KG3.0 Route Recon - The First Thirty

With the near perfect weather last evening I got out for a nice solo recon ride of the first thirty miles of the KG3.0 extra credit ride route. Unfortunately, I ran out of time and had to bee line back home twenty something miles to try and make it home before dark. We'll call my arrival back at camp dusk-thirty. 

The front section was riding fantastic last evening, running just under 100' of gain per mile and affording lots of great scenery and at least five stunning vistas. Plenty of rise with more than a half dozen notable climbs in that first stretch and an overall upward trend but nothing that is relentless or spite full. I've tried to avoid those types of climb, well, except for the end of course. 

The route also follows one of the nicest back road rivers around before climbing it's way up and connecting to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail for a short distance along a nice gentle stretch into Danville. The stretch of ClassIV was in pretty fair conditions given the amount of rain that the area has received. With luck, the weather is changing and we will start to see some drying. Regardless, the road had only a couple of wet sections that I was able to fairly easily skirt in order to keep my bike and more importantly, my drivetrain clean for.

This was where I had to depart however, so that piece of the puzzle will be left for another day I'm afraid. With luck I'm planning to recon the entire route over the coming weekend. 

More to come ...

Kingdom Graveleur KG3.0 - Coming Soon

I can't believe how quickly the spring is flying by, especially given that we haven't really seen much spring weather until this past week. I don't know about you but I'm certainly ready for some good conditions, some sun, some mild temps and some dry gravel.

We are only a month and a couple of weeks out from the June 22nd KG3.0 ride at present and we will  start doing route recon in earnest starting next week. Lots to do but I'm aiming to make a route that is super scenic and gives a huge sampling of the best that the NEK has to offer while still affording places to refuel. I'm leaning towards a route that is somewhat less remote than the KG2.0 route, one that incorporates many of the vistas of the KG1.1 ride but without the quest for overall brutality in the form of excessive ClassIV and climbing. That said, without trying there is a lot of climbing though the reward is some incredible views, many of the best that the area has to offer in fact.

Once again we can assume the full route will be just under 100 miles (98.6 at present) with one or possibly two shorter routes diverging from the full route late in the ride. In addition there is, as always, the extra credit route which comes in at 114.5 miles and boasts over 13,000' of gain with the biggest optional out and back carrot climb dangling in your face at mile 100. Just plain cruel and unusual. Besides that extra credit option there are a half dozen or so other side jaunts throughout the day that will help keep the groups closer together on the road and afford more back and forth overlap. This was one of the best aspects of the ride last year so I've really tried to accentuate it this year. It would be awesome if we could all roll back in together.

One thing is for certain and that is that it is going to be great fun. Oh, and it will be free, as always, and we will hang out and eat and drink afterwards. There will also be limited camping space, which will also be free.

Just a group of folks out riding their bikes and enjoying the day, together.

#ForTheLoveOfTheRide #RidingBikesShouldBeFree

Save the Date - KG3.0

It's official. Save the date, June 22, 2019.

I'm setting the date for the Kingdom Graveleur KG3.0 group adventure ride. This year's course will be similar to last year's course and incorporate some of the same features but will also have some changes.

I will build in numerous optional extra credit sections or variant offshoots the same as last year that will allow the groups on the road to overlap and regroup from time to time and also allow us to finish together.

Expect just over 100' of gain per mile and just about 100 miles for the full loop with an extra credit that is a bit more and another option that is a bit less. As always it is self supported and self navigated based on GPS or if need be, following others or tracks in the dirt.
Post ride festivities are again planned for the start and finish at Kingdom Graveleur Gravel Camp. We will also have limited space for bunking but a fair amount of tent space.

And the best part, as always this ride is free. Just a bunch of like minded folks getting together and going out for a bike ride.

To get on the notification list request an add to the KingdomGraveleur Google Group.

Snowy Winter Kingdom Gravels

Cathy and I got in a fantastic little ride this afternoon along River Rd in Victory headed past the Bog and up to Granby Rd. We checked out Radar Rd, which is not being used for logging this winter so is not being plowed and had not been tracked at all. It was cold and crisp with blue sky and bright sun making for some dramatic lighting and fabulous images. 

A nice day to be on the bike, but aren't they all.

#RideOutside386

KG2.5 Gravel Road Ride

KG2.5 gravel road ride. We had a good group and some fantastic weather to head out and explore some old coupled with some new. Starting out from South Kirby we made our way to East Burke along the scenic ridge and then switched over to Darling Hill. The group followed that ridge line to Burke Green and then Maple Ridge up through Newark but along the way I mapped out an off shoot that I'd never done. 

On the map it looked like it went through so I gave it a try. Much of the route, out around a small pond, was a nice back road, which gradually narrowed, and narrowed, and narrowed until we were on old logging roads that were wintertime snowmobiles trails. After some wrong choices and indecision as the GPS tracks didn't match with the actual ancient path remnants in the woods we started coming out to more traveled path that opened into a clearing which brought us to more established trail that got us to old road that brought us back to the main road. Eventually we made our way back to the primary road and shortly descended down to RT114 which we followed into Island Pond.

In Island Pond we made a welcome stop for lunch to fuel up before heading East along RT105, which was nice wide rolling pavement with very little traffic. Eventually we made out way to the remote, gravel South America Pond Rd which we were on for about ten miles. This was a great section of remote forest access road that saw little use and even less traffic, pretty much giving us the road to ourselves along the entire stretch, which did a fair amount of climbing. This eventually brought us back down through forest to connect into some of the same areas that we visited for the Kingdom Graveleur 2.0 ride. 

We may very well see some of this terrain on next summer's KG3.0 ride. I'm still working on that final route though.

Anyhow a great ride with some hearty exploration on a fabulous late summer day with wonderful sights and great folks.

Kingdom Graveleur KG2.0 Adventure Ride

What can I say, it far exceeded all of my hopes and expectations in terms of being just an incredible day on and off the bike.

The route worked out very well and was super challenging while still leaving some room for enjoyment. The vistas were fantastic and the weather by and large was just about perfect. Not too warm, not too cool, not too sunny and not much rain, though admittedly, a bit of everything.

The overall atmosphere and attitude among the entire group seemed beyond upbeat and positive all through the day. The extra credit offshoot sections allowed the full group to stay close together through the day and overlap multiple times. In the end we all finished within about a half hour of each other as well.

The number of smiles I see in the photos despite the amount of suffering that everyone went through at points in the day tells the story. Couple that with the decibel level and exuberance at the after party and I think it is safe to say that we scored. The day did for me anyhow. One of the best ever on a bike.

Oh, and the hot setup at mile 103 was an ice cream chocolate chip cookie sandwich and a Coke. It got me back home. The pulled pork afterwards didn't hurt either.

Thanks to all who came and made this much fun. We are already working on a fresh new route exploring some fun new areas for KG3.0. In the meantime there will be rides going from gravel camp all through the summer. Hit us up if you would like to join in. The planned date is June 23, 2019. 

Get in the van!

#KingdomGraveleur