Lincoln Continental

As you may have read over at Skip’s, it’s Rapha Continental season, and two of their Continental Calling 2009 rides are being hosted by Nebraska residents: Today’s M22 ride in Michigan led by the EnduroSnob himself and a the Lincoln Continental (Lincoln to Ponca) hosted by Wills and myself.

The route to Ponca is a familiar one for a pretty big group of local gravelers, but when the call came and the ride was tapped as one of the springtime epics to be added to Rapha’s list of rides, it was accompanied by the question: “It can be done on road bikes, right? That’s kind of our deal.”

“I guess.” Was my answer.

So the past few months have been … I don’t want to say an experiment, but more like a good excuse to explore the limits of slickys on gravel roads. Turns out, the limits are zero-to-none. In fact, as Woodman, Wills, Pool, and others will attest, riding road bikes on hilly country gravel and dirty minimum maintainence roads has much to offer in terms of low traffic, scenery, steep grades, and the occasional slippery turn.

“So what.” You’re saying.

So next week, Wills and I are hosting these dudes we don't know — who in one form or another have done something like 30 big rides in 40 days — on a weirdly clandestine version of our annual Ponca Ride. Yeah, the one where we leave at like dark o'clock in the morning. Yeah, the one that’s like twelve hours of ride time. Yeah, the one that’s usually done on MTBs.

Rapha Riders' longest stretch of gravel so far? Seven miles.
Lincoln Continental's longest stretch of pavement? Seven miles.

We should be fine (he he).
I guess.

P.S. Don't forget the real run-what-you-brung Ponca Ride on June 19th.