Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Stefan Mikes]

Criss-crossed with fire trails and single paths, technical climbs and flowing descents.

Your experience with Schwalbe G-Ones? A friend is riding them in rough terrain, and he's happy. Another gravel cycling buddy is wary with them...

P.S. It seems to me you deserve an e-MTB

 

[pmcdonald]

Your experience with Schwalbe G-Ones? A friend is riding them in rough terrain, and he's happy. Another gravel cycling buddy is wary with them...

P.S. It seems to me you deserve an e-MTB

I totally deserve an e-MTB Stefan! Just waiting for that sugar mummy or daddy to come along...

I'm pretty happy with the G-One R's. They roll FAST and provide a sufficient amount of grip for the type of riding I do. The ride is supple and quiet. If I'm hitting it so hard I'm losing traction on the G-Ones I'm exceeding my bikes happy place! No flats yet. I think the Speed or Allround might be a bit slick for the trail but thumbs up from me

 

[pmcdonald]

Correct, my spine will not handle it if I were ride Donald's bike, torturing is the word.

Haha, you should have seen my previous non-electric bike! Rigid aluminium frame, no shocks, 622-32 tyres. You felt every impact on that. I used to belt it around the bush too. I'm usually out of the seat on most of the technical sections so not much is communicated up the spine.

Much like with the recent camera debate around these parts, I'm of the philosophy that the best bike for you is the one in front of you. I could pine for that ideal bike, or just get out there and use this one to take me new places. When it comes time for an upgrade I may consider a FS. Or I may not - it's a long way off hopefully. Plus I probably watch too much Ted King - its amazing what those gravel grinders manage.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm pretty happy with the G-One R's.

Ah. They are too narrow for my Vado and too wide for my Vado SL

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Schwalbe G-ONE R territory?

Somerset Region, Queensland​

I'm happy with the Schwalbe G-One Rs. They roll FAST and provide a sufficient amount of grip for the type of riding I do. The ride is supple and quiet. If I'm hitting it so hard I'm losing traction on the G-Ones, I'm exceeding my bike's happy place! No flats yet. I think the Speed or Allround might be a bit slick for the trail but thumbs up from me.

I'm tempted, especially on roads like the one above, but Johnny Watts are probably better suited to heavy (lumbering?) ebikes like my R&M Homages.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I'm tempted

These are available only for a very limited class of bikes. The name is "gravel bike". PMcDonald was lucky the G-One Rs fit his wheels.

 

[DiggyGun]

The weather was different today. Less wind, but not as cold, cloudy though instead of sunny.

Nice to see some Poppies on the field edges as were nearing Remembrance Day.

Gone, but not forgotten.

 

[Chargeride]

I ask you friends, is there anything better than exploring new trails? That sense of adventure, unknown, anticipation. The senses seem that little sharper, the eyes more on the lookout for detail. I swear I can feel my brain chemistry firing in different ways. Anyway, the circled section of bush below sits about 6km from the Newcastle CBD. It rings the John Hunter Hospital, a huge, sprawling medical complex that pretty much serves half of the state. Despite having ridden past it about 600 times it was completely unknown to me. Though not to the local car jackers and joyriders. What a delight! Criss-crossed with fire trails and single paths, technical climbs and flowing descents. I look forward to spending more time exploring this little pocket of bushland. Magpie count: 13. Swoop count: 0. Double win!

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I always look at powerline tracks as Im driving by...that looks very inviting

 

[Chargeride]

I hear this is what got Stefan into ebikes.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I hear this is what got Stefan into ebikes.

English is not a commonly spoken language in Polish amusement parks. It is not Poland.
Or maybe... English was spoken between throttledan and the guy with the camera. Never heard we had anything like that in Poland. Besides I wonder why Dan didn't help himself with a throttle

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@Nashcruiser: See the "tripod" I'm using

 

[kahn]

@Nashcruiser: See the "tripod" I'm using

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I won't make any cracks about your tripod!

 

[Chargeride]

Went for a ride before a ride.
Hoping to return to coniston tomorrow, so just went for a quick blast in the woods and on the beach, incredible 21 degrees today.
Was sweltering in my coat in October, even the rain was warm.
Im voting for global warming at glasgow for sure.

The woods were completely empty, I didnt see a single soul on the paths, not even the obligatory millionaires dog walkers

Unusually took a tumble here, its hard to judge the bumps in the sand under certain lighting conditions.
Nice soft landing, but the sand reduces you to an old man as you struggle to get back on your feet.

An unusual full tide, the sea only comes this close maybe 20 times a year and you could walk out half a mile and it would only be chest height.

The mural is finished and I think its superb, this building used to be an awesome night club in the 80s/90s, called Toad Hall, it had an interior styled on a stately home complete with suits of armour and tapestry hanging on the walls.
There would be hundreds of people dancing outside in the summer nights and visiting the beach for illicit liasons.
A bit more tidying up of the front and it will be quite a local tourist attraction.

This is a popular barbecue spot for the local kids, theres always the remains of a fire pit and you can get some incredible sunsets over the Irish sea.
The Isle of Man is about 90 miles straight out and it can be seen under certain atmospheric conditions.
There was a terrible fire on the island many years ago, an entire indoor holday centre went up in flames and many people were killed.
We could see the flames from here as it proved difficult to put out and it resulted in the banning of many types of plastic roofing.

So the last one is totally random as I came across a mini photo shoot, I must point out it was a bit risque as she was dancing in the modern arty style and her lady parts kept coming into view.
I braved the horror of it and filmed it like a total perv.
She seemed amused, so no concerns.
Oh hang on..theres a knock at the door.

 

[DiggyGun]

@Nashcruiser: See the "tripod" I'm using

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I used my water bottle as my tripod today

 

[Nashcruiser]

@Nashcruiser: See the "tripod" I'm using

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@kahn beat me to the pun but it still cracks me up.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

@kahn beat me to the pun but it still cracks me up.

Still learning the beauty of English and its puns!

 

[Deleted member 18083]

Still learning the beauty of English and its puns!

It can be fun.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It can be fun.

I have been an avid reader of the prose of recently late British author Terry Pratchett. He used to be a "master of plagiarism", joyfully using pop-culture cliches in his "Discworld" series of novels. It has been a great adventure for me to read Pratchett in both English and Polish. He used so many puns! I was really proud when I could read Pratchett in Polish to actually understand what the original English pun was there, and how our translator Piotr Cholewa had to fight to keep the pun and the idiom still funny! (Pratchett and Cholewa used to be close friends: It is why a Discworld city was named Sto Lat in the honour of Cholewa).

One of the Pratchett Discworld novels, the "Last Continent" is one big parody on Australia! I read that book in the original first, and could not understand English there! As it turned out, Pratchett wrote it in Australian English... Later, I read the Cholewa's translation and his comments, then referred to the Australian English dictionary to eventually discover how great the novel was!

It was when I learned "morno", "arvo", "no worries", and "she'll be right" Greatly recommended lecture!

P.S. "It was just one sheep, and I even didn't steal it!" (Rincewind in a prison death cell) is my favourite quote of that book!

 

[Nashcruiser]

Still learning the beauty of English and its puns!

Being that english is my only language and that of the US Midwest version as a youth and US South in adulthood I don’t know that beauty can be a descriptive for how I butcher it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Being that english is my only language and that of the US Midwest version as a youth and US South in adulthood I don’t know that beauty can be a descriptive for how I butcher it.

I must admit I had to refer to the English Urban Dictionary to be able to understand the idiom, then figured the pun myself

P.S. It seems English native speakers are very anal regarding the bike saddles