Share Your Most Memorable Ride and Why It Stands Out

[Thomas_Brown]

Hey everyone

I wanted to share a ride that left a lasting impression, on me and see if anyone else has stories to tell. During the summer I decided to embark on an adventure with my bike through the scenic mountains near my town. The journey was quite challenging. Reaching the summit rewarded me with views that I had never witnessed before. However the remarkable part occurred during my descent when I unexpectedly encountered a group of deer gracefully crossing the trail. The serenity and surreal beauty of that moment, with nature and me created an experience.

Do any of you have a memorable ride etched in your minds? What made it stand out for you?

Stay safe while riding!

 

[mrgold35]

The wife and I took our brand new 2016 Radrovers to the South rim of the Grand Canyon back in November of 2016. We stayed in the hotel just at few miles south of the main southern gate. There was a paved bike trail from the town, past the main southern gate vehicle entrances, and to the south rim main area. There wasn't any Ranger booth, entrance gate, or anywhere to pay a fee riding our ebikes into the park on the path (saw deer, elk, and a ton of smaller animals along the way). We did 20-25 miles riding up the paved trails up the Grande Canyon trails. The next day we rode another 20-25 miles down the paved trails exploring the other end of the south rim.

It was soooo nice to enjoy the canyon without several huge buses with +300 people running around in your view and in the background of every picture you want to take.

On the same trip, we went down to Sedona, AZ, south of Flagstaff, AZ, and rode our ebikes. We didn't know the city of Sedona has restrictions on ebikes in pedal bike areas and we needed to ride the same areas as off road motorized vehicles.

We have gone to several National Park since then; but, without our ebikes. Most National Parks out west don't seem to be (e)bike friendly like the Grand Canyon with separate paved bike paths and most don't have any type of bike lanes to the attractions.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The wife and I took our brand new 2016 Radrovers to the South rim of the Grand Canyon back in November of 2016. We stayed in the hotel just at few miles south of the main southern gate. There was a paved bike trail from the town, past the main southern gate vehicle entrances, and to the south rim main area. There wasn't any Ranger booth, entrance gate, or anywhere to pay a fee riding our ebikes into the park on the path (saw deer, elk, and a ton of smaller animals along the way). We did 20-25 miles riding up the paved trails up the Grande Canyon trails. The next day we rode another 20-25 miles down the paved trails exploring the other end of the south rim.

It was soooo nice to enjoy the canyon without several huge buses with +300 people running around in your view and in the background of every picture you want to take.

View attachment 166868

On the same trip, we went down to Sedona, AZ, south of Flagstaff, AZ, and rode our ebikes. We didn't know the city of Sedona has restrictions on ebikes in pedal bike areas and we needed to ride the same areas as off road motorized vehicles.
View attachment 166869

We have gone to several National Park since then; but, without our ebikes. Most National Park out west don't seem to be (e)bike friendly like the Grand Canyon with separate paved bike paths and most don't have any type of bike lanes to the attractions.

Fantastic! Wife and I rode our 1st ebikes ever as rentals on the South Rim in 2022. Magical experience. Fifth time there, and it never gets old. Cycling is a great way to take in the enormity and get the full 3D impact.

Four months later, we bought an ebike for each of us. Still patting myself on the back.

For anyone who hasn't been, don't skip the geology exhibits. The more you learn about the cutting of the Grand Canyon and the histories of the rocks exposed, the more amazing it looks.

 

[dodgeman]

Moab Utah hands down. They have some nice paved trails, one short one that is a few miles long that runs along the Colorado River along the cliffs and another longer one that runs north out of town. If you like riding on gravel there are miles of trails.

 

[Taylor57]

Probably the ride where I almost got hit by the car that ran the stop sign. I also ran the other stop sign. I now slow way down or even stop at stop signs...

 

[Thomas_Brown]

Moab Utah hands down. They have some nice paved trails, one short one that is a few miles long that runs along the Colorado River along the cliffs and another longer one that runs north out of town. If you like riding on gravel there are miles of trails.
View attachment 166885View attachment 166886View attachment 166887

Wow, your photos turned out great, thanks for your reply

 

[mrgold35]

The wife and I did the National Parks of Moab/Canyonland. Absolutely beautiful parks that should be on a bucket list for travel. There are tons of riding paths in the city of Moab; but, very limited bike trails and share the road bike lanes inside either National Parks.

 

[steve mercier]

My most memorable ride was the day I got my first two wheeler and learned to ride it. I can still see myself riding up and down the sidewalk at my grandparents house Christmas day on that shiny red steed with training wheels some 65 years ago. Now I watch my grandkids making that same leap of faith ..."I think I can.... I think I can"

 

[harryS]

Black Hills of South Dakota. Memorable for views and for the crashes. My wife hit the rock wall inside a rail tunnel because she couldn't see. Bad fall. We barely got back to the trailhead.

 

[harryS]

Great Moab pics, dodgeman. We saw all the NP's and a few state parks in Utah back in 2016. Didn't bring our bikes, but I did see that stretch of path that dodgeman shows us. Rented horses south of Moab on Mothers Day. That was amazing, even though I fell off.

 

[Djangodog]

On May 2, 2008 I was taking my wife’s 1200 Sportster to the shop for a recall service. A school bus had stopped ahead, (a half mile straightaway). The flashers went off, but the bus didn’t start to go right away. The speed limit was 50 and there was an auto repair shop across the street. A driver that was two cars behind the bus got impatient and darted across the road. I was doing 50 when I impacted his front end resulting in a totaled bike, fractured 12th vertebrae, severe concussion with temporary blindness, multiple complex spiral fractures with fragmentation of the left tibia and fibula, fractured right tibia, fibula and talus, internal bleeding, injury to the L4 and L5 with spinal swelling and lots of soft tissue injuries, nine surgeries and many “procedures”. Not a good day for a cyclist and runner.

That was not the memorable ride. My most memorable ride occurred 14 months later when I completed the Prouty Century Ride for Cancer Research on my traditional road bike. In 14 months I went from wheelchair and being told that if I ever walked again that it would always be with assistance to riding another century. Completing that century was one of the best moments of my life. I rode the Prouty one more time after that, but that one was really special to me because it meant that even though I would never run or be the athlete that I had been, I was still capable of doing what I loved and that my handicap didn’t mean that I was done.

 

[EMGX]

I've ridden regular bikes as well as my ebike in many scenic areas including Grand Canyon, Moab - including Slick Rock (practice loop only), Saguaro NP, Mt Lemon and many rides in Washington and Oregon. The two that stand out the most are rides around Crater Lake and Zion NP. I've ridden both areas several times but Zion stands out as the most spectacular scenery in the shortest distances with relatively easy rides (ebike not at all necessary on the most scenic spur road) and in peak season the spur road past the lodge and to the narrows is car free and super fun with many trails to lock your bike and hike - not to be missed. Personally I didn't think that the Grand Canyon was a great area to bike, I preferred to just walk. I did backpack/camp south rim down to the river and back once, snow and ice at the top, sleet at Indian Gardens but too warm for a sleeping bag down at the river.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

With 38,443 km ridden during my e-bike era (since August 2019), it would be hard to recollect all memorable rides without the help of the EBR Forums memory

• My first gravel ultramarathon (263 km or 163 mi)
  Mazovian Gravel 2023, East Mazovia Edition, MG 250 (160 mile) Race, Day 1
  Mazovian Gravel 2023, East Mazovia Edition, MG 250 (160 mile) Race, Day 2
• The longest ride on a single day (208 km or 129 mi)
  A Double Metric Century Along The Vistula to Toruń
• The most picturesque mountain road ride
  Around The Kłodzko Valley
• The biggest single climb (+556 m or 1824 ft)
  (Almost on) Sněžka Śnieżka Schneekoppe Snowy White Mt.
• The biggest single descent (12 km with 510 m elevation loss, hairpins)
  The Big Day, or Exploring Jizera Mts (Czech Republic & Poland)
• The longest mountain road ride with the biggest elevation gain (125 km, +1542 m)
  The Most Remote Southeast Road Point of Poland

I cherish this photo the most: My brother & I after a murderous climb in the Śnieżnik massif, the Kłodzko Valley ride.