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Gravel rides of 2021

babanff

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A little bike-a-hike day going from gravel to glacier and back... bike portion was around 86km & 1,000m climbing, and midway hiked 4km & 800m (or STFU... straight the f*** up!) to a massive glacier. The road was a stunner, absolutely perfect totally empty gravel ride in an insanely stunning valley. The hike goes straight up to the foot of a glacier... indescribable views and always fun when you can get right up to the glacier. No better place to fill water bottles than directly from~240,000 year old melting ice. Used a frame bag to hold my stuff since I had hiking shoes, but I think next time I do a bike-hike I’ll just ride with flats and a light approach shoe, and the rest can go in a saddle bag and my jersey pockets… didn’t really like the added weight of the frame bag.

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Tom K.

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A little bike-a-hike day going from gravel to glacier and back... bike portion was around 86km & 1,000m climbing, and midway hiked 4km & 800m (or STFU... straight the f*** up!) to a massive glacier. The road was a stunner, absolutely perfect totally empty gravel ride in an insanely stunning valley. The hike goes straight up to the foot of a glacier... indescribable views and always fun when you can get right up to the glacier. No better place to fill water bottles than directly from~240,000 year old melting ice. Used a frame bag to hold my stuff since I had hiking shoes, but I think next time I do a bike-hike I’ll just ride with flats and a light approach shoe, and the rest can go in a saddle bag and my jersey pockets… didn’t really like the added weight of the frame bag.

Stunning! Interested in sharing the general location?
 

firebanex

Making fresh tracks
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Fairbanks, Alaska
Went into Denali National Park today, the tourist season is over and the road is now open to cars from mile 13 to 30 and foot/pedal traffic from 30 to 40. We never get an open road in the fall, it's typically a road ticket lottery that you have to put in for. Anyways, since mile 30 is the bottom of Sable pass and the road was legit closed to all traffic after mile 40 due to that land slide in Polychrome pass you may have heard about.. We grabbed out gravel bikes and went for a chilly ride! Was windy and about 40* but oh so sunny. Totally worth it.
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Rudi Riet

AKA songfta AKA randomduck - a USSS coach, as well
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On Sunday I went out with a bunch of friends and friends-of-friends on a gravel romp through Loudoun and Fauquier Counties in northern Virginia. It was a great day to be out and about on a bike: mostly cloudy skies, a little breeze, and temperatures that weren't the summer swelter that's dominated the area this year.

Two routes were on offer: a 36 mile route and a 48 mile route, both of which had a rest stop in Bluemont at their retro general store (their country ham sliders are a tasty treat).

Rough road is the goal on gravel days, right?

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Like I said: we were a big bunch, over 50 riders showed up.
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We had smiles for miles:
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My friend Marc caught my photogenic side for good measure.
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(And yes, that is a repurposed 26" hardtail MTB I'm riding. It's perfect for gravel and monstercross use.)

But the real draw is that these gravel roads are scenic AF:
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Tom K.

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(And yes, that is a repurposed 26" hardtail MTB I'm riding. It's perfect for gravel and monstercross use.)

Agreed. On "real" gravel rides, I prefer my hardtail with lightly-knobbed 40c tires and a suspension fork. I even stick with mtb bars.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that it's lighter than my gravel bike! :ogbiggrin:
 
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Ron

Ron

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Nice ride this am with the leaves just a few days from peak. sorry, no “real” gravel. :ogbiggrin: Do 15% climbs on packed dirt count? This is a real mix of terrain ride about 30% road, hard packed dirt to plain ol’ dirt roads along the Yampa river near stage coach reservoir. Nice to Wear a LS Jersey and knee warmers. Pics are a little out of order no way to rearrange
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Slim

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Our Family went to a local gravel race, the Heck of the North.
It was the girls’ first time.
My 10 year old daughter and my wife rode the 20 mile course, and my 13 year old and I rode the 56mile.
Neither of them had ridden that far before, and they rocked it:
1:25 for the youngest (20 miles) and 4:01 for the oldest (56miles).
Beautiful fall day, 45-60 degrees, mix of cloud and sun, and a breeze. Fall colors are really starting to come out, and there were fun people out on the course to ride and talk with.
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Slim

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Note: local flavor you don’t get in other locations:
having to walk your bike, because the trail is covered in a deep layer of taconite pellets, spilled from the train tracks above the trail.


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LiquidFeet

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New England
Note: local flavor you don’t get in other locations:
having to walk your bike, because the trail is covered in a deep layer of taconite pellets, spilled from the train tracks above the trail.


View attachment 143177
How come these bits of iron ore are shaped like marbles? Did nature do that?
 

Tom K.

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Ski Hut FTW!

Wes Neustel, what a guy!
No, humans. They‘re taconite pellets. The ore is ground up, mixed with water, then baked into pellets for storage/transport

Mined and crushed in Babbitt, then railroaded to Silver Bay for final processing. Memories of my youth......I once road a "Hy-Rail" truck from Babbitt to Silver Bay on the tracks. Not a smooth ride at all!
 

chris_the_wrench

Spinning wrenches and throwing spokes.
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Ski Hut FTW!

Wes Neustel, what a guy!


Mined and crushed in Babbitt, then railroaded to Silver Bay for final processing. Memories of my youth......I once road a "Hy-Rail" truck from Babbitt to Silver Bay on the tracks. Not a smooth ride at all!


Silver Bay, is that where the huge ore ships pull up to the long doc and the train cars are ‘tipped’ on their side dumping the ore in?? I think I was there 7 or 8 years ago and watched that for awhile. I was amazed at the size of the operation.
 

Slim

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Silver Bay, is that where the huge ore ships pull up to the long doc and the train cars are ‘tipped’ on their side dumping the ore in?? I think I was there 7 or 8 years ago and watched that for awhile. I was amazed at the size of the operation.
Yes it is.
and Yes @Tom K. , I work at the Skihut, with now owned by his son, and his grandson also works there, making him the third generation.
 

Daniel

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Cottonwood Heights, Utah
Yes it is.
and Yes @Tom K. , I work at the Skihut, with now owned by his son, and his grandson also works there, making him the third generation.
When much younger, I worked as a crew member on several different ships that loaded taconite in Silver Bay! When possible, I'd go ashore and go for a run or hike. Also loaded taconite in Taconite Harbor, Two Harbors, Duluth, Superior, Thunder Bay, Marquette, and Escanaba. The quantity of pellets shown in Post #112 is surprisingly heavy. Each of those pellets has an iron ore content of approximately 64 to 70 percent, if I remember correctly.
 

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