Published On Aug 26, 2024
Come along on my 107 km bike ride on the gravel roads between Abercorn and Dunham, Quebec, Canada. I parked in Abercorn and zig-zagged around the area, sticking almost entirely to gravel roads, and there ended up being a LOT of elevation for this distance ride: 1714 meters (5623 feet)! No huge climbs, but you're pretty much ALWAYS going up or down.
The eagle-eyed among you will notice that I'm on a new bike! Yes, I got myself a new Santa Cruz Stigmata (version 4) gravel bike, with clearance for huge 50mm tires, a suspension fork (to help my wrecked shoulder), a dropper post (actually very useful for descending in confidence!), and best of all, a SRAM "mullet" drivetrain, with a 10-52 tooth cassette to help me drag my aging body up all these climbs that I love to ride for some reason. I only have 500 km on it at this point, but so far I love it! No, it's not light, but neither am I, so we get along just fine.
It was a great ride, but if I did it again, I'd park in Frelighsburg. As I rode by the municipal park there, I noticed that there was plenty of parking and lots of riders were coming and going -- clearly a great place to start for awesome gravel and road riding (easy access to Vermont as well).
Here is a link to the ride on Strava:
/ strava