Gravel road touring
12-07-15, 11:05 AM
#51
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Squeeze, if you live in Missouri you are in luck. They have just annexed (or in the process) the Rock Island rail line for another gravel route across Missouri . You can ride the Katy out then the Rock Island back. Right now it is rough. I haven't been on it but have seen pictures of others riding sections with their Moutain bikes. It probably isn't continuous yet but lots of it is ridable. ( sorry, I don't have a link.... Google it).
Sounds good!!
12-07-15, 11:09 AM
#52
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Cycco- Your Colorado loop brings back fond memories memories of a dirt road side trip I did way back in the same neighborhood. I left a paved ACA group tour at Sargents CO, just before Monarch Pass, and rode over Cumberland Pass to Taylor Park Reservoir where I camped for the night. The next day I headed east over Cottonwood Pass and returned to the pavement At Buena Vista.
Squeezebox- My route was probably one or two levels lower in difficulty than the Williams/Tincup route that Cycco took. I recall it being rough in places but 2WD passable. I was on a touring bike with 700x35 tires thus I had to keep my speed down on the descents. I could have let it rip on a MTB but it was doable on the touring rig.
edit: My trip was back in 1983. I see on videos that the eastern side of Cottonwood is now paved.
Squeezebox- My route was probably one or two levels lower in difficulty than the Williams/Tincup route that Cycco took. I recall it being rough in places but 2WD passable. I was on a touring bike with 700x35 tires thus I had to keep my speed down on the descents. I could have let it rip on a MTB but it was doable on the touring rig.
edit: My trip was back in 1983. I see on videos that the eastern side of Cottonwood is now paved.
Cumberland is also a bit rougher than Cottonwood overall.Williams and Tincup are whole different animals from Cumberland and Cottonwood. I did them on a Moots YBB and was at the edge of it's abilities. I wouldn't suggest either on a touring bike unless your goal is to see how far you have to push a bike uphill. I had to push most of Tincup anyway. If I were doing this route again, I'd bypass Williams Pass because the ATVs have torn the crap out of the route and made it into a bog. I'd continue from Hancock to the Alpine Tunnel and push my bike about a mile up and over the tunnel to the railbed on the other side. Apparently most of the tunnel still exists between the collapsed portals but it's also full of about 3 feet of water.
By the way, even in 1983 most of the east side of Cottonwood Pass was paved. About the upper third was still dirt at that time.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
12-07-15, 12:43 PM
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Yup. I live in a very dust place and it works very well here. I've ridden in lots of other places like the KATY, GAP, Erie Canal, tow paths all over Pennsylvania and New York as well as tens of thousands of mountain bike miles in Colorado where it worked just as well.
12-07-15, 03:33 PM
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I've ridden weeklong tours the past two years with friends on the GAP-C&O Canal trails, which are essentially gravel or dirt roads. We had such a great time that we are planning a similar trip on the Erie Canal trail next summer. We also rode shorter tours on the New River Trail in Virginia and the Greenbrier River Trail in WV. Down the road, we are researching routes for similar rides in Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as the Katy Trail in MO.
The best overall source of information on trails is the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. They operate a website called Traillink that has descriptions and maps of trails all over the country. Here are some links:
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy - Creating a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and building healthier places for healthier people. | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Bike Trails, Walking Trails & Trail Maps | TrailLink
The best overall source of information on trails is the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. They operate a website called Traillink that has descriptions and maps of trails all over the country. Here are some links:
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy - Creating a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and building healthier places for healthier people. | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Bike Trails, Walking Trails & Trail Maps | TrailLink
12-07-15, 05:13 PM
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I haven't really used anything else since I switched over to White Lightning almost 20 years ago. I tried a Finishline "dry" lube but never liked it. I didn't find it "dry" at all.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
12-08-15, 06:29 AM
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Montana. Gibbons Pass between Sula and Wisdom, Skalkaho Highway heading towards Hamilton, Old Darby Rd. between Hamilton and Darby, Melrose-Twin Bridges Rd. between the tows of those two names and Rock Creek Rd. between Philipsburg and Clinton. Taken during two different trips in the area. Hoping to ride them all except Skalkaho again next spring. Rock Creek Rd. is especially nice. The section I did is 30 miles of unpaved surface that becomes paved for another 10 miles. It runs along a blue ribbon trout stream. There are several U.S.F.S. campgrounds along the way and one private place at the end before you jump on I-90 towards Missoula.
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