A week ago today I went on a multi-surface ride in northeastern Connecticut. I'd built the route in RideWithGPS a while back, before their road surface database was as robust as it is these days.
Most of the gravel was in Yale Forest. The stuff on Boston Hollow Road is old hat, a Designated Happy Place® road for me. The Moots posed for a picture.
A few miles later there was a cue on the GPS track that told me to bear right onto "Unpaved Road" (yes, that was the official name in the route). There was a gate and a sign saying no motor vehicle access, but it
is an officially sanctioned passage through Yale Forest - CT's version of Vermont's Class 4 roads, for all intents and purposes.
It was
bliss.
Most of this road was covered in grass, moss, dirt, rocks, sand, and gravel that had certainly not seen a motor vehicle on its surface in
many years. There were a few water bars that required attention but it was easy rolling on the Moots with 28mm Conti GP5000 tires. Sure, some legacy MTB skills came in handy, but the climbs, descents, bends, and everything was totally doable. All-road bicycles are a
great thing!
The final stretch of Yale Forest gravel came as sunset was approaching and I still had 20 miles to go before arriving home (no worry - I had fully charged lights and plenty of moving reflective surfaces, including the
entire surface of my cycling shoes) but it was a corker. It had a short ascent that had been washed out to the point where my 28mm slick tires would not do it justice - a 150 meter hike-a-bike that was fine, if awkward with SPD-SL cleats. But this was the payoff:
Honestly, it was a great day on two wheels. The foliage wasn't close to peak but was lovely, all the same.