Learning to ride on a V11

[Hellkitten]

Day 30- I’m at 607 miles now. I rode the bike paths along the lakeshore and again into the Don Valley. Thankfully the ice and snow had melted and I didn’t need to cope with that. I’m at a point now that I’m trying to learn subtitles in maneuvering and refine a style. My mounts still need improvement, but I can do it. I’ve managed a couple with my non dominant leg as well, those really need practice. Lol. 

I ended up at a friends place to drop off a Christmas gift and visit. After a few hours when I left it had started snowing again. Ugh. Nothing that was really sticking to the road, but my visor kept getting covered. On my way back the roads were wet so I took things a bit slower and took wider turns. My buddy have me a balaclava/hood combo thing as a gift, which looks great! I’ll do a review after I use it for a bit. The snow is sticking around currently, hopefully I’ll get back on the road soonish.........

Edited December 19, 2021 by Hellkitten
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[Hellkitten]

Day 31- I needed to return some blue rays to a local rental store (yes, you read that correctly) and pickup some other ones. We had a bunch of snow a few days ago so I decided to take a main road on the bike lane. It was my first time on a busy street in the day, I’m normally doing late night riding with minimal traffic. I’ve been on a bike most of my life doing this, but I’m still new to this euc stuff. It went more or less fine the whole way, I was stressed a bit, just being really aware of my situation and not riding to fast. The strangest thing that happened was at a major intersection a crazy dude had stopped a car and had one foot on the front bumper and was yelling obscenities at the driver. I kept going. Big city, nothing to see here. I dropped off the disks and decided to risk the park paths as they are a much nicer route baring any ice..................... I should have stuck to the major road. The park path was 90% ice and packed snow. Ugh. My new nemesis, I went for it against my better judgement and took things at about jogging speed. The most brutal parts were frozen footprints that made riding extremely difficult and keeping a straight line impossible. I did fall twice in some ice with water on it, it was just sooooooo slippery and I have the stock tire on still. Every few yards I was thinking I should have taken the st. One of my two bails was in front of a few people (of course) a guy asked if I was ok (yes) and a woman said I was crazy for riding that contraption on the ice (I agreed). I was very thankful to finally make it back on the regular roads and make it back to a surface with traction. 🙏 spring can’t come soon enough. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by Hellkitten
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[yoos]

I had a similar experience yesterday, commuting through Moscow center to work and back. It's just 6-7 km one way but I fell 3 times and lost traction tens of times. Never even hit my 25kmp beeps. The path is 80% sidewalks/bicycle paths. Mostly gnarly uneven ice (the kind you get in old cities from water and snow coming down from roofs combined with poor or absent drainage and chaotic public services) covered by trampled snow and the treacherous gel that forms from water and road salts at low enough temperatures (it was -17C). I had my trusty 16S with the stock street tire for extra grip problems. At one time, riding in a closed-off street I lost traction and drifted for a few meters swerving right then a few meters to the other side and finally tripped on a minor ice curb. It was glorious nevertheless!

I will certainly do it again, it was great fun and a decent workout. I believe it also boosts skills a lot. In such conditions the torque is limited by grip so you are really only limited by your own skill with tire choice being another handicap. The wheel's max speed and max torque become irrelevant. The difficult road conditions are also difficult for cars meaning grand traffic jams. While the EUC took 40 minutes vs the good weather result of 25-30 minutes, the car route would take 1-1.5hrs in such traffic. All in all I am quite happy about the trip, I just need to get some real winter expedition boots, the current hiking boots with regular + thick thermal socks combo struggle to keep my toes warm, even if I consciously exercise them all the time.

By the way, while roads are a bit more predictable and offer better traction, I would not risk getting close to cars in this weather of bad visibility, reduced rideable road surface, random ice and overall dirt. The options to switch between street and sidewalk are also limited, there's usually a heap of ice and snow at the curb. Trying to escape to the sidewalk at an angle can lead to the EUC falling and sliding back into the street, right under the car that just sped up thinking I am finally out of its way.

[Hellkitten]

@yoosthat’s a good point. It really is almost purely technical riding. You can’t use any torque to help get out of any situation only balance. My destination was about 8.5 kilometres and about 6k on the way back was ice. Getting back on was REALLY hard for me. Great incentive to stay on. Lol. 

[yoos]

21 minutes ago, Hellkitten said:

Getting back on was REALLY hard for me.

Yes, on ice you quickly realize how imprecise your mounting technique actually was  

[Paul A]

DVD rental store?  Thought even Blockbuster is now gone.

 

Maybe install studs onto a new knobby tyre?

A knobby tyre alone might be enough....

Winterwheel would probably know.

 

 

[Scottie]

8 hours ago, yoos said:

At one time, riding in a closed-off street I lost traction and drifted for a few meters swerving right then a few meters to the other side and finally tripped on a minor ice curb. It was glorious nevertheless!

The entire post was thrilling and educational! However this line struck me.

Glory - We never know when it will be granted to us ... or taken from us. And it is not related to a 100% success or fail, but how we feel about the attempt vs the outcome vs what is possible.

Edited December 22, 2021 by Scottie

[yoos]

It's the best feeling when you manage or nearly manage something challenging! I had spectators too -- I was slowly followed by a car looking to park and also watched by a guard and some pedestrians perhaps -- the whole thing happened in front of the KGB headquarters, of all places  (not called the "KGB" anymore but same thing otherwise). When I tripped I took two portable fence sections down with me -- they use those fences to take all the parking space for themselves. I got up, sheepishly erected the fence and was on my way. Funny enough, my other fall was roughly at the same spot going the opposite direction -- I clipped a concrete stump while looking ahead to calculate my path between parked cars, parking cars, ice caps, snow, pedestrians and fences. And the third fall was in a narrow sidewalk spot (1m wide) where I had to follow a pedestrian and the ice beneath was just too awkwardly shaped. I just ascended an ~10cm ice step and needed to slow down but the euc slipped forwards and I fell on my back (no damage). 

[Tawpie]

@winterwheel wears boot chains on his boots when riding the ice... I had used them on my pedals (tightwad's spiked pedals) where they worked well, but I'll have to remember to put them on my boots! (but that could well make for a nice way to get stuck to the wheel... spiked pedals and spiked boots. Maybe not)

[winterwheel]

I just use something like these: 

The primary purpose is to be able to safely mount and dismount when having to stop and start on ice surfaces, but they also help to get traction on the pedals when they or the footwear have a bit of snow buildup.

The main downside is that over time the cleats grind down the sand paper or whatever on the pedals, so they need to be resurfaced every once in a while.

I haven't tried with spiked pedals, but no reason to think it would be a problem.

 

[Hellkitten]

7 hours ago, Paul A said:

DVD rental store?  Thought even Blockbuster is now gone.

 

Maybe install studs onto a new knobby tyre?

A knobby tyre alone might be enough....

Winterwheel would probably know.

 

 

Lol. I knew someone would say something about the rentals...... it’s a local store that’s been in Toronto for decades. It’s kind of an icon of sorts. They have a wide selection of films that are very difficult to find on streaming services. Plus to be frank I’d much rather support a long serving local business then give the online bigwigs more money to shoot dicks into space. Plus my girlfriend is a movie nerd and has eclectic taste the streaming sites have a crappy selection for non blockbuster flicks. Most businesses are currently struggling and I’m happy to help support them. Plus it was a great excuse to go out for a ride! Lol. 

http://baystreetvideo.com/

I doubt I’ll add and spikes or knobby tires on the V11 till at least I’m forced to change the tire. I think I want to keep it as a cruiser. What’s more likely to happen is I’ll get another more powerful wheel with a off-road one that’s stock. (All you f@#%¥$ were right, this is addictive)! I’m kinda waiting to see what comes out next season and for a few batches to to get the kinks worked out. I do have a soft spot for the Sherman and I’m excited to see what the new inmotion lineup will be. Realistically I’m still new to this and I need to keep learning and improving my skills. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by Hellkitten

[Hellkitten]

Road quality in Toronto is one of the reasons I went for a large tire and suspension.........

[Paul A]

From the condition of the traffic cone, looks like it's been there for a while...

Just place a cone, submerged deep into a massive hole as a warning.

It's like footage from a Russian dash cam video.

[Hellkitten]

@Paul A if I know my cones correctly, it’s not even a city of Toronto version. I think someone that lives in the area stuck it there. Probably after breaking a limb on the stupid hole. It’s about four blocks from my place. Maybe one night it will get filled..........👀

[Paul A]

https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/streets-parking-transportation/road-maintenance/potholes/#:~:text=To report potholes on City,exact location of the pothole

 

@Hellkitten

Toronto, report a pot hole.

Wow, 119,017 potholes repaired so far in 2021....over 2000 a week.

Is it the snow and ice?

That is an extremely big and deep pothole...or small sink hole.

[Hellkitten]

@Paul A yeah from what I know it’s the drastic fluctuations in temperature throughout the year plus heavy snow removal equipment. Even our speed bumps are the wide variety as the steep ones get damaged with the tractor shovels. Our roads here suck. 

The pic here illustrates a popular way to get the cities attention to get the potholes repaired. For some reason it’s faster then calling them in......🤔

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by Hellkitten
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[Paul A]

Brilliant idea, will keep that in mind.

Should get one made up as a stencil.....become the evil twin of Banksy in Toronto..

[Hellkitten]

@Paul A I believe there’s seven banksy’s in the downtown area. We had a show here a few years ago and one of the pieces was stolen. Lol. 

 

[Hellkitten]

https://notablelife.com/banksy-stolen-toronto-exhibit/

[Paul A]

@Hellkitten Banksys are great, very lucky to have so many in Toronto.

Seems to be a sport in coming up with ingenious ways to steal them from all around the world.

Public art stolen or even being cut out and sold by a building owner for private profit.

Might be why Banksy made that painting that self destructed immediately after it sold for $1.4m at Sothebys. 

[Hellkitten]

Just received an electric horn and anti theft alarm. Thanks for the suggestion @Paul A I’ll be testing it out tonight. 

https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Wireless-Antitheft-Vibration-Mountain/dp/B094XPGJRC

[Paul A]

@Hellkitten No worries.  Alarm can be strapped onto index finger, allowing thumb to easily press it.

 

A magnetic GPS tracker might be useful.  No installation, not reliant on others like an Apple Tag, only SIM card needed.

Only drawback is the need to remember to recharge the battery every now and then.

Would still be wary of leaving an EUC unattended anywhere.  A brazen thief might not care or be deterred by an alarm.

https://www.amazon.com/Tracker-Vehicles-Magnetic-Locator-Coverage/dp/B09MBQ1BB7/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3MLIBKGMJMS76&keywords=gps+tracker+for+vehicles&qid=1640912850&sprefix=gps+tra%2Caps%2C447&sr=8-3

 

[Hellkitten]

@Paul A I wore the trigger on my finger, worked great. Slight delay in the response, via the wireless. The horn part is currently strapped to my backpack strap, not the euc. I might leave it there, as I can use while riding my bike too. I bought it mostly for the horn function. Thought the alarm was a bonus  

I have a nice polite bike bell on the other hand. This electric one is more “get the $@#% outta the way” or “don’t swing your car door into the bike lane”, or potentially a “you’re a dumbass carrying your pizza in the middle of the road”! The bike bell is a “I’m on your left” or “coming up behind you” I like the variety. I used both a fair bit on my ride tonight. 

[Hellkitten]

Day 32- I did the same route as day 31, this time with no ice. ❄️ So much better! Its about 1hr 45 min total loop. A mix of bike paths on one side of the main streets in downtown Toronto. Into my neighbourhood then along lakeshore, into the Don valley and more bike paths through a park. So it’s a good variety of all types of riding in one go. I had to return more movies to the rental place which is midtown and about 8.5km from where I left from. It’s all city riding, 90% dedicated bike lanes. I wanted to try my new electric horn and with snow coming, it was a good excuse to go for a ride. As always there were many reasons to use a bell/horn while riding in an urban bike lane. It gets used as a parking lot, a second sidewalk, jogging route, smoking isle, garbage dumping area, bike repair spot, crazy person stumbling zone........ Got to use the nice polite bell and the piss off horn many times. Depending on what was going on. Cruised from midtown into my hood which is mostly side streets and alleys. I did a bunch of crap at home then headed down to the lakeshore paths. It’s fitness lanes that are mostly clear and straight. I rode parallel along one of the streetcars for awhile then passed it when it stoped to drop off people. I got to my turnoff and went along the Don river trails. Tons of rabbits out. The horn was fantastic for getting them out of the way. I also raised my helmet light angle up and the throw was much better. Great for the dark trails. I saw a coyote for the first time that close to town. It was in a grassy part along a old train track. Those bunnies better watch out. Two mice ran across my path and came very close to hitting one. Ugh. It’s a much chiller route along the water and parks, but it’s about 2.5 times as long, then through the city core. 

Still riding with no pads just the toe hooks I made. 

[Hellkitten]

So I bought a Bluetooth speaker today to pair with my V11. The few times I’ve hit the top speed I found the built in speakers barely audible over the wind. I’ve paired it with my Apple phone successfully. I’ve done multiple searches here, I’ve looked on the inmotion app and darknessbot and can’t find a way to pair the speaker to the alarm on my wheel. What am I missing?