#cycling
People who know me for a longer time may have heard me say "my dream is to do a bikepacking trip in central Europe" at once or more during the years. Well actually I always said "bike + train trip", ie taking the bike around Europe on trains and then riding around locally, instead of riding around Europe.
I started seriously thinking about this when I read Osmo Soininvaara's excellent "Fillarilla Nizzaan" book, where Osmo rides from Helsinki to Nizza in 30 days. Sometime around last summer when I realized I can do longer day rides, I set my first goal to get a bike (in addition to my mountain bike) that is nicer to ride for longer distances. I've since learned lots of people do bikepacking on mountain bikes, but hey I got a new bike, so yay. I bought my first gravel, a straight bar Marin DSX 1 ("Sanna"), lighter and better gearing for longer distances than my mountain bike ("Monty"). Next was to start thinking about buying some equipment, so I bought myself a 16L saddle bag and did a small two day trip around Tampere to get some feeling into riding with more weight. At this point the idea of actually skipping the trains part started to formulate and I started to plan for 3 weeks of riding in the spring.
Three weeks seemed like a good amount of time. Not too long that the kids and loved ones wont hopefully forget about me and enough time to warrant all the planning. Potentially possibly to arrange without going bankrupt. My initial plan was to do it the "credit card holiday" way, ie stick to hotels and hostels. While going through various plans during the end of 2023 and start of 2024, my savings account was giving me clear signals this will not happen. By this time I had joined all the possible bikepacking groups, read some books, incl "Fillarilla Nizzaan" a second time, Matti Rämö's "Polkupyörällä Ukrainan halki Istanbuliin" (recommend!) and a really poorly written "book" that I'll not mention as I don't like talking badly about people, let's say it deteriorated my Finnish language skills for a while. I also watched a ton of videos on the subject, both regarding gear and trip diaries.
It then hit me - if these people can do the camping thing, surely I can too? I've probably spent like 5 days of my life in a tent, so that's a good start, right? Buying all the camping gear is surely going to come up cheaper than hotels/hostels, even when staying at camping sites. In theory at least. I made the decision to start looking at gear and it soon became apparent there will be a large cost going into that, but hopefully it will still come out cheaper and I'll also be able to keep the gear!
Lots of gear reviews later I had some kind of idea what stuff I needed and wanted to buy. I spent some time trying to find the most expensive stuff second hand. Managed to land an MSR Hubba Hubba NX2 tent (1.5kg) second hand. Some of the other stuff I've needed to buy new, and I'm still looking for a light sleeping bag and sleeping mat. All in all quite a lot of stuff to lug around due to moving from hotels to camping, but then it does come up with some extra freedoms. And I'm still planning on a few nights at a hotel for a proper rest and fresh up.
Other gear I've decided to get is a bike computer. Initially I thought I would just navigate with my phone as I have done so far, and I'll probably do that when finding local places in a city for example. But for a full day of riding, I'd have to charge my phone multiple times during the day which feels a tad bit inconvenient. And to be honest, unsafe, needing to navigate longer distances during the day. So after spending some time looking at reviews, I got myself a Tamagotchi, I mean Garmin Edge Explore 2. It makes lots of beeping sounds, but most important handles tracking my rides and navigates me. I don't really care about all the sports metrics, thus the Explore seemed like a good model geared more for navigation. I did consider a Wahoo Elemnt (no, that's not a typo), but they don't have touchscreens. I also acquired two 5.8L fork-packs and in addition to those I'm planning on having my handlebar DSLR camera bag and my beloved Osprey Radial backpack with me. If this isn't enough, I'm considering a frame bag as that space will otherwise be used by only water bottles, which I can strap somewhere else.
So, if you've made it this far, you may be wondering where I'm actually heading? This was a nerve wrecking process of a few months of going through various options. The cheapest would be to drive through the Baltics into Germany, and then take the ferry from Travemünde back home. I wanted to explore the possibility of taking a train through Sweden and Denmark, but apparently Swedish rail wont take your bike on board without it being in a carry bag (shame on you!). A strong option constantly on my mind was the boat between Helsinki and Travemünde, and eventually it won. For the timeframe I chose a hopefully warm but not too hot end of May -> mid June.
From Travemünde my current plan (which changes every week) is to head towards Amsterdam (probably by using regional trains for a part of the way), Rotterdam, then down into Belgium, following the EuroVelo 19 "Meuse" route for a bit, peeking into to Luxembourg (haven't been) and then south through France to Basel in Switzerland, and if time up to Strasbourg, and eventually a train back into Travemünde for the ferry back home. It's a lot for 3 weeks, 1700km, but I'm hoping to either replace a part of it with trains or shorten the trip as it evolves. I'm aiming to keep the route more as a guideline, possibly when there I'll do something completely different or hang out for days at city. When traveling, there is nothing more I hate than strict timelines.
My main concerns for the trip are getting gear stolen while stopping for food and beer. How do people deal with bike bags and leaving the bike outside while stopping for a bit? My idea is some lightweight cable locks to at least make it harder to take the bags, but also obviously having everything valuable or critical in my backpack (like money, meds, etc). I'm also somewhat concerned of the length of the trip and the loneliness it will bring. However, it doesn't feel worth it going from Finland for any time less, the boat journey being the single biggest cost of the whole trip.
Another thing I'm concerned about is weight. While I'm trying to find some relatively good quality light weight camping gear I can afford, I'm not leaving home without my laptop and DSLR. Obviously this also means many power packs. But the way I see it, the trip is about creating experiences, and I can't formulate my experiences into blog posts without a laptop or take photos without a proper camera. I suppose some test runs with a fully packed Sanna some weeks before the trip will end up the deciding factors into what gear I'll end up going with.
Any thoughts and suggestions welcome! Holiday and boat rides are already booked so the trip is at least happening, unless something physically stops me. Kinda of excited about this whole thing, and hoping if it goes well it will become a new regular yearly hobby :)
Pics: Approx route as of now and Sanna at Tampere last October.
Alice Barber Stephens
Carolina, halless and happy as a lizard in the relentless heat, spun along on her bicycle
Carolina, hemmungslos und glücklich wie eine Eidechse in der unerbittlichen Hitze, fuhr mit ihrem Fahrrad herum,
Illustration for The Pretenders by Alice Barber Stephens
Collier's Weekly, Jan 30, 1908
#AliceBarberStephens #Kunst #art #illustration #drawing #Fahrrad #bicyle #velo #cycling
2024-03-03: Bonn -> Kirchsahr -> Binzenbach und zurück per Rennrad
Es war viel los am Sonntag
Die Leute hatten offenbar alle den Wetterbericht verfolgt und diesmal stimmte die Vorhersage sogar: den ganzen Tat überwiegend sonnig und trocken, Temperaturen für Bonn ab Mittags bis zum Sonnenuntergang um die 15°C. Hier ein Blick auf der Hilberrather Straße zurück Richtung Rhein, gefolgt von dem obligaten Foto zum Thema "Roads are bicycleinfrastrukture!". Wenn ich an diesem Punkt vorbeikomme und es nicht vergesse, stelle ich mein Rad an einen Pfosten und fotografiere Richtung Siebengebirge. Es gibt im Laufe der Zeit einen netten Eindruck davon, wie sich die Skyline im Jahresverlauf und je nach Wetter unterschiedlich darbietet.
Ich hatte diesmal die üblichen Sommerklamotten angezogen,Trägerhose und Trikot, vorsorglich aber zusätzlich Armlinge und die rote Windweste über das Trikot, aber schon nach den rund 100 m Anstieg hoch zum Kottenforst sowohl Armlinge als auch Windweste wieder ausgezogen und auch die langen Handschuhe gegen die vorsorglich auch eingepackten Rennradhandschuhe ausgetauscht.
An sich hatte ich vor, auf dem Abstecher nur bis zum Ortseingang von #Kirchsahr zu fahren, weil's aber so schön lief, habe ich ich den ganzen Abstecher (das "Schwänzchen" weiter unten in der Karte) rollenderweise zurückgelegt, ohne Treten - 3.5 Kilometer mit einem Schnitt von 28 km/h. Es geht da mit im Schnitt 1,6 Prozent runter, insofern ist es zwar nicht überraschend, zeigt aber doch, wie effizent ein Rennrad ist. Es erfordert nicht mal eine Triathlonhaltung, einfach in passabler Unterlenkerhaltung fahren reicht völlig. In der Ebene und auf ähnlich gutem Asphalt (!) benötige ich für das Tempo nur etwa 100 Watt. Tatsächlich bin ich das entsprechend Stück zurück mit wechselndem Tempo gefahren, 20 km/h mit 120 W, 8 km/h mit 100 W ..., entsprechend dem Höhenprofil, wie man das halt so macht, wenn man nur seine Muskeln und keinen Motor mit praktisch unbegrenzter Ausdauer hat.
Angekommen bin ich dann knapp vor Sonnenuntergang, wegen des Abstechers etwas verspätet. Meine Frau saß schon mit einem Glas Wein auf dem Balkon und scharrte mit den Hufen, figurativ gesprochen. Nun, für ein paar letzte Sonnenstrahlen und mit Wein, selbstgebackem Brot und ein paar Oliven dem begleitenden Gezwitscher der Vögel zu lauschen hat es gereicht. Und mit einer warmen Decke um die Schultern hält man es dann auch noch etwas länger draussen aus. :-)
#hausrunde #bonn #radfahren #cycling #fahrrad #fitnessimalter #muskelmotor #bicycleinfrastructure
2024-02-29: Kreuzbergrunde am #Schalttag, wie immer mit dem #Rennrad
Eigentlich waren gestern für Bonn ja zehn Stunden Sonne und Temperaturen bis 15°C vorhergesagt und ich hatte mich am Vortag für eine lange Runde bis nach #Kirchsahr präpariert, um die Gelegenheit zu nutzen. Aber es kam anders: Am Morgen wurde die Vorhersage auf "teiweise bedeckt" und deutlich kälter (11 Grad max.) reduziert, mit Andeutungen von Schauern. Also habe ich umdisponiert, den blaugrünen, alten und flatterigen Hind-Kombi rausgesucht, einen unnötigen und vergeblichen Versuch gemacht, die alten Gaerne-Winterschuhe vom Arbeitsweg gängig zu machen (->Tonne, nun endgültig) und habe mich auf eine Variation der Kreuzbergrunde beschränkt, in der ich i.W. ein paar nahegelegene Dörfer besuche, aus denen das alte Castra Bonnensis zur Großstadt Bonn zusammengeklöppelt wurde.
Tatsächlich war's dann doch etwas wärmer. Garmin behauptet im Portal zwar weiterhin 10°, Wind 26 km/h aus Süden, gefühlte Temperatur 8°, das Navi zeichnete bei meiner Fahrt hingegen um die 13° auf.
In der Karte habe ich diesmal die aufgezeichnete Track zweimal dargestellt, in roter Farbe die Daten wie sonst auch unverändert so, wie sie aus dem Garmin 1030 kommen, zusätzlich aber in gelber Farbe eine Projektion der Track auf die Oberfläche der Karte, also der aus den SRTM-Höhendaten gewonnenen 3D-Oberfläche, die hier mit Satellitenfotos texturiert ist. Man muß wissen, dass das Navi die recht unzuverlässigen Höhendaten mit barometrischen Höhendaten korrigiert/glättet, mit einem meines Wissens nicht offengelegten (und IMHO nicht sonderlich brauchbaren) Verfahren. Immerhin hat es aber den Vorteil, dass es das den GPS-Daten innewohnende heftige "Rauschen" elimiert, welches ohne diese Glättung beim Aufsummieren völlig überzogenen kumulative Höhenangaben produziert. Was es aber erstaunlicherweise nicht tut: es eliminiert die durch wetterbedingte Luftdruckschwankungen nicht. Der so entstehende Fehler ist, da i.W. konstant und klein, bei der Angabe des Gesamthöhengewinns zwar irrelevant, führt aber dazu, dass die absoluten Höhenangaben mit Vorsicht zu geniessen sind und in der Darstellung große Teile der aufgezeichneten Track schweben oder im Boden versinken können. Auf der anderen Seite sind die durch Radarhöhenmessungen zusammengerechneten Höhendaten oft noch ungenauer als die Rasterung in der verwendeten SRTM-Daten suggeriert. Und deswegen ist es instruktiv, sich konkrete Fahrten gelegentlich in einer kombinierten Darstellung anzusehen, in der sowohl die gemessenen Höhendaten als auch die über die x/y-Koordinate aus den SRTM-Daten ermittelte Höhe gezeigt wird.
#hausrunde #bonn #kreuzberg #radfahren #cycling #fahrrad #fitnessimalter #muskelmotor #srtm #gps
Bruce Adams - Open Road for Boys
April 1939
#BruceAdams #Kunst #art #illustration #Fahrrad #bicyle #velo #cycling
2022-08-08: Bonn -> Effelsberg -> Willerscheid by racing bike (->🇩🇪)
2022-08-08: 06:18:44 117.7 km 1371 m up, 1371 m down, 18.6 km/h
As always, I spent almost another hour riding, taking photos and taking breaks to eat and drink. Although I can do eating and drinking while riding, it's more fun this way. To avoid the heat, I set off so late that I was back home a good half hour before sunset. Consumed 2 liters of water, plus three 30 g muesli bars.
Geocoordinates with links under the photos. A 3D representation of the track created with Blender can be found at the end of the article.
The grain has been harvested everywhere
The remaining straw has been bundled. Stacking the square or round bales is quite creative!
@8.8mm 1/800s f/5 ISO 125 2022-08-08 14:25:08
GPS 🧭 50.6066,7.06142 Brouter Google Maps Sat
@8.8mm 1/640s f/5 ISO 125 2022-08-08 14:32:34
GPS 🧭 50.5824,7.06281 Brouter Google Maps Sat
Ascent to Hilberath
Alltogether very easy, but a bit more traffic than usual this time - no problem either. I neither need nor want "bicycle infrastructure", not even "god bicycle infrastructure". That's an oyxymoron.
@8.8mm 1/800s f/6.3 ISO 125 2022-08-08 14:54:01
GPS 🧭 50.5824,6.994 Brouter Google Maps Sat
Welcome to NRW, this is where the shitty mandatory cycle paths begin ...
... which are hardly any good as footpaths, too. By the way, this is a footpath and I mean "shitty" literally, not just figuratively.
@20mm 1/500s f/3.5 ISO 125 2022-08-08 16:22:34
GPS 🧭 50.5082,6.88809 Brouter Google Maps Sat
In the photo, it is hard to work out how broken these concrete slabs are. Each slab has sunk differently, many were then broken by (possibly) land vehicles, then blown up by frost and plant growth.
@26mm 1/800s f/4.5 ISO 125 2022-08-08 16:22:10
GPS 🧭 50.5082,6.88782 Brouter Google Maps Sat
For comparison, the surface of the road that I of course use. There is some damage here too, but so little that it hardly bothers you, even on an unsprung road bike. Your own strength is the limit here and not how much damage you want to risk to your bike and body, apart from the additional effort. Why do pedestrians and cyclists have to share this junk in both directions, while the road is virtually unused? Not that somewhat more motorized traffic would stop me from riding there - motorized traffic is always a nuisance for sure, but it's downright absurd to leave a good road because it is frequented by other people for paths that come with two kinds of obstacles: some you recognize early enough, some you don't.
@8.8mm 1/125s f/4 ISO 125 2022-08-08 16:24:09
GPS 🧭 50.5089,6.88511 Brouter Google Maps Sat
Another visit to the Effelsberg radio telescope
This time I drove down to the institute buildings right up to the gate and had a chat with the gatekeeper. I casually mentioned that my workplace on the other side of the Rhine was not so far away from home, but similarly structured and well guarded. :-)
When I remarked that I had come from Bonn, he looked at my racing bike from a distance and asked, somewhat uncertainly, whether it was a "real racing bike"? In response to my somewhat irritated query, he explained that he had noticed the thick frame tube and asked if the bike was motorized. I then explained to him that on bikes with an aluminum frame, the necessary bending stiffness had to be achieved by increasing the tube diameter, so you could probably hide a battery inside, but that wouldn't be the case here. I also mentioned that one of my sons was still at school when we first visited the telescope, decades ago, also on a racing bike. Afterwards we talked a bit about the technology of the telescope, but you can read more about that elsewhere.
Just looked it up, our ride there was on a Sunday about twenty years ago and went via Meckenheim, Rheinbach and Bad Münstereifel, on a fairly direct route via the L261 - we were more pain-free back then than I am today. But that's another story for another time.
@23mm 1/800s f/4 ISO 125 2022-08-08 16:35:02
GPS 🧭 50.5239,6.87896 Brouter Google Maps Sat
@8.8mm 1/800s f/4.5 ISO 125 2022-08-08 16:39:29
GPS 🧭 50.5244,6.88089 Brouter Google Maps Sat
The already mentioned beautiful route over the Liersbach
@8.8mm 1/800s f/4 ISO 125 2022-08-08 17:02:56
GPS 🧭 50.5061,6.87242 Brouter Google Maps Sat
@26mm 1/125s f/2.8 ISO 200 2022-08-08 17:07:24
GPS 🧭 50.505,6.86795 Brouter Google Maps Sat
@26mm 1/800s f/4.5 ISO 125 2022-08-08 17:22:27
GPS 🧭 50.5078,6.85905 Brouter Google Maps Sat
@26mm 1/800s f/4 ISO 125 2022-08-08 17:28:29
GPS 🧭 50.5024,6.85764 Brouter Google Maps Sat
Between Mahlberg and Michelsberg
From here it's homeward bound
@8.8mm 1/500s f/4 ISO 125 2022-08-08 18:16:11
GPS 🧭 50.5144,6.81927 Brouter Google Maps Sat
#hausrunde #bicycle #radfahren #radtour #cycling #fahrrad #musclepowered #photo
The art of winter cycling
#photography #fotografie #mywork #photograph
#foto #photo #photographie #Fotograf #Fahrrad #radfahren #myphoto #myart #cycling #cykling
#Cycling in #StormIsha was fun. To work, there was a very strong #Headwind which added about 25% to the time getting there, at least the sky was blue. By the time I’d finished, the #wind had died down to a brisk #Breeze but there was quite heavy #rain. However, I always have my #WaterproofTrousers at this time of year and so I didn’t get wet.
I used the anonymous interface to #ChatGPT to write a #Haiku for the occasion (https://anonchatgpt.com/). Here it is:
Storm Isha roars strong,
Cyclists brave the wind and rain,
Pedals spin through pain.
17 Truly Beautiful Ways to Decorate Your Bicycle
https://discerningcyclist.com/bicycle-decoration-ideas/
I'm disappointed. Apparently "cover your whole bike with political stickers" is not trendy.
