After Saturday’s less than good ride at Hanson Hills, I found myself off the bike for two days. Family stuff, an away soccer match for B-Man and a doctor’s appointment, amongst other things, got in the way. Oh well, the only thing I’m “training” for right now is to not be the fattest guy on my block.
You would think that after two days off the bike I would be totally geeked to ride, and I was… until I woke up. A fitful night of sleep, a dark grey morning sky, cool temperatures and some light drizzle had me longing to crawl under the covers for a few more hours and/or days. Luckily I didn’t do that [today] and I somehow convinced myself to head out on the dirt roads for a shorthish ride on the fat bike, or for what I’ve been calling a “ramble” of late.
About the Ramble
I don’t know why, but for some reason when I’m riding a fat bike on the dirt roads I feel more like I am “rambling” along, exploring the countryside, rather than riding, and that’s not a bad thing! It’s actually quite good. In fact my experiences riding a fat bike on gravel and sandy dirt roads (dry, muddy or snow covered) are nearly the complete opposite to my experiences on singletrack, in that I really enjoy it.
I did have a slight purpose to the ride (do so or go insane from not riding) and a defined route (a simple, dirt road loop rectangle, and for some reason I did push myself to ride quite fast at times (for a fat man, on a fat bike), so that part of my ride wasn’t so much of a ramble. However, when I find myself on my fat bike, with the sounds of gravel crunching underneath the giant tires, rolling with ease through deep, sandy ruts, I feel like my only priority is to soak in the ride. It doesn’t matter how fast I go or if I am pushing into a headwind. For some reason, despite being 2 to 4 mph slower at times, being out in the middle of rural, Nowhere, Michiganderburgh on my fat bike just feels good. Not fast, light or efficient; just good.
It’s doubtful at best that the fat bike will continue to be my “main” gravel bike, there are some rides that I just like to go faster and cover more ground, but for now I am having some fun piling up some junk miles as I ramble along Michigan’s dirt roads.
Later.