Country Views: Special Guest Ride v2

Escape Route: West 2nd Avenue.

 Back in November of 2021 things were loosening up a bit with regard to the pandemic we all went through. Due to that and a pent up wanderlust and sense for adventure, many people started doing things together again for the first time in nearly two years. 

One of those things were rides with other people. I was contacted by a son of a former co-worker, Ben Morris, who came down on a windy, raw day in November of 2021 and we did a nice gravel grinder. 

Well, Ben was back in the area again this past weekend and so he had reached out to see if I might be able to join him for a gravel ride. I said "YES!" and so that happened Sunday afternoon. It's a good thing it was Sunday, and not Saturday, as the winds were simply brutal on Saturday. While there was a significant breeze out of the South-Southeast, it was nothing compared to gale force blasts we had on Saturday. 

So, I had church in the morning and I ate a lunch but as soon as I was finished I had to get ready to leave as I was to meet Ben down at Prairie Grove Park at 2:00pm. I had to ride about 6.5 miles to get there, so I figured on leaving by no later than1:15pm. However; I didn't get going until 1:30pm so I had to floor it and I basically time trialed in between having to stop to cross five busy roads. 

I would say it was about peak leaf-peeping here.

Ben and I did hook up on time.

Let me just say that I do not recommend scarfing down lunch and then almost immediately hopping on your bike, going fast over six miles, and then expect to keep up with someone young enough to be your son. Especially with almost no rest. 

Ha ha! I'm not maybe in as good as shape as I'd like, but whatever it was, I was starting to gasp for air and about four or five miles in I had Ben stop so I could catch my breath and so we could decide on our route. I gave Ben three options and he (probably taking pity on his gasping companion), chose the middle distance route. 

It was a spectacular Fall day.

Ben agreed that gravel was pretty coarse and rough.

Since we were riding into the wind going South of Waterloo, the gravel was pretty rough. I mean, after all this time, what should I expect, right? I figured that since the harvest looks to be 99% complete here, the County decided to dump fresh rock everywhere. There maybe was about two or three miles where it wasn't super-loose and chunky. I followed grader tracks as much as I could, but the initial miles were brutal, which also led me to want to stop, as I mentioned earlier. I was simply working too hard. 

No real tracks to follow unless you hit that grader track you can see on the right.

Ben was riding this nice Canyon Grizl.

Ben was riding a Canyon Grizl. I haven't been able to really eye-ball a Grizl before, so this was interesting. Ben had 45mm tires that he said had stretched to about 47mm. On the Grizl there was room to spare and then some. Ben had told me he knew people running 29" X 2.1's on this model. 

He also was running that Canyon/Ergon leaf spring post I have had here a couple of times now. I've had to send those off to lighter-than-me riders because the weight limit on the post is something like 220lbs or whatever it is. Ben said he really was noticing the post working here on the rough Iowa gravel. Not so much on the Wisconsin blacktops though. So, a mini-review for you there. 

This big boy wanted to play, but he stayed in his yard, thankfully!

I gave Ben a tour of the Level B Section of Petrie Road.

I kind of figured that Petrie Road would be rideable since we still are in a severe drought here in Iowa. I was correct. It was certainly rutted out and rough, but that was preferable to me than buffed out dirt. It was a fun part of the ride and I was glad I got to show Ben that bit of his old backyard. (He's originally from Cedar Falls) 

Ben cleaning the West end of Petrie Road.

It was a fun two hours with Ben. Of course, I had to ride back home, so I ended up with three hours altogether. It was great to get out there again, and with an old acquaintance who I get to see too little. 

The weather looks favorable in the near term, so I think I will be trying to get ready for the Turkey Burn I do every year. Stay tuned for more on that soon.