steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Homeward bound. This was my first bike trip here and I have never found a better place to ride.
Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos
D
Deleted member 18083
Guest
Good grief: what a coincidence! Here's my 'yesterday's ride'. And I was upset to get the last two digits the ‘wrong’ way round!
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Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
David is the king... Long live the King!HAHAHA!
I know David's potential but Steve made me surprised with his effort!
Captain Slow
Well-Known Member
Wow! David and Steve must have some unspoken connection!
Steve, once the pandemic is done, I'd love to join you on a ride.
Steve, once the pandemic is done, I'd love to join you on a ride.
PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee
Well-Known Member
Wow, what a gorgeous backdrop! Nice ride!
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
It is a deal ! By the way, I found this trip in this book ,page 78 ride # 51 https://www.letsgobiking.net/
PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee
Well-Known Member
That was the hardest tire removal I have ever done! Wow, did it have some factory seal on that puppy
Finally got 'er done and went for a little ride to make sure everything was good to go.
Does this new hammock make my butt look big? HAHAHAHAHAHA
Stefan, couldn't load up these for the message so here you go.
Tomorrow will be a big ride with some drone footage!
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
Hey tomorrow is the Preakness...you going? take your drone!View attachment 87587
That was the hardest tire removal I have ever done! Wow, did it have some factory seal on that puppy
Finally got 'er done and went for a little ride to make sure everything was good to go.
View attachment 87588
Does this new hammock make my butt look big? HAHAHAHAHAHA
Stefan, couldn't load up these for the message so here you go.
View attachment 87589View attachment 87590
Tomorrow will be a big ride with some drone footage!
Catalyzt
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I am combining a few short (10-15 mile) rides last week in one post, and no maps today. As Stefan would say, all my rides are "chimney" rides-- I love that! I am not 100% sure that I am supposed to be in one of these areas, but the rare times I venture there -- at twilight or shortly after-- I'm always prepared to yield to hikers or equestrians, and it's always totally deserted. It's a delight to find these pretty spots about a half hour from where I live.
None of the data from these rides is particularly remarkable, except max downhill speed with the new Maxxis Ikons on Vermont Canyon was 34 MPH or 36 if you believe Strava-- at least 2 MPH faster than on the WTB Riddlers or on the Trek kit bike, and I wasn't pushing any harder-- in fact, I think I was holding back just a little bit. The Ikons really go like hell downhill, the difference is very noticeable, almost felt a little too fast.
These were taken with a cheap-o Sony DSC-W800 point-and-shoot because it's no worse than my mobile camera, the touch-screen shutter on my mobile drives me crazy and the camera is tiny and weighs nothing. This is one of my favorite windswept trees descending Mt. Hollywood Drive...
...And the shot above is the only gravel track I know of in the park. The color is only slightly exaggerated, the gravel really does have a bluish cast to it. As you can see from the tracks, other cyclists come here, but I've never seen any of them. Below is one of the few dirt roads I ride on. Only a few horseshoe prints, a few spots of horse crap that were very old. The trail seems well maintained but rarely used...
This climbs from the gravel track to Vista del Valle again... you crest the hill, round a few bends, and wind up at a nice overlook. I actually like the cheap little Sony, at max zoom in low light and around 3400 ISO, it can BARELY capture an image at all, but when I try to add the light back in my shareware editing software, it pixellates, and the digital noise breaks up into a kind of abstract impressionist pointillism. Maybe I should just stop even trying to get a realistic looking image, and reconcile myself to having all my shots having this psychedelic toy camera quality, it's not unpleasant. Here's how a view of downtown came out...
Descend a bit further.... you can see the observatory on the hilltop on the right...
And descend another mile or two down the road, and you'd reach the spot where I rescued two lost hikers earlier this week! They flagged me down, asking, "This leads back to the parking lot, doesn't it?" "Well, yes, eventually, but that's about five miles from here, and it's well after sunset." It took about five minutes to convince them to turn around. I didn't push too hard, they seemed tired, a little cranky, had no water, of course, and I figured a lighter touch would be more effective. "It's not really that dangerous, of course, but you are walking much deeper into the park, it is nearly full dark, and occasionally there are incidents here, even though they are very rare." (I did not want to patronize or stereotype them as helpless females, and in fact, would have said the same thing if they had been guys.)
They did agree to turn back, but then reported they had no phone and no idea which parking lot they had started from! They did have the phone number of their friend who had brought them, so I called him on my phone (on other days I've ridden without one, but never again!) and I figured out a rendezvous point they could both find. I offered to lead them out, but they politely refused, and of course I did not insist, just wished them luck, promised them I'd turn around if their friend couldn't find them, and resumed my trip home.
I'd gone about 3.5 miles, descended 200 feet and ascended another 300 when the phone rang again-- the guy could not find the girls. I sighed. I said I couldn't imagine how they made a wrong turn, but would he feel more comfortable if I turned around and went back and hunted for them? (Car traffic isn't allowed on Vista del Valle, and it made more sense for him to stay at the rendezvous point.) He apologized and said that yes, he would appreciate it if I did that. So I turned around, rode back, and we played phone tag until he called to let me know that he'd found them a few hundred feet down the road. Phew!
Our job done, my trusty steed and I returned, both running low on energy-- and climbed the hill AGAIN. I gave it a little more leg power the second time around, and the Moto squeezed a few more electrons from the tank, and I got home just short of reserve-- range was showing 0 miles High, 0 miles Norm, and 1 mile Eco, but wasn't blinking and didn't lock me into Eco, so Norm was available for the last part of the last hill.
If I do ever stray a quarter mile or so from roads where I am 100% permitted, and a ranger ever does stop me, I can truthfully say, "Well, I did rescue some lost hikers here a few weeks back..."
None of the data from these rides is particularly remarkable, except max downhill speed with the new Maxxis Ikons on Vermont Canyon was 34 MPH or 36 if you believe Strava-- at least 2 MPH faster than on the WTB Riddlers or on the Trek kit bike, and I wasn't pushing any harder-- in fact, I think I was holding back just a little bit. The Ikons really go like hell downhill, the difference is very noticeable, almost felt a little too fast.
These were taken with a cheap-o Sony DSC-W800 point-and-shoot because it's no worse than my mobile camera, the touch-screen shutter on my mobile drives me crazy and the camera is tiny and weighs nothing. This is one of my favorite windswept trees descending Mt. Hollywood Drive...
...And the shot above is the only gravel track I know of in the park. The color is only slightly exaggerated, the gravel really does have a bluish cast to it. As you can see from the tracks, other cyclists come here, but I've never seen any of them. Below is one of the few dirt roads I ride on. Only a few horseshoe prints, a few spots of horse crap that were very old. The trail seems well maintained but rarely used...
This climbs from the gravel track to Vista del Valle again... you crest the hill, round a few bends, and wind up at a nice overlook. I actually like the cheap little Sony, at max zoom in low light and around 3400 ISO, it can BARELY capture an image at all, but when I try to add the light back in my shareware editing software, it pixellates, and the digital noise breaks up into a kind of abstract impressionist pointillism. Maybe I should just stop even trying to get a realistic looking image, and reconcile myself to having all my shots having this psychedelic toy camera quality, it's not unpleasant. Here's how a view of downtown came out...
Descend a bit further.... you can see the observatory on the hilltop on the right...
And descend another mile or two down the road, and you'd reach the spot where I rescued two lost hikers earlier this week! They flagged me down, asking, "This leads back to the parking lot, doesn't it?" "Well, yes, eventually, but that's about five miles from here, and it's well after sunset." It took about five minutes to convince them to turn around. I didn't push too hard, they seemed tired, a little cranky, had no water, of course, and I figured a lighter touch would be more effective. "It's not really that dangerous, of course, but you are walking much deeper into the park, it is nearly full dark, and occasionally there are incidents here, even though they are very rare." (I did not want to patronize or stereotype them as helpless females, and in fact, would have said the same thing if they had been guys.)
They did agree to turn back, but then reported they had no phone and no idea which parking lot they had started from! They did have the phone number of their friend who had brought them, so I called him on my phone (on other days I've ridden without one, but never again!) and I figured out a rendezvous point they could both find. I offered to lead them out, but they politely refused, and of course I did not insist, just wished them luck, promised them I'd turn around if their friend couldn't find them, and resumed my trip home.
I'd gone about 3.5 miles, descended 200 feet and ascended another 300 when the phone rang again-- the guy could not find the girls. I sighed. I said I couldn't imagine how they made a wrong turn, but would he feel more comfortable if I turned around and went back and hunted for them? (Car traffic isn't allowed on Vista del Valle, and it made more sense for him to stay at the rendezvous point.) He apologized and said that yes, he would appreciate it if I did that. So I turned around, rode back, and we played phone tag until he called to let me know that he'd found them a few hundred feet down the road. Phew!
Our job done, my trusty steed and I returned, both running low on energy-- and climbed the hill AGAIN. I gave it a little more leg power the second time around, and the Moto squeezed a few more electrons from the tank, and I got home just short of reserve-- range was showing 0 miles High, 0 miles Norm, and 1 mile Eco, but wasn't blinking and didn't lock me into Eco, so Norm was available for the last part of the last hill.
If I do ever stray a quarter mile or so from roads where I am 100% permitted, and a ranger ever does stop me, I can truthfully say, "Well, I did rescue some lost hikers here a few weeks back..."
Twin Valley
Well-Known Member
thanks for the lets go biking reference, definitely going to pursue those books, I have toured the Kettle Valley rail road trails extensively, the Naramata wine tour is even better if you can get dropped off on the mountain at the trail head near Kelowna and pedal to Penticton and work up that thirst, a nice easy ride with amazing scenery, and when the better half meets you in Naramata to tour the wineries even better! (Stefan's lead up to the cookiesz is fine but a nice pinot gris would pair up nicely)
D
Deleted member 18083
Guest
1 x Magic Dragon ≠ 2 x Berry-munching Bears…
Rab, any chance of your heading over to Loch Ness?
My most exciting encounter on yesterday's ride barely matches Steve's…
Puff the Magic Dragon
The Grotto Playground, Brisbane
The Grotto Playground, Brisbane
Rab, any chance of your heading over to Loch Ness?
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
I rode a motorbike past Loch Ness at 3am, very unsettling indeed.
Chargeride
Well-Known Member
I decided to go for bust and try to snap the frame.
If it survives I'll go for a longer ride...this may seem reckless and idiotic,..yes it is.
If it survives I'll go for a longer ride...this may seem reckless and idiotic,..yes it is.
PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee
Well-Known Member
No couldn't get tickets
I also checked to see if I could go nearby, fly the drone and take video of the race to watch later. No go, there is a temporary no fly zone around the area from ground level to 50,000' That would be awful if I lost control of it and it crashed into a horse while racing!
RabH
Well-Known Member
The last time I was at Loch Ness this was the scariest thing I came across!
Give me the monster any day!
Midges are a real pain in the butt, but given the choice between them and bears I will take the midges!
steve mercier
Well-Known Member
You are becoming a park ranger yourself , at least an ambassador. Ii seems incredible that they went hiking without a phone between them?
Catalyzt
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
I know! It's hard to imagine two young women walking ANYwhere who did not have at least one phone! They were from out of town, dressed in what might have been tennis whites... What was even weirder was that even though they didn't have a phone, they had the phone number of their friend-- on a piece of paper in one girl's purse.
My working theory is that maybe the guy was the boyfriend of one of them, and they were playing tennis at the courts down on Commonwealth... they might lock their phones in the car, and just bring a small bag with a credit card, right? Then maybe they have an argument afterwards, and the girls storm off down the trail... (my wife did stuff like that on rare occasions when we were younger!)
This might have been why they didn't want me to lead them out-- too humiliating to have a boyfriend see that they needed help from some random guy. (I would understand that, when I had to get help from a female lifeguard after getting stung by a stingray, I was totally embarrassed.) They were also black women, and the guy on the phone was black as well, and I'm white, which might have made it even more embarrassing to ask for help, though that's speculative-- I don't know what their experience is, of course. The guy on the phone sounded mortified to have to ask for my help, which I empathize with-- when I was a young man, I hated having to ask directions or anything like that. I just tried to project this vibe like, "Nah, no big deal, you're from out of town, these things happen."
PatriciaK
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Pacific Northwest and Piedmont Triad
FINALLY back in NC and out on my Flow again! Beautiful sunny day for a ride on the Bicentennial Greenway. Started at the Southern end in Jamestown this time and rode north towards Greensboro. The trail is asphalt, but very bumpy in many spots because over the years tree roots have grown underneath - could really use some maintenance!
Otherwise, nice, mostly wooded (hence the roots!) ride:
Nice overlook into wetland area - lots of frogs croaking away:
Obligatory bike shot:
Stopped at the Jamestown Golf Club for lunch on the way back:
And then, oh s**t! Good thing my bike mechanic/valet wanted to check out my walk mode on the first couple of sections:
Then I took over - it wasn't bad, actually (easier going up than coming down on the way out!). Love that walk feature!
Wonderful to be out riding again!
Otherwise, nice, mostly wooded (hence the roots!) ride:
Nice overlook into wetland area - lots of frogs croaking away:
Obligatory bike shot:
Stopped at the Jamestown Golf Club for lunch on the way back:
And then, oh s**t! Good thing my bike mechanic/valet wanted to check out my walk mode on the first couple of sections:
Then I took over - it wasn't bad, actually (easier going up than coming down on the way out!). Love that walk feature!
Wonderful to be out riding again!
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Alaskan
Well-Known Member
You are such a lucky dog, being able to wag your tail in such a setting and being able to ride it from your front door with no auto or rack needed.
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