Bank holiday weekend rides
- Thread starter 103Alex1
- Start date
Nice one Alex! Only trouble is.......gave away our push bikes and still no sign of the electric ones!
Jim
Jim
I was speaking to James yesterday, he says they will be here shortly. What ever that means.
Did a 60 mile ride out to the coast at Croyde. Beautiful day for it. Couple of pictures attached plus my first video of the big climb up into Torrington. This was a somewhat hazardous ascent due to a lorry obstructing the road - the last thing you need when facing a 20% climb!
[video=youtube;jHypWOvadz0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHypWOvadz0&feature=youtu.be[/video]
[video=youtube;jHypWOvadz0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHypWOvadz0&feature=youtu.be[/video]
^^ Good effort 
. The length of your rides gets longer and longer, Jonah ... it almost looks like you're in training for something
Obstructions mid-climb are a right pain - but you'd start up again easily enough on that bike if you did have to stop ! It's 4 x 4s carreering round the corners seemingly devoid of a set of brakes on single lane downhill descents with (breaking up road edges) that 'p' me off more. I got a constant stream of them this afternoon going home. Kind of takes the wind right out of your sails !
Nice quiet time working in the garden (on my laptop !) this afternoon. But I did head out for a ride about half four in the end and went back up some very steep hills nearby to an area I can't get enough of at the moment. 180 degree open panoramas over the plain below right round the whole hillside. So chained up the bike to a gate and went off for a walk - it's easier to appreciate it all on foot as you don't need to keep your eye on the way ahead all the time ! Was amazingly quiet for a Bank Holiday - no-one in sight. Think everyone's got on a plane or headed down the M5.
. The length of your rides gets longer and longer, Jonah ... it almost looks like you're in training for something Obstructions mid-climb are a right pain - but you'd start up again easily enough on that bike if you did have to stop ! It's 4 x 4s carreering round the corners seemingly devoid of a set of brakes on single lane downhill descents with (breaking up road edges) that 'p' me off more. I got a constant stream of them this afternoon going home. Kind of takes the wind right out of your sails !
Nice quiet time working in the garden (on my laptop !) this afternoon. But I did head out for a ride about half four in the end and went back up some very steep hills nearby to an area I can't get enough of at the moment. 180 degree open panoramas over the plain below right round the whole hillside. So chained up the bike to a gate and went off for a walk - it's easier to appreciate it all on foot as you don't need to keep your eye on the way ahead all the time ! Was amazingly quiet for a Bank Holiday - no-one in sight. Think everyone's got on a plane or headed down the M5
.Absolutely glorious day. If only it could be like this in UK in Summer more often. Still had to take a jacket for downhilling home as the wind chill is still significant (for me anyway) but ... brilliant basically with the usual cloud cover gone!
Put the Trek through its paces a bit today - last ride in the wolds before it gets shipped off to its new home looking at the weather forecast. 13 miles total sameish route as yesterday to compare with the Kalkhoff fairly. Lots of off-bike time relaxing too which was very nice.
It was a bit easier mainly on the more moderate slopes ... but got stuck behind a guy on a MTB zig-zagging all over the road trying to climb with an oncoming vehicle stopped right in the overtake area & forgot to change right down on the 20% climb section. Needed considerable pedal force to get up the hill. So I did get a bit sweaty after all - and dropped right down to 7.9mph !! Still find the hub gears and crank drive much smoother and more natural to ride with than a derailleur/throttle. Having a motor that kicks out a lot when you first start pedalling after changing gear is nice. But I'm getting more confident on the Trek again.
One big difference is that with 2.1 tyres, 26" wheels and a more compact frame I actually wanted to leave the road. Had a great tootle round the Common dodging sheep poo with the motor off. Basically still have the gears for anything and gave the new brake pads a bit of a run in - which they really need, especially the front which is much harder to break in from speed without skidding everywhere !
The .. er .. bulging rack bag had a towel, bulky warm jacket, wallet, 3 bottles of water and various other basics for the British climate in it. Very minimal kit for a few hours out for me ! Didn't have to drop the panniers - I don't really like using them on the 26" MTB frame. They always seem to be at your heels somehow, even when you tie them down. It's something I never even notice on the Kalkhoff and can happily stop by the shops for some groceries on the way home without even thinking about it. This is really a bike for riding with whatever I can fit on the rack and not for general utility.
So what did it all cost power-wise ? I used full throttle a lot on the climbs and roads with pedal assist about as much as I do on the Kalkhoff. Minimal throttle on the steep downhills - was braking hard most of the time because there are steep ravines at the road edges and no proper places to pass oncoming vehicles other than passing pull-ins.
So on that basis it's about 25-30 miles with a bit of horn tooting at blind bends on narrow lanes or phone charging. 6Ah or so left in the pot to disregard as a comfort margin. Pretty much what I expected.
The acid test is going to come when I put the bike on the slopes / route it was built for, hopefully in next couple of weeks or so. Based on today's ride I expect it'll still need some hard pedalling for about 2-3 miles but I may be able to reduce the effort using the smaller chainrings. Also more of it's on windy roads so probably use the throttle less. But it isn't going to crawl me up 20-25% slopes without pedalling ... I expect you'd need 48V+, a 20+Ah battery and likely a slow wind 1500W+ peak motor for that. Which is basically as good as a small motorbike - with far too much acceleration on the flat So I won't be at risk of putting any weight on after all by the looks of it !!!
Put the Trek through its paces a bit today - last ride in the wolds before it gets shipped off to its new home looking at the weather forecast. 13 miles total sameish route as yesterday to compare with the Kalkhoff fairly. Lots of off-bike time relaxing too which was very nice.
It was a bit easier mainly on the more moderate slopes ... but got stuck behind a guy on a MTB zig-zagging all over the road trying to climb with an oncoming vehicle stopped right in the overtake area & forgot to change right down on the 20% climb section. Needed considerable pedal force to get up the hill. So I did get a bit sweaty after all - and dropped right down to 7.9mph !! Still find the hub gears and crank drive much smoother and more natural to ride with than a derailleur/throttle. Having a motor that kicks out a lot when you first start pedalling after changing gear is nice. But I'm getting more confident on the Trek again.
One big difference is that with 2.1 tyres, 26" wheels and a more compact frame I actually wanted to leave the road. Had a great tootle round the Common dodging sheep poo with the motor off. Basically still have the gears for anything and gave the new brake pads a bit of a run in - which they really need, especially the front which is much harder to break in from speed without skidding everywhere !
The .. er .. bulging rack bag had a towel, bulky warm jacket, wallet, 3 bottles of water and various other basics for the British climate in it. Very minimal kit for a few hours out for me ! Didn't have to drop the panniers - I don't really like using them on the 26" MTB frame. They always seem to be at your heels somehow, even when you tie them down. It's something I never even notice on the Kalkhoff and can happily stop by the shops for some groceries on the way home without even thinking about it. This is really a bike for riding with whatever I can fit on the rack and not for general utility.
So what did it all cost power-wise ? I used full throttle a lot on the climbs and roads with pedal assist about as much as I do on the Kalkhoff. Minimal throttle on the steep downhills - was braking hard most of the time because there are steep ravines at the road edges and no proper places to pass oncoming vehicles other than passing pull-ins.
So on that basis it's about 25-30 miles with a bit of horn tooting at blind bends on narrow lanes or phone charging. 6Ah or so left in the pot to disregard as a comfort margin. Pretty much what I expected.
The acid test is going to come when I put the bike on the slopes / route it was built for, hopefully in next couple of weeks or so. Based on today's ride I expect it'll still need some hard pedalling for about 2-3 miles but I may be able to reduce the effort using the smaller chainrings. Also more of it's on windy roads so probably use the throttle less. But it isn't going to crawl me up 20-25% slopes without pedalling ... I expect you'd need 48V+, a 20+Ah battery and likely a slow wind 1500W+ peak motor for that. Which is basically as good as a small motorbike - with far too much acceleration on the flat So I won't be at risk of putting any weight on after all by the looks of it !!!
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Another 56 miles today with 2000 ft ascent. Lovely day but cold out of the sun/in a wind; and a solid headwind on the way home. Plenty power left (2 bars) on reaching home.
It was actually a tough ride; as I figured that the canal paths would be a doddle - they weren't - big mistake. Previously along towpaths that were paved/tarmaced/gravelled I could have a comfortable tootle along. Not today. There was mile after mile after mile of rough, root strewn, stoney ground and it was hell to ride. Hey - maybe it was 'The Hell of the North'? I certainly wont be doing that again. As I said a big headwind so I was glad I took my wind proof jacket.
It was actually a tough ride; as I figured that the canal paths would be a doddle - they weren't - big mistake. Previously along towpaths that were paved/tarmaced/gravelled I could have a comfortable tootle along. Not today. There was mile after mile after mile of rough, root strewn, stoney ground and it was hell to ride. Hey - maybe it was 'The Hell of the North'? I certainly wont be doing that again. As I said a big headwind so I was glad I took my wind proof jacket.
Rough tough or not....that looks really beautiful countryside.
Great photos.
Its my favourite cycling along canal tow paths and I dont mind if it gets a bit rough, I am , after all, riding a Tough Tonaro
Whereabouts was it Taff ? Ive been promising myself a short holiday in Wales, so Im hoping its more south than north.
Lynda
Blimey Jonah - It looked a tad snugg passing the pickup just before the lorry!Did a 60 mile ride out to the coast at Croyde. Beautiful day for it. Couple of pictures attached plus my first video of the big climb up into Torrington. This was a somewhat hazardous ascent due to a lorry obstructing the road - the last thing you need when facing a 20% climb!
View attachment 5810View attachment 5811View attachment 5812
[video=youtube;jHypWOvadz0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHypWOvadz0&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Just as well it's a small bike with none-too-wide handlebars, methinks
And methinks he may be practising avoiding the straw bales on the BIG BRISTOL HILL......
(either way that was a scarey ride
)Lynda
That tunnel looks to be this one I think https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=llangothlen&hl=en&ll=52.954016,-3.063812&spn=0.006464,0.025921&usq=llangothlen&t=h&z=14&layer=c&cbll=52.954002,-3.063755&panoid=Bqy5l1K91zMGjFQHeUE8Rw&cbp=12,163.84,,0,15.01
even google have ridden the Llangollen canal
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I think it looks closer on the video than it actually was. Of course, it might have really been that close!
This was early on in the ride so all forgotten by the time I got home.
Nope - it's on the border. Wrexham/Shropshire/Cheshire. Link below will show you the route.Rough tough or not....that looks really beautiful countryside.
Great photos.
Its my favourite cycling along canal tow paths and I dont mind if it gets a bit rough, I am , after all, riding a Tough Tonaro
Whereabouts was it Taff ? Ive been promising myself a short holiday in Wales, so Im hoping its more south than north.
Lynda
Ride Link: Cyclemeter - Cycle - May 26, 2013, 12:40 PM
Ha ha - wrong tunnel!That tunnel looks to be this one I think https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=llangothlen&hl=en&ll=52.954016,-3.063812&spn=0.006464,0.025921&usq=llangothlen&t=h&z=14&layer=c&cbll=52.954002,-3.063755&panoid=Bqy5l1K91zMGjFQHeUE8Rw&cbp=12,163.84,,0,15.01
even google have ridden the Llangollen canal
AND I'm not telling.
The paths look very innocuous from the photos - appearances clearly deceiving ! We need the air temps to rise a few more degrees so the headwinds don't impact so much. Nearly June and still reaching for windproofs ! Got away with a single layer short sleeved top right up till about 5pm when the wind picked up a bit and then out came the Paramo for the free-wheel back down the hillside straight into it ! Do you ever stop off on your trips Taff, or do you prefer to ride most of the time ?
One of the later photos shows it a bit better.
Now that I'm travelling further, I take a flask and some butties and enjoy stopping for a while. I think that's the confidence of knowing I've the power to get home whatever.
i got home about 7:30. I was up the mountains on Wednesday as well so I think I'll have a few days off!
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