The Chainlink

Hey All,

Winter is almost behind us (almost). Anybody planning to jump on the gravel train this year? I compiled a list of Great Lakes region gravel rides/races. Let me know your plans.

http://www.greatlakesadventureproject.com

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Great pics. Looks fun!

mark stetson said:

I use the IDOT county maps for road surface:

http://www.dot.il.gov/bikemap/state3.html

They are not completely up to date.  There's several miles of roads near me that show as gravel, but have now been oiled and chipped.   

Download Hancock county for a look at one of the more gravelly counties.

I use DeLorme Gazetteers to find the interesting terrain.  They show contour lines and wooded areas, so I look for closely spaced contour lines, crooked roads, and green shaded areas and try to work them into the routes.  Once you have a route, you can preview it to a certain extent on Google Earth.  It can be hard to follow roads in wooded areas though, as they can be completely hidden by the canopy.

Pics are from a ride last year in Brown and Schuyler counties that I mapped without ever having ridden there.  Met a friend from STL in Mt. Sterling and we rode some fun roads.   

 

 

For anybody staying current on the gravel scene, check out the Riding Gravel Weekly Update.

Barry Roubaix had some muddy sections but the 62 mi course was pretty good overall. Really hurt pushing up some of the hills with softer gravel.

If anyone has a report on the DPRT north from Lake-Cook give a shout.



peter moormann said:


Looks like more mud in the forecast!

How muddy was the Barry Roubaix?

Still a maybe for me.  If you see an old skinny guy on a red Trek 400 say Hi.

Agreed.  Weather was a lot nicer Sunday than today, it's been snowing off and on this afternoon.   I meant to take a pic of my legs and shoes afterwards, but was so anxious to get hosed off that I forgot about it.

Hey Mark and Peter,

Do you either of you (or both of you) have any interest in writing a short blog post for Great Lakes Adventure Project reviewing the Grumpy?  If so, let me know.  I would love to make it a feature on the site.

If so, email me at tom@greatlakesadventureproject.com

Agreed. Good times! Surprised that so many folks no showed this one. Their loss!

Will definitely be back for this next year.

peter moormann said:

Grumpy Grind was beyond description. Hills, hills, mud, hills, beer, BBQ.

Mark Johnson the host put on a exceptional ride and event.

Only 2 hours from Chicago.

Do not miss it next time. !

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