How To Ride The Industrial Gravel

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  • Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
  • Country gravel roads that stretch on for miles and miles are great - but sometimes you want to ride out of the door and into the cut(s). That is what rides like these on the gravel bikes are all about - stringing together the industrial gravel. Old tracks, old factories, abandoned roads etc. Top up your sealant and join us on a chunky, glassy, and dirty ride through some rust belt history.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 117

  • @Frostbiker
    @Frostbiker 6 місяців тому +33

    As much as I like Ultraromance's bucolic rural adventures, Tim's North American urban grunge is closer to the sort of riding that is accessible to me at the moment, and that is what makes it more inspiring. Make the best out of what you have!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +10

      When I first started filming these kinds of rides that is what I thought. More people have access to this than the long windy country gravel roads. I like all of the riding - but this is where a lot of us can get riding from home. More people should explore what they have.
      Thanks - cheers!

  • @MnBicycleCommuter
    @MnBicycleCommuter 6 місяців тому +9

    Reminds me of my childhood in the 70’s. My friend’s and I would spend our summer days riding our Schwinn bikes for hours. We’d explore every nook and cranny of our neighborhood and know all the “secret” spots that only we knew how to get too. Fun.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Yeah - we decided to keep doing it as adults!!! Cheers!

    • @scottl8469
      @scottl8469 4 місяці тому

      Exactly. Looks like a total blast!

  • @StebrasNotHorses
    @StebrasNotHorses 6 місяців тому +10

    Lol, this is great. The adult version of what we all did as kids.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      That is 100% the vibe. : )

    • @Mr-lm2dv
      @Mr-lm2dv 6 місяців тому +1

      Minus the kicking over garbage pails

    • @StebrasNotHorses
      @StebrasNotHorses 6 місяців тому +1

      @@Mr-lm2dv If it ain't on film, it didn't happen. 😁

  • @daniellarson3068
    @daniellarson3068 6 місяців тому +8

    Thank You Tim - As the days get longer and warmer, it's good to see that even riding in the rust belt can be fun.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +2

      Oh yeah! Excited to be able to show it again!

  • @raceface_m2579
    @raceface_m2579 6 місяців тому +5

    Reminds me of fearless times and fearless kids exploring their town with their bikes.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +2

      100% the vibe we go for. It does feel like being kids on our little bmx's.😎

  • @leebarrett4709
    @leebarrett4709 6 місяців тому +8

    Wooo, proper industrial gravel this week, love it.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Yeah - all the cuts in this one!

  • @cgatlin65
    @cgatlin65 6 місяців тому +3

    This ride scratches me right where I itch. I want to pack up my rig, go north, find this route, ride it, and maybe do some hobo drinking along the way.
    Thanks Tim, 100% awesome!

  • @907ivan
    @907ivan 6 місяців тому +3

    Your videos make me miss northeastern Ohio! This reminds me so much of being a kid in Cleveland in the late 70s/ early 80s!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Its bringing that childhood cycling vibe back! Cheers!

  • @jackcarter233
    @jackcarter233 6 місяців тому +3

    Sunset strafing runs

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      thank god for daylight savings

  • @carlp3214
    @carlp3214 6 місяців тому +1

    Yeah man! Just did my share of Cleveland RR GRVL this past weekend. Those choky stones are a killer but so much fun!

  • @Cannabisandcoffee
    @Cannabisandcoffee 6 місяців тому +1

    Tim your photography skills really shine on this one! The lighting so perfect in those sunset scenes!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Thanks! Cheers to Daylight Savings Time!

  • @biosfearmag
    @biosfearmag 6 місяців тому +1

    Reminds me of some of my rides through the more industrial part of North Portland. Looked like fun.

  • @rockeastwood
    @rockeastwood 6 місяців тому +4

    I been staring ar RR tracks behind my house for a year wanting to ride dow. But there is a BIG sign "No Trespass". I'm a law abiding citizen 🤣Certainly not judging you guys. I'm just jealous. Nice track. It would be cool if a team was assembled to clean up some of that trash but I suppose it would just come right back. The city is slacking but I doubt many people go through a lot of those areas. Like cleaning your room and pushing everthing under the bed. Can't see it -- it doesn't exist. Cya

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      Most of the tracks we ride are abandoned or rarely used sidings. If there are a lot of signs we avoid them. “Grey areas” is our motto. People are dumping in these spots - combined with the homeless. They tend to get cleaned up a bit in the summer- but some spots no one ever go to except us and the other weirdos .

  • @petercroce
    @petercroce 6 місяців тому +1

    Akron looks like such a rip! That route looks big fun and super silly. Love it.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Most of this is definitely the side of Akron even your regular Akronite never sees. We love the cuts!

  • @johnsampson2544
    @johnsampson2544 6 місяців тому +1

    Awesome video. This is the riding that my brothers, friends, and I did growing up. Except with single-gear, 20-in bmx bikes. Keep on ridin'!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      For sure - that is our vibe - just with better bikes now!

  • @MLRomo
    @MLRomo 6 місяців тому +10

    The Gunner with the sweep back bars AND wide tires !!! Thats my jam 🎸!! 🍻

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      I do love it. Perfect for some chonk(and my back).

  • @Cycling_Brian
    @Cycling_Brian 6 місяців тому +1

    That’s one serious headlight you’re running! Great adventure and video!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      That’s the o-light - just a simple one but I love it. Love these cuts!

  • @DonnieX6
    @DonnieX6 6 місяців тому +2

    Looked like a fun ride and also fun group!! Thanks for putting it all together, some quite wild cuts there! :)

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Yeah - some interesting stuff around here! This had some wild ones for sure.

  • @JohnsonBully
    @JohnsonBully 6 місяців тому +2

    wow this is way better than riding on a road

  • @Bobby_Pyn
    @Bobby_Pyn 6 місяців тому +1

    Killer route. Love the gnarly cuts.

  • @ThriftyFramebuilder
    @ThriftyFramebuilder 6 місяців тому +3

    That’s my kind of ride. Looks like a ton of fun, but the amount of trash along the route is kinda crazy.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +2

      A blast. It’s not really what’s our city looks like - these are truly the abandoned spots and at the end of winter.

    • @ThriftyFramebuilder
      @ThriftyFramebuilder 6 місяців тому +2

      Northern cities always look their worst right after the snow melts.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      I was just photographing some important guests on a tour of town - I hate when people see even the nice parts this time of year. All the exposed power lines and fences. It is pretty here when it is green!

  • @lindajesse8250
    @lindajesse8250 6 місяців тому +1

    Doesn’t anyone work down there in the good old USA? Still life. And Tim, pick up the litter.😊

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Not very often in big factories anymore in the North.

  • @garyseckel295
    @garyseckel295 6 місяців тому +1

    Your upright bars with aft-curved grips seemed perfect for your riding!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      Thought I would always be a drop bar guy but love this!

  • @VoidRockSteady
    @VoidRockSteady 6 місяців тому +1

    This is fantastic!

  • @bikes_n_goodtimes
    @bikes_n_goodtimes 6 місяців тому +1

    Looked like a fun adventure and a cool route, wish i lived closer to you guys. Keep on rocking \m/

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      This was a blast! Love riding the cuts!

  • @mikespringer7894
    @mikespringer7894 6 місяців тому +1

    Wow just wow now that's an adventure in your own backyard super cool my dude🍺🍺

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Thanks! One of my goals has always been to inspire people to explore what they have!

  • @backroadssingletrack
    @backroadssingletrack 6 місяців тому +2

    Post-apocalyptic cycling is fun! Not flats on that route?!

  • @gabrielcontreras3993
    @gabrielcontreras3993 6 місяців тому +1

    Cool video, but I’m glad I live in SoCal. Ocean and mountains in same riding!

  • @davidsaxby5400
    @davidsaxby5400 6 місяців тому +1

    I was half expecting one of you to start floating up with a basket and ET sitting in it 🤣

  • @bz1429
    @bz1429 6 місяців тому +1

    Mannnn, I miss these kinds of rides. I grew up riding in NYC and transplanted to CO about 10 years ago . There is NO riding like this out in CO, that’s for sure!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      I'm often envious of the west - but we make the most of what we have!

  • @designfcs
    @designfcs 6 місяців тому +1

    love it...

  • @JDandy
    @JDandy 6 місяців тому +1

    Oh my! That was a particularly spicy one. 🌶️

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Yeah - all the cuts for sure!

  • @jackcarter233
    @jackcarter233 6 місяців тому +1

    Excellent

  • @cb6866
    @cb6866 6 місяців тому +1

    Thanks Tim....great music as always . Gnarly stuff , really cool .....environs ! Was this all one ride ?

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      This was a greatest hits of some of those crazy Akron cuts - yes - all one evening ride. Really strung quite the route together!

    • @cb6866
      @cb6866 6 місяців тому +1

      @@TimFitzwater thank you

  • @zippome
    @zippome 6 місяців тому +1

    Was that part of the new Rubber city heritage trail @ 2:35 or so?

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +2

      Yes - we were surprised how much progress they've made already.

  • @robertgraves3215
    @robertgraves3215 6 місяців тому +1

    Request for stats and a Q: Over the course of the past year, how many flats TOTAL has your group had to deal with , and what is the praised flatproof Rust Belt Death Zone tire? I know Marathons rule, but I bet some of those young guys say they're too heavy. And slow. You rode past what appears to be an oil well? Oh and have you ever been busted for trespassing , or had zombies leap out from behind pillars in that creepy factory. Dupont, was it?

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      No one in our group really tries to ride flat proof tires. We prepare the nice supple tires for the most part. I've definitely torn a few up. Tubeless has been a huge advantage - but I sometimes still have to throw a tube in there. We don't flat for this kind of riding as much as you might think though. Every few months someone flats on a ride maybe.
      We have never been busted but we have been warned. If there are a lot of obvious signs we don't ride there - we like the "grey areas".

  • @JDanielFerreira
    @JDanielFerreira 6 місяців тому +1

    Brutal!!!!🤛

  • @1Fmarcel
    @1Fmarcel 6 місяців тому +4

    The amount of littering is staggering. We, kind of, have the same problem here in Europe, but it seems that Japan knows how.
    Sure hope you didn't had to many punctures.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +3

      Yeah - its kinda wild. To be clear this is the side of Akron most people never see, the abandoned tracks, roads and factories. Our actual bike paths and streets don't look like this. Also - some spots will get cleaned up a bit as we are just coming off of winter.
      Still - Akron has shrunk and there is a lot of uncared for post-industrial spots.

  • @larrgemarrge
    @larrgemarrge 6 місяців тому +5

    First 🥇

    • @kennydavis5338
      @kennydavis5338 6 місяців тому +1

      Great route! Thanks for the ride!

  • @WheelersAtLarge
    @WheelersAtLarge 6 місяців тому +3

    Gravel riders, bikers, factory gravel, trash filled wastelands and a pretty pithy soundtrack... Nice👍

  • @rogerhart612
    @rogerhart612 6 місяців тому +3

    Badass video. Loved every minute. Wish I was riding with you. Keep'em coming Tim.👏👏

  • @330_Crew
    @330_Crew 6 місяців тому +2

    I clicked expecting a tutorial. Instead I got a bunch of hooligans having fun, but I still don’t know how to ride industrial gravel.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      It was a tutorial and it sounds like you completely learned the lesson. 😎

  • @DIY-DaddyO
    @DIY-DaddyO 6 місяців тому +1

    I'd love to ride like that with a bunch of like minded souls. I guess it's a case of "If you ride it, they will come" . I'd try to organise a rideout if i wasn't such a lazy anarchist 😂 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +1

      We are lazy but these are the cuts.

  • @nicemakgaiver5991
    @nicemakgaiver5991 6 місяців тому +1

    nice dude

  • @bruceboysen1671
    @bruceboysen1671 Місяць тому +1

    I love that type of riding. I can’t do it here unless I went up to Hartford to ride.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  Місяць тому

      We stayed in east Hartford on a tour!😬

  • @themoodyteam
    @themoodyteam 6 місяців тому +3

    Goonies forever! 🤟

  • @porkchop1343
    @porkchop1343 6 місяців тому +1

    Very cool. No flats?

  • @rustyshackleford9498
    @rustyshackleford9498 6 місяців тому +1

    That evasion is sweet.

  • @solidbob2005
    @solidbob2005 6 місяців тому +1

    Definitely reminds me of riding bikes around Youngstown as a kid. Rad video.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Definitely similar vibes to Youngstown - we have some routes planned for out that way.
      Thanks! Cheers!

  • @DAMN55117
    @DAMN55117 6 місяців тому +1

    Yes! Just what I needed. Never disappoints. Loved those grassy in town downhills.

  • @rlshaffer23
    @rlshaffer23 6 місяців тому +1

    Nice!!!

  • @Mr-lm2dv
    @Mr-lm2dv 6 місяців тому +1

    Riding fine Rene Herse tires on urban sketch.... This is so my jam! 😅

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Yup - only sliced up a few sets so far!

  • @BCD110
    @BCD110 6 місяців тому +1

    Wow!! That was a blast!! Quite the crew you have there. Thanks Tim!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Thank you! We love to try and find every interesting bit we can.

  • @ronhoover5516
    @ronhoover5516 6 місяців тому +1

    Really cool video. Thank you for taking us along!

  • @chrisfyb
    @chrisfyb 6 місяців тому +1

    Can't wait to come partake!! The best riding to be had.

  • @tonyalewis9053
    @tonyalewis9053 6 місяців тому +1

    Yippee it’s almost Spring!

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Spring-like weather and daylight savings!

  • @leroygee2902
    @leroygee2902 6 місяців тому +1

    Awesome! I'm jealous! lol

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому

      Some of the greatest hits in out post-industrial cuts.

  • @IRydeBikes
    @IRydeBikes 6 місяців тому

    You ever run into any sketchy people on those rides?

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  6 місяців тому +2

      No one who has ever sketched me out more than drivers on regular roads.

  • @ThriftyFramebuilder
    @ThriftyFramebuilder 5 місяців тому +1

    Do you ever get hassled by RR employees riding along the railroad tracks? I ride the gravel along side them in my town, and so far have avoided any tickets or confrontations with rail workers.

    • @TimFitzwater
      @TimFitzwater  5 місяців тому

      A lot of the tracks we ride are abandoned but we've never had problems with any RR workers. The cops told us to stay aways from an access road next to some active tracks once.