Our Rides in Words, Photos & Videos

[Stefan Mikes]

It was 14 degrees C here today!

My lady comes from London to Poland on this Wednesday!

In 2022, I fell in love in Snowdonia! Wales is a beautiful country with extremely nice people!

 

[Chargeride]

yes, it is , it actually has some of the most uninhabited areas of central europe.
If you look at a night satellite pic, its mostly a big black space.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

central europe

That would be Switzerland if you indeed mean "Central"?

 

[Prairie Dog]

The real Winter will come in February... No slightest chance to ride below -20 C! We were having -25 or -30 C in the past. I am afraid!

The real winter is already here. Check out the wind chill values! I can dress for this kind of cold but I worry more about the bike.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The real winter is already here.

As I used to mention so often Poland (luckily) is not Canada
The thaw has come!

 

[Chargeride]

That would be Switzeland if you indeed mean "Central"?

Ha, I couldnt think of how to exclude the viking lands

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Ha, I couldnt think of how to exclude the viking lands

You should exclude a good part of the Roman Empire first
The greater part of your island is on the West longitude anyway
And not necessarily in Europe, haha!

 

[RabH]

After 15 days of awful weather, today was the day to return to the saddle! Yesterday it was 12C but with 45mph gusts and heavy rain it certainly wasn't a day for cycling, 24 hours later and it was still very blowy and 6C but thankfully mostly dry! I was determined to make the most of the mild weather and brave the 35mph gusts and get a proper ride done while it was still possible, I planned to get home after around 50 miles and have lunch and get back out and go as far as possible before darkness set in! My plan worked perfectly and despite getting caught in a heavy shower I had a brilliant day on the bike! The wind was a chilly one from the SSW so I decided to take the tailwind for the first 15 miles to get properly warmed up!

The Campsie Hills viewed from Shieldhill, you can see the nasty rain clouds which I eventually got caught in...

I decided to give this road a miss today and use the main road in Shieldhill, even after yesterdays extremely mild weather there was still some ice around so I didn't take any chances!

I joined the back roads again soon after and was fighting the strong headwind for a while, my next port of call would be Bonnybridge and I was greeted by some equine friends on the way there!

I reached Bonnybridge and it was time to head west towards Kilsyth, I passed over the Forth and Clyde canal here!

I was now heading into the dark clouds towards Kilsyth, I was going through Banknock when I spotted a very bright rainbow to the north at the M80 motorway. By the time I got my phone out it had almost faded away, to add insult to injury the rain started battering down...

Looking south at the M80!

Thankfully the strong wind blew it over pretty quickly and by the time I reached Kilsyth it was much brighter!

The dredger will have some work to do as there was a lot of debris in the canal after the storm yesterday...

I even got some dry roads today which surprised me, this is the back road from Palacerigg Country Park to Upperton!

Its a little rough in parts but nothing bad, lots of farm traffic use this road!

I arrived home and enjoyed my lunch before heading back out with a route in mind that would avoid the worst of the wind, I really couldn't have picked a better route and had an absolute blast on the quiet back roads! I didn't see a single car for miles and had roads like this to enjoy!

Somebody wasn't having the best day, hopefully nobody was badly hurt!

Final photo before returning home, I even got some sunshine

That was a much needed ride as my family are having a rough time at the moment, there's nothing like a good bike ride to clear your head of bad thoughts for a bit! I'm hoping to get out again before the year is over, this Thursday is actually looking good with much lighter winds so fingers crossed! It looks like we might get a white Christmas this year, I hope it clears up after its over and I can get out on the bike again!

 

[Chargeride]

No doubt a local, luckily he was taking it easy and only lost control at 120.

 

[RabH]

No doubt a local, luckily he was taking it easy and only lost control at 120.

This road is notorious for icing and its a big downhill leading to a 90 degree turn, I'm pretty sure the driver got caught out by the ice making the turn and ploughed through the fence! Especially given the conditions lately!

 

[Prairie Dog]

After 15 days of awful weather, today was the day to return to the saddle! Yesterday it was 12C but with 45mph gusts and heavy rain it certainly wasn't a day for cycling, 24 hours later and it was still very blowy and 6C but thankfully mostly dry! I was determined to make the most of the mild weather and brave the 35mph gusts and get a proper ride done while it was still possible, I planned to get home after around 50 miles and have lunch and get back out and go as far as possible before darkness set in! My plan worked perfectly and despite getting caught in a heavy shower I had a brilliant day on the bike! The wind was a chilly one from the SSW so I decided to take the tailwind for the first 15 miles to get properly warmed up!

It’s nice to see you back on the road after that involuntary hiatus. I’m sure walking was great but being able to cover the distances that you do on your bike, the layoff (albeit temporary) had to be frustrating to say the least. I now find myself in that position and hope this misery of Arctic lows ends soon. I’ll try and head out for a bit today if it warms up this afternoon. If anything, it’s a good excuse to get me out of the house.

 

[RabH]

It was supposed to be a nice day today but it was raining when I got up this morning, it wasn't looking promising at all...so I decided to go for a walk again and hope it would clear up later! @Prairie Dog I do like going for a walk but cycling is way more fun and I really feel for you having to wait out the bitterly cold weather! Eventually I decided to go for it with a very overcast sky and mist forming, not long after I set off I could feel rain in the air again and the skies were really closing in! If it had been very cold (it was 6C) I probably would have bailed but I persisted and I was rewarded later in the ride!

There was very little wind which is a good and a bad thing, the good is obvious but the bad is the clouds stay put and there's not much chance of a break in the weather! Anyway I kept going and around the 22 mile mark I reached West Calder where I would turn northwest and make a decision about whether to take a direct route home or make it another 50 miler which was my target today! I looked to the north and could see the sun shining on the Ochill Hills in the distance, the question was how far north would I need to go to reach that better weather?

So I made my way north and reached Longridge and I was starting to get hopeful about the situation, I continued on to Blackridge and I could see the sky clearing up over the hills at Heights! The decision was made and I started the climb up to Heights where there is a big windfarm, this road is normally out of bounds at this time of year but with the milder weather I knew it would be safe! I got to the top of the climb and couldn't believe my eyes, blue skies greeted me!

The sun was shining on the Ochil Hills and they looked amazing! I didn't actually take many photos but all the ones I did take were from the same spot...

The difference in temperature here was very noticable, it was 3C now so the heated gloves were turned up to setting 2 and my hands were soon toasty again! The light up here was so good for photography so I just kept grabbing photos from different angles!

I particularly love this one!

My bike was feeling left out so...

I now had a lovely descent to enjoy down into Avonbridge and I was so glad I didn't abort early in the ride, I reached Avonbridge with 38 miles covered and it was almost a straight road home for the next 12 miles! I arrived home with a very filthy bike but very satisfied with my ride, I know I'm very lucky to be able to get out at this time of year and take nothing for granted! That was my 98th ride of the year, it would be nice to make it the round 100 with 2 rides next week but I will have to see what the weather will bring and if this was my last one of the year so be it!

 

[Chargeride]

I guess thats the cooling towers from a power station.
Incredible how they can make clouds, all that wasted heat though, we used to pipe it into homes.

 

[RabH]

I guess thats the cooling towers from a power station.
Incredible how they can make clouds, all that wasted heat though, we used to pipe it into homes.

Grangemouth power station which serves the Ineos petrochemical refinery!

 

[Prairie Dog]

@Prairie Dog I do like going for a walk but cycling is way more fun and I really feel for you having to wait out the bitterly cold weather! Eventually I decided to go for it with a very overcast sky and mist forming, not long after I set off I could feel rain in the air again and the skies were really closing in! If it had been very cold (it was 6C) I probably would have bailed but I persisted and I was rewarded later in the ride!

Envious as usual, I am. Just glad that someone in this thread is getting out for longish rides. The onslaught of cold weather here will soon be over and by Christmas Day it will be a balmy -5C. Fingers crossed.
That will be my present.

Holiday cheers to you and yours, Fab Rab!

 

[RabH]

Envious as usual, I am. Just glad that someone in this thread is getting out for longish rides. The onslaught of cold weather here will soon be over and by Christmas Day it will be a balmy -5C. Fingers crossed.
That will be my present.

Holiday cheers to you and yours, Fab Rab!

Excellent present if it comes to fruition Happy holidays to you and yours also and everyone on the forums!

 

[Chargeride]

Next ride is boxing day pub crawl.
Heres the brother in laws official route.

Heres the most likely outcome.

Happy Christmas everyone, heres to fixed bones, joints, motors and tyres.

 

[Readytoride]

Christmas cheer

Haven't been able to ride at all in the past few weeks with our winter weather, especially the recent weather taking almost all of our expansive county, including neighbors Canada and Mexico, into the deepest freeze and deadliest cold in decades. Bone chilling doesn't even come close to describing this Arctic "bomb cyclone" that swept in the other day to plunge us all in the bitter cold.

But the weather is only temporary. As soon as any bit of warmth appears (which will be next week when the warm weather rushes back in to give us balmy springtime temps just perfect for riding) I will gleefully be back on the roads with a shiny new Christmas present I have for the upcoming 2023 rides - a new 2023 Gazelle C380+ 28mph Class 3 carbon belt drive ebike.

And the best part is...the new ebike is a result of me holding the winning ticket at my bike shop's Christmas raffle!!!!

The shop held a raffle this winter to support a local non-profit that aids the area poor by providing financial help, food, and clothing. The raffle ran from November to December for ticket buying. I purchased 12 tickets to the tune of $200. And then I kept my fingers crossed. Really tightly. For two solid months.

The winning tickets were pulled at 2pm on Christmas Eve for each of three prizes offered. At 2:01pm my cell phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID, and felt my heart leap. There could only be one reason the store would call. The store owner was on the other end, and the first words out of his mouth were "I'm about to make your Christmas very special."

Anything else he tried to say was drowned out with my screams of delirious delight. I kid you not I was actually dancing around the room, screaming and laughing my head off, rupturing the poor guy's ear drums. I do remembering him laughing at my very vocal glee, and when I finally calmed down enough to actually hear what he had to say, he verified I was the winner of the ebike.

OMG!!!!!

I am still on Cloud Nine. My husband (who is still recovering from Covid which he picked up for free at a celebratory party we attended almost two weeks ago) is thrilled as well. A big plus is the new bike's battery is identical to my current Gazelle's battery - giving me now a third battery to use for the metric century, and full century, rides. I had already decided i would be buying a third battery this winter so I could at least give @RabH a run for his money in the 2023 ride distances. Now instead I will have not only an extra battery, but a whole new bike, thanks to winning the raffle!!

What a great ending to my cycling calendar for 2022!!! Come on 2023! I am soooo ready!!!

Woo hoo!!!!!!

 

[Prairie Dog]

Christmas cheer

Haven't been able to ride at all in the past few weeks with our winter weather, especially the recent weather taking almost all of our expansive county, including neighbors Canada and Mexico, into the deepest freeze and deadliest cold in decades. Bone chilling doesn't even come close to describing this Arctic "bomb cyclone" that swept in the other day to plunge us all in the bitter cold.
View attachment 143285
View attachment 143286


But the weather is only temporary. As soon as any bit of warmth appears (which will be next week when the warm weather rushes back in to give us balmy springtime temps just perfect for riding) I will gleefully be back on the roads with a shiny new Christmas present I have for the upcoming 2023 rides - a new 2023 Gazelle C380+ 28mph Class 3 carbon belt drive ebike.

And the best part is...the new ebike is a result of me holding the winning ticket at my bike shop's Christmas raffle!!!!

The shop held a raffle this winter to support a local non-profit that aids the area poor by providing financial help, food, and clothing. The raffle ran from November to December for ticket buying. I purchased 12 tickets to the tune of $200. And then I kept my fingers crossed. Really tightly. For two solid months.

The winning tickets were pulled at 2pm on Christmas Eve for each of three prizes offered. At 2:01pm my cell phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID, and felt my heart leap. There could only be one reason the store would call. The store owner was on the other end, and the first words out of his mouth were "I'm about to make your Christmas very special."

Anything else he tried to say was drowned out with my screams of delirious delight. I kid you not I was actually dancing around the room, screaming and laughing my head off, rupturing the poor guy's ear drums. I do remembering him laughing at my very vocal glee, and when I finally calmed down enough to actually hear what he had to say, he verified I was the winner of the ebike.

OMG!!!!!

I am still on Cloud Nine. My husband (who is still recovering from Covid which he picked up for free at a celebratory party we attended almost two weeks ago) is thrilled as well. A big plus is the new bike's battery is identical to my current Gazelle's battery - giving me now a third battery to use for the metric century, and full century, rides. I had already decided i would be buying a third battery this winter so I could at least give @RabH a run for his money in the 2023 ride distances. Now instead I will have not only an extra battery, but a whole new bike, thanks to winning the raffle!!

What a great ending to my cycling calendar for 2022!!! Come on 2023! I am soooo ready!!!

Woo hoo!!!!!!
View attachment 143284

Woohoo! Congrats and it's a beaut! You couldn’t have asked for better timing and it was a win win for all involved. Bummer about the weather but we’re pretty well in the same boat north of you. Improved forecast is on on the way here too. Look forward to your next post when you take your new ride out for a spin!

 

[Mulezen]

R2R…and to think I’m happy with the new cassette my LBS installed yesterday…
which I will try out today despite Old Man Winter