# 3 days, 60 miles of gravel, fully loaded



## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

The right way to do a fully loaded bike tour is to either use front and rear panniers or get a trailer. The wrong way is to cram everything on to a rear rack, which results in inherent instability even at cruising speed and also means you can't lean the bike very far in to turns and you also can't lean it over by the handle bars to swing a leg over or the whole contraption will try to fall to the ground.

I don't have a front pannier set up or a trailer. I went ahead and did it the wrong way. It was a great trip.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*Lake Mineral Wells State Trailway*

I set off from the east end of a rail trail that is about 20 miles total length. The surface is pea gravel, slightly damp from some wet weather, and while not hilly it isn't flat either. All that combined with the weight of camping gear, food, water, and massive knobby tires on my MTB/commuter/beater/touring bike added up to a slow pace. That's fine - as long as I get camp set up before dark there's no hurry on this trip.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*Jabberwocky!*

An armadillo is the bizzarre love-child of a protoceratops and a rat. In a cute kind of way.

For some reason I had the lines of "Jabberwocky" running through my head after this. No idea why, but whatever makes the miles go faster.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*Onward to camp*

To get to the campsites you have to cross the spillway of the lake. Fenders would be a great thing to have on a touring bike.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*Cold weather*

Most of north Texas was hit with about a foot of snow last week. It's all melted, but the ground is still wet and temperatures are still chilly. It rained the first night and got down to freezing the second night.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*Mineral Wells*

On the second day I took a day trip via the remainder of the rail trail in to Mineral Wells to get a chocolate malt and tour the city. The malt was worth it, but Mineral Wells is pretty run down. A lot of buildings and homes were crumbling to the ground and there was gang graffiti along the trail. I'm not sure what they are fighting over.

There's an old caboose at the western trail head, and like the city itself, it's at the end of the track and headed nowhere.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*Fauna*

Besides the armadillo, I also saw a rabbit, squirrels, deer, horses, dogs, cows, and a variety of birds. Since I was camping solo it was nice to have an occasional visitor and passerby.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*Self portrait by firelight*

The second night was bitterly cold with the temperature near freezing and a stiff breeze that carried away the heat of the fire. I was warmer in my sleeping bag. A campfire is a much better place for contemplation and introspection, however.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*The road home*

On the way back out of the woods, there is a Vietnam War memorial that resembles the one in DC. It's sandwiched between the highway and the trail, so I stopped in.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*The mountains call, and I must go. ~John Muir*

I find that most trips follow a progression of excitement at the beginning, the fun and challenges of traveling, a longing for home as the trip wears on, then wistfulness for the open road once I've returned to the routine of normal life.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

*One last ride*

I got back home and found that someone was ready for a ride before I called it a day. It's good to be back, but I can't wait to go again.


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## sometimerider (Sep 21, 2007)

Any problems with unintended wheelies? Simply moving a few pounds of that load to a handlebar bag would probably help.

60 miles of gravel? I suspect those fat tires really earned their keep (our group had to walk their unloaded road bikes through some short sections of loose gravel the other day).


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

I liked your gravel adventure, Jon.



nonsleepingjon said:


> I find that most trips follow a progression of excitement at the beginning, the fun and challenges of traveling, a longing for home as the trip wears on, then wistfulness for the open road once I've returned to the routine of normal life.


That seems to be my progression too- I dream of taking big trips, but honestly I don`t know if I`d be able to handle months on the road. Long live long weekends!


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Nice trip. It looks like puppy was glad to have you back home.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

You are a man who really needs a BOB.

Great post.


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## commutenow (Sep 26, 2004)

It looks like you had a good time and I really enjoy looking at ride reports.


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

sometimerider said:


> Any problems with unintended wheelies? Simply moving a few pounds of that load to a handlebar bag would probably help.
> 
> 60 miles of gravel? I suspect those fat tires really earned their keep (our group had to walk their unloaded road bikes through some short sections of loose gravel the other day).


The main issue is the bike trying to tip over when mounting/dismounting. No wheelies, though if I tried I probably would have ended up on my keister. Also, slow down for turns and don't lean in to them very much.

The tires were overkill for the trail. The surface is hard pack dirt with a layer of gravel on top - I probably could have navigated it ok with commuter tires. I felt the tires slip to the side a time or two but never had any cause for alarm.


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## Scott B (Dec 1, 2004)

Awesome post, looks like a great jaunt!


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## rkj__ (Mar 21, 2007)

nice post.


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## Ridgetop (Mar 1, 2005)

Very nice!


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## kykr13 (Apr 12, 2008)

nonsleepingjon said:


> I find that most trips follow a progression of excitement at the beginning, the fun and challenges of traveling, a longing for home as the trip wears on, then wistfulness for the open road once I've returned to the routine of normal life.


I haven't tried a trip like this yet, but have usually felt the same way on most camping trips. Is that a Malamute? Pretty sable coat...


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## nonsleepingjon (Oct 18, 2002)

kykr13 said:


> Is that a Malamute? Pretty sable coat...


He's a husky mix. We're not sure what he's mixed with as we got him just last summer from the pound. Might be husky/lab, as he's got some traits of both.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

I've pedaled that trail and camped in that SP, long ago. That's a great area for riding.


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## wi_bigfoot (Jul 19, 2009)

Nice pics and story. Thanks for posting. Planning two 150 mile trips and one 200 mile trip so this helped keep that excitement up.


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## Cyclist69 (Apr 15, 2011)

That's cool! 

It's nice to see someone making do with what they have.


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## korbs (Jan 11, 2011)

nice! looks like a great time
im headed out this weekend for a 250 trip down the eastern shore of maryland and delaware... im sure someone has heard of dogfishhead brewery!


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## morryjg (Jan 6, 2008)

korbs said:


> nice! looks like a great time
> im headed out this weekend for a 250 trip down the eastern shore of maryland and delaware... im sure someone has heard of dogfishhead brewery!


WOOHOOO!!!! Is there some 120 minute in your plans? :thumbsup:


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