6-Gaps dirt

[Peter Hewitt]

The past two times I have ridden down Lincoln gap on the west side, I have crashed. These crashes were entirely independent of my velocity, once because of ice and the second because of soft gravel. I was going about 5 mph both times. Speed is not the only factor that can cause crashes for less-than-very-experienced riders on these roads. Respectfully, Peter, Bristol, Vermont.

Sent from my iPhone with PAGL intended

On Jun 19, 2026, at 4:11 AM, ne-rand...@googlegroups.com wrote:



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• Shadows Over Innsmouth 200k from Windham - 1 Update

Shadows Over Innsmouth 200k from Windham

Andrew LaMarche <spaceco...@gmail.com>: Jun 18 04:58PM -0700 Would've loved to join, but I'll be in Conway for a birthday.   Enjoy!   On Wednesday, June 17, 2026 at 10:13:10 AM UTC-4 Amitoj Sukhija wrote:

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[NEER]

For those of you who get the American Randonneur Magazine, in the latest edition (should have arrived this week) I wrote an article about the NER 200k 6-Gap ride and made Lincoln Gap the focal point of the article. The piece was intended as a "thank you" to Chip Coldwell and all of the volunteers who made it happen, and highlight it to help get people there this year, without sugar coating it. The ride was a really memorable day and experience for me and my friends, and I was thankful for this shared challenge. 

And to your note, Peter - yikes on the dirt! It's good you sent this reminder, to have utmost respect for that terrain. Chip basically told us at the start of the ride that if we were too casual about the descents, we could die, in no uncertain terms. A safety talk like that gets remembered and I think it helped people stay safe! And the dirt off of Lincoln was well packed last year, sounds like it is looser this year!

Photos from the ride: https://www.instagram.com/p/DMXn8KkOrKF/?img_index=2

Patria

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[Henry Fox]

Read the article. Thanks for writing. I've never done the 6 Gap, but certainly hope to, not this year however. The Lincoln Gap still scares the crap out of me.

Safe riding this year. Maybe/hopefully I'll ride with you all next year.

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[Charles Coldwell]

You have to respect all the descents, especially the gravel ones. Consider it an opportunity to polish your rims/rotors. It is very easy to lose control on washboards or mud or even hitting a hole from a moment’s inattention. 

And yes, you can still fall going at low speed but it hurts a lot less.

Charles M. Coldwell, W1CMC
Belmont, Massachusetts, New England, FN42jj
"Turn on, log in, tune out"

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[Charles Coldwell]

Oh, and thanks for the kind words Patria!

Charles M. Coldwell, W1CMC
Belmont, Massachusetts, New England, FN42jj
"Turn on, log in, tune out"