Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Saratoga Dave]

Yup… late this morning looking over that ridgeline towards Vermont from Saratoga County. I got lucky with that weather, just caught some raindrops but nothing consistent. 50 degrees yesterday, about 42 today, but it ends now! Mid 30 highs, going lower every day, apparently. The snow will be along soon.

This kind of weather is a real gift in December, and I‘ve managed to pick up another 100 miles I wasn’t expecting to get. Hated to end today’s ride, kept adding another loop. Last weekend even Lake Placid was well into the 40s! When I think of the stuff Prairie Dog shows us every day, I want to hide under the bed.

 

[fooferdoggie]

this asshat hardly gave us any room. we had a huge puddle I the way so could not go over anymore.

 

[fooferdoggie]

took my blind wife out on thew tandem to see Christmas lights. she can see lights and colors. os I head off and then look down roads if I see lights I turn down and off we go. end up wandering all over. I was actually surprised it was not more convoluted. it seems like I was going everywhere. not as many lights in the rich area as I hoped. but it was 35 and started to rain so time to come home 11 miles total most of it slow.

 

[Prairie Dog]

With winter almost in full swing for many here, I can appreciate all of the comments from members with respect to their own personal weather circumstances. @Saratoga Dave, this is one way I know of how to chase away my winter blues. The other might involve a plane ticket to somewhere warm and tropical.

Once again, I hit the local trails and started at the MacKenzie public pathway which winds itself around tall stands of spruce and poplar trees. It’s paved but is not winter maintained like many of the walking trails are not, so narrow tracks are the only way to get up or down. With that said, it’s wonderful to ride when everything is blanketed in snow. I also took time to check out a short but fun little up and down single in the Timberlands district which is featured in the video clip.

A pleasant ride along the northern perimeter of the riverside pathway.

I decided to take a short cut and ride down this flight of stairs to the next trail which was the Devonian that runs along Piper Creek eventually crossing a footbridge and back to the main pathway.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Love those drone shots!

I used to think nothing of skiing in temps far below zero in northern Vermont; my cycling balaclava is left over from those days. Should have kept the ski helmet too, but I gave it to a grandson. I may do a little more colder weather riding this winter, but on the wrong side of 70 I’m a little more apprehensive about falling off the damn thing than I used to be. Go get em and keep posting these great stories and pictures!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Love those drone shots!

I used to think nothing of skiing in temps far below zero in northern Vermont; my cycling balaclava is left over from those days. Should have kept the ski helmet too, but I gave it to a grandson. I may do a little more colder weather riding this winter, but on the wrong side of 70 I’m a little more apprehensive about falling off the damn thing than I used to be. Go get em and keep posting these great stories and pictures!

Cold conditions present a bit of a challenge when shooting air footage in sub zero weather and I usually avoid days when the wind is gusting. The mini is one tough little drone but the colder temps can also have quite an impact on its battery and, as a result, cuts down on its flight time.

My first-time out winter riding I too was a bit apprehensive. However, it’s somewhat reassuring to know that I can usually rely on the snow to cushion my fall which has already occurred on a few occasions this season. Besides getting out in the crisp air and natural surroundings, it’s another deemed side benefit when ever I head out onto the trails.

 

[RabH]

In years gone by I haven't hesitated to go out in the cold weather but we are having a very cold spell (nothing like @Prairie Dog 's crazy temps of course) at the moment and I can't motivate myself to venture out, I was going to use the main roads but at this time of year there are too many idiots around so I will wait until I can use the back roads again! So its walking only for me for the foreseeable future, I do love walking at this time of year though!

 

[Saratoga Dave]

Good point on the drivers, Rab. It’s bad enough in the summer when people might expect to see cyclists out there, but now I think it’s a lot more dangerous. The first five miles of one of my favorite rides from the house is all along a very good but heavily travelled county road with a pretty wide shoulder, but I still rate it as the single most dangerous place I ride. People cross that shoulder all the time, on straight sections or slight curves, all gazing into their iPhone screens awaiting whatever wisdom resides there. Once into the neighborhoods or onto the bike paths is when I can relax, but Grooms Road is a stress center every time.

 

[Prairie Dog]

In years gone by I haven't hesitated to go out in the cold weather but we are having a very cold spell (nothing like @Prairie Dog 's crazy temps of course) at the moment and I can't motivate myself to venture out, I was going to use the main roads but at this time of year there are too many idiots around so I will wait until I can use the back roads again! So its walking only for me for the foreseeable future, I do love walking at this time of year though!

I feel more compelled to venture out in the cold when there is full sun out. It definitely is a game changer for me as overcast skies and wind can cool things down considerably. I’m quite thankful that we do experience a fair amount of winter sunlight here and I try to take advantage of it during these shorter days. You might feel for me but while it may be cold, I can dress for it and am dry as a bone since I don’t have to worry about getting wet in a sudden downpour.

I hope that this spell of weather misery that you’re experiencing is short-lived so that you can go back to riding the back roads and continue posting spectacular images of those Scottish landscapes.

 

[Mulezen]

December weather has reared its frosty face in Virginia requiring some modifications on my part if I don't want to commute to town to a gym. Besides layers and a new coat I've added a beard and Sealskinz socks. My 5-10 shoes hurt one foot so I'm still riding with my cycling sandals which I think will be good to freezing...when they're not I'll head out to Florida. I did notice a large drop in my range (20% or so) so have picked up an insulator for the battery. I realize my chill is much less than those north of me...but I'm trying not to end up like my donkey Hank (picture from years back).

 

[Stefan Mikes]

"Dont't Take Me Here Again..."

...was what my brother told me when we were eventually getting out of the woods on Saturday. My cycling club members were discussing on Friday on which day to take the group ride in the Military Range: Saturday or Sunday? I knew it would be snowing a lot on Sunday, so I decided to "seduce" Jacek to the Saturday for the ride, and indeed he joined me.

All would be good if I just used the Club's GPX route... But no, I had to design my own! That was a grave mistake as it turned out later.

The Club's route (blue) and the actual ride of Jacek and I done by my (wrong) route plan (red).

Initially, we both were happy with the ride, although our speed was pretty low, and the temperature was -3 to +1 C.

When we were heading to the inn in Kąty Goździejewskie Drugie (an improbable place name!), our dream was to get a bowl of warm soup. Unfortunately, the inn was closed...

Even worse: my route plan was totally inadequate on the return part. It turned out there were a very few rideable fire-roads in the Military Range area. We lost our way, and it literally took us hours to get out of the forest! Meanwhile, I almost burned all the energy from the main SL battery and four Range Extenders, as I had to ride in the SL Turbo mode (because of high rolling resistance of the terrain).

As we finished the forest ride, I had to return home by trains. Suffice to say the railways did not operate very well on that weekend and I spent many hours out in the cold on that very day. Not happy. My brother either. (70 km for me on that day).

The Graveloza Die-Hards
This Sunday, a group of the most hardcore Graveloza CC members went on the "blue" route, following a significant snowfall. They started at 10:30 am, and I am not sure whether they would finish the ride by 6 p.m (including up to 3 hours night ride).

Their online report:
'It's very hard'.
'Average speed of 6-8 km/h and heart rate over 160'. (4-5 mph).
'Eleven km to go'. (at 4:12 p.m.)
'The best ride of the season!'
'We're still fighting but it's beautiful!'

I hope my buddies will return alive!

P.S. They are back, 5:44 pm.

 

[Chargeride]

Stefan demoted to temporary assistant route planner

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stefan demoted to temporary assistant route planner

You would be probably able to ride them TANK ROADS but my Vado SL is not a tank!

One of three tank roads we met on the ride and still could not get out of the area! Swamps, etc.

 

[Chargeride]

It begins...not much, but heres hoping

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It begins...not much, but heres hoping
View attachment 142268

The current English weather reminds me the beginning of this year's Polish winter!

 

[RabH]

The cold spell continues but next Sunday is looking more promising after a damp start! Yesterday it was -5C and today it was -11C with freezing fog, most of the day it was around -7C! Of course it didn't stop me going for walks, I just love walking at this time of year and the conditions can make for some nice pictures!

Drumpellier Country Park where the loch is almost completely frozen over, normally the wildlife is spread over the whole loch but yesterday they were all huddled in one corner!

Brownsburn Community Park which is a very short walk from home! It was actually the local dump when I was a youngster and was full of water rats and all sorts of vermin, for many years it was on fire below ground due to methane gas from the dump! These days it has been transformed into a community park which attracts many dog walkers and is like a maze with paths everywhere! Back in the day I had lots of fun around here on my off road motorbike when it was much more hilly! I only saw 1 dog walker today though due to the freezing conditions!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Snowy and Cold Polish December...

The last harsh Polish winter as we are experiencing today was in 2012. Significant snowfall and frost make e-biking quite complicated now.

Fresh soft snow (even if packed) is unrideable even on studded tyres! As temperature goes down, the rider has to negotiate the ruts on bike paths, making the ride dangerous again. Luckily, more important roads are cleared and salted. My rides have been thus limited to short grocery shopping escapades.

2022 has turned out not to be the best e-biking year for me. Too much work and too many travels! My 2020 riding distance was 8,094 km, the 2021 was the top one with 10,118 km, and this year has been 8,415 (with a very little chance of riding more).

Meanwhile, my big Vado is still awaiting its rebuild at Specialized Warsaw. I'm afraid that those good guys are still unaware of big design differences between the 2017 Vado 5.0 and the current Vado 6.0 I'm curious how they will manage the warranty repair!

 

[RabH]

It seems the weather for Sunday has taken a turn for the worse, not really sure if I will get another ride in this year but I haven't totally given up just yet! I'm quite happy with my stats for the year, 5616 miles from 96 rides giving me an average of 58.5 miles! Last year I had 118 rides but my average was much less!

Ride of the year has to be my 162 mile ride to St Andrews and back, my longest ever 1 day ride! All in memory of my dear old dad who just loved the home of golf but had no interest in the game itself! He just loved the tranquility of the place and visited every year until last year when he was no longer capable of the journey! I intend to do the ride every year while I am still able to, its such as lovely ride! I will wait for the right day with calm winds like this year when I managed 83 miles on my original battery, that really surprised me considering it was over 4 years old at the time!

I had another walk in the Brownsburn Community park today and it was much nicer than yesterday, more pics below along with my ride stats for the year!

 

[Taylor57]

It seems the weather for Sunday has taken a turn for the worse, not really sure if I will get another ride in this year but I haven't totally given up just yet! I'm quite happy with my stats for the year, 5616 miles from 96 rides giving me an average of 58.5 miles! Last year I had 118 rides but my average was much less!

Ride of the year has to be my 162 mile ride to St Andrews and back, my longest ever 1 day ride! All in memory of my dear old dad who just loved the home of golf but had no interest in the game itself! He just loved the tranquility of the place and visited every year until last year when he was no longer capable of the journey! I intend to do the ride every year while I am still able to, its such as lovely ride! I will wait for the right day with calm winds like this year when I managed 83 miles on my original battery, that really surprised me considering it was over 4 years old at the time!

I had another walk in the Brownsburn Community park today and it was much nicer than yesterday, more pics below along with my ride stats for the year!View attachment 142508View attachment 142509View attachment 142510View attachment 142511View attachment 142512View attachment 142513View attachment 142514

View attachment 142507

Pictures of the Old Course please!

 

[RabH]

Pictures of the Old Course please!

I didn't go for the golf!