cyclezen

Most all my rides have been great. Some group rides were extremely social. Others extremely H-fests. Some spectacular weather (unusual for us out here).
But the one ride which stands out this year is a recent Dec 1. solo mtb ride from our Los Padres Red Rocks, past Gibraltar Reservoir, to the old Sunbird Quicksilver mine. It's been some time since I've considered mtb, and re-entry this year was a memorable thing! I hadn't been there in at least a year... and that was by hiking. Riding was beyond my state, until recently, since it requires some decent level of balance and singletrack skills for the 'no-mistakes' steep and rocky sections.
The ride starts at the Red Rocks parking area, along Paradise road in the Southern Section of the Los Padres National Forest - a few miles further from this idyllic scene on Paradise rd.

Idyllic Paradise Rd, Los Padres National Forest, 2 weeks after our seasonal 1st rainfall.

Ride climbs up a 4WD rd for a few miles, paralleling the Santa Ynex River, below (dry at this time of year) which goes to Gibraltar Reservoir and eventually comes to a singletrack which heads further to the Sunbird Quicksilver mine.

View down to the currently dry Santa Ynez river - return leg trail winds below, along and with frequent river crossings

The Sunbird mine was active until the 1950's , but now long 'abandoned'. The very small dirt road used for mine access has long overgrown and covered with fallen rock, vegetation and eroded to tight scree and ravines - except for the short section just near the mine, prolly held clear by the large amounts of red mine slag from the cinnabar.


view down and north to the Sunbird Mine, from singletrack, with small remaining road section leading down to mine.

A wonderful day, solo ride, with wonderful views of the Los Padres backcountry. My recently upgraded' , now 'Mullet-ized (27.5 frt , 26rr wheels) & dropper seatpost, '04 Spec Epic M4 comp handled the conditions with huge improvement. Looking forward to adding the new short stem and wider bars.

Sunbird Quicksilver mine, East end Gibraltar reservoir, cinnabar slag heap below mine, my '04 Spec Epic M4 comp mullet, 27.5 frt 7 26 rr

The trail travels along the left, mountainside and works it's way to the notch in the background. The flat green area is the far eastern end of Gibraltar reservoir. This section has been dry for a few years, due to our extreme drought conditions. Thankfully we have had substantial rainfall this month and expect more of the same today thru Christmas day.
Return leg retraces the Singletrack and then loops down to and follows the Santa Ynez river (seen in pic 2) back to trail head
Anxious to ride more trails in this area, in the coming year...
Happy New Year and many more 'Best Rides' to all !
Yuri

kahn

That would be the route. Our ride was Cascade Bicycle Club's RAW (Ride Across Washington) and did all five passes. Rainy, Washington, Loup Loup, Wauconda Summit and Sherman. We had some blistering hot days. This summer I cheated and did the blast down from WA Pass to Winthrop. It was terrific on that downhill but as I hit the valley the temperature soared and it was in the high 90's. We actually shortened our trip by a day to escape that heat back to Western WA. It is a beautiful highway although still long stretches without much shoulder in the Concrete/Marblemount area. I've climbed Washington/Rainy from the east side a few different times including in snow. The first time we did it at night after the highway just opened for the season. We stashed food and cooking stoves at the Washington Pass Overlook for breakfast and then down the west side. I'm much slower these days.

indyfabz

Having never ridden out west, that was the crazy thing for me. It was snowing going over the mountain, but when I reached Winthrop there were tumbleweeds and they were watering the grass at the KOA. That was right around the end of May. After Loup Loup a couple of days later it was very warm on the way to Tonasket.

kahn

All three west coast states are like that. Pretty green and lush on the west side of the mountains and deserts on the east side. Scrub brush and lava plains on the east side. It's an interesting contrast. They generally dig out, that is PLOW the North Cascades to open it in May. This year, a first, I think, they actually "pre-closed" the road and pass rather than waiting till so much snow built up that the avalanche danger would have them close it. The friend who dropped me at Washington Pass (for my downhill ride) built a home in Winthrop and lived there for ten years. But she finally decided she needed more urban outlets and less snow.

From readings, it seems you do a lot of long multi-day rides. Biking for me was always the shoulder season activity between hiking and cross-country skiing. Now I do more biking.

Airfehr

Gooseberry UT under the full moon did not suck.
Day time pic of the same route. Zion NP in the background.

Inusuit

Indian Hill Road north into the Horse Creek drainage. 42 miles mostly gravel and two track prairie roads. Picture is Horse Creek at Nimmo Road.

05 fuji

First ride after a brain hemorrhage - did not go long but man was it sweet!

BobbyG

All of 'em! After bike commuting most days for 28 years, the office I worked at closed at the end of 2020. Beginning this year, at 59 years old, for the first time I was working from home and for myself. I was genuinely worried I would not find the motivation to ride, and when I did, I would be cutting my rides short, since there would be no real destination. And I was even more worried I would begin finding excuses NOT to ride.

So in the spring when I found an old, broken, but fixable folding bike for a steal, I snatched it up and began restoring and modifying it: Bull-horn bars for a more road-bike experience, wider gearing...lower for hills, higher for cruising, and serious tires. (although they are not in the photo below). I was eager to explore this new bike and experience it to the fullest.

This also led me to ride my other bikes so I could compare and contrast the experiences.

Turns out...I still love riding, and have been looking for any excuse to ride. My older commuter has baskets to carry stuff. I fashioned a big, big detatchable basket for the folder...and a trailer, ostensibly for carrying the airline compliant suitcase it and the bike fold into.

While all my rides have been from home this year, each of my bikes fit easily into my SUV and in the coming year I plan to explore riding beginning further from home. And I now have the freedom and autonomy to do that.

I suppose the same motivation that made me choose the bike over the car most mornings of my life is still in full effect, and I am still riding most days...just not to and from an office.

I am fortunate, because it turns out that whenever I am feeling lost, dejected or frustrated my brain says "Bike it out!". And there hasn't been a day this year when my brain hasn't whispered "bike!"

There are however three modest rides that stood out this year: My first ride to the old office after the sign had come down (bittersweet); my first ride to the old office on the folding bike, which I had wanted to do for years (but had no folding bike), and the first folding bike ride up to the scenic overlook on the top of Palmer Park. Not a terribly difficult ride, but no walk in the park, and for some reason a rite of passage for every bike I have owned.

And what a view!

Dean51 

June 17, 2021.....70 miles on my 70th B'day.

Dean

Thomas15

Lots of great rides here!

I started riding bikes in late 2018, then started getting serious about it in Spring 2019. I participated in the 2019 "Ben to the Shore", the former Tour de Shore charity ride, 65 miles from Philly to Atlantic City. I had a great time but was slow, total time in excess of 5.5 hours. Did a lot of training for the 2020 "Ben" but that was cancelled as were most rides.

So my favorite ride this year 2021 was the 2021 Ben to the Shore, I did this 65 mile ride in 3 hours 33 minutes. This includes one stop of 2 minutes to refill bottles. I'm not ashamed to say I'm proud of myself, I'm age 63. I live in the Pocono Mtns, I do climbs all the time, pull some fairly decent hills but the all out grind of south jersey was quite a bit of effort.

Badger6

Okay, Part 2, then off to get the first 125km of Rapha 500 complete before we begin our Christmas festivities.

I realized as I was cataloging all these great rides, I missed an excellent one back in May…
#10) Chattahoochee Nat’l Forest. Not the longest, but it was 95% gravel, and not the good kind, with a lot of climbing and descending. Best part of the ride was when I had run out of water, and a few kms later I happened upon a water buffalo (see the pics, it’s an Army water trailer) put out by 5th Ranger Training Battalion for student sin Mountain Phase of Ranger School. I went ahead and refilled my bottles, just like I did almost 20 years earlier when I was a student. Oh, man, the flashbacks…

Okay, back on track:
#11) Ride to the Sea (Blankenberge). With the local club, ended with a lot of beer and mussels. Missed a sub-5 Century by 2 minutes, into a headwind from the sea.
#12) Groene Gordelroute. A signed route that rings Brussels, with a little bit of everything Belgium offers. Pavement, cobbles, gravel, and beautiful views of the city. Funny story about the route, which is entirely within Flemish Brabant, it exists because some politicians got to gather to organize a yearly ride that would ring the city to remind Brussels (entirely encircled by VBR) that it was encircled by VBR. Though born of spite, it is a fantastic route (and low traffic!).
#13) Dirty Boar. Amazing weather for a (mostly) gravel Century with a lot of climbing. Started just below the Single de Botrange (highest point in Belgium) and wound around the hills (mountains?) of the Ardennes and Hurtgen Forest crossing in to Germany and back. Stunning ride, and a lot of hard work!
#14) Ronde van Vlaanderen Cyclo. Many of the Spring Classics have an organized sportive ride that goes out one day prior. But, RVV is int he spring, not September, Yes. This ride was done on an entry purchased for spring 2020, but COVID. Organizers rolled entries to ’21, and then COVID caused it to be delayed again to the fall. And a friend who had an entry could not ride it due to a work trip, so he gave me his entry, and off I went. Weather was perfect, a bit cool, but not raining, and the cobbles were easier to climb than when wet, but still hard. I probably wont do it again, too crowded, especially on the cobbled sectors where everyone slows down and bunched up, makes getting up a 19% grade quite tricky.
#15) Rapha Prestige Charleroi. This one was a bit closer to home, in Wallonia. Route was excellent, weather was hit or miss all day. Didn’t rain, but it had been for days at that point, and much of the route traversed farm field and even a few gravel pieces. There were also some famous Belgian walls to contend with, and falling leaves made them interesting. The ride was awesome, and it was the first true fall epic for me this year.
#16) Nationaalpark Hoge Kempen (High Kempen). Another gravel ride organized by the same consortium that organized #8 above. Not too much climbing, but by late October, the Belgian land is wet and muddy, so me and my bike ended up the same way…and a few days later I discovered I had a grinding headset bearing, the one on the top, not the bottom. Go figure. Fun ride, nonetheless.
#17) To NLD and back. A former boss was in town for some work stuff, and he brought a bike, and suggested we go for a ride, just like the old days… so we tackled a century, mostly flat, on the coast plain that took up up to Zeeland (NLD) and back via Antwerp and the Saint Anna Tunnel (look it up, a very cool piece of cycling/walking infrastructure for traversing the Schelde river).
#18) Port of Antwerp. For all the times I had ridden to Antwerp, I had never ridden through the port. I also was seeing my fitness decline due to a severe reduction in volume this fall due to work and travel in between COVID waves. So spur of the moment I took off after lunch. I thought my lights were charged. They weren’t. Lost my headlight 20km from home…but by then I was on bike paths along major roads that were well lit. At least I still had a taillight. I just rode telling myself, “I am invisible.” The ride finished with no mishaps.

There’s still a few more left, as I get ready to tackle the Rapha 500 challenge, again. But this is enough. I had a great year, and it looks like many of you did too. Keep riding! Allez!

diphthong

okay...i know i had it narrowed down to a singular ride originally but realize the whole apples/oranges thing. if you can't decide,
post 'em both-or more. perhaps i shoulda titled it "favorite rides" instead. my bad. "for those about to rock, we salute you."

Bassmanbob

I can't say just one. I have three very meaningful rides this year that were epic for different reasons.

1. Three day local tour with my buddy, Pepe. We both want to do bicycle touring but neither of us have any experience, so we did a local tour together. I cycled to work, fully loaded with all my gear, and Pepe met me there for our two and a half day, two night local tour. We cycled about 150 miles over the three days, tent camped both nights and cooked with my little camping stove. I loved this little test tour because I learned so much about bicycle touring. Most of all, I learned that I definitely want to do more of it and cook more than just add boiling water to dry food. I hope to do more of this in the future.

2. St. Gotthard Pass, Switzerland: My daughter and son-in-law live in Geneva, so we visited them this summer. Of course, I brought my Bike Friday Pocket Rocket and planned a selfish day of riding in the Swiss Alps. I told my wife that I'd do anything she wants me to do the rest of the trip, but this would be my one selfish request. It was amazing. It was beautiful. I was riding on switchbacks that were mostly paved with Roman Era cobblestones. At one point, as I was cycling, I looked around and said out loud, "I'm a kid from Long Island, who now lives in Florida and I'm riding my bike in the Swiss Alps. This is so cool." And it was. I planned to also ride the Furka Pass (made famous in the James Bond movie Goldfinger), but it took me too long to do St. Gotthard Pass. I was there to be with family; it wasn't a bicycle vacation. But it was something I'll remember the rest of my life.

3. 6 Gap, NE Georgia: I've wanted to do this ride since I first heard of it five years ago. It's a beautiful century ride with 6 mountain gaps and 11,230 feet of climbing. A buddy of mine drove up with me and did 3 Gap (half the course). This was epic for me as it will probably be the most difficult ride I will ever do. It was great, it was a bucket list ride for me, and I did it... in 10 hours and 42 minutes, elapsed time. It definitely wasn't a sprint!

kahn

Thanks for starting the thread. It has been fun seeing others adventures.

I guess I did leave out the plunge down the east side of the Cascades from Washington Pass to Winthrop (faux cowboy town). I hit 47mph which was exhilarating and the scenery was superb.

Badger6

I love riding in the mountains…maybe I’ll go back to France next summer...

Erzulis Boat 

Morning ride in California. It was 39F, so I had to power the climb (230 watt average) to stay warm in my shorts. The descent was pretty darn cold!

The objects in the pic are wind turbine blades. They are huge, and the image doesn't do them justice. It was really neat to be up there in the morning by myself.

The reason it was my favorite 2021 ride was that I had planned to turn around at the base of this particular mountain, but was feeling strong, so I gassed it up, and added 18 miles to the ride.

cabledawg

Nothing as spectacular as other riders here. I have found a favorite section of trail that's roughly 20 miles round trip, but I stop for ice cream at the far end. Made sure to do it twice a month. I try to beat my own PR's on the hill climb and sometimes I do, sometimes I dont. But it's become my favorite ride and it helped me meet, and beat, my goal of 1000 miles riding this year.

kfried

I moved to Korea in October and brought my Dean with me. Took me a couple weeks to learn the rules of the road and begin to piece together a new route, and then finally got out for a 100km ride through a couple islands along the west coast. Not always the easiest roads, and not always the most scenic, but was certainly one of the most cathartic.

nick_a

There was a particular Sunday morning ride on Middleburg Virginia gravel roads that sticks out in my mind.

Cal398

Finished the 10,000 ft climb up Haleakala (and the subsequent descent). Not sure if I would consider it most enjoyable, but definitely one to remember!