BigdummySteve wrote: ↑Sat Aug 08, 2020 8:32 am
Now that is very nice Andy, enjoy
Wrote this earlier on fb
https://www.facebook.com/1684442433/pos ... 113645766/
Took the Topstone out for a proper test this morning and it didn’t disappoint. Stole the route from Strava and it turns out the ride was originally done by a local gravel legend and his 6 hour ride on a Cervėlo was no indication of the difficulty of the route!
The best decision of the day was to stop at a service station to pick up some ride snacks. The worse was to skip breakfast and expect to find a cafe on the route 🥴
Finding water along the route also turned into a challenge, as there were no resupply points along the way. Didn’t help that the temperature climbed into the low 30’s 🥵
I didn’t consider it wise to approach a house without speaking to someone out in the garden. Trouble was they all did the lawns early and then hid inside out of the heat. I managed to get the first bottle refills from a man walking a 9 week puppy. I figured he”d be close to home, which he was. I set my bottles down at the head of his drive and he brought out a pitcher of cold water. But only enough to 3/4 fill each bottle. Still at the time that seemed enough. After that I decided to refill at any opportunity. I stopped at farm machinery sales point and asked to use a tap and was told there were none available. As I left the shop assistant can out and said he was wrong and there was a garden hose at the end of the building. Apparently they thought I wanted to wash my legs off, not refill the water bottle I held in my hand
. After that there was nothing until I came across a fast flowing stream from a lake. I didn’t have a filter with me but risked it anyway. Two more streams got me around the rest of the route. I used a tube of nuun tablets during the ride.
Early on I contemplated adding 4 psi to my tyres because the WTB Venture 47mm tyres felt to be dragging on the gravel roads. Then I came to the first of the ATV fire roads
. Then I was glad to have high volume tyres setup tubeless
. How someone rode that on road bike on even 32mm tyres beats me!
The route turned out to be back loaded with ATV roads and MTB Singletrack trails. At the bottom of one decent I came across a couple resting. They both had full sus MTB’s. The male said to his partner “look, another Lefty fork”. Then he complimented me for tackling the trail on just a ‘Gravel’ bike. And we struck up a conversation about the virtues of the Topstone. He’d had a test ride on the e-bike version and the bike tech in Wild Rock I’d spoken to the day before also had the e-bike.
I went on the explain that the Topstone wasn’t just a hardtail and the 10mm Kingpin rear travel worked. With its 650B wheels and 44cm drop bars, the Topstone excelled on the Ganny Transit and Backstage Pass. There was one tree in particular that encroached on the natural line, on a corner and with roots and rocks. I saw as I rode past that behind the arrow markers there were witness marks of many a handlebar encounter
As I exited the trails onto the roads, I realised I was ‘bonking’ and needed food fast. I made it to the top of a climb without resorting to the granny 42T rear sprocket and stoped at a grassy area next to a crossroads for my emergency #Fuel10K Squeeze +Go Peanut Butter, with Sunflower and Chia seeds. With 2563kJ per 100g a 2/3 (225g per sachet) started to help. I stopped shortly after at a graveyard chapel to change from my short sleeve top to a long. And found a packet of beef jerky that I’d bought at the service station that morning and then forgotten
.
With that consumed it was then 25km on flat roads back to town and a bowl of chowder, plus a few recovery beers
I’d say that the Topstone exceeded my expectations and lived up fully to the review by
www.ridecyclespin.com that set me down the path to a Topstone. Thanks Steve
Sitting here now several hours after my ride and yes I’m tired but I’m not feeling beaten up and with a good nights sleep would be up for another long ride tomorrow. We’ll see as I fancy looking for a local outdoor swimming spot....
If you made it this far. Well done and thanks for indulging me. Special thanks to Myles at #spokeomotion for selling me this vaguely exciting machine and #wildrockptbo for the excellent #perlizumi made cycling wear. Oh and #cannondale for producing the Topstone Carbon Lefty 3
Big Explore Ride by
Andy Wright, on Flickr
https://strava.app.link/YOoPgK6GN8
Next it’s to find some bikepacking accessories and go explore. This remote living is starting to get expensive
by Andy Wright, on Flickr
https://www.strava.com/activities/3876101905
Untitled by Andy Wright, on Flickr
Topstone Lefty on rails by Andy Wright, on Flickr
. After that there was nothing until I came across a fast flowing stream from a lake. I didn’t have a filter with me but risked it anyway. Two more streams got me around the rest of the route. I used a tube of nuun tablets during the ride.
(first broadcast in 1952 in fact) )
). Oh and I've plotted a route that I've not ridden. Should be fun 
I then spotted it out of the corner of my eye.... rolling down the car park towards a row of parked cars. I ran after it but only just got to it as it lightly bounced off the front of a car, no damage done but of course the owner of the car was sat in it 
.
