Yesterday was the first time in a long time that no one else showed up to ride. I wonder if that was because of the honesty in the event post https://alabamacyclingcalendar.com/10-4-25-perry-oakmulgee-66-52-28mi-gravel-ride-maplesville/

I did call out climbing a few times, and there were definitely a few notable climbs. This route is riddled with lots of punchy climbs, but a few of them get pretty steep and some get long.

The route is 77% gravel and the surface type changes every 30 seconds. It will always be different, based on how long since rain and time of day. It has been several weeks since rain, so yesterday the route had five places where the sand got too deep to ride. I didn’t have to walk more than 30 yards in total for sand.

There is a lot of chunk out there, spots where large to medium size gravel get poured for bad spots in the road. There is some dry, rutty technical sections that would be better on a mountain bike. Overall is mostly wide open forest roads with some really nice views.

It is definitely more challenging than the Clanton routes, more reminiscent of the eastern part of Talladega National Forest. I really enjoyed it solo.

Pics from the trip, found an albino toad at the water spigot at Bethel Baptist, https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wzinaqh8c0xan6o3bd7df/AFpF1UlYSDL0WhLvqtI97bs?rlkey=d757xgicc1wdacv2om7hnly7t&dl=0