I didn't mean to start a discussion of the semantics of unpaved rural road terminology, but I did learn a few things about the western fire roads. So thanks.
The Almanzo race included just about every type of bike. I rode to the event with a guy on a Long Haul Trucker and another guy on a full- suspension carbon fiber MTB. On the race course I saw Pugsleys, track bikes, carbon road bikes, a brakeless fixed gear MTB, tandems. Among my companions/friends, there was an Atlantis, a Hillborne, a Romulus, a Bleriot, and perhaps one or two other Rivs I'm forgetting at the moment. Also a fair number of Salsa Fargos and Rawlands, both of which are neat bikes, IMO. I'm not terribly fast, but I am persistent and rolled in after 9 hrs and 21 minutes on the course. The winner was a tandem that completed the extremely hilly gravel century in 5 hrs and 15 min. I rolled my race into a 3-day 330-mile adventure. About 200 of those miles were on gravel roads. While my custom Curt Goodrich all-rounder is not a Rivendell, it certainly has a strong Rivendell influence. Notably, the 26x2.0 Kojaks fit with room to spare under the fenders. The big, soft, smooth tires gave me lots of confidence in the gravel bluffs where skinnier tires were skidding off into the ditch. On May 15, 11:55 pm, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> wrote: > "Fire roads" are definitely not flat. Conditions are usually pretty good. > Rocky and rutted in some places, no gravel. There might be jeep-track > heading out from them. If you ever question what a Rivendell is built for, > look no further. > > BTW, here's a cool gravel-road race promo for the > mid-west:http://vimeo.com/11700688 > > Nicely put together video (if not a touch silly). > > > > On Sat, May 15, 2010 at 9:12 AM, Pete Olson <apol...@centurytel.net> wrote: > > Hi Jim. I’ve had a chance to ride my Rawland a little on trail and > > mixed paved/gravel roads and the new, wide Noodle bar you guys added > > works well. I am struck the gravel roads I ride in northwestern > > Wisconsin are heterogeneous as far as origins, land ownership and > > responsibility for maintenance. Some of the roads started as wagon > > roads from the logging era (tote roads), logging railroads (a tip-off > > is now having “grade” in its name), farm roads or forest roads put in > > for multi-uses like logging, lake home, cabin and recreational access, > > and fire control. Besides unpaved farm roads, I ride on roads in > > county forests, state forests, a national forest, and privately owned > > commercial forest land. I took a trip last summer to Keweenaw County > > in U.P. Michigan and I think most of the forest land was in private > > land holdings that go back to the time of mining exploration. The > > biggest change I see with most of these roads over the last twenty > > years has been general “improvement” in the development sense which > > means widening, straightening, adding gravel and more grading. > > Unfortunately it is getting harder to find narrow, twisty roads, that > > tunnel through the trees. Near here, the Chippewa County Forest > > trails probably come closest to western style fire trails; narrow, in > > steep glacial moraine, not overly graded, and not plowed in the > > winter. According to someone I know who lives in the Blue Hills of > > western Rusk County, the motivation of the local township board for > > road widening is fear of liability if a driver runs off a road and > > hits a tree. Bill- I did some riding on the CAMBA system around > > Hayward and Seeley last fall (Boedecker and Janet Rd and Phipps Fire > > Lane) and Phipps Ln in particular looked wider and more built up than > > it was in the 80’s and 90’s. -Pete > > > On May 14, 3:32 am, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thill....@gmail.com> > > wrote: > > > I've been reading about these "fire trails" in Grant's writings for > > > years. As far as I know, we don't have fire trails in Minnesota, but > > > we have thousands of miles of rural gravel roads, and races/rides on > > > these gravel roads have exploded in popularity. This weekend I, along > > > with several hundred others, will be riding the Almanzo 100, which is > > > a free-for-all gravel century. Technically it's a race, but I > > > seriously doubt that I'm in contention of finishing much better than > > > middle-of-the-pack. > > > > It's arguable that Rivendell has played a role (indirectly) in > > > popularizing this kind of event with Grant's advocacy of tire > > > clearance and riding "road bikes" on unpaved surfaces. I'll be riding > > > my Atlantis-inspired Goodrich, and I expect to see lots of Rivendells. > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > > . > > > For more options, visit this group athttp:// > > groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups.com> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > -- > Cheers, > David > Redlands, CA > > "Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There is something > wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." ~Bill Nye, > scientist guy > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
