Welcome to #BikeNite on Friday, January 30th.
Thanks for joining our cycle-chat. Answer whenever at your convenience. Anyone can join, now or later. Reply to what you like, and boost for visibility.
Our intro:
Q1. Where are you posting from today? Are you planning to ride anywhere this weekend?
(If you need motivation, here is a map of memorial rides for Alex Pretti: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/over-100-memorial-rides-planned-to-honor-alex-pretti.html)
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Cumbria, UK and on #BikeNite was readying for the 3rd running of the Winter #Jennride, an overnighter raising money in memory of Jenn Hill and Nils Amelinckx and this year, even over this side of the pond Alex Pretti was remembered.
@pete @ascentale @bikenite looks a good weekender - haven’t seen it before. Will look out for it next year.
@RossA @ascentale @bikenite Do. It's a blast. The perfect combination of a challenging and social nonsense. I've never managed to do the summer edition, but that's been running for a decade now, but done all three winter ones.
@pete @ascentale @bikenite is there a website for the summer ride? I couldn’t find anything.
@RossA @ascentale @bikenite Don't. Rich, the lovely organiser, only really does it via the socials, which I've told him is a bit crap. I even registered a Jennride domain for sorting content is taking forever. There's usually posts on FB, Singletrackworld, and the Bear Bones Bikepacking forums. I'll try to remember to give you a heads up when something shows. It's usually mid-June.
@pete @ascentale @bikenite thanks. Suppose it keeps it smaller!
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Eastern PA.
As I take moment in prepping for 2 hours of cookie sales, I rode 9.3 miles on the stationary bike in the gym for 30 min yesterday. Really there is so much snow here I want to snowshoe instead.
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Predictably, but happily, I’m still in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Lots of snow on the ground here still, and I’m not winter cycling this season. But I’m here for #BikeNite and thinking of spring as the days get longer 😀🚴♀️❤️
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Pforzheim, Germany.
Today we did a memorial ride in which several hundred people from all over Germany took part. We are commemorating a cyclist, known as #Natenom, who always campaigned for safe cycle paths. Exactly two years ago, he was hit and killed by a car driver traveling at around 80 km/h near his home.
And we remember that in 2024 alone, 441 cyclists were killed in traffic accidents in Germany. 1/2
#bikenite
@ascentale @bikenite #BikeNite A1: Posting from Pforzheim, Germany, too. Actually I was at the same memorial ride for #RIPNatenom and all the other cyclists killed in traffic as @realSiegfried and we met there in real life. Actually this region seems so unfriendly to cyclists that #Natenom called the region around Pforzheim "Bicycle Mordor" ( #FahrradMordor in German). I will nevertheless do a bicycle tour here with a friend on Sunday as the countryside is actually quite nice here ( #BlackForest).
@ascentale @bikenite In the photo, we are staging a 'die-in' in the shopping district of the city of Pforzheim.
The picture reminds me of the start of the movement in the Netherlands in late 1970s, when thousands protested against car violence, which made the whole country bicycle-friendly.
This shall remind you that every big change needed a start and maybe it will encourage you to believe in real change for the future
@realSiegfried @ascentale @bikenite schöner Film zum Thema, macht gute Laune und Bock auf Widerstand gegen Automacht:
@realSiegfried @ascentale @bikenite da sieht man wieder, 50 Jahre Rückstand zwischen D zum Nachbarn NL
@ascentale @bikenite A1: Nagoya, Japan. I did a solo day trip in memory of Alex Pretti and the many others slain by the Republican Junta. (It's not in the map, but Instagram and Facebook were the only channels listed by the maintainers, and don't have an account on either.)
#bikeNite
@ascentale @bikenite Saturday AM here in south central #minnesota. Forecast is for the first days with wind chill above 0F starting later today. I probably won’t be riding in the memorial ride here but I’ll be there at the start to ride in spirit. #bikenite
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Northern Virginia as usual. We are so iced in after the last storm that driving is still questionable and biking is impossible. I bet it will be weeks before the trails aren’t iced over, because they won’t be cleared and will have to melt on their own. #BikeNite
@ascentale @bikenite #bikenite A1 (and A8): Posting from Melbourne, Australia where it's been ridiculous hot on and off but today was pretty nice so I got to do some gravel trails
Hulst, in Zeeland the Netherlands .
Wai ting for the men's u23 cyclo-cross world championshops rave to start
@ascentale @bikenite A1 - no real plans yet but hoping to get out tomorrow subject to the weather.
A1. Tokyo, Japan (after my instance admin sorted out an issue with the new security proxy -- they're fantastic). I'm planning to get out tomorrow, most likely on the Tamagawa, but it depends on the weather in the morning. Forecast at the moment is cold with a slight wind.
@oheso I loved cycling the paths next to Tamagawa back in 2001.
@ascentale @bikenite
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Tirana, Albania
Sadly, no plans for riding this weekend. I spent part of this week asking more questions of the Czech recumbent manufacturer, trying to investigate costs and an itinerary to get up there and take demo rides, etc. #BandcampFriday is Feb 6 and I will try to do more crowdfunding via tips on my music sales so I can hopefully replace my accessible recumbent and start riding again! https://meganlynch.bandcamp.com/album/songs-the-brothers-warner-taught-me
@meganL @ascentale @bikenite What did the Q&A reveal?
@InkySchwartz @ascentale @bikenite They seem to think they can ship a trike here (shipping would be free to me since they have no dealer here, but I'd have to pay insurance and import taxes).
I would want to go there to do demo rides. I couldn't do that with buying from the US, but this is close enough that I should. It's an expensive purchase & I should check it all fits me well. So there are those costs.
What the demo rides reveal will determine which trike to get. If I can get a used/demo
@InkySchwartz @ascentale @bikenite they have in stock (that is, if a ride reveal it will work for me), then I don't have to wait to get it. I can just have them swap out some of the options to do what I need. If not, then the current wait time for new bike orders is 5 - 8 weeks backlog. The longer I have to wait to order, the more that goes up because orders increase as we get closer to peak riding season.
Otherwise it's just questions about certain options, etc.
@meganL @ascentale @bikenite So things are looking up but not perfectly.
@InkySchwartz @ascentale @bikenite I hope so. I haven't raised anywhere near the amount of money to really get it. It would be on the credit card, which makes me nervous given my current lack of a gig and the world situation...
But fingers crossed.
@ascentale @bikenite
#bikenite
#bikeniteA
A1. Manchester, England. 9am. Still in bed, still drinking coffee, still listening to BBC Radio6
I swear I've actually moved since last weekend.
Only a short test ride planned for today as I'm mutilating my road bike.
Swapping out the drops for a Surly Corner Bar, new hydraulic MTB brakes, and dropping to a 10 spd 46-11 cassette as part of my mission to make all my bikes 10 speed.
@v_perjorative @ascentale @bikenite Let us know what you think of the Corner Bar. I tried it recently and immediately discovered it wasn't what I was looking for. Not a comment on the Corner Bar, but I was the wrong use case.
@oheso @ascentale @bikenite I've used it before on a different bike, and I wish the angle was a bit closer to parallel with the bike (I'm used to drops), which meant it got a bit uncomfortable after 10km, but I'm hopeful that on the road bike it might work.
@oheso @ascentale @bikenite
Finished. For now.
@v_perjorative @oheso @ascentale @bikenite
That is sexy, and big metal. <sigh>
@v_perjorative @ascentale @bikenite Good looking bike.
@ascentale @bikenite #BikeNite A1. Northern New England. I have my D&D game downtown on Sunday, but that's my only planned trip. Might go grocery shopping, though.
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Santa Clara, CA. ICE is coming here next week, I think Thursday, supposedly for Super Bowl security… Batman paid a visit to our City Council meeting this week, apparently we have one councilman who is not supportive of them. I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
Saturday I will be heading down to San Jose to ride for Alex https://www.instagram.com/p/DUEuIoVEnLC/ #BikeNite
#BikeNite A1: Posting from #WaterlooRegion tonight, although I've spent most of the week in #HaltonRegion.
I'm not riding anywhere until the snow is gone. But that should be soon. It's already February!
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Nashville, TN, where a major ice storm last weekend has pretty much brought the city to a standstill. I’ve been fine, but it has been a rough week for many. Looks tentatively like roads have cleared enough to join in the Solidarity rides for Alex Pretti on Saturday. Planning to ride, unless the local organizers don’t think it will be safe. #BikeNite
@ascentale @bikenite A1. #BikeNite Posting from Ventura County, California again. We're two months into our youth mountain bike team season, 1 week away from our first race, so we'll be doing a typical 3 hour endurance ride. We'll be doing a classic section of the backbone trail in the Santa Monica Mountains. Pretty scenic up there. The photo is from a few years back. Those kids are still on the team. The one in the front is over 6ft tall now.
@ascentale @bikenite Oh, and it is cool that there is a memorial ride planned for our area. Didn't quite expect that. Kind of a mixed area politcally.
@ascentale @bikenite A1) Unlikely, given the snow. #BikeNite
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Butner, NC. We're expecting a foot of snow... I've built a camp in my office. No bike ride this weekend. #bikenite
@AE4WX @ascentale @bikenite Wow! Take care — travel will be a challenge if snow is unusual there! 😀❤️
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Culver City, CA . I was planning on riding tomorrow but my wife is laid up with the flu and I'm going to be taking care of her. I may try to catch the tail end of a ride when it comes by my place. #bikenite
@ascentale @bikenite #BikeNite A1. Posting from cold Cambridge, Mass. When I left for work this morning it was -1°F (-18C), and several byways on my commute were impassable by bike (and very difficult on foot) due to deep layers of slush atop snow.
I'll be riding/walking to work again tomorrow morning (predicted temp: -5°F)... if I weren't already scheduled, I'd attend a Pretti memorial event.
@ascentale @bikenite
A1.
Posting from Arden, Ontario, Canada.
We have a half metre or more of snow on the ground, so bikes are packed for the season. Looking forward to spring for so many reasons, bike related and no.
#BikeNite
A1. I am posting from the particularly damp #VancouverIsland, as usual, but not the #ComoxValley which is currently experiencing flooding.
A1a. I am indeed planning to ride this weekend, but no specific plans. Likely down to Maple Bay, and possibly in search of the Old Tweedie Road Trail.
@ascentale @bikenite #BikeNite A1. Ventura County, California. Just got back from the library, which I try to use as an excuse to go out riding at least once a week.
A1. I'm on my sofa with a dog lying on my legs, and I really should be in bed.
Tomorrow's ride is the Emblehope Trail. I've never done the route before, the weather looks grim, but barring mechanicals it'll get done anyway. I'll report back tomorrow, hopefully…
@paul_edwin @bikenite @ascentale looks like a nice one for a mild spring day!
@bikenite @ascentale @FourT4 The weather wasn't that bad in the end, just a bit breezy in places. The sun even made an appearance.
It would've been much better if the chain hadn't snapped with 10km still to go, mind.
@ascentale @bikenite A1. Toots from the "frozen" wastes of Atlanta. No real plans to ride since we're probably getting snow. I need to get new tires and rear light, though.
@ascentale @bikenite
#BikeNite A1:
I'm posting from home in Rochester Minnesota.
I have a family commitment on Saturday, otherwise I had thought of going to Minneapolis for their memorial ride.
@ascentale @bikenite A1: Sydney, Australia where it's Saturday morning-ish and I'm just back from buying chicken feed.
Hopefully do an 80-100km ride tomorrow, if I can get out of bed early enough to avoid some of the heat.
Stay cool. Saw that the heat is brutal there this month.
A1. Posting from the Minneapolis suburbs again. With a heavy heart again. It’s cold outside again. There’s too much ICE again.
No biking because I require Celciuses; we barely have Fahrenheits during the day. But the forecast bodes well.
I did get to walk my granddog this afternoon. 4 miles spanning a frozen river and multiple public lands. When it’s cold, I hike or XC ski. Looking forward to bike season.
#BikeNite #dog #doodle #doodles
@ascentale @bikenite And thank you Phil for mentioning the Pretti memorial rides
@ascentale @bikenite from my usual Seattle and planning to join memorial ride tonight: https://www.seattlebikeblog.com/2026/01/29/answering-call-from-his-minneapolis-bike-shop-critical-mass-will-ride-for-alex-pretti-friday-alki-and-9-other-wa-communities-ride-saturday/
A1. Undisclosed location. Traveling with spouse for her work.
Which unfortunately means I won't be able to bicycle in memory of Alex Pretti tomorrow. Definitely there in spirit.
@ascentale @bikenite A1 Posting from a chilly beaver lodge outside of Portland, OR.
I plan to join one of the memorial rides tomorrow in Portland.
@ascentale @bikenite A1: a very cold Hudson Valley. Lows overnight will be below zero and we have a deep snowpack on the ground. The river is frozen, ferry service even in NYC has been suspended.
@grammasaurus @ascentale @bikenite still, I bet they wouldn't have made such a fuss of George Washington in those conditions.
A1. I'm posting again from Scottsdale AZ, and for those of you who remember my posts from last week my second eye surgery was apparently successful (with some disturbing complications), my double vision is gone, and I am once again able to bike and drive. Yay!
I will likely ride this weekend, either somewhere off-pavement if I get my mountain bike derailleur replaced, or on the Scottsdale bike path if not.
@wanderinghermit @ascentale @bikenite
Enjoy that first ride back after yr enforced break.
@wanderinghermit @ascentale @bikenite I hope the complications clear up soon!
@wanderinghermit @ascentale @bikenite Congrats on the successful surgery! #BikeNite
@ascentale @bikenite #BikeNite A1 back home after a week away, Boonwurrung land, Aus. Of course I'm planning to ride somewhere, I went to the shops for fresh bread this morning, I'll go out somewhere interesting tomorrow, maybe this afternoon as well
Stay cool in that heat.
@ascentale @bikenite A1: Usual north of Seattle, Cascadia, I'm hoping I can bike to a whistle pack / preparation event tomorrow by bike.
![ajft [SEC=&8212;haha]](https://mediacdn.aus.social/accounts/avatars/108/394/830/721/852/594/original/e8be0d5b3695c8a6.png "ajft [SEC=&8212;haha]")
