Outdoor adventures, mostly gravel rides, but not always
A tour of some of the islands and bridges of Kitsap and King county
A departure from my usual farm and logging road riding, this loop offered a lot more city riding along with bridges and islands I had never visited on bike.
Located in the heart of the Washington Cascades, Gran Fondo Leavenworth is the perfect mix of pavement, Forest Service roads, and mega mountain passes
I had signed up to ride GFL in 2020 but, like most events, it was cancelled so I eagerly awaited an opportunity to ride it when it was next scheduled.
A gravel loop with sweeping views an easy ride from downtown Leavenworth
Though this ride is short it packs a lot of awesome into its 20 miles. There are wildflowers, terrific gravel, great views, and abandon railroads. I was delighted with this loop.
A tour of quiet Kitsap roads and the Stottlemeyer trail system
A quiet roads ride with plenty of gravel options from Bainbridge to Port Gamble’s Stottlemeyer trail system.
A tour of the Olympics' forest service roads over Bon Jon Pass
I’ve climbed Bon Jon before and with the great weather decided to have a crack at it again.
Gravel and single-track in the foothills of the Olympics and on the Miller Peninsula in Clallam County
Unseasonably warm weather encouraged a discovery ride through the Olympic National Forest and through the trails of Miller Peninsula State Park. I had a large gap on my personal heatmap for the Miller Peninsula and sought to fill it with this ride.
An easy tour of flat and windswept farm fields covered in tulips and daffodils with barns galore
Every April Skagit Valley fields explode in brilliant colors thanks to the very special crops of daffodils and tulips. We arrived during peak daffodil season, just ahead of the multi-colored landscape generated by the tulips.
A cafe ride of rolling hills, quiet roads, and well-maintained trails on two island of Puget Sound
Blue skies and warming temperatures promised ideal riding conditions so I chose to venture to Vashon Island to tour the farms, coffee stands, and bakeries. I started with a route from the Seattle International Randonneurs, 2020 WTS #9: Vashon Island, and modified it slightly to add some gravel and a trip through Dockton Forest, both of which turned out to be great additions to the route.
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.
