Got out this Sunday after a great Friday/Saturday visit with my Sister and her family. They're awesome.
So was this ride. Totally gray day, cool with a northeasterly wind. The roads have really dried out now, and I didn't see a bit of mud. One of many goals this year is to ride EVERY SINGLE rural road in Brown County. Thought I'd get started. All of the roads were passable, though some were really rough. The roads which were formerly mucked up are now bone dry and actually pretty fast if you can stay out of the ruts. There are also a number of patches of fresh gravel on more frequently traveled areas, mostly on shady slopes (aka downhills). The toughest part of getting over every road is simply getting TO the roads. There are so many roads out or closed that you simply cannot efficiently access them all in any sort of linear way, and current maps aren't necessarily all that accurate.
I made it over almost 50 miles worth. The first half of which were into the wind. Road the Pig (my Specialized FSR) and I'm quite certain I hit a few places bikes haven't seen for a long, long time. It is hilly as anything here, and conservatively I'd guess I climed 4,500 feet. Got done in just over 3:30.
I'm really hoping that my new bike helps speed things up. I'll lose 11+ pounds, and a LOT of rolling resistance switching to cyclocross, not to mention a more aero position.
Next week I'm hopeful to go 75 miles. We'll see. The rain we're expecting is likely to return a good many roads to slop. If nothing else, I'll get the road bike back out and get 5+ hours on pavement. Weather permitting I'll go on Friday -
So was this ride. Totally gray day, cool with a northeasterly wind. The roads have really dried out now, and I didn't see a bit of mud. One of many goals this year is to ride EVERY SINGLE rural road in Brown County. Thought I'd get started. All of the roads were passable, though some were really rough. The roads which were formerly mucked up are now bone dry and actually pretty fast if you can stay out of the ruts. There are also a number of patches of fresh gravel on more frequently traveled areas, mostly on shady slopes (aka downhills). The toughest part of getting over every road is simply getting TO the roads. There are so many roads out or closed that you simply cannot efficiently access them all in any sort of linear way, and current maps aren't necessarily all that accurate.
I made it over almost 50 miles worth. The first half of which were into the wind. Road the Pig (my Specialized FSR) and I'm quite certain I hit a few places bikes haven't seen for a long, long time. It is hilly as anything here, and conservatively I'd guess I climed 4,500 feet. Got done in just over 3:30.
I'm really hoping that my new bike helps speed things up. I'll lose 11+ pounds, and a LOT of rolling resistance switching to cyclocross, not to mention a more aero position.
Next week I'm hopeful to go 75 miles. We'll see. The rain we're expecting is likely to return a good many roads to slop. If nothing else, I'll get the road bike back out and get 5+ hours on pavement. Weather permitting I'll go on Friday -
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