Funk Bottoms Gravel Route

With a wide open schedule Saturday and the rest of the family traveling I planned for adventure.  First thought was to hit up a couple mountain bike trails I've never ridden, but the perpetually wet summer has put these trails out of commission.  While eating a late breakfast I stumbled on the idea of riding the Funk Bottoms Gravel metric century route.

Mid-day start for a long ride.

I quickly gathered up bike gear, food, and drink.  Of course the day I decide to do this route is hot and humid, perhaps the hottest of the year so far.  Good thing there would be at least a couple options for mid-ride refueling in Killbuck and Glenmont.

Humble is a good way to go. 

Out of the parking lot in Lakeville and straight up a hill then onto gravel.  It was an appropriate start for the route.  I planned to ride a steady pace and not push it unless needed.  After all, I had however much time I needed today.  I wanted to take some pictures and enjoy the ride.

Plenty of gravel and scenery along the way.

Oh, and blaring sun too.

Many of these roads I'd ridden before but never connecting together for 100km.  I was making quite a few map checks and stopping at most intersections to verify the route.  As I turned onto TR221 northeast of Glenmont I knew the fun ahead.  A fast, fast gravel down hill and a big climb up TR251, a one lane gravel "road".

Refill and refuel at the drivethru window in Killbuck.

Coming into Killbuck I was nearly out of water, so a stop was needed.  To prove to myself that I was not in a hurry, and because it sounded refreshing, I stopped for ice cream.  Never done that mid ride that I can remember. 

 Supporting Orrville by enjoying ice cream

from the dairy in the country.

Leaving Killbuck I got turned around and made a couple laps up and down Main St. to get my bearings.  As is often the case, it was really obvious once I figured it out.  The gravel kept coming south of Killbuck with some winding, secluded country roads that would occasionally open up to big views of the valley.

Lots of green to be seen.

And then it got really interesting... heading west on TR324, at the most southern part of the route, I was looking for a right hand turn to head north.  I spotted a driveway / access road but continued on in search of TR28.

Surely that's not the road.

I stopped for another map check and then a GPS map on my phone check.  Yeah, that was the "road" I had passed.  It wasn't much of a road, let's call it a trail.  Narrow, rutted, and full of puddles.  Fun ahead!

 Are you sure this is the way?

 Through the woods.

Now I understand. 

About a mile later the trail opened up to a township road.  I looked back and spotted a sign that made sense.  A Jeep or ATV would be needed to traverse that section, or a cross bike can get the job done too.

Now it was all about riding north.  Glenmont was the next stop where I stopped at the volunteer fire department and was thankful for a couple cold bottles of water.  The gravel climb out of Glenmont was a good one.  I think I've ridden all the paved ways out of Glenmont but this way was a good, uphill gravel grind.

Legs filling up with miles. 

The heat and sun and effort was starting to catch up with me.  Looking at the map I saw a strange loop instead of a straighter option north and I knew what that likely meant; some more climbing was coming.  I stopped at a little bridge over a stream to eat a PB&J while looking up the gravel hill I was about climb.

In the homestretch but the hills kept coming!

By this time I felt like I was going really slow on the hills but I was still cranking as necessary and keeping it together on the gravel.  In the last several miles my legs felt good and I was able to dial in some speed on the pavement. 

I remember thinking this was the final uphill,

but I don't think it was. 

One last map check and I thought I had the finish dialed.  Except, I failed to pay attention to an intersection where I should have stayed left and I went right.  By this time some cloud cover had rolled in and I didn't realize I was heading south instead of north, but three miles later I figured it out.  Ouch, this was not the time in the ride I wanted to be adding bonus miles.  I sucked down a GU and backtracked.

About 6-1/2 hours and 70 miles later I was back to the car.  It was a great, challenging, and scenic route.  Lots and lots of gravel.  Good time!

A victory sneer... ready for some food and recovery.

Mixed Surface Overcast Wandering

Overcast days are my favorite to get out for a ride.  There's nothing like an early spring, chilly, and sun-less Saturday morning to keep many inside while I'm out on the road.  This morning was such a morning and I rolled out the driveway unsure of where I was headed.

This way looks promising!

I did have it in mind to go see if Shreve Lake looks any different, as it was drained over the winter due to a dam issue.  There's no fun in just riding straight there so I ventured out Wilderness Road past the peat bogs.

Bonus: gravel.

A turn here, a turn there... I enjoyed the quiet morning and waved to a couple farmers out plowing fields.  They know spring is here even if it didn't feel like it this morning.  I stopped to retrieve some dried apricots and cashews from the pocket of my wool jersey and ate up while some sizeable horses looked on.

Pitstop.

Eventually I made it to Shreve Lake.  It really didn't look any different than the last time I swung by, which is to say it looks rather strange.  Interesting to see the structure that fish must have been hiding around.  I wonder how many fisherman, with future vision, have mapped out the shallows for when the water and fish are back.

Still a drained lake.

No sense in taking the direct route home either.  I rode up the hill into Shreve and headed for some more gravel.  Coming back through the swamps I was impressed by a pair of blue winged teal that flew right in front of me at shoulder height.

It was nice to be out and about on two wheels.

HoCo Gravel & Hills

Sunglasses were needed as we drove south to Big Prairie.  It was a sunny Sunday afternoon and a little warmer than I expected.  We parked and rolled out on a gravel ride.

Here are some colorful bikes!

There was no easy start as we were standing on the pedals a few moments after leaving the parking lot.  I appreciated the opportunity to get up to temperature right away and was unzipping my wind jacket ten minutes into the ride.

In short time the road turned to gravel and it was on.  The cross bikes and wider tires would be put to good use today.  So would our climbing legs.  The countryside was a rollin'.

I'd like this in my backyard.

There were some memorable, as in long and painful, climbs on our route.  Mountain bike gearing would have been helpful a couple times as would some added traction on the wet, dirt roads.

Heading up.

We made it as far south as Glenmont and had the choice to continue into Glenmont or ride further south.  It's all good, let's go further south.  We looped around and came into Glenmont.  During a food stop we suddenly realized the sun was getting low.  It was 4 o'clock!  It had taken us two hours to get this far and the route was half through.

TR212: not a real road.

It was time for plan B.  We abandoned the dirt roads and chose CR52 to travel north.  No more dirt but uphill all the way to Nashville.  The sun had lost its punch and we were chilly even while climbing, unusual.  It was a push through some final gravel sections back to the car.  We were drained.  Good timing, it was 5pm and sunset near.  Great ride!

To Munson and Back

Tonight was supposed to be the first club ride of the year.  That is after last week's first club ride of the year was cancelled.  Well, tonight's was cancelled too.  I guess it was too cold for some.  My gear was loaded in the car and I was ready to ride.  So, I came home from work and headed out.  I did swap bikes and headed, once again, to the swamps.

Really loving this bike.

Perhaps it's a good time to state: the Black Mountain Cycles Mostercross has really been performing well.  The past couple months of riding this bike have been a lot of fun.  The feel of steel is great when bouncing across dirt and gravel. It's great on the road too.  Yes, there's a weight penalty and I feel it from time to time, but these rides are not about max speed and there's nobody to keep up with.

The brakes are fantastic.  What a difference the KoolStop pads have made on these Tektro CR720 cantis.  The crown mount brake hanger probably contributes to chatter free braking compared to my last setup.  I guess it's possible this hanger is not needed, but I don't really see a penalty for having it.

Prime riding surface for this bike.

Today I basically did the reverse of last week's swamp ride.  I rode down to County Line Road and climbed up Harrison to Munson Rd.  After an unfriendly dog encounter when I turned on Munson Road, I met a couple out for a walk and enjoyed meeting them and hearing about their diversity farming research.  I realized the sun was going down fast and said goodbye to get moving.

On the way out, when the sun was already getting down.

The temperature was dropping with the sun and I put in a steady effort to stay warm and get home before dark.  It was an energetic end to the ride.

Cold with Good Company

We made plans earlier in the week; Sunday afternoon was open for Ryan and I to get out on a ride.  After church we came home for lunch and talked about how windy and cold it was outside.  But, we made plans to ride so let's ride!

Balaclava time for Ryan!

Down into the swamps we pedaled our cross bikes until the road gave out.  Too much water and not worth the chance of a wet, cold foot early in the ride.  Engage u-turn and detour.

Longhorns.

The change in route took us by a farm and introduced us to some cool longhorn cattle.  They didn't seem to mind the cold and were curious to see us.  Shortly we got back on track and rode into the swamps again.

Tundra swans in the distance.

We rode out on the end of Force Road to have a look around.  It was a cold, overcast day for sure.  The migratory birds were starting to appear.  We spotted a large flock of Tundra swans to the north.

Icy puddles ahead.

The feeling of cold was mostly gone and we enjoyed being out and about the dirty roads.  We left the swamps and pedaled some road to make our return.  It was a good time and I'm glad we were undeterred by the temperature.

Snow Melt

Wow, what a difference a week makes. Clear roads, except for cinders and pot holes of which there were plenty, with very little snow in the landscape.  It was 41 degrees when I rolled out.  The trails are certainly in no shape for riding, so the road it is.

Under a US30 overpass.

Very aware the low lying areas likely have flooded and closed roads, I stuck to the high ground.  I did get a good look at the Funk bottoms from Elyria Road and there was not as much standing water as I had imagined.

It was a nice ride in the sun.

Last of November

The turkey and stuffing are well digested and this afternoon was time to get out for a ride.  On my last, and first ride, with the Black Mountain Cycles bike I thought the handlebars were a touch high.  Today I lowered the handlebars 15mm before heading out.  I also strapped a super blinky to the seatpost.

Not a crash, just testing the ice. 

It was nearly 40 degrees when I left the house.  The sun was quickly dropping in the sky and I had a feeling the temperature was about to follow.  It's been below freezing the past couple days and when I got down to the swamps I found an icy landscape.

A setting sun. 

There were several hunters parked down in the wildlife area.  I passed by a father and son headed for the woods.  "Have a good hunt!" I yelled.  "We're gonna' try!" the father yelled back.  Before dusk I left the swamps, climbing Clark Road to the east.  As the sun began to set I heard end of day gunshots from the woods.

After climbing south on James Road I reached Harrison and turned west.  A couple rollers kept me warm.  The air temperature was dropping and the sun was about gone for the day.  I stopped alongside the road for what I thought would be one last picture.

Sunset from the county line.

Coming around an uphill bend on County Line Road I looked up to see a flock of birds flying over in formation.  "That would make a good picture" I thought as I ripped my glove off my hand with my teeth to retrieve the camera from my pocket.  I got my picture and returned the camera to my pocket.  The hill didn't allow me to put my glove back on as I needed to tend to stand up pedaling.  My hand was frozen by the time I did get my glove back on and it took a mile to warm up again.

Formation flying. 

About this time I realized it was smart to have put the blinky light on the back, but I was about to need a headlight up front.  The shortest route home was back through the gravel in the swamps, no need to twist my arm for this option.  I had to drop my lightly tinted glasses to my nose and look over top the lenses to see where I was going.  A pothole caught me by surprise and I nearly lost the handlebars from my grip but kept hold.  Then, a couple miles of road and I was home, ready to stand in front of the wood stove.

Dark came fast.

Up Armored Black Mountain Cycles Bike

"Fenderrrrs!  Where's your fenderrrrrrrs!?"  I still remember an Amish guy yelling this to a group of us out on a ride in wet road conditions about five years ago.  We were all on road bikes and I dismissed the Amish yeller's advice as being uninformed.  Road bikes don't wear fenders.

Well, a few years later I put together my former cross bike for foul weather riding and thought of that Amish guy as I bought a pair of fenders.  He was right.  They provide a huge benefit by deflecting road spray away from yourself, away from those riding with you, and away from your bike.  It's nice to get back home and not have a spray of dirty wet tailing up your back.  Usually a quick wipe down of the frame is all that's needed to clean things up.

Aft protection.

My first ride on the new Black Mountain Cycles cross bike build did not include fenders.  I ran out of time and wanted to ride it, not spend another hour affixing fenders.  I came back from that first ride with a smile, a mud crusted downtube, and a skunk stripe up my back.  Now, where did I put all the bits and pieces to attach the fenders?

 Fore protection.

Mounting fenders can be one of those contrary tasks.  I like the fenders to be the right height above the wheel, a consistent height above the wheel, and aligned side to side.  It takes some fiddling to make it right, but the good thing is they usually remain that way without needing follow-up adjustment.

I learned of the Sheldon Nut, which is pretty slick,

but I just slipped the mounting tab in on the front. 

Fender are on and ready to due their duty.  I hoped for a Thanksgiving morning ride tomorrow, but a forecasted 19 degrees and snow is not looking good for a ride, even with fenders.

Fendered... is apparently not a word.

Black Mountain Cycles first ride!

33 degrees and 19 mph wind... perfect day for a first ride on my new Black Mountain Cycles Monster Cross bike!  Well, maybe not the most perfect day.  It would've been better if Ryan were along but he had a change of plans and couldn't ride.

KT and the kids headed off to a birthday party, and I set out for some mixed surface riding.  I aimed for the swamps to hit some gravel.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  That sign is always there.

The chip and seal roads on the way out felt good on the new frame and tires.  I was rolling the Clement X'Plor USH tires with 44 psi front and rear.  The cracks, bumps, and occasional chuck hole, yes I swerved into them for a change, were soaked up by the bike.  Dampened and smooth is how I would describe the road feel.  It wasn't masked, just smoothed out and enjoyable.  The bike was also very stable, holding a line was easy.

I guess yesterday's rain had an effect on the lowlands.

I lined up for an enthusiastic transition to gravel and was immediately impressed.  My former aluminum cross frame reared its harsh self at times like this as I would hang on for the ride.  This BMC bike, by stark contrast, had me pushing on the pedals and grinning.  It felt great on the gravel.  I swerved around puddles and intentionally aimed for piles of loose gravel.  But then I ran out of road as I realized the flood warning sign was warranted today.

I rode it for as long as I could.

No worries, I back tracked and enacted plan B.  Some extra miles on the road delivered me to the rest of the gravel I was seeking.  The fun part was getting to launch from pavement to gravel again 20 minutes later.

My first impressions continued and I enjoyed more dirt and gravel in the cold.  The trees and terrain were keeping the wind away, and I was feeling toasty warm.  At some point I realized I hadn't really tested the new brake setup and jammed on the stoppers.  All good, no shudder!  And, the feel of the brakes was much improved thanks to the new pads.

Picture stop in the swamps.

"Maybe I'll ride down to the birthday party and see the kids" I thought.  At this point I left the gravel of the swamps and popped out on a back road.  I turned into the wind and was given a beat-down.  It was a steady, cold head wind that resisted my forward progress.  A road later I turned away from the wind for a break, adding some more miles to the ride.  After doing a back road zig-zag for about five miles I made it to the party.  The festivities were on, the kids were having fun, I ate a hot dog, and then back on the bike.

Looking good and riding very fine.

Leaving the birthday party I could have taken the direct way home, but I opted for an "out and around" route.  Somewhere along the way my rig was feeling heavy.  It could have been the wind, it certainly could have been my legs, but I felt like I was pushing along some extra weight.  I know this build is heavier than my former cross bike but I'm not sure how much.  Come to think of it, it could have been that hot dog at the turn.

Let there be snow!

And then the conditions became even more interesting.  Apparently all that wind was bringing in some snow squalls.  About eight miles from home it hit me in the face, quite literally.  Icy snow was stinging my face as it blew in side ways.  Wow, I didn't expect snow to accompany pavement, dirt, and gravel today.

My best strategy: be happy in the cold snow.

Less than two miles from home the snow stopped and a spot of sunny, blue skies flew over.  Weird, wasn't it just snowing?  The landscape proved I had not been dreaming; powdered snow lined the edges of the road and spread across the fields.

To make the final connection home I road through the high school and around our neighbor's field.  I was making the most of the cross bike.  The Clement USH tires were not providing much pedaling traction on the wet grass, but I don't think these conditions were part of the design goals for this tire.

A shortcut home.

It was a very good first ride on the new setup.  The roads and weather were entertaining and the bike performed great.  The front shifting worked okay and there were no mechanical issues.  The only change I will make before the next ride is to lower the handlebars a bit and see how that feels.  Oh, and the fenders need mounted, they would have been helpful today.  There are many more miles and smiles to be covered on this bike!

Black Mountain Cycles build-up continued

Since the last work session I made another visit to the bike shop.  I picked up a new front derailleur, tires, bar tape, and some cables/housing.  My previous build had a triple front derailleur and triple STI lever.  But, I ran it as a double with my compact crankset.  It worked... sort of okay.  Shifting to the larger chain ring was slow and took some extra lever effort.  Shifting down to the small chain ring was abrupt, sometimes resulting in a dropped chain.  I decided to go with the right tool for the job and buy a double front derailleur for the Black Mountain Cycles build.  The STI lever, on the other hand... well the left hand to be exact, would remain for now.  Which is an admission of not using the right tool for the job.

Gotta love the new parts smell.

Before mounting tires I serviced both front and rear hubs on my wheels.  The unthinkable happened on the second hub when I fumbled the cup of loose bearings.  Fortunately KT is skilled and persistent in the art of finding spilled ball bearings. We found all the balls, above, below, and around the workbench.

Not a good time for buter fingers.

Speaking of tires, I had quite an exhaustive if not exhausting hunt for the right tires for this ride.  I began with the Clement X'Plor MSO tires on my wish list, moved on to consider Continental Cyclocross Speed tires, and settled on the Clement X'Plor USH tires.  But, not before studying a dozen other tires.  I'm convinced there is no right or wrong choice, only the next choice when it comes to bicycle tires.  Does that make sense?  I'm not sure.  Confusing, like reading specs and reviews while trying to chose a tire.

Ellen works the pump.

This tire choice came down to my intended usage of this bike, which is easy to predict as it will very likely be the same as my previous cross bike:  lots of winter riding on roads strewn with cinders and grime, some gravel and dirt roads (hopefully more in the future), and the occasional ride on snowy back roads.  Knowing I have the option to throw on the Ritchey Speedmax tires I previously rode, they still have some life left in them which is part of the reason to buy new tires now and still have a backup pair, I chose the Clement X'Plor USH tires.  These are a 35mm wide tire, which should fit nicely with fenders.

The "firm center ridge" was the attractive feature.

There are many positive reviews to be found for this tire.

With wheel hubs put back together and tires mounted, I could install the wheels and get to work on aligning brake pads.  I ran new cables to the brakes and setup the straddle cables for a 90 degree angle.

Plenty of clearance for bigger tires, 

or these tires with fenders as I intend to do.

The secret weapon to be deployed for the front brake is a Tektro crown mounted cable hanger I bought from Mike at Black Mountain Cycles with the frameset.  We discussed the poor braking performance of my previous cross bike, which had a upper headset mounted cable hanger, and Mike recommended trying this solution.  The other bike had horrible brake chatter when I was even semi-aggressively stopping.  It's an issue with brake cable stretch and rebound while the pads stick/slip on the rim.  Reducing the length of exposed brake cable should help minimize this effect.

Ready for better front brake performance.

Even with the high stradle cable on the Tektro CR720 brakes, there is enough space for the Tektro cable hanger up front.  This was slightly in question, but it's all good.  When I install fenders I will probably have to raise the straddle carrier for some more clearance.

A third hand.

Turning my attention to the drivetrain, I installed the 105 9 speed rear derailleur and chain from my former bike.  I also installed the new 105 double front derailleur. Then I got busy cutting the housings to just the right length, running cables, and dialing in the derailleur adjustments.  The rear derailleur setup pretty well.  The front continues to be touchy if not slightly demon possessed.

The trouble must be the triple Tiagra shift lever (ST-4400).  I've read of others setting these up to work with doubles and I was able to get it to work but it's borderline.  I have one click for the big chain ring.  I have 3 clicks for the small chain ring, one of which does nothing because the front derailleur has already hit the low limit screw, this is to be expected in this application.  It seems like I should be able to space the shift and trim points to better handle cross chain situations, but I have not figured it out yet.  The chain is not going to fly off but it's not as user friendly as I would like.  Maybe it's time to hunt eBay for a double shift lever.

Chained and derailleurs adjusted... mostly.

The saddle was installed and I was onto the task of bar tape wrapping.  I could make a project of this task alone. It's fun to get the wraps just right and there must be some merit to my technique as I've never had a wrap job separate or unravel.

Rewind to running cables... the following picture shows my choice in routing.  I tried it both ways but ended up liking the overlapping shift cables the best.  There is no rubbing of these cable housings on the head tube while riding straight ahead. I will probably still put some clear protective tape in this area as I usually do.

That's a wrap.

Fender installation will come later, looks like some custom brackets are going to be needed, so there's only one thing left to do... get out and ride it!

Ready to roll!