Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

Bailed out of the full charity bike ride because it started with a 20 mile ride up the coast into a 15mph headwind and Im riding acoustic.
nope....
So I joined them at a loop they started from Rufford Marina, 8 miles and back for grub.

All the stuff put in for pandemic isolation is coming in quite handy for windy days.
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Back on the trusty 90s Specialized, 26 inch wheels, how do they even turn!
You may notice one of the crew turned up on a fatbike!
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The Marina was quite empty, I presume everyones set off after the pandemic for pastures new.
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The wife is having hair disasters, the short crop didnt work and now her latest blonde dye turned it orange.
We all gave he support by laughing hysterically.
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The stepdaughter bailed out after this and came home in the van with me, young people doing phone things as usual.
The couple on the right run ultra marathons and nether of them look remotely built for the task.
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Nice hour on the bike, warm, but windy, its all about the company and the banter....and the cakes.
 
yes, boring snow covered mountain in the distance 😎
Actually, I was trying to figure out if there were a typo. There is a BORING, Oregon!!! I'm not as familiar with Mt Hood as others from different directions. But Mt Hood, a volcano, is east of Portland.
 
Um, yeah… I knew there was a reason I wanted a lighter weight bike!

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Only after I hauled bike and self over this small little obstacle did I realize I should have taken the picture from the other, sunny side… but I wasn’t doing that again! Avoiding this little surprise was going to be a three mile detour and I hate turning around. Next time I’m on this trail I’ll get the picture right… I don’t think this is going anywhere anytime soon.
 
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Only A Single Photo Now...

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Yours sincerely by the Forester's Lodge of Pniowy, Mazovia, Poland. Father of our grand-grandmother Florentyna, Jan Tyburski (1809-1886) was a "Shooter of the Government Forests", or just a gamekeeper in Pniowy. (It was the lowest post in the 19 c. Russian Forestry Service). Photo by my brother Jacek Mikulski. (From our "Heritage Ride 3").

We both rode for 107.5 km (66.8 mi) today. Jacek was riding my Vado SL, and I rode my big Vado.

A riddle: Why do e-bikers prefer wearing black? :)
 
Finally. Today was warm and there was a music thing going on down the road about 5 miles so I hopped on my bike and rode there as there would be beer. Good beers to try! I got a beer and sat down with some strangers who offered to share their shade. There was music from local folks. One fellow orchestra member was playing his horn in a jazzish band.

My new Gazelle bags on their maiden voyage. All systems worked but I only carried water and extra layers of clothes. It is Spring after all.
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Beer. I only had two but I haven't had any drinkage for many months so I had a good beer buzz on. This eating establishment has their own microbrews.
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Food. I wanted a lunch and the music sponsor was not serving food until later so a visit to the Taco Wagon next door was necessary. I consider this to be the best taco wagon around these parts. There are 4 in the area.
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That guy was going to perform later. I had the enchilada plate and did not break the plastic fork.
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One of the stage areas before it got busy.
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What a gorgeous day. I rode back a less traveled, but longer route.
 
A few minutes before the rain …

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail : Fairney View, Queensland

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail
About 30 minutes from home.
We're having one of those strange days when the sky cannot make up its mind what to do. As I write this, the sun is shining and the rain is pouring down: the opposite from the photo.

There are several names for the phenomenon: Monkeys' Wedding was the one I learned as a child. Whose monkeys? Certainly not Australia's! There's a well-recognised division to the north of Australia, the Wallace Line, dividing Indonesia's islands: monkeys to the west, kangaroos to the east (tree kangaroos really exist – in New Guinea).

And now the rain has stopped and the sun has disappeared —clouds: yes; rain: no!

Maybe, it's time to head out, and finish this morning's interrupted ride, but I know that will result in yet another drenching. What fun!

Trivia: Johnny Watts territory.
 
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Skipped today’s ride and instead went for a ride via four wheels to a LBS 150 km south to Calgary. It sure was a special(ized) day for yours truly! 👍

The new steed receives tubeless treatment.

@Stefan Mikes - A riddle: Why do e-bikers prefer wearing black? :)

So that we can match our rides!

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This gorgeous matte red Aethos had my heart a flutter. 😍

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There are several names for the phenomenon: Monkeys' Wedding was the one I learned as a child. Whose monkeys? Certainly not Australia's! There's a well-recognised division to the north of Australia, the Wallace Line, dividing Indonesia's islands: monkeys to the west, kangaroos to the east (tree kangaroos really exist – in New Guinea).
I assume the Wallace is Darwin’s co-discoverer?
 
Went for a full family ride for my birthday. Had to keep it to grandma speed for the younger ones man it’s hard to ride at 10 to 12 mph on the tandem. I wore padded underwear under my shorts and we went and ate and walked a lot and wished I brought underwear to change :D granddaughters first seesaw ride you dont find them much anymore.
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No, because black makes us look slim! :D
I do try to wear red to match my bike... The rest is black though as I really don't have many red clothing items (cycling or otherwise). I do have this awesome red skirt that breaks the monotony of the black shorts and tank top: https://sweetspotskirts.com/collections/classic-sweet-spot-skirts/products/rockin-red-athletic-skirt and am on the hunt for some more red stuff. My old bike was white and so I had many more options of clothing that didn't clash. It's a struggle...
 
Went for a full family ride for my birthday. Had to keep it to grandma speed for the younger ones man it’s hard to ride at 10 to 12 mph on the tandem. I wore padded underwear under my shorts and we went and ate and walked a lot and wished I brought underwear to change :D granddaughters first seesaw ride you dont find them much anymore.View attachment 121125View attachment 121126View attachment 121127View attachment 121128View attachment 121129
That child trailer with pedals!
Are they connected up?
 
The end of the day back in the local pub.
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A guy turned up on this Super73 copy, real salesman, hes bought 20 of them and going to hire them out for the beach.
Started giving me an impromptu tour of the bike explaining how it works.
Of all the people to start his sales pitch on, I just said.
Is that a cheap chinese copy of the Super73 using the 750w bafang geared hub?
His face...he'd picked the know it all.
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Another beautiful but very blustery day, any thoughts I had of a long ride evaporated quickly as my dad was having one of those days! I decided to stay local and was fully expecting a phone call any minute but my luck was in and I managed 40 miles on my lovely local roads! The lambs were enjoying the warm sun here as it was sheltered by the trees, the difference when you were out of the bitterly cold north easterly wind was like day and night!

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Just down the road from here I found a stallion which had its hind legs severed! ;)
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I guess they didn't build it strong enough to withstand the Scottish winds...

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Roads like this were the order of the day, just sublime and little to no traffic! 😁

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Getting close to home I decided to try a road I haven't used for quite some time, I recently noticed they had repaired it at the end I pass by regularly! I soon found out they only repaired the last 100 yards or so...the remainder was pretty rough and not enjoyable on a road bike!

I actually fell off my bike on this road many years ago! It was a bitterly cold winters day but all the roads were dry so I decided to head out and enjoy the dry roads, I came to a tight bend and the road drops straight down into the valley! Just as I turned the bend the road was totally covered in thick ice as water had been running across it...my front wheel hit the ice and I went straight down, sliding all the way to the bottom on my back with the bike still at the top! I wasn't hurt though but I got a real scare...this is one of the better parts of the road!

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The wind direction was perfect for a high speed descent of one of my local hills today, only 45.3mph though! 🤣 I have gone down at 48mph in the past...

It was a very enjoyable ride despite the blustery winds, dry roads sure make for a nice ride so the winds are only a slight annoyance! Our weather is still looking promising for the next week so hopefully April will be my best month of the year so far! Only 63 miles required to beat last months 450!
 

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