Oh my gosh, what did we get ourselves in to? Me and one of our Wednesday night riders, Shelly, thought this sounded like fun (it was!). Neither one of us has every done a gravel ride so why not give it a try? We heard about a couple big hills but sure, we could do it!
As we were unloading bikes and checking tire pressures, etc., we heard several people talking (they all knew each other) about what rides they have done, the high mileage, the challenge of the trails, how they did on this ride the year before.....Shelly and I looked at each other and thought "Oh oh, what have we done?" HA HA! We were so nervous because it was something very new to us! I had already planned on going by myself but when she said she wanted to go I was ecstatic! Riding with her made it so much more fun!
Well, the ride was 35'ish miles....we did 15 miles. We were just shy of 15 so we rode to a bridge and back to get over the 15 mark. There was another couple who were not riding the whole thing so they told us about the short cut. While they rode all paved road back, Shelly and I rode a short section of paved road then picked up the gravel road that the other riders would come to. I am so glad we did! It was challenging (to us) and fun!
The first hill of the ride was brutal! Some people say they ride it all the way up....all I have to say is WOW! Part of it was almost straight up...yes, we walked most of it. Once we made it to the top we started riding again. It is challenging riding on gravel roads. Part of our challenge is we are what Brian (hubby) calls 'tourists', not competitors. Ha ha! Yes we are! We stopped for a few pictures and stopped to just look around. When we made it to almost the half way point we did not know if we would make it back before dark (not knowing the trail or roads) so that was when we decided to cut the route in half.
The funny thing was when we were almost back to Devils Elbow, some of the other riders were zooming past us! We cut the route in half and were getting lapped! HA HA!
Shelly and I taking advantage of our first photo op...a railroad bridge...like less than 5 minutes in to our ride. :-)
The only thing missing was the train...yes, I would have moved myself and the bike. :-)
I like taking pictures of my bike...it is almost like traveling with a gnome and taking pictures of the gnome everywhere. OH! I need to get a gnome or a troll to bring with me! :-)
Part of the ride went off road...this was the easy part. The hard part (for us) was through the woods with lots of rocks and roots and being so close to trees on a skinny bumpy trail. It was so scary but also fun...I could not stop laughing and saying "Oh crap!" "Oh crap!" :-)
This was the first time I wore a backpack. I usually don't like anything pulling on my shoulders but this thing was very comfortable! My only problem was my 2nd water bottle kept shifting so it would feel crooked (because it was) but other than that, it was great! Carried everything we would need if we had a flat or a wound. Well, maybe not bone sticking out...I will make a note to add supplies for that.
We met some fun people who told us about other rides that we might try sometime. We are both working on our fitness so the idea of the fun rides sounds like something we would love!
Until later...
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