Well this weekend was an exciting* one for me–and not just because I saw Hollywood legend Kurt Russell’s Hyundai:
*[Disclaimer: My Excit-O-Meter tool is calibrated differently than yours, so what registers as EXTREME EXCITEMENT on mine probably reads as MAY CAUSE DROWSINESS–DO NOT OPERATE HEAVY MACHINERY on yours.]
Once again, my elder son had to attend an activity out of town, in the same location as last time. So once again, I brought a bike with me. And because I now kind-of-sort-of had the lay of the land, I decided it was time to venture off of the paved roads in search of Very Small Rocks:
This would be a formidable test not only for me, but for the newly-reconfigured Farbman, curated by Jörs Trüli with just such a ride in mind:
Bravely, I downloaded a route I found on a popular online bike navigation application, and after dropping off my son I ventured forth into the wilderness. Here I found all kinds of gravel, including Industry Standard:
As well as that controversial new half-road, half-gravel lab-grown stuff our leading gravel scientists are now curating by using gene splicing:
I also saw signs of abundant non-bicycle recreation in the area, such as boating:
When I start to feel guilty about a new bike purchase I always look into the cost of boating, because it makes me feel much, much better about being a cyclist. Ever wonder how companies like Specialized get away with selling $14,000 gravel bikes? It’s because boating exists:
I’d imagine that after a single season of boat ownership that S-Wanks seems like it’s practically free.
I also saw these:
No, that’s not a bear trap, it’s a disc golf basket:
Disc golf is widely considered by me to be the gravel cycling of Frisbee.
Seems like if you put a bunch of those baskets out there on the lake you could have an epic game of boat disc golf. That would make cycling and regular golf both seem dirt cheap.
As for the Farbman, it passed its first proper gravelling test with flying colors–and I mean that both figuratively and literally, because it’s quite colorful:
In fact I only noticed after the ride that the saddle roll thingy had been slowly unfurling the whole time, but fortunately I didn’t lose anything. Anyway, it’s almost like you don’t need a special bike to ride on Very Small Rocks at all! You can also fully enjoy it on any old bike, even an exquisite one made by one of the most revered builders in the world.
Now how’s that for accessible?
Also, I could not have stolen a more enjoyable route, though I did remember the one problem with late summer Very Small Rocks riding, which is the mosquitoes. Without looking it up, I would guess that the top speed of a mosquito is 5mph, because as soon as I drop below that on the climbs they start swarming and it feels like I’m wearing a beekeeper’s mask full of the things. In fact last summer on one such ride during my vacation I pulled a twig off a tree and used it to swat them away.
It didn’t work.
I suppose the most reasonable course of action would be to use some sort of bug repellant, though I never think of that beforehand. Or, I could get some sort of Gravel Lizard to keep on my shoulder while I’m riding. Okay, AI, do your thing:
Holy crap, that is a gigantic mosquito!
I do like the Dedicated Gravel Lizard Pouch, though.