Chi_Z

sounds like straightly an American problem, guns are illegal in the rest of the world

shoota 

Oh, you're one of those, good day sir.

Chi_Z

huh? one of what? guns are illegal in China and criminals who were caught with it usually face decades in jail. So the concept of worrying about getting blasted during a bike ride is very foreign to me

Ericoschmitt

I still think recumbents can become a thing. One day people will realise they can be faster due to aerodynamics and also comfortable.

Can you imagine an e-recumbent with full suspension and gravel tires? Lol.

Seattle Forrest

Almost all of the most scenic roads here are dirt. Often hard packed dirt. Tens of thousands of miles of unpaved roads, many closed to cars entirely. I don't like riding on pea sized rock, but let me work some double track into a long loop and I'll be happy. I've even done ski trails in the summer.

jlaw

Guns AND e-bikes - this is an AWESOME thread!!

I can't say that I've had any bad encounters - involving guns or otherwise - on the local dirt roads. But I am bracing for the inevitable yahoo coming the other way who doesn't slow down.

However, many years ago my wife and I were riding an out-and-back route on a national forest road. On the way back I could hear shooting - the rhythm sounded like target practice - and we had no alternate route. Sure enough, two guys set-up shooting across the road at targets on the other side. I taxi-whistled in advance and they stopped. We all said good morning to each other and my wife and I rode on. Felt a little weird because we were alone and about 3 miles from the main road.

Fortunately, that's my only guns and gravel experience.

chas58

True. Anyone who has lived on multiple continents, including the US, realizes this is a strangely American problem. It ain't gonna happen in China or Europe (although there are other parts of the world).

Not an "emotional" comment just a fact. You don't need to worry about a gun being pulled on you in many places on this planet.

FlashBazbo

Your observations are purely local to your area. Where are you? In middle Tennessee, our experience is the opposite. Almost all roadies carry small revolvers to deal with the problem of loose dogs (they don't load bullets, they load powdershot in order scare the dogs away). I don't know of anyone who has had a gun pulled on them on either type of road. But at the top of EVERY paved climb, you can count on there being at least one, and probably 3+ big loose dogs. On gravel? Not so much.

FlashBazbo

Not completely true. There are many countries in which firearm ownership is legal. And in some countries -- Israel, Switzerland, others -- guns are mandated. (I would rather be in gun-mandated Switzerland than in gun-"restricted" Chicago on a Saturday night.)

Caliper

A) completely false. And even in countries where guns are illegal, there are plenty of guns.

B) people invented many ways to hurt each other before firearms, those methods still work as well as always and I am just as concerned about being knifed or beaten as I am of being shot.

ksryder

Hi, what's this thread about?

Caliper

I'm no e-bike fan, but electronics and batteries are getting less expensive every day. What I think will be self-limiting on e-bikes though is that once there is a motor, people will want a bigger motor and eventually they just morph into the electric mopeds that they are. Maybe they stay pedal "assist" to satisfy some law about where people ride them, but with the wattage available in compact electric motors, that assist could easily be set to 95% .


That sounds awesome. I wonder if they'd make a nice fixed gear gravel bike?


I'm with you here. I didn't buy a gravel bike because I wanted to go somewhere and find gravel to ride. I bought it because I dislike driving somewhere to go ride, I was already riding gravel and the gravel bike was better at it than squeezing 38's into an old touring frame. Gravel bikes open up road cycling to the millions of Americans living in places where most of the roads aren't paved (the guys out west don't seem to understand midwest gravel riding). What would kill gravel riding here would involve millions and millions of dollars of asphalt.

Rides4Beer

You do, I'm in Greenville.

Greenwood and Clinton have some good gravel. A lot of it is through Sumter National Forest, beautiful rides with very little traffic. Here's a few good routes, they're for events that SouthEast Gravel puts on. First one is in Feb, the next two are for a new event coming in Oct. They have a facebook page if you want to follow them, we did a preview ride for the Oct 100k route last month.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/38169136
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30034091
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29865599

Metieval

for the sake of my bicycles, I am hoping the next big thing is the not using salt on the roads!!

I love winter riding, but one way or another I hit roads that have had salt use.

Unfortunately I think my only option is to move locations.

HarborBandS

1. You can legally own guns in Chicago. The handgun ban that conservative media jumped all over about ten years ago has been off the books since 2010, when it was overturned by the Supreme Court. So was the ban on gun sales within city limits, which was basically useless since gun sales were always happening in the suburbs.

2. I lived within the city limits of Chicago for over a decade, and believe me, you are far more likely to get hit by a car or bitten by a dog when cycling than you are to get shot in Chicago, assuming you stay away from the worst neighborhoods in town and aren't involved in gang activity. Non-Chicagoans are incredibly ignorant about life in that city. Violent crime rates in Nashville (1,138 per 100,000 residents) and Memphis (2,003 per 100,000 residents!!!) are both higher than in Chicago (1,099 per 100,000 residents).

****

jeffreythree

All this gun talk reminds me, I have seen mentions of bicycle biathlons but never had the chance to actually attend one.

Caliper

I would join one, sounds like fun! Maybe the next big thing is bikes with good mounts for holsters or rifle scabbards? Or kit with better accommodation for concealed carry would be nice.

Seattle Forrest

I did a ride a few years ago, Strava have me a KOM because they'd never heard of anyone riding that road before. (Went doesn't Strava understand the concept of a first ascent?) Am older friend told me there's a guy who lives nearby, feels for some reason like the road crosses his property and or belongs to him a sand enforces his property rights with a pistol. So I asked around and in the 80s a few people have indeed had a gun pulled on them on that road. People said he was ancient back then and must have since gone to NRA heaven.

That's the closest I've come. Been chased by a dog, I threw a water bottle at it, missed, and the dog chased the bottle. I've had more problems with ankle sized yippee dogs, the kind that will run right in front of your wheel.

I've seen plenty of bears while riding. They're afraid of people. It's a treat to see one.

TimothyH

Yeah, I think there has been some misrepresentation of gravel riding on this thread as some kind of Jurassic Park, wild-west redneck playground. This isn't my experience here in the US deep south.

I can remember only one negative motorist encounter on gravel.

Hunters and outdoorsmen are usually really friendly. They typically ask if I've seen any wildlife and are eager to talk about trails, stream crossings, gravel/dirt roads and routes in general.

Dogs are no worse on gravel than pavement and there are fewer on gravel. Some are trained hunting dogs which obey their owner immediately.

Sunday I rode near a private hunting preserve. Guys were shooting shotguns just off the road. I stopped and walked over, asked if they minded if I watched. Everyone was super friendly and were pretty surprised by a carbon bike with hydraulic disk brakes and electronic shifting. Everyone was really chill.

The scene here in the south isn't huge but the riders are into gravel - not wide tire road bikes which might occassionaly stray onto dirt roads. Its about driving 1 or 2 hours to get to the mountains and hammer some forest service roads on 38's or wider.


-Tim-

FlashBazbo

Agreed, Tim. The downside is the drive to find unpaved roads. (There are none in my county.) I must admit envying those in rural Kansas / Nebraska who have to drive to find a paved road.

FlashBazbo

Come to Tennessee and let me introduce you to some paved road redneck dogs. They don't chase decoys. Always waiting at the top of the steepest climbs. I've had two dog attacks requiring medical attention. One pack attack where a pit got me. And one chow attack that required five surgeries and two years off the bike. They were both on civilized paved roads, though. I can't remember ever seeing a loose dog on gravel, whether in Tennessee or the midwest. (I'm sure they exist. I just haven't seen them.)

u235

Thread seems to have taken a potential foo subforum turn but...

I will always take the gravel or dirt path given a choice. I go out of my way to include it. I use my "gravel" bike as my road and off road bike. I've had a pristine clean bike coming off my car at times like you mention and I've also done group road rides with the only mud and gray dust covered bike.

ksryder

In Kansas it seems like there are more loose dogs on gravel. But I also personally know several people who have either moved to the south or moved here from the south and they universally say that stray animals are a way bigger problem down there.

They're generally farm dogs vs junkyard dogs so maybe that accounts for it. I've only been bit once, fingers crossed, and it was a redneck dog and not a farm dog.

I would guess they took off in the rest if the country due to versatility. Here in Kansas it's also because we have a lot more gravel roads than paved roads, and they're usually more interesting and fun. I live in a mid sized city and I can leave my door and be on gravel in 5 miles.

mstateglfr 

When I was in college, I made drive from Mississippi State down to Tulane(New Orleans) to visit my now wife countless times. Probably averaged once every four weeks. Anyways, counting stray/loose dogs was one of the ways I passed the time. It was crushingly sad if I thought about all the systemic reasons why I saw so many dogs, but it was fun to superficially count them and see if I could find more than the previous trip.

Caliper

There isn't real winter in the south. I'm sure in Michigan that the stray animal population is fairly close to zero when winter is over.



Also, gravel riders seem to care far more about stray animals, rednecks and shooting sports than the next big thing, haha.