About 6 years ago, I decided that a cyclocross bike was  my alternative fall rig. Not to race, but to get off the beaten path. I know, I sound like every bicycle company’s mantra for their new gravel, all road or adventure bike. Every one of them will have you believe they invented this gravel bike or this incredible genre of riding. Truth is, people have been riding gravel and dirt roads as long as people have been riding bicycles.

Since then, I can’t seem to get enough gravel. As a matter of fact, I can’t seem to get enough of the Delaware State Forest. So much so, you must be sick of reading my posts that include this swath of woods. Anyway, I’m sorry, but today, I rode with Joe and Jason and found an entirely new trail that is as amazing as every road, ATV or snowmobile trail in the forest.

We started at my abode and pedaled about a mile, before entering a deer trail that led us to Five Mile Meadow Road. Heading towards Silver Lake, we made a right on Ben Bush Trail and followed it to Standing Stone Trail. Cruising through the deer management area, we turned left on Silver Lake Road and decided to take the Burnt Mills Trail for about 3 miles and connected it with Flat Ridge Road.

Just as Flat Ridge comes to an end, we moved back over to the Burnt Mills Trail to ride through the section that includes a lot of loose gravel and large pieces of rip rap. This ends in a huge gravel parking lot along Rt. 402. From there, we usually ride on 402 to Pine Flats Road. Today, we hung a left onto the Pine Flats Trail. The first quarter mile was being logged. The rest was like gliding over some kind of magical forest. Lush grass on top of a hard packed surface made for a really cool roller coaster ride that eventually came out at the bottom of Pine Flats Road.

As it was 35-40 degrees most of the day, we decided to head back via Bushkill Falls Road to Flat Ridge Road and took Five Mile Meadow all the way to my community.

It always seems a little difficult when you encounter the first really cold ride of the new season. But, it gets easier each time you go out.

What’s playing (what am I listening to while writing or what’s dancing around in my head while riding), today – anything Marvin Gaye.