Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Prairie Dog]

I like that sunny grassy hill climb at the end of video 1

Totally agree. It was a nice escape from the mud and tree roots.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Before last Sunday, there was quite weird Saturday...

It was expected to be raining. It was actually pouring. How to force myself to such kind of riding? (I needed a good pretext for such a ride!) I spoke with my close friend Jazza. I rode to a confectionery in Jaktorów for pączki I promised to her many months ago, and then was expected to ride to Warsaw to meet her The confectionery... no pączki whatsoever! Crestfallen (and soaked), I bought poppy-seed cake and continued my ride. Surprise after surprise: I thought I had known my neighbourhood so well to be confronted with many kilometres of very bad roads!

When I eventually reached Jazza, she let me dry my clothes in a drying machine. And take a hot shower! Nice. To be met with hail on the way back

Against Any Weather Forecast, Sunday turned out to be...
...almost perfect cycling day. Sunny, dry, warm, with some wind (to spoil the absolute joy of riding a little, but we "electricians" are not afraid of wind!)

• Top: Orange Polska (the largest telecom company in Poland), Aleje Jerozolimskie, Warsaw. Yours truly is only using Orange for mobile telephony, Internet, and TV.
• Centre: Sunny Sunday meant crowded bike paths in Warsaw (and that is dangerous), while the streets of the Ursynów quarter were empty. It is good to be riding with traffic sometimes!
• Bottom: Visit at Anita & Lech. Anita must know my preferences perfectly! I was welcomed with a pączek and coffee, and then I was honoured with a plate of Ruthenian Pierogi! Does Anita read my mind? How lovely!

• Top: Meeting Tomek Zawadzki. (We started with lifting my Vado to the 3rd floor first) Tomek is another close friend of mine. He is an accomplished, professional bass guitarist; he suffers from pandemic restrictions, as playing gigs and concerts is still banned in Poland. Tomek let me try all his basses and taught me how to play triplets!
• Bottom: Meeting @Jerzy Bańkowski. It was a perfect cycling day for Jerzy (he eventually made 92 km without effort), and Jerzy had been in contact with me. He also could track me on Strava Beacon. We agreed to ride (on each own) towards some unspecified meeting point. Guess what? Jerzy intercepted me at Wał Miedzeszyński in Saska Kępa, and then we headed together to Francuska Street.

Saska Kępa (Saxon Meadow) is one of the nicest residential neighbourhoods, located on the right bank of the Vistula. Francuska (French) Street is very nice, and it is very much "boho" in the character (pity I didn't take any really nice pictures there). It's worth to add I had spent 17 years of my life (during my youth) in New Saska Kępa, attending a high school in the original part of the neighbourhood.

• Top: Having a delicious burrito in Francuska. Jerzy wants to reduce his body mass, so he was good with two cups of dry American coffee.
• Centre: Francuska Street behind my back. I was wearing a full-face helmet that magically made drivers understand traffic was the place I indeed belonged to!
• Bottom: @Jerzy Bańkowski in Francuska Street. George Washington Roundabout & Avenue are behind his back, and the National Stadium is also near to the place.

• Top: City of Warsaw skyline as seen from Świętokrzyski (Holy Cross) Bridge.
• Bottom: Staszic Palace/Polish Academy of Sciences/Warsaw Scientific Society. Nicolaus Copernicus monument in the front.

To get onto the Warsaw Escarpment and further to the historical part of the city, I had to use Turbo mode. What a fun!

Holy Cross church opposite to Warsaw University. Nowy Świat (New World) turning into Krakowskie Przedmieście (Cracow Suburb). It is in the historical part of Old Warsaw. (The pretty tall building with a turret in the far background is Ignacy Paderewski's Hotel Bristol).

Warsaw, made a capital city of Poland in 1596 by King Sigismundus III of Vasa had actually been a small city, with several waves of growth (the most notable after 1916). Good news for the cyclists: During weekends of the warm season, so-called King's Road becomes pedestrian and cyclist paradise. It is so strange the bike traffic is focused on Vistula Boulevards while you could enjoy the beauty of historical Warsaw right from your saddle here!

• Top: Nowy Świat (New World), another place for a tourist to be, and for a cyclist to enjoy riding there. I actually turned right into Świętokrzyska (Holy Cross) Street...
• Bottom: ...and it took me to the downtown. Notice a food courier on a bike. The pandemics has been hard on many people. At least many youth got employment in the food courier trade. (Many couriers ride utility e-bikes).

The funny part! Members of the Merry Gang, Staszek the Roadie and Przemek the Gravelman rode together for barbeque on the very same Sunday. (They actually made an Imperial Century Plus). Staszek was on his way back -- riding a bike path -- and he could see something strange: A helmetless e-biker sitting inside a glass bus shelter and having a cigarette Staszek was too exhausted to stop or even think clearly! He only could realize he actually saw Stefan after he looked at Strava at home!

Fancy that, a single battery ride! And 8% of the charge left!

 

[Mr. Coffee]

It sprinkled all day, and rained hard for about an hour. Threatening weather. The ride was split up into two because I stopped and took shelter for a while...

Curlew Lake and Ferry county rail trail:

Fuel stop at Tugboat's in Curlew:

The big town of Chesaw:

 

[steve mercier]

I do not know how you choose your routes but you certainly cannot be following Strava heat maps. I only wished I could ride with you on your explorations (-:

 

[BarnBoy]

Got a call from the good LBS (SuperFly) in P-Town and my wheel rebuild was done a day earlier than planned. So slapped it all back together and did 21.6 miles with 104Wh used. As of now I am limited to <140Wh on my single Okoman 6s5p pack. This about to change…. (More toys on order for my project!)

Now that I know the limitations, will start other rides and take photos….
-BB

 

[Mr. Coffee]

I do not know how you choose your routes but you certainly cannot be following Strava heat maps. I only wished I could ride with you on your explorations (-:

I've only made a couple of heinous mistakes this trip.

NE Washington makes it easy because it is very thinly populated at best, and because the border is closed there is zero traffic on the highways running north-south. The downside is that there was no store that could sell me a Snickers Bar or a bottle of Gatorade between Barstow, WA and Chesaw, WA -- a distance of about sixty miles.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I've only made a couple of heinous mistakes this trip.

NE Washington makes it easy because it is very thinly populated at best, and because the border is closed there is zero traffic on the highways running north-south. The downside is that there was no store that could sell me a Snickers Bar or a bottle of Gatorade between Barstow, WA and Chesaw, WA -- a distance of about sixty miles.

Exciting touring area indeed! Where and when do you charge your battery?

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

View attachment 88415

Before last Sunday, there was quite weird Saturday...
View attachment 88416
It was expected to be raining. It was actually pouring. How to force myself to such kind of riding? (I needed a good pretext for such a ride!) I spoke with my close friend Jazza. I rode to a confectionery in Jaktorów for pączki I promised to her many months ago, and then was expected to ride to Warsaw to meet her The confectionery... no pączki whatsoever! Crestfallen (and soaked), I bought poppy-seed cake and continued my ride. Surprise after surprise: I thought I had known my neighbourhood so well to be confronted with many kilometres of very bad roads!

View attachment 88417
When I eventually reached Jazza, she let me dry my clothes in a drying machine. And take a hot shower! Nice. To be met with hail on the way back

Against Any Weather Forecast, Sunday turned out to be...
...almost perfect cycling day. Sunny, dry, warm, with some wind (to spoil the absolute joy of riding a little, but we "electricians" are not afraid of wind!)

View attachment 88418

• Top: Orange Polska (the largest telecom company in Poland), Aleje Jerozolimskie, Warsaw. Yours truly is only using Orange for mobile telephony, Internet, and TV.
• Centre: Sunny Sunday meant crowded bike paths in Warsaw (and that is dangerous), while the streets of the Ursynów quarter were empty. It is good to be riding with traffic sometimes!
• Bottom: Visit at Anita & Lech. Anita must know my preferences perfectly! I was welcomed with a pączek and coffee, and then I was honoured with a plate of Ruthenian Pierogi! Does Anita read my mind? How lovely!

View attachment 88419

• Top: Meeting Tomek Zawadzki. (We started with lifting my Vado to the 3rd floor first) Tomek is another close friend of mine. He is an accomplished, professional bass guitarist; he suffers from pandemic restrictions, as playing gigs and concerts is still banned in Poland. Tomek let me try all his basses and taught me how to play triplets!
• Bottom: Meeting @Jerzy Bańkowski. It was a perfect cycling day for Jerzy (he eventually made 92 km without effort), and Jerzy had been in contact with me. He also could track me on Strava Beacon. We agreed to ride (on each own) towards some unspecified meeting point. Guess what? Jerzy intercepted me at Wał Miedzeszyński in Saska Kępa, and then we headed together to Francuska Street.

Saska Kępa (Saxon Meadow) is one of the nicest residential neighbourhoods, located on the right bank of the Vistula. Francuska (French) Street is very nice, and it is very much "boho" in the character (pity I didn't take any really nice pictures there). It's worth to add I had spent 17 years of my life (during my youth) in New Saska Kępa, attending a high school in the original part of the neighbourhood.

View attachment 88420

• Top: Having a delicious burrito in Francuska. Jerzy wants to reduce his body mass, so he was good with two cups of dry American coffee.
• Centre: Francuska Street behind my back. I was wearing a full-face helmet that magically made drivers understand traffic was the place I indeed belonged to!
• Bottom: @Jerzy Bańkowski in Francuska Street. George Washington Roundabout & Avenue are behind his back, and the National Stadium is also near to the place.

View attachment 88421

• Top: City of Warsaw skyline as seen from Świętokrzyski (Holy Cross) Bridge.
• Bottom: Staszic Palace/Polish Academy of Sciences/Warsaw Scientific Society. Nicolaus Copernicus monument in the front.

To get onto the Warsaw Escarpment and further to the historical part of the city, I had to use Turbo mode. What a fun!

View attachment 88422
Holy Cross church opposite to Warsaw University. Nowy Świat (New World) turning into Krakowskie Przedmieście (Cracow Suburb). It is in the historical part of Old Warsaw. (The pretty tall building with a turret in the far background is Ignacy Paderewski's Hotel Bristol).

Warsaw, made a capital city of Poland in 1596 by King Sigismundus III of Vasa had actually been a small city, with several waves of growth (the most notable after 1916). Good news for the cyclists: During weekends of the warm season, so-called King's Road becomes pedestrian and cyclist paradise. It is so strange the bike traffic is focused on Vistula Boulevards while you could enjoy the beauty of historical Warsaw right from your saddle here!

View attachment 88423

• Top: Nowy Świat (New World), another place for a tourist to be, and for a cyclist to enjoy riding there. I actually turned right into Świętokrzyska (Holy Cross) Street...
• Bottom: ...and it took me to the downtown. Notice a food courier on a bike. The pandemics has been hard on many people. At least many youth got employment in the food courier trade. (Many couriers ride utility e-bikes).

View attachment 88424
The funny part! Members of the Merry Gang, Staszek the Roadie and Przemek the Gravelman rode together for barbeque on the very same Sunday. (They actually made an Imperial Century Plus). Staszek was on his way back -- riding a bike path -- and he could see something strange: A helmetless e-biker sitting inside a glass bus shelter and having a cigarette Staszek was too exhausted to stop or even think clearly! He only could realize he actually saw Stefan after he looked at Strava at home!

View attachment 88425
Fancy that, a single battery ride! And 8% of the charge left!

Love the little bike train you had there!

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Here's a video of the rainy trail ride

 

[Mr. Coffee]

Exciting touring area indeed! Where and when do you charge your battery?

I'm taking three 500wh batteries. For those monster climbs that I seem to have most every day. With those I can easily cover 75-100 miles in pretty challenging terrain and only need to charge at the end of the day.

This trip I am staying at a combination of dumpy motels, private campgrounds, and cabin rentals. Those places will all have at least one outlet, although every motel I've stayed at this trip has managed to have at least one non-functioning outlet in the room.

It is also a good idea to negotiate for a ground floor room.

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Here's a montage from gopro on prior rides, enjoy

Another from yesterday's ride.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm taking three 500wh batteries. For those monster climbs that I seem to have most every day. With those I can easily cover 75-100 miles in pretty challenging terrain and only need to charge at the end of the day.

This trip I am staying at a combination of dumpy motels, private campgrounds, and cabin rentals. Those places will all have at least one outlet, although every motel I've stayed at this trip has managed to have at least one non-functioning outlet in the room.

It is also a good idea to negotiate for a ground floor room.

Thank you! Very useful information, also for my country.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Another from yesterday's ride.

Your FS9 EQ must be a wonderful e-bike, Lee! What do you use for display? Smartphone Hub?

 

[Mr. Coffee]

This day was longer and tougher than it looked: a middle section was on very rough dirt (well, sand and boulders really) "road". Garmin identified the route as a "Cyclocross" route. Fun to do fully loaded! Also very buggy today, which was not so fun.

Storm clouds over Concunully. After this photo I put the bike on ROAR and skedaddled to Omak.

 

[BarnBoy]

Short ride today, but it started as all my rides do, from the barn with my petting zoo of x4 alpacas, x4 sheep and x3 goats…. (chickens are off getting bugs…)


I was really worried about the wind today so only did 16 miles and burned 95Wh of power. I have a power meter on the old EVG case to measure actual power output to the bike… (how I know 28Ah Okoman packs are )
-BB

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Your FS9 EQ must be a wonderful e-bike, Lee! What do you use for display? Smartphone Hub?

No longer, I got a new Kiox, it is really nice and streamlined on the post.

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Really feeling lazy, so just went to Starbucks and fed my face

 

[RabH]

The weather forecast today was showing early rain and then drying up, when I woke it was dry so I decided to go earlyish! Just as I set off I could feel rain in the air, unbelievably it rained the whole 40 miles but the roads barely got wet! It was like I had a little rain cloud following me the whole route, strangest thing ever haha! It was such a fun ride despite the rain, it makes a big difference when there is very little wind, that made it so much more enjoyable for sure! It actually felt like Spring for once!

It wasn't the best day for photos but I did take a few (ok more than a few haha), its strange how it always looks better through the camera lens! There are actually sings of things warming up at last, not quite the 90's thankfully (I hate heat) like some of you in the US but the high 60's which will be very welcome! 1,913 miles now covered, I was hoping I would be well past 2,000 by now but May has been awful this year!

 

[Dallant]

Life in the Great Midwest…
Clocked another 27 miler (now over 1500 for the Allant+7) on a beautiful morning. Life is springing out all over with hundreds of birds along the trail causing me to run the gauntlet as they fly above my head squawking/chirping/hissing at me. Some of the Red-Wing Blackbirds even landing a few blows to the top of my helmet! I don’t dare look up! Trees abound with cocoons/caterpillars. The corn/soybean fields are sprouting from the recent rains. Ah, spring!

 

[steve mercier]

We rounded up the usual suspects for an 80 km group ride.