Outdoor adventures, mostly gravel rides, but not always
A mixed surface trail run through the Olympics
We wanted a bit of an adventure run without a lot of running through snow and this route was nearly perfect.
Rapha's annual winter challenge to ride 500KM in the eight days between Christmas Eve Day and New Years' Eve Day
I’m a huge fan of Rapha’s annual #Festive500 challenge. The challenge rules are simple: ride 500KM in the 8 days between Christmas Eve and New Years’ Eve, inclusive. I look forward to it every year because there’s something about riding in the cold, dark, wind, and rain which appeals to me.
Variation on the challenging Evergreen Grinder 50 mile race route through the beautiful and vast Capital Forest in Olympia
I rode the Capital Forest once before, for the 2019 Cascadia Super Gravel and I got lit up. I was riding my 29er mountain bike on which I didn’t have many miles and I had almost no idea what I was doing racing on gravel. I remember the climbs being steep, the descents fast, and the overall environment pretty incredible.
Classic PNW ride through the mountains awash in fall colors
I finally had time and cooperative weather to ride this classic PNW loop through the mountains. The Seattle Randonneurs have a 200K brevet route but since I was riding on my own I decided to shorted it by ~30 miles and avoid some of the less scenic city riding.
Quiet farm roads with rolling climbs, great views, and plenty to explore
Fantasic tour under blue skies, under falling leaves, and quiet roads among farmland. I started the ride from BI on the normal loop to Port Gamble with a small detour for a road closure.
A loop trail over Mt Townsend with a stop along the way at Silver Lakes
Mt Townsend is an extremely popular hike in the Olympics appearing in all the popular day hike books. This route built on the standard hike by adding an extension to make a loop via a short jaunt on FR 2870 and the Silver Lakes Way Trail.
One of the more beautiful hikes in the Olympics, especially for visiting high alpine lakes
I hadn’t been to Royal Lake since a backpacking trip in July 2011. At the time we were unable to make it to the upper basin because of a late melting snow pack. I was excited to explore the upper basin on this trip as over the last few years I had become pretty familiar with the region from prior rides and hikes.
A PNW class, starting at Longmire and with an easy descent of Skate Creek Road before the long climb to Paradise
Cascade gravel with resplendent views of lakes, mountains, and trees
I’d been planning this ride for months ever since reading about the climb to Babyshoe Pass in BQ. The climb from Highway 12 to the summit at the intersection with FS 2150 has an average grade of 6% and a max grade of 20% with soft, loose gravel and rough washboard making it tough to keep traction and rhythm.
A scenic tour of lightly used roads with excellent views of the Hood Canal
The tour ridden clockwise ascends gravel and descends a near-perfect paved road.
