Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[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!

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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!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

The banyan tree…

Banyan (Ficus benghalensis)
City Botanic Gardens, Brisbane, QLD
​

This Indian banyan trees was planted in an established botanical garden at about the time that Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India (1877). Today it is a mature tree—but with several centuries ahead of it still—with aerial roots dropping to the ground to support the spreading branches and, perhaps, become independent trees.

 

[Djangodog]

Another early ride, (trying without success to beat the heat). Staying closer to home, (New Hampshire). Pretty house and barn, (not mine).

Green Mountain, Claremont, NH.

The little farm has seen better days. Sad, but still picturesque. I was surprised that the lawn had been mowed.

Mount Ascutney 10 miles away.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Currently, we are experiencing very warm weather in Poland (although it didn't reach the recent UK's or usual Virginian levels). I like the warm weather: Unless it becomes warmer than the human body temperature, I actually love riding! The moving air is a good coolant; and I never need to spend an hour for wearing warm clothes at it happens during the cold season.

Last Friday was my birthday, and I celebrated the day together with my daughter Magda (who celebrated her own delayed birthday and the current name-day). For practical reasons, I rode my Vado SL with two panniers full of gifts, a birthday cake, etc. The day felt exceptionally warm, perhaps because of high air humidity. To be on time and to counter headwind, I was riding in SL Turbo. 11 km from the beginning of the ride I stopped and checked the motor temperature. It was 67°C! Not sure at what temp the thermal protection would activate but BLEvo informed me the motor was in the "orange zone". I gave the motor (precious) 10 minutes to cool down to 47°C and continued the ride. Interestingly, the 80/80% assistance did not make the motor as warm!

On the way back, I was riding among the fields and felt the heatwave... Oh, I dream of a little bit of raining now!

 

[Chargeride]

Orange zone, I never really think about the weather causing overheat issues, mines usually more operator misuse.

The battery does concern me though, I left the bike in my conservatory and the battery case was extremely hot to the touch, its a tired but high quality unit, so no issues, but Ive just read a man in a nearby town has been charged with manslaughter after his scooter battery burnt down a house and killed someone.

Man is arrested for manslaughter after mother-of-four, 44, died

A man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a Blackpool house fire killed a mum-of-four - believed to have been sparked by an e-scooter battery.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I always charge my batteries outside in a barbecue stand.
Anyway, after that cheerty news and sorry to remind you of your misfortune, hope you had a great day

 

[kahn]

Another early ride, (trying without success to beat the heat). Staying closer to home, (New Hampshire). Pretty house and barn, (not mine).

Okay, this is what greeted me this morning on my screen. I now expect you to provide a similar shot this Fall. Franconia Notch

 

[Cowlitz]

Rode to the Farmers Market and purchased my fix of cherries. I did not take my recently found camera with more zoom. So, on the way home there was this, of course. Osprey on a made for them nesting platform.

Then, around a corner and the debate in my head began, is it smoke or a fluffy cloud? Since there were no other fluffy clouds and this seemed to be building, I figured it is smoke and unfortunately, the madness may have begun. Sigh...

 

[kahn]

Rode to the Farmers Market and purchased my fix of cherries. I did not take my recently found camera with more zoom. So, on the way home there was this, of course. Osprey on a made for them nesting platform.
View attachment 129883
Then, around a corner and the debate in my head began, is it smoke or a fluffy cloud? Since there were no other fluffy clouds and this seemed to be building, I figured it is smoke and unfortunately, the madness may have begun. Sigh...
View attachment 129884

Yes, the Seattle Times has an article anticipating it beginning:

Washington's quiet wildfire season unlikely to last as heat wave approaches

The heat wave hitting the state this weekend is expected to increase wildfire risk in Eastern Washington.

www.seattletimes.com

And for those interested in numbers:

"Six Washington wildfires have burned about 7,100 acres as of Wednesday. By that date last year, 17 wildfires had torn through roughly 320,000 acres."

We are suppose to hit the low/mid 90's mid week - yikes!

 

[DiggyGun]

Mrs DG had the day off yesterday after swapping her shift with a colleague, so we decided to go out for the day again.

The picnic prepared for the trip to Stanwick Lakes in Northamptonshire.

The picnic stop strategy was a two picnic stop, but more about this later.

We like this place for cycling, as it is a fairly large area with good variability and interest.

The weather was very good again, with the temperature around 25oC, dry and a very gentle breeze. Just the right conditions for a nice bike ride.

This time, instead of taking photos of the varying infrastructure, decided to take photos of the local flora and fauna.

Due to the recent hot weather, we get a thick green Algae in some slow moving water.

Back to the picnic stop strategy; this became four stops in the end as Mrs DG advised that she wanted an ice-cream and then later some peanuts.

We found some bridleways through the fields and the last hour or so we were picking Blackberries.

 

[PatriciaK]

Mrs DG had the day off yesterday after swapping her shift with a colleague, so we decided to go out for the day again.

The picnic prepared for the trip to Stanwick Lakes in Northamptonshire.
View attachment 129905

The picnic stop strategy was a two picnic stop, but more about this later.

We like this place for cycling, as it is a fairly large area with good variability and interest.
View attachment 129931
View attachment 129932

The weather was very good again, with the temperature around 25oC, dry and a very gentle breeze. Just the right conditions for a nice bike ride.

This time, instead of taking photos of the varying infrastructure, decided to take photos of the local flora and fauna.
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Due to the recent hot weather, we get a thick green Algae in some slow moving water.
View attachment 129917

Back to the picnic stop strategy; this became four stops in the end as Mrs DG advised that she wanted an ice-cream and then later some peanuts.
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We found some bridleways through the fields and the last hour or so we were picking Blackberries.View attachment 129928View attachment 129929

We won't have blackberries for another few weeks!

 

[kahn]

@DiggyGun

While pictures are worth a thousand words, I want the menu!

Interesting. I have not seen a grasshopper in ages. I don't know if we have any in Seattle which seems weird. Thanks for the Nature Ride.

@PatriciaK I think I saw a woman picking a few yesterday but it is early. I like certain trails that are redolent with the aroma of ripe blackberries.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Breakfast…

10:55 am; 58 km
Deception Bay, SE Queensland​

 

[DiggyGun]

Breakfast…

View attachment 129940

10:55 am; 58 km
Deception Bay, SE Queensland​

Now, that’s what you call a picnic…

 

[DiggyGun]

@kahn and @PatriciaK

It was strange. The Blackberries were at various levels of ripeness, even on the same bunch. Some were like this, sweet and ripe, whilst others were Red and some at the hard Green stage and yet to turn.

 

[kahn]

Breakfast…

View attachment 129940

10:55 am; 58 km
Deception Bay, SE Queensland​

There you go - the FULL menu. Is that just YOUR picnic? Rub it in - home grown bananas. Altho, we stayed at a small b&b in Austria where they had a banana tree in their back yard. Austria is very far from tropical.

Let me say, it took a few duck-duck searches to find out what an "ouma rusk" is!!! A bread biscotti!!! Grandma use to make "biscotti" but called it "mandel bread!"

 

[DiggyGun]

@DiggyGun

While pictures are worth a thousand words, I want the menu!

Interesting. I have not seen a grasshopper in ages. I don't know if we have any in Seattle which seems weird. Thanks for the Nature Ride.

@PatriciaK I think I saw a woman picking a few yesterday but it is early. I like certain trails that are redolent with the aroma of ripe blackberries.

We are out again on Tuesday. Going to explore a new country park we’ve seen some signs for.

Wiil give a detailed breakdown of our menu.

 

[Djangodog]

Okay, this is what greeted me this morning on my screen. I now expect you to provide a similar shot this Fall. Franconia Notch

View attachment 129867

You got it, but for right now, you will have to settle for a lot of green.

It’s nice to see a barn that is in nice condition.

Mt. Ascutney from Cemetery Road, Cornish, NH.

A little color. A fairly hot morning, but not too bad in the shade. The forecast is for 95 degrees F this afternoon. I will be home watching the ride into Paris.

Mount Ascutney from the corner of Green Mountain.

Downtown Claremont from the corner of Green Mountain.

These are a couple years old and taken between Plymouth and Ludlow Vermont. The colors vary year to year and I never use filters or enhance any pictures. The worst part of riding in the fall is the leaf peepers, (they get distracted by the beauty of the area). I have ridden this road many times, but always on my “acoustic” road bike. If the colors are good this year, I will get some shots here and they will be photobombed by my Cross Core.

 

[Prairie Dog]

A familiar stop today along one of the rural roads that we pass on one of our daily training rides.

It was hard to ignore the striking color of this climbing clematis along the way.