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| Graphic courtesy of the Weather Front app |
This weekend was washed up in many ways due to a wet weather pattern which kicked in on Thursday and kept things dicey as far as riding all weekend.
The worst part is that now the Cedar River and its tributaries will be flooding for a while and that makes things hard around here. Camping, hard surface trails, and soft trails all get affected by this.
Southern Minnesota was hit hard with many 8" to 10" rainfalls on Wednesday. There is a lot of that land which drains into the Cedar River. So, that is all coming down as well to add to what we got here. Friday we received even more rain, so....yeah...
The graphic here shows rain accumulation for Thursday. Pink is more than 4" of rain. Red is up to 4", and yellow is up to 3". That's just Thursday.
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| Image courtesy of Allied Bicycle Works |
Allied Bicycle Works just posted news on their Echo model, a "road bike" which Allied places in a category called "All Road".
Hmm..... Where have I heard THAT term before? I think I was talking about this concept at least 16 years ago now. "Gravel" is such a poor term for what bikes I love most are, and "All Road" is much preferred, but back in the day when these more capable road bikes became available through the bicycle industry, some knuckle headed marketing department went with "gravel bikes" and the name, unfortunately, stuck.
"Gravel" means nothing now. It can describe adventure bikes, racing bikes with fat tires, mountain bikes with drop bars, or touring bikes. The term is attached to so many things because "gravel sells" that it has become a term which has been diluted to the point most are becoming deaf to its meaning. Or what it originally meant, at any rate.
Allied, and other road bike purveyors, finally woke up and saw that people have been abandoning strictly paved riding. These riders have escaped the danger of distracted drivers, increased numbers of automobiles and trucks on roads, even though statistics show per capita mileage has decreased. The number of vehicles on the road has increased, so volume of traffic has been on the rise.
With the effect of riders abandoning pavement, the brands offering pavement-centric, racing based road bikes suffered. Bikes with drop bars, wider, more capable tires, and better rider comfort based on geometry and fit, became desirable as these bicycles could tackle any road surface. You know.....
All Roads?
So we've seen a big push by brands trying to say they are "road bike" makers stuff wider and wider tires into their frames so people could ride, you know, all roads instead of just smooth paved ones. And now Allied has finally just capitulated and called these things what they are, "All Road" bikes.
The Echo has pretty standard geometry from a "gen I gravel" standpoint. It can handle up to 45mm tires. It still has capabilities for standard road drive trains. I suspect this sort of bike will start to become wnat the brands will badge as "Road Bikes" in the future, avoiding the "all road' tag, because - if I am not mistaken, Giant has a claim on the name, or did at one time.
Meanwhile "gravel" is becoming a "drop bar mountain/aero/racing" hybrid and maybe we just need to embrace what is becoming the "New Road Bike". Because I'm not all that excited about a bike which is designed for the needs of less than 1% of gravel riders, which seems to be what many brands are interested in making now.
The bicycle industry does a great job of being as confusing as possible for people who aren't intimately into cycling... It's crazy how often I hear people regurgitating marketing copy when talking about their bikes, or bikes they're considering. Bikes are amazingly capable and versatile... that's one of the best things about them.
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