Chinghis

OK, last year I did the GMR/GRR thing on the 4th, and had a blast. According to the Facebook page, it should be closed to cars again this year, so I'm planning on doing it again.

I was hoping to do it on a road bike, but I'm still having some equipment issues, so I will end up taking my trusty StumpJumper again. I get some comments, but it's all good.

The other issue is that I haven't ridden nearly as much as I had by this time last year, and I'll admit that by mile 18 or so I was running out of gas (didn't make it to the Village).

So I was thinking to do a shorter ride by going up GMR to where the "Lower Monroe Truck Trail" comes out, and going down the dirt. I've looked around and watched a couple of videos, and it's pretty much just nice flowy single-track, correct? I've read that it's kind of a rock-garden at the bottom, but I'm not worried about a little hike-a-bike.

Anyway, just curious about my prospects for doing this with no suspension and 1.5" slicks, on what people now call a "hybrid." I've ridden up (and down) the Fern Truck Trail, over by JPL, which I quite enjoyed. How much of an adventure would this be?

CAT7RDR

If you are concerned about the technical nature with speed involved, reverse course and climb on Monroe and descend on GMR.

Chinghis

That's a thought. But I guess my question is just how technical it is. Coming down the Fern Truck Trail, for instance, was OK except for a couple of spots where there were little gullies in the center. I'm not going for speed on the downhill, either, and just have to pay attention. I can go walking speed down most technical sections.

Chinghis

Yeah, I wondered about guys bombing down behind me. My theory is that since the road is closed for the 4th, there won't be any shuttles to the top, so maybe it will be emptier than some other time. I'll probably just do it and see what happens.

Oh, and the comments were just things like, "You're cheating, you have granny gears!" (Even though I was still in the middle ring.) That kind of thing, just funny.

Chinghis

An update: I stuck to the original plan, and very happy that I did. 90 minutes of line-picking down the trail, it was a blast. I only had a couple of groups of mountain bikers come down behind me, and I knew they would be coming, as I had seen them up at the top, while they were waiting for their last rider. Saw a few folks near the top, headed up. They were suffering (in a good way, of course).

Did not fall or tumble at all, except at the very bottom, at the gate. It was classic. Some roadies were there, lifting bikes over the gate, and I guess I hesitated for a moment, thinking I could just ride around it on the dirt. But my brain farted, front wheel went one direction, I toppled in the other. The roadie laughed and noted the age of my StumpJumper. Yeah, not the first time it's fallen over, I said. It was pretty funny. Turns out the guy has one from about the same era. We agreed they were great, just ride them anywhere you want, kind of like a gravel bike. Maybe I'll see him up there on the dirt next year.

Actually, a couple of folks on the dirt noted, "Ridin' the rigid!" That seemed to make more of an impression than the fact that I was on city tires.

So, to answer my original question - how technical? Not very - I'd say it was about 75 percent buffed trail, 20 percent rocky sections, and another 5 percent for sandy areas or weird berms. And, yeah, the rocky section at the bottom would have been a lot more fun with suspension and real tires, but it was OK. Not sure I'd want to start the climb with that section.