Last month we had rain, snow and even snuck in a dose of sun on a few days. What we really liked though is seeing so many people take on our DIY Gravelpalooza route, some even chose to ride it a few short hours after it was released. One word - awesome! Next up is the Groundhog edition.
This route will have you leave the Mima Trailhead parking lot and get a nice 'warm up' on the pavement. Then you will traverse the E-Line. It is a rolly road with lots of ups and downs, so speed management is key. You never get too high in elevation. The most important thing on the E-Line is to keep your eyes out after the 2.5 mile placard for the re-route sign and head left on a new forest road. E-Line has changed a bit since we last took it on Gravelpalooza. You will know if you miss the re-route if you come upon the ROAD CLOSED sign. Just turn around if you see that and keep you eye out for the re-route sign which really is not very obvious in the direction we are going as it is drawn on white cardboard with magic marker. We even missed it the first time scouting this route out.
After E-Line, you are on the pavement again. This time on D-Line. You could take it all the way back to the start, but our route takes you up the D-1000 which you came down last month. Once you get to the top, you take the D-3000 back down to D-Line and back to the start.
The good thing is we are keeping you on what seems to be the quieter part of the forest right now with less logging activity. So it is just you and the trees. And why Groundhog edition? Because you can ride the route as many times as you would like, do it in each direction, see which you like better.
Remember your Discover Park Pass for the trailhead. Pass on the word about these routes. And most important of all, have fun out there!
This route will have you leave the Mima Trailhead parking lot and get a nice 'warm up' on the pavement. Then you will traverse the E-Line. It is a rolly road with lots of ups and downs, so speed management is key. You never get too high in elevation. The most important thing on the E-Line is to keep your eyes out after the 2.5 mile placard for the re-route sign and head left on a new forest road. E-Line has changed a bit since we last took it on Gravelpalooza. You will know if you miss the re-route if you come upon the ROAD CLOSED sign. Just turn around if you see that and keep you eye out for the re-route sign which really is not very obvious in the direction we are going as it is drawn on white cardboard with magic marker. We even missed it the first time scouting this route out.
After E-Line, you are on the pavement again. This time on D-Line. You could take it all the way back to the start, but our route takes you up the D-1000 which you came down last month. Once you get to the top, you take the D-3000 back down to D-Line and back to the start.
The good thing is we are keeping you on what seems to be the quieter part of the forest right now with less logging activity. So it is just you and the trees. And why Groundhog edition? Because you can ride the route as many times as you would like, do it in each direction, see which you like better.
Remember your Discover Park Pass for the trailhead. Pass on the word about these routes. And most important of all, have fun out there!
