Mammoth 2015

 Mammoth Gravel Classic:

It's spring and it's gravel and it's sunny and well, hell, lets go Mammoth. 

The folks over at Cyclova put this ride together every year.

Maybe 100 riders show up for one of the three offered routes, 30, 70 and 100 miles. Blake and I do the 100.

The roll out is always a blast. A large group owning the road as a sheriff or LOE escorts. The LOE stops when we turn away from main street and onto the first of many secondary roads and the race starts. I usually drill it for the first 10 miles because riding fast with 30 or 40 people is just too much fun.

I lose Blake for a short time but eventually we reconnect and enjoy the miles as we talk with other riders. Most of us are not in a race as must as we are in a group ride so we have time to talk.

 

The first gravel of the day is good but it's a lot of ball bearing size rocks. I much prefer the limestone of southern Minnesota.

  Lots of gravel and sand with the emphasis on sand. Deep sand.

The last 20 miles is on the Gandy Dancer. It's an old railroad line so it's straight as a frozen rope and about as exciting so I put my head down and get it over with as fast as possible. All in all, it's a fine day and a good ride for early spring but I may not repeat it with so many other gravel rides on the calendar. I'd rather ride limestone.