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| Image courtesy of Discover Gravel LLC |
Monday saw the "official" announcement for the Flint Hills Ultra-Gravel Route. This is a self-supported, 1,050 mile loop set up by Discover Gravel LLC's Bobby Thompson. It is pretty much his "love letter to gravel" in that there are no plans for him to profit off of this. As he said to me in an email, his wish is that this route will be "....ultimately providing an experience for the Riders that will hopefully fan the gravel fire for another generation."
From the press release:
"The route is entirely on public roads and is available to ride year round. FHUGR takes you through 16 counties in two states. Fourteen of those counties are in Kansas and two are in Oklahoma. The two Oklahoma counties are Kay and Osage. Kay county is home to the Kaw Nation. Osage county is home to the Osage Nation. Towns in all 16 counties vary from "ghost" to towns of a few thousand. Emporia KS is by far the largest town on the route although many others are within a few hours pedal from the route."
There will be a mass start for this route called the "Flint Hills Ultra Gravel Tour". this will occur on Memorial Day Weekend out of Emporia, Kansas. Riders are invited to take on the route starting in front of the Emporia Zoo at 8am on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. While there is no entry fee, Bobby is asking folks to pre-register so he can navigate logistical planning better. Things like long term parking, etc..
To learn more you can go to www.discovergravel.com. I also will have Bobby on for an interview on "The Guitar Ted Podcast" soon.
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| The Easton EC90 ALX Carbon Gravel Bar (Image courtesy of Easton) |
Elite athletes in the upper echelons of gravel racing are influencing product design now and one of the areas that racers have not liked about traditional gravel style is flared drop bars.
So, now we're seeing a trend towards less flare and less wide bars in a quest for more aerodynamically efficient racing. Obviously carbon and lightweight are also concerns here. Easton has developed, along with the input from several of their sponsored athletes in the gravel scene, this new EC90 ALX Carbon Drop Bar.
Featuring 10° of flare only, these bars have optimized, size-specific carbon profiles aimed at reducing vibrations for the rider. The ergonomic top section is optimized for each size as well, giving a similar ride feel across the range of sizes available. Those sizes include a new, 38cm width which was also requested by some of the the Easton sponsored athletes.
Ridden by overall Life Time Grand Prix winner, Haley Hunter-Smith and other top gravel athletes, this bar weighs in at 205 grams for the 42cm size and costs $299.99 USD/$399.99CAD.
Comments: As the "roadification" of gravel steams forward at an alarming pace, it is no wonder that bars like these are being offered. Knowing how the 12° of flare in a Salsa Cycles Cowbell bar works though, I suspect that this bar will be okay as well. Still, I would contend that anytime a compromise for going fast is made, it takes away from comfort, in general. Easton claims this bar has an engineered-in comfort factor while it is supposed to retain torsional stiffness. I guess I'll find out soon enough. Easton has one on the way in for test and review for Riding Gravel. Stay tuned....
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| That's N.Y. Roll's dog, Ella. |
We posted another podcast episode late last week. (AND one THIS week here.) In case you missed that, the link to listen is HERE. (or HERE!- for this week's show) Thanks to those who have, or will listen, and especially to those of you that have donated to help support the podcast. (Interested in supporting the show? Simply donate at PayPal to g.ted.productions@gmail.com)
In news for the podcast, we picked up a new sponsor in The Spinistry, a Texas based outfit that has been promoting gravel events since 2010. They have and still put on popular gravel events like the Red River Riot, the Texas Chainring Massacre, and the ultra-distance, gravel/bikepacking event, the RAT. (Ride Across Texas)
We are also lining up interviews now with a couple of promoters of gravel events from different states, as noted above in the FHUG story above. So, look for that to be happening in the weeks to come. You might also notice a slight change to the name of the podcast. I will be trying to make tweaks and changes that make sense for the show this year. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.
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| Fox Racing's Union in Red (Image courtesy of Fox) |
Those of you that know that Fox Racing got its start in the late 70's in motocross know that Fox has done boots for moto riders for years. Well, now they have tossed their helmet into the ring as a cycling shoe manufacturer as well.
They introduced the Union range of MTB shoes yesterday. These tend toward the flat pedal, street shoe look, and not the roadie/XC MTB type of shoe. A couple of the shoes even have laces. So, I feel that these shoes will appeal to the adventurous gravel rider, bike packer, and tourist as well as being a shoe for MTB.
The top of the range Union BOA has, as you might expect, BOA closures and is the most expensive at $249.95. The mid-range Union is the one I think is the most interesting as it has laces, still has the SPD capabilities of the Union BOA. but clocks in at $179.95. About 70 bucks less, and basically is the same shoe functionally. The Union Flat is cheaper still at about 30 bucks less, but is for flat pedals only and lacks the Velcro strap to harness in those loose laces.
I may have a pair show up here to test. Stay tuned on that......
That's a wrap for this week. Have a great weekend and get out and ride if you can! Thanks for reading Guitar Ted Productions.
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