Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Deleted member 18083]

Returning home…

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail​

I'll soon be returning to this upper section of the trail with my Tyred Old People group. Our goal is to travel the 161 km of the trail in both directions before year's end. Some prefer to see the adventure as more of a quest to sample the delights of every bakery and cafe along the route!

 

[PatriciaK]

Returning home…
View attachment 84984

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail​

I'll soon be returning to this upper section of the trail with my Tyred Old People group. Our goal is to travel the 161 km of the trail in both directions before year's end. Some prefer to see the adventure as more of a quest to sample the delights of every bakery and cafe along the route!

"Tyred Old People" - love it! Excellent name for a group - I may steal it, if I'm ever in one place long enough to get a group going! I'd use the "American" spelling of "tyre", of course

 

[reed scott]

"Tyred Old People" - love it! Excellent name for a group - I may steal it, if I'm ever in one place long enough to get a group going! I'd use the "American" spelling of "tyre", of course

It's funnier spelled the Brit/Aussie way.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

"Tyred Old People" - love it!

It's funnier spelled the Brit/Aussie way.

 

[PatriciaK]

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It is, but many 'muricans don't go in for that fancy pantsy 'furrin spelling .

 

[Art Deco]

It is, but many 'muricans don't go in for that fancy pantsy 'furrin spelling .

"If someone who speaks two languages is called bilingual, and someone who speaks three or more languages is called multilingual, what do you call someone who speaks only one language ?"

.
.An American...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It is, but many 'muricans don't go in for that fancy pantsy 'furrin spelling .

"Tired Old People" means "exhausted seniors" to me. As the spelling "tyre" is just British/Australian, "tyred" makes it obvious we are talking about these rubber pieces attached to the wheels. Make no mistake Pat with the American spelling!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I Must Be Falling Apiece... (Explained Later)

Cold, drizzle, at least almost no wind. What to do with such a nice day? I gave Jacek a phone call. Him sitting at home, wife suffering cold. "Come" he said. I put adequate cycling clothes on and rode towards Jacek's place. (I keep my Lovelec in the flat as it doesn't look posh and is OK in a social block of flats). Again, I had to appreciate the commuter quality of my hub-drive Lovelec. While giving me pleasant workout (I simply have to pedal hard or fast in PAS 2 of 5 to maintain the speed of 32 km/h), the e-bike tends to travel at constant speed. The Rock Shox Paragon Gold RL fork (that I bought after the original Suntour NEX broke) makes my rides plush, and 42 mm tyres offer low rolling resistance. (No need to go to the remote storage for my Vado for just a ride!) I genuinely love that e-bike, even if it isn't prestigious

I was somewhat irritated with rainwater on my goggles. It felt cold, too (I was keeping my windbreaker in the backpack). The distance to Jacek's place is now 29 km (was 34 when I was riding from the house. My current flat is just nearer to my brother's). I covered the distance in one-and-half hour gross.

I asked for warm tea. A small glass of STOCK Cranberry Vodka did me good, to. Jacek has demonstrated my Trance E+ customized to his needs (Oh my! Large decent mudguards! Ride Control One remote replacing the EVO display! Total maintenance already done on the e-MTB!) Brother has also shown he had no issues with Giant Ride Control app update for his iPhone.

Well. More raining was forecast so I wasted no time and hurried towards my new home. And... Surprise!

SUNSHINE! Instead of forecast heavy raining! To make a good use of the day, I chose far longer return route than initially planned. I have already been to that very place: It was on my first 75-mile ride.

And now, let me explain why "I must be falling apiece"...

When I was about to restart my ride from the bus stop, a nice small red Fiat car stopped behind me and honked at me. As I was doing nothing wrong, I watched the developments with interest. The driver, wearing sporty sunglasses, friendly waved at me from behind his steering wheel. Seeing no recognition in me, he got off the car and greeted me. No clue. He removed his sunglasses and came close to me. I felt I knew that face...

-- "Hi" -- I said -- "I know we are friends but I simply cannot recognize you. Could you give me your name?"
-- "I've got no time for that" -- he smiled.
-- "Come on? Who are you?!"
-- "We've been together on a group ride or two..."
-- "STASZEK?!"

Yes, it was him. The competing roadie and a great personality. The member of the Merry Gang when he rides just for leisure. "Staszek" -- I said -- "I'm so sorry. I have always seen you with the helmet on and in the cycling gear..." That's true. The helmet and cycling clothes make another person! It turned out Staszek was out with his car to assess the state of roads before his Sunday's workout (that's often 200 km at average speed of 30 km/h). And, we are basically neighbours, as his Ożarów is pretty close to my current place, perhaps just 12 km apart...

Why "I must be falling apiece" then? Because I took as many as three selfies of Staszek and me, and actually I didn't take a single shot... And I haven't even checked whether the photos had been in the Gallery!!!

The STACK (I live just "under" it) as seen from the distance of 8 km (5 mi).

I gave up the GPS navigation and was just navigating straight towards the stack. No. I could not take that direct dirt road, no

Newly built Jabeerwocky Brewery. Not brewing yet. This craft beer brewery is just 1.5 km apart from my new place!

Ride map with POI.

Ride metrics

 

[reed scott]

It is, but many 'muricans don't go in for that fancy pantsy 'furrin spelling .

That's part of why it's funnier. All the 'folks' scratching they haids.

 

[steve mercier]

"If someone who speaks two languages is called bilingual, and someone who speaks three or more languages is called multilingual, what do you call someone who speaks only one language ?"

.
.An American...

My uncle spoke English and French but he could not read or write , so he was illiterate in two languages! (-:

 

[PedalUma]

If you ride in afront a lorry you get tyred if you ride behind a truck train you get exhausted.

 

[PowerflyLee formerly known as CheetahLee]

Another awesome ride, after which I ordered a nice big18 oz Ribeye, baked potato and huge salad. Polished it all off, mmm mmmm mmmm

 

[BarnBoy]

And hear I thot it war spelt ‘Merkin!
-BB

 

[Prairie Dog]

First Metric Century of the New Year. Yippee!

Between spring yard work and addressing some urgent business matters, it’s been tough to keep tabs on the daily forum activity. I did manage to squeeze in a good ride today before a nasty cold front slides in as Sunday’s forecast is calling for….you guessed it, snow. Surprise, surprise. Quite a change from today’s high of + 18 C.

Today’s ride was uninspiring to say the least as I spent most of it on busy road ways with a few select stops along the way. My itinerary would have me bypass the town of Lacombe but pay visits to the summer village of Gull Lake, as well as the townships of Bentley and Sylvan Lake.

The footbridge at Lake Lacombe is a nice place to stop along the way and take in the view of this small but picturesque body of water.

Most amenities at the summer village of Gull Lake remain closed as the water is much too cold for any activities. It was quiet so I stopped for a bite to eat. I found the water there to be very calming and meditative.

A paved MUP that stretches alongside the secondary highway between Gull Lake and Bentley was a welcome change.

20 km west of Lacombe is the town of Bentley located in the Blindman Valley. A popular watering hole in the center of town is the Monkey Top Saloon that services both locals and visitors alike. Today there was a gathering of what appeared to be a local chapter of bikers who were likely there for more than just the pizza.

I gather by this pic that the proprietor(s) welcome any mode of transport. Yee Ha!! Giddy up!

Even though we’re well into spring it’s a bit premature to capture decent images of the local landscape as things are still looking pretty drab and brown. I did, however, manage to cross over to the other side of the highway to snap a shot of a section of the Red Deer River as it cuts through the rolling farmland.

Both highways on the return leg home were not ideal to cycle on as #20 south towards Sylvan Lake sported very narrow shoulders. #11A from Sylvan Lake to Red Deer was better but there were far more cars traveling at high rates of speed making the last 20km quite unnerving.

Cycling the waterfront promenade into Sylvan Lake was quite enjoyable as there seemed to be few people around and I think that the municipality has done a nice job of sprucing up the townsite.

The center of town was where all of the action appeared to be occurring. Most people were not masked and social distancing appeared to be a thing of the past. I was really looking forward to stopping by the Big Moo for a tasty treat but there were far too many people milling around inside the patio just outside the entrance.

I ended up cycling back out to the edge of town and enjoyed the remains of my lunch while watching a kite boarder unsuccessfully try to free himself from the clutches of the lake.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Invitation to take a break…

Moreton Bay from Redcliffe Peninsula​

 

[Chargeride]

Returning home…
View attachment 84984

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail​

I'll soon be returning to this upper section of the trail with my Tyred Old People group. Our goal is to travel the 161 km of the trail in both directions before year's end. Some prefer to see the adventure as more of a quest to sample the delights of every bakery and cafe along the route!

I love your ultrawide crop pictures, they are the glorious opposite of my families vertical phone pics.
I keep droning on how our eyes are side to side , not on top of each other.
I just get that look.

 

[Chargeride]

First Metric Century of the New Year. Yippee!

Between spring yard work and addressing some urgent business matters, it’s been tough to keep tabs on the daily forum activity. I did manage to squeeze in a good ride today before a nasty cold front slides in as Sunday’s forecast is calling for….you guessed it, snow. Surprise, surprise. Quite a change from today’s high of + 18 C.
View attachment 85022
View attachment 85034
Today’s ride was uninspiring to say the least as I spent most of it on busy road ways with a few select stops along the way. My itinerary would have me bypass the town of Lacombe but pay visits to the summer village of Gull Lake, as well as the townships of Bentley and Sylvan Lake.

The footbridge at Lake Lacombe is a nice place to stop along the way and take in the view of this small but picturesque body of water.
View attachment 85023
Most amenities at the summer village of Gull Lake remain closed as the water is much too cold for any activities. It was quiet so I stopped for a bite to eat. I found the water there to be very calming and meditative.
View attachment 85024
A paved MUP that stretches alongside the secondary highway between Gull Lake and Bentley was a welcome change.
View attachment 85025
20 km west of Lacombe is the town of Bentley located in the Blindman Valley. A popular watering hole in the center of town is the Monkey Top Saloon that services both locals and visitors alike. Today there was a gathering of what appeared to be a local chapter of bikers who were likely there for more than just the pizza.
View attachment 85026
I gather by this pic that the proprietor(s) welcome any mode of transport. Yee Ha!! Giddy up!
View attachment 85027
Even though we’re well into spring it’s a bit premature to capture decent images of the local landscape as things are still looking pretty drab and brown. I did, however, manage to cross over to the other side of the highway to snap a shot of a section of the Red Deer River as it cuts through the rolling farmland.
View attachment 85028
Both highways on the return leg home were not ideal to cycle on as #20 south towards Sylvan Lake sported very narrow shoulders. #11A from Sylvan Lake to Red Deer was better but there were far more cars traveling at high rates of speed making the last 20km quite unnerving.
View attachment 85029
Cycling the waterfront promenade into Sylvan Lake was quite enjoyable as there seemed to be few people around and I think that the municipality has done a nice job of sprucing up the townsite.
View attachment 85030
The center of town was where all of the action appeared to be occurring. Most people were not masked and social distancing appeared to be a thing of the past. I was really looking forward to stopping by the Big Moo for a tasty treat but there were far too many people milling around inside the patio just outside the entrance.
View attachment 85031View attachment 85032
I ended up cycling back out to the edge of town and enjoyed the remains of my lunch while watching a kite boarder unsuccessfully try to free himself from the clutches of the lake.
View attachment 85033

I dont like to mash the love button, but that Saloon bar and those horses.
Thats the America I want to see.

 

[Deleted member 18083]

I love your ultrawide crop pictures, they are the glorious opposite of my families vertical phone pics.

I use a compact camera with a fixed (non-zooming) 28mm wide-angle lens. This provides around 65º horizontal coverage.

As you have noted, the uploaded photos have been cropped; their horizontal-to-vertical ratio is 16:9 which is similar to TV and smartphone screens.

 

[rajron]

This is a re-post from yesterday; I accidently erased the post when I tried to do a correction on my phone.

South Mountain is sixteen miles away as the crow flies W, NW. It’s called South Mountain because it is direct south from Phoenix, the main city in the Valley of the Sun. Hard to see but there are communication towers at the highest peak in the center of the mountain, had to ride around the mountain to get the road up. There is a multiuse trail at the base this side but the final mile or so is a carry bike trail, my bike weighs in at around sixty-five pounds fully loaded, not going to do that. That said I am loving the Gazelle it is big and heavy, luxuries, comfortable, rides smooth and fast and handles surprisingly great; I know I just came down South Mountain often hitting 40 mph on the Perion speedo, on a very twisty road.
Little over 70 mile ride.

One way map, got lost a couple of times near the park, did not follow same way home

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Entrance to the park - the communication towers

I live in a desert – Saguaro Cactus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro

Downtown Phoenix from above looking North

Pano of what you see on top, I live beyond the far right not visitable not just because its blocked but also because it is so far away.

 

[Prairie Dog]

I dont like to mash the love button, but that Saloon bar and those horses.
Thats the America I want to see.

This is something you likely won’t see very often except in rural towns or perhaps when the Calgary Stampede hits the city. Though in many bucolic parts of our province it might be a more common site as people still actively use horses during livestock round ups. Even in my hometown there are plenty of horse owners/ lovers and there is also a recreational ranch within our city limits. Visitors to Alberta can even spend their vacations on an actual working ranch, pack trip or even participate in a cattle drive. Who doesn’t want to be a real cowboy/girl for a few days?