This morning I headed to Autaugaville and finished marking off 90% of the dirt roads in Autauga county on the gravel maps I use to make new routes. It was raining on the way out, and from the last excursion I made to map out the Mulberry Creek routes, I knew it could get dicey. It didn’t stop raining until I was about 5 miles in, but the roads were great.
I saw no mud, and was able to drive 30-40mph on all of the dirt roads. There are some long remote stretches, but I was able to work in a couple of water stops that don’t require much more than 30mi to get to a church or store.
The majority of these roads are hard pack orange clay with some sand mixed in, very reminiscent of Clanton dirt. It drains incredibly well, so this is a good new route for when it has been raining. There is some sand here and there, and some tiny river pebbles consistently scattered about. If it has not rained for a week, these roads might get a little sandy in spots.
This route only shares about 5% of it’s roads with the other shared routes. Each time I map one out, I try to make it as new as possible. Some of you may have ridden all these roads, but I hope you all enjoy the new routes. At some point I plan to come back over these areas after having mapped all the roads, and make new routes that are more condensed and have even more dirt.
I will be hosting the first group ride on these routes on Saturday, August 10, 2024. Hope you can join. Either way, enjoy!
