3 replies to this topic

[DirtRoadRunner]

TripleRing's story inspired me to write about my ride, though less epic.

Yesterday morning I left St. Louis around 6:10 AM and rode Hampton and Gravois to 21 (very little traffic that early) into Jefferson County.  I then took Old 21 most of the way to Hillsboro, besides riding the last 6 miles on the shoulder of New 21 (awesome fast concrete surface).  Took a gas station gatorade & donut break on the outskirts of Hillsboro and then hopped on some nice paved JeffCo county roads (Tin House, Peter Moore, and Dodson) to bypass Hillsboro and DeSoto.  I hopped back on 21 south of DeSoto and rode a miserable 5-6 miles on the shoulder, which was loose gravel due to a recent resurfacing of the road.  The shoulder pinched down to 1-2 feet in Washington County, but I only rode a mile of that before hopping on some paved county roads and letter highways, which I took to Potosi, where I ate lunch at Subway (they woudln't let me bring my CAAD 9 inside though ).

After Potosi, I rode letter highways though Irondale and Bismarck, back to 21 north of Pilot Knob.  I had to bail into the ditch south of Bismark when a oncoming motorist dedided to swerve into my lane and pass another car right infront of me (the closest call I've had on a bike as he was traveling 60+ mph).  After that, I coasted a leisurely 4 miles or so along 21 into Arcadia, where my ride picked me up.  Total distance was just shy of 95 miles, and my average speed was a slow 16 mph.

It was fun using the bike as actual transportation, and for exploring some new areas.  However, the 23mm tires on my bike didn't handle loose shoulder gravel very well.  Next time I do somethign like this I'll probably ride my cross bike with a set of 32's on it for more verasatility.

[mcompton]

Is that constant climb and descend?  That would be a cool ride.  I love riding 28's and 32's.  I have not ridden 23mm in 20 plus years!

[DirtRoadRunner]

It was downhill to the Meramec, and then alternating uphill/downhill to Bismarck, with a few flat sections.  The last 15 miles was pretty flat, with the last 4 being almost completely downhill.  My mapping software showed 4800 ft of climbing and 4400 ft of decents.  It had a few fast hills hills on it and a few steep climbs.

[pnyxxpress]

DirtRoadRunner, on 29 July 2012 - 05:38 PM, said:

TripleRing's story inspired me to write about my ride, though less epic.

Yesterday morning I left St. Louis around 6:10 AM and rode Hampton and Gravois to 21 (very little traffic that early) into Jefferson County.  I then took Old 21 most of the way to Hillsboro, besides riding the last 6 miles on the shoulder of New 21 (awesome fast concrete surface).  Took a gas station gatorade & donut break on the outskirts of Hillsboro and then hopped on some nice paved JeffCo county roads (Tin House, Peter Moore, and Dodson) to bypass Hillsboro and DeSoto.  I hopped back on 21 south of DeSoto and rode a miserable 5-6 miles on the shoulder, which was loose gravel due to a recent resurfacing of the road.  The shoulder pinched down to 1-2 feet in Washington County, but I only rode a mile of that before hopping on some paved county roads and letter highways, which I took to Potosi, where I ate lunch at Subway (they woudln't let me bring my CAAD 9 inside though ).

After Potosi, I rode letter highways though Irondale and Bismarck, back to 21 north of Pilot Knob.  I had to bail into the ditch south of Bismark when a oncoming motorist dedided to swerve into my lane and pass another car right infront of me (the closest call I've had on a bike as he was traveling 60+ mph).  After that, I coasted a leisurely 4 miles or so along 21 into Arcadia, where my ride picked me up.  Total distance was just shy of 95 miles, and my average speed was a slow 16 mph.

It was fun using the bike as actual transportation, and for exploring some new areas.  However, the 23mm tires on my bike didn't handle loose shoulder gravel very well.  Next time I do somethign like this I'll probably ride my cross bike with a set of 32's on it for more verasatility.

Are you planning on doing another long haul? Your pace is similar to my own on a longer ride. I would like to meet somewhere and we can do a long ride. PM me if you are interested.