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| On the dam at Sugarpine Reservior. |
Back in late 2015, I explored Finning Mill Road via bicycle, (see:
Iowa-Hill-ride-with-Finning-Mill ) on my Mercian. This year I wanted to try it on the Felt, "all roads" V-100.
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| Looking back down the American River canyon, this is where the brutal climb from the river finally tapers off. |
This year's version of the ride was essentially a repeat of the 2015 ride. The Felt handled the pavement fine, including the fast descent to the American River. The 34/34 gearing came in handy on the long, steep ascent that started just past the river.
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| Just a bit of the flavor of these roads. |
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| Sadly, the Iowa Hill General Store was closed on the day of my ride. |
After passing Sugar Pine Reservoir I came to Finning Mill Road and then began my gravel riding for the day. This year the dirt again seemed to be in fine condition, there is some logging going on, but evidently not on the day of this ride. The road seems to have a light coat of oil sprayed on it for some of the sections and I didn't encounter any of the fine red powder that can be a problem here.
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| On Finning Mill Road. |
Eventually I came to the end of Finning Mill at Foresthill and rode into the village of Foresthill just a few miles down the road. Here I stopped at a local park which has water and restrooms. Then, I started the descent down Yankee Jim's Road.
This is an old favorite of mine, and there were no surprises today. There was a bit of washboard but nothing really serious. The Felt took it all in stride. On the ascent back to Colfax, the day's heat was starting to be felt.
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| On the way back up Yankee Jims road. Notice the emerald green of the American River below the bridge. |
When you reach the paved portion of Yankee Jims, you'll notice a small creek running along side. I gave in to the temptation and stopped to get a good soak and to wet my handkerchief for a bit of relief from the heat, that felt very nice!
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| There's a small creek along the upper part of Yankee Jims Road. |
Soon I was back into the Colfax area and the truck. This is a nice little ride, (43.4 miles), with a lot of challenge. I recommend it, but also suggest it be ridden in cooler weather, say highs in the 80s rather than upper 90s!
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| Post ride shot, the Felt performed well. |
Equipment notes.
The Felt, with it's 34/34 low gear worked well with no problems. I was running the Conti "Speedride" tires, 700X42C, (actual width is a measured 39mm on my rims.) These tires continue to impress me with their performance both on pavement and on the dirt roads.
I used a new "bike-packing" type saddlebag on this ride to carry my extra water bottle. This bag expands to a pretty huge size but also compresses to manageable size to carry a bottle, tube and tools, etc.
