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Completing the Vermont “Gorey Quarries” and Riding 92 Miles of Vermont Gravel
In October 2022, I decided to challenge myself to a Vermont Gravel Trifecta of my own design. I would attempt to ride a total of 92 miles, climbing nearly 11,000 feet in total over the course of three days during Vermont’s peak fall foliage. On Friday, October 8, I took a vacation day and drove to Dover, Vermont for Part 2 of the Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club’s Green Mountain Gravel Grab (I skipped Part 1 since it was on a Thursday). It was a 22 mile ride around Southern Vermont with fantastic sweeping views of the green mountains and delightful fall foliage. The route also contained one of the longest…
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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 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…
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Gravel Gobbler Big Bird – 11.6.21
Better late than never right? The Gravel Gobbler was my final big gravel ride of the year. And it turned out to be a gorgeous day and great ride! (Currently it’s the middle of winter and I’m pining for days like this.) Anyway, the Gravel Gobbler is one of my favorite local gravel events. This time the course was reversed, however there was still a lot of climbing. One of my favorite parts of the ride was riding Seven Bridges Road in reverse (a fun downhill). Since it’s been almost 4 months since this ride, I’ll just leave you with some photos. Route Overview In other news, I’m having a…
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Gravel Riding in Poultney, Vermont
Earlier in the month, Jordan and I rode the Analog Cycles Gorey Hollows Gravel Ramble in Poultney, Vermont. The bike shop Analog Cycles organized the event (where I got my bike fitting done back in April), so it was a very low-key event. There were two other events going on that day, an 80 mile race (with like 13K ft of climbing, eek), and a challenging 40 mile “scramble” race, which still had like 10K ft of climbing, and the Ramble. We opted for the Ramble, a 32-ish mile ride with about 3k ft of climbing, which is still nothing to scoff at. This ride had everything. Fall foliage, sweet…