Greetings all. I am just back from a glorious two night bikepacking adventure on my Gus and just had to share. This was a loosely organized by invite gathering of mostly Ann Arbor area folks & titled "Meet me in Manchester". I drove from my home in Toledo to meet up with three other riders travelling from the amazing Sic Transit bike shop in Ann Arbor to our host campsite in Manchester, Michigan. Ours was a lovely 28 mile chill paced ride over mostly smoothish gravel, rolling roads. We set up camp on arrival and once settled in the five of us wedged ourselves into our host's Ford Fiesta for the short drive into Chelsea, Michigan for a wonderful meal/brew. Once back at camp we settled in for the big event on Saturday - choosing one of four carefully sorted routes ranging from 27-85 miles. I joined one other for the 48 mile route. Gus & I found our groove on this gorgeous bike ride over more perfect, mostly gravel roads through beautiful rural countryside. We even found a little dirt / sandy two track - my favorite section. The route passed through Chelsea for another nice mid-ride meal & the ride back to camp just kept getting better. Beautiful blue sky, rolling crop fields, cool old barns & perfect gravel hills are tough to beat. By the time we returned to camp another dozen or so folks had arrived who did not have time to do the full three days. Pizza, beer, frisbee (with Nate's cherished Rivendell Frisbee) pond swimming, dog playing & giant bonfire all happened. Another night under a clear, star filled sky and a well earned sleep. Sunday morning's ride back to Ann Arbor was a shorter (22 mike) route but still beautiful & at times a bit more spirited. Every single time I crested another gravel covered hill I got giddy as a child getting to descend on the Gus. The gravel could get a bit loose but the Gus on 2.6" tires hardly noticed. The last few miles entering Ann Arbor through quiet neighborhoods was very pleasant. Ann Arbor is really a nice place to be on a bike. It is very bike friendly in my estimation. Very nice with the exception of it being the home of that awful team "up north".:) I was really on the fence choosing between my Gus and the Clem L. My mind was telling me to take the Clem which weighs 2 pounds less and has the smaller 55mm tires. Logic suggested the Clem might be better for the hills. I've been on loaded rides with the Clem and had no complaints. But, the Gus is new bike and I just had a hankering to take it instead. It was not a bad decision. The 2.6" tires devour gravel. The comfort level on the Gus is unworldly to me, maybe even more so than the Clem. For me long chainstay bikes are "it". Zero drawbacks and so many advantages for my riding. It is a heavy bike, no getting around that fact. But the weight simply disappears when riding and oh how I love my 2 x 7 setup. The front derailleur is a joy to use, taking me back to a time before my bikes had 1x drivetrains. And, I may never ride another bike not Bosco equipped. Comfort is king.:) All in all a really great experience that I look forward to repeating. Link to pics to follow...
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