Great River Gravel Ride - 2006 route

[rokklym]

Here is the GPX file for the Great River ride this year. Big thanks to Cannonshot and Big Dog Adventures for the Garmin GPS help.

This is a 280+ mile route that starts near Harpers Ferry in northeastern Iowa and goes south, crossing the Mississippi river at Cassville and wanders around southwest Wisconsin. The route is probably 75% gravel with some fun level B roads thrown in.

Enjoy!!











Maps can be found here:
http://rokklym.smugmug.com/gallery/1796158/1/89820121

[jtwind]

rokklym, I downloaded your Great river file. Pretty neat. I had to update my mapsource program first but then in worked perfectly. Thanks for putting that up. I have a question that may seem silly. I was surprised to see only 14 waypoints but then noticed it was a track instead of a route. I'm assuming that means it's saved from actually riding the route instead of laying it out on the computer or whatever? Sorry, I'm new to some of this and it's great fun. JT

[Cannonshot]

Originally Posted by jtwind

I have a question that may seem silly. I was surprised to see only 14 waypoints but then noticed it was a track instead of a route. I'm assuming that means it's saved from actually riding the route instead of laying it out on the computer or whatever? Sorry, I'm new to some of this and it's great fun. JT

Drew the trackline in MapSource. Not recorded from riding the route.

[jtwind]

Drew the trackline in MapSource. Not recorded from riding the route.

Didn't know you could do that? I'll have to check into it. JT

[rokklym]

Originally Posted by jtwind

Didn't know you could do that? I'll have to check into it. JT

I didn't know you could do that either! I need to get a Garmin.

I hope some people get some use out of this. If anyone wants to come up and ride it and would like a guide / riding partner let me know.

[rokklym]

Originally Posted by Cannonshot

Drew the trackline in MapSource. Not recorded from riding the route.

This was the .gdb file from cannonshot modified into a .gpx file by bigdogadventures. Thanks for all the help guys!

[cjracer]

Thanks Chad. I just got a 60cx and I love it. Still have a lot to learn but it worked great for my trip to MO. I saved your tracks for later date. Maybe this fall I'll get to ride that. I still have yet to read your ride report, looked like great time.

[cvweel]

Originally Posted by rokklym

I didn't know you could do that either! I need to get a Garmin.

I hope some people get some use out of this. If anyone wants to come up and ride it and would like a guide / riding partner let me know.

I plan to follow your route around the 22nd of September. Thanks for the great info! I'm up for a ride some time, although I'm on the other side of the state in Waukesha.

[Cannonshot]

I see that some folks are getting ready to ride this track on their own. I have attached a newer (and tighter) version of the trackline broken into about six pieces.

This interactive map gives you a chance to take a good look at the route.


Many thanks to rokklym (and 2whlrcr) for getting this thing going.

Many thanks to chicago6061 for putting up a site that lets us display these interactive maps.

[Mr Farkle]

Thanks for posting this gpx file. A friend and I downloaded it Friday, then rode there from Arlington Heights, IL to pick it up in Millville, IA. We stayed on it until Harpers Ferry when both of our Garmin's batteries died. (Stoopid, stoopid us. I at least had the excuse that the KLR is not my normal bike and I have not yet wired it)

At some point later this year, I hope to ride the entire thing. It was the most interesting off-pavement ride that I've done to date. We were able to do some water crossings, mud crossings, maneuver around rocks and branches, and ride several "Level B Service" roads that were always challenging for the two of us.

On one of the minimum maintenance roads, I had a scary moment that left me laughing. Along this road, there was some mud as well as deep, dried ruts. One of the ruts caught the front wheel of my KLR and I instinctively (bad?) put my right foot down to catch the bike. In doing so, I pulled down on the throttle and shot off the road , across the ditch where I was luckily caught by a dead tree. I say luckily because it could have been a barbed wire fence, or a solid tree, or a river, but, in this case, it was a mess of branches. I was laughing my head off because the bike and I were totally stuck, upright. Nothing happened to the bike and the only thing that happened to me was my toe; it's now big and black but is not throbbing like it was yesterday.


This is my second off-road incident with ruts. I need to work on them. My gut tells me that I need to have my weight back and power out of the rut. If someone can advise on the technique, please do tell.

Anyway, awesome route. Thanks!

[rokklym]

Originally Posted by Mr Farkle

This is my second off-road incident with ruts. I need to work on them. My gut tells me that I need to have my weight back and power out of the rut. If someone can advise on the technique, please do tell.

Anyway, awesome route. Thanks!

Glad you enjoyed the route!! You should come up in August when we do it again!! I'll have to start working on this years route pretty soon, making sure things haven't been paved or level B's shut down or whatever.

Glad your off road incident turned out OK. Ruts suck! They are awful hard to ride in and I'm not sure if there is an actual technique to it, just gotta pick a good line and hope for the best.

Also, keep a finger on the clutch lever and pull it in if you accidently blip the throttle. Hope you can make it up for the ride this year.

[swingset]

Originally Posted by Mr Farkle

This is my second off-road incident with ruts. I need to work on them. My gut tells me that I need to have my weight back and power out of the rut. If someone can advise on the technique, please do tell.

Ruts are a PITA, the technique is to look out of them, stay steady on the gas, squeeze the tank with the knees as you're on the pegs, grip loosely and let the bike move underneath you....don't focus on threading them, you'll fixate and hit them even harder. Just ride, look ahead, loosen up and ride.

That's the technique. Doesn't mean I do it worth a crap. I usually get tossed off like a rag doll, but I always know when it's me screwing up by fighting the bike.