A Short Ride on the Royal Enfield Himalayan

Recharging My Mental Battery

I don’t have to go far on the bike to feel pretty good. Especially this time of year when the mornings are cool and the light and color is beginning to change. A bowl of Cheerios with blueberries at home was all the fuel I needed to head out and explore some gravel roads in Stone Valley. I only had a couple hours to work with which is plenty to shed whatever burdens might be weighing me down.

The Himalayan has really become a favorite.

Where Has the Fog Gone?

I have a thing for fog. An intersection of my interest in photography mixing with riding. There is a markedly ethereal feeling to any photograph made in fog. It strips away a lot of detail leaving only the essence of the scene. I was hoping to find such examples in the mountains but was disappointed to find only a little mist in the air.

In the past I have ridden in some really heavy fog. Sometimes so thick that I had to slow down and open my visor so I could listen for other vehicles. Thinking about it now I can’t wonder if I was nuts to ride in that kind of weather.

Where Am I?

There was a sign with a map just to the left of this picture. I studied it for awhile but could not figure out exactly where I was in Penn State’s Stone Valley Experimental Forest. It surprised me that I had never ridden on these roads before. I think they may have all been gated off and only recently opened. Not sure. But surprising now since it is only 15 miles from my house. It’s always enjoyable to have a little feeling of being lost.

Wandering Aimlessly

Gravel roads still make me smile. Even more so with the new Dunlop TrailMax Mission tires on the bike. A surer bite on the gravel than the stock CEAT tires. The Himalayan has proved itself a great bike for me to explore the back roads here. No complaints just more and more love as I go.

The road was a little wet leaving an occasionally slippery spot of limestone muck. It’s nice to have a little challenge when riding.

Deeper into the Woods

What’s nice about a ride like this is being able to just keep going deeper and deeper into the woods, not knowing where you are, and knowing it doesn’t matter because eventually you’ll emerge on pavement which will lead to familiar territory. But it did get darker and thicker as I went. There was no cell coverage at this point but I did have my Garmin InReach Mini 2 in case there was a problem. It was dangling from my Aerostich Darien jacket.

Stone Valley Experimental Forest

There’s a marked difference between the private land the road traversed and the Penn State’s Stone Valley Experimental Forest lands. The track was better maintained, and had yellow markers to guide a snowplow. I can only think there must be some research happening that requires winter access.

The brochure at the above link is something I worked on a long time ago. Almost all the photographs are mine. Weird seeing it again.

For being so close to home this was one of the more seemingly remote places I’ve ridden in a long time. Even though it’s not. I was out there for about an hour riding around and never saw another vehicle or person. Pretty nice riding.

I love the short rides I can have on my Royal Enfield Himalayan.