RR: Fixed gears on a gravel road

It's been raining all week, so the singletrack is going to be soup. No
good. So instead we do something different. My wife and I strap the
fixies onto the shiny new bike rack. Carefully. We double-check.

Triple-check.

We drive north to Lockport, up to the Erie Canal. The old canal towpath
is a doubletrack gravel trail now, flat as a board and extending
(intermittently) all the way to Albany. This stretch of trail runs
uninterrupted 70 miles or so east from Lockport. I've put the fattie
38c tires back on the fix, J. is on her fix, and we hit the smooth
trail through the green fields along the canal:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/canaltrail.jpg

This is where the weirdo fat-tired fixies thrive. Hardly singletrack,
a mountain bike would be total overkill. But a full-on GRS rig wouldn't
do at all. We're riding kinda S&M hybrids. Perfect. We run east,
through
Middleport and Medina. Medina is famous for its sandstone: this is
where
the stone for the Brooklyn Bridge came from.

Medina has its own tourist attractions as well:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/bigapple.jpg

But the real cool **** is the rolling farmland, corn and apple
orchards:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/barn.jpg

This is a shot of a stream that runs _under_ the canal, which is built
on an overpass over the gorge:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/waterfall.jpg

We turn around at a little past the 20 mile mark, and stop for some
snacks:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/bananabreak.jpg

The sucky thing is the thick clouds of midges. They don't bite, but
there are so damn many of the things that you end up paved in them:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/bugs.jpg

My wife had her jersey zipped up the whole time, but still ended up
with clouds of bugs down her cleavage. "Wanna see?" she says. I
decline, explaining that I prefer to visualize her chest _not_
infested by insects. Call me funny.

A cool vista of the canal:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/canalvista.jpg

Heading back, somewhere around mile 38, I imagine I see the spot where
we've parked the car ahead, and break into a last, desperate sprint. It
isn't the car. My wife is a speck on the trail behind me, and I flame
out shamefully. I, uh, let her catch up. We spin to the end of the
trail together. Forty miles offroad on the fixies. Owooga. We enjoy
a couple of cold brews canalside at the end of the ride, and we attack
our dinner like wolves.

CC

"Corvus Corvax" wrote in message
...

It's been raining all week, so the singletrack is going to be soup. No
good. So instead we do something different. My wife and I strap the
fixies onto the shiny new bike rack. Carefully. We double-check.

Triple-check.

We drive north to Lockport, up to the Erie Canal. The old canal towpath
is a doubletrack gravel trail now, flat as a board and extending
(intermittently) all the way to Albany. This stretch of trail runs
uninterrupted 70 miles or so east from Lockport. I've put the fattie
38c tires back on the fix, J. is on her fix, and we hit the smooth
trail through the green fields along the canal:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/canaltrail.jpg

This is where the weirdo fat-tired fixies thrive. Hardly singletrack,
a mountain bike would be total overkill. But a full-on GRS rig wouldn't
do at all. We're riding kinda S&M hybrids. Perfect. We run east,
through
Middleport and Medina. Medina is famous for its sandstone: this is
where
the stone for the Brooklyn Bridge came from.

Medina has its own tourist attractions as well:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/bigapple.jpg

But the real cool **** is the rolling farmland, corn and apple
orchards:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/barn.jpg

This is a shot of a stream that runs _under_ the canal, which is built
on an overpass over the gorge:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/waterfall.jpg

We turn around at a little past the 20 mile mark, and stop for some
snacks:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/bananabreak.jpg

The sucky thing is the thick clouds of midges. They don't bite, but
there are so damn many of the things that you end up paved in them:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/bugs.jpg

My wife had her jersey zipped up the whole time, but still ended up
with clouds of bugs down her cleavage. "Wanna see?" she says. I
decline, explaining that I prefer to visualize her chest _not_
infested by insects. Call me funny.

A cool vista of the canal:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/canalvista.jpg

Heading back, somewhere around mile 38, I imagine I see the spot where
we've parked the car ahead, and break into a last, desperate sprint. It
isn't the car. My wife is a speck on the trail behind me, and I flame
out shamefully. I, uh, let her catch up. We spin to the end of the
trail together. Forty miles offroad on the fixies. Owooga. We enjoy
a couple of cold brews canalside at the end of the ride, and we attack
our dinner like wolves.

CC

Very nice. I really enjoyed the RR.

CC says:

It's been raining all week,

snip

We enjoy
a couple of cold brews canalside at the end of the ride, and we attack
our dinner like wolves.

Good stuff, CC. I missed the rocks and roots, but it looks like the kind of
terrain my missus would enjoy. ;-)

Enjoy on a geared hybrid thingie which is as far as she wants to go on a bike.
Are there any "spurs" that would keep an mtb happy as a diversion along the
way?

Steve
Stephen C. Baker - Yacht Designer
http://members.aol.com/SailDesign/pr...cbweb/home.htm

On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 19:28:41 -0700, Corvus Corvax wrote:

I've put the fattie
38c tires back on the fix, J. is on her fix, and we hit the smooth
trail through the green fields along the canal:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/canaltrail.jpg
Oooh, almost makes me miss the east coast.

We run east,
through
Middleport and Medina. Medina is famous for its sandstone: this is
where
the stone for the Brooklyn Bridge came from.

I didn't realize there was a Medina ("rhymes with...") outside Ohio.
Mapquest shows them in ten states. Interestinck.

The sucky thing is the thick clouds of midges. They don't bite, but
there are so damn many of the things that you end up paved in them:

http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/corvuscorvax/GravelRoad/bugs.jpg

Ga-ROSS!!!!

Great RR

gabrielle

gabrielle wrote:

I didn't realize there was a Medina ("rhymes with...")

When I was in junior high school (yeah, yeah, ancient history), there was a
Catholic school for girls called Regina.

One day the morning announcements included an upcoming dance to be held
there, and sure enough the principal pronounced it just like vagina with an
'r'. (At least I like to remember it as the principal; maybe it was just a
smart-assed kid!)

Bill "some things stay with you" S.

"Corvus Corvax" wrote in message
...

It's been raining all week, so the singletrack is going to be soup. No
good. So instead we do something different. My wife and I strap the
fixies onto the shiny new bike rack. Carefully. We double-check.

I've got an old mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
We've hauled some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
And every inch of the way we know
From Albany to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge for we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on
The Erie Canal

We'd better get along on our way, old gal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal
'Cause you bet your life I'd never part with Sal
Fifteen miles on the Erie Canal

Git up there mule, here comes a lock
We'll make Rome 'bout six o'clock
One more trip and back we'll go
Right back home to Buffalo

Low bridge, everybody down
Low bridge for we're coming to a town
And you'll always know your neighbor
And you'll always know your pal
If you've ever navigated on
The Erie Canal

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 11:38:05 -0700, S o r n i wrote
(in article ):

gabrielle wrote:

I didn't realize there was a Medina ("rhymes with...")

When I was in junior high school (yeah, yeah, ancient history), there was a
Catholic school for girls called Regina.

One day the morning announcements included an upcoming dance to be held
there, and sure enough the principal pronounced it just like vagina with an
'r'. (At least I like to remember it as the principal; maybe it was just a
smart-assed kid!)

Bill "some things stay with you" S.



I went to a Catholic grade school and one of my classmates was a girl named
Regina. Every quarter the the old Irish Pastor would dispence the report
cards to "his" kids by calling us up one at a time in front of the class and
comenting on our grades, good or bad. For eight years this celibate would
mispronounce this poor girl's name much to the boy's amusment. Eight years
four times a year and he never figured it out.

Paul- lapsed

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 21:32:37 GMT, pauly wro=
te:

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 11:38:05 -0700, S o r n i wrote
(in article ):

gabrielle wrote:

I didn't realize there was a Medina ("rhymes with...")

When I was in junior high school (yeah, yeah, ancient history), there=
=

was a
Catholic school for girls called Regina.

One day the morning announcements included an upcoming dance to be he=
ld
there, and sure enough the principal pronounced it just like vagina =

with an
'r'. (At least I like to remember it as the principal; maybe it was =
=

just a
smart-assed kid!)

Bill "some things stay with you" S.



I went to a Catholic grade school and one of my classmates was a girl =
=

named
Regina. Every quarter the the old Irish Pastor would dispence the rep=
ort
cards to "his" kids by calling us up one at a time in front of the cla=
ss =

and
comenting on our grades, good or bad. For eight years this celibate =

would
mispronounce this poor girl's name much to the boy's amusment. Eight =

years
four times a year and he never figured it out.

Paul- lapsed


Good thing he didn't have my friend, Denis, in his class!
-- =

Slacker

Corvus Corvax
It's been raining all week, so the singletrack is going to be soup. No
good. So instead we do something different. My wife and I strap the
fixies onto the shiny new bike rack. Carefully. We double-check.

Triple-check.

So that was six checks between 2 people??? ;-P

We drive north to Lockport, up to the Erie Canal. The old canal
towpath
is a doubletrack gravel trail now, flat as a board and extending
(intermittently) all the way to Albany. This stretch of trail runs
uninterrupted 70 miles or so east from Lockport. I've put the fattie
38c tires back on the fix, J. is on her fix, and we hit the smooth
trail through the green fields along the canal:

Very nice... I awlays see brochures for the canal at the rest stops on
the way up to TO...
Sounds like an interesting thing for a passing tourist to do... Hmmmm

This is where the weirdo fat-tired fixies thrive. Hardly singletrack,
a mountain bike would be total overkill. But a full-on GRS rig
wouldn't
do at all. We're riding kinda S&M hybrids.

Isn't weirdo, fix gear and S&M synonymous?

But the real cool **** is the rolling farmland, corn and apple
orchards:

Bet you the orchards and farmlands would be beautiful in about a
month's or so's time eh??? nudge nudge wink wink

"Wanna see?" she says. I
decline, explaining that I prefer to visualize her chest _not_
infested by insects. Call me funny.

Funny... You call yourself a weirdo and a sadist???
Come to think of it... good plan


Heading back, somewhere around mile 38, I imagine I see the spot
where
we've parked the car ahead, and break into a last, desperate sprint.
It
isn't the car. My wife is a speck on the trail behind me, and I flame
out shamefully. I, uh, let her catch up. We spin to the end of the
trail together. Forty miles offroad on the fixies. Owooga. We enjoy
a couple of cold brews canalside at the end of the ride, and we attack
our dinner like wolves.

CC

Very funny... Sprinting to the finish??? If I didn't know you I would
say roadie... but I know you were just sprinting for the brews


Jimbo(san)


--
Jimbo(san)

"Corvus Corvax" wrote in message
...

snip sweet RR and pics

We were in your part of town this past weekend, we were going to give you a
ring but we didn't think you would appreciate us knocking at your door at
3am in the morning on our way to Toronto...

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!