On Friday afternoon, I asked Karel what his plans were for training on Saturday. I mentioned to him that a small group was riding at 8:30 from the parking lot at North Greenville University (a popular meet-up place for cyclists, around 20 minutes away) but I really wanted to go gravel riding. Karel was excited for the off-road adventure so he planned a route that included a mix of grave and road. He wanted to show me some of the segments that he covered during the Belgium Waffle Ride.
We decided to leave from North Greenville University and it worked out great that we started our ride with a few of our friends that were riding on the road. The first ~60-minutes was mostly climbing as we headed toward the Watershed and the up the Hendersonville side. We accumulated around 1500 feet of elevation gain on the road, while chatting with those in the small group. The time went by fast and sometimes I forgot that I was on my gravel bike. That's the nice thing about having a gravel bike in that you can comfortably ride on the road in a similar position to a road bike but you have the option to head off road anytime. This makes for so many more riding options. Although the gearing and tire pressure/width is different than a road bike, Karel and I didn't feel held back on our gravel bikes.
Once we entered North Carolina, we parted from the group as they continued on with their ~75-mile ride. Karel had planned for us to do 80-ish miles and while I didn't have any expectations for this ride, I started to do some math and realized that this would be a very long ride. But the weather was absolutely perfect - sunny and in the upper 40's and we had plenty of hydration/fuel on board between our bottles, hydration backpack and snacks in our bento box. And the scenery was just so breathtaking as the colors of the leaves were so bright and beautiful.
For the next hour, we rode mostly on gravel in Dupont State Forest. We were surprised it wasn't more busy on the trails that Karel picked for our ride. The gravel was in great condition as it was packed and not loose. We accumulated ~1000 feet elevation gain over 12 miles off road.
We had a few miles on the road before we started climbing Jeter Mountain. This was my first time climbing here but Karel remembered it from the BWR. He had to tackle ~2.63 mile, ~900 feet elevation gain climb at the end of his grueling gravel ride. This time was a bit "easier" because his legs were fresher but the 18% grade near the top and the steep ongoing climbs were not easy on my legs. Karel has really gotten stronger on the bike thanks to all the efforts he has to do on the mountain bike to get over rocks/roots while climbing so I spent all of the climb by myself and Karel waited for me at the top. We then had a really fun descend (with a few more climbs/flat sections) for about 5 miles. Although we didn't have a viewpoint at the top of the climb, the scenery around us was incredible. We warmed up a lot with all the climbing but we had a bit of a chill going downhill. With my undershirt, long sleeve jersey and vest, along with toe covers and ear covers, I felt like I dressed really well as I never got too hot or too cold.
Although my legs were feeling pretty smashed by 45 miles (3:15 into our ride, averaging 13.4 mph and accumulating almost 4000 feet elevation gain by this point), I really enjoyed how Karel was taking me to places that I've never seen before, all thanks to being off-road. We are lucky that we have bike friendly roads so it was never difficult to get from one gravel section to the next as we shared the road with the cars (although most of the cars had mountain bikes on them so we knew we were in good company with like minded people).
The next 20 minutes had a mix of road and gravel before we started our last long gravel climb. By this point, my legs were so tired but I was committed to our adventure. Karel was riding strong so he just went ahead and turned around for me at the top of the climb. Our last gravel climb was 3.63 miles and took me 25 minutes (~8.5 mph, ~900 feet elevation gain). I had no idea where I was in relation to Dupont and Flat Rock (I figured I was somewhere in between) but it was really cool to be somewhere for the first time and to have no idea what was coming next.
When I finally got to the top of the climb, we were rewarded with a fun descend with a few switchbacks. Although I'm still a bit tentative on the gravel, I couldn't help but think that there was a time when I was scared of descending and now I can almost stay right behind Karel on technical descends. I know with time and practice, my skills off-road will improve. We had another few miles on the road before we made our long 6.3 mile descend down the Watershed. The road condition on that section is really bad so I felt like I could descend better on my gravel bike than on my road bike.
Nearing the end of our ride, we were glutton for punishment so we included the Callahan Mountain Climb to finish off our ride. I showed Karel a few new roads that I discovered with Alvi last weekend and then 75 miles, 5:15 hrs and ~7000 feet of elevation gain later, we were back at the car. And I was so relieved that my longest gravel ride was complete. My legs were toast and I was exhausted and satisfied.
When I finally got to the top of the climb, we were rewarded with a fun descend with a few switchbacks. Although I'm still a bit tentative on the gravel, I couldn't help but think that there was a time when I was scared of descending and now I can almost stay right behind Karel on technical descends. I know with time and practice, my skills off-road will improve. We had another few miles on the road before we made our long 6.3 mile descend down the Watershed. The road condition on that section is really bad so I felt like I could descend better on my gravel bike than on my road bike.
Nearing the end of our ride, we were glutton for punishment so we included the Callahan Mountain Climb to finish off our ride. I showed Karel a few new roads that I discovered with Alvi last weekend and then 75 miles, 5:15 hrs and ~7000 feet of elevation gain later, we were back at the car. And I was so relieved that my longest gravel ride was complete. My legs were toast and I was exhausted and satisfied.
As I was riding, I couldn't help but think how lucky we are to have such incredible routes to ride on. Off-road or on the road, we have endless options to motivate us to get outside, even when it's cold out. Whether it's road biking or gravel biking, I love being on my bike as it's a free and fun way to explore, adventure and to enjoy nature.