Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Stefan Mikes]

@Stefan…I’m well aware that Violence is the last resort of an exhausted mind but if I were you I’d hop in that tank and hunt down the delivery van…and if you can’t find it pick out an Amazon van…they’re everywhere. One bump deserves another

Europe must be different to the United States. The driver of the DHL van immediately stopped, rushed for help, and was ready to take any consequences. Had he escaped the site, there were enough witnesses to put the guy into the jail. As I realised I was lucky and intact, I told the driver (with all witnesses around) what I thought about his careless driving, and think the lesson drove home to him. (I also put a note of the van's registration number, just in case).

I'm more irritated with drivers of any vehicles entering and leaving the neighbouring logistics base and ignoring the clearly marked bike path; I am extremely careful there.

 

[Chargeride]

Glad you are OK, all part of our 'want it now' modern culture, delivery drivers always in a rush, often driving unfamiliar large vehicles they have rented or been loaned.
I see it all the time, they jump back in the van and its moving 1 second after the door shuts.

 

[Rome]

This pedestrian is not quite lucky as you.

 

[Chargeride]

I might buy the lego Stefan, he must have some fat handlebar grips.

 

[RabH]

I woke to a very blustery but dry morning, had a look at the forecast which was showing wind gusts from the south west around 35mph and a chance of showers! I decided to brave it and headed north east after 5 miles of braving the strong wind, I had 16 miles with that wind at my back and it was amazing! It was a different story when I turned into the wind of course, I now had to endure 15 miles of it and I'm sure it was way more than 35mph! I wasn't going to take any photos due to the conditions but as I was climbing a big hill I spotted a herd of deer in an enclosure and thought a stop before the rest of the climb would be a good idea!

Try to count them...

I continued the climb and stopped at the top for this photo!

There were some nasty looking clouds over the Campsie Hills, thankfully the wind was blowing it away from me at this point!

I now had a 5 mile stretch with the wind at my back again and some nice roads to enjoy!

I wasn't alone, I passed this guy about 3 times and not once did he acknowledge me...I guess he wasn't chuffed about getting passed by an old guy on an e bike

Just along the road I saw this guy pushing his bike and asked if he needed help, the answer was no!

I reached Falkirk and it was time to brave the wind again, I'm sure it was now gusting at more than 40mph and I had around 15 miles to go! I changed to my second battery here and had to crank the assist up into the crazy wind, I had to try and pick the safest route to avoid dangerous crosswinds! I came down this hill at less than 20mph, normally I am close to 35mph here!

With all the climbing and strong headwind my battery was depleting so fast, I had only charged it to 80% today as I wasn't intending to go far...anyway I continued on and reached Slamannan and took to the quiet back roads with lots of shelter! The difference was very noticable instantly and I was able to turn my assist down and save the battery!

Looking north from the back road!

The dark clouds were looming here, would I make it home dry with 10 miles still to go?

I was starting to feel droplets of rain now but as I turned south it stopped, it was looking better this way and I had a nice big descent to enjoy! I had to get on the brakes at the bottom as I could really feel the crosswind here as its very exposed!

After the bid descent it was time to turn directly into the wind again and this part was pretty exposed, I had 45% battery left though so I used assist level 3 on this part and it sure made a big difference! I reached Longriggend with 7 miles remaining so I knew my battery would last now and I had another lovely descent to look forward to, down into Upperton! Once again I could feel the rain and I had to deal with the crosswind here, onwards towards Greengairs directly into the wind again and I left it on level 3 assist all the way home and arrived with 23% left! I got home dry thankfully, to the north all I could see was darkness so I lucked out! Another great day on the bike despite the crazy winds, I was glad to get indoors at the end but I'm glad I made the effort!

 

[dodgeman]

A decent day here although the wind switching around hurt the ride home, I managed 22 miles along with a barn of the day picture.

 

[Chargeride]

Is there an opposite rain dance?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

'You're Riding During The Frost? A Kudos To You!"

It was how the cook Marcin greeted me "At The Girls Cafe" in Rozalin. Not many of my mates ride their bikes nowadays; most of them are sitting on the bike trainer or walk or run. Some do, though. I fancy pedalling for more than an hour in front of a Zwift must be so boring!

I do not want to expose my body to hypothermia during cycling trips. I still experiment with different types of clothes during this early Polish winter. While the snowboarding suit is the warmest garment I own, it really restricts my movements. The Gore-Tex (or Softshell) clothes shown here were adequate for a 2 x 1 hour ride at -3 C. The time for heated boot insoles or electrically heated socks has not come yet!

The only of e-bikes I can ride now (Vado SL) is adequate for the current weather. I have used 65/65% assistance downwind (with some elevation gain) and 80/80% assistance was fine on the return (faster) way. I power my Fearless with Range Extenders only (to conserve the internal battery) and tend to replace a Range Extender every 20 km now during the frost. Even if we have no snow or ice now, I ride Marathon Winter Plus tyres (35-622) at 5.0 bar because patches of snow or ice can still be found at times (and I am the last person willing to crash there).

Marcin the cook looked a road cyclist to me himself. I ordered...

Boletus cream soup...

Ruskie Pierogi (pan-fried version), and Black Mocha.

I had a nice talk with Marcin. I asked him if the cafe offered any true vegan options. He smiled and said: "Just ask me. I am opening the fridge and cook whatever you like. But... better give me a call in advance!" That's the spirit! I like the place indeed!

I'm not ready for any longer rides yet. Not during the frost!

Just as I entered my flat post-ride, Piotr Zieliński and Robert Lewandowski of the Poland's national football team scored goals against Saudi Arabia, and the goal-keeper Wojciech Szczęsny defended a penalty kick! (Qatar Football World Cup)

 

[Prairie Dog]

@Stefan Mikes - Nice ride report and great to see you out on the bike in the frost. FYI, we're slightly past that stage here.

Growing up as a kid, the community rinks in my home town typically consisted of 1-2 oval sheets of ice. Many are boarded for hockey/ringette but there are always snow banked versions beside them which are reserved exclusively for leisure skating (no pucks allowed). There are roughly 70 of these outdoor rinks maintained by our city parks dept. that are open for public use.

Yesterday I came across a couple of partially flooded rinks on my way to the trails, about 10 minutes from home. I’ve been anxiously waiting for the local Bower skating pond to freeze over to see how the Levo rides on its winter wheel setup so spotting these frozen but not yet open rinks near a school yard was fortuitous. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to seize the moment and test the adhesion limits of the ISPs. Without a doubt, this session certainly proved that they are confidence inspiring tires.

The recent mild conditions have been wreaking havoc on the trails making the already set hard pack quite soft, more difficult and less desirable to ride on. So, it was a pleasant to see the mercury dip down to -10 C as I set out to check the Pines single track which I haven’t ridden in almost two months. What a difference it made as I was able to negotiate the trail with little trouble as long as I stayed centered on the narrow track. It was a nice change to have the studded rubber roll along rather than being bogged down in soft, heavy snow.

Starting tomorrow, weather conditions will see a significant drop in temperature along with more snow in the forecast. I hope to get out for a night ride after these bouts of cold and snowy elements pass on. Regrettably, I might be in for a longer wait than expected.

 

[RabH]

After Friday's extremely windy ride, I needed a rest for a few days despite great weather on Sunday and Monday! This morning it was very misty and frosty so I went to a local park for a walk, thankfully by late morning it was looking more promising so I set off shortly before midday! What a difference as there was little or no wind to speak of, even up on the Campsie hills at almost 1200ft there wasn't a breath of wind! Today I decided to go for the Tak Ma Doon road at the Kilsyth end, up over the Campsie hills and its quite a climb! I'm glad I wasn't descending it today as the road was pretty muddy from the trucks running in and out of the quarry part way up!

The car park at the top of the Campsies!

I continued over the hills and passed over the ford which was pretty high today but no problem thankfully, even after a few dry days the puddles still remain but at least they are just puddles now!

Time for the lovely descent, still fun despite being soaking wet!

Near the bottom there is a fishery which was looking nice today in the calm weather!

The awesome road which leads to the Carron Valley reservoir can be seen from the bottom of the descent, with the River Carron flowing well today!

Onwards towards the reservoir and the dam was in full flow today!

Some awesome views around the reservoir today with the mist shrouding the hills!

The views just kept coming, I'm so glad I decided to use this route today!

Nearing the end of the reservoir now and I was having such a blast with very little traffic around, cycling is just awesome when you have roads like this to enjoy!

The final views of the reservoir!

I reached the foothills of the Campsies at the Fintry end and had the big climb up Crow road coming, the mist was still hanging around and made for a lovely scene!

The camera makes this climb look almost flat and its far from it...

I started the climb with 43% left in my first battery, this soon dwindled and I had to switch near the top! I had 92% now with just over 20 miles to go so I knew I could enjoy the final part of my journey without straining myself, I made full use of level 3 assist all the way home!

Part way up the Crow road the views were still pretty great!

Ready for the descent down into Lennoxtown now, final photo of the day!

This descent is so much fun, even with the wet roads you can really go for it as there is a lovely long straight before the twisty part near the bottom! Once in Lennoxtown the roads started to get busy as it was time for the primary schools to come out! In my day we walked to school...most kids now rely on their parents to pick them up and sometimes they drive less than a mile home as is the case with my next door neighbour! In fact they have less than quarter of a mile to travel to school! Anyway I continued on through the traffic and most of the drivers were very courteous, there is always one that has to pass you closely of course...BMW guy!

I had such a brilliant day on the bike and arrived home very satisfied and feeling great, my legs will be ready for the next ride hopefully on Friday! I still haven't received the replacement batteries for my heated gloves but I unwittingly left them charging for several hours after the last ride, I was going to bed when I noticed they were still connected to my computer! Amazingly they lasted for the full ride today so I left them switched on when I got home to see how long they would last! One managed 4.5 hours and the other 5.5 hours, way better than the last ride when one lasted less than 2 hours and the other just over 3 hours! It seems they aren't fully charged when the charger light turns green so I will leave them on charge until bedtime tonight and see how long they last on my next ride!

 

[Chargeride]

Gorgeous pics and not a midge in sight.

 

[Chargeride]

'You're Riding During The Frost? A Kudos To You!"

It was how the cook Marcin greeted me "At The Girls Cafe" in Rozalin. Not many of my mates ride their bikes nowadays; most of them are sitting on the bike trainer or walk or run. Some do, though. I fancy pedalling for more than an hour in front of a Zwift must be so boring!

View attachment 141140
I do not want to expose my body to hypothermia during cycling trips. I still experiment with different types of clothes during this early Polish winter. While the snowboarding suit is the warmest garment I own, it really restricts my movements. The Gore-Tex (or Softshell) clothes shown here were adequate for a 2 x 1 hour ride at -3 C. The time for heated boot insoles or electrically heated socks has not come yet!

View attachment 141141
The only of e-bikes I can ride now (Vado SL) is adequate for the current weather. I have used 65/65% assistance downwind (with some elevation gain) and 80/80% assistance was fine on the return (faster) way. I power my Fearless with Range Extenders only (to conserve the internal battery) and tend to replace a Range Extender every 20 km now during the frost. Even if we have no snow or ice now, I ride Marathon Winter Plus tyres (35-622) at 5.0 bar because patches of snow or ice can still be found at times (and I am the last person willing to crash there).

Marcin the cook looked a road cyclist to me himself. I ordered...
View attachment 141142
Boletus cream soup...

View attachment 141143
Ruskie Pierogi (pan-fried version), and Black Mocha.

I had a nice talk with Marcin. I asked him if the cafe offered any true vegan options. He smiled and said: "Just ask me. I am opening the fridge and cook whatever you like. But... better give me a call in advance!" That's the spirit! I like the place indeed!

View attachment 141144
I'm not ready for any longer rides yet. Not during the frost!

View attachment 141148
Just as I entered my flat post-ride, Piotr Zieliński and Robert Lewandowski of the Poland's national football team scored goals against Saudi Arabia, and the goal-keeper Wojciech Szczęsny defended a penalty kick! (Qatar Football World Cup)

Very nice, but is that white bit meant to be in the soup?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Very nice, but is that white bit meant to be in the soup?

It's macaroni, Charge

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Just to inform you Specialized has kept their word on the "lifetime frame warranty" for my Vado 5.0.
Let us see how it goes!

Specialized Lifetime Frame Warranty Accepted

 

[RabH]

Gorgeous pics and not a midge in sight.

Thats the beauty of riding in 5C, the little blighters can't handle the cold!

 

[Chargeride]

Im finally getting to grips with track on my drone, I promise I am not riding drunk.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Im finally getting to grips with track on my drone, I promise I am not riding drunk.

Where is that liquid snow?!

 

[RabH]

A murky overcast morning greeted me but once again there was very little wind to speak of so another ride was defintely in order! On Tuesday I headed north so today it was south towards the Clyde Valley, I decided to stick to the main roads today and all the drivers were very well behaved until a woman in a works van attempted a ridiculous pass at this traffic island in Aramdale! I always look behind me approaching these obstacles and I could see her coming and knew she wasn't for slowing down! https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.8894498,-3.7001796,3a,75y,207.06h,67.82t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqpkR8_-Znh_Na7eip_FJjA!2e0!6shttps://streetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com/v1/thumbnail?panoid=qpkR8_-Znh_Na7eip_FJjA&cb_client=maps_sv.tactile.gps&w=203&h=100&yaw=77.84009&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

I was where the BMW is in the photo and she virtually squeezed me towards the kerb, I made sure she knew what I thought of her abysmal driving! She had to stop at the traffic signals just ahead so I pulled alongside and asked her what she was thinking about? She refused to wind the window down but I think there was an apology in there...hopefully she learned from her huge mistake! Ironically there has been a lot of publicity about close passing lately and warning drivers they will be prosecuted if the disobey the 1.5 metre law!

Anyway I put it behind me and continued on my way unharmed! My ride along the Clyde Valley was just awesome and I reached the big climb at Kirkfieldbank with pretty tired legs after Tuesday's tough ride in the hills, level 3 assist got me up no problem though and I arrived in Lanark raring to continue the ride north all the way to Armadale! I reached the level crossing at Cleghorn and a train had just passed so I was expecting the barriers to open to let the traffic through, almost 10 minutes later 2 trains passed simultaneously but in opposite directions of course! They really could have opened the crossing but safety is paramount when it comes to fast trains ploughing through junctions...

I turned east soon after to get on a quieter road once I reached Carnwath, the road from Carnwath to Breich is one of my favourites mainly due to the fast descent down into Breich! Today I only managed 40.2mph due to tired legs but it was still a blast! On reaching Whitburn I switched to the new cycle path which takes you up the hill to Armadale in safety, its a shame it doesn't run all the way through Armadale with those crazy van drivers around! At Armadale it was time to turn east and enjoy the final 12 miles or so to home! Todays ride was the exact same distance as Tuesday but I was a little slower despite 900 ft less climbing, I guess the ride in the hills did tire me out a bit!

I reached my driveway and lo and behold my rear tyre was flat as a pancake, how lucky it happened right on my drive! Almost 12,000 miles on my Schwalbe Marathons so I have ordered a new pair, I really can't complain about 2 rear flats and one front in all that time! Strangely the front happened in my drive recently also and I couldn't find anything inside the tyre! I haven't checked the rear after todays ride yet, that can wait until my tyres arrive tomorrow! My other rear puncture happened on the very first ride with the brand new tyres, a very sharp thorn was the culprit! No photos today I'm afraid, it really wasn't the day for taking pictures...but what a great ride once again despite the dangerous van driver!

 

[Prairie Dog]

View attachment 141512

A murky overcast morning greeted me but once again there was very little wind to speak of so another ride was defintely in order! On Tuesday I headed north so today it was south towards the Clyde Valley, I decided to stick to the main roads today and all the drivers were very well behaved until a woman in a works van attempted a ridiculous pass at this traffic island in Aramdale! I always look behind me approaching these obstacles and I could see her coming and knew she wasn't for slowing down! https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@55.8894498,-3.7001796,3a,75y,207.06h,67.82t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqpkR8_-Znh_Na7eip_FJjA!2e0!6shttps://streetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com/v1/thumbnail?panoid=qpkR8_-Znh_Na7eip_FJjA&cb_client=maps_sv.tactile.gps&w=203&h=100&yaw=77.84009&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

I was where the BMW is in the photo and she virtually squeezed me towards the kerb, I made sure she knew what I thought of her abysmal driving! She had to stop at the traffic signals just ahead so I pulled alongside and asked her what she was thinking about? She refused to wind the window down but I think there was an apology in there...hopefully she learned from her huge mistake! Ironically there has been a lot of publicity about close passing lately and warning drivers they will be prosecuted if the disobey the 1.5 metre law!

Anyway I put it behind me and continued on my way unharmed! My ride along the Clyde Valley was just awesome and I reached the big climb at Kirkfieldbank with pretty tired legs after Tuesday's tough ride in the hills, level 3 assist got me up no problem though and I arrived in Lanark raring to continue the ride north all the way to Armadale! I reached the level crossing at Cleghorn and a train had just passed so I was expecting the barriers to open to let the traffic through, almost 10 minutes later 2 trains passed simultaneously but in opposite directions of course! They really could have opened the crossing but safety is paramount when it comes to fast trains ploughing through junctions...

I turned east soon after to get on a quieter road once I reached Carnwath, the road from Carnwath to Breich is one of my favourites mainly due to the fast descent down into Breich! Today I only managed 40.2mph due to tired legs but it was still a blast! On reaching Whitburn I switched to the new cycle path which takes you up the hill to Armadale in safety, its a shame it doesn't run all the way through Armadale with those crazy van drivers around! At Armadale it was time to turn east and enjoy the final 12 miles or so to home! Todays ride was the exact same distance as Tuesday but I was a little slower despite 900 ft less climbing, I guess the ride in the hills did tire me out a bit!

I reached my driveway and lo and behold my rear tyre was flat as a pancake, how lucky it happened right on my drive! Almost 12,000 miles on my Schwalbe Marathons so I have ordered a new pair, I really can't complain about 2 rear flats and one front in all that time! Strangely the front happened in my drive recently also and I couldn't find anything inside the tyre! I haven't checked the rear after todays ride yet, that can wait until my tyres arrive tomorrow! My other rear puncture happened on the very first ride with the brand new tyres, a very sharp thorn was the culprit! No photos today I'm afraid, it really wasn't the day for taking pictures...but what a great ride once again despite the dangerous van driver!

I’m not sure that I would have been as kind. Reporting her plate number to the local authorities might have been in order as her blatant act of negligence could have potentially resulted in serious injury to you if it wasn't for your alertness. Then again, perhaps the public humiliation that you doled out was punishment enough. I see idiots over here constantly weaving in an out of traffic in a feeble attempt to get to their destinations and wonder if they ever consider the risk that they put others in just to shave off a bit of time.

Glad to know that you’re okay and that you managed to get a ride in. Not so lucky here as we have been doing our best to cope with record low temps so early in the season. It was -42C WC early this morning!! Weekend looks more promising though.

 

[RabH]

I’m not sure that I would have been as kind. Reporting her plate number to the local authorities might have been in order as her blatant act of negligence could have potentially resulted in serious injury to you if it wasn't for your alertness. Then again, perhaps the public humiliation that you doled out was punishment enough. I see idiots over here constantly weaving in an out of traffic in a feeble attempt to get to their destinations and wonder if they ever consider the risk that they put others in just to shave off a bit of time.

Glad to know that you’re okay and that you managed to get a ride in. Not so lucky here as we have been doing our best to cope with record low temps so early in the season. It was -42C WC early this morning!! Weekend looks more promising though.

I told her she was lucky I didn't have any cameras as I would have reported her, sadly there were no witnesses so it would have been hard to prove! People really need more patience on the roads, if she had just waited until we passed the traffic island she could have passed me easily and safely! That is some crazy temps, I hope the weekend will prove fruitful for you!