Bike Around Payette Lake

by scott

I’ve been bicycling around Payette lake the last few days on a road bike as it’s a fun and quick way to get roughly ~16 miles in at tempo.  I wasn’t sure how the dirt section would be on a road bike and have spent way too much timing thinking about what kind of bike would be bested suited for the ride — mountain, road, cross, or road with slightly wider tires.  I don’t have a cyclocross bike, so that’s not an option, but I was convinced that it would be the machine of choice.  Without a cross bike in the stable, I decided heading out on my “training/rain” road bike was the best bet.  Like my race bike, it has 23mm tires on it and is built for going fast on smooth and hard surfaces.  Despite this however, in general, the dirt section wasn’t a problem at all.  I guess this is proof:  Through what was evidently a particularly bumpy and “washboardy” section, I came upon a “Trail Rated” Jeep Liberty  making it’s way down the road in front of me, carefully dodging holes, ruts and washboard.  A minute or so later, he pulled over to the side so I could pass.  “Only in a Jeep” his bumper sticker read.