A few more pics

[dgaddis1]

Went out with the goal of doing 100 miles on Saturday, didn't work out. Kept hitting private property and had to detour around it, and was worried about running out of light, so I cut it short. Still got 65 miles, but not as much as I wanted. Took my road/commuter bike with 28mm slicks, which worked great.

Google Maps cannot be trusted all the time.

Good dirt.


A wee bit flooded. That's ice on top of the "puddle", it was 24*F when we started.


Cooter Pond Road was nice, until this. Big detour was the result. Lame.


More good dirt.


This "road" (FS-6883) is shown on Google Maps as going from HWY-283 south all the way to Price's Mill right at Key Rd. Well, it does, but not exactly. When I turned onto the road I noticed the 'Dead End' sign, but I knew satellite pictures showed the road going all the way through, and I knew it was Forest Service property, so even if part of it was gated off I should be able to continue. Sure enough, part of the way down I hit a gate and the road went from gravel to "woods road", then overgrown woods road (pictured), then not so overgrown woods road (at this point I passed a group of hunters taking a deer stand out of the woods, they seemed very surprised to see me), then a short bit of tight rake and ride singletrack, and then you're back on a gravel road again.

Best find of the day!!


Even though I didn't get the ride I wanted, it was still a good day in the saddle. Weather was perfect.

[seenvic]

Those are some good rides you are doing. Thank you for the pics and words.

There is a bridge at the very northern tip of the Long Cane Ranger District. It is not too far from "Buelah Baptist Church" and the LCHT. In 1998 me and fella from Aiken who is still around but out of the MTB scene got dropped off at his bridge and rode to Baker Creek State Park that day. We took parts of the LCHT and actually ate under the "Largest Shagbark Hickory in the US". It was the first time I'd ever been there, and I was completely lost. Funny because now I know that area very well. We rode Baker Creek to Modoc the next day (via Plum Branch Trail, and then the Connector Wine - Turkey - Modoc). We rode from Modoc to the "Tower" the next day and then home to North Augusta. We had no cell phone and a really crude map. We spent a good chunk of that first day lost. Our lives were probably saved by Ester Thrillkill, who may have had 5 teeth. But it was the water bottles she had that saved us. That ride became the Long Cane Massacre Ride the next year, in the fall of 1999.

A fella I knew named Bruce Norris used to do these long gravel grinders. He showed me the loop around Turkey/Wine that I see re-posted on here from time to time (usually by Brian W and good on him for posting it). About a month after I told Bruce we rode 140 miles in 3 days and covered the whole district and rode all the available single along the way....Bruce did an 80 miler in a day that avoided all the single but covered the whole district in a day. Bruce died a few years ago and never shared that exact route with me, but it wouldn't be difficult to come up with one.

I need to go ride.

[dgaddis1]

Feb 2, 2015 18:24:01 GMT -5 seenvic said:

Those are some good rides you are doing. Thank you for the pics and words.

There is a bridge at the very northern tip of the Long Cane Ranger District. It is not too far from "Buelah Baptist Church" and the LCHT. In 1998 me and fella from Aiken who is still around but out of the MTB scene got dropped off at his bridge and rode to Baker Creek State Park that day. We took parts of the LCHT and actually ate under the "Largest Shagbark Hickory in the US". It was the first time I'd ever been there, and I was completely lost. Funny because now I know that area very well. We rode Baker Creek to Modoc the next day (via Plum Branch Trail, and then the Connector Wine - Turkey - Modoc). We rode from Modoc to the "Tower" the next day and then home to North Augusta. We had no cell phone and a really crude map. We spent a good chunk of that first day lost. Our lives were probably saved by Ester Thrillkill, who may have had 5 teeth. But it was the water bottles she had that saved us. That ride became the Long Cane Massacre Ride the next year, in the fall of 1999.

A fella I knew named Bruce Norris used to do these long gravel grinders. He showed me the loop around Turkey/Wine that I see re-posted on here from time to time (usually by Brian W and good on him for posting it). About a month after I told Bruce we rode 140 miles in 3 days and covered the whole district and rode all the available single along the way....Bruce did an 80 miler in a day that avoided all the single but covered the whole district in a day. Bruce died a few years ago and never shared that exact route with me, but it wouldn't be difficult to come up with one.

I need to go ride.

Keith, Trent, and myself are talking of doing a bikepacking gravel ride in March. Trying to cover the whole SNF is definitely something I had in mind for a route, though we haven't figured out specifics yet. We've event talked about doing a one-way ride.

Who wants to volunteer to shuttle us to the start??

[Jmyers]

Feb 3, 2015 8:04:25 GMT -5 dgaddis1 said:

Feb 2, 2015 18:24:01 GMT -5 seenvic said:

Those are some good rides you are doing. Thank you for the pics and words.

There is a bridge at the very northern tip of the Long Cane Ranger District. It is not too far from "Buelah Baptist Church" and the LCHT. In 1998 me and fella from Aiken who is still around but out of the MTB scene got dropped off at his bridge and rode to Baker Creek State Park that day. We took parts of the LCHT and actually ate under the "Largest Shagbark Hickory in the US". It was the first time I'd ever been there, and I was completely lost. Funny because now I know that area very well. We rode Baker Creek to Modoc the next day (via Plum Branch Trail, and then the Connector Wine - Turkey - Modoc). We rode from Modoc to the "Tower" the next day and then home to North Augusta. We had no cell phone and a really crude map. We spent a good chunk of that first day lost. Our lives were probably saved by Ester Thrillkill, who may have had 5 teeth. But it was the water bottles she had that saved us. That ride became the Long Cane Massacre Ride the next year, in the fall of 1999.

A fella I knew named Bruce Norris used to do these long gravel grinders. He showed me the loop around Turkey/Wine that I see re-posted on here from time to time (usually by Brian W and good on him for posting it). About a month after I told Bruce we rode 140 miles in 3 days and covered the whole district and rode all the available single along the way....Bruce did an 80 miler in a day that avoided all the single but covered the whole district in a day. Bruce died a few years ago and never shared that exact route with me, but it wouldn't be difficult to come up with one.

I need to go ride.

Keith, Trent, and myself are talking of doing a bikepacking gravel ride in March. Trying to cover the whole SNF is definitely something I had in mind for a route, though we haven't figured out specifics yet. We've event talked about doing a one-way ride.

Who wants to volunteer to shuttle us to the start??

Let me know the day and I would be happy to tag along for a portion thereof