Thanks for that. Not sure if that chart left me more confused than before, but I guess that I’ll sign up for Peacock again in March. Looking forward to the Spring Classics.
The weather looks pretty good this weekend. Hopefully, will get in at least one gravel ride.
I didn’t have time until late Sat afternoon to get a ride in, but wanted to try some of the local “Dirt Church” rides in the Francis Marion National Forest. It is probably their shortest at 21 miles (34km), which is perfect for my out of shape legs. Loaded the car about 15:30 and found out that the ranger station I was going to park as was 30 min. away. Not bad, but if you knew my history of getting caught out on rides after dusk without a light, you would understand my concern.
I took it easy, knowing that my fitness usually doesn’t begin to show up in the slightest until 3 to 4 weeks into the season. There were group rides leaving here at 8AM, but riding with someone else is the last thing that I need right now. I would try to hang on for dear life until I got dropped, then suffer like a dog the rest of the ride.
For the most part, the ride was 21 miles of this, hard packed dirt and gravel, with washboards mostly near the first mile and the two paved road crossings. I wondered why one side of the road was generally rougher than the other and decided that it must be the side with the least sunlight.
There were occasional clearings. South Carolina has pretty intensive forestry conservation and you often see them burning undergrowth. I’m not sure what the story is here. Perhaps logged out before the land became protected.
First ride with the Lead Out! frame bag mini. I tried three different bags before finding my happy place. It doesn’t get in the wind, doesn’t conflict your legs or downtube water battle, and is really handy for accessing your mobile phone. In the thin bag I am carrying a 2nd 40mm tube, extra CO2, wallet, iPhone 12, and my car keys. Had room for an energy bar too, but wouldn’t need one on this ride. I like the bag so much, that I ordered their matching mini handlebar bag.
Probably overkill for a short ride, but since I was solo and off the beaten path, brought an extra tube and CO2. Haven’t made peace with tubeless yet. Going with the tried and true, but can see where not carrying extra gear has its appeal.
During our Revolutionary War, Francis Marion was a thorn in Cornwallis’ side and generally considered one of the fathers of modern guerilla warfare, also said to be in the lineage of the US Army Rangers. I know that he is still much revered in these parts. When Cornwallis decided that he was going to own South Carolina, he marched his army up to Camden, home of many of my ancestors, and served a crushing defeat to the numerically superior US forces, Marion made it his mission to harass the occupying forces as often as possible from Lowcountry swamps. I can’t say that I envy the Red Coats having to pursue him into such terrain.
Wildlife encountered in the Francis Marion National Forest
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) continues to make its home on the Francis Marion. As the bears continue to lose habitat on private lands, the forest will serve as one of the last strongholds for the species in the area.
Perhaps one of the most often asked about creatures found on the Francis Marion is the American alligator. These reptiles are active year round, but are most active in the summer months, and can be found in swamps, rivers and ponds. Though primarily freshwater creatures, they will venture into brackish waters from time to time.
Numerous snakes, both venomous and non-venomous make their home in the forest and its swamps. The venomous ones include: the eastern cottonmouth; the southern copperhead; the eastern diamondback rattlesnake; the timber rattlesnake; the Carolina pygmy rattlesnake; and the eastern coral snake.
Perhaps one of the most often asked about creatures found on the Francis Marion is the American alligator. These reptiles are active year round, but are most active in the summer months, and can be found in swamps, rivers and ponds. Though primarily freshwater creatures, they will venture into brackish waters from time to time.
Numerous snakes, both venomous and non-venomous make their home in the forest and its swamps. The venomous ones include: the eastern cottonmouth; the southern copperhead; the eastern diamondback rattlesnake; the timber rattlesnake; the Carolina pygmy rattlesnake; and the eastern coral snake. - National Forest Service
I’m really digging the Hammerhead Karoo2. The touch interface is so good that I rarely use the buttons.
With about 6 miles remaining, I’m making personal wagers on whether I’ll be riding by phone light. Later, as I turned on the blacktop a few hundred yards from the ranger station, the light was completely gone.
I took the obligatory selfie, but upon review decided to spare everyone an epic nose candy.
Route:
Kudos!!! The Weather is supposed to break here in MidWest so I’m hoping to get back in the saddle this week.
Even though the weather has improved to the point where it can’t be shamelessly used as an excuse for skipping a ride, there are often times when the choice is either quick trainer spin or none at all. I’ve been eyeing the Wahoo KICKR indoor cycling desk for some time, but resisted due to its $250 price tag. My current arrangement causes me to uncleat one side and lean uncomfortably far forward to reach the mouse, keyboard, or volume control.
That is until I recently became aware of quality built knock-offs that are roughly half the price. Mine is the Conquer at Amazon, but they are now ubiquitous and the only difference seems to be the cosmetics.
Assembly time is around 15 mins using the tools provided in the box.
I’d give a review but I pretty much agree with all points mentioned in this DC Rainmaker review. Happy with purchase.
I much enjoyed Paris- Roubaix yesterday on Peacock, for US viewers. I won’t post spoilers, but found it fascinating that you can follow some of the top riders on Strava in order to view their race analysis.
Imagine averaging over 300 watts for 6 hours! Weighted average 303, max 1363!
van Aert does not reveal his power. Happy that he accepted my follow request. He can obviously see what a threat that I am 
Awful crash for Alaphilippe. I hope he makes it back for the tour, but not likely.
What a shame. I watched another rider crawl down to help Alaphillippe, who looked trapped under his bike. Hitting a tree without protective gear to speak of, must have been a shock. We have a saying among my friends who ride dirt bikes in the woods. “There are the rules of the road, but here, the trees make the rules.”
When the break brought Evenepoel’s lead down to 25 seconds with plenty of km left for a catch, I would have bet good money that the peloton would bring him back. But van Aert was gassed and for as strong as Jumbo Visma is, there was little domestique support for him. What an attack!
van Aert’s LBL. The elevation is what stands out IMO. I knew there were some climbs, but 14k puts things more in perspective.
It amazes me the calories they burn, given his normal daily burn of around 3000. They must be constantly grazing. Avg speed of 25mph, with 14k of climb as well, just wow.
Then the road craft side. The effort to have to concentrate to ride, at that speed, all whilst being in a peloton, all bunched in for >6 hours….
For longer races, they get infusions after each stage, along with all the carbs they can manage. The average human digestive tract can not process more than ~6000 calories a day IIRC and that’s not even close to what a pro athlete burns. Professional cycling has become a weird sport.
Home alone today and felt the need for some asphalt grinding.
With today being a holiday, there was lots of traffic and I had at least 4 or 5 almost head on crashes with other unattentive byciclists coming at me head on in my lane. Still felt good getting in that long range autopilot mode again, at least for a little while.
I didn’t realize you were from the area. I remember Graz as being singularly beautiful from the flight levels. Probably even more so at handle-bar level.
I’ll take some photos for you on my next ride.
Hey, how about that TDF? It’s been really good through 5 stages. Here’s a little tech brief. I wonder if 28mm tires are now de rigueur? I read that a tubeless 28c has the lowest rolling resistance of any tire combination. Just ordered some 32c Gatorskins for my Trek Checkpoint to do some road rides.
I’m enjoying it, I’ve not checked the route, are they doing Ventoux this year?
Edit: just checked they’re not. Have you seen the climbs on stage 12… Galibier, Telegraph, Croix der fer and finish on Alpe D’Huez. 
My roadie mates swear by 28mm tyres, I guess it’s marginal gains for the pro’s. I’d expect for us MAMIL’s we’d not notice any different aside from the comfort of a wider tyre and would benefit more from dropping a few pounds. 
How much were those gatorskins compared to last time you bought some? I bought some new Maxxis Minions for my Mountain Bike earlier this year and nearly had a heart attack. 
Yes, stage 12 should be epic. I’ve had the good fortune to ride those roads and climbs. A magnificent part of France. Very much looking forward to that. Heading up to Galibier with a group, sitting 9th wheel.
On tire sizes, this is the best article that I could find on the subject. Executive summary: 28c tubeless at 55-80 psi for a 75kg rider is the best performing. Tubes add 2 watts and 32c adds another 2 watts. I’m heavier, older, slower, and do only a fraction of the riding that I used to, so I picked the 32c based on YT ride reviews. Since I’m currently used to a 23c on my road bike at 115 psi, 32c at 60 psi should feel like a full suspension 
.
My wife and I had a series of flats last year (disgruntled child?), and I started buying Gatorskins for our road bikes based on rider feedback. I looked back through purchase history. $35 in 2021 from Competitive Cyclist, now $50 for 23c and 28c. $40 for 25c. Had to go to Amazon for 32c and pay $55.
No punctures so far. One torn tube stem from my wife failing to add air to her tires before a ride. She rolled the front tire in a turn and had a bad crash. Of course it was my fault. Afterward, I checked her rear tire, which had an immeasurable amount of air pressure You can never win these. I should have pumped up her tires that morning.
Have not successfully converted to tubeless yet.