Gravel Music

I'm not going to get into what I personally like to listen to when out riding, but a post on the Heck of The North website about winning $100 (I guess that's just the costs of running a once free event)  for an original gravel song that had some tag line in it got me thinking about what other songs were out there about gravel?

I'm sure there is mention of gravel in more songs, but I just searched by the criteria that it had to have 'gravel' in the song title.

I found many different varieties of music. Some bad, some not so great. But I do this for you, the 3 readers...

In 1st place by far is Wu-Tang Clan's Gravel Pit.  This is the only song on this list that I would consider putting on my ipod. Enjoy it, it's all downhill from here.




I don't even know why this song is called 'Gravel'. Maybe it's from a old bike riding Nintendo game where you were on a gravel course?



This song has a few highlights. It starts out with the lyrics "I heard the sound of your bike" I was interested for a second, but it's just not my style. I'll give this song 2nd place.



This takes the Hipster gravel song award. I can't really understand what they are saying though. I do dream sometimes that I lived closer to gravel roads, but that's about my only connection with this song.



This song has some nice guitar riffs and I can relate to the lyrics 'I turn to gravel when I die' as I've felt like I was going to die out on the course, but I still keep turning on to the next gravel road.



If I had to take a guess what the winning Heck of the North song will sound like, I'd guess this:



Here's a gravel song from the most famous artist on this list: Elvis. This is not his best work, but then again he probably didn't steal it from someone else.



In 3rd place is this diddy. Not my style either, but I can appreciate it.



I was surprised that there were not more country songs, but then again, if there were they probably have no correolation to biking as it seems that 50% of the people you encounter are pissed they have to turn their F-350 wheel ever so slightly to get by you.

Did I miss a good song? Post it in the comments.


Good song recommended by Larry:

2014 Ragnarok 105

Let me start out by saying thanks to the Ragnarok crew for all that they do to prepare the course and the hours that they put in making sure everything goes off right. Also thanks to the Angry Catfish, Twin Six, and HED for sponsoring the race.

This was my 4th time riding the Ragnarok, and by far the hardest conditions. It was raining on the way to the race, it was raining at the start, and it rained till after the first checkpoint

The race started off at the normal slowish pace, but quickly escalated once we hit the first hill. Unlike the LML where I was near the lead pack for a good 8 miles, I was dropped after about 2. From there on out it was a solo ride.

I was wearing bib shorts with some rain pants and 2 base layer shirts, a cycling jersey, and a rain jacket. On my hands I just used my PI spring/fall running gloves. I was never cold, but I was almost always uncomfortable. My hands would go a bit numb and I would do the windmill move and they would come back. My feet went numb and I couldn't really feel them for a bit. They didn't hurt though. I thought maybe my feet swelled up (never happened before) and the shoes got too tight and cut off my circulation, but that was not the case.

I rode pretty well into checkpoint #1 and saw a lot of people people just hanging out. I took a couple sports legs and headed down the road. As I went past the BP I saw even more bikes out front. Weird. 

The course stays flat for a bit so I took that time to recover and eat some food which proved a little difficult to do in the rain. 

After a while I started fantasizing about all that the Lake City Kwik Trip would have to offer. At first I was thinking about some beef jerky and a powerade zero. Then it became beef jerky, powerade, and a red bull. As I was riding the pavement into LC I decided that I'd like a banana as well. I guess my mind was hungrier than my body because I only ate 3/4 of the banana, half the powerade (put the rest in my empty bottle) and put the red bull in frame bag. I attempted to eat the jerky, but I couldn't get it open. I then rolled into checkpoint #2 where Lisa kindly opened it for me. I took off right away and enjoined the flat 4-5 before the climbing started again.

Heath's Hill was extremely muddy. Props to anyone that cleaned it. I'm not sure if I could have ridden it on my MTB if it were 5 miles in.

Going up the long grind that is 335th I had my first "I feel like shit" moment. I got really warm and at one point almost puked, but I just kept going. What I think happened was that the temperatures were rising and there was no wind, so my outfit which kept me stable for so long, was now causing me to over heat. I zipped down the jacket and jersey and got some relief. 

I rode well till the last climb on Lehrbach when the heat hit me again. This time I was forced to walk, ride, walk, ride. Not an ideal way to finish the last climb, but it is what it is. 

I finished in 8 hours 26 minutes. 21 minutes slower than my personal best. Weather was a definite factor, but what can you do?

I felt good at the finish though. Exhausted but not out of it. I took all my wet gear off and sat in the car for about 15 minutes in just my bib shorts with the hot air blowing on me. 

Overall I was very happy with how the day turned out. Hopefully I'll be back next year.

Eastway CX1.0 Review

To start, I call this bike "The Pikey." A co-worker says that all bikes need names and that I should give it an English name since it is from the UK. After going back and forth with some names and then asking a buddy who travels over there a couple times a year I decided on Pikey.

Pikey is defined as "A pejorative slang term used mainly in Britain to refer to people who are of the Traveller Community (Gypsy's)."  So it kind of fits and I like the way it sounds.

Also this:

I've been able to put 50 miles on it this week and so far I am impressed.

I wasn't able to get it out right away because of all the snow and water everywhere and the last thing I wanted was to gunk up the drive train or take a spill on a brand new bike.

The first thing  I noticed while riding it was how light it felt underneath me. I've been riding the Straggler so far this spring so this comes as no surprise. It also accelerates much faster.

The handlebars feel a bit twitchy with the 90mm stem that I put on it so I may swap out to a 100mm. In years past I have not had a lot of flexibility, but taking time at the gym has improved that and now I find myself naturally leaning forward more and am having to have my arms bent to hold me up, rather than a more straight (but relaxed) position. The bike came with a 110mm so I may try that out to see it I like it or if it is too long before I sell/buy a new one.

Might drop the stem a tad

Having some time with the double taps I am getting more comfortable. I like the ease of up shifting, but I still need to get the hang of down shifting while climbing. It can be hard to be standing to climb, and then try to shift down at the same time. I also run into an issue with the front derailleur occasionally. There  is something with the tapping that can throw it off so you can think that you are going to shift to the small front ring, but the derailleur doesn't move. Then you do the same thing and it shifts down. My first thought is user error. My second is that it is a triple ring shifter set up on a double so if it is clicked twice it thinks that it is in an even bigger ring. But probably user error.

My only real complaint so far is climbing. It just doesn't seem to handle well when out of the saddle. Once again I firstly point to my own fitness vs expectations and just not having a lot of time on the bike. Time will tell.

The BB7s have been superb. They stop quickly and even more important, they are quite. Silent. Nothing.

I am hoping to get in a few more rides on it before the Ragnarok, but with the impending weather who knows.

A couple bike related thoughts:

I saw a post about this gravel/dirt race in Florida. Now I wasn't at the start of gravel racing, but have been doing it for 4 years now and have seen a big change in peoples bikes/dress/prep here in MN. This picture from Florida reminds me of when I first started off in 2010.

2 guys had to hop a python,
one says he thinks his rear wheel got him.

This #30daysofbiking thing is going on for April and I am going to try and give it a real go, even if that means that some days I am just going to have to do a quick crit lap or a neighborhood tour. Either way, should be fun.

And finally, I got into the Chequamegon Fat Tire 40. It was the first time I entered the lottery. I was surprised because I NEVER win any game of chance of any type. The two times I got into Leadville I had to use LifeTime connections. That may be why I got in this year as well  since I am already signed up for the Lutsen 99er. Whatever, I'll take it. I just hope that I can get a good gate assignment. I just don't want to feel like I am being held up by a mass of slower riders. Right now I am hoping for a 2h25m time or better. That would put me in the top 20 for my age group in last years race. Looking at a few names I recognized, I don't think it's a long shot.

2014 LML

Took a before shot, but the course was so clean
there was no need for an after shot.

The L-M-L (Lakeville - Milltown Cycles - Lakeville) race was this past weekend. I was a little nervous heading into it for many reasons. Weather being the #1 concern. I was also nervous since I'd only ridden 88 miles in 2014 up to race day. No trainers, no rollers, no spin class. All I have been doing is going to the gym about 4-5 days a week. So I had no idea on my level of bike fitness. 3rd was riding a new bike. Since my ultra trusty San Jose is out of commission indefinitely, I was riding the SS Straggler that I built up over the winter. Not having much time on it I didn't know what to expect.

The race started out fairly slowly and I was about 20 seconds off the lead group for the first 8 miles, then we hit a hill and I think the top guys decided to stop messing around and took off.

I continued to just ride my pace and slowly passed people here and there. Around mile 20 my hands were getting too sweaty and when I would stand to climb I felt like I didn't have a good grip on the handlebars so I stopped and took them off and switched over to the thin gloves.

From there I slowly caught people all the way in to Fairbault. However, my calves were feeling it and I had cramping in my right hamstring.

At Milltown Cycles I grabbed a couple donut holes and took a leak. I then grabbed the second set of directions and a piece of bacon and headed off.

There is a fair amount of climbing once back on the course and my legs were not quite ready for it yet. I slowly slogged up a few of the longer climbs and had to walk the hill to no where and a couple others. The 44x16 gearing was great for the flats, but no so much for the late climbs.

The rest of the time was me fighting off cramps and "powering through" to the finish.

I made a couple of first race of the year mistakes, I'll name a few... I didn't squeeze the air out of the water bladder when I filled it up so there was a lot of air in the hose. I didn't tighten the water bottle mount down tight enough and it rattled loose. I used too big of a water bottle so it was hard to get out from under the frame bag. My seat was a scant too high and  I got some back of the knee pain. There were probably a couple other things that I messed up as well.

It was a great race and I am happy with my time. Thanks to Larry and all the volunteers for putting on a superb event to start the year.

Note the spur to the east between Fairbault and Northfield. 

I don't like how the moving time is highlighted and the actual time
 is stuck at the bottom. Should be the opposite