Gravel Grinder News Flash! The Heywood Ride

Almanzo is no longer- Now there is The Heywood Ride

News came in today that the event once known as the Almanzo 100, which had traded hands and had the name retired, will now be called "The Heywood Ride". The event will be run out of Northfield, Minnesota on the third week of May. Presumably this would be on Saturday, which was the traditional date for the Almanzo 100.

The Almanzo 100 and its attendant events, the Royal 165, and the 380 mile long Alexander, were run out of Spring Valley, Minnesota until 2018. Then, in a series of strange events, Almanzo ended up in Northfield, then it was changed in terms of details on how it was run, and then the event was turned over to the new Race Director, Marty Larson. For a deeper dive into the history of these events concerning the Almanzo 100, see this post.

After the 2019 running, Almanzo's creator, Chris Skogen, retired the name. It was unclear then what was going to happen with an event on gravel which now had no name. Then today's news came out. So, that piece of the puzzle has been solved. More details will be coming, so stay tuned to this channel and RidingGravel.com for more updates.