September rides

[emily_in_nc]

Emily….enjoy the Teton area, beautiful country and huckleberry anything ftw!! …and tell DH that the motorcyclist would probably have shot you too as a witness.

Just a pleasant ride down the beach bike path to lunch with friends in Manhattan Beach and then the Playa Vista farmers market on the way home for us…. 23 miles and o’henry peaches, greens, heirloom tomatoes, veggies, olive bread and cheese to have for the longer weekend.

Sounds like a perfect ride and haul (well, except for the olive bread, me no likie olives, but DH loves 'em). And you're right about the motorcyclist! Thank goodness we were right in town. If we'd been in the boonies, we might really have had to worry.

Agreed on the huckleberry...nom nom! Had never had it til we got to this part of the country.

[north woods gal]

Thanks to all on recommending the GPS. Given my love of exploring out of the way places, not to mention my really bad sense of direction, I really do need togged a GPS for the bike. Made a huge difference in my peace of mind when I bought one for the car.

Thought I would share some pics of the gravel roads I ride. Illustrates how gravel road biking is so varied and even downright unpredictable. That, of course, is the attraction for me. All it takes is a change in the weather, a change in traffic, when and how often the road is maintained and how it is maintained and you find yourself having to ride the same road, differently, than you rode it the day before. Cool.

For instance, here's what I was riding, today, 12 miles worth plus another 20 on pavement to get there and back. Very good quality, all hard pack and well-maintained because there are scattered homes along the roads in this area and the county keeps up the roads. Pebble sized gravel, though, so not real comfy to ride, but predictable and safe and, of course, lovely. With the right bike, keeping a 10-14 mph pace is easy to do.


Here's what you get when there are no homes along a road, so little maintenance, but still open to traffic and ATVs. Even on a fat bike, I sometimes have trouble, often taking to the woods on the side to bypass these areas. Just getting through without having to walk is an accomplishment.


or


For a walk on the wild side, these are the gated timber roads closed to vehicle traffic that I rode, earlier this week. So remote that they get maintenance maybe every few years. Actually pretty decent to ride, but you never know what you will encounter. 9 miles before you see a house, sign or so much as a human footprint. Very much on your own to get back out.


Sometimes, you even wonder if there is a road.


And sometimes you do have to get creative


Still, compared to typical single track in our area, ANY road is a luxury. (Leave your road bike, at home.)


Breaking out to pavement after a long gravel workout is truly heavenly.


Thanks for riding with me on this little tour of my gravel roads.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for sharing, NWG! I kinda know what you experience based on our several gravel rides during our trip from south to north this summer. We rode some that looked just like your first photo, and a couple like your second, but none quite as bad as some of your later photos, other than one forest road that turned into an overgrown trail, so eventually we had to turn around and ride the five miles back out.

I am totally with you on the emergence to pavement -- it feels like a dream after riding the bumps!

[Crankin]

Looks like fun! I've ridden my road bike on roads like your first picture, but I don't like it, and definitely need another bike, so I can feel more confident and ride some roads like picture #2.
Part of the dirt road we hiked on yesterday looks like #2 and #3. Quite a few years ago, I was on a group ride where they were going to take it as a short cut. I had never been there, and although the first part of the road is fine for a road bike, I had a bad feeling. I left the group and rode back to the start...

[north woods gal]

Thanks, all.

You can comfortably ride a standard 700x25 road bike on a well maintained gravel road as in the first pic- have done it on this road - but the gravel needs to be firm and evenly spread to ride with confidence. Even then, you need to be constantly on the alert, because, as I said, conditions on gravel roads can change by the day. My 700x35 Salsa Warbird, though, just screams down that road, but, then, the Warbird is actually a gravel specific road bike designed for hard pack.

When things turn soft and loose, I've found that there is a direct relationship between tire width and performance in the soft stuff. On the second and third pic, my 2" 26er and 2.2" 29er were not good. Did a lot of walking. My 3" 29er plus was much better and the 4.8" fat bike, best of all. Also found that rear suspension helps. Gets better traction in the soft stuff than a hardtail MTB, but not enough to make up the difference with going wider on the tires.

Should also mention that the experience factor helps, here. Lots of technique involved riding these roads that you don't use on pavement. If you are a die-hard pavement rider, take your time. Practicing on a variety of these roads really helps.

Given that I have to ride some miles on pavement to get to these areas, my 3" 29er is my best compromise. Actually pleasant, though not super fast, on pavement. Probably the perfect bike for remote road riding (but too stiff and bumpy on tough single track, since no suspension). The fat bike is agonizingly slow and cumbersome on pavement.

3" Trek Stashe (That's bear spray in the bottle cage.)

[wnyrider]

Your handlebar bag looks like it could be a Revelate Design one, but I don't see it on their site. Could you tell me what bag is that? I have an Ortlieb bag which is very nice, but I'd have to remove the stem with the handlebar to pack the bike for traveling. How does your bag connect?

[Crankin]

Yeah, I know that kind of riding takes practice, of which I am loathe to do. That's why I stopped mountain biking. I don't naturally have the skills, I have a high fear factor, and I always had the nagging feeling I was missing out on road miles. I have less of a fear factor, 10 years later, but I am still debating what kind of bike to get for the third bike. It will have to meet a lot of criteria for uses, but mostly, I am interested in gravel/dirt road riding and not traditional mountain biking.
We didn't plan anything today, as we thought it would be raining from the hurricane. However, it's sunny, so we went out around 11:30 for a short ride around town. The wind started picking up considerably as we got near home and now, I would not want to be out there. We are not going to get the rain we need desperately, but at least it will hold off until later, into tomorrow.