[amitoj]

4th day of commuting to work. This is the earliest in the season that I have started commuting. Morning temps are usually around freezing whereas afternoon/evening temps are warm. Which means that on the way in I have 3 layers and on the way back only one, while the other 2 are in the backpack.

Riding to work in below freezing temps


30 degrees warmers on the way back.


I guess even the car drivers are not yet ready to see bicyclists on the road, as evident from this guy:

https://youtu.be/srI45GbFeMI

https://youtu.be/LPXMpBpjTSo

[amitoj]

The 200km brevet out of Concord, MA that goes to Mt Wachusett, Oakham and Purgatory Chasm, and then takes riders through suburbia is notorious for the amount of climbing that's packed into it. The route page on the New England Randonneur website says:
"This is a challenging route, with approximately 7500 ft of ascent, with much of the climbing occurring in the first 51 miles to Wachusette then Oakham, but there are significant hills in the latter part of the ride as well." Well, it's actually 9000 feet of ascent.
I have done this ride 3 times before, so I knew what I was signing up for. All 3 times, it has taken me more than 10 hours to finish the ride. But this time, I set myself the additional challenge of finishing it in under 10 hours. That meant riding solo for most of the ride and being very disciplined at all 3 controls along the route.
Another thing that I wanted to change and try was to bump up my cadence. My average rpm in previous attempts had hovered around 75rpm. It is particularly difficult to maintain high cadence towards the end of the ride when you are tired.
End result: I finished the ride in 9hr20minutes, which had a total ride time of 8hr31minutes. So, I spent 50 minutes in total at all three controls. All I did at each control was refill my water bottles, eat a snack, stretch a bit and thank the volunteers.
My average cadence for the whole ride was 86rpm, which was a big jump from previous attempts.

All in all, I was quite pleased with my effort.

[BUS]

Originally Posted by ringoism

Attachment 2192186

Just another morning ride north of Manali to Palchan...

Raleigh Conan 29er.

One very well built MTB with good components & Hydraulic Disc breaks 👌🏼
What's the weight of the Raleigh Conan 29 ?

[aneezan]

One of my easier 200Ks. The plan for a ride to Nijmegen was there for a few weeks, and it was just to see the Roman mask.(The face of Nijmegen)
Route from Eindhoven->Nijmegen was around 150k, so extended it to 200+ just to complete the day. With summer almost starting, the sun played along all day. Headwinds in the morning, but not so much as to break your back. They picked up on the return, helping speed me up.

The ride summary:-


The face of Nijmegen:-


Halt along the scenic route:-

[aneezan]

My son wanted to ride long-er than usual. So we set out early on a weekend. He managed to cover about 55km, his longest ride. He rides a Riverside 500, which is also his daily commute bike to school.
Beautiful sights and ambience all along.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by aneezan

My son wanted to ride long-er than usual. So we set out early on a weekend. He managed to cover about 55km, his longest ride. He rides a Riverside 500, which is also his daily commute bike to school.
Beautiful sights and ambience all along.

Wonderful that you and your son can go on a ride together. I have met many ardent cyclists who have very fond memories of riding with their dads or kids. I want to go on a bike ride with my kids as well but their summer break so far has been nothing but rain!

I also want to tour Netherlands on bike one day

[aneezan]

Originally Posted by amitoj

...

I also want to tour Netherlands on bike one day

Thanks Amitoj. Please do let me know if you come over. We can plan one together.
Nice travelogue on your tour as well. Amazing pics.

[Thar4x4]

Did a day trip from Pune to Pandharpur. It is called as CycleWari where lots cyclists ride from Pune to Pandharpur.

It was around 220 kms, I managed to do it in 10+ hrs.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by aneezan

Thanks Amitoj. Please do let me know if you come over. We can plan one together.

Sure! I am thinking of targeting 2025 for the Paris-Brest-Paris brevet.

[Jeroen]

As some of you know, these days we live in my home country the Netherlands. Lots of cycling going on here.

I love cycling and go out on my bicycle at least 2-3 times a week. I usually do about 80-100 km. I don’t race, I just enjoy riding my bicycle, being out, looking at stuff, stopping for a coffee here and there.

Around the area we live, there are endless number of what we call “pontjes”, or ferries. They come in many different sizes. I love going on the pontjes. I did a 85km tour the other day and went on four different pontjes. Let me show you;

So here is my route. It sort of takes me along the outer edge of an area known as the Biesbosch. From their website:

The Biesbosch National Park is a nature conservation area and the largest fresh water tidal zone in Europe. This means, for example, that you will find many streams and willow swamps there. With tall, luxuriant willow forests, the area looks just like a jungle!

https://np-debiesbosch.nl/english-in...over-the-park/



I cycle from home to Gorinchem where I will board one the many little ferries. This is one that runs from Gorinchem to Werkendam. I could cycle as well, but it would add about 10 km to my trip. Pretty slick Pontje runs at 40 km/h!



My bicycle of the aft deck. I love standing outside overlooking the river.



The next pontje is at the Anna Jocaminaplaat, the most western part of the Biesboch you can get too. There is a little electrical pontje that takes you across to Lage Zwaluwe.



It can carry a maximum of 12 passengers and their bicycles. The gentleman is a foreigner. You can tell as he is the only one wearing a cycle helmet! Very few Dutch do, unless they are riding a racing bike.




I cycle along the river Amer towards Drimmelen, which has one of Europe’s largest Marina’s. I always like to stop here, have lunch, look at all the boats and so on. Very pleasant.

Next I peddle onwards and find myself on the eastern border of the Biesbosch where I take a tiny little pontje.






Somewhere along the Biesbosch



Finally I end up in Woudrichem. A loverly little old town, it is where the river Waal becomes Merwede. The busiest river in Europe by the way. If you sit here for an hour you will have seen 40-50 barges going upstream and as many coming downstream. Endless row of barges 24/7 every day of the year.



I board another pontje. Same company as the first one I took. This one is quite a large foot/bicycle passenger ferry.





Sailing back to Gorinchem, my bicycle on deck



Outside passenger deck



I arrive at the same jetty as I left early in the morning, 20 minute ride back home. Lovely day.

Jeroen

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

So here is my route. It sort of takes me along the outer edge of an area known as the Biesbosch. From their website:

Beautiful. When I die, I want to go to Netherlands

Interesting observation about helmet. It is amazing how cycling is an integral part of the Dutch daily life. Is it correct that people bike in their normal every day attire? It would make sense, I suppose.

[goandude]

Took a 100 km ride around KRS dam and backwaters. Fabulous route with smooth roads, very little traffic and great scenery. Some pics

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by amitoj

It is amazing how cycling is an integral part of the Dutch daily life. Is it correct that people bike in their normal every day attire? It would make sense, I suppose.

It is, most Dutch will take their bicycle for distances up to 10 km, whether that is work, pleasure, to go shopping or to go out.

This is an old, but it hasn’t lost any of its charm. It is a good overview on what you are likely to find anywhere in a Major Dutch City when it comes to cyclist.

https://www.ski-epic.com/amsterdam_bicycles/

The Dutch prime minister rides his bicycle to work. He visits the King once a week, on his bicycle too!



Jeroen

[aneezan]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

...

I arrive at the same jetty as I left early in the morning, 20 minute ride back home. Lovely day.

Jeroen

Lovely. Would love to take my bike on one of these pontjes. Will plan a ride some time.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Is it correct that people bike in their normal every day attire? It would make sense, I suppose.

Its the norm. My office commute is about 10km. It makes sense to take the bike rather than car. I sometimes take a longer, scenic route. And the attire - yes - in office casuals(no helmet).

[aneezan]

The Netherlands is pretty much flat across 95% of the country. The only place to do some climbing practice is down in the south east of the country near the border with Belgium and Germany.
Decided to do just that a couple of weeks ago. Packed the bike in the car and set off to Maastricht(about 45 min drive from home). Had loaded up my edge 520 plus with the route the previous day. This covers a lot of the Amstel Gold race route.

Spent a good 3.5 hours of biking on the hilly terrain. Maastricht and the Vaals country area is vastly different from the remainder of the country. Hills and valleys all the way, some climbs up to 15%. Amazing views. Halfway through, it started raining, first a little and then cats and dogs. Was scary initially, but then got the hang of it. Riding in the rain after a long time was fantastic. It was simply belting down on me. But a thorough work-out of about 65km and close to 1000m of elevation.