Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Chargeride]

Have you ever been to Buxton in the Peak District, Charge? If not, I recommend you stay at the Old Hall Hotel there
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The place is claimed to be the oldest hotel in Britain (hosting Mary the Queen of Scots, for example). The hotel is so old its equipment and facilities are as archaic as the inventions brought by Henry III of France and then imported to Britain

On the other hand, Buxton is the home of Buxton Brewery, one of the best craft beer breweries of Britain! Believe it or not but we drove from Wales to Buxton just to enjoy the ales & stouts at the Buxton Brewery Taproom! (It is Books-ton not Bucks-ton!)

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We tried Billionaires and King Slayer. I did not notice the Sesqui Axe as it was around midnight already!

Now, a question to the British members of this Forum: How difficult is it to rent a classy e-bike in England, Wales or Scotland? Let us say the cost does not matter? I'd love to explore places such as Peak District, Lake District or Scotland on e-bikes!

Yes, Ive visited Buxton a lot, its only an hours drive away, a leftover of the days when the North of England was where all the money was made.
Its quite a surprise to fund such grandeur in what appears to be a very rural area.
As I joked at the time, thats quite an itinerary for one day, Snowdonia to Buxton.
Id say youre looking at minimum of 60 pounds a day plus a 100 deposit, but of course its going to be an EU spec 16mph restricted, though in a hilly area thats irrelevent, 16mph up the hill, 50mph on the way down!

I dont say bookston, with my accent it sounds very scouse to pronounce it that way, buckston is a posher way if saying it

 

[RabH]

I grabbed an opportunity to get out today, after Sunday's perfect ride it was never going to come close but I made the most of it and had a nice ride! It was frosty this morning so I decided to go for a walk at Callander Park and then have an early lunch and get out on the bike, the roads were filthy after days of rain yet again but at least there wasn't a howling wind and the temp was now around 9C! No photos today as I wanted to just ride without any distractions and enjoy mainly quiet back roads!

I headed east into a 15mph breeze to Breich where I would turn south to Carnwath, some of the roads were pretty greasy though but I was still enjoying the ride as these roads have very little traffic! I then took the road from Carnwath to Carluke where I would have the breeze behind me and these roads were nice and dry, although this road is a main road and pretty busy at times! At least the drivers were all very courteous today and gave me lots of room, this road is so good in both directions and is just so much fun to ride! I reached Carluke with 40 miles covered and then turned north to head for home, my plan was to cover 50 miles and I knew I still had 15 miles to go so it worked out well!

I got home with a very dirty bike but very satisfied with my ride, I was just as filthy as the bike but what a great ride in the conditions! The next 2 days will bring yet more rain so thats why I was so determined to get out today!

 

[Chargeride]

Took the little one to the holiday park where he gets to see Santa and we get to stuff our faces and get excited by flashing lights and playing penny falls in a pub.

So we rode up Blackpool front, and waited for it to go dark, nothing more exciting than fairground rides at dusk on a pier.

Blackpool is one of the most derided seaside towns in the UK, because of drug problems and a stereotype of, sometimes earned, run down, past its glory days, excessive drinking and fighting, rowdy pubs and outrageous outfits on brides and grooms to be....in other words its fantastic.

The camera isnt catching the gorgeous sunset in the background.

Incredibly warm weather for November.

The tower used to have a full multi colour lightshow and a laser on top that could light the clouds above our house, 30 miles away as the crow flies/

With all the noise it s very easy to not hear the trams coming and wandering onto the rails is very easy to do, my fat tyres just cruise over them, but the missus nearly fell off as her wheel got stuck in the rut.

This display sweeps through the colour spectrum with pulsating bands rising up, and is very mesmerising to watch

This is the old school classy pier for the more refined tourist.

Practically had it to ourselves which says a lot about the ratio of the upmarket visitor.

Heres Santa at the holiday park, the little one was very underwhelmed

 

[Taylor57]

Took the little one to the holiday park where he gets to see Santa and we get to stuff our faces and get excited by flashing lights and playing penny falls in a pub.

So we rode up Blackpool front, and waited for it to go dark, nothing more exciting than fairground rides at dusk on a pier.
View attachment 140327

Blackpool is one of the most derided seaside towns in the UK, because of drug problems and a stereotype of, sometimes earned, run down, past its glory days, excessive drinking and fighting, rowdy pubs and outrageous outfits on brides and grooms to be....in other words its fantastic.
View attachment 140330


The camera isnt catching the gorgeous sunset in the background.
View attachment 140331


Incredibly warm weather for November.
View attachment 140332

The tower used to have a full multi colour lightshow and a laser on top that could light the clouds above our house, 30 miles away as the crow flies/
View attachment 140333


With all the noise it s very easy to not hear the trams coming and wandering onto the rails is very easy to do, my fat tyres just cruise over them, but the missus nearly fell off as her wheel got stuck in the rut.
View attachment 140334


This display sweeps through the colour spectrum with pulsating bands rising up, and is very mesmerising to watch
View attachment 140335


This is the old school classy pier for the more refined tourist.
View attachment 140336


Practically had it to ourselves which says a lot about the ratio of the upmarket visitor.
View attachment 140337


Heres Santa at the holiday park, the little one was very underwhelmed
View attachment 140329

Santa Cruz?

 

[Chargeride]

Santa Cruz?

very similar, theres also a huge funfair

 

[Prairie Dog]

So we rode up Blackpool front, and waited for it to go dark, nothing more exciting than fairground rides at dusk on a pier.

Takes me back to my childhood albeit on a much smaller scale and without the ocean or the pier or the gorgeous sunset…... How does anyone ever score a huge stuffy like that kid’s parents did? Never in my lifetime!

 

[Twin Valley]

I thought I should post something new to move from a lurker to a participant - so in the words of our thread's very own Emily Dickenson - "Ready to Ride" I was determined to head out in the never ending wind and flurries and find something "extraordinary in the ordinary" but alas in my neck of the woods at this time of the year it is mostly lunar landscape but at least my dog loves whatever outing as long as it is an outing . . . darkness caught us with the shades coming down close to 5:30 p.m. but that has it's own vibrancy with the wind calming down, the coyotes checking in with their clan and Missy sticking much closer to the bike than in the daylight - as I slipped and spun up some icy hills I thought that Prairie Dog's studded tires sure would come in handy - mind you hooking up the R.V. and heading south came to mind as well but for now when I got home I ordered some electric gloves on-line - just can't keep the

se aging fingers warm in regular mitts anymore . . . hmm, maybe boondocking in an Arizona desert does make sense

 

[Prairie Dog]

I thought I should post something new to move from a lurker to a participant - so in the words of our thread's very own Emily Dickenson - "Ready to Ride" I was determined to head out in the never ending wind and flurries and find something "extraordinary in the ordinary" but alas in my neck of the woods at this time of the year it is mostly lunar landscape but at least my dog loves whatever outing as long as it is an outing . . . darkness caught us with the shades coming down close to 5:30 p.m. but that has it's own vibrancy with the wind calming down, the coyotes checking in with their clan and Missy sticking much closer to the bike than in the daylight - as I slipped and spun up some icy hills I thought that Prairie Dog's studded tires sure would come in handy - mind you hooking up the R.V. and heading south came to mind as well but for now when I got home I ordered some electric gloves on-line - just can't keep theView attachment 140362View attachment 140364se aging fingers warm in regular mitts anymore . . . hmm, maybe boondocking in an Arizona desert does make sense

Lovely images. There’s much to be said about a lunar landscape. Looks to be fair weather days ahead for most of us flatlanders, at least for the next week.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The Polish Winter Has Started

Not Canada (fortunately) but this has been the first time since 2012 when a November day temperature dropped below the freezing point...

Well before the sunset.

Countermeasures applied. I only need to find and charge batteries and pair the remotes for my electrically heated socks and insoles!

The good news of the day was the last major bike path of the close neighbourhood has been put in use. Now, I can ride from home to the county capital town of Pruszków almost solely on good bike paths!

If I wanted, I could ride almost exclusively on bike paths! I often choose riding with traffic though (as long as I feel safe there) for more interesting routes.

Now I can see my new Wahoo Roam v2 kicked in with the ride start with a long delay! Over 1 km lost from my stats!

 

[Chargeride]

It must have logged into glonoss.

 

[BlackHand]

Were I you, I would have cleaned the rotor with an automotive brake cleaner, and drunk the Vodka instead Vodka contains as much as 60% of Water, making it a hopeless cleaner!

Actually, vodka is a pretty good cleaner. Not sure about brake rotors, but it's a good deodorizer and disinfectant. My spouse works in theater and every theater costume shop keeps a jug of cheap rotgut on hand. They spritz costumes between performances to keep them fresh.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Actually, vodka is a pretty good cleaner. Not sure about brake rotors, but it's a good deodorizer and disinfectant. My spouse works in theater and every theater costume shop keeps a jug of cheap rotgut on hand. They spritz costumes between performances to keep them fresh.

190 Proof ethanol is better

 

[BlackHand]

You Poles do know your ethanols...

 

[BlackHand]

Had a little bit of black ice yesterday morning to make the commute interesting. But it turned out to be a beautiful day, and I got to bike between work locations after lunch.
The trail along the Fremont Cut:

Yes, that is a dinosaur topiary on the right. Here's a better view

Got out of work after sunset, but still rode through Golden Gardens on the way home to check the last of the day's light fading behind the mountains.

 

[Chargeride]

Well the dino steals the show.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

You Poles do know your ethanols...
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You got it right BlackHand! I would use denatured spirits for cleaning (the drinkable spirit is expensive!) and I honestly believe isopropanol is a way better!
You normally do not drink the 192 proof distilled spirits (those are used to make less potent alcoholic infusions, such as the Lithuanian Suktinis, the honey vodka). Once, my distant family members did a practical joke to an American. They offered a small glass of the ethanol (that you have shown) and told him to empty the glass in a single gulp. The man has almost suffocated! They gave him a glass of 80 proof vodka to water the spirits down; he thought he was drinking water!

 

[Readytoride]

End of Autumn

The entertaining colored leaves that paraded their delightful artistry on every tree in the area only a week or so ago are now just dried brown confetti littering the ground, blown in low heaps by the colder relentless winds of early winter. Those leaves brave enough to continue hanging onto their lofty perches are being battered by relentless winds whose sole purpose is to strip every tree bare, and whose battle strategy appears to be succeeding. The air temps have dropped as well, daring only the most stalwart of cyclists to venture out into the wind where the cold blasts think nothing of knocking you off your bicycle, or knocking some sense into you to rush back indoors declaring you will sensibly wait until next Spring before your bike's tires see any inch of travel on the roads.

I did the least sensible thing the other day, hopping on the Gazelle in the chill of late afternoon to enjoy some "me time" on the gravel roads for an hour or so. It was that time of day where the winds abated for Tea Time and left me alone with just a weary sun ready to slip behind the mountains for a nighttime rest, and the long shadows of the trees tracing languid etchings of morbid gray and black lines across the face of the aged roads.

Only the sky remained cheerful to brighten the mood of the sullen landscape, and with the pale shorn trees offering enough protection from the unseen coursing winds above the treetops I was encouraged to cruise quietly along the stony byway, taking my good old time to see farther into the naked woods that I'd been able to in the Summer when the trees had been heavily shielded in luscious greenery.

There was no compelling reason to hurry apart from the sun that seemed to be sliding ever quicker with each pedal stroke towards a twilight bed behind the mountains, so I stopped to check out a small creek threading it's way under the road to see if it had swelled to any great width by the recent rains.

The tangle of summer undergrowth, by virtue of its protected status near the ground and out of sight of the autumn winds, clung precipitously to a few bits of greenery gained this past summer, making it difficult to tell if the creek was any different than normal. I finally decided it was still, disappointingly, the same boring waterway with no extra water to create even a short lived temporary bubbling lively wet splash.

There was nothing else in the surrounding landscape to temp the lens of my camera aside from these three shots, so I simply rolled along the remainder of the 13 miles without stopping anymore, taking my time just to observe the trees.

The weather gods decided later that evening, when I was safely at home, sleep in a warm bed, that this day would be my final ride for at least the next several days while they dropped the temps even further and shook the trees with such winds as if they were wagging their finger at me forbidding any more excursions outside while they prepared the countryside for the incoming Winter frosts and freezing temperatures.

I am content to heed the warnings and wait until their attention is elsewhere before I sneak out again to enjoy the countryside views from the back of my bike. Until then I shall partake of afternoon tea with friends, walks with the dog, and languid days stretched out on the couch with a good novel while the wood stove crackles with a warm fire.

 

[RabH]

I don't normally have spare time to ride on a Saturday but with perfect cycling weather I decided to make time today, it was split into 2 rides this time! 30 miles before lunch and 43.5 miles after lunch, the morning ride consisted of local roads I have neglected for a while! We got lucky in our neck of the woods as a lot of Scotland suffered horrendous flooding recently with roads closed mainly in the north east of the country! I passed a few minor floods today but considering the amount of rain that has fallen they were mere puddles! At times like this I'm glad I live at 550ft above sea level...

This road near Greengairs is known for flooding near the bottom of the valley but it was fine today!

I got a nice surprise when I reached Abronhill as the road from there towards Upperton had finally been resurfaced after being neglected for many years, today I was climbing it but I'm looking forward to descending it soon!

The road levels off further up and is also known for bad flooding but it was fine today, the lochs were even at normal levels!

I wasn't alone on the road today, this poor roadie picked up a puncture a mile or so up the road but he had it covered and didn't need any assistance!

At the top of the road looking back down, I'm looking forward to flying down this soon!

I was now heading for Upperton and this road is in such good condition having been resurfaced earlier this year! I just love the different colours of the trees at this time of year!

I reached Upperton and had a big climb now up to Longriggend, the Campsie Hills were looking nice in the morning sun! The camera sure flattens this climb out, it almost appears flat...

I reached Longriggend and found the road to the south closed so I had to continue east to Slamannan and double back towards Caldercruix! The Shetland pony wasn't for turning today, no matter how hard I tried to get it to turn round, I'm sure its camera shy!

In the afternoon it clouded over and the wind picked up from SSE, so I headed south east into the wind and knew I would have a lovely tailwind to enjoy when I reached Forth which was my turning point! The ride from Forth all the way home was just awesome, I have ridden this road a lot recently but its just so much fun and never gets boring! The road climbs a bit at first but then you get the amazing descent down towards Breich and another awesome descent towards Longridge and Whitburn! I had such a fun ride once again, I'm glad I made the decision to get out today as tomorrow is going to be much colder and pretty wet!

@Readytoride I hope you can catch a break with the weather, I just love reading your stories! I wish I could put my rides into words so succinctly as yourself!

 

[Readytoride]

@Readytoride I hope you can catch a break with the weather, I just love reading your stories! I wish I could put my rides into words so succinctly as yourself!

Thank you. We are coming into the Mid-Atlantic winter season now, so the cold weather will be hanging around for the next 3 months whether I like it or not. If we catch a break, this forum will be the first to know about it.

I wish I had your lovely long scenic roads to ride! Sadly, I'm caged in my exquisite gravel road paradise, of which I can wax poetic until the end of my days, by a framework of very high traffic, frightening paved roads that are not fun for the recreational rider. So you have my deepest gratitude at your willingness to share your poetic photography and miles of biking paradise here on this forum for us to enjoy.☺

 

[BlackHand]

Beautiful day yesterday, but didn't have much time for a ride so I just decided to cruise around the neighborhood and enjoy the nice fall day.

I try to make sure I ride somewhere 'new' every ride even if its just a couple blocks. Made a point this ride of going down cul-de-sacs instead of just skipping them.

Down at the end of one dead end, I spotted these nurse stumps(second growth cedar?) up the private drive past 2 beautiful maples. Not sure about the symmetrical holes.

Up another dead end, past the friendly goats, I paused to admire the light filtering through the trees and noticed this creature silently standing guard.