Today, I continue my wrap up of 2023. I wrote the other day about most ridden bike of 2023. You can find that here. Today, I am sharing the others in one grand post. Lot’s of pics today. Hope you enjoy!
2023 was a pretty good year for riding. Truth be told, I rode more miles and rode more trails in 2022. Partly this was due to some significant and time consuming non bike related travel in 2023. However, overall I feel that I became a better cyclist in 2023. Better isn’t exactly a technical or measurable term. Highly subjective. But I can say that I had longer rides, more rich experiences, started doing some Tuesday night group gravel rides, and felt stronger on my bicycle than in 2022. The other thing that stood out in 2023 is that I rode my mountain bike a lot less…A sad truth.
What’s interesting about that last statement about riding less mountain bikes in 2023 is that I still haven’t settled into a gravel bike that I am 100% satisfied with. You’d think with that statement I’d have ridden my beloved IBIS Ripley mountain bike more (seen above in Fruita from our May trip to Utah)! Maybe I swapped back and forth between my gravel bicycles too much and never really settled into one. But to this day, I am still not 100% satisfied with my gravel bike(s) for one reason or another. Maybe it’s because gravel as a categorization is simply too vague and the category is too broad?. I don’t know the answer, but maybe this is why I keep riding my Meriwether Klunkpacker as I am so completely satisfied and comfortable when riding that bike. Those are feelings I simply did not have on the bikes that fit the faster and lighter side of my “gravel” bikes.
As noted and shown above, I tried several different bikes in many configurations. More often than not I choose the wide tires and comfort of my Tumbleweed Stargazer or the somewhat weird and fun WHB Adventure Cross. Flat bars seem to be coming into play as well.
Surprisingly, it’s December and we have no snow yet here in MN so the above photo is from December 2022 (sad I know). As such, I have not ridden my fatbike much at all, but when I do, it’s my trusted old friend, my Surly Wednesday. No changes here other than I am finally making myself a new frame bag for it. For years I have ridden this bike with an old Porcelain Rocket bag designed for my old and long departed Surly Krampus. I’d say it was a B + fit. The time has come for a dedicated and custom fit bag sewn by me. Stay tuned as I am sure you will see it pop up here on the blog if we ever get snow!
So what’s in store for 2024 related to bikes? I am really settled and pleased with a handful of my bikes. I’ll refine my existing bikes & kit further, I expect to sort out my dedicated gravel rig and hopefully ride more mountain bikes in 2024. That’s my main goals for bikes in 2024.
So…..Let’s look at some pics from 2023 while riding these wonderful two wheeled wonders.
One last note on bikes: Even though I don’t ride fatbikes as much as I used to and I am very happy with my Surly Wednesday, I not so secretly long for a custom long tail Fatbike! Pictured below is an image from the Meriwether blog. Damn that thing is beautiful! Maybe someday……..
As I look at the images above it gives me such joy looking back at those photos. I sure hope I can continue this momentum of riding and rich experiences in 2024!
ImagineGnat 