Years ago, as a roadie riding a super-light bike on super-smooth and super-flat surfaces, if someone had said that they'd just ridden 30km and were now exhausted, I'd have laughed. 30km was less than a warm-up ride for me and my very nerdy cycling club. Most regular days I'd easily ride more than 40 or 50 km. Weekend rides with the club were usually 110 km or so.
But I've had a paradigm shift; mountain bikes are heavier and built for rough terrain, not speed and distance. Moreover, I ride a single-speed 29er (no gears, and bigger tires means a bit more power required to get going), and I live and ride in the mountains. High mountains!
So today's big ride (the hardest so far with my new custom bike) was a mere 30km, and it was wonderful and it was exhausting. And when we finally, thankfully, descended off road, we were in the backyard of our favourite beer hall!
Here are some pics we took along the way there and back:
His and hers - both frames designed and built by Joel Greenblatt at Clockwork Bikes:
My orange Clockwork 29er in a field of golden rice:
Brian snapped this dragon fly on a blade of grass:
3 comments:
Congrats on a great ride. You are right about how our perceptions change as the terrain changes. Trail and road are very different experiences - no comparison really.
Nice !
Yeah, I was wondering what a "big" ride was considering riding on a single speed.
I have never ridden a single. I like my long grueling climbs and all day epic rides so I think I will stick with my 27 speeder.
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