Where did you ride OUTSIDE today? (2019 & 2020)

Every time I see your posts it makes me want to get a gravel bike!

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Everytime I see one of his posts I feel sorry for my gravel bike

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@tkuhns & @AndyBaggott :+1: Running trails here – no ultras this year, but several a year for the past four – is what drove me to get a gravel bike. That it enables year-round outdoor riding is a plus. I’m very lucky that all of the rides posted here, except for the obvious where I wrote I drove to the Dolomites or took a train to Zermatt, are literally out the door. No car involved, just peddling out of the garage and a turn one way for trail or the other for road. Gotta take advantage and enjoy this while it lasts. It may only be available for a couple more years but I savor it like it’s going to end tomorrow.

This morning’s ride involved going after a Strava friend’s 5th place Strava segment placement. I had never done the segment (and I’ve never chased anyone’s place before), but I thought I’d give it a go. Now I’ve done the route a lot but in the opposite direction. This segment was going up where I had always gone up the other end and went down this way. The problem is, I didn’t load the segment on the Garmin and near the end, I realized I wasn’t sure which turn off the main trail to take because I was a bit confused where I was because it was all backward for me. I knew where I was going but I couldn’t remember how to get there. Making it worse, I did the end bit perhaps once in the past two years because I choose a harder option. As it happened, I turned too early and went well above target so I don’t know how I might have done. The segment I did do, at a hair over 5mi with 4.7% average grade for 1265’ of climbing, is shorter but steeper than what I intended (what my friend did): 5.3mi with only 2.5% average grade for only 937’ of climbing.

Edit: (And, bonus, I wrote that I got 5th, but it was 6th overall on what I did do, so I have that going for me… The guy who took 5th is the cyclist who filmed his buddies getting chased by an ostrich in SA.)



In the end, I’m not sure the second half of the ride counted because my power meter battery died. Fortunately, the failure happened after the segment above. The spike before the peak (where the first picture above was taken) was my mistake as I mistakenly thought I was entering the last turn before the grade dropped toward the finish. It was then that I realized I was in the wrong place and above my intended destination. Still, it was a good morning.

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Not sure if this counts but did Hunter outside today. Ended up making some odd route choices and double-backs to avoid significant gradients in general but especially significant climbs on the recoveries or any steep descents on the intervals. Worked well enough and was good to get out:


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I love how almost everyone here, myself included, hides our true identities as much as possible. I wonder how many people do that for privacy and how many feel like posting their name could be seen as an attention grab

Ive been bailing workouts left, right and centre lately. It was nice to get outside today.
I don’t have power on my Orbea but my HR avg was 152 so I was definitely pushing harder today than I have been able to on the rollers.
Maybe I just need to up my mental game.

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I did a classic 4 hour ride today in the sun:

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It was -2F when I woke up today. I thought for half a second about doing an indoor ride, until I looked out the window and saw the blue skies. An aptly named trail today. 2.5 hrs riding in perfect conditions.

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We had snow while Santa was making his run late Thursday and through Christmas Day yesterday. So, naturally, after the presents were opened and the two teenagers were enjoying the fruits of being on the good list and the wife doing her own thing, I left (possibly unnoticed).

With a fresh snowfall and snow still falling, I decided to redo my play for a Strava Top 5 of the 5.3mi segment I described last week. After that last post, I did snag 5th place but I figured I’d have fun and see if I could better that time today. I somehow did get closer to 4th despite the change from dry to wet.

At the end/top of the segment.

This is the same path & tree clearly seen in the previous post a week before.

Photos can be deceptive: as this road, a rare stretch of pavement on this ride, is between 8-10% where I am and as it disappears into the trees it goes over 20% with slush today and corresponding cadence & weighting shifts to keep traction.

In the end, it was less than 20mi and under 2hrs, but a good time in the saddle.

I went out again today before dawn. Much of the snow was gone but the temperature had dropped a bit. While icy pavement helped dictate my routing, including not descending the paved bit pictured above which was icy today, I cut the ride short when I realized I lost feeling in my toes due to my boots not drying from yesterday’s ride. Still, another good time in the saddle.

Sometimes it’s like living in a model train set.

Though I dreamed it would be a Z2 ride, not all dreams come true.

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Was on the fence about going out today, grey skies and a high of 1C, but in the end decided to bundle up and go out for a 118km Z2 ride just shy of four hours, 220W avg, on a loop I did twice in November, mostly flat and a lot of bike paths and quieter roads. I need to make a little sign in my bike cave that says, “dress right, and even below freezing you’re nice and toasty.” Sleeveless base layer, merino long sleeve base layer, windproof jersey, regular bibs along with an old pair of PI long bib tights that I took the pad out long ago. Neoprene overshoes, thin gloves with a pair of lobster-ish (pinky and ring finger are combined) over-gloves. Feet and hands were still warm when I got home. The gloves make it a pain to get the phone out for pictures, so it’s just some screen grabs from the Cycliq.

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Monday was to be a rest day but a neighbor checked to see if I wanted to go for a ride. As I didn’t ride that pre-dawn morning, I couldn’t use “I already went” as an excuse. I rarely ride with anyone and our schedules hadn’t meshed for a long while, plus it was a good time to catch up. But, I was still tired after three days of hard, including Friday & Saturday rides and a Sunday 10-mile trail run with nearly 2100’ of climbing (which sadly used to be a regular distance but I enjoy the gravel bike so much this was my longest run of the year).

Here’s a view from the peak I ran to. It’s ridable, too, but from a different approach. There’s a restaurant behind me that’s open in the summer.

For the ride, sorry for going off topic, I was tired and the power/time data of early segments made that clear. However, the views were worth it.



In the middle, in the distance, at the tip of the lake, is the center of Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland with about 435,000 people.

It wasn’t a long ride and there were some hike-a-bike sections, both down and up, icy roots and rocks or just too icy or slushy for traction. (I had on my all-season tires, not the winter knobbies.) A good time in the saddle.

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Sandhill cranes everywhere!

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Wish I had a better camera. Watching them in the sky and come down for a landing is a sight to see.

Nice view of starlings (lookup “starling murmuration”) right after I left the city, about 20 minutes into the ride/workout:

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What do you use for a camera? GoPro or phone or… gasp… an actual, camera-only thingy?

An iPhone SE (2020 version). I was riding z2 and taking a pic one handed. Would have gotten some great video footage with a GoPro, as some of the Sandhill Cranes saw me and scampered away with outstretched wings. They’ve got a pretty good wingspan but at least 100 yards away, probably even farther. That is a highly cropped pic.

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You have the most breathtaking rides!! Just beautiful!!

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@jmt I’m very lucky to have these the majority of these rides literally just outside my door, and the rest (like Zermatt or the Dolomites) a few hours by train or car. (There were a several rides planned for 2020 that were a couple of hours by air, but alas…) I’ve been in Switzerland for four years and have maybe another 2.5 years here. Each week I roll out savoring the opportunities as if it’s my last week. This certainly makes it hard to train indoors or roll on the tri bike, which doesn’t lend itself to taking in the hills and the views. Soon after the turn of the century I guided a blind triathlete (a fast kid 15yrs younger than me) for several races, including Escape from Alcatraz, which fostered in me a greater appreciation for the sights and opportunities of trail running which I think carries over into the gravel riding now. (I’ll get off your couch now.)

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@mountainrunner I always look forward to your posts and the gorgeous photos ! The rides look extremely challenging. I always think that is absolutely wonderful that you can manage those kinds of physical efforts and still marvel in all the amazing beauty around you, take photos and share them. Thank you for sharing … the beautiful pictures and the reminder about appreciating our blessings. Happy New Year!

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Will this thread be updated or new thread?

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NEW THREAD HERE for 2021