Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Prairie Dog]

After yesterday's blustery snow storm, I ventured out today to check on the trail conditions despite the -17 C wind chill and discovered that the city crews had not yet cleared the snow from the public pathways leading to the trailheads so I simply assumed that it wasn’t worth the effort. Instead, I stuck to the main roadways that were cleared and made my way out to MacKenzie Ponds and afterwards to Riverbend Park. Somewhat consoling was the fact that the sun was shining brightly and the fresh snow made everything look pristine.

It’s hard to fathom that only four days ago we were riding in lycra shorts/jerseys and it was +15 C. Today I was full on winter mode including outerwear, lobster mitts, ski helmet and balaclava. Seeing all of the other photo submissions from warmer climes has me wondering if I’m living on a different planet.

 

[Chargeride]

Im only going to like that because Im snowless and sulking.

 

[Mulezen]

Warm Fall in Central Virginia

 

[Prairie Dog]

Im only going to like that because Im snowless and sulking.

Dunno about that Charge. Your last trip report had me grinning from ear to ear in particular the Precipice walk. Stunning!

I have to admit that it was a challenge getting the drone airborne with Jack Frost nipping at my fingertips.

 

[RabH]

After a week of heavy rain and strong winds I finally caught a break in the weather, I woke at 7am and looked outside to see jack frost had arrived! I went back to bed for an hour to give the frost time to melt and by the time I was ready to go at 9am it was a little overcast but the frost was gone! The wind was a south westerly and only around 10mph so it was pretty much perfect for a ride to the Forth Bridges, I reached Falkirk and the sun made an appearance and it sure helped the temperature!

The Kelpies were enjoying the sun!

I reached the Clackmannanshire Bridge a short time later and the Ochil Hills were shrouded in low cloud!

I continued east through Culross and on towards Low Valleyfield where the roads are nice and quiet and in good condition!

I thought about using the coastal path for a bit but there were too many dog walkers around and its pretty narrow!

I reached Rosyth and decided to go to the other side of the bridges for some photos from a different angle but the sun was in an awkward position!

I tried a few different positions but just couldn't get the light the way I wanted it so I continued on to the bridge where it was much better!

The wind was starting to gust on the bridge so I made my way off rather quickly, the light was much better on the other side!

I thought the wind was just gusting on the bridge but it was just as bad at low level now and right in my face all the way home, at least the sun followed me home also! I swapped my first battery at 46 miles and by the time I got home my second battery was down to 24%, that wind plus all the climbing sure depleted them! I had to use some busy roads today as some of the back roads were flooded after all the rain, thankfully most of the drivers were well behaved except for an idiot in a bus who passed me at a set of traffic lights and cut straight across me as he wanted to turn left At least he indicated though....

You can see how calm it was in the morning, the water was like glass! The canal on the right and the River Forth on the left!

I saw quite a few cyclists today, I'm sure they booked the day off work to enjoy the better weather! It was so good to get out again, I had such a good ride which was much needed! I passed 5000 miles today for the year, I'm now on 5055 and this trumps last year as I covered 5037! My average is actually just over 58 miles this year which is way better than the 42 I averaged last year! Our cold spell will be short lived as its going to be mild again next week which will probably mean yet more rain...as always I will grab any opportunity to get out there!

@Prairie Dog I love your snow photos, it always looks magical when the sun is shining! You wouldn't get me out in -17C wind chill so kudos for braving those temps!

 

[Chargeride]

what the..
Who made those horses!

 

[Prairie Dog]

@Prairie Dog I love your snow photos, it always looks magical when the sun is shining! You wouldn't get me out in -17C wind chill so kudos for braving those temps!

The peace and tranquilty are also reasons why I ride during the winter. However, we’ve may have also reached a point in our lives as the cold season nears that it's become more intolerable. We have seriously considered moving to a place where snow removal would be less of an issue, but it’s the bitter cold that is especially hard to swallow and rides will likely be limited to days when the sun is out and the wind is calm. I’m envious of others here are who are able to ride without having to bundle up to fend off snow and frigid temperatures. Seeing lovely images of the countryside in your home riding, when it's not raining, certainly warms the heart.

 

[fooferdoggie]

weather today was very windy 20mph and rain. but 55 degrees. this was 4:30 or so almost home. it was fast going to work but work coming home.

 

[Readytoride]

The last few weeks have been busy, now that the more temperate weather of Autumn has settled in until November gets its "Winter is Coming" script in gear.

Two weekends ago we had our annual ebike group ride from our farm, hosting 37 very happy very jovial fun loving ebikers with a great ride (best part besides the 25 miles of gorgeous scenery and equally gorgeous roads was passing a group of road bike cyclists going the opposute way on the road and hearing one of their group exclaim out loud in astonishment "those are all ebikes!!!!") . At the end of the ride we all returned to the farm for a fabulous catered lunch which received rave reviews. We all had a blast, over 60 photos were uploaded to the club site for everyone to share, and our farm is already on the club schedule for a repeat October ride in 2023.

We took 2 days to recover, and then once again we were swamped with things to do at home before I could find time to sit on one of my bikes again.

The day before yesterday I stole two hours to cruise down my adopted road to do some litter pick up using the LaFree and it's modified trailer for the litter bags, and just enjoy being back out on the bike again. During our recent hosted ride the trees had presented themselves at close to peak color (thank you, Ma Nature, for that perfect timing), but a recent storm afterwards, and another week of declining sunshine, had sent a great number of leaves to the ground, and turned the majority of the remaining leaves clinging to the trees from their brilliant reds and yellows to a dull brown . Even the normally colorful mountains were looking a bit tired and ready for a white winter.

Back on the gravel roads the more protected trees tucked in the woods safe from the winds still had some leaves worth a peek. But for the most part we are past the season already.

I have noticed that we haven't had a lot of "leaf peekers" touring our roads this Fall. I'm guessing the ever rising heart-attack-inducing gas prices have put a dent in most people's frivolous plans to ride around the countryside in their cars just to look at trees. We still are seeing lots of cyclists, however.

Yesterday I managed to steal some time away again to hop on the Gazelle this time and try for at least a 30 mile ride. You know that old saying by Robert Byrnes "The best laid plans...yadda yadda". Had I not stopped to visit several neighbors to catch up on the news, I'm sure I would have easily gotten in those planned miles instead of the 12 miles I ended up with on my GPS. But by 12 miles i had run out of time and needed to get home to drive to the store for a plumbing fixture, and then rush to a friend's farm to go riding with her (horses, this time) while hubby fixed the plumbing at home.

I did get some lovely pics from the 12 mile ride which I'm happy to share:

Above shows were I was headed, while below....

...showed where I had come from.

The views to one side of the road...

and the other side....

I was honestly surprised to see this local pond (in the picture below) at such a low level. I'd believed we'd had more rain than this water level showed. The water should have been to the top of the basin.

The hay fields have all been cut, the hay rolled or baled, and the product now sitting in the fields ready to be picked up, stored, or sold at the farm auctions.

The holiday decorations are still holding court at most of the driveway entryways enroute. This is a neighbor's farm just a bit down the road from me. Their maples are just now coming into their colors which make a nice backdrop for a close-up shot of their pumpkin display under their farm sign.

Today will be a free day with gorgeous weather, so maybe I might just get in that 30 mile ride...if I don't run into too many neighbors to entice me to stop for a chat, in which all bets for a long ride are off. We shall see!

Oh, and least I forget - our new solar array has captured enough sunlight since going "live" on August 13th to record a total of 4 million Watt hours. We have "banked" for future use with our electric company (as of yesterday) a touch over 1 million watt hours of power. (Gleeful fist pump) We are in our electric company's Net Zero program, so they take all our excess power, and "return" it to us for free as our needs increase. Once the cold winter weather moves in, we will have plenty of banked electricity to pull from our account for the house's energy devouring dual heat pumps, and not have to use any of the electric company's power. It is nice having just a $6.65 monthly electric bill (a "connection fee") rather than monthly bills in the $200 range. Every day that we have sunshine, I'm thrilled. We put a lot of daily miles on our electric car and that sucks a lot of kilowatts when the car is plugged in at home to recharge. Recharging the bikes is just a small sip of power, thankfully. Sorry for the brag, but I'm just really happy with my solar. I'd waited a long time for it to be a reality, and it's turning out to be everything I had hoped it would.

 

[Chargeride]

Thats a good contract, them keeping a tally if production and giving it back to you.

 

[Chargeride]

I think I talk too much, and its all first take waffle.
Keeping it real

 

[RabH]

what the..
Who made those horses!

They are massive huh?

Andy Scott | Sculpture | The Kelpies

Sculptor Andy Scott creates large scale equine and figurative sculptures from steel and bronze. His hand crafted horses and human figures are well known in the international art world.

www.andyscottsculptor.com

 

[Djangodog]

Our colors have gone, and all that we are left with is a Black Shadow, (I'm not complaining, one of my all time favorites).

 

[Kayakguy]

The last few weeks have been busy, now that the more temperate weather of Autumn has settled in until November gets its "Winter is Coming" script in gear.

Two weekends ago we had our annual ebike group ride from our farm, hosting 37 very happy very jovial fun loving ebikers with a great ride (best part besides the 25 miles of gorgeous scenery and equally gorgeous roads was passing a group of road bike cyclists going the opposute way on the road and hearing one of their group exclaim out loud in astonishment "those are all ebikes!!!!") . At the end of the ride we all returned to the farm for a fabulous catered lunch which received rave reviews. We all had a blast, over 60 photos were uploaded to the club site for everyone to share, and our farm is already on the club schedule for a repeat October ride in 2023.

We took 2 days to recover, and then once again we were swamped with things to do at home before I could find time to sit on one of my bikes again.

The day before yesterday I stole two hours to cruise down my adopted road to do some litter pick up using the LaFree and it's modified trailer for the litter bags, and just enjoy being back out on the bike again. During our recent hosted ride the trees had presented themselves at close to peak color (thank you, Ma Nature, for that perfect timing), but a recent storm afterwards, and another week of declining sunshine, had sent a great number of leaves to the ground, and turned the majority of the remaining leaves clinging to the trees from their brilliant reds and yellows to a dull brown . Even the normally colorful mountains were looking a bit tired and ready for a white winter.
View attachment 139452
Back on the gravel roads the more protected trees tucked in the woods safe from the winds still had some leaves worth a peek. But for the most part we are past the season already.
View attachment 139453
I have noticed that we haven't had a lot of "leaf peekers" touring our roads this Fall. I'm guessing the ever rising heart-attack-inducing gas prices have put a dent in most people's frivolous plans to ride around the countryside in their cars just to look at trees. We still are seeing lots of cyclists, however.

Yesterday I managed to steal some time away again to hop on the Gazelle this time and try for at least a 30 mile ride. You know that old saying by Robert Byrnes "The best laid plans...yadda yadda". Had I not stopped to visit several neighbors to catch up on the news, I'm sure I would have easily gotten in those planned miles instead of the 12 miles I ended up with on my GPS. But by 12 miles i had run out of time and needed to get home to drive to the store for a plumbing fixture, and then rush to a friend's farm to go riding with her (horses, this time) while hubby fixed the plumbing at home.

I did get some lovely pics from the 12 mile ride which I'm happy to share:

View attachment 139454
Above shows were I was headed, while below....
View attachment 139455
...showed where I had come from.

The views to one side of the road...
View attachment 139456
and the other side....
View attachment 139457

I was honestly surprised to see this local pond (in the picture below) at such a low level. I'd believed we'd had more rain than this water level showed. The water should have been to the top of the basin.
View attachment 139458

The hay fields have all been cut, the hay rolled or baled, and the product now sitting in the fields ready to be picked up, stored, or sold at the farm auctions.
View attachment 139459

The holiday decorations are still holding court at most of the driveway entryways enroute. This is a neighbor's farm just a bit down the road from me. Their maples are just now coming into their colors which make a nice backdrop for a close-up shot of their pumpkin display under their farm sign.
View attachment 139460

Today will be a free day with gorgeous weather, so maybe I might just get in that 30 mile ride...if I don't run into too many neighbors to entice me to stop for a chat, in which all bets for a long ride are off. We shall see!

Oh, and least I forget - our new solar array has captured enough sunlight since going "live" on August 13th to record a total of 4 million Watt hours. We have "banked" for future use with our electric company (as of yesterday) a touch over 1 million watt hours of power. (Gleeful fist pump) We are in our electric company's Net Zero program, so they take all our excess power, and "return" it to us for free as our needs increase. Once the cold winter weather moves in, we will have plenty of banked electricity to pull from our account for the house's energy devouring dual heat pumps, and not have to use any of the electric company's power. It is nice having just a $6.65 monthly electric bill (a "connection fee") rather than monthly bills in the $200 range. Every day that we have sunshine, I'm thrilled. We put a lot of daily miles on our electric car and that sucks a lot of kilowatts when the car is plugged in at home to recharge. Recharging the bikes is just a small sip of power, thankfully. Sorry for the brag, but I'm just really happy with my solar. I'd waited a long time for it to be a reality, and it's turning out to be everything I had hoped it would.

"Byrnes" should be "Burns."

 

[Chargeride]

Big rescue in New York building started by escooter battery.
Do you charge your bike in the house?

 

[PatriciaK]

Big rescue in New York building started by escooter battery.
Do you charge your bike in the house?

I do frequently charge in my house, but I don't leave the battery unattended. Also have the charger on a timer so there's a backup shutoff. But, that's another thread .

 

[Chargeride]

I have a feeling your timer involves a candle burning down and melting some string that drops a lead weight onto the switch.

 

[PatriciaK]

I have a feeling your timer involves a candle burning down and melting some string that drops a lead weight onto the switch.

Nope

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Back from a week of the most exciting travel of my life: The most interesting places in a big part of England and in Wales. I was there with my new girlfriend who was my guide, driver, and English teacher

1. Cotswolds (Bibury, Cheltenham)
2. North Wales (Caernarfon, Snowdonia, Llandudno)
3. Peak District (Buxton)
4. London Hammersmith (The Original Damned concert)
5. Isle of Wight (The Needles)
6. Stonehenge
7. Brighton.

Excited to set off for a 100 km gravel group ride today. I will ride my Vado SL, and my brother Jacek will join with his Giant Trance E+. It's going to be rather cold (6-9 C) but dry, sunny and windless. Meanwhile my Vado 5.0 is at Specialized Warsaw waiting for the warranty claim authorization by the brand. It looks bad now. Not only a destroyed motor but also the frame cracked at the motor mount. What I hear it is either a lifetime warranty on the aluminium frame or at least 3 year warranty. Let us see...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Guess which team won the Word Series?

No idea?