Outdoor adventures, mostly gravel rides, but not always
An adventure following the path of the Sihl complete with farm roads, gravel paths, and singletrack
A little bit of everything: chunky gravel, forest service roads, singletrack, oblivious baby goats, tunnels, farm roads, fast descents (some too fast on too chunky gravel!), river views, hike-a-bike, and great weather.
Lower elevation adventure ride on the Olympic Peninsula
In January the higher elevation forest service roads are covered in snow & ice and inaccessible, safely, by bike. Wanting to ride some forest service roads, I opted for one of the lower elevation areas which is muddy and cold but generally snow free. The area around Big Skidder Hill is closed to vehicles but open to walker and bikes so it’s a wonderful place to ride in the winter.
Two routes, two separate riding partners, and one great day of all-road riding in beautiful Marin County
I had long wanted to ride in Marin, birthplace of mountain biking and constant location of adventures in my Strava feed.
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.
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.
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.
