Tags: Bike

I took my bike out for a short ride again yesterday. The last days it was rainy and stormy, but yesterday, there was a bit of sun again. Also wind, but I took it relaxed. Nature also really calmed me down. I haven’t really realized sunset is so late, and I can still easily start a short ride in the evening.

I planned a bikepacking trip for the coming weekend, but I am not really sure if I overestimate my power, if I will eat enough, and if I will be able to put up the tent on my own. 😅

I watched so many YouTube videos on bikepacking in the recent years that I really need to try a multi-day trip (just two days for now, lol) with a tent on my own.

Two years ago, I went from Kassel to Braunschweig (215 km) in three days but slept in cozy hotels and reached the day’s destination already by noon. This year will be harder with more than 100 km per day (224 km in total). And just in case something goes wrong, there will always be train stops nearby.

Theoretically, I could also just take the train home overnight and continue my route on the next day. But that would destroy the adventure…

If you have any tips, feel free to tell me. 😊

Upgrading the valves on my bike to Clik valves is a real game changer. Straightforward to use and fixes a few annoying issues with the previous Presta valves (for example, accidentally unscrewing the valve while removing the pump). Another cool thing: there are conversion kits from Schwalbe available for both Presta and Dunlop valves, so I can also upgrade my other bike and my fiancé’s bike. Inflating tires is now a piece of cake!

According to the weather forecast, today was supposed to be the last day of reasonably good weather and warm temperatures for the foreseeable future. So I really wanted to go on a short bike ride today after work. In the end, the ride wasn’t that short, but because I made sure not to overexert myself, it wasn’t any more tiring than a 20 km ride, even though it was 40 km. And that was despite the fact that I still had sore muscles and didn’t sleep very well and much last night. Towards the end of the tour, a few drops of rain fell from the sky, but I’m not made of sugar.

Of course, I had to take a photo of my bike with the sunset in the background… Sadly, the camera on the Galaxy XCover 7 isn’t the best to catch the beauty of the sunset. But the bike setup has changed quite a bit since September. And when I got home from this lovely tour, my lovely fiancé had French fries for me. 😄

Warm weather, a bit of sun, and a Saturday without appointments. A perfect day for one more longer bike ride this week. For me, today meant heading out through the surrounding area, including through a valley (Reitlingstal) that I always find beautiful to ride through, but also for hiking. (Here are also some photos from November.)

Today I tried my new Magped pedals for the first time. Why Magped and not proper clipless pedals? I’ve already had bike accidents and appreciate being able to free myself better in emergencies to avoid falling. And yet today I still managed to damage my new shoes a bit right away, because when starting off after a traffic light, I got caught on a pin of the pedals. 😅

The tour was nice; even the climbs in between were okay. Only on the last part was there quite a headwind that slowed me down and made me tired.

First ride with my favorite bike this year. Just a quick round around the local airport. But I saw Highland cows on the way, a beautiful sunset, and got to breathe fresh air. It’s finally a bit warmer again. And most important: It’s not dark already at 5pm!