Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[RabH]

My legs had recovered from Sunday's epic ride and the weather was just perfect today with very little wind, so I got up early and headed for the Forth Bridges at 6am! Most of the time I do this loop anticlockwise so it was time to change it up today, it was just awesome and my timing couldn't have been better to miss all the commuting traffic! Straight on to the back roads with almost nobody around, it was pure bliss! No baking sun today, we had our fill of that on Monday and Tuesday when it was touching 30C in the shade! We Scots don't cope well with heat!

Nice cloud formation early this morning with the Campsie Hills in view!

The Shetland pony was enjoying the grass, it hasn't been growing much lately due to a lack of rain!

I was now heading for the town of Shieldhill where you can enjoy a very fast descent, 43.3 mph today and there were no cars to hold me back!

Just before Shieldhill I spotted 2 foals with their parents!

After the descent at Shieldhill there is a short climb before another big descent down into Falkirk, this descent is where I fell off the bike recently...I was climbing that time though! It didn't slow me down as I hit over 34mph and I could now see some cars ready for their morning commute, only a few miles and I would be on the path at Kincardine Bridge and free from the traffic again!

The view from Kincardine Bridge looking towards the Grangemouth Oil Refinery! Notice how calm the water is today, you don't see this very often at this location!

I was now heading east towards the village of Culross, I was on the cycle path for a bit but started to encounter the morning dog walkers so headed back on to the road which was empty thankfully!

The roads from here are absolutely superb, going through all the little villages which are so well looked after and everybody smiles and gives you a nod as you pass through! A few miles on and I was in the town of Rosyth which was starting to get busy with the morning commuters, just before you reach Rosyth there is a business park which is very industrial but this little stream runs through it and someone has installed some nice furniture for the animals to enjoy!

I was now on the cycle path up to the Forth Road Bridge, this bridge used to take all the traffic from Edinburgh into Fife but once they built the new bridge it is only open to buses taxis and motorcycles now! If they had continued to allow all traffic to use it the bridge would have collapsed by now...

On the bridge looking across to the Queensferry Crossing where all the other traffic now crosses from Edinburgh to Fife!

Now heading for home and my final photo from a mile or so past the bridges, I will never get tired of that awesome view!

Onward to the town of Linlithgow now where I met a huge queue of traffic, it turned out they were resurfacing the roads in the town and its about time as they were badly needing done! I took to the paths and passed all the traffic, I'm sure they were all jealous! After Linlithgow I was back on my favourite back roads with very little traffic, it was just lovely until I started the climb towards the village of Standburn and they had covered the road in gravel...they call it surface dressing!

Its a cyclist and motorcylists worst nightmare this stuff, earlier this year they laid new tarmac on this road and it was just sublime to ride! Now its a total mess and I'm so glad I was climbing it today and not descending as it would have been hellish...they also did the same with another of my favourite back roads....sigh! Apart from this I had an absolute blast in the most perfect cycling conditions you could ask for! Just as I arrived home I got notification that a parcel was going to be delivered in the next hour or two, it was my new battery for my bike! As soon as it arrived I made sure it fitted the bike and thankfully it was the right one, the 2017 and 2019 batteries are different from the 2018! So I now have 3 batteries and I'm looking forward to a very long ride as soon as the the riding conditions are just right!

 

[kahn]

@RabH

Another great adventure and pics. I, too, avoided the heat this morning but not as early and nowhere near as long. 16 miles and home by 10am

"they call it surface dressing!"

We call it chip seal if is it the same process. They lay sticky asphalt and then drop gravelly stuff and allow traffic to compact it. Always remains loose on the shoulder where bikes ride. Terrible stuff.

 

[PatriciaK]

There is a town in Anglesey in Wales called,

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

This translates roughly as "St Mary's Church in the Hollow of the White Hazel near a Rapid Whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the Red Cave".

That takes the prize!

 

[PatriciaK]

Man, I am going to be sorry tomorrow - 21 moderately hilly miles after 2 weeks of nothing ! Really needed to get back to training, though ...


Beautiful day for riding:


Hold on to your handlebars, boys; it's gonna be a bumpy ride :



Keeping watch over the harbor:



That's it for today... Time for Tylenol!

 

[Camac]

That takes the prize!

Not so fast

 

[Stefan Mikes]

View attachment 129720
Not so fast

Ah yes. About that man with big knees who played the flute
Let anyone pronounce "Gqeberha" (formerly, Port Elisabeth, South Africa)

 

[Chargeride]

View attachment 129640

My legs had recovered from Sunday's epic ride and the weather was just perfect today with very little wind, so I got up early and headed for the Forth Bridges at 6am! Most of the time I do this loop anticlockwise so it was time to change it up today, it was just awesome and my timing couldn't have been better to miss all the commuting traffic! Straight on to the back roads with almost nobody around, it was pure bliss! No baking sun today, we had our fill of that on Monday and Tuesday when it was touching 30C in the shade! We Scots don't cope well with heat!

Nice cloud formation early this morning with the Campsie Hills in view!

View attachment 129641

The Shetland pony was enjoying the grass, it hasn't been growing much lately due to a lack of rain!

View attachment 129642

I was now heading for the town of Shieldhill where you can enjoy a very fast descent, 43.3 mph today and there were no cars to hold me back!

Just before Shieldhill I spotted 2 foals with their parents!

View attachment 129643

After the descent at Shieldhill there is a short climb before another big descent down into Falkirk, this descent is where I fell off the bike recently...I was climbing that time though! It didn't slow me down as I hit over 34mph and I could now see some cars ready for their morning commute, only a few miles and I would be on the path at Kincardine Bridge and free from the traffic again!

The view from Kincardine Bridge looking towards the Grangemouth Oil Refinery! Notice how calm the water is today, you don't see this very often at this location!

View attachment 129644
View attachment 129645

I was now heading east towards the village of Culross, I was on the cycle path for a bit but started to encounter the morning dog walkers so headed back on to the road which was empty thankfully!

View attachment 129646

The roads from here are absolutely superb, going through all the little villages which are so well looked after and everybody smiles and gives you a nod as you pass through! A few miles on and I was in the town of Rosyth which was starting to get busy with the morning commuters, just before you reach Rosyth there is a business park which is very industrial but this little stream runs through it and someone has installed some nice furniture for the animals to enjoy!

View attachment 129647
View attachment 129648
View attachment 129651

I was now on the cycle path up to the Forth Road Bridge, this bridge used to take all the traffic from Edinburgh into Fife but once they built the new bridge it is only open to buses taxis and motorcycles now! If they had continued to allow all traffic to use it the bridge would have collapsed by now...

On the bridge looking across to the Queensferry Crossing where all the other traffic now crosses from Edinburgh to Fife!

View attachment 129653
View attachment 129654

Now heading for home and my final photo from a mile or so past the bridges, I will never get tired of that awesome view!

View attachment 129655

Onward to the town of Linlithgow now where I met a huge queue of traffic, it turned out they were resurfacing the roads in the town and its about time as they were badly needing done! I took to the paths and passed all the traffic, I'm sure they were all jealous! After Linlithgow I was back on my favourite back roads with very little traffic, it was just lovely until I started the climb towards the village of Standburn and they had covered the road in gravel...they call it surface dressing!

Its a cyclist and motorcylists worst nightmare this stuff, earlier this year they laid new tarmac on this road and it was just sublime to ride! Now its a total mess and I'm so glad I was climbing it today and not descending as it would have been hellish...they also did the same with another of my favourite back roads....sigh! Apart from this I had an absolute blast in the most perfect cycling conditions you could ask for! Just as I arrived home I got notification that a parcel was going to be delivered in the next hour or two, it was my new battery for my bike! As soon as it arrived I made sure it fitted the bike and thankfully it was the right one, the 2017 and 2019 batteries are different from the 2018! So I now have 3 batteries and I'm looking forward to a very long ride as soon as the the riding conditions are just right!

three batteries eh
Have you got three chargers?

 

[Chargeride]

View attachment 129720
Not so fast

One of the UKs most favourite tv comedian used to use that as a sketch transition, I went to find it...and thats a nope when you see how its animated.
Different days I guess.
Kenny Everett..dont look.

 

[Chargeride]

View attachment 129620
Been there recently on our way to/from Ireland. Learned pronouncing the name!

I just watched a video about the place, the red cave doesnt exist, they think it was put in to keep everyone guessing

 

[Readytoride]

From A to [Ga]Z[elle]

Meet A.

A is a neighbor who lives "up the road apiece" as the old saying goes. Not a defined distance but a 'wiggle of the hand' distance denoting anything from 1 mile to 20. In A's case it's about 6 miles. A emailed me the other day with a request. She wanted to try out an ebike but was having a difficult time finding any place to rent one for the hour/day/weekend etc. Did I know of any place that did rent them? I replied back "no" and instead offered her to drop by my farm and try one of mine.

We made arrangements, and the other day A finally got a chance to ride an ebike. As she explained to me she has a medical condition that doesn't allow most types of exercise other than walking, and she's bored with just walking. Cycling is the only other option, but she hasn't been on a bike in 40 years (that became evident soon enough) and her medical condition required some type of help from the bike should she need it. She brought along her medication, which I had her tuck safely in the LaFree's panniers, should she need it, before I gave her a quick tutorial in ebike technology. Sometimes (correction, make that all the time) when I have a former equestrian try out one of my ebikes (always the LaFree since it has the friendliest geometry), I find it easiest to compare the bike to a steady, reliable lesson horse. Makes the information exchange relatable.

A was both excited and nervous, and very glad bikes "don't buck". I laughed and told her about one of the Tour de France bikes that did buck (caught on camera) coming around a downhill corner. Fortunately the rider stayed on. Her eyes popped wide, but I assured her the LaFree was as steady and sweet as any old pony, would never buck, and would take good care of her. She was still nervous as we mounted up and rolled down the driveway, her hands white from squeezing the grips so hard, her face a picture of fierce concentration as the LaFree (a bit confused as having no specific direction from its rider who simply sat on the saddle and didn't pedal) wiggled as it rolled slowly forward on its own. "You need to pedal" I told her gently, riding my Gazelle moved up alongside her. "The bike will straighten out when you do." She did, tentatively, and the LaFree instantly smoothed out and glided forward with experience and precision. A smiled for the first time. I'm pretty sure she breathed for the first time, too, although her hands were still in a death grip holding on for dear life.

We rolled onto the newly surfaced paved road at the end of my driveway and the LaFree took her with patience and care down the gentle gradient to the crossroad 1 mile further. I kept the Gazelle shoulder to shoulder with the LaFree, keeping up a breezy conversation with A to help dispel her anxiety. It worked, and she began to relax, looking less like a 5 year old with a new bike fresh off training wheels, and more of a rider remembering how to ride a bike after 4 decades. By the time we reached the end of the road, my planned turn-around point for her initial ride, she had a full on smile. She wasn't ready to head back. Could we go further she asked? Our options were to stay on pavement (busy) or she could try the bike on the gravel roads that she'd be riding when she got her own bike. We had a perfect gravel road in front of us - flat, wide, and easy. Gravel it was! Now her lesson became one of looking for the smooth part of the road to ride (not the washboard sections), not getting close to the roadside ditches, not being afraid of puddles, using the gearing when the road required it, and to keep pedaling. The LaFree never put a foot wrong, its twist grip for the gearing making it easy for A to change gears as I coached her on which number gear to apply. I rode alongside her about a mile down the gravel, then suggested it was time to return. She was full on enjoying herself, and I wanted to keep it that way without her overextending. When we finally reached my paved road, I grinned at her and said she was now going to ask the LaFree for a bit of speed. "I want you to pedal the bike up to 15 mph" I said, "to see what an ebike feels at speed". She was, by now, thrilled with the ride and willing to try. So we slowly, cautiously ramped up the speed, me calling out each increase in mph. Our bikes cruised faster and faster up the road until we finally hit 15. A cheered! The deal was chinched. She now wanted an ebike. No question.

Back home the questions flowed non-stop. Could we do some hills next time, she asked? Of course, I replied, mentally checking my database of roads for those with non-killer hills for a novice rider to try. Could I help her find a Class 2 with a throttle if her medical condition kicked in an prevented her from pedaling? Sure thing. Front basket or trailer to take her small dog with her biking? Trailer is best, and I'll have her pull one with the LaFree in another ride just to feel the difference.

She left with a big smile from her happy adventure, and eager for the next ride next week. The next several days of typical Virginia summer heat and humidity (high 90s for both) precludes any riding other than early morning, so we'll wait for a less heat stroke producing day for her second adventure out on an ebike.

Meet Gazelle. I've mentioned her before when I first purchased her, and our time together had been one of dialing in my comfort zone to make sure my "quick to complain" knee and recent leg muscle pull were both happy with her setup. We've achieved that goal, and now it was time for some serious rides.

Up until that point we've had some decent weather. Not anymore. While Europe swelters under an unprecedented heat wave of up to 40°C, we do, too, but we call it "typical July weather" here in Virginia. The best (and only time) time to ride is early morning just as the sun is rising which is when Gazelle and I set forth these past two days. Not terribly far since the heat and humidity rolls over the landscape like a speeding steam roller once the sun gets high enough to break through the dawn clouds. 18 miles the prior day and 24 miles yesterday, starting just before 7am in the cool morning, leaving plenty of time during the ride to stop for photos of the recent rainstorm damage to the roads, the old damage from the windstorm a few weeks back, a racehorse breezing on a local training track, the sweet wineberries ripe for eating at the sides of the rural roads, the weedy thistle throwing its gorgeous purple flowers to the sky, cows watching as I cruise by, and the endless stunning vistas of the Blue Ridge. I spent a lot of time with my foot on the ground, the Gazelle patiently waiting under me as I stopped on the road to chat with neighbors or old friends or other cyclists also out to enjoy the early morning gravel roads before I (and they) rushed off again to beat the rising heat. Both rides on the gravel roads where life is slower paced and the scenery ever changing, ever familiar, ever more beautiful as summer progresses.

The weekend temps are supposed to be in the 100s Fahrenheit (above 40c) with a nasty heat index, so we'll be spending our days inside with the AC keeping us cool. Today the county inspector comes out to give our new solar the official OK before our utility company installs a new meter to record our solar electric production being fed back into the grid. We're almost there for throwing the switch to be 100% green energy.

 

[RabH]

@RabH

Another great adventure and pics. I, too, avoided the heat this morning but not as early and nowhere near as long. 16 miles and home by 10am

"they call it surface dressing!"

We call it chip seal if is it the same process. They lay sticky asphalt and then drop gravelly stuff and allow traffic to compact it. Always remains loose on the shoulder where bikes ride. Terrible stuff.

Not just us then, the problem here is they put it on roads that don't get used much so it takes a while to get compacted...

three batteries eh
Have you got three chargers?

One is sufficient, those chargers are expensive....

@Readytoride Great story about your friend getting back on a bike after 4 decades, e bikes really are lifesavers!

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

Sunday morning's ride was from Homebase, eastbound to a small town called Pemberton, in New Jersey. Not far into the ride, I clicked over the odometer to 18,000 total miles since putting the Haibike FullFatSix into service, April 2017.

Burlington County, NJ was once the largest agricultural county in NJ. Not so much anymore with farms being sold off for housing developments and warehouses. But there are still pockets of agriculture, like here, coming up on Juliustown, NJ.

Pemberton, NJ and my turn-around point. I'm at a canoe portage site on the north branch of the Rancocas Creek. The creek here will flow eastward to Mt Holly and then empty into the Delaware River. Up here in Pemberton, there is no tidal flow influence from the Delaware as there are a series of small dams between Browns Mills and Mt Holly. This kicks off a short ride of a mile and a half of buggy, forested trails that will lead me back to Hanover Street. Much better riding here in the fall and winter months, when the biting insects are gone.

On the former Pemberton & Hightstown Railroad bridge crossing of the Rancocas at Pemberton, NJ. About the bike; Haibike Full FatSix, Old Man Mountain racks, front and rear, Schmidt SON28 dyno hub making power for a front Schmidt Edelux II headlight and a rear Schmidt SON tailight. Yamaha PW drive system (in 18k miles, no problems at all to report), PearTune speed chip (I rarely use it as my average speeds are at or around 12-13 mph), stock rims, Schwalbe 4.0 Jumbo Jims with Tannus Armour inserts; OneUp composite pedals, Spank handlebar, Ergon fat grips with Cane Creek Ergo bar ends; Hanfy mirror, Ortlieb handlebar bag and for this ride, an Ortlieb E-mate pannier carrying flat tire repair gear. Ergon ST Core Prime saddle. I have for my use, 3 Yamaha 500wh batteries along with the original 400wh battery; all are at or near 100% capacity. I figure I can get 40 miles of riding in the High Power setting with this bike. I kinda chuckle everytime someone on this site poo-poo's the idea that electric fatbikes are not a good idea for riding on asphalt, for most of my riding is done on asphalt surfaces. And to counter their argument, all I can do is refer back to the first picture in this post!

The Pemberton & Hightstown crossing of the Rancocas had to be a considerable investment for the railroad when first built. This RR was eventually rolled up into the giant Pennsylvania Rail Road. But unlike the PRR's Broadway mainline from Philadelphia to New York, this was a quiet little branch line that helped move farmers crops and milk to market as well as moving troop trains in and out of the nearby Camp Dix, later, Fort Dix, NJ.

The now closed Pemberton railroad station, near Hanover Street, Pemberton, NJ. One can imagine the hub of activity back in the day. The former Pemberton and Hightstown also carried passengers to and from nearby Philadelphia. And if one were adventurous, you could ride to Hightstown, NJ to the north of here, de-train and catch the Camden and Amboy train leaving for NYC at Perth Amboy, NJ.

Homeward bound at Springfield Twp, NJ and a nice little northern Burlington County NJ farm vista. Here in the US, New Jersey often and rightly gets the reputation of being an ugly landscape of refineries and run-down cities. To the north and east, this is rightly so. But there are sections of the state that still retain the character of NJ how it once was.

With that ride over for Sunday, here is a Monday morning, pre-sunrise shot taken at Roebling, NJ; on the Delaware River, looking north towards the lights of the former US Steel Plant at Fairless Hill, Pennsylvania. NJ has gotten quite active in building bike trails and I am on part of the Kinkora Rail Trail, which is a small part of the overall Delaware River Heritage Trail that links Philadelphia, PA with Trenton, NJ and points on the river to the north of Trenton.

If you can do it, try to get out before the sun rises, just to take in that magical moment where the night sky catches on fire from the rising sun & the start of a new day. The Delaware here recieves ocean going ships that moor up at Fairless to take on scrap steel, coal and other products. 30 plus years ago when the Fairless Steel Works was going gangbusters, American steel made here was being shipped to other parts of the world, from here. There is history in this area as well; to the left of the steel mill is where William Penn built his summer home in the 1600's; Pennsbury Manor. 20 miles on the river to the north is where General Washington made his crossing of the Delaware in the first major victory for the Colonials against the British. And where I am at in Roebling, the Roebling family made a name for itself in suspension bridge construction, including the Brooklyn Bridge, Golden Gate bridge and so many others still in use today. Here at Roebling, the sons of patriarch John A Roebling bought a tract of land called Kinkora and plotted out an entire town that would house the workers of their new Kinkora Works plant. Everything for the workers and their familes were within this town; company stores, doctors, police and fire departments. My grandfather was part of that wave of east europeans who worked in the mills of the Roebling plant. All of that is now part of history as the mill was idled in 1974.

 

[Chargeride]

Love the bike, a friend of a friend has the same one, he keeps wrecking the the pawls on the freewheel for some reason, must be his riding style.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Congrats Mike, that‘s a pile of miles on that bike. I’m thinking RabH will be chasing you down any minute though!

Going over 90 degrees again today, got out early while it was only in the mid 80s. In the shady spots, not bad at all!

 

[Djangodog]

View attachment 129792
Sunday morning's ride was from Homebase, eastbound to a small town called Pemberton, in New Jersey. Not far into the ride, I clicked over the odometer to 18,000 total miles since putting the Haibike FullFatSix into service, April 2017.

View attachment 129793
Burlington County, NJ was once the largest agricultural county in NJ. Not so much anymore with farms being sold off for housing developments and warehouses. But there are still pockets of agriculture, like here, coming up on Juliustown, NJ.

View attachment 129794
Pemberton, NJ and my turn-around point. I'm at a canoe portage site on the north branch of the Rancocas Creek. The creek here will flow eastward to Mt Holly and then empty into the Delaware River. Up here in Pemberton, there is no tidal flow influence from the Delaware as there are a series of small dams between Browns Mills and Mt Holly. This kicks off a short ride of a mile and a half of buggy, forested trails that will lead me back to Hanover Street. Much better riding here in the fall and winter months, when the biting insects are gone.

View attachment 129795
On the former Pemberton & Hightstown Railroad bridge crossing of the Rancocas at Pemberton, NJ. About the bike; Haibike Full FatSix, Old Man Mountain racks, front and rear, Schmidt SON28 dyno hub making power for a front Schmidt Edelux II headlight and a rear Schmidt SON tailight. Yamaha PW drive system (in 18k miles, no problems at all to report), PearTune speed chip (I rarely use it as my average speeds are at or around 12-13 mph), stock rims, Schwalbe 4.0 Jumbo Jims with Tannus Armour inserts; OneUp composite pedals, Spank handlebar, Ergon fat grips with Cane Creek Ergo bar ends; Hanfy mirror, Ortlieb handlebar bag and for this ride, an Ortlieb E-mate pannier carrying flat tire repair gear. Ergon ST Core Prime saddle. I have for my use, 3 Yamaha 500wh batteries along with the original 400wh battery; all are at or near 100% capacity. I figure I can get 40 miles of riding in the High Power setting with this bike. I kinda chuckle everytime someone on this site poo-poo's the idea that electric fatbikes are not a good idea for riding on asphalt, for most of my riding is done on asphalt surfaces. And to counter their argument, all I can do is refer back to the first picture in this post!

View attachment 129796
The Pemberton & Hightstown crossing of the Rancocas had to be a considerable investment for the railroad when first built. This RR was eventually rolled up into the giant Pennsylvania Rail Road. But unlike the PRR's Broadway mainline from Philadelphia to New York, this was a quiet little branch line that helped move farmers crops and milk to market as well as moving troop trains in and out of the nearby Camp Dix, later, Fort Dix, NJ.

View attachment 129797
The now closed Pemberton railroad station, near Hanover Street, Pemberton, NJ. One can imagine the hub of activity back in the day. The former Pemberton and Hightstown also carried passengers to and from nearby Philadelphia. And if one were adventurous, you could ride to Hightstown, NJ to the north of here, de-train and catch the Camden and Amboy train leaving for NYC at Perth Amboy, NJ.

View attachment 129798
Homeward bound at Springfield Twp, NJ and a nice little northern Burlington County NJ farm vista. Here in the US, New Jersey often and rightly gets the reputation of being an ugly landscape of refineries and run-down cities. To the north and east, this is rightly so. But there are sections of the state that still retain the character of NJ how it once was.

View attachment 129799
With that ride over for Sunday, here is a Monday morning, pre-sunrise shot taken at Roebling, NJ; on the Delaware River, looking north towards the lights of the former US Steel Plant at Fairless Hill, Pennsylvania. NJ has gotten quite active in building bike trails and I am on part of the Kinkora Rail Trail, which is a small part of the overall Delaware River Heritage Trail that links Philadelphia, PA with Trenton, NJ and points on the river to the north of Trenton.

View attachment 129800
If you can do it, try to get out before the sun rises, just to take in that magical moment where the night sky catches on fire from the rising sun & the start of a new day. The Delaware here recieves ocean going ships that moor up at Fairless to take on scrap steel, coal and other products. 30 plus years ago when the Fairless Steel Works was going gangbusters, American steel made here was being shipped to other parts of the world, from here. There is history in this area as well; to the left of the steel mill is where William Penn built his summer home in the 1600's; Pennsbury Manor. 20 miles on the river to the north is where General Washington made his crossing of the Delaware in the first major victory for the Colonials against the British. And where I am at in Roebling, the Roebling family made a name for itself in suspension bridge construction, including the Brooklyn Bridge, Golden Gate bridge and so many others still in use today. Here at Roebling, the sons of patriarch John A Roebling bought a tract of land called Kinkora and plotted out an entire town that would house the workers of their new Kinkora Works plant. Everything for the workers and their familes were within this town; company stores, doctors, police and fire departments. My grandfather was part of that wave of east europeans who worked in the mills of the Roebling plant. All of that is now part of history as the mill was idled in 1974.

18,000 on the same bike. That is an achievement. How has the Yamaha assist been reliable? Any rebuilds?

People that I have known from New Jersey always ask other Jersey folks what exit they are from, (I never quite got it, but always thought that it was funny that they would actually answer). Growing up in Massachusetts, if I saw a car with a New Jersey plate the driver usually had a big cigar in his mouth and I always associated New Jersey with fat, middle aged men in big cars with cigars, and of the Newark Airport, (not a pretty site, maybe it is better now.).

I now know better. New Jersey has lots of beauty. Cape May is a beautiful Victorian coastal town and there are countless places of beauty to explore once you get away from the heart of the cities. The Garden State is not the ironic name that I believed it to be. New Jersey gets an unfairly bad rap.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

Love the bike, a friend of a friend has the same one, he keeps wrecking the the pawls on the freewheel for some reason, must be his riding style.

@Chargeride: Thanks! I think you are spot-on about ride style destroying the freehub pawls. Sounds like he might be hammering his H-Bike using a high gear on the cassette at a slow rate of speed, which really stresses out the entire drive train. Myself, I'm a spinner; constantly shifting to maintain a nice 70-90 rpm cadence. Nice and easy, trying to trick the torque sensor into delivering as little power so I can extract maximum "fuel economy" out of each battery charge!

Congrats Mike, that‘s a pile of miles on that bike. I’m thinking RabH will be chasing you down any minute though!

Going over 90 degrees again today, got out early while it was only in the mid 80s. In the shady spots, not bad at all!

View attachment 129802

Thanks, Dave! I'll have to keep an eye out for this @RabH character! When I was active duty in the USCG, one of the boats I was on would go up the Hudson to Lock 1 at Troy. Often I'd take my Trek9000 with me and did a little riding in the Saugerties area. As you likely know, all of those river towns from Poughkeepsie to Troy are all located on a steep bluff down to the river. Sure wish they had electric assist bikes back then!

18,000 on the same bike. That is an achievement. How has the Yamaha assist been reliable? Any rebuilds?

People that I have known from New Jersey always ask other Jersey folks what exit they are from, (I never quite got it, but always thought that it was funny that they would actually answer). Growing up in Massachusetts, if I saw a car with a New Jersey plate the driver usually had a big cigar in his mouth and I always associated New Jersey with fat, middle aged men in big cars with cigars, and of the Newark Airport, (not a pretty site, maybe it is better now.).

I now know better. New Jersey has lots of beauty. Cape May is a beautiful Victorian coastal town and there are countless places of beauty to explore once you get away from the heart of the cities. The Garden State is not the ironic name that I believed it to be. New Jersey gets an unfairly bad rap.

@Djangodog: Thanks! The only thing I've done with the drive system was replace the big front motor sprocket as well as install the PearTune chip, which just involved dropping the motor down, installing the chip and retorquing the motor mount bolts to the proper torque. The front sprocket required replacement because I stretched out replacing my chain to 11,000 miles. That loose chain resulted in severe wear of the front sprocket teeth. The picture below shows how much wear.....

It's a small state sandwiched between the NY megalopolis and Philadelphia region, so it's identity gets swallowed up by those two titans. The northern jersey stretches of NJ Turnpike is an ugly affair of traffic, chemical plants and refineries. This is the area that people think of when they watch the Sopranos. But in South Jersey (Burlington County to the north and Cape May County at the extreme southern end), the region is dominated by Philly; it's a more agricultural region, with the vast NJ Pine Barrens to the east and the Delaware Bay country to the left. Like 2 different states wrapped in one, even 2 different speaking dialects, to boot.

Appreciate all the kind responses and Likes, everyone! It's really what makes this ebiking community here, the most friendly of them all!

So this picture was taken in June, 2020, 11,000 miles on the original sprocket and chain. Well, this is what happens to your front sprocket when your chain gets stretched from normal riding. And to think, I was always religous about lubing up my chain, as in, every other ride, using DuPont Chain Saver. I could have put that front chain ring on my Stihl weed whacker and used it to cut small trees down with it!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Congrats Mike, that‘s a pile of miles on that bike. I’m thinking RabH will be chasing you down any minute though!

Going over 90 degrees again today, got out early while it was only in the mid 80s. In the shady spots, not bad at all!

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With such high temps and humidity, your choice of location to stop to take that pic was prudent. No mistaking those colors on your bike in the shade, Dave. Something which you and @kahn share in common.

 

[dodgeman]

Barn of the day pic. Another one they take pride in their place, well mowed and the barn kept nice. Its my understanding the old barns are pretty useless for modern farmers, the doors and the bays are too small for modern farm equipment.

 

[DiggyGun]

The British summer of two days at around 40oC has gone. Now back to lower temperatures and a smattering of occasional rain.

Today was no different, temperature started at 14oC with a high of 21oC. The wind was nice as it was a gentle breeze. But it did start raining when we were packing the bikes away.

Went to Pitsford Water, which another of Anglian Water’s reservoirs. Unlike Grafham Water last week, the water level looked OK.

As it’s not a large reservoir, we did three loops of it to get a reasonable distance.

Plus of course, a couple of picnic stops along the way, overlooking the water.

 

[RabH]

Congrats Mike, that‘s a pile of miles on that bike. I’m thinking RabH will be chasing you down any minute though!

Going over 90 degrees again today, got out early while it was only in the mid 80s. In the shady spots, not bad at all!

View attachment 129802

I'm actually closing in on 21000 miles now Dave, 20915 to be precise!

18,000 on the same bike. That is an achievement. How has the Yamaha assist been reliable? Any rebuilds?

People that I have known from New Jersey always ask other Jersey folks what exit they are from, (I never quite got it, but always thought that it was funny that they would actually answer). Growing up in Massachusetts, if I saw a car with a New Jersey plate the driver usually had a big cigar in his mouth and I always associated New Jersey with fat, middle aged men in big cars with cigars, and of the Newark Airport, (not a pretty site, maybe it is better now.).

I now know better. New Jersey has lots of beauty. Cape May is a beautiful Victorian coastal town and there are countless places of beauty to explore once you get away from the heart of the cities. The Garden State is not the ironic name that I believed it to be. New Jersey gets an unfairly bad rap.

I had to have my Yamaha Syncdrive pro overhauled at 14000 miles due to roughness at the pedals, I asked the company to do a full overhaul but they only changed 2 of the bearings as they said the others were in perfect condition! I put it down to riding through the winters here in Scotland, I have now covered another 7000 miles since the overhaul and the cranks are as smooth as they were when they were new!