Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

Weekly bike maintenance work required on mine.
I use a leaf blower to dry it. And magic ceramic spray coating.
Am I the only one with a wash rack for my bike?
Just my interest if anyone else has one.
What is this washing you speak of?
The rain does it for me and that includes me.
 
Its very chill, but gives a good overview of a day out in the peaks.
I cant possibly keep up with the enigmatic metrical of certain budding poets on here.
Im more functional in my observation and description.

And thank you for that!
 
Thanks. It does appear that water likely has run off, accumulated and settled at some point in time in that spot. I’m more intrigued at how these mounds were formed in such symmetrical clusters. One theory is frost heave as freezing winter temperature and water combined to form these so called, ‘hummocks'.

BTW, what brand of fenders are installed on your Bulls? They look vaguely similar to Mudhuggers.
Check out the Mima Mounds in WA state. I've not looked at the latest theories...

 
Emergency stop…

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Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
Clarendon, QLD, AU
Inside the dunny's walls is an old twenty-litre barrel with a loose toilet seat plonked on top, and tied to the wall with fencing wire is a supply of non-biodegradable (weatherproof!) loo paper, viz. a copy of Truckin' Life magazine. (Surely, no one wants to see the peep photo I took over the top of the 'wall'!)

Trailside Trivia:
  • Dunny: common (but not coarse) name for an outdoor toilet.
  • The eucalypt shading this seat of ease is a Corymbia torelliana, a beautiful tree with a proclivity for shedding branches on the unsuspecting who tarry in its shade. Looks like one just missed; better luck next time.
  • Eucalypt: common (non-scientific) name for three genera of 'gum trees': Angophora, Corymbia and Eucalyptus.
Widow makers.
 
Two Gravel Cycling Escapades

Bolimoza with Jacek (Saturday Oct 2nd 2021)

Only Jacek showed up in Żyrardów at the planned group ride for last Saturday. Both equipped with our latest toys (Garmin/Wahoo bike computers, both Strava subscribers), we started talking if we should beat some E-Bike KOM's en route. (A little explanation: Strava supports road segments where cyclists can compete. The male segment record is called KOM, and the female one is QOM. E-bikers have their segments made separately from ones created by traditional cyclists).

-- Jacek, are we willing to beat any KOM on our trip? -- I asked my brother.
-- I'm rather not inclined to make it today... -- Was his leisurely answer.

The point is, we both cannot ride slowly when we are on our trips together. When we reached a perfect asphalt road northward (and we were riding with the wind), we sped up. Nothing serious, as we both rode in weakened Eco modes of our e-bikes. Eventually, I let my brother win the race, as he indeed was stronger than me.

1633320740533.png

Two days later:
-- Brother, how come you took my KOM from me?! -- Jacek asked.
-- Well... Unawares. It was not my intention. You see, I was on a Graveloza group ride in March. I was left behind and was trying to catch up with the group. I rode in the POWER mode at that time... :D


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Mikulski Brothers (The Elder and The Middle) in Popielarnia. (The Younger doesn't ride with us).

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Equipped with the excellent bike GPS computer, I missed my way and we reached the morass and the ankle-deep puddle I rode through six days before :D We retraced our steps on last Saturday, of course.

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A German war cemetery of WW2 in Joachimów-Mogiły. There are more war cemeteries in the area, one of them being German & Russian of World War I.

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A picturesque singletrack with a steel gangway over R. Rokita.

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Ice-cream in Skierniewice-Ruda.

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A store, and six bikes: Four of them being e-bikes:

  • A senior man riding a traditional bike, and his younger companion riding a Trek Powerfly 7 (for health reasons); both long distance off-road cyclists;
  • A young couple: Him riding a traditional Giant XC bike, and her riding a Haibike SDuro;
  • Two brothers, both riding e-bikes (Specialized and Giant): One for health reasons, and the other just for fun :)
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"The Haunted Manor" in Lisna.


I have been to Lisna for three times. The tourist map clearly indicated a manor there but that manor seemed to be inaccessible. Thanks to Jacek (he found the access), I could eventually see the 19th c. manor. A rather sad story:

30 years ago, an informal couple of a French and a Pole (of both sexes, and of unequal financial status) bought the manor and a huge surrounding property. The couple had big plans: a hotel or a restaurant maybe? Unfortunately, the rich party died soon, leaving the poor partner with nothing, except a house made in the former stables. The survivor could not sell the land, and had no means to develop. I hear that person (now very old) still lives in the stable-house. How sad.

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And we passed the Ewa & Jurek's Herbal Farm for one more time! That time, we paid no visit (it might seem rude without an appointment, and we needed to get back to Żyrardów before the sunset too). Top photo: Jacek plays with Ewa/Jurek cat ;)

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Jacek could photograph a snake on the road, and I also asked for a photo while in Jealousy :)

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Ride Map. 51% of paved roads, 23% of dirt, 26% of gravel.


The Gang of Four (Sunday, Oct 3rd, 2021)

Przemek "the Gravel Man" is a fanatic of gravel cycling to the level that he -- having a perfect paved road nearby -- would always select a dirt path instead (the more bumpy the better!) :D We started at 7 a.m. in Grodzisk Mazowiecki to be joined by Michał and Leszek some half an hour later (en route).

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The Gang of Four at a sand mine in Suchodół. Can you see the front tyre of my Vado?! (L to R: Przemek, Michał, Leszek, and yours truly).

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I stopped at some singletrack to document the 10,000 kilometres on the odometer of my Vado. The best e-bike of all I have owned!

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It is notable I could complete the ride on a single battery (due to its degradation, the initial charge has been as low as 502 Wh). I mostly rode in 33% Eco mode, with the average assistance of 36%. My Vado has turned out to be a capable gravel e-bike if not one thing: You couldn't carry it over serious obstacles :D (Leszek and Michał helped me carry Vado in such a situation).
 
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The rain finally departed the scene and the sun arrived, it was still windy but not too bad! It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, the southerly wind sure helped! I stuck to my quiet back roads and had a real blast with all the ups and downs and twists and turns! My local loch is showing signs of our summer drought, I have never seen it so low before! I'm pretty sure it will fill up again soon when the Scottish winter hits...
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The roads were still wet after all the rain but it didn't spoil my fun, roads like this were made to be ridden!
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The light was perfect for some nice photos today, I will never tire of views like this!
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The horses were well wrapped up for the cold and enjoying the luscious grass! They paid no attention to the old guy on the bike! ;)
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It was great to get out again and the weather made it such a fun ride, sadly the weather will mean Wednesday will be my only other ride this week! I'm hoping to make it a longer one if all goes to plan!🤞
 

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Two Gravel Cycling Escapades

Bolimoza with Jacek (Saturday Oct 2nd 2021)

Only Jacek showed up in Żyrardów at the planned group ride for last Saturday. Both equipped with our latest toys (Garmin/Wahoo bike computers, both Strava subscribers), we started talking if we should beat some E-Bike KOM's en route. (A little explanation: Strava supports road segments where cyclists can compete. The male segment record is called KOM, and the female one is QOM. E-bikers have their segments made separately from ones created by traditional cyclists).

-- Jacek, are we willing to beat any KOM on our trip? -- I asked my brother.
-- I'm rather not inclined to make it today... -- Was his leisurely answer.

The point is, we both cannot ride slowly when we are on our trips together. When we reached a perfect asphalt road northward (and we were riding with the wind), we sped up. Nothing serious, as we both rode in weakened Eco modes of our e-bikes. Eventually, I let my brother win the race, as he indeed was stronger than me.

View attachment 102152
Two days later:
-- Brother, how come you took my KOM from me?! -- Jacek asked.
-- Well... Unawares. It was not my intention. You see, I was on a Graveloza group ride in March. I was left behind and was trying to catch up with the group. I rode in the POWER mode at that time... :D


View attachment 102155
Mikulski Brothers (The Elder and The Middle) in Popielarnia. (The Younger doesn't ride with us).

View attachment 102156
Equipped with the excellent bike GPS computer, I missed my way and we reached the morass and the ankle-deep puddle I rode through six days before :D We retraced our steps on last Saturday, of course.

View attachment 102180
A German war cemetery of WW2 in Joachimów-Mogiły. There are more war cemeteries in the area, one of them being German & Russian of World War I.

View attachment 102181
A picturesque singletrack with a steel gangway over R. Rokita.

View attachment 102182
Ice-cream in Skierniewice-Ruda.

View attachment 102183
A store, and six bikes: Four of them being e-bikes:

  • A senior man riding a traditional bike, and his younger companion riding a Trek Powerfly 7 (for health reasons); both long distance off-road cyclists;
  • A young couple: Him riding a traditional Giant XC bike, and her riding a Haibike SDuro;
  • Two brothers, both riding e-bikes (Specialized and Giant): One for health reasons, and the other just for fun :)
View attachment 102184
"The Haunted Manor" in Lisna.


I have been to Lisna for three times. The tourist map clearly indicated a manor there but that manor seemed to be inaccessible. Thanks to Jacek (he found the access), I could eventually see the 19th c. manor. A rather sad story:

30 years ago, an informal couple of a French and a Pole (of both sexes, and of unequal financial status) bought the manor and a huge surrounding property. The couple had big plans: a hotel or a restaurant maybe? Unfortunately, the rich party died soon, leaving the poor partner with nothing, except a house made in the former stables. The survivor could not sell the land, and had no means to develop. I hear that person (now very old) still lives in the stable-house. How sad.

View attachment 102185
And we passed the Ewa & Jurek's Herbal Farm for one more time! That time, we paid no visit (it might seem rude without an appointment, and we needed to get back to Żyrardów before the sunset too). Top photo: Jacek plays with Ewa/Jurek cat ;)

View attachment 102186
Jacek could photograph a snake on the road, and I also asked for a photo while in Jealousy :)

View attachment 102188
Ride Map. 51% of paved roads, 23% of dirt, 26% of gravel.


The Gang of Four (Sunday, Oct 3rd, 2021)

Przemek "the Gravel Man" is a fanatic of gravel cycling to the level that he -- having a perfect paved road nearby -- would always select a dirt path instead (the more bumpy the better!) :D We started at 7 a.m. in Grodzisk Mazowiecki to be joined by Michał and Leszek some half an hour later (en route).

View attachment 102189
The Gang of Four at a sand mine in Suchodół. Can you see the front tyre of my Vado?! (L to R: Przemek, Michał, Leszek, and yours truly).

View attachment 102190
I stopped at some singletrack to document the 10,000 kilometres on the odometer of my Vado. The best e-bike of all I have owned!

View attachment 102191
It is notable I could complete the ride on a single battery (due to its degradation, the initial charge has been as low as 502 Wh). I mostly rode in 33% Eco mode, with the average assistance of 36%. My Vado has turned out to be a capable gravel e-bike if not one thing: You couldn't carry it over serious obstacles :D (Leszek and Michał helped me carry Vado in such a situation).

Nice fall reports Stefan and congrats on reaching that epic mileage mark! 👍A Vado equipped with a Wahoo sounds like the ideal setup for you.
 
View attachment 102195

The rain finally departed the scene and the sun arrived, it was still windy but not too bad! It wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, the southerly wind sure helped! I stuck to my quiet back roads and had a real blast with all the ups and downs and twists and turns! My local loch is showing signs of our summer drought, I have never seen it so low before! I'm pretty sure it will fill up again soon when the Scottish winter hits...
View attachment 102197
View attachment 102198

The roads were still wet after all the rain but it didn't spoil my fun, roads like this were made to be ridden!
View attachment 102199
View attachment 102200
View attachment 102201

The light was perfect for some nice photos today, I will never tire of views like this!
View attachment 102202
View attachment 102203

The horses were well wrapped up for the cold and enjoying the luscious grass! They paid no attention to the old guy on the bike! ;)
View attachment 102204

It was great to get out again and the weather made it such a fun ride, sadly the weather will mean Wednesday will be my only other ride this week! I'm hoping to make it a longer one if all goes to plan!🤞
Lovely shots. 😎Nice to still see such vivid green hues of those rolling hills. Most of the leaves here have fallen by the wayside and many locals have been placed on raking duty including myself.

Speaking of trees, one of your countrymen has been doing his part in helping reforest the Scottish Highlands.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-national-michael-yellowlees-cross-canada-walk-1.5322480
 
Who wants to drag a tripod around? Not me. Luckily I remembered that I had a manfrotto super clamp from my photography hobby. Attach the camera and clamp it to the handlebars and the bike is a tripod. Put the kickstand down and the handlebars aren’t level so that takes some maneuvering to level up the camera. Sunset happening last night gave me a chance to experiment with it.
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Lovely shots. 😎Nice to still see such vivid green hues of those rolling hills. Most of the leaves here have fallen by the wayside and many locals have been placed on raking duty including myself.

Speaking of trees, one of your countrymen has been doing his part in helping reforest the Scottish Highlands.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-national-michael-yellowlees-cross-canada-walk-1.5322480
Amazing story that, thanks for sharing it! I had no idea about the deforestation of our highlands as I haven't been up for many years, its a sad state of affairs! Its so heartwarming to see the Canadians reach out to Michael in his plight, what a guy!
 
Freedom on two wheels…

Lake Manchester Road, Brisbane, QLD

Lake Manchester Road
Brisbane, QLD, AU

The Bureau of Meteorology predicted a warm day (they were right), so I decided to give cycling a skip. Of course, this did not eventuate and, after a late breakfast, I freed Homage #2 from the shed and headed for… I didn't actually know where.

From home I headed north but, on a whim, skipped the rail trail and headed east for the switchback roads around Pine Mountain and the meandering Brisbane River.

Up, down, up, down… with just a flattish stretch through the westernmost semi-rural suburbs of Brisbane (25—30km on the map) where I took a break to enjoy the Monday morning solitude. There was a faint hum approaching from the east: camera out and, just in time, Click! for the photo above. I'm sure the motorcyclist was enjoying the traffic-free road as much as I.

Ride with GPS : Kholo Loop
 
The Flow is spending a few days at our local REI getting spokes tensioned this rainy week, but we did chance a little ride yesterday. Almost all our riding here is on one part or other of the Bicentennial Greenway, and yesterday was no exception. The only excitement was me running over a snake (black, with 2 yellow stripes, about a yard long) with my feet up, screaming like a girl (which, to be fair, I am 😁). Saw it too late and was moving too fast to avoid it 😱. There was no sign of it on the return - believe me, I looked! So I'm assuming no lasting damage was done...

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We do need a little rain, so the trip to the shop has worked out perfectly!
 
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Who wants to drag a tripod around? Not me. Luckily I remembered that I had a manfrotto super clamp from my photography hobby. Attach the camera and clamp it to the handlebars and the bike is a tripod. Put the kickstand down and the handlebars aren’t level so that takes some maneuvering to level up the camera. Sunset happening last night gave me a chance to experiment with it.
View attachment 102229View attachment 102230View attachment 102231View attachment 102232
Very nice! What shutter speed?
BTW, my Manfrotto tripod has been in its case for years. I just don’t take pics that need a tripod anymore since my iPhone 12 Pro and my daughter is using my Canon 5D MK2 and lenses.
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A 2020 Mountain Road Ride Recollection

The original August 9th, 2020 ride report.

I just want to tell you some e-bike related story. We were staying with Jacek at the Mercure Hotel, Jelenia Góra, Giant Mountains, Poland on that day. At 9:04, we had less than 3 hours to make a climb to Karpacz, do a little sight-seeing there, and come back before the noon. So we decided to take no prisoners: A single battery for each Vado and Trance E+, maximum assistance, and maximum effort.

The first part was a 21.12 km ride with 636 m elevation gain, and we made it in 48:36 (13.13 mi, 2087 ft); it was a Category 2 climb (whatever that means). We were actually taking over a young competing roadie uphill, and he was winning downhill :) We could even afford a little chat with him on that crazy ride!

Now, I'm taking a look at my Strava...

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Oh, my! I got an E-Bike King of Mountain title on that ride! And that holds until this day! 26.1 km/h (16.22 mph) uphill on a Category 2 Climb! (The values of cadence and power were not measured for that ride - the data is worthless here).

Not sure if I could repeat that effort in 2021. Riding together with Jacek is a special experience. Only a pity his GPS went crazy for that very ride and he was not accepted as a competitor by Strava there. Because I know he won that race!

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Very nice! What shutter speed?
BTW, my Manfrotto tripod has been in its case for years. I just don’t take pics that need a tripod anymore since my iPhone 12 Pro and my daughter is using my Canon 5D MK2 and lenses.View attachment 102262
Very nice! What shutter speed?
BTW, my Manfrotto tripod has been in its case for years. I just don’t take pics that need a tripod anymore since my iPhone 12 Pro and my daughter is using my Canon 5D MK2 and lenses.View attachment 102262
I don’t know. It was set to aperture mode and bracketed for 3 shots, then merged in Lightroom. The main exposure was in the 1/60th range. I’m not at my computer right now and can’t see the originals.
 
I don’t know. It was set to aperture mode and bracketed for 3 shots, then merged in Lightroom. The main exposure was in the 1/60th range. I’m not at my computer right now and can’t see the originals.
Only curious as I rarely even brace my IPhone to maintain stillness. I carried so much gear all my photographic life that I was thrilled when I found my iPhone could take decent pics, even in fairly low light.
 

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