Great report and a super nice Atlantis build! On Monday, January 15, 2024 at 8:17:27 PM UTC-5 brok...@gmail.com wrote:
> This is my first ride report here, and the first big ride on my new-to-me > Toyo Atlantis since fully finishing the build around Christmastime. I spend > winters away from my home in Kentucky and retreat to the relatively warmer > weather of the Tampa Bay area. > > > In early November, I saw a post on The Radavist about an upcoming gravel > adventure ride called “The Orange Blossom Special” taking place near where > I was going to be staying in Florida, so I jumped at the chance to sign up > for a spot. This event featured three route options; 40, 60, and 90 mi. and > promised a variety of incredible terrain among the orange groves of the > Lake Wales Ridge - a geographically unique part of Florida that is the only > part of the peninsula that was never under water. Eons ago, it was more > like a chain of small islands, so the rolling hills full of endless old > orange groves and red, sandy clay roads offer a bit more variety than the > typically flat prairie scrub of central Florida. > > > I was advised that tires bigger than 42mm was recommended, and I was > running 41mm gravel slicks with fenders on the Atlantis, so a few days > before the ride I swapped the slicks and fenders for more of an ATB setup, > with 52mm wide Rene Herse knobbies. It definitely changed the look of the > Atlantis, and made it much more muscular-looking and ready for anything. > > > [image: IMG_7444.jpg] > > > The morning of the ride, a big storm blew through, so I was aware that the > normally fast clay roads could be the consistency of peanut butter in > places. I felt more confident that I’d made the right decision losing the > fenders. Last thing I wanted was to spend all day scraping clumpy red mud > out of my clogged fenders and cantis. I got a bit of a later start than the > other riders because I didn’t camp at the start like most of the others, > and had to drive about 80 miles from my home. I chose to do the 40+ mi > route due to my already late start, and the potential for difficult road > conditions. > > > The first several miles was solo riding for me, but I quickly caught up > with a group of 8-9 other riders, and we stayed together as a group for > much of the rest of the route. The storied clay roads showed up quickly, > and at first they weren’t too bad. Fairly smooth rolling, but the > occasional soft section would zap momentum and energy right out of you. > Most of the route was unpaved, but as we got closer to civilization, there > were some stretches of mild, 2-lane highway where we could struggle against > the headwinds. > > > After a break for beers and food in a little town called Frostproof, the > route took us deep into the Arbuckle Tract of the Lake Wales State Forest, > which would eventually turn into the worst riding conditions we would > experience of the day. The peanut butter clay mud was compounded by ruts > created by the occasional vehicle driving through. Although it was slow > going, I was impressed with how the Atlantis effortlessly handled it all. > The knobbies gripped well, and floated through the mud enough to allow me > to keep riding, and not have to do any hike-a-biking, like I witnessed > other riders doing. > > [image: IMG_7522.jpg] > > > > The final two miles in the State Forest featured much drier, smoother > clay, and several more miles of 2-lane asphalt - which was a nice treat to > finish up the ride. I was able to ride at my normal speed and finish with > plenty of time to hang out with everyone around a bonfire, where we were > treated with grilled gator tail, homemade tamales, and draft beer from a > local craft brewery. > > [image: IMG_7523.jpg] > > It was a great day, and a fantastic ride that was a bit challenging, but > 100% fun. I was hoping that out of the 50 or so riders, I might see another > Riv rider, but I turned out to be the only one. I’ll be looking forward to > doing this event again next year, and I recommend it if you get the > opportunity. > > > LINK FOR MORE RIDE PHOTOS <https://photos.app.goo.gl/3QsnbkK9NoA2UDCa7> > > > Thanks for reading along! > > Brian > > Lex KY > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3f4cadf6-4415-4eca-ab96-c70e58e5ef70n%40googlegroups.com.
