Biking
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Gravel Riding in the White Mountains of New Hampshire
For my birthday weekend this year, Jordan and I brought our bikes up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for some gravel riding. The highlight of the route was the Presidential Rail Trail that spans about 20 miles from Gorham, NH to Whitefield, NH with great views of the Presidential Range. Another highlight was riding through White Mountain National Forest! We booked a bare bones hotel in Gorham to set up a base camp. We loaded our bikes and all of gear and headed out. We first stopped at White Mountain Cafe to get some sandwiches to go for lunch, which worked out perfectly. Our plan was to ride…
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My Custom 2022 Kona Rove DL Gravel / Adventure Bike
Back in October I started talking to the guys at Evergreen Bicycle Works in Fort Edward, NY about ordering a new gravel bike: a Kona Rove! I had considered a few other options like the All City Gorilla Monsoon or the Kona Sutra, and I knew I wanted a steel gravel bike to withstand the type of riding I do. I ultimately settled on a Kona Rove DL. After much discussion with the shop, we decided on ordering a frame and building it from the ground up. There was a very long waits for a complete bike, and ordering the frame would most likely arrive quicker, and would also allow…
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The Berkshire Backroad Gravel Grinder (B2G2) ’22 – 4.23.22
In 2021, one of my favorite gravel events was the Berkshire Backroad Gravel Grinder, a challenging 39 mile route in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. My only goal for 2022 was to ride the route faster than last year. The biggest difference this year was that I actually spent the winter following a training program (and training for the Great North 50 which I didn’t end up completing). The other difference was that I’d be riding my new bike! Lighter wheels! Lighter components! I hoped that would also play a role. The weather for the B2G2 was a lot nicer than for the Great North and Toad Strangler, which made…
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The Great North Mini Gravel Ride – 4.9.22
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The Toad Strangler – 4.3.2022
The first gravel event of the 2022 season is in the books! Yesterday, my friend Margaret and I rode the Toad Strangler, a new 39 mile route in Chatham that was organized by the same group that organizes the Farmer’s Daughter Gravel Grinder! The bike was ready to go! (I am planning on doing a full post about my new bike–stay tuned!) Unsure what to wear for this ride with the weather forecasted in the 40s with chance of light rain, I packed almost every jacket I own and ultimately ended up wearing a light rain jacket (the Outdoor Research Helium jacket) which turned out to be a little too…