Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[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?

 

[Chargeride]

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

View attachment 139543

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...

Ok, bit of mystery there, but glad you had such a good time.
Lets hope Specialised warranty team dont read this forum.

 

[Chargeride]

Nope

No offence, Its just your prose puts in my mind someone who enjoys a more artsy and thoughtful approach to daily trinkets

 

[dodgeman]

Finally a decent weather day and I managed 20 miles. The first picture is a barn that is Amish with some of there horses in the foreground. The second is an Amish phone booth. That’s right, an Amish phone booth, but you don’t have to pay to use it. The metal looking building is where the phone is and back to the left is a small solar array. There is a battery also. They wont allow it on their property, so this is near a cemetery, and they don’t like electricity, but solar is OK. So if they want to use the community phone they have to walk over to use it. I’m not sure if they have an answering machine or voicemail.

 

[Readytoride]

Finally a decent weather day and I managed 20 miles. The first picture is a barn that is Amish with some of there horses in the foreground. The second is an Amish phone booth. That’s right, an Amish phone booth, but you don’t have to pay to use it. The metal looking building is where the phone is and back to the left is a small solar array. There is a battery also. They wont allow it on their property, so this is near a cemetery, and they don’t like electricity, but solar is OK. So if they want to use the community phone they have to walk over to use it. I’m not sure if they have an answering machine or voicemail.
View attachment 139552View attachment 139553

When we were actively into driving our carriages, our commerce interactions (harness repairs,new harness, carriage repairs and parts, etc) were with the Mennonites, not the Amish (who were a stricter sect). I was always fascinated at the "loop holes" the Mennonites used to employ modern technology. They could use it, just not officially own it. They would ride in cars as long as someone else chauffeured them, they would use electricity as long as it was generated by a gasoline powered stand alone generator. In their industrial settings that generator was used to turn a main crankshaft affixed up near the building ceiling which would have attached any number of pullies and leather belts attached to machines at the floor level. It was a rather wild "throwback to the 1930s" type operation. And they did use phones for call backs - phones that were owned by "others" that were willing to forward any call messages. I remember one harness maker in particular that I really liked, but we could only contact through the neighboring business' phone by leaving a message with whoever picked up the line. There were no message machines that I recall. We would always hear back the following day.

Bikes were pretty popular in the community. This was long before electric bikes were even invented, so I'd wonder if now ebikes have managed to find a way to fit into their society.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Gravel Metric Century Ride with Kabacki Gravel/MTB

It was the next gravel group ride where I managed to have my brother Jacek join! As my Speed-Vado is out of order, I had to take my Vado SL for that demanding ride that consisted of 70% of rough terrain!

8:02 am on Sunday morning. The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw shrouded in mist. The day started at 1 C, the most of the ride was at 3 C with a temporary increase to 7 C. No wind though.

We met with Jacek in the Metro. Here, at the start line, 8:49 am by Multicinema in Warsaw quarter of Imielin.

Waiting for marauders, 8 km from the start line. (Jacek rode back to determine what stopped the other group; it was one of participants joining the group ride late).

Somewhere on the course, we entered a hunting area. I cannot understand what those guys could hunt for in a small forest in the centre of Mazovia... And they looked as if they came from some 19th century! Out of place completely!

In the meadows, after having had crossed River Jeziorka. There were 10 of us on the ride.

Horses on a narrow-gauge railtrack. (The railway only operates in the warm season).

At some point of the ride, we were waiting at the red light at a junction with Hwy #7. Suddenly, we could see a car crash caused by a driver driving fast underneath the red light! Even if that looked severe, no casualties. Four of us left there to witness (and that was good as the perpetrator tried to deny his own guilt). It is rare that an entire cycling group can be a withess for a road accident!

At another ride point, I was already in my own neighbourhood. I winked at Jacek and it only took us 7 minutes of the ride to get to an interception point at the (sadly closed) "Partisan Grill". What a disappointment! We needed some split pea soup so badly to get none! (The rest of the group cycled through the Młochowski Forest for 15 minutes).

A 100 km group gravel ride.

 

[Readytoride]

Stefan - any idea exactly what caused your Vado motor to be destroyed? And BTW - welcome to the club.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stefan - any idea exactly what caused your Vado motor to be destroyed? And BTW - welcome to the club.

Typically, the broken carbon drive belt. It is repairable, wanted I this. Worse is the frame cracking at the motor mounting point (a known design flaw of early Vados). I need to have that sorted in one way or another or I'm left with three expensive Vado U1-600 batteries!

 

[dodgeman]

I pounded out 27 miles today, pretty windy for me but not terrible. It’s always funny to watch the range. On the way out I started with a range of 48 miles. It ended up with the tail wind saying about 54 miles at 13 miles out. Then with a headwind, more hills, and turning it up to turbo it was down to 8 miles by the time I got home. I also had 1100 feet of climbing which is a lot for around here.

I shot a picture of a bridge that has been out for about 2 months now. It’s going to be fixed temporarily and replaced in a couple of years. Also a barn with an old junk combine out front and what looks like an old collapsed garage.

 

[Chargeride]

When we were actively into driving our carriages, our commerce interactions (harness repairs,new harness, carriage repairs and parts, etc) were with the Mennonites, not the Amish (who were a stricter sect). I was always fascinated at the "loop holes" the Mennonites used to employ modern technology. They could use it, just not officially own it. They would ride in cars as long as someone else chauffeured them, they would use electricity as long as it was generated by a gasoline powered stand alone generator. In their industrial settings that generator was used to turn a main crankshaft affixed up near the building ceiling which would have attached any number of pullies and leather belts attached to machines at the floor level. It was a rather wild "throwback to the 1930s" type operation. And they did use phones for call backs - phones that were owned by "others" that were willing to forward any call messages. I remember one harness maker in particular that I really liked, but we could only contact through the neighboring business' phone by leaving a message with whoever picked up the line. There were no message machines that I recall. We would always hear back the following day.

Bikes were pretty popular in the community. This was long before electric bikes were even invented, so I'd wonder if now ebikes have managed to find a way to fit into their society.

So many communities left Europe for religious and cultural reasons, its amazing to read how many of them have survived to this day.
They were right to go, they wouldnt last 10 minutes over here.

 

[PatriciaK]

Back on my Flow at Guilford Court House Battlefield National Military Park:


It was an adjustment, returning to cadence sensing . I love this bike, but do ride it differently from my mid-drive La Free.

Beautiful, cooler (Thank goodness!) breezy day - perfect for a ride! Bike says 11.2 miles; GPS claims 9.87... Let's say 10.5 !



My neighbor across the street just ordered a Flow from Espin's early Black Friday sale! Hopefully, this time next week we'll be riding together!

 

[Chargeride]

We're alternating between monsoon and downpour, Im going to try to do a night ride with those people who have forgotten Im still alive, mates I think they're called.

 

[RabH]

Like @Chargeride our weather has been abysmal to say the least but I finally caught a break today, I didn't get off to the best start though as my front tyre was totally flat! I removed the tube and checked the tyre for debris and there was nothing, very strange indeed as the tyre was fully inflated when I put the bike in the garage...

Anyway I had a route in mind but had to change my plans after my first battery took a pounding from the 30mph headwind and all the climbing, in hindsight I should probably have taken 3 batteries given the conditions and the route I had planned! So I turned back towards the Clyde Valley and had the strong wind behind me, what a difference that made! It was looking lovely in the valley as always!

I took to the cycle path in Kirkmuirhill, it starts off as just a normal pavement (sidewalk) and then widens further on and it was free of dog walkers today!

I reached the wonderfully named Brocketsbrae which leads down into the Clyde Valley, I just love this descent! First of all its a climb though!

Its unusual to see a young foal all alone!

Then came the awesome descent, this is near the bottom of the descent!

I reached the Clyde Valley and the river was in full flow, no surprise after all the rain!

It was time to climb again, up the Kirkfieldbank climb which is a brute of a climb! I love this house near the top of the climb!

Another big hill at the far side of the valley, I didn't climb it today!

I reached Lanark and kept heading north to keep the wind behind me, looking north from Lanark into the sun!

I made it to Forth and I was looking forward to the huge descent down into Briech with that strong wind behind me, I had a slight uphill first though!

After having that awesome wind behind me for over 20 miles it was time to turn west into the wind which was a southwesterly so I had a headwind for almost 15 miles to finish, it was brutal but thankfully I had plenty juice left in my second battery and ramped the assist up! It was another awesome ride and I only got a little rain which was a huge bonus, tomorrow and Friday we will be getting hit with 50mph+ winds!

 

[dodgeman]

No bike riding the last couple of days, I’ve been getting exercise a different way. Even with a hydraulic splitter and chainsaw it’s a lot of work. This won’t get burned this winter but next winter. This is mostly red oak and a little white oak from a blow down last winter.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Graveloza CC Get-Together

How funny it was to see my gravel riding mates (of both sexes) all wearing smart casual clothes, no helmets, no glasses! Hard to recognize at times! (They say it is the easiest to recognize a member of your cycling club by the bike they ride)

Graveloza Cycling Club becomes formal. For that reason, the club members and wannabe members were invited to a Warsaw Tex-Mex restaurant for a get-together on the eve of the Poland's Independence Day. Most of people reached the place with public transportatior or by car or by e-scooter. Only two or three people (including me) rode their bikes to get to the Warsaw neighbourhood of Wilanów. My main issue was to select riding clothes the way I could appear elegant in the restaurant...

Graveloza is mostly a male club. The few women there are performing gravel cycling racers (as they are as strong as to be riding on par with their male colleagues). One of them has shown a picture of her newly ordered gravel bike (to be only delivered in April 2023).

-- What the price would that be? -- I asked.
-- It's four thousand -- She replied.
-- Zloties, you mean? -- I demanded -- No, its euros
-- Four grand euro for a gravel bike?! -- I almost fainted.
-- Why are you so surprised? -- One of my mates said -- Don't you pay the same for any of your e-bikes?
-- Oh well -- I smiled -- If I hear "four grand" then I would like to know what the motor in that bike is

Carbon, AXS, 8.1 kg, etc. I did not know Rose Bikes of Bocholt Germany was actually a bicycle brand! (This model is closer to five thousand euro).

The thing I noticed was the urban riding on a cold November night was so slow... Red signals, slow ride to avoid the crash... Yes, we get them "bollards of death" in Warsaw, too!

Saturday means another Metric Century with the club. As I am excited as much I am worried not hearing any news about the fate of my broken full-power Vado...

Return from the restaurant, by Vado SL and the Fast Urban Train.

This is not what I was wearing forthe get-together ride but the new Helly Hansen "Crew Midlayer Jacket" was what I wore over my decent clothes on the Thursday ride. See the colours! .

Some 29 km on the day.

 

[JRA]

Fooling around on the beach at sunset with a friend.


https://youtu.be/VSxY8C_LiGw

 

[RabH]

Fooling around on the beach at sunset with a friend.


https://youtu.be/VSxY8C_LiGw

Your video is private...

I drove to a sheltered park this morning for a walk, away from the crazy 45-50mph winds and when I was returning home I saw a roadie riding his bike! You wouldn't catch me riding in those conditions...

 

[Flannel Guy]

Only going to make it to the 40s next week, so these may be the last of the season. Will be lucky to catch only a handful of days between now and March.

Love this watt Wagons Hydra more everyday I ride it and it's going to be hard just staring at it all winter.