More Ramblings

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Later.

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