A beautify day to go looking for some gravel adventure

[Bill]

Today it really felt like spring weather might actually be getting close. Although air temperature at the start was below freezing, the sun's warmth could still be felt on our skin. Even the air was carrying more scent. I could take my gloves off for some photos like this one without my hands immediately losing colour and sensation.

The conditions were perfect given what was left from last week's ice storm. The cool overnight temperatures meant a slowing of the melt-off. This allowed us to safely pass over the bridge on the closed road.

As we stopped to regroup, spirits were high and there were lots of smiles and jokes.

 

Things started to get more adventurous on a rutty lane way where we started to find some ice and slush patches. As is common on the gravel rides when weather is nice, the group would sometimes string out a bit. If you zoom into this photo, you might be able to see some of the riders out front winding through the countryside.

Then an unplanned butter and pecan tart rest stop at Lost Acres in West Montrose.

We found icy and muddy spots here and there, but many roads were better than I was expecting. Unfortunately it doesn't take long for you or your bike are covered in mud. There was some excellent skills development on the Heath Valley Trail as we rode along the rushing Conestoga River outside of St. Jacobs. However, when we turned up the hill to head back toward the market, we found some serious challenges. Nobody could find the grip to make it up the hill.

It didn't get much easier when we got to the top of the hill. With the embankment shading the trail from the afternoon sun, there was still lots of ice, granulated ice, and slush intermixed with the occasional snow drift. I stopped counting the number of times I was stopped at seven. Each time I stopped my cleats and pedals needed to be cleared of ice. Likewise the ice that collected on the bike was shaken off. I haven't had to hike this much on a ride since this February fat bike adventure.

There was talk of the KAS (Kevin Adventure Scale) in one of the private club groups. Comparing with the proposed criteria (plus ones that were missed like ad hoc route alterations, participants leaving / joining group, roads where you need a bike to pass, test of your personal fitness, and others), I would give it a seven of 10.

Cheers,

Bill

* Opinions are my own and not that of the Waterloo Cycling Club *

[Kevin Gibson]

Awesome posting Bill.  Boy the Saturday road Fondo vs Saturday Adventure ride is going to be a tough decision for me all year. I was thinking it would be sloppier today, and I'm still relegated to singlespeed only for cross bikes.

Mark's talk of the KAS got me reminiscing, so I just posted a little recap of the season. I like you animation slideshow of our February ride together. I gave that one a 7/10 as well. That was some brutally deep and soft snow we tried to get through.

Kevin

On 21 April 2018 at 22:15, Bill <bill...@waterloocyclingclub.ca> wrote:

Today it really felt like spring weather might actually be getting close. Although air temperature at the start was below freezing, the sun's warmth could still be felt on our skin. Even the air was carrying more scent. I could take my gloves off for some photos like this one without my hands immediately losing colour and sensation.

The conditions were perfect given what was left from last week's ice storm. The cool overnight temperatures meant a slowing of the melt-off. This allowed us to safely pass over the bridge on the closed road.

As we stopped to regroup, spirits were high and there were lots of smiles and jokes.

 

Things started to get more adventurous on a rutty lane way where started to find some ice and slush patches. As is common on the gravel rides when weather is nice, the group would sometimes string out a bit. If you zoom into this photo, you might be able to see some of the riders out front winding through the countryside.

Then an unplanned butter and pecan tart rest stop at Lost Acres in West Montrose.

We found icy and muddy spots here and there, but many roads were better than I was expecting. Unfortunately it doesn't take long for you or your bike are covered in mud. There was some excellent skills development on the Heath Valley Trail as we rode along the rushing Connestga River outside of St. Jacobs. However, when we turned up the hill to head back toward the market, we found some serious challenges. Nobody could find the grip to make it up the hill.

It didn't get much easier when we got to the top of the hill. With the embankment shading the trail from the afternoon sun, there was still lots of ice, granulated ice, and slush intermixed with the occasional snow drift. I stopped counting the number of times I was stopped at seven. Each time I stopped my cleats and pedals needed to be cleared of ice. Likewise the ice that collected on the bike was shaken off. I haven't had to hike this much on a ride since this February fat bike adventure.

There was talk of the KAS (Kevin Adventure Scale) in one of the private club groups. Comparing with the proposed criteria (plus ones that were missed like ad hoc route alterations, participants leaving / joining group, roads where you need a bike to pass, test of your personal fitness, and others), I would give it a seven of 10.

Cheers,

Bill

* Opinions are my own and not that of the Waterloo Cycling Club *

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