A few thoughts on my first multi-surface ride with the Joe Appaloosa.

View from the Oceanic Bridge towards Red Bank.

I hate the cold. I hate being cold. I hate going out in the cold. From November until May I am cold. Which is to say that for me to get out for a ride during that period either it’s a warm day or the bike’s ride is soooo nice that I’ll don multiple layers and brave the cold just to experience the joy of being on the Riv. 

Which is what happened this morning. I layered up with the intent just to ride my bike downtown to enjoy the bike and do something about this cabin fever that’s creeping up on me. But instead of a quick pedal down Broad St, I just kept on pedaling and ended up heading up into the gravel and trails of Huber Woods. 

A few thoughts:

• I needed a bandana. Riding in the cold is just crazy snot fest and i was dying to blow my nose and my leather gloves weren’t cutting it.
• Sometimes a triple chainring crankset is better than a double, but a double crankset is always better than a single. I loved the gearing on the Joe Appaloosa. I’m not sure what all the ratio/inches are or even the size of the chainrings size but it handled one of our areas most challenging gravel climbs with ease. 
• The stem is too short. The sweep back on these Tosco bars needs a 100/110 i think it’s got a 70 on it now so I as just a smidge more upright than i wanted to be and the grips were just a little too close to my legs. Fortunately I’ve got a nice used Nitto en route from eBay.
• The ULTRADYNAMICO cava tires are great on asphalt, tolerable on gravel and useless when you veer off the gravel to some single track. Too much pressure.  I missed my low PSI gravel kings and ended up skipping a section of single track bc i had no confidence in the cava tires.
• The geometry of the bike is just mind blowing. On slight inclines i found myself just engaging my legs in a slightly different way instead of switching gears. The bike just responds to subtle difference in pedaling in a way i can’t explain.