Shadowfax

Shadowfax enjoying Idstein

Last month, I mentioned bicycling as a new-found hobby and delight.  On 5 June, we welcomed a new bicycle to the family: say hello to Shadowfax, a Trek Checkpoint AL3 gravel bike.

A gravel bike is (basically) a road bike with forks that can accommodate wider tires (for better off-road riding), and a more upright/comfortable sitting position. They're slower than road bikes (but can handle more varied surfaces), but faster than hybrid/mountain bikes.  Several friends recommended this type of bike to me, and (thus far) I've been extremely happy with the choice.  I'm mostly on the road or paved surfaces, and enjoy going as fast as I can, but also didn't like the riding position of road bikes, and wanted to be able to take on the myriad trails in Germany that suddenly switch from pavement to macadam to gravel to dirt to cobblestone and back again. The gravel bike is the answer.

You may note from the above that the tires look more suited to roads than gravel. You're right.  I'm thinking of swapping them out for wider ones, but so far they've handled well.

Initial tests (on my familiar circuits) indicate that this bike enables me to go 15% faster than my 2003 Jamis Aurora touring bike. It's 5 lbs lighter, too, which certainly helps.  As of this writing, I've done 6 rides for 74 miles. Shadowfax has done a great job on all surfaces- pavement, gravel, dirt, cobblestone.  Here he is in Idstein, on my longest ride (25 miles):

A final note on the name: Shadowfax is the name of Gandalf's horse in The Lord of the Rings.  His film entrance is splendid:



If only I could train my bike to come at my summons.

Welcome, Shadowfax. "Show us the meaning of haste."