This Friday ride came about by a minor twist of fate. Yesterday I picked up a pair of brake and shifter cables at the LBS for my LeMond road bike which at this time doesn't have any cables. My plan was to install the new cables that night and test ride and fine tune the derailleurs the next day. Just getting started I notice the outer cable jackets I had for the shifters did not seem to be present anywhere in the garage. I was looking forward to a sporty road bike ride in the cooler dryer weather we have now. And so because I had to make a second trip to the LBS for new cable housings I just decided to grab the Yeti and ride at Clear Fork since I would go right by anyway. In the early fall before the hunters hit the fields is my favorite time to do any kind of cycling.
The Stoller Road Trail is named after an abandoned county road. Portions of that rural route were made impassible when a dam was constructed and the valley flooded to create a fresh water reservoir. The only telltale signs that a road ever existed in the area is the occasional graded roadbed cut into hill side. The trail parallels the old road for a half mile or so then you can see where the grade heads right down to the waters edge. The trail continues on for a total of two miles following the shore line more or less. Up the hillside is a trail network of smaller loops with technical climbs traversing V shaped ravines cut into the topography by erosion. Options are plenty from a flat easy four mile out and back to eight or more if one backtracks and runs the smaller loops in different directions. My little slice of knobby tire nirvana about ten miles away.
I hereby dub this a "golden post" due the great sunshine pictures. I love the way the sun is slamming those trees in the first picture. Iffin' you lived closer I could have tossed you some housing! Got plenty kicking around the bike room. Looks like you probably had a great ride. Weather looks primo for zippy single track!
ReplyDeleteEdit: 4th picture down; not the 1st one!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mike. I'm pretty happy with this post. It was an incredible afternoon. very calm in the forest. The second group of whitetails I encountered I almost ran into so they were spooked pretty good. They didn't hang around for pictures. :)
ReplyDeleteI debated wether to include that picture with the sun on the tree trunks. I did because it shows the road bed with the trees growing along both sides. The sun is double intense because it's setting and reflecting off the water behind me as I took the shot.