Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Prairie Dog]

@kahn - I honestly can’t say that I’ve summited any mountains before but in a past life I have done some great day hikes.

Crypt Lake (Waterton Lakes National Park)

Sunshine Meadows near the AB/BC Border. View atop overlooking Rock Isle, Laryx and Grizzly Lakes.

Simpson Viewpoint overlooking the Simpson River situated at the Continental Divide.

Parker Ridge along the Ice Fields Parkway.

 

[kahn]

@Prairie Dog

I believe I see some "exposure" in those pictures. You ought to come down and visit Zion National Park and do Angels Landing!

 

[ChezCheese:)]

Oh dear. Looks like last year. If house costs come down, I may be moving. This is too much.View attachment 130388

The drought and heat situation is only going to get worse, so my advice is to find a piece of land on the green side of the Cascades and put one of these on it: https://modernprefabs.com/prefab-homes/greenpod-development/

 

[Prairie Dog]

MEC, formerly known as "Mountain Equipment Co-op" but now "Mountain Equipment Company".
NO - the members were NOT consulted when the board sold it, but "stuff happens" and still a great outdoorsy store.

I’ve been a member since ’85 and although many of their products have been discontinued there appears to be an attempt to expand with new brand lines but I’m not sure if it’s working. I still order online as they do have great sales, offer free shipping over $50 and from time to time will ship gratis regardless of the amount of one’s order. If fact, I just took delivery of some resin pads to replace the noisy metallic versions on the Levo.

After getting my stuff (just a belt) we headed over to the pharmacy and I picked up my prescription, we decided to try to grab some lunch at the BEST sandwich shop in Calgary at #3. It's called Thi-Thi and as far as we know, it was the first Vietnamese Banh-Mi place in Calgary. It too was very close to my office, so I frequented it often. We stood in line (there's always a line up unless you go early) but after 15 minutes of standing in the sun, we bailed and headed off for something else.

Around the same time that I signed up as a MEC member, I used to eat at the Vietnam restaurant on 12 Avenue whenever I was in the area. At the time, it seemed like it was one of the more popular eateries among the downtown crowd particularly at lunch time and their Pho and spring rolls with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce were the best. I see that it’s no longer there and in its place is a towering high-rise condo (One Properties). I’ve always wondered if the owners re-opened elsewhere or simply shuttered the place and retired. I've always wanted to use this famous memorable quote, ‘I used to eat there. Really good noodles.’

I believe I see some "exposure" in those pictures. You ought to come down and visit Zion National Park and do Angels Landing!

I’m sure there’s a good reason why they named it Angel’s Landing. No wonder it didn’t make my bucket list!

Then again, I was almost run over this morning on my daily ride by a speeding maniac sporting out of province plates. It's quite likley Albertans don’t lag much further behind as worst offenders of the prairie provinces.

 

[Twin Valley]

Three days of camping and mountain biking in the Little Elbow Recreation area near the mtn biking hot spot of Bragg Creek (close to Calgary). The first two days we spent exploring the trails of both the Little Elbow and the Big Elbow that my better half was able to handle with the narrower tires of her Liv Amiti then on the third day Charl was happy to send us off on what was an epic day. We started riding at first light to beat the heat and made our way on double track to the base of Mont Romulus and after close to 700 metres of climbing we crossed over on the sub-alpine basin to drop down on some pretty challenging (for me) single track that at times was mostly boulders and on steep sections that

was pretty hard to find a thread of a trail. Finally, we reached the double track that followed the river back to camp and none too soon as my battery decided it was nap time. The following are a few snapshots of the 3 days combined.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Three days of camping and mountain biking in the Little Elbow Recreation area near the mtn biking hot spot of Bragg Creek (close to Calgary). The first two days we spent exploring the trails of both the Little Elbow and the Big Elbow that my better half was able to handle with the narrower tires of her Liv Amiti then on the third day Charl was happy to send us off on what was an epic day. We started riding at first light to beat the heat and made our way on double track to the base of Mont Romulus and after close to 700 metres of climbing we crossed over on the sub-alpine basin to drop down on some pretty challenging (for me) single track that at times was mostly boulders and on steep sections thatView attachment 130646View attachment 130647View attachment 130645View attachment 130649View attachment 130650 was pretty hard to find a thread of a trail. Finally, we reached the double track that followed the river back to camp and none too soon as my battery decided it was nap time. The following are a few snapshots of the 3 days combined.

Looked like an awesome outing on the bikes, Bill! A dramatic backdrop certainly adds to the appeal of any back country ride + adding family to the mix is the proverbial cherry on top.

 

[DiggyGun]

Went back to Grafham Water today as we like cycling there.

It was very interesting today, to see how the water level has gone down from two weeks ago due to the dry weather.

The Blue line is the normal water level, the Red line is the level from two weeks ago.

We also noticed that some of the trees have shed their leaves due to the dry weather.

We didn’t do a long ride today as Mrs DG still has a bit of Tendonitis and her wrist is still strapped up.

 

[kahn]

Three days of camping and mountain biking in the Little Elbow Recreation area near the mtn biking hot spot of Bragg Creek (close to Calgary). The first two days we spent exploring the trails of both the Little Elbow and the Big Elbow that my better half was able to handle with the narrower tires of her Liv Amiti then on the third day Charl was happy to send us off on what was an epic day. We started riding at first light to beat the heat and made our way on double track to the base of Mont Romulus and after close to 700 metres of climbing we crossed over on the sub-alpine basin to drop down on some pretty challenging (for me) single track that at times was mostly boulders and on steep sections thatView attachment 130646View attachment 130647View attachment 130645View attachment 130649View attachment 130650 was pretty hard to find a thread of a trail. Finally, we reached the double track that followed the river back to camp and none too soon as my battery decided it was nap time. The following are a few snapshots of the 3 days combined.

Such boring backgrounds. Couldn't you find some wide open desert?

Color me jealous.

 

[Mulezen]

A powerful storm blew through yesterday with a tornado in the vicinity (warned my watch) leaving flooded country roads. But "After a night of tar black howling" Dylan Thomas writes, "the morning shone as clear and calm as one always imagines tomorrow will shine." And so they had a big crowd early at Alvis' sunflower festival. The fields were a bit mashed down but the sun will soon fix that. People walk through the 'maze' as part of the celebration. Hot air ballon rides were also advertised but I saw no balloon.
The square bales were at the end of my road on the hilltop. Here I sometimes come to look at Saturn with my big binoculars.

 

[Chargeride]

The weather let me down, the wifes away and Im ashamed to admit I ended up partying and generally debauchering.
Got one ride around Rivington before she left, it was her last practice climb before climbing mount Olympus.

Im supporting from home base, someone has to do it

 

[kahn]

The weather let me down, the wifes away and Im ashamed to admit I ended up partying and generally debauchering.
Got one ride around Rivington before she left, it was her last practice climb before climbing mount Olympus.
View attachment 130691
Im supporting from home base, someone has to do it

At first I thought she was in my neck of the woods - Mt Olympus, Olympic National Park, Washington State but then recognized the flag.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

End of the day…

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
Near Esk, Queensland
​

Come morning, I'll be heading further up the trail. Cloudy skies and cooler temperatures are forecast.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

At first I thought she was in my neck of the woods - Mt Olympus, Olympic National Park, Washington State but then recognized the flag.

I think Cartridge meant The Olympus

A Rainy Ride

It looks cyclists here (especially the roadies) are very picky related to the weather. Cold? Rain? Strong wind? Too warm? No ride! If I followed that way of thinking, I would never ride... As the weather forecast predicted (long awaited) raining this weekend, the Sunday gravel group ride was called off. I didn't want let Saturday go to waste though. Armed with two fully charged Range Extenders I headed northwest. (I admit I started my ride pretty late: a quarter to noon).

Soon after I started riding, first droplets of the rain fell on me. Initially, I pulled a full rainproof set on me. As it felt inconvenient, I got rid of the waterproof trousers in Roztoka. I continued with with my waterproof Abus helmet and a lightweight windbreaker. Meanwhile, I was making experiments with BLEvo app to eventually determine Vado SL batteries' range. It was raining more and more. Fortunately, the rain was pretty warm in the beginning!

The farthest point of the ride, or "At Marta's" store in Secymin Polski. I was as lucky as to get the last of Marta's famous cakes! (My Fearless can be seen in the background).

This gentleman took the only dry place outside the Marta's store. I am fond of cats but that furry creature made me really irritated!

Horses in Nowy Secymin, the former Hollander land.

Recalculating the remaining range, Wilków-upon-Vistula. Notice the Vistula embankment had been freshly mowed!

Kampinos. Joining the EBR Picnic Party! Frankfurters named "Berliners" by Morliny, and very tasty rye bread. It is so good to be an e-biker, not adhere to any cycling club dress-code and carry whatever you need in your pannier!

The Range Test (Vado SL)
Unfortunately, I have found I would not make a Metric Century using the main battery and three Range Extenders when using 80/80% SL assistance. Such level of support is needed to be on par with members of a strong gravel cycling club. The only thing I could do would be applying 70/70% assistance and trying to follow the club. Or, ride the big Vado (which is not the best for gravel cycling because of its heavy weight).

The return way meant a lot of raining, strong headwind, and cold. I helped myself by "burning" a full Range Extender in Turbo for the last 15 km!

 

[Mulezen]

Stefan…too bad you weren’t with me yesterday at the Sunflower Festival…you would have had an opportunity to sample American cuisine…the kettlecorn smelled delicious from where I stood but you look more like a corn dog man to me

 

[kahn]

@Stefan Mikes

"I think Cartridge meant The Olympus"

Well, we have an entire National Park called The Olympics and Mt Olympus is in there somwhere. As a matter of fact, lots of businesses in the area have special exemptions to use OLYMPICS in their names since the name belongs to the Olympic Games folks.

And I either admire you or think you are nuts. I get caught in the rain but rarely will head out if the forecast is RAIN. Awful. And since I sweat/perspire, throwing on a sauna suit is untenable, clammy and overheat prone!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

overheat prone!

Not at 13 C

the kettlecorn smelled delicious

Joe, believe me: I'm not particularly fond of corn!

 

[RandallS]

Not at 13 C


Joe, believe me: I'm not particularly fond of corn!

I can't speak for everywhere in Europe, but for my in-laws from Germany, corn was (is?) considered pig food!

 

[DiggyGun]

Update on the warm and dry weather in the UK.

We are now in a drought condition as a Water utility company, Southern Water has imposed a hosepipe ban.

This means that the other will follow shortly and declare an official drought.

 

[Djangodog]

Another day of riding in a Maxfield Parrish painting.

Cornish NH. The sky threatened, but no rain today and decent temperatures. I do love New England.

 

[kahn]

@Djangodog

"Maxfield Parrish painting."

You aptly describe your scenery.

Now for some slightly different scenery that we have discussed. Fire Lookouts in Washington State. The article has some great pictures and history. Can you imagine, there were over 600 at one time and down to less than 100

93 fire lookout towers remain in WA. Here’s what it’s like working and living in one

Jim Henterly, in his seventh consecutive fire season in the Desolation Peak lookout in North Cascades National Park, takes us inside his life as a fire watchman.

www.seattletimes.com