riding into June and the beginning of summer

[north woods gal]

Interesting ride, today. Decided to do some exploring on roads I've never biked, so grabbed the map and made a route. When exploring new areas, I automatically opt for my Salsa Fargo. It's actually a drop bar mountain bike with MTB like gearing, but best of all, it runs on big 29er 2.2" tires. Believe it or not, it's only slightly slower than my standard road bikes in terms of average speed on pavement, but it's when we go off pavement that this bike just shines. Turns out, I needed it, today.


The maps I have don't distinguish between paved and unpaved roads, so I never know for sure what I will encounter. Got half way through my 30 mile loop and, sure enough, when I made it to the intersection, the road I needed to complete the loop was gravel, but how far? What kind of shape? Off I went.

Turns out it was 8 miles, sometimes gravel, but sometimes more sand and rather treacherous in spots. Even with the Fargo's big tires, I hit a lot of sand traps, causing me to fishtail like crazy. In some spots it was so bad, I walked the bike. The road was marked with ATB route signs and they meant it. Whew! To make things even more exciting, not a single home along the road for 8 miles. Just me and deep north woods on both sides. A fat bike would have been a better choice, but not too crazy about riding a fat bike 15 miles on pavement to get there.

Would I do it, again? Yup. Would feel safer having some company, though.

[emily_in_nc]

Would I do it, again? Yup. Would feel safer having some company, though.

Yes, being alone in a desolate area like that would be intimidating to me. Glad you had fun (basically!) and were safe. I do know what you mean about the fishtailing and gravel...been having some issues with that ourselves lately. Just published a blog about a rail-trail we rode (or attempted to ride) a couple of weeks ago that ended up being a mess with deep gravel in spots and practically non-existent in spots. The website makes it look like this is such a premiere trail, but I beg to differ:

http://travelingtwosome.weebly.com/t...-in-bolivar-mo

Today's ride was a hilly monster. We started out by riding about 10 miles on a nice valley road, flat, to warm up. Then we headed north and east into the hills, and it was just one roller after another. I have never shifted in the front so much on a ride, from the big chain, to the granny, to the middle, back to the big, and on and on. I spent more time in the granny ring than I think I've ever done, and I bottomed out my 30x25 gear (riding my Trek Pilot) many, many times. "Sit and spin" is what they say, but this was more like "sit and grind". I stood as often as I could, but I tired frequently so had to do most of the longer climbs seated.

I would have taken my Bike Friday with lower gears except that DH was doing maintenance on it, and the chain was not on it. I surely could have used those mountain gears because these hills sure felt like mountains to me!

Ended up with 34 miles and just felt beat up. DH said it was as hard as the Crater Lake circle ride, which he had trained extensively for. Neither of us were prepared for this many hills, but at least he is an excellent climber. Not me -- I had to stop and rest several times partway up climbs just so I could get my breath and continue on. Temp was in the 80s, sunny, and fairly humid, which didn't help matters any.

BUT, we did it. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right?!?!?

Tomorrow we move on to Iowa, where I am happily anticipating some flatter terrain, though I expect the issue there will be the wind!

[north woods gal]

Sounds like a workout, but also a good day's work. Fortunately, I have several choices as to loops on local roads. One is mostly flat, but the others are rolling hills with a few flat stretches. I ride compact double chainrings on all my bikes, but I usually don't have to drop to the small ring except on the steepest hills, but those hills do bottom me out.

Iowa is a lovely state with nice folks. The northeast is actually quite hilly as is the country adjacent to some of he rivers. Having lived in neighboring Nebraska much of my life, oh yeah, wind is a big factor. I'm sure you'll love it, though.

[rebeccaC]

Spent sat. night in los olivos and rode yesterday and today. figueroa mountain road yesterday and today just wandering (the joy of randomness) for 6 hours on the side roads in the santa ynez valley. It was HOT with both rides ending in the high 90’s but mornings were in the low 70’s. I planned this trip a while ago so hot yoga the last couple of weeks helped prepare me for the heat predicted.
For quiet roads the s.y. valley is an excellent place to ride in…one of my favorites, especially figueroa mt.
I saw just a few cars and probably 15+ bicyclists….. and the windblown oak trees are a beautiful feature in the valley floor landscape. Lots of places for water, my favorite being a small isolated chapel on foxen canyon rd. for shade to stretch, relax and eat in and a bottle filling refrigerated cooling water fountain for bicyclists. A good weekend of riding……

[emily_in_nc]

Iowa is a lovely state with nice folks. The northeast is actually quite hilly as is the country adjacent to some of he rivers. Having lived in neighboring Nebraska much of my life, oh yeah, wind is a big factor. I'm sure you'll love it, though.

We are here, and it is HILLY. I was shocked! I guess I do recall reading reports of RAGBRAI that Iowa isn't flat, but I had temporary amnesia. We are going for our first ride today, so we'll see how it goes. The state park we're staying in, Prairie Rose, is quite hilly, as were the roads to get here. So, it's probably a good thing that I did that tough ride in Missouri a couple days ago.

It sounds like you are a lot stronger than me on hills -- but then again, I suppose most cyclists are. I've been riding since 2003 and have never been good on climbs, though the more I ride 'em, the better I get, of course.

I think I'll ride my Bike Friday today today for the gears!

[north woods gal]

Emily, yes, it is reassuring to tackle hills knowing you have a lot of bottom gears available. I don't consider myself to be the strongest rider, but I don't avoid hills, either. It's all in the gearing and matching it up with what you can handle as far as strength. I can get by with doubles in this country, rather than having to go with triple road bikes. Even on my double road bikes, though, there are differences as to their gearing.

My Domane is a 700x25 wheeled bike with standard 50/34 compact on the front and 12/30 on the back. On a good day, it is just low enough for me on our worst hills, but if I'm tired or have to deal with a strong headwind, it's a bit iffy.

My Salsa Warbird is a 700x35 bike with more of a cyclocross double. It has a 46/34 front and in the back, I changed the cassette to a 12-32. I still bottom out on our worst hills, but it's a little better. The 700x35 tires, though, make it a much more versatile bike. It's a very good gravel bike when the gravel isn't too deep or soft.

My Salsa Fargo is my go to bike for exploring. It's still a drop bar bike that runs well on pavement, but it's actually a 29er in wheel size with its big 2.2" tires. It has the lowest gearing of the three with a 42/28 up front and an 11-36 on the back. I suspect it will handle any road in our state, though if I was headed to the rockies I might try something even lower geared.

[azfiddle]

I just read through about 3 pages of ride posts. Sounds like some fun and interesting rides have been happening while I was away.

My husband and I just got back from our three week driving vacation, which took us from SE Arizona through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Utah. We took the bikes, but didn't ride everyday. During the three weeks we had rides in Silver City NM, Albuquerque NM, outside of Colorado Springs on the road to Cripple Creek, above Boulder Colorado (near Jamestown / Ward / Raymond), Billings Montana, Grand Teton NP and Bryce NP. A little over 200 miles on the bikes, plus about 40 miles of walking and hiking. I will post a few pictures after I upload them to Flickr.

We're glad to be back but today all I could manage after returning to the heat and higher humidity (now that the summer monsoon season is here) was about 13 miles, mostly on the bike path. Of course, if I was a little less lazy and got out the door at 6 am instead of 7:30, I might have gotten more miles in.

[emily_in_nc]

azfiddle, that sounds like a great trip. We have ridden in Albuquerque (twice) and Billings and hiked in Bryce NP, of the places you visited. The other places you went are still on our bucket lists!

Had a good ride today. We took the Bike Fridays and rode from the campground to the closest town. It was rolling hills but not as steep as those we suffered through in our last spot (Weston, MO). I love my Bike Friday because of the smaller tires, all the gears are easier than they would be on a larger-wheeled bike. So I was able to stay in my middle chainring for the entire ride. On this bike with 20" wheels, my 42-tooth middle chainring, coupled with 11-32 (or 34, I can never remember) in the back, gives me a tons of range. I did shift into the large front ring (52t) on occasion but mostly I was in the middle and did not have to utilize the super low 30t granny. The worst hills were actually in the campground!

Wow, though, there aren't a lot of paved roads in this part of Iowa! DH had drawn a great map of all the backroads we might try to get to the closest town, Harlan. Every single one of them ended up being gravel, and since we'd just cleaned and detailed the Fridays, we were NOT gonna take them! So, we ended up on the highway (not an interstate, of course), and the rumble strips were just awful. There was a wide unpaved shoulder, then a skinny paved one with just enough room for the rumble strips and about 6" for us to ride in. I guess the good thing was it does help your handling skills to try to stick to a 6" width of pavement!

I will say, drivers are so incredibly courteous here, same in Missouri. Whenever they could, they would give us the entire lane, or as much of it as they could. If someone was coming the other way, they'd often hold up until after the other driver passed to let us through. Very unexpected and nice! You don't get that down south much.

Ended up with 25 miles and a few nice groceries to bring home from town. We got sprinkled on a few times, but the temp in the 70s was most unexpected and appreciated!

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[pinsonp2]

Read your blog on this trail. My mom lives in Springfield, Mo at the southern end of the Frisco Highline. I've always wanted to try it when we are visiting. Based on your info, I think I'll take a pass.

P2

[north woods gal]

What wonderful country! I do miss those wide open vistas. Only get those, up here, when I bicycle past a potato farm.

[Crankin]

Did a very tiny 30 minute ride this morning, not early enough, as the humidity is finally arriving and it's hot, too. Glad I went, but glad I didn't plan a day long ride. I am off from work since my office moved over the weekend. Spent a couple of hours setting up/unpacking my stuff over there, and now going to head to the farm, get my produce, and generally recover from a 3 day vacation where there was plenty of eating and drinking, along with a day on the bike and tons of walking.

[north woods gal]

Only 63 at midday, here, with light rain and, worst of all, a 25 mph + north wind, so grabbed the bike jacket, put on the leggings and headed out. Called it quits after 5 miles and headed back home. The cool temps and even the showers I could take, but after fighting that kind of wind, yesterday, just wasn't in me to fight it, again, today. Put in 20 more miles on the bike trainer, indoors, where it was nice and warm, NO wind and called it good. Wimpy old me.

[emily_in_nc]

Read your blog on this trail. My mom lives in Springfield, Mo at the southern end of the Frisco Highline. I've always wanted to try it when we are visiting. Based on your info, I think I'll take a pass.

P2

From other reviews I've read, the southern end near Springfield is in much better shape. I believe it's paved, at least for awhile. So I wouldn't rule out riding it, since you have family there. I just wouldn't make a special trip!