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No Need For a GS/A...


Medic Mike

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...have RT will Travel!. I made my annual jaunt to my hometown just outside of Akron OH on 13 Apr 2017. During this little journey (14 hours and 641 miles) I got to enjoy a little but of everything. Highway, four lane state routes, two lane twisties, 1.5 lane banjo playing back roads and my personal favorite...unpaved dirt and gravel roads. Before you ask the question, I used Basecamp to plan my route(s). This is not a thread to diss Basecamp, I needed to add that part to clarify a few things. I think Basecamp and I have a differing opinion on what "unpaved" roads mean. I DID NOT have that option selected for route preference, thus I would have "paved" roads for the journey. Well....

20170413_153537_zpswxhzsa1i.jpg

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Needless to say, I don't need no stinking GS/A after spending a about 90 minutes on roads like this in WV and OH.

Now, I did enjoy this little section:

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I would have taken more, but unless I am in the road with other people, I forget to stop and take pictures. I get annoyed when I have to stop for things like fuel, food and facility usage. I tend to get very focused on the ride and forget about recording it. Plus after 14 hours and 641 miles I just wanted to crawl under some sheets and sleep.

 

On a side note, for all you GS/A riders, Blue Sulfur Road in WV, Martha's Road and Titus Road in OH I highly recommend.

 

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I think Basecamp and I have a differing opinion on what "unpaved" roads mean. I DID NOT have that option selected for route preference, thus I would have "paved" roads for the journey. Well....

20170413_153537_zpswxhzsa1i.jpg

...

 

My day rides in southern/eastern Ohio usually include at least a few miles of roads like that. It's not planned, and I "pre-ride" most of my routes using Google's satellite views, but somehow I end up on gravel. Sometimes they start out paved, then deteriorate to broken pavement, then gravel, and occasionally just two-track. It happens often enough that I no longer panic, and I've gotten my speeds up from idle-in-first to an occasional, cautious, 30 mph. It's the loose, downhill, heavily cambered blind curves that are most concerning - I expect to drift into the ditch. I keep considering dirt bike training, but I think the real limitation here is the tires.

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Morning Medic Mike

 

I know you didn't want to talk BaseCamp so we wont.

 

Lets talk about your GPS. Unless you have a specific off-road or hiking type GPS the route that you made will almost always default to the preferences that you set in the GPS.

 

But even then it might not be a preference issue as no preference setting known to man can route you on preferred roads if the map doesn't show the correct road surfaces (Most Garmin NT maps have a very large number of road surface errors)

 

For that reason I use Open Street maps as they are much more accurate, kept up to date by map users, & if you find a an error you can go to Open Streets map web site & make the changes so next time that map area is correct.

 

Best of all the Open Streets mapping is free.

 

That is a nice looking road that you picked, it looks nice & smooth with no deep ruts, deep sand, or large rocks so street tires & road bike shouldn't have any issues at all with that road.

 

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DR:

It was not as bad as I was expecting. It has been a few years since I have been om roads like that. On the OH stretch I did get to see a lot of Amish milling around. My father owns his own business and does a lot of work in the Wayne, Holmes an Tusc county area. In the end, it was a fun, tiring, challenging but fun.

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I ride my RT on small gravel back country roads quite a bit. It is great on gravel so I don't even think twice about exploring those little out of the way places with it. No need for A GS.

Edited by Mustangman40
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20170413_113851_zpswgm1s1r3.jpg

Possibly the bright helmet or the cool looking RT not sure, but, just noticed your two admiring bovinus friends in the background. Can just imagine the conversation. Awe if we only had opposing thumbs! Or, hey that kinda looks like Billy on his seat! :eek::grin:

 

Nice ride, Mike! :thumbsup:

 

Pat

 

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Pat:

On one I took about five minutes later I had a whole crowd of moving steaks watching. I should have gone down to the fence and taken one with the cows. That was a beautiful and scenic road. There was an alpaca farm as well on this road. Always second guess the pictures not taken.

Mike

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Always second guess the pictures not taken.

Yes, can be a balancing act for sure, especially if leading a group.

 

Funny one, back in 2012 I went to the Colorado UNrally via Montana. Passing through Yellowstone, I quickly came upon a Buffalo and stopped to snap a pic. Someone mentioned ah you'll see a thousand more before you get through the park. Didn't snap and yes, I didn't see another Buffalo throughout the entire park! :dopeslap:

 

Pat

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No Need for a GS/A...have RT will Travel!.

 

called it four years ago. At 4:50,...I come face to face with a cow, at 5:37 a wagon train holds me up ;) It was a real enjoyable ride.
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