Drop your random ride pics

[toddiscdn]

Usually reserve the DR for riding at this time of year, but I  needed to scratch the T7 itch today at a blistering +6 deg.  Gave her a good spray down when I got home to hopefully get the salt off! Was great to get her out for the first time since just before Christmas!

 

[Toppie]

Well!  The 2023 Irish Photo Rally's off to a cool start.

This morning looked promising so I set off early southwards.

A 340 km circular route.

Turned out to be a pretty cold and bleak day.

Rode down to Templecross Chapel in Co. Offaly to get in a Photo Rally Point.

I was Warm enough and dry 'til just before I got there.

 

No Access for the bike but I managed to get a little gate open enough to have a look-see.
By this time it'd darkened quite a lot and a steady, cold drizzle set in.

I had a quick look around the place.

Very quiet!

 

 

 

The entrance to the chapel is fenced off so I couldn't get in.

Stretched the fence wire to squeeze a camera shot.

 

Broke out the waterproofs to get to the next point at Shannonbridge.

 

Took me about an hour to reach there and by that time the rain had all but stopped.

Went into that ''scattered/intermittent'' mode.

 

I ate my sandwich, a mini pork pie and a slice of Battenberg cake.  

Styling it!

Kept the waterproofs on. Even for the last hour when it actually brightened a bit.

Stopped to take a picture of a tree-trunk carving at the entrance to a private estate....just cos' I like these carved trees.

 

 

The last 60 kms or so saw me on nice dry roads with little traffic and some nice sweeping sections.

It made up for the bleak bits.

 

 

[Simmons1]

Cool pictures! Thanks for posting them.

[winddown]

Love graveyards, so many photo opportunities

[DanDoesStunts]

On 2/22/2023 at 10:15 AM, Danrides said:

Great info, I appreciate your response!

 

Zumo XT for all riding for me. I have the 680T just running as extra trip computer screens haha.

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by DanDoesStunts
Picture

[Lewie]

Just popped out this morning as it was not so cold

about 50 miles throughout the country and back down the coast

 

[Rider5]

[random1781]

Taken from the top of El Tecolote, an old volcano. There are two Teneres down there...

 

We left our helmets and jackets on the bikes, and we joked that when got all the way to the top we'd see people swarming the bikes and picking them clean. Sure enough we got up there and you can see the random shirtless guy circling them, but he was just taking a look.

[Dougie]

5 hours ago, random1781 said:

Taken from the top of El Tecolote, an old volcano. There are two Teneres down there...

 

We left our helmets and jackets on the bikes, and we joked that when got all the way to the top we'd see people swarming the bikes and picking them clean. Sure enough we got up there and you can see the random shirtless guy circling them, but he was just taking a look.

Took a while but I found Wally. It’s a good job you weren’t down there. Random shirtless guys in the middle of nowhere doesn’t sound like it ends well.
nice day out by the looks of it. Still freezing here. 

Edited March 15, 2023 by Dougie

[Dougie]

Wahay. Emojis are back.

[NeilW]

On 3/14/2023 at 6:44 PM, random1781 said:

Taken from the top of El Tecolote, an old volcano. There are two Teneres down there...

 

We left our helmets and jackets on the bikes, and we joked that when got all the way to the top we'd see people swarming the bikes and picking them clean. Sure enough we got up there and you can see the random shirtless guy circling them, but he was just taking a look.

I always cable lock jacket and helmet when out of site. 

Edited March 24, 2023 by NeilW

[T7EST]

Nice frosty +3c ride

 

[random1781]

[NeilW]

11 minutes ago, random1781 said:

I hope your next direction after the trail nap was down hill. I can’t imagine side hilling with all that weight in deep sand. 

[random1781]

9 hours ago, NeilW said:

I hope your next direction after the trail nap was down hill. I can’t imagine side hilling with all that weight in deep sand. 

Fortunately it was! Really fun place to play around in. It's so weird being in 2nd/3rd gear and crawling along, but getting used to it!

 

 

Trying to find a way to some dunes today, so we'll see how that goes.

[random1781]

Found the dunes. What a crazy change of terrain. They're not unrideable, but I need a lot more practice!

 

[BikeBrother]

After days of rain, finally a sky that match the color of my bike.

 

[gerbuuu]

[Tenerider]

11 hours ago, gerbuuu said:

Stock tires buddy?

[gerbuuu]

Yes stock tire.

 

But the skill is lacking.

 

First experience in wet conditions.

 

And the bigger windscreen messes up the sight. Should have installed the stock windshield.

[Tenerider]

34 minutes ago, gerbuuu said:

Yes stock tire.

 

But the skill is lacking.

 

First experience in wet conditions.

 

And the bigger windscreen messes up the sight. Should have installed the stock windshield.

It looks like TET NL - I've had luck with the STRs on similar terrain because it wasn't nearly as muddy (Ray knows what I'm taking about). They really aren't for wet conditions.

[gerbuuu]

They are indeed not ideal in wet conditions.

 

Though I was quite deep in mud they got my out nicely.

 

It's a heavy bike to be my first off road action, haha. But hey, I' m having fun.

 

Skills will come, and need to pick up a few lessons.

 

Sout-West flanders BE
Made a nice tour myself with google maps.
not so easy to find off-road near my home.

[Bergtinn]

Seems like the season has finally started here. Nice to be on gravel again

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Bergtinn

[Tenerider]

A day out in spring!

Decided to take a ride to northeastern Belgium (not too far from @Ray Ride4life 's home, but ba bit more to the south).

Almost to the day four years ago, I've done a 300km bicycle ride with some other crazy guys, the highlight was reaching the point where Belgian, Dutch and German borders meet, called "Drilandenpunt". It's nothing special really, but was a strong landmark back then for us. Our way then led us to the Huertgenwald area (where terrible battles were fought during WW2). We saw some beautiful places and rode some scenic roads which where on my bucket list since I've got my license (that is, since last year ). So I decided to do it today! It was my first long ride on Anakee Wilds and with my Tractive suspension setup.

 

At first, I crossed the Rhine and got to the western lignite mining area between Cologne and Aachen - a very rural area, with lots of unpaved gravel/two track "roads" between the fields.  Surprisingly, in some areas German authorities (the mother of all authorities, believe me) either forgot to install or did run out of prohibition signs!

I definitely need to do some scouting there - perhaps during Easter holidays.

It was still a bit chilly, so I took a stop to gather some sun after about an hour of relaxed riding:

 

 

 

A few km more, and I had crossed the Dutch border at Vaals, directly heading towards Drilandenpunt along a short winding road. I was ready for a snack and some tea at the highest point of the Netherlands:

 

 

Then I crossed over to Belgium, enjoying the great view in perfect weather:

 

 

 

The Belgian countryside is lovely - lots of old limestone houses and winding roads, really pleasant riding there!

Typical architecture:

 

 

 

You immediately notice that it's the German speaking region of Belgium - there's prohibition signs!

 

 

Ancient castles or mansions in every second village or so:

 

 

My destination was "Frite d'Or", one of the innumerable places where you can (and must) get Belgian Frites. Unfortunately, they were closed for today.

So on I went, close to the German border along REALLY bumpy but beautiful forest roads (where my Tractive kit could do its fair share of work):

 

 

 

...into  the Huertgenwald forest, which hosts a tiny village called Simonskall in a forgotten valley:

 

 

The roads are amazing there: Winding twisties with almost no traffic (except on weekends). The Anakee Wilds surprised me, they performed far better than expected - actually better than on straight roads imho, where they aren't too stable as far as I can tell, especially at speeds above 80 km/h. Very smooth cornering, no suprises, fantastic tracking through the curves. I had LOTS of fun!

 

After leaving the twisties I got tired and took a bit of Autobahn to shorten my time till home, usually I try to avoid it. As I said, the tires don't seem to keep track very well on straight roads, the bike seems more susceptible to wind, too - but maybe that's just me. The Tractive stuff performed quite well over the day: Even the roughest, deepest potholes and tarmac waves in corners couldn't upset the suspension. It's never plush and soft, you rather get a good feedback on the road surface, but the faster you go the better it performs. I'd still like it to be a bit more comfortable, but I'm impressed how "stoically" it accepts everything you push it through.

 

 

Back home finally, and just in time for supper!

Can't wait to get out again...

[Bergtinn]

Today 90 minutes outside Bergen, Norway