Photos from your rides.

[dcama5]

Another short 20 miler with my wife on a nice fall day in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia:





Zukas:

[CNY rider]

The weather in upstate NY is now spectacular again.
I got this shot on a chilly morning with the sun behind me and the full moon setting over the trees to the west.

[Hilltopperny]

Beautiful weather this weekend!

Sent from my Pixel 6a using Tapatalk

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . I was up in the Adirondacks for a few days to do some photography and riding, and I rode this beautiful route our of Keene that has a surprising amount of gravel and some spectacular views. There was a lot of climbing, plus some rain toward the end and I also ended up having to ford Styles Brook after discovering the bridge was out. But the payoff was mostly deserted roads, stunning light and color, and new knowledge of an area I hadn’t known too much about for gravel cycling. In the future I will explore further over the hill to the east to reach Lewis and Elizabethtown, but for this day I had my hands full with so much scenery, adventure, and a nice friendly dog to play with. I stopped to shoot a picture and he brought his toy to me and gave me such a pleading look I just had to spend a few minutes with him. A great day! 27.67mi/9.1mph av/3,133ft. Photos with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro. Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48690658

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . I went east just over the border into Vermont to relive a ride from four years ago with my friend Bill and Dave. We did alter our route a bit, but it still served up a healthy dose of the stunning fall colors that Vermont is famous for. We started in Arlington, just over the border from New York, and tackled a planned 36-mile route crossing back and forth across the state border and taking in some obscure hills and hollows with well-maintained gravel roads and little or no traffic other than our gravel bikes. As always in this area, the highlight of our ride was passing by the home of famed artist Norman Rockwell on River Road. Rockwell lived there from 1939-53, when he moved to Stockbridge, MA, for his wife to get treatment at a hospital there. Rockwell produced some of his most well-known paintings while living in the large white house on River Road along the Battenkill. Today the house is a B&B, and you can stand in front and see the barns, church, and covered bridge that he included in some of his paintings. From there we headed north into the hills to the epic climbs and steep descents we anticipated. The only hiccup in our beautiful day was encountering a road crew installing a culvert on West Road, but we were able to make a short detour through the woods and continue our ride. Even with that interruption . . . A great day! 32.93mi/10.3mph av/2,927ft. Photos with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro. Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48691530

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . down at Minnewaska State Park Preserve just west of New Paltz to enjoy the incredible fall foliage display the Shawangunk Ridge usually puts on for those willing to do the work to go see it. The Shawangunks are geologically and biologically distinct from the Catskills just to the west and in addition to the fall colors offer a wonderful assortment of lakes, waterfalls, and spectacular views of the Hudson Valley and beyond. For this ride we started at the Minnewaska visitor center and rode all the way south to Sam’s Point at the south end of the ridge, where we made a stop at the visitor center, then rode back up around Lake Maratanza to the viewpoint above the center, then headed back north and made a loop past Lake Awosting to more stunning vistas at Hamilton Point. The Sam’s Point area is known for its blueberry barrens that turn bright red in the fall. It’s a surreal landscape of the red leaves, dead pine trees from a fire ten years ago, and the live pines have stunted growth from the altitude, constant winds, and poor soil. Periodically through the ride we also enjoyed the recovery gummies that Gary brought along as he absolutely insisted they were, ah, "unadulterated!" Then it was back to the Minnewaska visitor center and then some post-ride refreshments down the hill at the German-American Brauhaus restaurant. It was also a real bonus to run into people at two points in the ride who recognized me from my posts on Facebook. I’m a celebrity influencer, LOL! A great day! 26.4mi/9.0mph av/2303ft. Photos with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro. Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48805171

BBD

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . and had an opportunity to ride a portion of the Rockingham Rail Trail with my friend Geoff. The total trail is 27.3 miles from Newfield in the east to Manchester at the west end. We rode about 10.5 miles west to Epping, then turned around. The portion we rode went through scenic woods, passing ponds, streams, and often houses not far off through the trees. I was surprised to find a trail like this that manages to remain mostly rural in an area that’s so “thickly settled” as the local road signs warn. We didn’t see any wildlife to speak of, but encountered a fair number of other trail users, both pedestrians and all kinds of wider tire bikes. But I wouldn’t say it was crowded at any time. But I would warn potential riders there are a good number of road crossing and there didn’t appear to be any signs warning drivers of a trail crossing or any other markings such as crosswalks. So we had to be extra careful when crossing roads as drivers honestly may not have known there was even a trail crossing there. The only exception was at the trail crossing at NH rt. 125 where there was a crosswalk and a full traffic signal. Even then, on the return leg a driver went right through the red light as we crossed. It seemed as if once the right of way had been secured. No other work at all has been done to improve the trail. But still . . . a great day! 21.31mi/9.4mph av/361ft. Photos with Panasonic Lumix ZS200D and iPhone 15 Pro. Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48839501 Reference: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/n...nal-rail-trail

BBD

[CNY rider]

BBDave you are killing it!
Let me know where I can sign up for that Keene Valley ride.

[merckxman]

80F today, crazy. The last photo from today is of a generator and a chiller, there were two of these parked about 50 yards apart on Meadow Rd that were pumping water for an ice rink!! on the Fiddlers Elbow golf course for a film set with Adam Sandler.

@BBDave, the Minnewaska State Park Preserve photos are tops.

[skiezo]

I did a 30 miler on the steel AR today. Upper 70s and sunshine.
Along the river.


5 miles on this.



For some reason I don’t ride this bike much but when I do I always get that wow effect. Sooo smooth.

[NHAero]

A couple of hours on my old friend Bob Jackson on another day of lovely weather. Such a smooth and quiet ride!

[Baron Blubba]

Some Loudon County gravel with my pal Leah. Mixed feelings about this legendary area of dirt roads. The county has 300+ miles of dirt roads, more per square mile than anywhere else in the country, I believe. However, some of them are simply unpaved roads, and since almost all the roads around here are unpaved, there is more car traffic than on similar dirt roads in other places, and all it takes is a few cars to create quite a little dust storm.
However, probably still better than riding on pavement in most places, and...the roads that are more intimate, more carved into the landscape rather than just plopped like tic-tac-toe boards across the countryside, with rougher terrain, with less reason for vehicular traffic to ever visit unless to sight-see, and where if you squint real hard you can practically see the specter of the mule pulling the cart 250 years ago...those roads a *amazing*.
Great day for a ride, great place for a ride, with a great friend.

You can't pick your nose when you're born, but you can pick it for the rest of your life.
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

Encountered a puddle, portaging ensued.
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

Also straddling.
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

...and then a little river before dinner.

[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

And more portaging. She baked me a challah, a key lime pie, a loaf of bread, and cooked a big pot of vegetarian chili in the morning. (And I love her.) So if she wants to sit while I schlep, she is welcome to do so.
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]

[merckxman]

Easy ride enjoying a Summer temperature day with Fall colors. Then explored some more what's being constructed for the movie set of Happy Gilmore 2 with Adam Sandler. Kind of shocking the number of people working on the set; photos of a center stage and grandstand seating on either side that have been built at Fiddlers Elbow golf course.

[rogerspam]

These beautiful fall photos are making me mad my bike is out of commission (see my post about crank screws abandoning me mid-ride).

I was just in Minneapolis and wished I could have checked out some of the nice gravel down out by Northfield, Carleton and St. Olaf College area.

[Baron Blubba]

This was one of the Rides of the Year (Maybe Ever) with my friend Leah who came down from NJ to visit for a few days. The route was the Rappahannock Rough Ride 60 miler (with a little Hunter Road out-and-back add on, because I've always been curious about that road). I couldn't do the ride on the day of the event, so did it 'just the two of us' instead, which I prefer anyway. The gravel takes a little while to get going, but once it does, it comes hot 'n heavy. The paved-to-unpaved ratio doesn't really matter though, because every single road on this route is a treasure, unpaved or otherwise. Highly recommended. You can find the route here, and maybe throw some money at the event organizers by way of thanks if you choose to do it. The proceeds go to a good cause, and no matter what they deserve it for designing such a masterpiece of a bike ride.

Be aware: There is currently no official place to refill water bottles, as Laurel Mills General Store at mile 50ish is closed at the moment --but reopening soon. Even so, bring plenty of hydration because you are looking at 50ish hard miles of dusty riding with no 7-11's or gas stations or cafes en route.
Including a little 4-mile add on we did, we're talking 62 miles and 6500 feet of climbing. The first 10-12 miles are almost entirely paved, but ***awesome*** anyway. Then it's just dirt, dirt, and more dirt, but for a few connecting roads.
38mm tires or fatter recommended. A rider with oodles of skills and confidence could do this on a 32mm tire with side knobs like the Gravel King Semi-Slick.

[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]Untitled by Michael Lock, on Flickr[/IMG]