Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[RabH]

Motor now removed, it wasn't that difficult thankfully! I'm sure going to miss my e bike but all going well I should have the motor back in less than 2 weeks! Back to pedal power for the time being, lets see how fit I am!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Going-to-the-Sun…

Shorncliffe Pier
Moreton Bay, Brisbane​

An hour into my regular ride up the Moreton Bay Cycleway I approach Shorncliffe Pier from the south (left in the photo below), stop for a coffee from Mario Mobile Espresso (red dot) which is enjoyed in the shade of the trees to our left, before continuing along Lovers Walk (right) around Bramble Bay until, 11 km later, arriving at Woody Point (headland to left of angler, above).

Moora Park (left)
Shorncliffe Pier (centre)
Lovers Walk (right)
​

Pink : Top Photo
Yellow : Bottom Photo​

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

North of Warsaw (A Metric Century)

A good friend of mine nicknamed Howard (the person who helped me the most after the fire) has recently asked to have a ride together (he's excited to try Lovelec out). As the bike size should be just OK for him, I agreed, only told him we'd ride together after two weeks (hopefully, it would be warm already). He had suggested we might try a trail to Fort Beniaminów; I decided I would explore that option myself first -- as every good leader of a future group ride does it in advance.

The day would be wonderful if not strong and cold westerly wind. My good balaclavas have all worn out, and new ones will be delivered only on the coming Monday... Jacek's homestead was my base (brother could not join because he felt he caught cold).

View attachment 85744
Żerański Canal, a 17-km long waterway connecting Bug and Vistula rivers. Part of it is named Royal Canal, as the first part of the channel was ordered by King Sigismundus III Vasa (the guy who moved Poland's capital city from Cracow to Warsaw in 1596). The waterway is popular among rowers and anglers. Notice that the first part of the Żerański bike trail was made of gravel.

View attachment 85745
The second part of the Żerański trail is a perfect asphalt bike path. Because of cold and wind, there were not many cyclists met (yet enthusiasts were riding, though).

View attachment 85746
The most funny bike ramp I've ever seen! The ramp has 12 flights on each side of a foot-bridge over the Royal Canal. The turns are so tight it makes little sense to actually ride there, and it is just easier to carry a bike through the stairs. (Unless it is a heavy e-bike or a wheelchair, of course).

View attachment 85747
My route led through some forests. It turned out Schwalbe Smart Sam tyres made quite capable off-road e-bike from my Vado. I could even cope with some sand. The bottom picture sports "John Casimir" oak-tree. (John II Casimir of Vasa was the third elected king coming from the Swedish Vasa royal dynasty; in those times Poland had elected -- not hereditary -- kings; Poland actually enjoyed democracy between 1572 and 1791).

View attachment 85748
Fort Beniaminów, a Russian fortress that had very short lifespan Warsaw, the capital city of Russian province "Vistula Land" was encircled with fortresses, forming together The Fortress Warsaw (for that reason, the city could not grow by 1916). Beniaminów was under construction when the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 stopped the works. In 1909, Russia changed the strategy. Fortresses had already been an obsolete and costly concept; the Russian decided to destroy all their fortresses in the Vistula Land and lead mobile warfare closer to her native territory. Fort Beniaminów was destroyed by the Russian themselves in 1915.

There was so deep sand inside the fortress my Vado refused riding inside But ATV enthusiasts just love driving there

View attachment 85749
Zegrzyński Reservoir, a large artificial lake made of Rivers Bug and Narew is a recreational mecca for Warsawers. Especially, sailing boats and windsurfers are popular there. (During heavy winters, iceboats used to be popular there).

View attachment 85750
Top: Long, long way against strong headwind. I was gradually increasing assistance: 35, 50, 70%. Bottom: The dam in Dębe holds the Zegrzyński Reservoir in place

View attachment 85751
Battery replacement at 2/3 of the trip distance. Notice how much my 604 Wh battery #1 is already degraded now (93% health).

View attachment 85752
Ride map with POI, stats.

North of Warsaw (A Metric Century)

A good friend of mine nicknamed Howard (the person who helped me the most after the fire) has recently asked to have a ride together (he's excited to try Lovelec out). As the bike size should be just OK for him, I agreed, only told him we'd ride together after two weeks (hopefully, it would be warm already). He had suggested we might try a trail to Fort Beniaminów; I decided I would explore that option myself first -- as every good leader of a future group ride does it in advance.

The day would be wonderful if not strong and cold westerly wind. My good balaclavas have all worn out, and new ones will be delivered only on the coming Monday... Jacek's homestead was my base (brother could not join because he felt he caught cold).

View attachment 85744
Żerański Canal, a 17-km long waterway connecting Bug and Vistula rivers. Part of it is named Royal Canal, as the first part of the channel was ordered by King Sigismundus III Vasa (the guy who moved Poland's capital city from Cracow to Warsaw in 1596). The waterway is popular among rowers and anglers. Notice that the first part of the Żerański bike trail was made of gravel.

View attachment 85745
The second part of the Żerański trail is a perfect asphalt bike path. Because of cold and wind, there were not many cyclists met (yet enthusiasts were riding, though).

View attachment 85746
The most funny bike ramp I've ever seen! The ramp has 12 flights on each side of a foot-bridge over the Royal Canal. The turns are so tight it makes little sense to actually ride there, and it is just easier to carry a bike through the stairs. (Unless it is a heavy e-bike or a wheelchair, of course).

View attachment 85747
My route led through some forests. It turned out Schwalbe Smart Sam tyres made quite capable off-road e-bike from my Vado. I could even cope with some sand. The bottom picture sports "John Casimir" oak-tree. (John II Casimir of Vasa was the third elected king coming from the Swedish Vasa royal dynasty; in those times Poland had elected -- not hereditary -- kings; Poland actually enjoyed democracy between 1572 and 1791).

View attachment 85748
Fort Beniaminów, a Russian fortress that had very short lifespan Warsaw, the capital city of Russian province "Vistula Land" was encircled with fortresses, forming together The Fortress Warsaw (for that reason, the city could not grow by 1916). Beniaminów was under construction when the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 stopped the works. In 1909, Russia changed the strategy. Fortresses had already been an obsolete and costly concept; the Russian decided to destroy all their fortresses in the Vistula Land and lead mobile warfare closer to her native territory. Fort Beniaminów was destroyed by the Russian themselves in 1915.

There was so deep sand inside the fortress my Vado refused riding inside But ATV enthusiasts just love driving there

View attachment 85749
Zegrzyński Reservoir, a large artificial lake made of Rivers Bug and Narew is a recreational mecca for Warsawers. Especially, sailing boats and windsurfers are popular there. (During heavy winters, iceboats used to be popular there).

View attachment 85750
Top: Long, long way against strong headwind. I was gradually increasing assistance: 35, 50, 70%. Bottom: The dam in Dębe holds the Zegrzyński Reservoir in place

View attachment 85751
Battery replacement at 2/3 of the trip distance. Notice how much my 604 Wh battery #1 is already degraded now (93% health).

View attachment 85752
Ride map with POI, stats.

Nice to see you found a razor hahahahaha

 

[Alaskan]

Motor now removed, it wasn't that difficult thankfully! I'm sure going to miss my e bike but all going well I should have the motor back in less than 2 weeks! Back to pedal power for the time being, lets see how fit I am!

I am sure you will fit just fine on your acoustic. How many miles on the Giant motor? What is the diagnosis on it? windings, stator, bearings, gears?

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Had a nice ride today, still a pesky headwind hanging around though

 

[Prairie Dog]

You were so lucky ..a friend had a pedal come off over rough ground and had a horrendous crash.

You’re so right Charge. It was fortuitous that I had just descended from a steep embankment and the pedal came off just as I entered the muddy section below. My first thought was, ‘Dang, I hope that the spindle didn’t break off!' without realizing that I could have suffered a serious injury.

 

[K PierreR]

Okay guys, just got back from the full test of the long range e bike system I built. If it was a fail, it would be a no go for the big trip coming up. The test was very much a success is every facet of the test.
Friday
Home to Columbus Oh
Bike system gross weight 425 lb, (193Kg)
Distance 128 miles (205Km)
Average speed 15.4 Mph (24.6kph)
Climbing 4,931 ft (1,495m)
Wind 10-15 mph on the nose (16-24 kph)
Total time 11 hours 40 min
Moving time 8 hours 20 min
Power used 3,354 Wh (63 Ah)
26.2 Wh/mile (15.7 Wh/Km)
Charged twice for a total of 1.5 hours during trip. (800Wh/hr)

I was not wiped out when I got there and was not very sore the next day. The next day, Saturday I worked a full day on my friends house doing home repairs.

Sunday:
Bike gross weight 425 lb (193kg)
Distance 132 miles (211 Km)
Average speed 14.7 (23.5 kph)
Climbing 5192 ft (1.573m)
Wind, Cross wind 8-20 mph (12-32 kph)for 67 miles. Last 40 mile was 10-18 mph one the nose (16-24 kph)
Total time was 12 hours
Moving time was 8 Hours 58 minutes
Power used was 3,024 Wh
22.9 Wh/mile or (13.7 Wh/Km)
Charge twice for about an hour and a half.

Again I was not wiped out and am typing this.

Overall it was very much a success. Infinity saddle totally works.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

(Almost) Defeated By Cold & Wind

The plan for Sunday was to make 108 km by roads around the Kampinos National Park (KPN). The ride turned out to be a torture. I felt like a zombie pedalling westwards against a stream of freezing air (or, that felt like that) for the first 30 km. I hoped turning northwards would help. Not. It was even worse. Just fancy that, 45% assistance (that's a lot) and my Vado crawled at 18-21 km/h upwind.

700 m before the turn eastwards, I stopped as I saw a large group of female equestrians! Taking my Samsung from the pocket, removing a glove, unlocking the camera and taking a shot took too many seconds though

You might think riding with tailwind would have improved the riding situation. Not really. Yes, my Vado rode faster but not that much faster to make me really happy (I was tired after only 40 kilometres!) Instead, wind howling from behind made my head ache and was driving me nuts. I had to gradually reduce the assistance, too, because I felt the battery range would be not sufficient to make the entire long ride.

A symbolic photo. Sunshine, the flag showing the current wind direction, and I was immersed in that frosty, howling Winter air-stream...

There is a bus stop at which I used to swap batteries on previous rides over the same route (and swapped them this time, too). There, I felt very hungry. I "messengered" Ania, a friendly roadie to ask her where I could get some of "them cookiez" (roadies are obsessed with "them cookiez") She said I would find the "Klimatyczna Cafe" in Leszno, and she added "they make COSMIC them cookiez there!" I knew I lost my struggle with Winter, so I increased the assistance to 60 then to 100% and bombed southwards. Now, wind was howling even more nastily....

"Climatic Cafe" is a legend among Warsaw road cyclists. Beautiful interior, a large assortment of most delicious cakes, extremely friendly personnel (the owner and her daughter) and... They let me stay and eat inside. Despite of lockdown. See, I was the only guest on that cold afternoon. I could enjoy not only a "cosmic" almond cheesecake with double espresso but also warm up a little. (It is worthwhile to add the brother to Ms Ewa Grot the cafe owner -- is a road cyclist and "crank spinning" tutor).

In the front of "Klimatyczna Cafe". I'm almost smiling

Now, it was just 7 km to the finish line. Approaching my car I said to myself: "88 kilometres? A joke? Let me make it 90 km... Wait! A road-sign pointing to Mariew? I have already been to Mariew! Ride on!" and I made a penalty round of 12 km more I even made a victory round under Zaborów church to make sure Strava understood it was a metric century!

"One hundred? One hundred it is" Still, probably my worst ride of 2021 so far!

I spent only 4 hours pedalling (with 6 hours staying outside) only because I used Turbo for almost whole of the last 40 kms. BLEVo app is wrong. I have used 180% of the batteries charge, not 170. Actually, I was at the limits of the batteries' range.

A Polish song begins with these words: "I think this Winter must go away some day..." Still not gone.

 

[RabH]

I am sure you will fit just fine on your acoustic. How many miles on the Giant motor? What is the diagnosis on it? windings, stator, bearings, gears?

I'm hoping its just the bearings, the motor is operating perfectly but there is some roughness at the crank! I have covered 14,449 miles to date!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

I have covered 14,449 miles to date!

Rab, if we just count the thousands and forget the hundreds, that's the same distance as my Homage has covered. Its motor, computer and charger (all Bosch products) failed and were replaced under warranty. Let's hope Giant is as quick to fix or replace your motor at little or no charge.

In the meantime, please share your unassisted adventures.
David

 

[RabH]

Rab, if we just count the thousands and forget the hundreds, that's the same distance as my Homage has covered. Its motor, computer and charger (all Bosch products) failed and were replaced under warranty. Let's hope Giant is as quick to fix or replace your motor at little or no charge.

In the meantime, please share your unassisted adventures.
David

David, unfortunately my 2 year warranty period is long gone so I have to pay for the repairs! Assuming its just a case of replacing all the bearings it won't cost me too much!

 

[Catalyzt]

First non-solo ride on Thursday! My buddy Bill was in town from Connecticut. I'm in pretty deep quarantine because I have an autoimmune disorder-- not a good candidate for the vax-- yet, or at least until we get some more data. So great to have someone to ride with, going on the usual roads in the Hills here, showing him my favorite places. Bill took several photos that reminded me of the film "Easy Rider." Sorry about the artificial / psychedelic colors, but it's been so grey and dismal here-- I shouldn't complain, Stefan and Lee obviously had a much harder time of it this weekend! But the late afternoon light is not great for taking pictures, you can't even see any detail without enhancement.

Fortunately, we did 10 of 12 miles before (most unfortunately) we blew up the Trek kit bike-- battery, controller, motor, something-- so I have a warranty query in to Clean Republic. However, I can now truthfully utter Wyatt's famous line from the film: "You know, Billy, we blew it."

 

[Catalyzt]

Had a nice ride today, still a pesky headwind hanging around though

View attachment 85843

Well done, sir-- and my family thanks you. They were just putting in that entire row of graves when we had the funeral, so we never did get a look at Dad's site when it was finished. Appreciate the stone on top, and your fighting the headwinds to help us remember my Dad! Can't believe it's been 5 years.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Exploring our own backyard…

Pine Mountain Road
7 km from home​

No intrepid exploring today: I just pootled around our neighbourhood never getting further than ten kilometres away from my own coffee machine and stash of blueberry muffins.

 

[Dallant]

Well got in a nice 25+ miler but it should’ve been 27. 25+ wind too!
Stupid staple makes #3 rear flat in less than a year. Maybe some Slime is in order!

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Acoustic day today

Super Moon!

 

[Chargeride]

Okay guys, just got back from the full test of the long range e bike system I built. If it was a fail, it would be a no go for the big trip coming up. The test was very much a success is every facet of the test.
Friday
Home to Columbus Oh
Bike system gross weight 425 lb, (193Kg)
Distance 128 miles (205Km)
Average speed 15.4 Mph (24.6kph)
Climbing 4,931 ft (1,495m)
Wind 10-15 mph on the nose (16-24 kph)
Total time 11 hours 40 min
Moving time 8 hours 20 min
Power used 3,354 Wh (63 Ah)
26.2 Wh/mile (15.7 Wh/Km)
Charged twice for a total of 1.5 hours during trip. (800Wh/hr)

I was not wiped out when I got there and was not very sore the next day. The next day, Saturday I worked a full day on my friends house doing home repairs.

Sunday:
Bike gross weight 425 lb (193kg)
Distance 132 miles (211 Km)
Average speed 14.7 (23.5 kph)
Climbing 5192 ft (1.573m)
Wind, Cross wind 8-20 mph (12-32 kph)for 67 miles. Last 40 mile was 10-18 mph one the nose (16-24 kph)
Total time was 12 hours
Moving time was 8 Hours 58 minutes
Power used was 3,024 Wh
22.9 Wh/mile or (13.7 Wh/Km)
Charge twice for about an hour and a half.

Again I was not wiped out and am typing this.

Overall it was very much a success. Infinity saddle totally works.View attachment 85863View attachment 85864View attachment 85865View attachment 85866View attachment 85867View attachment 85868View attachment 85869View attachment 85870View attachment 85871View attachment 85872

Lovely.
193kg...thats more than my dirt bike!!..

 

[Chargeride]

First non-solo ride on Thursday! My buddy Bill was in town from Connecticut. I'm in pretty deep quarantine because I have an autoimmune disorder-- not a good candidate for the vax-- yet, or at least until we get some more data. So great to have someone to ride with, going on the usual roads in the Hills here, showing him my favorite places. Bill took several photos that reminded me of the film "Easy Rider." Sorry about the artificial / psychedelic colors, but it's been so grey and dismal here-- I shouldn't complain, Stefan and Lee obviously had a much harder time of it this weekend! But the late afternoon light is not great for taking pictures, you can't even see any detail without enhancement.

Fortunately, we did 10 of 12 miles before (most unfortunately) we blew up the Trek kit bike-- battery, controller, motor, something-- so I have a warranty query in to Clean Republic. However, I can now truthfully utter Wyatt's famous line from the film: "You know, Billy, we blew it."

View attachment 85945View attachment 85947View attachment 85948

Nice trails...fellow jeans wearer.

 

[Chargeride]

Now dont laugh...yes you at the back.
Started building the suspension fattie and Im in full botch mode.
Bbshd will fit behind the bottom bracket, going to strengthen the frame as it wasnt designed for a powerful mid drive.
Just some odd forks till the 120mm travel ones arrive.
It was originally going to be a hub drive, but I change my mind every 5 mins.
Learnt a lot about the drive by taking it off the old bike with pliers and two hammers.
I have every confidence it will snap in two on the first ride.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stupid staple makes #3 rear flat in less than a year. Maybe some Slime is in order!

Slime would be fine. I wonder whether any of Schwalbe tyres rated Protection Level 7 could withstand that staple?

Acoustic day today

How does it feel to pedal a fat bike without electric assistance?

Now dont laugh...yes you at the back.

No laughing. You are at least trying. I only wonder whether a fat bike is necessary for your rides. Yes you love exploring sands, I understand that. Except of sand riding, wouldn't a manufactured e-MTB on say 2.6" tyres be more practical for you?