A couple weeks ago, we went out to DeKalb for the annual Gravel Metric and rode the 70 mile corn country racecourse. The weather this year was perfect, which is truly rare for this event. I rode with a couple good friends, as well as the girlfriend, who all decided to make this their longest ride yet, which was really exciting to see. Without having much gravel riding experience, if any, Darrien did an awesome job and didn't even complain once. They all did great actually, and they all finished! A lot of people seemed to be taking the ride pretty seriously, and treating it as a race (which it sorta was), but there were also a ton of people out there just challenging themselves, making this their longest ride ever, or their first gravel ride, and I think that's cool. For me, it was all about enjoying a ride with some friends, seeing some of the more scenic parts of DeKalb Co., and meeting some cool people. We had fun.
Here's way too many photos from the iPhone, edited with the VSCOcam app:
Gravel bikes, pre-ride in front of the Lincoln Inn, with dual photo-taking reflections. We fueled up on some muffins which contained at least 2 full sticks of butter each. Perfect pre-ride meal.
Nice section of road that offered some shade.
The most convenient of lemonade stands. It just happened to be set up along the route outside the home of some very friendly family. Possibly the best lemonade I've ever had. Those kids had no idea what they were in for...
The only portion of the route in which I kinda wished for gears. It wasn't terrible, but I sure did do a lot of standing.
DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!
The "invisible" checkpoint. By the time a bunch of us reached this checkpoint, the ride/race officials had already rolled out, and our wristbands were left punchless. I witnessed one rider get so upset that he took the liberty of disposing of the sign.
This was a badass Pugsley.
Typical T.J. Saving the day again.
Snack break and a hard cider from Gumby.
The cleanliness of my attire was pointed out multiple times throughout the ride. I believe that the ability to stay clean during a gravel ride is as admirable of a skill as any. Darrien finished the ride without any sign of fatigue and barely even broke a sweat. It probably didn't look like we had just rode 70 miles in the dirt by the end of it.
The trusty Nature Boy successfully carried me once again. As usual, there was not a single mechanical issue. The cheap Jandd frame pack perfectly fit everything in it that I needed for the ride, with room to spare. The two additional bottle cages behind the saddle worked out perfectly, and allowed me to share some extra water with others.
After party on the best porch in town. We stayed up partyin' to the late hour of 9pm... then all passed out and had an excellent night's sleep. By the way, check out Ruthie's sick gradient sunburn on the right.
No comments:
Post a Comment