December in Glouster

We had a relatively good weather day for a Saturday in early December.  Temps started low with 30F but warmed quickly in the sunshine to hit 50 by Noon.  I threw my cross bike in the van and dashed down to New Lexington to explore some dirt and gravel in that area.  I ended up spending about 3-4 hours (3 hours of ride time, 4 hours of clock time) exploring the triangle framed by New Lex, Glouster and Murray City.  There is obviously a whole lot more to this area than I had time to touch today.  I'll need to come back another day.

It is the start of hunting season and I must have seen 50+ hunters today.  If you aren't driving a pick up truck and dressed in deer-kill orange, then you definitely stand out.  Put a guy in spandex, plop him on a bicycle and stick him out in this area ... well, I got a lot of stares today.  This is definitely rural Appalachia.  It has a certain feel or characteristic to it that differs from other part of rural Ohio.  Poverty is widespread here too and lots of folks scratching out a living just above the poverty line.  There just isn't a lot of opportunity down here.  Trailers and "less" are everywhere.

But the region is gloriously scenic.  It is laced with backroads galore and is rather hilly.  Occasionally you'll luck out with a road that follows a drainage valley, but mostly you are going up or going down.  The dirt lacks maintenance gravel and was firm in the cold, but got squishy in the warm sun.   

I didn't map out a route ahead of time.  Busy morning with walking the dog and the kidos got up at 6am today too.  So I didn't get my 30 minutes of quiet time to pour over maps and plot a route for the GPS.  Actually I decided to head down to this area at the very last minute anyway, so it wouldn't have done any good to plan ahead.  Plus, quite a few roads that show up on the map, don't appear on the GPS and even more that show up on both the map and GPS don't exist in real life.  This last picture here is a perfect example of a road that actually doesn't exist.  It starts off fair enough as a low-grade dirt road (see pic), but just around the corner it is a gated dead end with some kind of wilderness hiking path leading forth.  I might have been tempted under other circumstances, but I just didn't want to meet the wrong end of a hunting rifle today.  Must have cost me 30 minutes of backtracking and rerouting to get around this detour.  And the main problem with not mapping a route ahead of time, is that I stop too often to skootch the GPS around to see where I need to go next.  Cost me a lot of time in the beginning of the ride, so I was late with my timeline and spent the second half of the ride sticking to main paved roads to make up lost time.  

I've been down here on my motorcycle and managed to find a whole mess of dirt roads that I wasn't on today.  So I know there is a lot more to the area than I found today.  I can't wait to go back.  I felt kind of sluggish at the start.  Maybe something to do with the cold weather.  I admit to having a hard time getting started with the freezing temps outside.  This is the time of the year when that temp is a shock to the system.  But I was never too cold and probably slightly overdressed.  Oh well, it was easy to shed layers as the day heated up.  When I finally got to Glouster I realized I had only about 1:20 left on the clock (about a third of my time) and still half the distance to go.  So I dug deep and pounded out 26 miles at an average of 18 mph on mostly paved roads.  It was nice to get my legs under me for the end of the ride.  

Quiver Math

I am blessed with a lot of good bikes.  I have been collecting them for more than 20 years, but still, I know I have, what most sane folks would call, an excess of bicycles.  But the old ones just keep on working and the new ones fill niches and bring joy.  And in the grand scheme of things, collecting bicycles is much cheaper and healthier than collecting coins or cars.  

So my current quiver contains (in chronological order):

1. 1990 Cannondale Aluminum road bike.  This is mostly used for indoor trainer duty and an occasional mucky day road ride.
2. 1995 Grove Innovations Ti bike.  A titanium, no-holds barred, XTR/S-works 26" hard tail.  It was a premier bicycle in 1995 and my pride and joy while riding in Colorado during grad school.
3. 2006 Masi Team Issue 3VC.  Carbon road bike with SRAM force.  Very light and quick.  I got this used from a semi-pro who gets a new bike each year.  So it was a relative bargain for the quality of bike.  
4. 2007 Masi XC.  An aluminum cross bike with ultegra group and sweet, super light wheels.  Again a bargain scored from my semi-pro friend who road it three times. 
5. 2009 Gary Fisher Superfly 100.  An all-out carbon 29er full susp bike.  The last year GF made bikes before it was absorbed by Trek.  I owe my wife a bike thank you for digging deep in the savings account for this one, but it is a marvelous machine.
6. 2010 Surly Karate Monkey.  I have it built stock as a SS and got it at a deep discount.
7. 2011 Salsa Mukluk.  A shop in MN was closing and liquidating its inventory ... a new bike at 40% off and I couldn't pass up the deal.  

I also own a 1998 Cannondale cross bike which is out on loan to my dad and a 1985 Cannondale M500 mountain bike which was donated to a neighbor who promised to give it love.

Each bike still has its purpose and use.  I use the old C'dale road bike as my indoor trainer.  The carbon road bike is for fast group rides.  The cross bike is one of my most used -- winter training and gravel exploring.  I've hardly been off my KM SS all year: commuting, grocery shopping, century rides, exploring, you name it.  The Superfly100 is the sweetest single track carver and NUE series competitive weapon.  My Mukluk is looking forward to winter snow.  And the old Grove Innovations bike is a special rare frame and a good wet weather trainer.

Now the next step.   I am a computer scientist by training and all these bikes got me thinking about how I use them and which ones I value more.   Much of my professional work involves dimensionality remapping and data compression and I wondered if I could make sense of my quiver using the same analytic tools.

1) My first step was cataloging all the reasons I ride bikes.  I came up with 18 different "uses/properties": group rides, alone rides, road rides, singletrack, gravel, explore, relax, go fast, snow, mountains, flats training, towning, nights, cold, touring, commuting, hill repeats.  It is an arbitrary list, but it accurately represents the kind of bicycling I do and the reasons I own each of these bikes.

2) My next step was to score each bike on a scale of 1 to 10 along each of these 18 properties.   A score of 10 represents a perfect use of this bike, a score of 0 indicates a non-use.  I then normalized the scores so that each property sums to 1.

3)   Then I assigned a multiplicative factor to each property (between 1 and 0) indicating how important that property was to me.  These factors summed to 11.7 (arbitrary) which means I will ultimately have 11.7 points to distribute over the seven bikes.

4) I then compute a "score" for each bike determined by how well it fit each category and how important that category was for me.  Basically a sum of normalized property scores multiplied by the category factors.  Here are my bikes ranked by score:

1. (2.95) KM Single Speed
2. (2.45) Masi Cross Bike
3. (2.02) Salsa Mukluk
4. (1.42) Masi Carbon Road Bike
5. (1.40) GF Superfly 100
6. (0.78) Grove Innovations Mtn Bike
7. (0.68) Cannondale Alum Road Bike

Though not shown here.  I also divided each price (I paid) for the bikes by the score to determine a value coefficient.  Obviously the KM and Cross bike jumped even higher because they already had a high score and came with a low price.  The SF100 dropped more due to the high price tag.

Some observations.  My intuitions were confirmed with my KM SS and Cross bike being my two favorites.  They get the most use and are highly versatile.  And they permit me to do the kind of riding I like to do best -- explore back country roads and gravel paths.  My KM gets extra points for filling commuting duty.   I was surprised how highly my mukluk scored; maybe a product of wishful thinking about snow riding this winter, because I haven't had it that long.  I was surprised by how low my SF100 scored; it brings me a lot of joy, but I mainly use it for singletrack days and I don't get enough of those.  The last two bikes are older bikes that fill a small niche now that they have newer replacements, so I expected those to be at the bottom.

That concludes our lesson in quiver math for today.

Fall Gravel

Nice ride today.  55 miles, 55 degrees, 3200 ft vertical and plenty of quiet back roads.  You need days like this, especially after the Thanksgiving orgy.   It is wonderful to spend two lovely days with family and eating yourself silly.  But it is nice to balance that with some alone time out on the hilly gravel.

I mapped out two new-to-me gravel roads: Hidden Springs Rd and Witches Hollow Rd.  With names like that, it is impossible to resist.  How cool is it to have a road named "Witches Hollow"?  You just know a road like that has to be (1) gravel, (2) hilly and (3) scenic.  And it didn't disappoint.

We were blessed with temps in the upper 50s and bright sunshine.  It has rained buckets for 3 straight days, so this nice weather day is well deserved.  Still, we don't often get sunny warm days like this on the verge of December.  At this point last year, we already had snow on the ground.  The day did have brisk winds out of the SW which made the return trip a chore, but I really can't complain.



I honestly do get the point of Thanksgiving.  I have a lot to be thankful for.  A wonderful family.  A nice quiver of bikes and beautiful places to ride.  I wish I had more time to ride, but I do treasure and enjoy the time I get.  I am thankful to have my health and a body which can carry me 55 miles through the gravelly hills of Ohio.  And a wife who stays home with kids and puppy while I am out and about.  We do trade -- she gets her time too, but she "gets it".  I don't have to explain why I need to disappear for 4 hours on a Saturday or why I need yet another bike.  Yes, a lot to be thankful for.

Mohican Sized Smiles

Every once in a while all the cycling gods come together and bless a riding day.  This was such a day.  Yeah it was a windy, mid-November day, but the temps were higher than normal and nearly perfect (45 to 55).  Plus the hills and trees made the wind a non-factor.  

I've been neglecting the GF superfly 100 since the W101 in late July, so I thought I would give the bike some love and take it to Mohican.   Even the drive went by quickly as I arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule. In the parking lot were five guys from the Cleveland area and they looked the part of good mtn bikers.  So I asked if I could tag along with their group.  It was a good decision as their skill level was just about right for a "fun but not killer" effort.  We set out at "3-hour" pace with some frequent stops scattered in to let one or two guys catch back on.  

I admit it, I stole this pic from someone else.

Normally 3-hour pace is pretty fast for me, so I was wary about trying to hang with them.  And I feel like my fitness level is pretty low compared to earlier in the summer.  But as I was riding the pace seemed much more relaxed than what I was used to for a 3-hour loop.   My confidence was growing with each climb and fluid descent.  I was starting to get in the zone.  

We hit the bridge at Mile 11.5 in about 1:17.  It felt more like 1:50 or something, so I was surprised we were there so quickly.  When we stopped for what was likely 5-10 minutes of catch up and rest time, I thanked them for the company and pressed on alone.

Then I dialed it up.  I started working the climbs hard, not quite hammering, but definitely pushing myself in the red zone.  And I was finding loads of magic zen on the flowy single track.  Carving, flowing, climbing, catching air on the jumps.  It was lots of fun.

I killed it for the next hour and dropped back into the parking lot with 2:21 showing on the clock.  My fastest time ever and I still felt great --- like I could go on at that pace for quite a bit more.  I figure I could have made 5 or 10 minutes less time in the first loop if I had gone on my own, but I can't complain.

Then I had a tough decision.  To call it a day and end on a high note with a big smile, or go for another partial loop.  Surely I could have had more good riding but I also would have eventually hit the wall and slowed.  I decided to call it there and keep the awesome ride as a fond memory.  Besides, Laura, the kids and the puppy were all at home waiting for me.  

Did I ever mention the SF100 is just plain awesome.  

Gravel in Fall Sunshine

We were blessed with a warm, sunny late autumn day, and there is only one way to proper honor a day like this, head out on the bike for an adventure.   It was just warm enough for a long sleeve jersey, shorts, light weight full fingered gloves, and regular cycling shoes.  Laura graciously gave me five hours on this Sunday afternoon to go play, and I took advantage of it.  Jumped in the car to drive 20 miles East (save myself an hour of bikepath slogging each way) so I could get to the good stuff that much faster.  

I took the cross bike out today.  I haven't ridden this bike much in the last 9 months, preferring instead to explore all summer on the Karate Monkey single speed.  But the gravel and the climbs urged me to get reacquainted with the cross bike.  Besides, this will become my winter training tool (along with the new mukluk) so I need to get used to the flatter position again.  

After a few pavement climbs, I snuck back on to Smith Chapel which winds up a small valley between two Ohio ridges.   A right turn on to Patton keeps to the gradual valley climb instead of the ridge ascents to the left and right.  

I then endure the incessant ups and downs of Pinewood trails.  It is a real leg burner, great for hill climbing strength, but you have to be wary of burning yourself out too early in a long ride on this road.   The heart rate monitor allowed me to climb in a comfort zone and save the real gas for later in the ride.





In Perryton,  I climb out of the valley hamlet on Myrtle -- great name and a narrow, barely paved farm path.

I was intent on exploring more in the area East of Licking Valley Rd.  I don't often get out in this area and there are more remote roads to explore further.

One of my great finds of the day is a new-to-me road, Church Rd.  There are dozens of roads named after churches in this area, but all of them have some other name other than just church.  So this is a bit of a novelty.  This road ran relatively flat North along a creek valley and I had to ignore delicious climbs to the ridge running along the right side of the road.

A great road that is usually just out of range is McCament Rd.   By starting my ride 20 miles east of home, I was able to put this route on my agenda.  I discovered this road on a motorcycle romp about five years ago, and now, have finally gotten to ride a bike out here.  It is a lovely road, scampering through gaps between the ridges until the flat realestate is corralled by valley walls all around.  It gives up the ghost and has to climb straight out of a valley over the ridge line.  Gravel goodness for several, uninterrupted miles and beautiful, quiet scenery.














More McCament images.
















I came back south along Aspen and would have enjoyed it more if not for the legs starting to go ... mostly on low energy.  Aspen is one of those roads that looks flatter than it really is.  It does roll up and down, but those are bigger and steeper rollers than what seems at first glance.









But as the road enters Licking County, and switches names from Aspen to Rock Run Rd, it becomes one of the most beautiful spots in all of central Ohio.  The way the narrow lane cuts through the old growth forest, the light beams stream through gaps in the trees and filters across the road,  the road falls down a gulch line toward the large stream at the bottom, it almost seems like hallowed cycling ground!

 And there is the stately covered bridge at the base of the descent ... for gravel dessert!
 

With low energy threatening to sap the enjoyment from my ride, I detoured to Fallsburg Pizza for a quick snack stop.  Then a couple of more climbs and another of my favorite gravely ways ... Priest Hollow.   What a cool name for a road.

All told, 55 miles, 4600ft vertical, and 14.6 mph.  I also got a nice treat on Saturday as Laura agreed to join me on her cross bike for a brief 90 minute spin through the northern countryside.   Thanks Laura!

John had just gotten back in town from a trip to Austin, TX.  He told tales of awesome, high desert single track.  I'll have to check it out sometime.

PA Explorations on the Mukluk

I took my new Mukluk to State College on a family visit trip and managed to sneak in a four hour ride on Sunday morning.  It is hard to decide which bike(s) to take as there is so much good riding in the area.  I feel like I could take them all and ride for a month and still have the hankering for more.   But the Mukluk is new and I was eager to learn more about its character, so I brought that.

Sunday morning started very chilly with 30F temps and frost on the car windows.  Brrr, winter is coming.  I brought some colder gear but not for 30F.  So I waited for a little bit and then dressed as much as possible to head out in to the cold.   I went to the Shingletown gap to start.  This is one of the rockiest, most technical 3-mile rock garden excuse for a trail.  The mukluk did ok, but there was lots of bouncing off the plentiful angular rocks, no match for a full susp bike that I rode here earlier in the summer.  

This area had received a lot of rain recently and a small part of the gap trail was concurrent with a stream bed.  There was one section with about 6" of muddy muck and the big tires on the fat bike went right through without too much drama.   Once I hit the fire road, I encountered a big 50 mile trail race in progress.  It was a relay and there were about 100 people standing up at the saddle, very strange.  So I dove off course down the Shingletown Rd, a grassy, fast descent.  There aren't any large rocks in this trail, but lots of small, high frequency bumps to jiggle you loose on the way down.  Again, this bike is NOT a full susp bike.   

I then turned up Pine Swamp Rd, across on 26, and started to explore more forest service roads I had not been on before.   I found a snowmobile trail, Pump Station Rd, that was a grassy, rocky climb for 1.5 miles on 10% to 20% steady grades.   I put the bike in its lower gears and went in to rock-crawler mode. I made it up the long ascent without too much effort, but it was slow going.   Once over the top of Tussey Ridge, I went down a switch-backy fire road down to PA Furnace on Rte 45.  Parts of the road are nicely graded forest road, then without warning, it turns in to a rocky jeep trail, again with an impromptu stream running down it.  I've never seen anything like this before, it is almost as if the nice road disappears in to someones 4x4 play course.   

Not wanting to ride back to town on 10 miles of road, I went back up the gap and hooked up with a long, straight, amazingly flat forest service road that ran the length of the ridge.  I dumped out on Pine Grove Mountain and made my way back to town.

Overall the bike did great.  It is a great choice for this kind of adventuring.  Probably my full susp GF SF100 would have been a better bike, I had plenty of fun on the mukluk.   It was also nice to discover new dirt roads and trails I had not been on before.   I can't wait to go back to explore more of this area.

AEP Adventure Ride

This Saturday I took my new fatbike out for an adventure.  Two years ago, I had visited the AEP Recreation Land on my motorcycle and have always wanted to go back.  The area is a reclaimed strip mine .  It is amazing to think what happened in this area not too long ago.

 

The "Big Muskie", a single ginormous shovel, moved more than twice the material in this part of Ohio than was moved in the entire Panama Canal.  I believe the bucket, which is large enough to hold a two-story house, is still on display.  It is hard to imagine what this area was like during the heyday of mining.  It must have been an abomination and the world truly looked like it was coming to an end.  

Now it seems beautiful, but also not quite real.  It definitely does not feel like Ohio, something just seems out of place.  But if definitely is beautiful and an enjoyable area to ride through.

The area looks more like a savannah with wide open areas of grasslands.  I can't quite figure it out.  Maybe they mow it?  The grass wasn't that high.  Or maybe the soil is so mineral-poor that things just don't grow well?  I had a few moments of cutting across the prairie and the soil underneath was often very gravelly.


Lots of the area is typical gravel and dirt roads.  When it is dry, like it was yesterday, the going is quite pleasant.  I can imagine it gets pretty messy when it is wet.  Some of the area had double-track from old roads that are growing back into the prairie.  There were some areas where "bushwacking" was necessary.


My new fatbike was a real joy.  It is definitely a different frame of mind.  This is not a fast bike, and if you need to go fast, get something else.  It can go if you pedal it - I did maintain 15-20 mph on the pavement.  But going uphill it is slow.  It is a 34lbs bike afterall with very wide tires.  They worked great on the dirt and gravel.  And were perfect for the few cross-prarie moments.  There we just a few wet spots with a marshy feel; the Mukluk went right on through without problem.


But at the end of the day, there is no denying that a cross bike or a fast (rigid) mountain bike would be the perfect tool for the job here.  Fatbike was ok, but if I went with a group, I'd have to be in better shape or they'd have to be patient.

On this beautiful fall day, the area was full of outdoors people.  Hunters, campers, fishermen, and 4x4 types.  I'm glad lots of folks are out using the area.  I wonder what it is like in winter.




Here is a movie of the whole adventure: