Someday I will print up some teeshirts that say "The gravel is always smoother on the other side."
Michael had some great advice when he suggested hanging onto the bars loosely. Very much a let the bike go where it wants to and make subtle corrections when the opportunity presents itself. Relax, look for one of the 2 or 3 lines that tend to form toward the middle of the road where cars travel. Sometimes there can be a smoother line toward the edge, it all depends upon how well the county does on grading. Freshly spread rock or a recently graded road can be unpleasant, but generally only for a few miles. Conditions can vary widely for different road, the time of year, and weather. I rode with a good friend on a tour from Minnesota to Iowa for a few days and back again. We took the opportunity to ride gravel on a number of occasions for a couple of hundred miles. In the western part of Iowa, the gravel is very loose almost sandy and it was difficult to sometimes pick a good line, particularly in the dark. Even with fully-loaded touring bikes, there is something almost magical that happens once you can get up to a certain speed. The bike just sorta rolls over the top and things almost feel like they get easier? Watching someone else in front of you bounce around on the road, particularly on a fast decent can be a little intimidating. Out front, unable to see the rocks flying off a back wheel or the bike bounce around somehow is more confidence inspiring. I love riding the gravel roads... the unpredictable conditions, the interesting challenge that requires some concentration. The narrower more intimate feel of being near the farm fields and rural areas. Having a level of comfort and confidence riding gravel opens up a whole new network of roads to explore. Have fun and share the adventure... On Tuesday, September 30, 2014 2:54:08 PM UTC-5, lungimsam wrote: > > Today I went to check out a new run of MUP they are doing on my wife's > route to work. We ride together, and it is fun. > Anyway, I went down to the new bridge and MUP sections they are soon to > complete (hopefully). One section was still all gravel, and since I didn't > go down it before, I was curious to see how and where it will connect to > the existing MUP. > > I took off down it and, wow, I don't know how you gravelly riders stay on > your bike on that stuff. Loose egg/palm sized gravel rocks were kicking my > back wheel sideways at times, and having me bouncing all over - wide > tires or no. > > Maybe you guys who gravel grind do it on hard packed flattish stuff. But > the loose stuff/large rocks had me wondering how you guys get anywhere on > the stuff. I'll be the first to admit I have zero experience with > offroad/gravel riding. I was trying to pick lines on some almost packed > looking areas, but it was really tough to stay on the bike and go more than > 2 miles an hour or so. This is a new project they are doing an maybe the > gravel just hasn't been own long enough to get packed enough to ride on it. > > Got any tips? > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
