Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[RabH]

Nearly finished the monster, took it for a spin without even trying it in the garden.
Oh dear, the bbshd is waaay to powerful for the cheap frame.

Hilarious , but annoying, I might start again or try to strengthen the swinging arm.
I rode it on the sand because I was pretty convinced it was going to snap in half.
Skip to the middle and you will cringe , what idiot would ride that?

Well that would be me.

Talk about frame flex! That would scare me half to death!

My motor has now been fixed (only 2 bearings required) so all going well I should see it in a few days!

 

[Alaskan]

Talk about frame flex! That would scare me half to death!

My motor has now been fixed (only 2 bearings required) so all going well I should see it in a few days!

Great news to be getting it back so quickly and that it was just a bearing problem. That says something about the overall motor quality. With the kind of mileage and climbing elevations you put on the bike, replacing bearings with this kind of mileage sounds like totally normal and reasonable durability.

 

[RabH]

Great news to be getting it back so quickly and that it was just a bearing problem. That says something about the overall motor quality. With the kind of mileage and climbing elevations you put on the bike, replacing bearings with this kind of mileage sounds like totally normal and reasonable durability.

They said the motor was in very good condition overall and actually saved me money by not changing bearings which weren't needed! Amazing service indeed, its great to know such companies still exist!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Breakfast Creek
Newstead, Brisbane​

In 1824 the explorers John Oxley (surveyor) and Alan Cunninghan (botanist) took an early morning break at this spot. On this ride I arrived at 11 am (60 km), so breakfast was not on my mind.

Oxley, the government surveyor, named the rivulet (left) flowing into the Brisbane River (right) 'Breakfast Creek'; however, the botanist was honoured by having the indigenous hoop pine between the canoodling couple, with no thoughts of breakfast on their minds, and the bandstand named Araucaria cunninghamii.

This part of Newstead Park is called Lyndon B Johnson Place; therein lies another story for when I take an appropiate photo. (LBJ had a wartime connection with Queensland and made a nostalgic return visit during his term as President.)

 

[Mr. Coffee]

That was my impression as well and why they chose the parallelogram design as it was supposed to keep the seat angle constant.

My apologies, I should be more precise. I am observing that adjusting the preload very slightly changes the saddle angle.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

More dialing in the saddle, but a slightly more challenging tour:

The road surface was a mix of cadillac gravel, bad washboards, and loose sandy dirt. So generally slow going.

Very light traffic, though. I only saw one vehicle.

 

[Alaskan]

My apologies, I should be more precise. I am observing that adjusting the preload very slightly changes the saddle angle.

That seems odd because all the preload screw does is compress the springs which lowers the upper bar of the parallelogram, reducing the total travel. I theory, the angle shouldn't. Did you see the part where Infinity recommends lowering the saddle two mm and moving it back 1 mm at a time to relieve pressure up front, instead of adjust the saddle angle. It is in the STEP 7. CHECK YOUR SEAT POSITION video starting around minute one on this page: https://infinitybikeseat.com/setup-videos/

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The Day of Dem Cookiez

-- "I actually hate a bike. I only ride it as an excuse to be able to eat dem cookiez " -- Staszek The Roadie remarked in a Facebook comment when he learned I was riding out to explore famous cyclist cookie places (he recommended some of them to me himself!)

(I apologize in advance for posting many photos here but I need them to tell the story!)

A tourist has the right to make mistakes, especially if he hadn't studied the map carefully enough. For that reason, a navigation app led me and my Good Old Mule onto muddy dirt road full of puddles -- at least landscapes of the Mazovian Plain were not bad. "Take us out of here", Good Old Mule demanded. And I escaped from the farming area in granny gear and with mighty motor assistance.

A very old wooden house in Gawartowa Wola (top), a wooden church in Kampinos, and a wooden house north of Kampinos. The road from Kampinos to Wilków (South - North) looked decent in the beginning...

...but it was not. Soon, it turned into terrible gravel (or dirt!) road. The bottom photo: River Łasica (Weasel) splits the Kampinos National Park into the southern and northern part.

North of Łasica, the Wilków Road becomes very pretty: fresh asphalt, subtle speed bumps, picturesque turns, rolling. Here, I was caught by hail! I put my waterproof covers on very quickly and then it stopped raining

On River Vistula in Wilków-on-Vistula. Since most of you cannot speak Polish, let me just tell you the word Wilk means "Wolf". I could see numerous place names in the area derived from the word "Wilk", meaning wolves must have been an issue here.

Wilków-on-Vistula belongs to a long chain of villages along Vistula established by Hollander settlers. Just to remind you: Hollanders initially (16th c.) were Dutch settlers of Mennonite faith who could control rivers. They were allowed to settle and form communities along Vistula, and were later complemented by German settlers. As an exception to the serfdom rule, Hollanders were free people. (Hollander roots are similar to Amish). Unfortunately, the mad WWII ended up with displacing Hollanders from Poland

A Mennonite Hollander graveyard. The last Hollander was buried there in 2013 (born 1934).

A place (Nowy Secymin) where a ferry must have been operated many years ago. No ferry nowadays. What a shame!

The "Store at Marta's" revisited! The famous "dem cookiez" with mascarpone cheese and fruit (bottom), a fruit cookie (center). I eyt dem oll! Besides, the young attractive woman met on my earlier trip was probably Marta's daughter. This time, I met Marta (mother) in person.

Highway 579 splits the Kampinos National Park into eastern and western parts. Here in Roztoka, which is located in the very middle of the KPN. Here, I realized I was only 8 km from...

...the "Climatic Cafe" in Leszno. I couldn't refuse having a coffee cake with coffee there!

I could see the strange watering device for the first time in my life (top). The smoke stack (I live very close to it) as seen from 16 km (10 mi) road distance. A good beacon!

Northern part of my escapade.

Southern part of the trip.

Ride Map and Metrics. I'm not David Berry... And my legs hurt!

 

[TOOSLOW]

Silly question, why do you put your tart where your arse sits?

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Ride Map and Metrics. I'm not David Berry... And my legs hurt!

Yet another century ride! This time literally a metric century: 100 metres around the backyard, testing out the Johnny Watts.

Phew: that was a four-coffee ordeal! (Putting the tyres on; not riding the 100 metres.)

Stefan, that field irrigator photo conjures up images of vintage aircraft – Bleriot's monoplane, perhaps. Those planes were often twisted!

I think the Bleriot was the first airplane to cross the English Channel (not that the French would have agreed that the Channel was 'English').

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Silly question, why do you put your tart where your arse sits?

Because it was clean?

 

[Prairie Dog]

Silly question, why do you put your tart where your arse sits?

Care to rephrase that sentence? Sorry, don't know where my mind is of late.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Care to rephrase that sentence? Sorry, don't know where my mind is of late.

Some people don't take shower, meseems

 

[Prairie Dog]

The Day of Dem Cookiez

-- "I actually hate a bike. I only ride it as an excuse to be able to eat dem cookiez " -- Staszek The Roadie remarked in a Facebook comment when he learned I was riding out to explore famous cyclist cookie places (he recommended some of them to me himself!)

(I apologize in advance for posting many photos here but I need them to tell the story!)

View attachment 87002
A tourist has the right to make mistakes, especially if he hadn't studied the map carefully enough. For that reason, a navigation app led me and my Good Old Mule onto muddy dirt road full of puddles -- at least landscapes of the Mazovian Plain were not bad. "Take us out of here", Good Old Mule demanded. And I escaped from the farming area in granny gear and with mighty motor assistance.

View attachment 87004
A very old wooden house in Gawartowa Wola (top), a wooden church in Kampinos, and a wooden house north of Kampinos. The road from Kampinos to Wilków (South - North) looked decent in the beginning...

View attachment 87007
...but it was not. Soon, it turned into terrible gravel (or dirt!) road. The bottom photo: River Łasica (Weasel) splits the Kampinos National Park into the southern and northern part.

View attachment 87008
North of Łasica, the Wilków Road becomes very pretty: fresh asphalt, subtle speed bumps, picturesque turns, rolling. Here, I was caught by hail! I put my waterproof covers on very quickly and then it stopped raining

View attachment 87009
On River Vistula in Wilków-on-Vistula. Since most of you cannot speak Polish, let me just tell you the word Wilk means "Wolf". I could see numerous place names in the area derived from the word "Wilk", meaning wolves must have been an issue here.

Wilków-on-Vistula belongs to a long chain of villages along Vistula established by Hollander settlers. Just to remind you: Hollanders initially (16th c.) were Dutch settlers of Mennonite faith who could control rivers. They were allowed to settle and form communities along Vistula, and were later complemented by German settlers. As an exception to the serfdom rule, Hollanders were free people. (Hollander roots are similar to Amish). Unfortunately, the mad WWII ended up with displacing Hollanders from Poland

View attachment 87011
A Mennonite Hollander graveyard. The last Hollander was buried there in 2013 (born 1934).

View attachment 87012
A place (Nowy Secymin) where a ferry must have been operated many years ago. No ferry nowadays. What a shame!

View attachment 87013
The "Store at Marta's" revisited! The famous "dem cookiez" with mascarpone cheese and fruit (bottom), a fruit cookie (center). I eyt dem oll! Besides, the young attractive woman met on my earlier trip was probably Marta's daughter. This time, I met Marta (mother) in person.

View attachment 87014
Highway 579 splits the Kampinos National Park into eastern and western parts. Here in Roztoka, which is located in the very middle of the KPN. Here, I realized I was only 8 km from...

View attachment 87015
...the "Climatic Cafe" in Leszno. I couldn't refuse having a coffee cake with coffee there!

View attachment 87016
I could see the strange watering device for the first time in my life (top). The smoke stack (I live very close to it) as seen from 16 km (10 mi) road distance. A good beacon!

View attachment 87017
Northern part of my escapade.

View attachment 87018
Southern part of the trip.

View attachment 87019
Ride Map and Metrics. I'm not David Berry... And my legs hurt!

We (I) need a Marta’s on this side of the pond! Just be thankful that I had a late lunch/early dinner otherwise I would be raiding the pantry to vanquish my sweet tooth cravings. Seriously, if you hadn’t traded off the Trance to your Bro, we could refer to you as the ‘Cookie Monster’.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Stefan, that field irrigator conjures up images of vintage aircraft – Bleriot's monoplane, perhaps. I think it was the first airplane to cross the English Channel (not that the French would have agreed that the Channel was English!)

My first thought upon seeing the irrigator indeed was I could see some aeroplanes!

P.S. Poles have been taught to call the English Channel "La Manche". It has to have something common with Bonaparte and the Poland's history Although the more I think of Napoleon the more I'm inclined to take the British views as mine.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Some people don't take shower, meseems

It was actually in reference to @TOOSLOW's post disguised as a double entendre. Perhaps a poor taste in humor on my part.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

End of the JW ordeal. Next job: clear up the mess in the bike shed…

Yes, the zip tie on the floor that was used to keep Mr Watts from popping off the rim — quite a few of them, actually. Note the snips (yellow): don't do anything with zip ties unless you have the means to undo them in a hurry!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

End of the JW ordeal:

It was not the JW ordeal. You have suffered because of Tannus Armour

@steve mercier is going to hate me

 

[reed scott]

End of the JW ordeal: the mess in the bike shed that has to be cleared up…

View attachment 87026

Obviously I need more see through plastic containers.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Obviously I need more see through plastic containers.

David's garage reminds me of the Jacek's one Both guys must be blood brothers!

Besides, let me smuggle a thought here. I was interested in replacing Lovelec's tyres with Schwalbe G-Ones. Then I looked at the tread of the current Continental Top Contact Winter II... Identical to G-One. Not swapping! I'm going to ride the Continental tyres all year round! What a road/off-road grip! What low rolling resistance!