GRAVEL BASTARD

Coming back next year! #almanzorv #gravel

Annette crushing it up this hill! #almanzorv #gravel

All done! #almanzorv #gravel

CHAD RIDE.

Yesterday was the 1st of hopefully more, Explorer Rides.  My buddy Chad has made kind of a scavenger hunt on bikes where he wants you to ride roads you normally don’t ride on.

The day started out kinda cloudy and even a little bit of rain.  But the ride kept getting better and better.  Climbing, gravel, flowers, cool shit, and WIND.

At 1st I was wishing I had my road bike, until we hit this loose gravel climb and I was spinning out on my cross bike with Muddz tires!

I had done about 50% of this route before, not all at once, and the other 50 was AMAZ-BALLZ.  3k of climbing, which for this part of Illinois is unheard of.  WIND is always there, some times at 20mph, but you get that tail wind on a gravel sections, GAME ON WAYNE!

Probably the single best day on the bike I’ve had in a very long time.

Look up the hash tag #chadride on Instagram for more photos!

Best bike ride that I can remember! #chadride #gravel #adventure

On the explorer route. #chadride #adventure

Getting ready for the Almanzo100.

I love this bike SO much.  So light, stiff, and goes anywhere!

All done. Still sick as hell. #ivcamud #gravel

I’m the fat one in the back.

(Source: fshngfrg)

Last weekend was the 1st “training ride” for the Gravel Metric.  It was about 27 miles.  We rolled outta NCC as a group, the group broke based on abilities   I tried to hammer with the front guys and got dropped   Ended up riding with a new friend, a woman from my high school of all places killing it on an All City.

Pretty good ride.  Talked to the owner for a bit on the ride too.  

He wanted me to let everyone know this will be the HARDEST Gravel Metric EVER.  Course will not be marked out, tons of climbing, wind, and crazy ass Illinois weather.

Such a good day so far! #adventure #gravel #cannondale

Barry-Roubaix was last Saturday.  Originally I was going to do the 36 mile race as a Single Speed.  Yeah, fuck that.  I pussed out at the last second.  Thank God I did.  It’s flat as hell where I live in Illinois, this place was all up and down, ZERO flats,

That being said I over heated at the top of the 1st big climb.  I had to stop to gear off.  After that it was a hammer fest the whole time.  The route was mostly off road with snow/ice sections.  Bottles where every where from guys going down.

My buddy who started 3 min back caught me (better at climbing) and we where hammer together for a while, I let him go on the WALL climb.  I started to catch back up but I saw it.  There was a guy down, on the side of the road getting CPR from other riders.  He was kinda blue.  IT WAS HORRIBLE.  I stopped racing at that point and just pedaled   I cried a little, a couple of times.  Joel later said he did the same.

After a few miles of cruising I ate a little and drank and strated to hammer again   I finished 2:15.  I wanted to do it in 2.  I might had been close had I not stopped or seen that guy dying on the side of the road.  I’m going back next year, and I’ll be out for BLOOD.

-That guy survived.  He had a heart attach.   I guess he had an unknown birth defect in one of his artery.   Sounds like he’s ok now.  A doctor and two Firefighters happened to be racing by him and stopped to save him. How lucky is that!  Know your limits I guess.