3 Studs?

Not much to say . . . other than note:  the author is not included

 . . . and a new bike . . .

On a "way fine" early morning 

gravel ride

Trumped Up Charges

If you weren't with me, and you weren't, you have no idea what I am talking about.

My third time!

I'm a marked man!

Today's Bit of Adventure....

Looking for a relaxing morning ride, I pedaled west on Skyline to the top of Spirit Mountain, then decided to extend the ride a bit by continuing west on the gravel section of Skyline. The gravel section that was washed out during the flood stranding several families has been repaired, but a bit further along, things are looking a bit rougher:

The pretty old stone bridge over Stewart Creek in the background; the good news is that you can walk across the washout to the bridge itself. The section of road after the bridge is in rough shape but rideable and the view from the turnout is still spectacular:

Not quite out of the woods yet....Beck's Road is closed for construction and required walking a couple of short stretches over some culvert repairs. To be truthful, these signs don't bother me too much any more:

I'm curious about the Munger Trail - I understood it was closed after the flooding, but the section that I saw from Beck's Road looked passable - anyone tried riding it lately?

All in all, a morning well spent!

Russ



Family Album

Since Rich seems to have abdicated responsibility for this blog of late (and I have the password), I thought I'd regale our faithful readers with some Maron family photos.......

My brother came down from Anchorage, Alaska in late June so we dragged my old Jack Taylor tandem out of the shed. I certainly wouldn't ride one of these every day (even on the off chance that I could find a willing partner), but they make for a nice change of pace. For anyone that hasn't ridden alongside one, they're a bit slow on the climbs, make for a powerful partner in a pace line, and just plain kick ass on the descents.

Dave S is just biding his time, waiting to hop on the wheel when the big rig goes by:



Think we'd go faster if he trimmed that beard?

Not exactly the height of cycling fashion perhaps.......but we kept it moving pretty good nonetheless:

Moving on to another family member - late this spring my daughter expressed an interest in getting a lighter road bike - we found an old Cannondale R500 in Lakeside on Craigslist; we're still tweaking her position and components. We've done a half dozen rides (her favorite stretch of road is the descent of Lester River Road) culminating with a ride from Brighton Beach to the Moose and back last Sunday morning with Rich (for a bit) and Dave. She's comfortable taking pace and hung with us on average 17-18 mph ride.

Proud papa!!

I'm thinkin' you'll be seeing more of this young lady.

Russ

There's Your Problem!

There's a lovely stretch of good gravel road that goes east from Berquist to Homestead and crosses Big Sucker Creek. Seems that the creek got the upper hand during the recent flooding:

Unlike the Jean Duluth road washout, the creek not only took the fill from around the old culvert, but it created a whole new streambed next to the old culvert.

I suppose you could walk around, but it would be a long, wet, walk.
Russ

A Most Excellent Adventure!

Rich and I achieved our goal today to ride the entire length of Pioneer Road from Lavaque road to Berquist road. Overall a lovely, low traffic, beautiful and varied contryside kind of day. And for those intrigued by the possibilities of gravel road travel, Rich managed the distance on skinny, high pressure, road tires.

There were a couple of challenges along the way:
Road Closed #1 - Rice Lake Dam road, due to damage from the flood - easy to walk around the piles of gravel blocking the road for 100 feet or so immediately below the small dam.

Road Closed #2 - This one was a bit more challenging. Rich convinced me to try the stretch of Old North Shore road from Berquist to Ryan, where a dilapidated bridge (available only to cyclists and snowmobilers) once existed.

Starting down into the ravine:

The phrase "bike assisted mountaineering" comes to mind:

We were successful in the end:

And I even got home on time!

Russ



And You Thought the Jean Duluth Road Washout Was a Problem....

At least you can ride (or walk) around that one - no such luck on Evan Road just north of where Doe Road turns east:



That's Rich polishing his cyclocross skills at 6:30 this morning.
Russ