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Post by dgaddis1 on Sept 1, 2012 14:32:49 GMT -5
...well, more of a dirt road dash. Very little gravel round these parts.
I was hoping to get in a few big MTB rides this week as a last ditch effort in preparing for the 40 mile Black Bear Rampage I'm racing in next weekend. But then we made a last minute decision to come visit the in-laws this weekend instead, down in the tiny little town of Ashburn GA. I brought the road bike along for the trip. The nice thing about road riding in this area is there are thousands of miles of empty paved and dirt roads, more than you could ever ride, and they link all the other tiny little towns together. The bad thing is it's pretty much pancake flat, so you're pedalling the entire time, there are no breaks.
So today I set out for Warwick, GA. Ended up with a nice 50 mile round trip, 35ish miles of that dirt roads. I could have spent more time on the dirt, but on the way back it was getting hot and I just wanted to get back. Here's some pics.
Heading out into the middle of nowhere on my own, my jersey pockets were full of "just in case" stuff.
Pre-ride fatty fuel.
Headed out as the sun was just starting to light up the sky. This is literally a 5min pedal from downtown.
Some of the dirt roads looked like this, nice double track. Hard packed, perfectly smooth, and very fast. This is the good stuff.
Saw a lot of wildlife. A few deer (no pics), and this turtle.
And this big copperhead, he was about 4ft long and only interested in getting away from me.
And this 5ft long diamond back rattler. He wasn't scared at all, just layed there enjoying the sun. Didn't even bother to rattle at me.
Rode past a swamp.
My legs were just as dirty as that water bottle. I don't even get this dirty on MTB rides usually.
You know you're in a rural area when the road that links two towns together, and is named after those two towns, looks like this. This is the Warwick Ashburn Rd. It was bumpy, and loose. Some sections were so loose and deep I couldn't ride and had to get off and walk...on a flat road.
I ended up with 50 miles and 3hrs and 20mins of saddle time. Great day out on the bike!
I was hoping to get in a few big MTB rides this week as a last ditch effort in preparing for the 40 mile Black Bear Rampage I'm racing in next weekend. But then we made a last minute decision to come visit the in-laws this weekend instead, down in the tiny little town of Ashburn GA. I brought the road bike along for the trip. The nice thing about road riding in this area is there are thousands of miles of empty paved and dirt roads, more than you could ever ride, and they link all the other tiny little towns together. The bad thing is it's pretty much pancake flat, so you're pedalling the entire time, there are no breaks.
So today I set out for Warwick, GA. Ended up with a nice 50 mile round trip, 35ish miles of that dirt roads. I could have spent more time on the dirt, but on the way back it was getting hot and I just wanted to get back. Here's some pics.
Heading out into the middle of nowhere on my own, my jersey pockets were full of "just in case" stuff.
Pre-ride fatty fuel.
Headed out as the sun was just starting to light up the sky. This is literally a 5min pedal from downtown.
Some of the dirt roads looked like this, nice double track. Hard packed, perfectly smooth, and very fast. This is the good stuff.
Saw a lot of wildlife. A few deer (no pics), and this turtle.
And this big copperhead, he was about 4ft long and only interested in getting away from me.
And this 5ft long diamond back rattler. He wasn't scared at all, just layed there enjoying the sun. Didn't even bother to rattle at me.
Rode past a swamp.
My legs were just as dirty as that water bottle. I don't even get this dirty on MTB rides usually.
You know you're in a rural area when the road that links two towns together, and is named after those two towns, looks like this. This is the Warwick Ashburn Rd. It was bumpy, and loose. Some sections were so loose and deep I couldn't ride and had to get off and walk...on a flat road.
I ended up with 50 miles and 3hrs and 20mins of saddle time. Great day out on the bike!
