Often we ride by roads and wonder where they go. A map is just a direction and a tease of what might be. The question won’t be answered until we turn off our familiar roads and explore for ourselves. In the Upper Left Hand Corner, gravel roads are plentiful, and something besides skinny tires may be helpful—especially as we tilt upwards.
I had been making a list of these roads in my head during the past couple years. Jilly Whiting introduced me to many above and around the hamlet of Loran. Last Saturday, we joined forces with Andreas Ruppert from Galena’s GOATS Cycling Club and covered 32 miles over everything from deep muddy ruts to Fiat gulping chuckholes on Hairpin Road.
This Saturday, I planned to park at Massbach Ridge Winery and ride west and north. Alas, I arrived there without my cycling sandals. VivoBarefoot shoes do not work well on Speedplay Frogs, so we aborted that plan and returned to Freeport for correct footwear.
Thereafter, nearly an hour and forty minutes behind schedule, I devised an alternate route from Loran that could take me over uncharted roads in the hills west of Pleasant Valley. From there, we’d continue west over to Hanover then return through Massbach and Pleasant Valley to Loran.
Once again, the Salsa Las Cruces cyclo-cross bike clad with Schwalbe Marathon tires seemed the only logical tool for this excursion into the unknown.
Today was sunny in the low 60s. I forgot about the delayed start and looked forward to riding into the light and shadows of late afternoon. Here is my recap of roads not yet travelled:
HEADING WEST OUT OF PLEASANT VALLEY: We turned west off Hwy 78 on Goodmiller and then left on Beck Road. The we quit the valley up a very sharp but PAVED hill, turned left at Good Hope Road and rode southwest across the high farm fields to Elizabeth Road. Along the way, I slowed to assist a young couple lost and looking for Massbach Ridge Winery.
HEER TO CURTISS TO GAMBLE HILL: We first did this leg in mid-winter over snow covered frost bitten gravel where we met a hunkered down peacock on the roof of a barn. Today, we encountered two lost souls on skinny tires at the bottom of Curtiss Hill steep and piled up with loose gravel. These pleasant lads were riding overland from Hanover to Savanna and thought the paved portion of Gamble Hill Road might offer a good short cut.
This is certainly a very scenic option. It passes by mysterious Lake Fitzgerald serenely tucked away in a valley. Although, skinny road tires are ‘pas utile’ here. I imagine they were obliged to walk the bikes up to the top of Curtiss Hill.
RETURNING FROM HANOVER: Steele Road lies just outside town as you begin a big 13% climb up Hanover Road to Rocky Water’s Vineyard. We rode north following the Apple River until Steele turned away east across the valley. Soon, we were sitting back in the saddle grinding our way up to Pleasant Hill Road. From there, we rolled leisurely on beautiful Reusch Road capped by a paved climb up to Derinda.
LIEBERT – LOVE IT OR LIEB IT: This road is paved as we descended eastbound to the creek at the valley floor. From there we jogged right and left on rude gravel willing our way up and up and up again to Massbach Road. If you have climbed up to Massbach on Skene or Bethel Roads, you can only imagine what it is like to do this on fidgety limestone.
BACK TO PLEASANT VALLEY ON THOREN, GOOD HOPE, GOODMILLER & KNAPP: The shadows were beginning to lengthen as I turned east off Massbach on Thoren Road. Thoren falls leisurely until we met a steep tight slippery hairpin left turn. We then continued north and immediately east on Thoren up the hill to the intersection with Good Hope Road. Here, we turned right on Good Hope then left on Goodmiller. Good deal!
We followed Goodmiller easterly straight into a left turn on Knapp Road. The afternoon sun shimmered across Pleasant Valley. Released from gravel’s grip, I dropped precipitously down to Route 78 on real tarmac. Here was the grand finale to our expedition this Saturday!
RETURN TO LORAN OVER HAIR’PIT’ ROAD: We followed Willow Road back to Loran via Hairpin, Goldmine, and South Loran Roads. Along HairPIT someone had scrolled the name and phone number of a guy named John. No doubt, John is the township road guy. I wonder if John is a collector of auto and bike parts which he nips off with his cavernous chuckholes.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Cycling in the Wind and the Chill
While many cyclists are shutting down their season or are waiting inside for the next swell of Indian Summer, a few of us are still out there braving the chilly wind.
What’s our secret?
First, we crave fresh air and abhor cycling to nowhere indoors. Then, we dress for comfort.
Cheating the wind and keeping warm and dry are our mantra. Layering and wool are our pals, and marino wool is preferred for its softness. Wool wicks moisture, so we wear that marino close to the skin. A company called Craft also makes great underlayments-- like a high neck pullover with a wind breaking front panel.
Then we pull our long sleeve jersey over the top. As the thermometer dips, we wear a vest over our long sleeve jersey. The vest breaks the wind around the chest and lets the sweat out the back and underarms.
Keeping our head warm keeps the rest of us warm. When it dips into the 50s, we don a soft wool cap beneath our helmet. In the 40s and below, we pull on a helmet cover to keep the wind out.
The howling wind can cause tinnitus and temporary insanity or worse. We prefer ‘Ear Bags’ to earplugs. The Bags keep ears warm and attenuate the rush that drives us nuts and prevents us from hearing vehicles approaching from behind.
Wool socks keep our toes comfy into the 50s. Below that, we pull on booties to cheat the wind. In winter, we buy toe warmers for a buck a pair from Farm & Fleet or Menards and stick em on our wool socks beneath our tootsies.
A light cycling glove works great down into the mid 40s. Below that, we pull on lightweight wind proof mittens over our gloves. We don't care to be texting while cycling in winter. We really don’t want to be texting while cycling period.
If we’ve forgotten anything, drop us a line. Just remember: Fresh air’s the thing, and indoor cycling is boring.
Finally, if we must hang up the bike, because we simply cannot cope with the wind and the chill, we don’t hang it in our unheated garage. We hang it in the warm dry basement. Otherwise, we’ll be visiting the bike shop next spring to replace a rusty chain and/or other moving parts.
What’s our secret?
First, we crave fresh air and abhor cycling to nowhere indoors. Then, we dress for comfort.
Cheating the wind and keeping warm and dry are our mantra. Layering and wool are our pals, and marino wool is preferred for its softness. Wool wicks moisture, so we wear that marino close to the skin. A company called Craft also makes great underlayments-- like a high neck pullover with a wind breaking front panel.
Then we pull our long sleeve jersey over the top. As the thermometer dips, we wear a vest over our long sleeve jersey. The vest breaks the wind around the chest and lets the sweat out the back and underarms.
Keeping our head warm keeps the rest of us warm. When it dips into the 50s, we don a soft wool cap beneath our helmet. In the 40s and below, we pull on a helmet cover to keep the wind out.
The howling wind can cause tinnitus and temporary insanity or worse. We prefer ‘Ear Bags’ to earplugs. The Bags keep ears warm and attenuate the rush that drives us nuts and prevents us from hearing vehicles approaching from behind.
Wool socks keep our toes comfy into the 50s. Below that, we pull on booties to cheat the wind. In winter, we buy toe warmers for a buck a pair from Farm & Fleet or Menards and stick em on our wool socks beneath our tootsies.
A light cycling glove works great down into the mid 40s. Below that, we pull on lightweight wind proof mittens over our gloves. We don't care to be texting while cycling in winter. We really don’t want to be texting while cycling period.
If we’ve forgotten anything, drop us a line. Just remember: Fresh air’s the thing, and indoor cycling is boring.
Finally, if we must hang up the bike, because we simply cannot cope with the wind and the chill, we don’t hang it in our unheated garage. We hang it in the warm dry basement. Otherwise, we’ll be visiting the bike shop next spring to replace a rusty chain and/or other moving parts.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Oro Strade Bianche
We are in the midst of a wonderful Indian Summer. It is early October. L’Eroica riders are pedaling their vintage bikes over hallowed roads in Tuscany, and it is time to refine our handling skills on familiar and unfamiliar gravel roads around the Upper Left Hand Corner.
In the past we’ve written about the Glories of Gravel in Jo Daviess County, but this week, we stick closer to home. We discover that gravel roads take on the personality of their caretakers—the township road commissioners who maintain them.
These surfaces can very greatly given the material used and the attention given. A finer grade of top limestone can pack in nicely and be very tame indeed. We even rode our old ‘83’ Trek 760 East on Lamb Road to Farwell Bridge Road. We returned to Freeport on Maize Road and had an easy time of it with 700 x 23 Vittoria Rubino Pro tires. The Rubino Pros look more like a 25 diameter tire. They are very quiet, grip well, and are extremely tough—a good road tire on well maintained oro strade bianche.
We had an entirely different experience along Block, Silberman, Raders and Heitter Roads. The size of the gravel material is simply too large and has not compacted even months after the top surface was laid down in the Spring. These roads were barely passible on my cyclo cross bike and would have been a chore even on a my Trek 7000 mountain bike.
The township commissioner responsible for those roads is either unfamiliar with how to prepare and maintain a gravel road surface or just plain stubborn and sadistic—maybe both.
Nevertheless, we continue to ride our oro strade bianche (golden white roads), because they are sparsely travelled and scenic. Also, we can capture a bit of the heroic of L’Eroica right here in the Upper Left Hand Corner of Illinois.
In the past we’ve written about the Glories of Gravel in Jo Daviess County, but this week, we stick closer to home. We discover that gravel roads take on the personality of their caretakers—the township road commissioners who maintain them.
These surfaces can very greatly given the material used and the attention given. A finer grade of top limestone can pack in nicely and be very tame indeed. We even rode our old ‘83’ Trek 760 East on Lamb Road to Farwell Bridge Road. We returned to Freeport on Maize Road and had an easy time of it with 700 x 23 Vittoria Rubino Pro tires. The Rubino Pros look more like a 25 diameter tire. They are very quiet, grip well, and are extremely tough—a good road tire on well maintained oro strade bianche.
We had an entirely different experience along Block, Silberman, Raders and Heitter Roads. The size of the gravel material is simply too large and has not compacted even months after the top surface was laid down in the Spring. These roads were barely passible on my cyclo cross bike and would have been a chore even on a my Trek 7000 mountain bike.
The township commissioner responsible for those roads is either unfamiliar with how to prepare and maintain a gravel road surface or just plain stubborn and sadistic—maybe both.
Nevertheless, we continue to ride our oro strade bianche (golden white roads), because they are sparsely travelled and scenic. Also, we can capture a bit of the heroic of L’Eroica right here in the Upper Left Hand Corner of Illinois.
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