Rene Herse Umtanum Ridge tire review and other 2.2" options

Back in 2017 when I put together my new "gravel" bike, my go-to tire choice was Maxxis Ikon. You can call my decision weird or unreasonable, but I was switching at that time from a bicycle that had a maximum tire clearance of 35mm and the typical gravel tire choices at 40-45mm were simply not wide enough for my taste. My local trails always run through forest paths, full of roots and rocks, and therefore, wider tires seemed necessary. That also meant that I went with 27.5" (650b) wheel size, to squeeze in as much rubber as possible.

Years later, I still think it was a right call, even though most leading manufacturers have abandoned the 27.5" wheel size so I may need to rely on smaller, boutique brands. I feel that 27.5" x 2.2-2.3" (56-58mm) is a perfect wheel/tire combo on gravel, allowing for plenty of grip, extra comfort, and large enough diameter and width to roll well over anything, while still making for a relatively compact bike. Even now that many race gravel bikes run 700c wheels and 50mm wide tires, I'm still very happy with my non-racing choice and think that the extra 6-8mm of tire width helps quite a lot to dampen rough roads.

Maxxis Ikon TR EXO 27.5" x 2.2"

• tubeless-ready XC tire, better suited for dry conditions and hard-packed surfaces
• measured width on Velocity Blunt SS (27mm internal) rims: ~56mm
• measured weight: 580g in the old non-EXO version (manufacturer's spec for the new EXO version: 650-700g, depending on the source)
• price: $70

Maxxis Ikons served me well for a few years, but after wearing out through 2 sets of these tires, and when I was ready to buy a 3rd set, I noticed that things have changed for the worse (for me). Maxxis completely abandoned the old casing and went with the new, reinforced EXO sidewalls. That's probably a good choice for XC riders, but that's not how I was using those tires! I certainly much more preferred the softer, cushier sidewalls over heavier, stiffer ones with more protection. I had a chance to directly compare the new EXO version with my old non-EXO one and the difference was immediately noticeable, even without mounting the tires on wheels. The EXO tire is stiffer, feels tougher and heavier. While I can understand Maxxis' decision, I wasn't happy about it. Nevertheless, the old Ikons still remain my benchmark to compare all other tires against. They were light, fast, supple, supremely comfortable, easy to install, and with perhaps only 2 potential issues: (1) rolling noise on pavement and (2) some sealant seepage through sidewalls over time.

My overall rating (for the old, non-EXO version):

• comfort: 5/5 (very supple!)
• grip: 4/5
• speed: 4/5
• noise: 2/5 (noisy, but it's a MTB tire)
• weight: 5/5 (very light in non-EXO casing)
• width: 5/5 (true to size)
• ease of installation: 5/5
• price: 4/5

Rene Herse Umtanum Ridge 650b x 55mm

• ultralight knobby, tubeless-ready tire
• measured width on Velocity Blunt SS rims: ~51.5mm
• measured weight: 553g (standard casing)
• price: $78

All this made me look at other options out there, not that there are many to choose from (but that's another story). Since I was searching for a wide, yet lightweight tire, Rene Herse was a very obvious choice, and as soon as the new "Umtanum Ridge" was announced, I got really excited about it. I finally got a pair last year and been riding on these for the last 8+ months. 

Generally, I'm quite impressed. There is no doubt that these RH tires are of high quality, fast-rolling, very lightweight, and very supple. They provide excellent comfort, good grip, and what I like a lot after switching from Ikons - are very quiet. I mean, they are not silent, but for a knobby tire, the rolling noise is impressively low. Even their high price doesn't seem too bad at the moment. As long as you don't pick the Extralight or Endurace casing, the cost of a single tire, despite not being cheap, is comparable to all other high-end offerings. Over the last 8 months I also have not noticed any sealant seepage through sidewalls and that's typically immediately visible on tan sidewall tires.

Would I buy them again then? Sadly, no. What completely disqualifies them for me is their width. They are simply not 55mm wide. My own measurements on pretty wide (for gravel standards) rims show only 51.5mm. Other reviewers also found the same exact problem. I have also read in the past that RH's other tire, the 26" Rat Trap Pass is reportedly only 2.1" wide, even thought it is rated at 2.3". It seems to me that this is a common issue with many (most?) RH tires. They are simply not wide enough. I also don't buy Jan's explanation that:

"Due to the nature of hand-made tyres using natural rubber, the size can vary batch to batch, but they err on the side of smaller as larger could mean tyres rubbing."

Difference in size between several copies of the same tire could be explained by manufacturing tolerances, if we could find tires both smaller and larger than nominal. But in this case all tires seem to have width far on the low side, indicating RH's manufacturing process is simply way off target. And no - deliberately selling undersized tires because "larger could mean tire rubbing" is not an explanation. This is just BS. No experienced cyclist who is willing to drop $80 on a tire will be happy receiving a falsely-advertised product. If I buy a 55mm wide RH tire, I expect a 55mm (+/-1mm) tire, not a 50mm tire (In fact, if I wanted a 650b x 50mm one, there are many more choices out there).

It seems to me that RH should therefore either, (1) change the sizing on their tires, (2) set the process back on target, or (3) add a note on their website stating "Please be aware that these tires run routinely narrower than advertised". Interestingly, their website shows quite the opposite:

• Actual width on 21 mm rim (internal): approx. 56 mm
• Actual width on 23 mm rim (internal): approx. 57 mm

No idea where this comes from. If this was true, then my copy of tires should be about 60mm wide on 27mm internal width rims. Either I have a bad luck, or Jan must have measured a completely different batch of tires. Anyway, my overall rating (for Standard casing version) is:

• comfort: 5/5 (very comfortable)
• grip: 4/5
• speed: 5/5 (fast)
• noise: 5/5 (very quiet for a knobby tire!)
• weight: 5/5 (light, but it's really a ~50mm tire)
• width: 1/5 (severely undersized)
• ease of installation: 5/5
• price: 3/5 (pricey, but not too terribly for the Standard version)

Ultradynamico Mars JFF 27.5" x 2.22"

• lightweight tire for all road surfaces, tubeless-ready, with centered knobs for reduced noise and increased speed
• measured width on Velocity Blunt SS rims: ~55.5mm
• measured weight: 620g
• price: $65

Now it's 2025 and I'm thinking that I should have stocked on a couple more pairs of non-EXO Ikons back when they were still available. On top of that we have new tariffs on most products from Asia, which means that soon all tires will become more expensive. I'm still riding on RH tires, but it prompted me to think ahead and buy a pair of Ultradynamico Mars JFFs. I have not had a chance yet to try them out, but I installed one briefly and so far they certainly look very promising. They are lightweight and true to size. I think I will just use Umtanums until they wear out and then switch to Mars JFFs for the nearest future.

Here is how both tires look together, on the same rim (RH Umtanum Ridge on the left, Ultradynamico Mars on the right):

My overall rating (so far):

• comfort: TBD
• grip: TBD
• speed: TBD
• noise: TBD
• weight: 5/5
• width: 5/5
• ease of installation: 4/5
• price: 5/5

The general conclusion is that buying tires can be a lottery sometimes. From what I have notices so far, the manufacturing tolerances of Japanese tire brands are typically quite good, but a lot depends on the tooling design. It seems that in many cases brands get it right (See online reviews of RH Fleecer Ridge, a 700c x 55mm tire, showing that it's mostly true to size. My Ultradynamico Cava tires measure 49mm, being rated at 48mm. Both of these are made in Japan). But sometimes the bad happens and the final size ends up being off target. And because changing tooling can be very expensive, the problem gets never corrected and we end up with tires that not perform as expected.

Newport S36O - A quick visit to the north

About a week ago, in the middle of October I finally had a chance to travel somewhere by bike this year. Usually, I try to plan a short bike camping trip in the summer but this year was just so busy that summer was out of the question and even September was not an option. This left me with October as the last chance before temperature drops, rain comes, and winter darkness arrives. The destination this time was the northeastern part of Vermont and some places I have visited before.

October in New England is a very good option for bicycle travel and camping, of course. In fact, it's likely the best time. Not only air temperature is still decent (in fact, 50-70F or 10-20C is the best range for cycling), fall colors are gorgeous, and daylight still long-ish, but there are also no bugs, so exploring New England forests is finally enjoyable. I tried October camping a few years ago, and while it was sunny, I suffered at night. I remember the temperature dropped to just 30F (-1C) and it was too low to be comfortable in a thin summer sleeping bag.

This time I packed up a bit differently, placing a much warmer sleeping bag under the saddle. This meant my tent had to occupy most of the handlebar bag, leaving just a bit of space for clothes. On the other hand, I saved some space by not taking a cooking set. It's just not worth it for such a short trip, especially if staying near town overnight.

Packing up for October weather is a bit tricky because you never truly know what to expect. Nights can be freezing, mornings still very cold, while later in the day when the sun is up it could be almost a short sleeve weather. I checked the forecast, of course. Some rain was possible, but other than that it was supposed to be sunny, but windy.

In the end, it turned out that I overpacked. The tiny, packable waterproof windbreaker was not used, just like it was completely unnecessary to bring winter gloves along. I never used them. They are not heavy but took valuable space in the bag for the remainder of the trip. Other than that, things worked well. Weather was gorgeous and views lovely.

Day 1

I arrived in St Johnsbury, left the car at Park & Ride, and started my ride at 9:30am. It was warmer than expected and after climbing a few hills I had to take off a couple of layers and stuff them in the handlebar bar. Initially, I thought my tempo was somewhat slow but I was steadily making progress and there was no need to rush anywhere. After climbing the highest elevation of the day on New Duck Pond Rd I decided to stop briefly for lunch (a sandwich that I packed with me). And that's where I found this:

The real black bear paw, lying in the middle of the road! Completely puzzled, I tried to figure out what exactly had happened there. It looked new and recently cut off. My best guess is that since it's apparently legal to hunt bears in Vermont, it was probably a trophy, cut off by a hunter that perhaps later fell off the bed of his pickup truck (The paw, I mean. Not the hunter). At least that's what I think. I don't have a better theory at this point.

On the way to Newport I stopped briefly at the Old Stone House Museum (just to see it from the outside) and eventually arrived at my campsite quite early - just before 4pm. The Pine Hill Rd just south of Newport turned out to be slightly disappointing. I mean it has nice views, but it's fully paved now. I have a photographic evidence that it was unpaved back in 2016. Too bad - we lost a nice gravel road then. I will have to look for an alternative route between Barton and Newport the next time.

I stayed at Prouty Beach Campground, which may not be a budget option ($38 for a tent per night), but on the other hand it offers some of the best situated camping spots in the area. Not only they are placed away from the RVs and motorhomes, right by the lake's waterfront where you can enjoy beautiful sunsets, but they all have power outlets available, and even... a wi-fi! I certainly was not expecting a wi-fi connection right from my sleeping bag.

The night was surprisingly warm for mid October upstate (45F or 7C) so it was all very cozy inside the warmer sleeping bag. The main issue turned out the be the wind.

Day 2

I woke up at 6am and could not stay asleep any longer. As it turned out it rained at night, even quite heavily at times, but surprisingly, the bike and tent were almost completely dry in the morning. All because of the 40mph winds from the lake. It was so crazy windy that for the moment I thought my tent was going to take off. It didn't, but folding it and packing up properly was absolutely impossible. I packed up my bags, unhooked the tent and fly from the tent poles and carried everything inside the bathroom facilities. Only there, shielded from wind, I could properly fold everything up and place it inside the bags on bike.

I left campground at 7:30am and made my way north, on the bike path that runs on the east side of the Lake Memphremagog. The lake looked absolutely wild that morning. More like a sea, in fact. I kept going alongside the Canadian border and eventually reached Morgan Country Store to finally grab a hot egg & bacon sandwich to bite. Weather was actually still very nice for this time of the year, a bit cooler than the day before and with much stronger wind, of course. At least the wind from northwest was basically pushing me forward the entire morning.

Approaching Burke, I found out that there is no bridge on Brook Rd so I had to go a bit around but soon I found myself on Darling Hill Rd where all of the famous Burke Kingdom Trails begin. It was a good moment to stop for lunch, especially that Village Sport Shop not only sells and fixes bicycles, but also serves beer and somewhat decent sandwiches. The place was packed with mountain bikers and I noticed that my rig attracted some attention, probably because it looked completely out of place - no suspension, with bunch of strapped bags, and on (by their standards) too narrow tires.

I continued downhill to Lyndonville and then after a few more climbs I arrived back at St Johnsbury around 4pm.

Generally, it was fun. I really like bike touring in October. This year we got totally spoiled though. Essentially, since the 3rd week of August until now (and still going) we are having a streak of perfect weather - warm but not hot, sunny with little rain, and with those lovely fall colors. You could travel around New England for 2 months straight and likely not have enough. Let's hope the next year will also be like this.

Gear shifting - electronic or not?

However you look at it, it's 2024 and electronic gear shifting is now available to masses. There is no need to pay $700 for just the rear derailleur only. Thanks to new groupsets, like SRAM Apex, a 12-speed electronic rear mech can be had for "as little" as $270. So when the prices keep dropping and everyone around you raves about how great button-shifting is, you start to wonder - should I go for it?

 

First of all, there is no denying that electronic shifting comes with measurable benefits. Two main ones are precision and speed. These systems can change gears faster than mechanical indexed setups. In terms of precision - the best way to understand the difference is to try shifting a 9-speed and 12-speed cassette with a friction shifter. Since the 7, 8, and 9-speed cassettes used wider chains and had wider spacing between cogs, there was simply a lot more travel required to move the chain between these cogs. This means there was much more tolerance to the position of chain. A slightly misaligned chain would still run through cogs just fine. Not so with a 12-speed cassette. Cogs are now spaced so tightly that a narrower chain is needed and that means much shorter jumps between cogs and much less tolerance to chain misposition. 

Spacing and sprocket width of typical Shimano cassettes. Source: BikeGremlin

 

The situation becomes more challenging the more cogs you pack on the cassette and that will require higher shifting precision that mechanical systems may won't be able to provide. This makes me predict that 13-speed derailleurs may be the last ones to be offered in the mechanical version. Everything beyond that will be electronic-only. Now keep in mind that I'm writing it from a standpoint of someone who has 3 bikes, none of which use electronic shifting, 2 of them still run 9-speed cassettes, with one using friction shifting. So yes, I'm way behind the newest tech.

 

As you can tell right now, I decided that despite the obvious benefits, electronic shifting is not for me. At least not right now. The reasons are:

Price

Yes, prices came down quite a bit. For a simple 1x drivetrain, the most expensive components are the rear derailleur and shifters. These entry-level components will still cost you about $500-$600 total. That's a good chunk of money and everyone needs to decide if it's worth it. But price may be just a minor problem. The next one is...

Battery

Note that I didn't say battery life, but battery in general. Of course, there is a non-zero chance that you may run out of battery to your "gearbox" during your ride, but the bigger problem for me is the existence of battery in the first place. I see bikes as simple machines. One of the major advantages over other means of transport is that bicycles don't require fuel and only very little maintenance. Once you throw in battery to the mix, you complicate things unnecessarily. Now you have to think about "fueling" your bike before the ride. Now the "it just works anytime" mode is gone. You sacrifice simplicity for the sake of precision and speed. You need to decide, which one is more important to you.

Reliability

This may not be a burning problem for you, as modern components are generally quite reliable, but certainly increased level of complexity over purely mechanical systems means that chances of something going wrong go up. After all, an electronic derailleur contains not just circuit boards, but also battery, motors, wireless communication, mechanical systems, etc. It's like the Charles Lindbergh situation - when asked why he wanted to fly across Atlantic in a single engine plane, he replied that with 2 engines chances of something going wrong are doubled.

Compatibility

This is the big reason why I'm still resisting. Once you dive into the electronic groupset, you are stuck as these components are only compatible with their own kind. That's not a problem if you are buying the entire groupset for your bike, but if you like to mix and match, you will run into issues. On the other hand, mechanical systems, especially when running on friction shifting, give you all the setup freedom you want. Comparing the the world of computer operating systems, electronic shifting is like MacOS - works great, is fast, precise, easy to learn, but also costs more and locks you in. Basically, you sacrifice some of your freedom for the convenience of use. On the other hand, friction shifting a mechanical derailleur is like Linux - a much steeper learning curve, less precise, but free and with complete compatibility and freedom.

Looks

Finally, there is a beauty problem. Let's be honest - these modern electronic derailleurs are ugly. First of all, they are all black. Gone are the classic, polished silver components. Next, due to integrated battery they look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame (the rear ones) or a British Royal Guard in a comically oversized hat (the front ones). There is no subtlety in these designs.

Shimano GRX Di2 rear derailleur - looks like Robocop's mechanical arm

SRAM Force eTap front mech - is it a tumor?

So there you have it. Some of you will consider these to be unimportant and irrelevant. That's ok - everyone has different priorities. For now, I'm perfectly happy with my oldie, friction 2x9 setup and I don't really need anything "better".

Indoor trainers or outdoor rides?

It's winter time so some of you are likely still in hibernation mode, which means parking your bike in the garage until it gets warmer again to ride. Others, myself included, will keep riding as long as it's reasonably dry outside (i.e. it's not pouring heavily at the moment). Then, there is a third group that will not ride outside, but use an indoor trainer instead.

The new and fancy Garmin Tacx 3M for as little as... $2000. (Source: garmin.com)

I don't like indoor trainers and find them pointless, but I think I understand why they may be an attractive option for some cyclists. I'm guessing that there are at least 3 main technical reasons why someone would use an indoor trainer:

1. Bad weather. This one is most obvious. Some people don't like riding when it's cold, icy, snowy, rainy, etc.
2. No "winter bike". Some people only have 1 bike (impossible!) and they don't want to expose their nice, expensive bike to road salt, mud, etc.
3. No place to properly clean a bike. Some people live in apartments or tighter spaces that lack facilities to clean the bike after a ride. Knowing that I can simply use a garden hose to wash my bike right after, makes me want to ride it more in winter time.

But then there is another, important, philosophical reason why some prefer indoor trainers, while others would never use them. It's the answer to a question - why we ride?

It's basically a difference between racing or more competitive riding and touring or "romantic cycling". You simply need to ask yourself - what's the goal of my riding? If the goal is the destination and you want to get there as fast as you can, then you are racing and in this case your body output and power will be important to you. An indoor trainer will help you stay fit, well-trained and maintain peak performance through those gloomy winter months.

The other answer is - my goal is the journey, the ride itself. The destination is not only secondary, it's actually something unwanted because it ends my ride. I want to travel, see places, take pictures, spend time in nature. In that case an indoor trainer is as useless as two chopsticks to eat a soup. A trainer won't take you to places. You will be stuck in your room, spinning cranks and staring at a wall.

Liberating Limitations

We live in interesting times - the times of many opportunities. We have a chance to go to more places than our grandparents ever could. We can do more things, as they are generally more accessible to us. We have more options to buy and own various stuff than before.

And yet, sometimes it feels that this variety, this accessibility, these opportunities are overwhelming. Not that I would like someone to make decisions for myself, but I do get a feeling that less is more and limitations can be... liberating.

Take cameras, for example. I always take one on every bike ride. If I want something small, it's my Ricoh GRIII. If I have space for something larger, it's my Fuji with a 35mm lens. That's it. No multiple choices. No zooms. Small and simple. One focal length to do it all. At first, this looks like a severe limitation. You may think that you need to be able to take ultrawide angle pictures of landscapes and close ups of distant wildlife, all on the same 50 mile trip. No, you don't. It actually better to limit yourself to one focal length and learn how to see the world through just one lens. You won't take all pictures, but you will take some good ones.

Ricoh GRIII with a single focal length built-in lens - limiting yet wonderful.

Back to bicycles - single-speed bikes are liberating in some sense. Not having to think about gear shifting keeps it simple. You can focus on your ride and surroundings only. Just push on pedals and go. If you can't go - walk your bike uphill. It's not a race and you are not in rush.

If that's too much for you and you really want to keep your gearing, that's fine. It's useful in most situations. However, I found out that those modern, multi-speed systems are not needed to day-to-day riding. Unless you race, there really is no need for a 12-speed cassette and top of the line shifters. In fact, my adventure bike has a simple 2x9 speed setup with friction shifting. That sounds ancient and is not something that most cyclists would be willing to try, but again, it's liberating. It works with any derailleur, from any brand, is cross-compatible with most mechanical components, and is so simple that there is basically no way to break it. I mean, a friction shifter is built of 3 main parts that pretty much can't fail in normal conditions. May not feel or look fancy, but it is in fact a true zombie-apocalypse-ready gearing.

Simple friction shifter - works with anything.

Sometimes it's just not necessary to overcomplicate things!

Around Green Mountain NF - in a very wet Vermont

Moist - possibly the most hated word in English language

Murphy's Law says that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. In my case it was the perfect alignment between the time I planned my PTO for, booked a couple of places in Vermont, a series of thunderstorms and heavy rain in the area. Let's just say that this was my wettest bike tour to date.

At very least once per year I try to go somewhere by bike. And I don't mean a local grocery store, but more like the neighboring state. This year it was Vermont (again). I only visited Green Mountain NF once so far and I felt like repeating it. Last week Wednesday the bike was packed, I was ready, just the forecast looked... uninspiring. This entire summer, starting in early June, has been pretty terrible - sort of like a mini monsoon season. Very, very humid, hot and heavy rain just about every other day or so. Sure, everything is green and there is no risk of wildfires but it's just difficult to enjoy this kind of weather.

Day 1 - Springfield to Grout Pond (104km/65mi)

On Thursday morning I left my house around 7am and drove to Springfield, VT. Left the car on a Park&Ride lot and by 9:20am I was in the saddle. The morning was very cloudy and humid. At least it didn't rain. Yet. The first climb on Meany Rd wasn't the hardest of the day, but not that much fun either given a very high humidity. At least the downhill ride was great and rewarding.

I reached Bellows Falls, although I had to sort of go around as the footbridge connecting the island with Rt12 on the east side was closed to all traffic. The town has a nice vibe and revolves around all things trains, which I actually liked a lot. Basically, Bellows Falls is trains, train yards, hydroelectric power plant and a small center square that should definitely be pedestrianized.

I continued along the Saxtons River and somewhere past Athens I found two guys on Crust bikes finishing the "Brattleboro Loop" around the mountains. Their bikes were well covered in dirt and mud - a signs of things to come. We biked together for some time until I had to take a turn towards West River. At that point the sky opened and poured for at least 2 hours. Grassy Brook Rd we were on is actually a very nice gravel road to bike - wide and flat with some views. It's also probably more enjoyable when dry.

This forced me to adjust my setup a bit - place a trash bag over the handlebar bag and put my Cleverhood poncho on. Little I knew this would be my default setup for the next 2 days.

When I arrived in Jamaica the rain has already stopped and I was very happy to find a water hose on the outside of the local store. I could rinse off my muddy feet, bike and poncho. Worth pointing out that this is technically the last decent resupply point before entering the National Forest.

The good thing was the as I was climbing up West Jamaica Rd the sun started peeking out between the clouds around 3:30pm. I made it to my reserved campsite at Grout Pond around 5pm and given the partially blue sky, no rain and few bugs, I could actually enjoy the evening, especially a visit from an unexpected guest. As I was sitting at the edge of the lake I heard a buzzing sound behind me, which turned out to be a hummingbird eating from the nearby flowers.

Then I noticed one minor setback - packed the wrong cable for my phone to connect to a portable battery. This means I was carrying the battery for nothing - without the cable it couldn't be used to charge my phone so I had to rely on finding wall outlets somewhere for the rest of my trip.

I like Grout Pond for its remoteness, waterfront campsites, peace and solitude, and decent infrastructure (which basically means just a flat spot to pitch your tent and a porta potty nearby). It's a popular place though, hence reservations are recommended in season. What I don't like about it is... its remoteness. You really need to bring everything in and out with you. No place nearby to go for an evening dinner or booze, I suppose.

When sun came down I slipped into the sleeping bag to get some sleep. I planned on getting up early next day to pack up my camp, as rain was forecasted for 7am.

Day 2 - Grout Pond to Frog Hollow Farm (121km/75mi)

The next day I got up at 6:20am, which turned out to be too late. That's because when I had about 90% of my stuff packed, it started pouring. I quickly jammed the remaining things in the bags, covered them with plastic and left the campground to find some roof. Fortunately, there was a maintenance building nearby that had a small roofed section. I could repack my bags and make a quick oatmeal for breakfast.

By 7:30am I was on road. Rain didn't pause for a moment and I could hear a distant thunderstorm. The next 15km (9mi) were all downhill, which in regular circumstances would be lots of fun, but doing that in a heavy downpour hits somewhat differently.

When I reached Arlington on the other side of the mountain I was actually a bit chilled. The morning air temperature was low, it was cloudy, rainy and I had wet clothes on. All this meant that I could really use something to warm up. I found a country store in the village and stopped for a cup of hot tea and a hot egg + bacon + cheddar sandwich, both of which really improved my overall mood.

Then it got even better because once I was done with my sandwich the rain stopped. When I was leaving Arlington and by the time I reached NY state border the sun was out and I could see some clear sky for the first time that day. The sun was most welcome as it would finally dry up the trails and my wet clothes. Or so I hoped, at least. Unfortunately, all it did was to turn everything into a sauna. I rode up the Tate Hill Rd, deep in the forest and with humidity this high everything felt like being coated with a film of water. My gloves, hat and the shirt on my back did not want to dry out at all, even in direct sunlight. The downhill towards Rupert brought a brief relief. There, I hopped on the Delaware And Hudson Rail Trail, which meant no climbing, at least for a while.

The trail is actually really nice - hardpacked gravel, well maintained, with great views, and flat. I rolled to Granville, NY, where I did no stop, as I planned to take a longer break in Poultney. On the way I discovered one major problem - due to high heat and humidity, the camera I had in my bag started fogging up from heavy condensation. I had no other choice but to take it out of the bag and strap it on top of the handlebar bag with a bungee cord. This allowed the sun and airflow to keep it dry.

The good weather ended too soon. I was about a mile away from Poultney when the sky opened and it started pouring heavily. The only good thing about these heavy showers is that they don't last long so by the time I arrived at Analog Cycles in Poultney, the rain stopped.

At this point I decided I needed a break and I treated myself to a burger and beer at Poultney Pub, where I also had a chance to charge my phone (remember the wrong battery cable?). The weather forecast looked surprisingly good for the rest of the day, but I learned already not to trust it at all.

I was moving north when somewhere on the way to Half Moon State Park I got caught in yet another heavy downpour - the last one of that day. I finally reached Frog Hollow Farm in Hubbardton at around 5:30pm. I booked this place through hipcamp.com as an alternative to staying at the state park. The Half Moon State Park had a silly requirement to book 2 nights minimum, which did not make sense to me, hence my decision to try the farm instead.

The campsites at the farm are all located at the top of the hill, which is good because you don't share your tent with farm animals, and it's bad because you have to carry all your stuff up a steep hill. On the other hand though, views from the campsite were awesome and my hosts provided me with a delicious focaccia/pizza for dinner.

Day 3 - Frog Hollow Farm to Springfield (102km/64mi)

The day didn't start well, all because it started raining at night and a heavy rain woke me up around 4am, I think. Fortunately, the rain was much lighter at 7am and I could pack my wet tent and keep going. The rain continued until 8:30am and as such I made a decision to skip going off-road, over the mountain tops, as this would mean climbing hills just for the sake of it - something I certainly didn't feel like doing in a wet and humid weather. I opted to stay on the main road - Rt103, especially that it had a decent, wide shoulder. After the last climb on the Old Turnpike Rd it was all downhill all the way to Ludlow, where I arrived earlier than expected, at 11:45am. Some of the severe damage from heavy floods in mid-July was still noticeable in the area. This part of Vermont was hit hard by heavy rains and local rivers and streams flooded towns and cities, leaving many roads damaged and houses ruined.

I stayed in Ludlow for a about half an hour having a panini lunch at Johnny's Kitchen, then I continued to Proctorsville. I didn't take any major stops on the way until Springfield, finally enjoying decent weather - mostly sunny with noticeably lower humidity and around 75F (24C). In Springfield I briefly stopped at the Food Co-Op to get a few snacks and I was back at the car at 2:15pm.

Overall, this was for sure the rainiest, wettest, and most humid bike trip I have ever done and I certainly don't feel like trying it again. It's just not enjoyable in such conditions, but unfortunately this summer didn't create many better opportunities. There were good moments though and a some miles of nice weather and great roads or trails to explore. I'm trying to think where I would like to go next...

Townsend S24O

Day 1, 97km (60mi)

Given my busy schedule, at least once per year I try to travel somewhere by bike and stay overnight. This year is different. First of all, we sold our car, which makes planning for any bike tour more difficult in my area. Usually, I would just put the bike in the car, drive somewhere far away from home, leave the car overnight and continue by bike. Thanks to a system of free Park&Ride lots nearly anywhere in New England, this approach worked very well for me in the past years.

Without a car it's just more complicated to get to some farther locations. Buses won't work and the only train that may help is the Amtrak Downeaster between Boston and Portland/Brunswick, ME. To keep things simple, I decided to simply start a tour from my front door. You would think that that's the most obvious solution, but it's also the least attractive one. It's because I just know my neighborhood too well already and it's just much more exciting to ride through the unknown.

First, I planned to reach Erving State Forest in Erving, MA. It's a good starting point to visit Green River, Greenfield, Deerfield, and even Southern Vermont or New Hampshire. Then, three days before the planned vacation my luck ran out. In the middle of this hot, dry summer we got a major thunderstorm in the west, which damaged many trees in the area. As such, shortly before my departure I got an email that the Erving State Forest campground would be closed for the remainder of the season. This news sort of broke my spirit and I had to change my plans in the last minute.

I decided to keep things simple, especially that weather was just not great and didn't inspire me to travel far. We were in the middle of a long heatwave, with temperatures reaching 36C (97F). I figured this was not a time when I would want to spend many hours on the bike climbing steep grades. Instead, I figured I would stay local and limit the number of kilometers/miles I would ride in one day. After a brief research, I picked Pearl Hill State Park in Townsend, MA as my overnight destination. Sure, stealth camping can be fun, but it's somewhat difficult to execute in more populated New England areas. Plus, for just $17 a night I got access to a very decent campground, hot showers and facilities.

Because it was only a quick trip I didn't have to pack much. I still took the full tent with me but almost no extra clothes, no cooking equipment and only some food. On the other hand, I packed a book to read later at the campground. You don't need much in the middle of summer for such short distance rides.

Another advantage of traveling not to far away is that I didn't have to wake up at dawn and start could delay my start until 8am. The day was hot. After the weeks-long heatwave I noticed many bogs and ponds to be completely dry. Despite the temperature I was making a decent progress, probably by taking an advantage of shade in the forested areas. I arrived at campground at around 3pm, stopping for a longer break at Parker Maple House on the NH side of the border.

Air was hot and heavy. Lack of breeze in the forest was especially problematic, as many people at the campground decided to start grilling and smoke was just sort of suspended in large clouds between trees, not finding its way up or being blown away by wind. I only wished I had 2 things with me: a hammock and cold beer. Unfortunately (or fortunately) alcoholic beverages were not allowed on the campground.

Before setting up a tent, it's important to check if ground is sufficiently level.

 Day 2, 78km (48mi)

There was some rain at 4:30am and when I woke up at 6:15 air was noticeably cooler. I had an option to take a longer route home, going south through Fitchburg and Leominster, but decided against it. It sort of didn't make much sense. I already know visited this area before and would be just adding distance to my trip only for the sake of it. I decided to head back and by 7:15am I was back on road.

I took Old City Rd through forest, which was barely a road at all. More like a rough path between the trees. It was workable but tough and if weather was only more wet, the road would certainly be quite muddy in places.

I stopped briefly in Groton to resupply in water and some snacks. At this point the morning cool but humid air was mostly gone, and by 9-10am hot weather was back. I continued east and took Indian Hill Rd through forest. It's a nice double track and I will probably revisit it later in fall.

It didn't take me long to get back home and I arrived early afternoon. Now I'm thinking that next time I need to try maybe something a bit different. It would be fun to take my upright commuter bike for an summer bike tour, ride a flatter route to a B&B (no camping) and spend evenings in a hammock with a book and beer.