You're braver than I am Pieter! I came to cycling so late in life that "handless" riding one skill I've never learned. ...and at 20kmh you were riding relatively fast.
@sarasphotos said:
You're braver than I am Pieter! I came to cycling so late in life that "handless" riding one skill I've never learned. ...and at 20kmh you were riding relatively fast.
Fortunately I came to cycling very early in life. Here's a picture my father took of that, I guess around 1961 or 1962.
My older brother on the go-cart and me on my first bicycle.
Aaawww, how cute, you two! It just all depends on where you grow up - in the California countryside it was too hot in the summer and too far to ride anywhere of interest. I rode a bit now and then in my younger years but actually bought my first bicycle in 1999 and took my first multi-day tour in 2009.
Just to keep this post on topic and with a picture, here's one from my first week-long tour in 2009. I took my bike on the train and rode through the Loire Valley. On the first day my picnic lunch was eaten on the lawn at Chambord.
Oh, I'm really embarassed - I see that I posted this shot a few weeks ago To make up for it here's a shot of my very first day of that tour - arriving in Paris before my bike ride through town to the next train station.
@sarasphotos said:
Aaawww, how cute, you two! It just all depends on where you grow up - in the California countryside it was too hot in the summer and too far to ride anywhere of interest. I rode a bit now and then in my younger years but actually bought my first bicycle in 1999 and took my first multi-day tour in 2009.
We took our first bicycle vacation to the South of the UK in 1978 of which I have no pictures with a bicycle in the shot (so off topic for this thread)
However in 1979 we went to Poland and from there you can see what type of old fashioned sports bike we rode then. Most of them were 10 speed with "friction" levers on the lower frame tube.
That would be unthinkable these days, my latest bike has 27 speeds with click levers within easy reach next to the brake handles.
One of our friends and my girlfriend (now my wife and better half for more then 33 years )
@sarasphotos said:
Looks like it was a great adventure, I'm envious - that is except for the tire repair! ...and I'm not much for camping any more either. :-)
The bike on the left is the one I'll be riding in Burgundy this summer - the motor should help me up all those hills!
Thanks Sara, those were the days we were poor students and camping was the way to spend an "economic" vacation. But now 38 years later we don't camp anymore either.
Actually those were the days as a tourist you had to spend a fixed amount of Zloty's per day and we spent too little (no gasoline, no hotels, cooking on a camp fire etc.) so in the end we had money to burn (you weren't allowed to export money from the country) so the last night we had a 3 course dinner and stayed in a hotel, where we even rented an extra room to store our bikes , since they didn't have any shed to put them in and we didn't want to leave them in the street. Even after that adventure we had too many zloty's left
Your new bike looks very nice, and indeed a battery/motor will make taking hills a whole lot easier. We don't have electric bikes (yet), but if we were to take a bicycle vacation again it would be the way to go.
A few last pictures (with bikes) from our Poland tour
Passing through the DDR (we didn't cycle all the way from the Netherlands to Poland, we had two cars to make the trip with 6 people)
Love it that the bicycle thread is still going strong... here's one of my son and all of his rides up until now
This is my brother at Bent Creek in NC (near Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway). A nice little climb and descent. We saw a bear cub that morning, and kept riding so we didn't meet mama!
This week we had an impromptu evening picnic with friends to watch the sunset. We all rode bikes there (which makes the post theme-related ) and I managed to even get a sunset picture (although slightly blown highlichts...) with a bike.
Lovely captures Sarah, especially the last two!! Stories behind your shots always get me dreaming! Mine are only....woke up way early.....drove like zombie....hiked like any out of shape person would.....waited for light....shot and then did everything backwards.
@Stumblebum said:
Lovely captures Sarah, especially the last two!! Stories behind your shots always get me dreaming! Mine are only....woke up way early.....drove like zombie....hiked like any out of shape person would.....waited for light....shot and then did everything backwards.
Last Saturday night was "Radlnacht" (Bike night) in Augsburg. Over 6000 bikers gathered in the center of town and the powers-that-be blocked off a route of 14km for us to bike through. Quite an event! Some parts were rather fun, like riding on a couple of main thoroughfares normally out of bounds for cyclists. The un-fun parts were squeezing 6000 riders through narrow medieval streets. My foot and leg muscles were sore from standing on a pedal and pushing off with the other foot! In the end it was a pretty slow 14km but pretty fun to be part of that kind of crowd.
Here we all are - looking both directions on Maximilianstrasse, towards the city hall and towards St. Ulrich Basilica.
Comments
This is wonderful!
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
Gracias, Denise
My bike, playing "dare-devil",
My SmugMug
You're braver than I am Pieter! I came to cycling so late in life that "handless" riding one skill I've never learned. ...and at 20kmh you were riding relatively fast.
Fortunately I came to cycling very early in life. Here's a picture my father took of that, I guess around 1961 or 1962.
My older brother on the go-cart and me on my first bicycle.
My SmugMug
Yes, everything has a beginning. Here is my grandson Jonathan with his first safety helmet.
Aaawww, how cute, you two! It just all depends on where you grow up - in the California countryside it was too hot in the summer and too far to ride anywhere of interest. I rode a bit now and then in my younger years but actually bought my first bicycle in 1999 and took my first multi-day tour in 2009.
Just to keep this post on topic and with a picture, here's one from my first week-long tour in 2009. I took my bike on the train and rode through the Loire Valley. On the first day my picnic lunch was eaten on the lawn at Chambord.
Oh, I'm really embarassed - I see that I posted this shot a few weeks ago
To make up for it here's a shot of my very first day of that tour - arriving in Paris before my bike ride through town to the next train station.
This is NOT my first bike
We took our first bicycle vacation to the South of the UK in 1978 of which I have no pictures with a bicycle in the shot (so off topic for this thread)
However in 1979 we went to Poland and from there you can see what type of old fashioned sports bike we rode then. Most of them were 10 speed with "friction" levers on the lower frame tube.
That would be unthinkable these days, my latest bike has 27 speeds with click levers within easy reach next to the brake handles.
One of our friends and my girlfriend (now my wife and better half for more then 33 years
)
Bad roads led to many flat tyres
Camping in the wild
And a beautiful scenery
My SmugMug
Looks like it was a great adventure, I'm envious - that is except for the tire repair! ...and I'm not much for camping any more either. :-)
The bike on the left is the one I'll be riding in Burgundy this summer - the motor should help me up all those hills!
Their first bikes
Thanks Sara, those were the days we were poor students and camping was the way to spend an "economic" vacation. But now 38 years later we don't camp anymore either.
, since they didn't have any shed to put them in and we didn't want to leave them in the street. Even after that adventure we had too many zloty's left 
Actually those were the days as a tourist you had to spend a fixed amount of Zloty's per day and we spent too little (no gasoline, no hotels, cooking on a camp fire etc.) so in the end we had money to burn (you weren't allowed to export money from the country) so the last night we had a 3 course dinner and stayed in a hotel, where we even rented an extra room to store our bikes
Your new bike looks very nice, and indeed a battery/motor will make taking hills a whole lot easier. We don't have electric bikes (yet), but if we were to take a bicycle vacation again it would be the way to go.
A few last pictures (with bikes) from our Poland tour
Passing through the DDR (we didn't cycle all the way from the Netherlands to Poland, we had two cars to make the trip with 6 people)
A fork in the road
Packing up after a lunch break
My SmugMug
I see something green...
Love it that the bicycle thread is still going strong... here's one of my son and all of his rides up until now
This is my brother at Bent Creek in NC (near Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway). A nice little climb and descent. We saw a bear cub that morning, and kept riding so we didn't meet mama!
Very nice captures Chris!!
This week we had an impromptu evening picnic with friends to watch the sunset. We all rode bikes there (which makes the post theme-related
) and I managed to even get a sunset picture (although slightly blown highlichts...) with a bike.
Lovely captures Sarah, especially the last two!! Stories behind your shots always get me dreaming! Mine are only....woke up way early.....drove like zombie....hiked like any out of shape person would.....waited for light....shot and then did everything backwards.
Thanks, Taz!
Last Saturday night was "Radlnacht" (Bike night) in Augsburg. Over 6000 bikers gathered in the center of town and the powers-that-be blocked off a route of 14km for us to bike through. Quite an event! Some parts were rather fun, like riding on a couple of main thoroughfares normally out of bounds for cyclists. The un-fun parts were squeezing 6000 riders through narrow medieval streets. My foot and leg muscles were sore from standing on a pedal and pushing off with the other foot! In the end it was a pretty slow 14km but pretty fun to be part of that kind of crowd.
Here we all are - looking both directions on Maximilianstrasse, towards the city hall and towards St. Ulrich Basilica.
Great event and photos.
Thanks, Jørgen!
Outside the UN City in Copenhagen Harbour
