Fall Fargo Foliage Fest

Peak color. Pave, dirt, trail. Some hike a bike too. My favorite time of year.

I left the house a bit later than I wanted, sipped a coffee and had some breakfast at a local cafe, then took off for higher ground. I ventured through the Intervale, enjoying a glorious and misty sunrise. Stunning, was the sky and the sun.

As I started to climb out of the vale to pavement, I noticed a vehicle stuck on the tracks. I’ve seen lots of bizarre things happen down here early in the morning – so I can’t say I was surprised – but it looks as if someone ‘borrowed’ the truck for a joy ride. Windows were open, with stuff left on the seats. Glove box was closed. I made sure there was no one injured (abandoned) then called 911 and was connected to local police. After a chat I continued on.

From Burlington I ventured off to Richmond via Mountain View and dropping down Governor Chittenden Rd. The Winooski River Valley was covered in a fog, and the light had a silver quality to it. No views to Camel’s Hump, but an otherworldly feeling as I hit the lower dirt road and a horse started running alongside.

Some flat riding out of town to the east, and then I climbed Stage Rd. Wonderful dirt, steep, with only a few cars passing. I saw a Long Trail hiker emerge from the woods, heading into town.

Somewhere nearing the top I turned onto a signed hiking / ski / snomo trail. Some hike a bike for the first 100′ or so, then leveling out on old double track / logging road. I skirted a small pond (north of Preston Pond), dodged some soggy trail, snapped some pics, and pressed on for the overlook.

The overlook trail is a loop, connecting as a U shape to the main trail. I took the first turn for it, riding quite a ways until the roots, rocks, and gradient made it difficult to pedal. Typical of VT trails, this rolled along for a bit, then turned straight up. I’d later learn that I took the longer / harder way up… as my descent from the lookout was equally rocky and rooty, but much shorter, and I think more rideable (for me, with my limited technical mountain bike skills…)

Returning to the double track, I made my way to Notch Rd., where I had hoped to continue on to the Bolton Access Rd. via another set of trails. I was met with some serious ATV rutted double track, and upon exploring a bit found a crew clearing trees. Chainsaws running, and ATVs scurrying up the trail, I assume these folks were prepping the trail for winter snomo use.

Bombing down Notch Rd. led me back to the river valley, where I made my way to the Cross Vermont Trail. This stretch follows the edge of a farm field and a dirt road. In the field it can be wet, and flooding from Irene left the bridge damaged – but it looks like repairs are under way, and the trail was firm.

I followed my path back into town – climbing up Governor Chittenden Rd. past Catamount, eventually meeting up with the family on the waterfront for a fall day out…

~60 miles
~3100′ climbing

Fall Classic 2011

I scouted the entire 200k route last weekend, will try to ride the 114k route this weekend.

Most of the roads are in typical end of summer shape – mixes of smooth dirt, washboard, some rough stuff and chatter through the corners. There are plenty of random patches of surface changes – from packed dirt to loose gravel, and quite a few areas of washed out, tire sized ruts, mainly on the steeps. Only one stretch was closed due to downed trees, something I could have passed easily on a bike. A crew was already clearing the road, so one of the most scenic slices of road should be ready for us in a few weeks. All in, northern Vermont fared better than most of the state with the recent storms.

Come join us on October 1st!

ADK Bikepacking

I’ve been intrigued with dirt roads and trails in the ADKs for quite some time. Last weekend I combined a family visit with a two day bikepacking trip. I’ve done the journey in one day, on my rando rig, but this time out I mixed in some dirt roads, as well as traversing the Moose River Plains from Indian Lake to Inlet. My original plan was for ~300 miles from Burlington to the Utica, NY area and it would have mixed in about 100 miles of dirt road, snomo trail, and mountain bike trails. Work and family schedule collided – so I opted for a two day trip, and kept my riding to known dirt routes, to eliminate getting 15 or 20 miles into a trail and having to bushwhack around a beaver pond swamp, or backtrack out.

I left Burlington late (for me) after enjoying a coffee and bagel at about 6:30 am. Wil met up with me on his way to work, and snapped a pic. Relatively clean and sweat free in the cool morning, I took off south for the Champlain Bridge and the temporary ferry on some quiet roads following our almost great lake.

The temps began rising, just as the terrain did. I loosely followed a previous route to Paradox lake, and opted for more pavement than dirt this trip, to expedite my arrival to my overnight destination. I climbed from the lake to Paradox, NY, up and over Factoryville Rd., Creek Rd., and Middle Rd. The helmet came off, and on a very quiet and steep ~8-10% for extended stretches of Middle Rd. I pedaled in the shade on the left side of the road. Completely cooked by the top, I stopped for a bit in the shade and enjoyed some warming water along with a gel. Helmet on, jersey still unzipped, I pedaled on to Rt. 74 and Eagle Lake.

Rt. 74 was busier this time through – either due to my late start or being a Friday morning – so I was careful to take my lane when possible, and move over if I could when a logging truck or RV would come up behind me. I skipped topping off water at the Paradox Lake Campground, and pressed on to my lunch stop in Schroon Lake. A turkey sandwich and chips hit the spot, washed down with a ginger ale. I grabbed some salty snacks to go, and anticipating a hot, tough climb ahead, I topped off my bottle with water and an electrolyte tab, and my bladder with ice and water. About a mile down the road I noticed a drip drip down my back – and stopped to investigate. My bladder was leaking near the cap – so if I squished it in my bag it would leach out, and then down my back, until about 2/3s full. Momentarily it felt good running down my back – but I eventually felt it work its way into my shorts – which would prove troublesome further up the road. While I was stopped I decided to be preemptive about the heat climbing Hoffman Mountain Rd. to Olmstedville and North Creek. I defiled one of the Rapha arm warmers I brought along – I filled it with ice and tied the ends into knots. Ideally a leg from woman’s stocking (available in convenience stores) works for this – but my lunch stop carried neither socks or stockings. Tucking the ice warmer into my jersey collar, I proceeded to slowly climb – even the shaded portions of the road were hot, having soaked in the sun all morning. After what felt like forever grinding away ~10-12%, I reached the rolling top, and looked for my turn to Olmstedville. Troutbrook Rd. was my turn, and once it pointed down it was good fun to carry some speed into town. A quick correction for a navigational error, and I was back on track heading down NY 28N towards North Creek.

As I approached North Creek I had a few fleeting glimpses of Gore Mt, crossed the Hudson River, and within what felt like minutes I was refreshing my ice and water at a local pizza place. The temps were still high, somewhere in the 80s, and I could see the sunburn on my arms and through the holes in my cycling gloves. I managed to get a cell phone call out here to family, then packed up and quickly made my way to NY 28, north to Indian Lake, 16 miles away. On a previous trip I had a demoralizing climb, and this trip would prove no different. The first 5 miles out of town follow the Hudson with a wide shoulder on a 2 lane state highway. Easy pedaling up the mild river grade, I made good time until I noticed my water bottle was loose. A quick stop to tighten it up put me in front of a wall. By the numbers the hardest part of this stretch is 4 miles with 800 feet of elevation gain – packed into sections ranging from ~6-10% gradient. On a nice 2 lane road, this would be work, but on NY 28, a dedicated ‘bike route’ – it is a wholly different experience. As the climb starts the road changes from 2 lane to 3 lane, with the additional lane being a climbing lane, heading up. Fair enough for vehicles, but whats left of the shoulder is 3 feet tucked between the white line of the climbing lane and the typical highway guardrail. For what felt like every bit of that 4 miles.

Traffic was insane, and after being buzzed by folks passing on the right, in the truck lane, shooting by me to take on the next car up the road, and the Nth truck or camper blowing me around – I’d had enough. When traffic lulled I crossed the road to enjoy an 6-8′ wide shoulder, and pedaled uphill with my front light blinking, on the wrong side of the road. A few drivers scowled at me coming down – but I had a clear view of oncoming traffic, plenty of time to react, and far less stress moving forward. Somewhere along this climb I noticed the distinct pain coming from my bottom – saddle sore, or something not fitting well. I pressed on, with the pain being a minor annoyance.

Near the top the road reverts back to a typical 2 lane rural highway. Still busy, but with generous shoulders on both sides. I crossed back over, had a snack, and pressed over the remaining uphill rollers to Indian Lake. I was a bit behind schedule, but still comfortable rolling into Indian Lake @ 5:48 PM, 105 miles in my legs, with another 20-30 to go, depending on where I decided to camp.

The Stewarts Shop was my resupply. I picked up a heat lamp cheese burger for dinner (surprisingly edible), and for the road snagged some Advil, pop tarts (breakfast), pretzels, cookies for camp, spare batteries as I’d be using both the headlamp and the headlight, ice, and 1 gallon of water, and a liter bottle. Not wanting to purify water (although I did bring along Aqua Mira drops for an emergency) – and to test how ‘cameling up’ a heavy pack with 100+ miles in my legs would feel, I filled my MSR dromedary bag with ice and water, then my hydration bladder and water bottle. I tucked the spare liter bottle into my pack and started to roll out. Immediately after standing up I felt cool water down my back, and left drip marks on the picnic table and parking lot. Feeling alot of water running down my leg I pulled my kit apart only to find dromedary bag also leaking at the cap (this was tested at home, but not under pressure of being squeezed into a pack). I decided to live with it, drank off about 1/3 of my bladder’s water, and carried on, hoping to find a campsite in the fading light of day.

A few miles out of town, about 110 miles from home, I finally turned onto a new road for me – Cedar River Rd. The first few miles are paved, and then finally, my wheels touched the dirt I had sought. Venturing up and over steep rollers, all the while adding elevation while losing daylight, I began working my way to Wakely Dam and the sign in for the Moose River Plains Wild Forest. Somewhere before I signed in (while fighting off the deer flies attacking my hands) I noticed my left crank had a gap to the frame. I stopped, coated up in bug spray, and hoped I’d be able to diagnose and fix any potential problem(s). Thankfully only the crank arm bolts had come loose, so I re-tensioned the bearing adjustment, and tightened them up. Shifting immediately improved – although it wasn’t solved. Throughout the day front and rear shifting was hit and miss – I was nearly ‘friction’ shifting with the SRAM levers – listening for the chain to engage rather than blindly allowing the lever to click. In the daze as I rolled closer to camp I began making up new names for the marketing guys – ‘SRAM Double Tap – because you have to shift twice’, ‘SRAM Double Crap’, etc.

When I mounted back up the horse flies immediately attacked my hands again – in the cutouts from my knit gloves. I eventually pulled the gloves off – and they ceased. Odd, but thinking about it later – perhaps they thought my hands were the eyes on a strange beast of burden laboring through the woods?

At ~8pm I finally reached the sign in booth, scribbled in the book, had a snack, said hi to a few motorists heading to campsites, and started into the darkening woods. I had no idea how far in I’d have to go to find a suitable campsite – and it felt like it took forever to cover the ground – battling loose sand and pulverized stone, gravel, and dirt with head sized rocks sticking into the road. 2 cars passed me on the way in, and all was quiet. I passed a few abandoned campsites, and eventually got off the bike at ~9pm at a clearing with fire pit next to a creek. I think I had about ~132 miles in my legs. Checking my map I would learn the creek fed directly into the South Branch of the Moose River, not far from my site.

I tried to make quick work of setting up camp – but it was total amateur hour in my tired state. I immediately hydrated and had a snack, then pulled out my ground cloth and the tarp from my Hennessy Hammock. Once the groundsheet was down I ejected gear and changed into some dry camp clothes. After some fussing I had the tarp rigged, although I would end up tweaking it later in the night. It was comical how poorly the tarp would work on its own, not in tandem with my hammock. Had it poured I would have been miserable – but luckily the thunderstorms in the forecast never appeared, and I had stars and the moon to look at between the trees. I was pretty beat, and just wanted to lie down – but I decided to bear bag my cook kit and remaining food. I found a suitable tree by the road and proceeded to unfurl my line, which immediately turned into knotted spaghetti. Under a headlamp, a tired cyclist, in the dark, unknotting, end for end, a 50’+ length of rope… madness.

By the time I finally settled down it must have been close to ~11pm, and I was feeling defeated. My stomach was off, I knew I needed to keep hydrating, and I couldn’t get comfortable. I was amazed at how long it took my body to cool off. I’d been off the bike for ~2 hours – but upon laying down my legs felt like they were on fire. I removed socks and my knickers to no avail. If I pulled my bag over I roasted, so I lay on top of my bag, listening to the creek, and peaking at the stars.

I dozed off at one point, and was awakened by shouting and the grinding of gears. I woke with a start, looked over to the road, and saw headlights approaching. Thankfully they stayed on the road, and the gents shouting over the engine and the noise of the gear box appeared to be trying to get an ill shifting 4×4 out of the woods in the dark. It sounded like construction equipment – and I doubt they had much transmission left upon reaching civilization. Since I was awake I had a nature break, hydrated, and took some Advil. I finally started to feel cool, so I tucked into my bag and drifted off to sleep.

I awoke late (for me) at 6:45am. I started up my stove (carried all this way for a single, delicious cup of coffee) and began repacking my gear. I made some changes to packing order, and simplified what I carried for access on the bike, and what was tucked away. After a slow start I was moving again, and immediately felt some serious pain on my bottom… I pressed on, with the goal of breakfast in Inlet or Old Forge.

The MRP through this middle section, and in daylight, was a treat. Mixed surface from sandy to compacted dirt and stone, and anywhere from 2 cars wide to just able to fit one. I passed quite a few folks car camping – some in tents, some with pop up tow behind trailers. I wanted to venture off nearly every side road and trail I passed.

Eventually I made it to a familiar location – the intersection I rode to last winter with the Pugsley. I was now 4 miles from the gate, and maybe 8-10 miles from breakfast. I snapped a matching picture, and moved on, climbing rollers to the Lime Kiln Lake entrance.

When I hit pavement I found some folks outside of the local fire station and they happily pointed me down the road to Drakes for a great diner style breakfast. I put my phone on the charger, drank a few glasses of OJ, and destroyed my breakfast. I took a bagel to go, and began motoring on to Old Forge.

The ~12 or so miles to Old Forge was rough. My saddle to bottom interface was wrong, and I felt pain on nearly every pedal stroke. At one point the act of just getting off the saddle caused pain, so I knew I was in trouble. The heat was climbing again, and I still felt dehydrated. Tiring of traffic on NY 28 I took to the snomo / mtb trails to the side of the road which followed an old railbed. While carfree and quiet, it dropped me 4 miles out of my way and down a fairly good climb. Demoralized I pressed on slowly, and arrived into the thick of Old Forge Saturday morning traffic. The last ~12(+4!) miles took well over 2 hours, and I was doubting I’d make it to dinner with the family. A gas station frozen drink, second breakfast, and topping up my water had me feeling better. I loaded up some snacks for the road, and pressed on, with another ice warmer tucked into my jersey around my neck. Traffic came and went in bunches it seemed, and the road was pleasant enough. I eventually crossed the Moose River near McKeever, miles downstream from my campsite the night before.

At McKeever my original plan was to take a forest road to Woodhull Lake, and then follow snomo / mtb trails to the Sand Lake Lean To, from where I would connect various trails in the Black River Wild Forest to pop out at Haskell Rd. on Rt. 8, well south and east of my actual route. Due to some limited information on trail conditions, and not feeling like adding ~60 miles (30 of trail) to my trip, I pressed on the pave to Woodgate, where I turned off NY 28 for quiet roads towards the Hinckley Reservoir and Poland, NY. The temps dropped, and I was misted with rain between Woodhull and the reservoir – and my speed and mood picked up. At some point a blister on my bottom popped, and I felt some relief when in the saddle – but for most of the day I was riding tipped to one side, and compromised of my power and ability to move around on the bike. Stretches of road I expected to ride at 14-16 mph were agonizing at 10-12.

Nearing Poland and West Canada Creek the sky opened up and I was in a deluge. I worked my way to a storefront to don my rain jacket and work out the final few miles to where I was meeting family for dinner. I was likely to be only 1/2 hour late, and a phone call confirmed that hot food would be waiting for me on the grill. I pulled up GoogleMaps on my phone and attempted to work out an easy way into town. Under cover I was able to convince the screen that my wet fingers were really trying to type, but roadside, to check an unnamed intersection, the rain drops and the touchscreen had a mind of their own. I managed to find some very nice, quiet, narrow roads into town, at the price of climbing every steep stretch of pavement up and over each bit of terrain, while trying to lose elevation into the valley below. My navigating in the rain with a touch screen bought me some bonus miles – but I felt strong, and probably had the fastest run (even climbing) since early in my first day. Eventually I hit the last long descent into town – and topped out at 46 mph fully loaded, with no adverse shimmy, shake, or disturbance, save the wind driven rain pelting me in the face. A few turns later, and I was under an awning at the in-laws with a burger on the grill, and a smile on my face.

~238 miles, ~13k climbing
~50 miles dirt road and trail

Lots to write about what I learned about gear, my body, and my mind. I’ve been off the bike since letting my bottom heal – the worst damage I’ve done, including some painful early brevets. I can say that a Brooks saddle is in the works for the Fargo… and I’m hoping to get out this weekend.

Planning

Planning a ~230m mixed terrain tour, from BTV to Moose River Plains (I rode the Pugsley here last winter) and then south to the Utica area to hang with family for a weekend. Staring at maps, downloading GIS data from the NY DEC to ponder in GoogleEarth, and generally day dreaming.

Fargo, bikepacking gear, 1 or 2 nights depending on how much ‘mixed’ terrain I can connect. Right now I’m thinking pave and dirt road to Indian Lake, then Cedar Lake road to Moose River Road, connecting to the Otter Brook truck trail.

From there we have options – ride west connecting back to Moose River Road and connect to NY 28 near Limekiln Lake, then pave south to the Utica area, or, just maybe I’ll feel up to an 8 mile carry on a footpath through a wilderness area to connect south to some more dirt. I’d have to come up with a way to put the bike on my back*. Maybe like this, or like this, or even this. With the hike I’d exit somewhere near Rt. 8 in Piseco, where I can connect to NY 10 and then Powley Rd.

Torn, and scouring maps to see if there is anyway to make some other connections work, to get to ride the length of MRP, then head south, and maybe connect over on some supposed hike and bike trails in the Black River Wild Forest, and get to ride Powley Road. I’ve done a single day double century (all paved), and I had an aborted attempt to mix in some dirt and gravel roads – so I’m hoping to mix in as much dirt as possible this time around.

*Bikes are verboten in Wilderness (I won’t go into how I feel about human powered transport in the wild here) – so I’d have to get the wheels off the ground and be sure it was obvious I was ‘hiking’. If I did the hike, I’d then hit more dirt road, with less touristy paved routes as I work my way south.

Father’s Day Fargo Mixed Terrain

Completely wonderful day, even if I felt fatigued (still) on the bike. ~45 of dirt, gravel, single track, bike path, and paved riding.

I rode out of town on some dirt, hit the wonderful Governor Chittenden gravel, rocky descent, then Johnnie Brook, which ends for cars and carries on for bikes as single track. Into Richmond proper, passing at the chance to stop at On the Rise, then up through the gorge on Dugway. All roads I’m familiar with.

Then Texas Hill and Economou Rd. Economou is silly steep, and it dead ends into the Hinesburg Town Forest trails – 18 miles of mountain bike goodness (less now from the blow down and damage from winter storms…). I met a rider wrenching his bike at the trailhead and he guided me up the old logging road (dodging trees, boulders, rocks, roots, and puddles). He split off (full suspension machine… would have been nice!) and I carried on to ‘Missing Link’ and then to ‘Backdoor’. A few minor navigational issues (not all intersections are signed) – and I was twisting and turning down the ravine to Lincoln Hill Rd.

The trail puts you out about 2/3s of the way up, so I climbed over the top and bombed into Hinesburg. Out of water and calories I puttered through town, and connected through Leavensworth Rd. I was late for lunch with my sweeties, so Jen and Ava met me inbound on Dorset, as they were heading to our meet up spot anyways… and I was pretty much spent.

I didn’t map my exact route through the woods, but traced a rough outline based on my recollection of the terrain. The large spike starts in Richmond and heads up Texas Hill and Economou Rd.

When I got home there was a box of Lake Champlain chocolates waiting, and a card with a note and some green colored paper labeled as ‘for TD gear’.

Perfect Father’s Day (except now I have to find the energy to lug an AC unit up from the basement to the second floor and get it installed in Jen’s office (and the guestroom)).

Spring Dirt

Took off with Wil to Richmond for the first leg of his 200k pre-ride and course check. Met Greg for some dirt climbing. Wes White Hill, East Road and Taft Road in Huntington, then a sloppy ride down Dugway above the Huntington Gorge. Brutal cold headwind coming back north and east. I finished with ~50, steep climbing up Wes White and East Road. Firm dirt to start, sloppy to finish.

Met some folks taking the pets out for a stroll…

Good day out. Tough start, my quads were pretty sore from Friday yoga. After a caffeine break and some warm sun things got better. Blue blue sky and sun today… aside from the wind – perfect.

Spring Dirt

~65 miles with lots of spring dirt on stretches of the Fall Classic route. Frozen dirt in the morning, mud later in the day. ~3k in climbing, much of it in muck, which made for an interesting day. Eye freezing, ice cream headache headwinds pretty much everywhere.

The day started off well with my coffee and hoping for some warm sun, then 10 miles later a wreck on Poor Farm Rd. Crossed up the wheels as best I can figure going over some frozen ruts. Cut up my elbow and knee, didn’t rip the jacket or pants though. Shoulder and hip are sore today. Made my way out to the shoulder of the big mountain and climbed up to Irish Settlement Rd. Wheel stopping mud in some places – still tacky and walkable – but fender and brake clogging. Explored down Nashville and Stage Rd. and had to do a roadside fender cleanout and adjustment to get the rear wheel to turn. I was in the 32×30 quite a bit on the last stretch through West Bolton – fighting both the climb and the wheelsucking mud.

Ended the day @ On The Rise for lunch with the wife and little one who had visited the Vermont Audubon Center sugaring festivities earlier in the day. Blue skies + warm sun (when out of the wind) + and some nice dirt (when it was frozen!) = good day out.