Damn - that's quite a reaction there!
So I went back out today and hit the ride I intended to do the other day when my gear failure and lack of preparedness prevented it (after the deer gone wild incident).
111 miles, 11.1k feet (my gps actually ended at 11,112 - I rode an extra half mile to try and get all "1s" - but ridewithgps took a few feet back...haha).
https://ridewithgps.com/trips/39689491About half of the distance was gravel. More than half the elevation gain. And definitely more than half the effort. There were some challenging descents where it hit minus 18 percent on loose 1 to 2 inch gravel. And long bumpy freakin descents like out of Hammond Hill Forest - I had to stop and let some air out of my tires to get down without shaking to pieces.
Overall it was a great ride - scenic and beautiful, peaceful, challenging, really painful at times, and ultimately successful. And I saw six deer in the first half mile and not one of them ran me over haha.
And I know aerobars on a gravel bike is weird but I need the extra positioning on rides this long, and it definitely helped on the few flattish sections. My back and ass both were thankful for them. And yes I know the winner of Dirty Kanza used them (why the heck does everyone seem to know that?)
This was the "road" to the top of Hammond Hill - about 1/2 mile of this fun.