city of Mazovia in Warsaw. Liw was an important city then, on the Podlachian frontier.
'We're going to use possibly low assistance during our Saturday ride' -- Jacek warned me the day before -- 'I'd use the minimum allowed by Giant to see how far I could go on a single battery!'. Half past six in the morning I was riding off the Junkyard by the Tank to quickly cover a 15 km distance to Decathlon Bemowo, or our meeting point. (I had extra clothes on me, as it was cold!) After we met, Jacek packed our gear into his car and we reached Łochów (including a small breakfast on the trip), being able to start the ride at 9:10 a.m. Jacek's "50% assistance" meant "You input 1 watt to get 0.5 W of the motor assistance". Translated to my half as strong legs as brother's, I had to use 35/35% of full power Specialized assistance, with twice as much battery energy expenditure (1.12 W of motor power per 1 W of leg power)!
Before1429, Janusz I of Warsaw, a Prince of Mazovia, told his mason Niclos to erect a castle on the River Liwiec. Nowadays, the Castle in Liw (read: Leev) is a distant tourist attraction of the northeast Mazovia. You better take a train or car to get into the area! The shortest cycling round trip from Warsaw is 160 km, and Warsaw roadies often set the castle as the target for their Double Metric Centuries! (We only had to cycle for 33 km from Łochów).
Warning: As soon as you set your foot on the Castle grounds, you are bound to buy a ticket! I didn't mind, and had a peek inside the Armoury as well.
I don't mind when Jacek drinks a single bottle of beer early on our long trip. The mass-produced lager is disgusting for me. For a company, I had a glass of non-alcoholic Łomża beer. Awful carbonated water with taste of very bad hops, if you ask me
We completed our Liw visit with Zhur. It was good but it was not the solid lunch I had expected!Jacek was on his genealogic trip now. As we are actually first cousins, I was not that interested in his maternal family roots
Top: After a 10 km ride into headwind.
Centre: A library of a borough village of Stoczek Węgrowski. It is located in a historical wooden house.
Bottom: Inside the Bug Landscape Park. During WW2, the villages in the area were occupied by German soldiers in the daytime. The local population were returning to their homes for the night (when the soldiers were out). Actually, people there spent five years of the occupation sitting in the woods with their livestock!
At my Aunt Teresa (Jacek's Mother) family homestead in Bojewo. We met my Uncle, Teresa's brother there. We got excellent coffee from that old pensioned farmer! And I could listen to how the Uncle was speaking with the local countryside vocabulary! (Polish has no difficult or special regional accents or languages -- except of Silesia and Kashubia -- but the countrymen use different wording).
Beautiful weather and vistas as we rode from Bojewo to Sadowne.
Jacek was tracking his ancestors in the cemetery of Sadowne. I looked at a huge church (1909) and was thinking how many people of that village /and around/ had to contribute to be able to erect such an enormous building!
My journey was not over yet. After the return to Decathlon, I still had to pedal to get back to the Tank!
Jacek fancied having a decent lunch in Łochów's "Grill Bar" but it was closed! We could find a private restaurant by name 'Top Drive'. Organized on McDonald's principle, it was McDonald's + KFC + Pizza Hut in one!
Clean, tasty, and fast! I must have been hungry but the pizza was just delicious!Our main trip. Jacek got the range estimate of 187 km (+20% battery left!) for his Giant e-bike and for his strong legs!
My commutes, and the overall ride distance.
Within the map of Poland.
Historical map. 1381: Mazovia being split between Janusz I and his brother Siemowit IV. Janusz establishing the capital city of Mazovia in Warsaw. Liw was an important city then, on the Podlachian frontier.
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DiggyGun
Well-Known Member
- Region
- United Kingdom
- City
- Buckinghamshire
On Sunday, we went back to Stanwick Lakes in Northamptonshire. The sun was shining, with virtually no wind and temperatures around 18oC.
This is now a country park and has lakes, old railway trail, canals and a nature reserve. It was formally old gravel pits that were used during World War Two in the building of military establishments.
The last time we were there,which was in March, it was fairly flooded, but it was nice and dry this time.
Our first picnic stop.
Our second picnic stop was at Rushton Lakes which is a retail park, built in the nature reserve, seems to work.
Mrs DG decided that she wanted to be a model.
We had fitted some new Ergon GP2 grips and a new mirror to Mrs DGs bike, so we’re trying them out and can report back that they worked well.
We like riding round here as it is quite varied, without being too challenging. Looking forward to trying in the winter when the trees have lost their cover.
This is now a country park and has lakes, old railway trail, canals and a nature reserve. It was formally old gravel pits that were used during World War Two in the building of military establishments.
The last time we were there,which was in March, it was fairly flooded, but it was nice and dry this time.
Our first picnic stop.
Our second picnic stop was at Rushton Lakes which is a retail park, built in the nature reserve, seems to work.
Mrs DG decided that she wanted to be a model.
We had fitted some new Ergon GP2 grips and a new mirror to Mrs DGs bike, so we’re trying them out and can report back that they worked well.
We like riding round here as it is quite varied, without being too challenging. Looking forward to trying in the winter when the trees have lost their cover.
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Am I reading this right, you did a 100 miles-ish!Liw Castle & The Heritage Ride #4
'We're going to use possibly low assistance during our Saturday ride' -- Jacek warned me the day before -- 'I'd use the minimum allowed by Giant to see how far I could go on a single battery!'. Half past six in the morning I was riding off the Junkyard by the Tank to quickly cover a 15 km distance to Decathlon Bemowo, or our meeting point. (I had extra clothes on me, as it was cold!) After we met, Jacek packed our gear into his car and we reached Łochów (including a small breakfast on the trip), being able to start the ride at 9:10 a.m. Jacek's "50% assistance" meant "You input 1 watt to get 0.5 W of the motor assistance". Translated to my half as strong legs as brother's, I had to use 35/35% of full power Specialized assistance, with twice as much battery energy expenditure (1.12 W of motor power per 1 W of leg power)!
View attachment 122771
Before1429, Janusz I of Warsaw, a Prince of Mazovia, told his mason Niclos to erect a castle on the River Liwiec. Nowadays, the Castle in Liw (read: Leev) is a distant tourist attraction of the northeast Mazovia. You better take a train or car to get into the area! The shortest cycling round trip from Warsaw is 160 km, and Warsaw roadies often set the castle as the target for their Double Metric Centuries! (We only had to cycle for 33 km from Łochów).
View attachment 122772
Warning: As soon as you set your foot on the Castle grounds, you are bound to buy a ticket! I didn't mind, and had a peek inside the Armoury as well.
View attachment 122773
I don't mind when Jacek drinks a single bottle of beer early on our long trip. The mass-produced lager is disgusting for me. For a company, I had a glass of non-alcoholic Łomża beer. Awful carbonated water with taste of very bad hops, if you ask me
View attachment 122776
Jacek was on his genealogic trip now. As we are actually first cousins, I was not that interested in his maternal family roots
Top: After a 10 km ride into headwind.
Centre: A library of a borough village of Stoczek Węgrowski. It is located in a historical wooden house.
Bottom: Inside the Bug Landscape Park. During WW2, the villages in the area were occupied by German soldiers in the daytime. The local population were returning to their homes for the night (when the soldiers were out). Actually, people there spent five years of the occupation sitting in the woods with their livestock!
View attachment 122777
At my Aunt Teresa (Jacek's Mother) family homestead in Bojewo. We met my Uncle, Teresa's brother there. We got excellent coffee from that old pensioned farmer! And I could listen to how the Uncle was speaking with the local countryside vocabulary! (Polish has no difficult or special regional accents or languages -- except of Silesia and Kashubia -- but the countrymen use different wording).
View attachment 122778
Beautiful weather and vistas as we rode from Bojewo to Sadowne.
View attachment 122779
Jacek was tracking his ancestors in the cemetery of Sadowne. I looked at a huge church (1909) and was thinking how many people of that village /and around/ had to contribute to be able to erect such an enormous building!
View attachment 122780
My journey was not over yet. After the return to Decathlon, I still had to pedal to get back to the Tank!
View attachment 122781
Jacek fancied having a decent lunch in Łochów's "Grill Bar" but it was closed! We could find a private restaurant by name 'Top Drive'. Organized on McDonald's principle, it was McDonald's + KFC + Pizza Hut in one!
View attachment 122783
Our main trip. Jacek got the range estimate of 187 km (+20% battery left!) for his Giant e-bike and for his strong legs!
View attachment 122784
My commutes, and the overall ride distance.
View attachment 122787
Within the map of Poland.
View attachment 122797
Historical map. 1381: Mazovia being split between Janusz I and his brother Siemowit IV. Janusz establishing the capital city of Mazovia in Warsaw. Liw was an important city then, on the Podlachian frontier.
Im such a wimp, I'd need ten soup stops.
DiggyGun
Well-Known Member
- Region
- United Kingdom
- City
- Buckinghamshire
Part Four: Epilogue
Prior to the holiday, I decided to get a new pair of cycling glasses. The pair I had, had an optical insert, but we’re not that comfortable or that clear to see through. I went for the Optilabs Onyx glazed with varifocal brown photochromic lenses. I must admit that these are fantastic, not only are they extremely comfortable, but you don’t even notice that you are wearing them. The optical clarity is brilliant and I can see the bike’s cockpit very clearly now.

Mileage in the Lake District was 76.5 miles. Although not as much as we normally do in a week, the terrain at times was particularly difficult. Some of the inclines were that steep, that you were using full power assist and the lowest gear setting. However, only once did I have to get off and walk on a steep part, only because the tyres could not get enough grip on the very loose surface.
Mileage in the Peak District was 132.7 miles. The terrain wasn’t as rugged as the Lakes as we did a number of disused railway lines.
Overall, the weather was kind for us. In the Lakes, it was mainly sunny or partially cloudy. The temperatures were not too cold and were around 14-16oC. There was however, some strong winds at times which did cause a bit of chill, particularly in the Lakes. In the Peaks the weather was mainly overcast and the temperature was a lot chillier. With the wind chill, the temperatures were around 4-6oC.
The van mileage for the holiday was 1094 miles.
A few minor repairs on the way, but nothing significant;
• Loose saddle on my bike, caused the nose to ride up becoming uncomfortable. A quick bit of work with a 10mm socket and back to normal.
• Squeaky pedals on both bikes. Think it was dry and dusty bearings, but some WD40 soon sorted that out.
• Mrs DG had a puncture, but the Slime and a CO2 capsule sorted it out.
As this was Mrs DGs time in these National Parks, her thoughts were;
Lake District: Amazing place and landscape, wants to go back. Although some of the rides were challenging and scary at times, this was outweighed by its beauty.
Peak District: Pretty area with some interesting features. No rides were particularly challenging.
Overall, the scenery in the Peaks is pretty, but not as dramatic as the Lakes.
End of Part Four.
Prior to the holiday, I decided to get a new pair of cycling glasses. The pair I had, had an optical insert, but we’re not that comfortable or that clear to see through. I went for the Optilabs Onyx glazed with varifocal brown photochromic lenses. I must admit that these are fantastic, not only are they extremely comfortable, but you don’t even notice that you are wearing them. The optical clarity is brilliant and I can see the bike’s cockpit very clearly now.

Mileage in the Lake District was 76.5 miles. Although not as much as we normally do in a week, the terrain at times was particularly difficult. Some of the inclines were that steep, that you were using full power assist and the lowest gear setting. However, only once did I have to get off and walk on a steep part, only because the tyres could not get enough grip on the very loose surface.
Mileage in the Peak District was 132.7 miles. The terrain wasn’t as rugged as the Lakes as we did a number of disused railway lines.
Overall, the weather was kind for us. In the Lakes, it was mainly sunny or partially cloudy. The temperatures were not too cold and were around 14-16oC. There was however, some strong winds at times which did cause a bit of chill, particularly in the Lakes. In the Peaks the weather was mainly overcast and the temperature was a lot chillier. With the wind chill, the temperatures were around 4-6oC.
The van mileage for the holiday was 1094 miles.
A few minor repairs on the way, but nothing significant;
• Loose saddle on my bike, caused the nose to ride up becoming uncomfortable. A quick bit of work with a 10mm socket and back to normal.
• Squeaky pedals on both bikes. Think it was dry and dusty bearings, but some WD40 soon sorted that out.
• Mrs DG had a puncture, but the Slime and a CO2 capsule sorted it out.
As this was Mrs DGs time in these National Parks, her thoughts were;
Lake District: Amazing place and landscape, wants to go back. Although some of the rides were challenging and scary at times, this was outweighed by its beauty.
Peak District: Pretty area with some interesting features. No rides were particularly challenging.
Overall, the scenery in the Peaks is pretty, but not as dramatic as the Lakes.
End of Part Four.
kahn
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- northWET washington
Please stop with the picnics - I am sorely jealous!!!!!
What is your water bottle attachment or her's??? Closer picture and brand?
kahn
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- northWET washington
And how many desserts?
Catalyzt
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Stunning! And that's some serious range for that much vertical, IMHO. I think I calculated that my battery would be totally drained at about 42 miles with 4,200 feet of vertical... and could only do that with lots of long, flat stretches I could take in Eco.View attachment 122700
A perfect day for a bike ride, wish I could have gone way further but I have to be happy with 50 milers for now! I had a 20mph headwind to contend with for the first 32 miles but my bike can handle winds like that no problem! I headed south today and enjoyed some very nice roads! I had this lovely road all to myself, a nice 17% gradient to get the heart rate up
View attachment 122701
View attachment 122702
Into the town of Strathaven in South Lanarkshire!
View attachment 122704
As you leave Strathaven its straight into the countryside and the lambs were out in force today!
View attachment 122705
A few miles on and I came across 2 calves, mom wasn't interested!Mom is needing a good wash I think...
View attachment 122706
The start of the descent into the Clyde Valley!
View attachment 122707
Part way down the descent, I took lots of photos here but they all came out over exposed except this one...no idea what happened with my phone! The lady that owns this house saw me taking photos and asked if I was enjoying the view, I told her I will never get sick of that amazing view!
View attachment 122711
Into the valley now and I stopped at the bridge at Kirkfieldbank before the very strenuous climb up the hill to Lanark! The river is pretty high at the moment and with rain all next week its only going to get higher...
View attachment 122712
At the top of the climb the view of the valley is pretty awesome, you can see the hill I just climbed in the foreground!
View attachment 122714
What a great ride that was, probably my last for a while if the weather forecast for the coming week is correct...fingers crossed they may be wrong!
Epic, Stefan! Love the history and geography as well... I will have to challenge you on the non-alcoholic beer, however. It is an acquired taste, for sure-- just like regular beer. After being on the wagon for eight years, on the rare occasions I grab my wife's beer by accident and take a sip, my reaction is, "Yecch! What is this disgusting swill?!"Liw Castle & The Heritage Ride #4
'We're going to use possibly low assistance during our Saturday ride' -- Jacek warned me the day before -- 'I'd use the minimum allowed by Giant to see how far I could go on a single battery!'. Half past six in the morning I was riding off the Junkyard by the Tank to quickly cover a 15 km distance to Decathlon Bemowo, or our meeting point. (I had extra clothes on me, as it was cold!) After we met, Jacek packed our gear into his car and we reached Łochów (including a small breakfast on the trip), being able to start the ride at 9:10 a.m. Jacek's "50% assistance" meant "You input 1 watt to get 0.5 W of the motor assistance". Translated to my half as strong legs as brother's, I had to use 35/35% of full power Specialized assistance, with twice as much battery energy expenditure (1.12 W of motor power per 1 W of leg power)!
View attachment 122771
Before1429, Janusz I of Warsaw, a Prince of Mazovia, told his mason Niclos to erect a castle on the River Liwiec. Nowadays, the Castle in Liw (read: Leev) is a distant tourist attraction of the northeast Mazovia. You better take a train or car to get into the area! The shortest cycling round trip from Warsaw is 160 km, and Warsaw roadies often set the castle as the target for their Double Metric Centuries! (We only had to cycle for 33 km from Łochów).
View attachment 122772
Warning: As soon as you set your foot on the Castle grounds, you are bound to buy a ticket! I didn't mind, and had a peek inside the Armoury as well.
View attachment 122773
I don't mind when Jacek drinks a single bottle of beer early on our long trip. The mass-produced lager is disgusting for me. For a company, I had a glass of non-alcoholic Łomża beer. Awful carbonated water with taste of very bad hops, if you ask me
View attachment 122776
Jacek was on his genealogic trip now. As we are actually first cousins, I was not that interested in his maternal family roots
Top: After a 10 km ride into headwind.
Centre: A library of a borough village of Stoczek Węgrowski. It is located in a historical wooden house.
Bottom: Inside the Bug Landscape Park. During WW2, the villages in the area were occupied by German soldiers in the daytime. The local population were returning to their homes for the night (when the soldiers were out). Actually, people there spent five years of the occupation sitting in the woods with their livestock!
View attachment 122777
At my Aunt Teresa (Jacek's Mother) family homestead in Bojewo. We met my Uncle, Teresa's brother there. We got excellent coffee from that old pensioned farmer! And I could listen to how the Uncle was speaking with the local countryside vocabulary! (Polish has no difficult or special regional accents or languages -- except of Silesia and Kashubia -- but the countrymen use different wording).
View attachment 122778
Beautiful weather and vistas as we rode from Bojewo to Sadowne.
View attachment 122779
Jacek was tracking his ancestors in the cemetery of Sadowne. I looked at a huge church (1909) and was thinking how many people of that village /and around/ had to contribute to be able to erect such an enormous building!
View attachment 122780
My journey was not over yet. After the return to Decathlon, I still had to pedal to get back to the Tank!
View attachment 122781
Jacek fancied having a decent lunch in Łochów's "Grill Bar" but it was closed! We could find a private restaurant by name 'Top Drive'. Organized on McDonald's principle, it was McDonald's + KFC + Pizza Hut in one!
View attachment 122783
Our main trip. Jacek got the range estimate of 187 km (+20% battery left!) for his Giant e-bike and for his strong legs!
View attachment 122784
My commutes, and the overall ride distance.
View attachment 122787
Within the map of Poland.
View attachment 122797
Historical map. 1381: Mazovia being split between Janusz I and his brother Siemowit IV. Janusz establishing the capital city of Mazovia in Warsaw. Liw was an important city then, on the Podlachian frontier.
It's Spaten, which I used to love!
Just a quick one-off here from one of my local rides-- all I can do until I get PT for the shoulders and get out of my crunch season at work. I am enjoying the few dirt trails here... they are between beginner and intermediate, but I'm working on two things: Increasing my uphill speed on rocky stretches, because I always underestimate what the bike is capable of, and finding the 'sweet spot' speed on sandy stretches, which has been a real education. Some ascents are much easier if you go just a little bit faster, the bike just clambers over the rocks like it has claws instead of wheels. And the sandy spots are easier to manage at 8 or 9 MPH than they are at 5 MPH! Very counterintuitive. The bike still feels like it's slipping and sliding just as much, but it's actually more forgiving, minor errors in balance have fewer consequences. This is the easiest part, I'll take a shot of the uphill rock garden-ish segment next ride....
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
The Warsaw School of Film
I had to collect my passport as the first thing in the morning (at last!) and then I pedalled to the green quarter of Warsaw (Żoliborz) to the Warsaw School of Film. A friend is a college student there (she wants to become a movie director), and she wanted me to take part in her movie. I was to become an unconscious cyclist brought to a hospital ER ward (I guess that person rode helmetless!)
After being "tattooed" by a make-up artist
Ready... Sound, camera, action!
The cameraman filming the "patient POV scene". The big guy at the left is the lighting person.
The cast, the cameraman and the director
It was quite an experience to see how these things were actually done! As I wanted to keep the "tattoo" for a while, I was warned by the director to ride home with an extreme care! What if I had an accident and the real ER personnel would see the 'DO NOT RESUSCITATE" on my body?!
55 recorded kilometres, 59 actually ridden (I guess I didn't resume the recording at some ride point). Vado SL.
I had to collect my passport as the first thing in the morning (at last!) and then I pedalled to the green quarter of Warsaw (Żoliborz) to the Warsaw School of Film. A friend is a college student there (she wants to become a movie director), and she wanted me to take part in her movie. I was to become an unconscious cyclist brought to a hospital ER ward (I guess that person rode helmetless!)
After being "tattooed" by a make-up artist
Ready... Sound, camera, action!
The cameraman filming the "patient POV scene". The big guy at the left is the lighting person.
The cast, the cameraman and the director
It was quite an experience to see how these things were actually done! As I wanted to keep the "tattoo" for a while, I was warned by the director to ride home with an extreme care! What if I had an accident and the real ER personnel would see the 'DO NOT RESUSCITATE" on my body?!
55 recorded kilometres, 59 actually ridden (I guess I didn't resume the recording at some ride point). Vado SL.
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Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
88 miles is not a century yet
As someone said: "The distance is something that only exists in your mind" Of course, it is not that easy for us as it is for younger sporty types. Of course: the equipment, batteries and experience are necessary but there is nothing better than a proven riding partner. There was a point on my long ride when I started bonking. Jacek noticed that. We both stopped, and he offered an energy bar to me. It did help!After we visited the Uncle, I looked at my Wahoo and merrily told Jacek:
-- 'Bro, if it happened to me to see 54 km left to go two years ago, I would be really scared. What is 54 km to go today? Just a distance to be ridden to complete the ride!'
I made 68- and 59-km rides on Sunday and Monday. I admit I have not fully recovered yet
Cata, I need to be very clear: I do not need to drink beer at all! I even should not do it because of my insulin resistance and obesity
If I drink beer, it is craft ale or stout. There is an exception: If we happen to be in the Czech Republic together with Jacek, we drink a light Pilsner or Lager early on the ride (as any decent Czech cyclist would do; it is the part of the country's culture). And if I happen to find the Miłosław Bezalkoholowe, I would drink that non-alcoholic ale with pleasure, as it is craft beer. The Liw was an incident: I just wanted to try how bad the mass produced lager might be
DiggyGun
Well-Known Member
- Region
- United Kingdom
- City
- Buckinghamshire
Sorry about the picnics, it is a British thing… having said that, we did have a nice Huntsman Pie in the Peak District.Please stop with the picnics - I am sorely jealous!!!!!
What is your water bottle attachment or her's??? Closer picture and brand?
Mrs DG’s water bottle attachment is a SKS Topcage which uses straps to fix it to the bike.
Mine is the Fabric water bottle system which is cageless, the bottle clips onto two studs mounted to the frame.
Both appear to be robust and stable. The SKS attachment straps have a rubber backing which grips well to the bike frame and it doesn’t move once on. The Fabric bottle looks like it could come off, but it never has done so in 1956 miles. There is no movement and it is easy to take off and put back whilst riding.
Attachments
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Chargeride
Well-Known Member
omg that is awesome, I never know what to expect from your posts.The Warsaw School of Film
I had to collect my passport as the first thing in the morning (at last!) and then I pedalled to the green quarter of Warsaw (Żoliborz) to the Warsaw School of Film. A friend is a college student there (she wants to become a movie director), and she wanted me to take part in her movie. I was to become an unconscious cyclist brought to a hospital ER ward (I guess that person rode helmetless!)
View attachment 122902
After being "tattooed" by a make-up artist
View attachment 122904
Ready... Sound, camera, action!
View attachment 122905
The cameraman filming the "patient POV scene". The big guy at the left is the lighting person.
View attachment 122907
The cast, the cameraman and the director
It was quite an experience to see how these things were actually done! As I wanted to keep the "tattoo" for a while, I was warned by the director to ride home with an extreme care! What if I had an accident and the real ER personnel would see the 'DO NOT RESUSCITATE" on my body?!
View attachment 122908
55 recorded kilometres, 59 actually ridden (I guess I didn't resume the recording at some ride point). Vado SL.
Can I get an autograph?
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
Just checking that you know bonking is a well used English phrase for...well bonking.88 miles is not a century yet
After we visited the Uncle, I looked at my Wahoo and merrily told Jacek:
-- 'Bro, if it happened to me to see 54 km left to go two years ago, I would be really scared. What is 54 km to go today? Just a distance to be ridden to complete the ride!'
I made 68- and 59-km rides on Sunday and Monday. I admit I have not fully recovered yet
Cata, I need to be very clear: I do not need to drink beer at all! I even should not do it because of my insulin resistance and obesity
Readytoride
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Virginia
The Photoshoot
I stared at the email the former API photographer had just sent me that evening. I had been trying to evade him for weeks with this shoot he wanted, but he was relentless in his quest. He had photographed me before driving one of my ponies (one of those photos ended up on a magazine cover) but I kept hoping he'd find some other project. But noooo - he was fixated until he finally wore me down to agreeing to let him photograph me on my bike. But now, confronting the day in question ..was he serious about the time he wanted to meet? 7:30am? Really?? Yes. Yes, he was.
"I'm going to be out at sun up to shoot some b-roll" his email said, "and can meet up with you later in the morning. I still want that early angular light. I'm thinking 7:30ish if you can make that happen."
And that is why at 7:30 in the morning, an ungodly time by any civilized means, a time when I would still be luxurating in a warm cozy bed nowhere near contemplating rising, and still no clue what a "b-roll" was, that I was on my bike in the chill of the just risen sun, pedaling quietly and slowly into the countryside and into the camera lens. For the next 8 miles the photographer - who had arrived at my farm quite giddy with excitment over getting some brilliant pre-morning shots of a few local fog laden ponds (what time had this guy gotten up? 3am??) - and I played leapfrog, him getting his shots of me while I cycled along at a languid pace, picking up litter for my former-kiddie-now-litter-cart agreeably holding the orange litter bag while happily being towed along in my bike's wake.
For 8 miles he would race ahead of me, setting up his cameras, framing his shots. Shots mid-range, up high, to the side, front, back, and once at ground level with the camera sitting on the gravel road. I would cycle past and keep going, the camera shooting my retreat into the deep greens of late Spring along the gravel roads. At one point when he was driving behind me I glanced over my shoulder to see his camera being held on his roof out the driver door to capture video as I biked in front. Then he was off in a rush to set up his next shots further down the road. Again, and again, and again. For 8 miles.
For 8 miles I had to repeat the mantra "shoulders back, head UP, smile". The shoulders back/head up was a struggle, but the smiling came easy because...I hate to admit after my grousing at getting up at the butt crack of dawn ...the day was stunning. The gravel roads were both familiar and lovely, and the trash almost non-existant with just a few pieces for some decent litter pickup moments for the camera. A few construction trucks passed enroute, sharing good-morning waves, as did a large schoolbus rumbling on its way to pick up sleepy eyed kids and deliver them to school in time for the morning bell. I snugged the bike and trailer to the side of the road to let the lumbering equipment pass, and then after a friendly wave to the operators I would wait for them to relinquish the road before remounting my bike to continue the shoot.
At one point midway a bevy of 6 horses came into view, 2 ridden the rest led in hand, casually walking along. I called out to make sure the horses were OK with my bike, and upon the rider's reassurance that I was fine, the photographer had me stage in his line of sight to take us all into view. He recognized the lead rider as they came close enough for us all to exchange greetings. He told me afterwards, as he was showing me the video clip he had taken of them passing, how the lead rider, a staff member of the local foxhunt, had just recently been in the hospital for a bad fall she'd taken a few months prior. As he described a litany of her injuries - broken ribs, broken clavical, broken arm, punctured lung, plus a few more injuries my brain blocked out in horror - despite the fact that she had gotten up from her fall, blood coming out of every orifice of her face much to the angst of the huntsman who told her to lie down on the ground and stay there until the ambulance came - I blanched, threw up my arm to block any further words from hitting my ears, and said I'd heard enough. He and I both watched over our shoulders as the riders retreated down the road, their happy chatter fading slowly away with the distance, their passage left in a muddle of hoofprints on the soft, rainsoaked gravel.
Just ahead of us, beyond a bend, the gravel road became too narrow and too twisty for any good shots. I took off, riding ahead of the photographer as the road plunged downhill at a steep angle to cross a narrow century old concrete bridge spanning a madly rushing stream foaming muddy brown and boiling over its banks with the downpours of two days straight of rain. The narrow road then leaped straight up the following hill and it wasn't until the road shook off the incline and widened out across a flat, lovely pastoral scene that I let the photographer go past for some of his final shots.
At the end of 8 miles we stopped, he thanked me profusely, said he got some excellent photos and video, and arranged for me to come to the studio later this week to do an interview and voiceover audio. We said our goodbyes, and he drove off down the road, one hand out the window waving as his car disappeared out of view.
It was now almost 2 hours later into the morning. The day had warmed up, the sun was bright, the skies were a crystal blue, and the roads beckoned. I took their invitation to heart and biked a further 5 miles, simply enjoying the day. Plus snagging any litter that happened to be marring the perfection of the landscape. The rest of the morning was mine to enjoy solo in peace.
When I finally rolled into my driveway at 11, with a half bag of litter picked up, 13 miles on the GPS, warm and happy with a smile on my face, I decided that 7:30 am hadn't been all that bad to start a bike ride. 9am would have been better but...hey. Nothing beats that early morning light.
Today I'll stay in bed until noon. Just 'cuz.
PS - Since I had no photos of yesterday, here are two of his photos from a photoshoot he did with me in the Fall of 2018. It was the second one that ended up as a magazine cover. I'll share one or two from yesterday once I get something.
I stared at the email the former API photographer had just sent me that evening. I had been trying to evade him for weeks with this shoot he wanted, but he was relentless in his quest. He had photographed me before driving one of my ponies (one of those photos ended up on a magazine cover) but I kept hoping he'd find some other project. But noooo - he was fixated until he finally wore me down to agreeing to let him photograph me on my bike. But now, confronting the day in question ..was he serious about the time he wanted to meet? 7:30am? Really?? Yes. Yes, he was.
"I'm going to be out at sun up to shoot some b-roll" his email said, "and can meet up with you later in the morning. I still want that early angular light. I'm thinking 7:30ish if you can make that happen."
And that is why at 7:30 in the morning, an ungodly time by any civilized means, a time when I would still be luxurating in a warm cozy bed nowhere near contemplating rising, and still no clue what a "b-roll" was, that I was on my bike in the chill of the just risen sun, pedaling quietly and slowly into the countryside and into the camera lens. For the next 8 miles the photographer - who had arrived at my farm quite giddy with excitment over getting some brilliant pre-morning shots of a few local fog laden ponds (what time had this guy gotten up? 3am??) - and I played leapfrog, him getting his shots of me while I cycled along at a languid pace, picking up litter for my former-kiddie-now-litter-cart agreeably holding the orange litter bag while happily being towed along in my bike's wake.
For 8 miles he would race ahead of me, setting up his cameras, framing his shots. Shots mid-range, up high, to the side, front, back, and once at ground level with the camera sitting on the gravel road. I would cycle past and keep going, the camera shooting my retreat into the deep greens of late Spring along the gravel roads. At one point when he was driving behind me I glanced over my shoulder to see his camera being held on his roof out the driver door to capture video as I biked in front. Then he was off in a rush to set up his next shots further down the road. Again, and again, and again. For 8 miles.
For 8 miles I had to repeat the mantra "shoulders back, head UP, smile". The shoulders back/head up was a struggle, but the smiling came easy because...I hate to admit after my grousing at getting up at the butt crack of dawn ...the day was stunning. The gravel roads were both familiar and lovely, and the trash almost non-existant with just a few pieces for some decent litter pickup moments for the camera. A few construction trucks passed enroute, sharing good-morning waves, as did a large schoolbus rumbling on its way to pick up sleepy eyed kids and deliver them to school in time for the morning bell. I snugged the bike and trailer to the side of the road to let the lumbering equipment pass, and then after a friendly wave to the operators I would wait for them to relinquish the road before remounting my bike to continue the shoot.
At one point midway a bevy of 6 horses came into view, 2 ridden the rest led in hand, casually walking along. I called out to make sure the horses were OK with my bike, and upon the rider's reassurance that I was fine, the photographer had me stage in his line of sight to take us all into view. He recognized the lead rider as they came close enough for us all to exchange greetings. He told me afterwards, as he was showing me the video clip he had taken of them passing, how the lead rider, a staff member of the local foxhunt, had just recently been in the hospital for a bad fall she'd taken a few months prior. As he described a litany of her injuries - broken ribs, broken clavical, broken arm, punctured lung, plus a few more injuries my brain blocked out in horror - despite the fact that she had gotten up from her fall, blood coming out of every orifice of her face much to the angst of the huntsman who told her to lie down on the ground and stay there until the ambulance came - I blanched, threw up my arm to block any further words from hitting my ears, and said I'd heard enough. He and I both watched over our shoulders as the riders retreated down the road, their happy chatter fading slowly away with the distance, their passage left in a muddle of hoofprints on the soft, rainsoaked gravel.
Just ahead of us, beyond a bend, the gravel road became too narrow and too twisty for any good shots. I took off, riding ahead of the photographer as the road plunged downhill at a steep angle to cross a narrow century old concrete bridge spanning a madly rushing stream foaming muddy brown and boiling over its banks with the downpours of two days straight of rain. The narrow road then leaped straight up the following hill and it wasn't until the road shook off the incline and widened out across a flat, lovely pastoral scene that I let the photographer go past for some of his final shots.
At the end of 8 miles we stopped, he thanked me profusely, said he got some excellent photos and video, and arranged for me to come to the studio later this week to do an interview and voiceover audio. We said our goodbyes, and he drove off down the road, one hand out the window waving as his car disappeared out of view.
It was now almost 2 hours later into the morning. The day had warmed up, the sun was bright, the skies were a crystal blue, and the roads beckoned. I took their invitation to heart and biked a further 5 miles, simply enjoying the day. Plus snagging any litter that happened to be marring the perfection of the landscape. The rest of the morning was mine to enjoy solo in peace.
When I finally rolled into my driveway at 11, with a half bag of litter picked up, 13 miles on the GPS, warm and happy with a smile on my face, I decided that 7:30 am hadn't been all that bad to start a bike ride. 9am would have been better but...hey. Nothing beats that early morning light.
Today I'll stay in bed until noon. Just 'cuz.
PS - Since I had no photos of yesterday, here are two of his photos from a photoshoot he did with me in the Fall of 2018. It was the second one that ended up as a magazine cover. I'll share one or two from yesterday once I get something.
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Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
It is hard to get an autograph from someone who has died
That's why we Poles use a phrase of "to get a bomb" for the physical exhaustion during a bike ride
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
What a great story Flora! Having seen the 2018 photos I cannot wait to see you riding your e-bike in his shots!
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