Brown Season: Some Turkeys Run Free

Escape Route: Bike paths to Evansdale

The unusual run of warm weather continued into this past week and provided a chance to get out into the country without wrapping myself in layers so thickly I cannot move or breathe properly. (Of course, that's over for now!) Wind? That's another issue altogether, but when it is as warm as it has been in November, you are going to have wind accompanying that warmer air. There just is no other way around it.

With winds blowing at 20+ mph and gusting to 30mph out of the South, well, I wasn't going to expose myself to a lot of that. I had a slightly tweaked tendon on my right knee and a lot of wind wouldn't be helping that. 

So, I decided to take the more sheltered and tack-into-the-wind route of the Cedar River trails towards Evansdale and then to the gravel and dirt roads that exist Northeast and East of Washburn. This would also allow me the chance to loop out at a point nearly on Highway 218 without pushing headwind and then get a three mile push back to Evansdale. 

I took the pink MCD as I had to do a finish-up on a review of a saddle I have on that bike. But it was also nice to get back on that bike again. It is definitely one of my favorites. The Redshift Sports ShockStop stem would become a godsend on this ride, but not for reasons that you might suspect.

A week out from Thanksgiving and there are still free turkeys roaming about!

The drought has decimated the Cedar River.

The Sun was out as I left for Evansdale and the temperatures were in the mid-40's. I wore a light pair of bib tights, a base layer, a short-sleeved, Summer weight wool jersey, and my Pirate Cycling League windbreaker. I was not wearing anything special for the feet, but I did wear a light pair of gloves for the first third of the ride. 

As I crossed the Cedar River after going through Evansdale I was dismayed at the sight of the Cedar. It is about two-thirds as wide as it should be and I bet you could walk across it without going under now, if you dared. Sad!

Weiden Road

The dirt section of Weiden Road

I mentioned my Redshift Sports ShockStop Stem. You'd think the images above would provide the reasons for wanting that stem on my bike for this ride. However; it was most appreciated on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. The sections of that trail overhung by woods are brutal to ride due to all the bumps, humps from roots, and patches with rough seams. Add in that the "strobe effect" of low angle Sunlight through branches, which was making for a tough go on its own, and this situation was not a pleasant one. 

On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being a chip seal road and 10 being local single track, the CVNT from the bridge over the Cedar to where I got off at Weiden Road would be an "8" in terms of how rough it was. Weiden Road's gravel section would be a "-1 to a +1 depending upon how much loose gravel there was. The point being, it was vastly more smooth and comfortable to ride on than the paved nature trail was. 

Glad I had that ShockStop Stem for the paved nature trail! 

Gollineaux Road

Coming off Rottinghaus Road here.

The gravel was fantastic on this day. Fast, smooth, and free from chunk. The fact that this entire area is river bottom plain makes it great for just pedaling out a good tempo. There was almost no traffic either, which was a bonus. Yes, it was windy, but it is the price you pay to ride outdoors in dry, warm air this time of the year. It could easily be below zero, snowy, and drifted in. I'll take what we were given every time with a smile on my face. 

McKellar Road

When I got to McKellar Road and stopped to take the image you see above I could hear the South wind roaring in those trees. Fortunately I was going West and then North on Foulk Road to the CVNT again and I stayed out of a head wind situation. 

Then it was back home. I got in a nice, tidy two hours in on a day at a time of the year that it is pretty hard to get anything solid together for a gravel/country ride. I was glad I took the opportunity for a ride.