Friday News And Views

This and three other designs coming soon....

Stickers:

I found out yesterday that my partner in Riding Gravel, Ben Welnak, has come up with four new stickers that should be available sometime soon. When I know more I will pass it along here.

There will be "Addicted To Gravel" stickers in this run, in case you were wondering. Stay tuned.....

News on next year's Grinder Nats has come out...

 Grinder Nats, Gravelleurs Raid Join Forces:

The Gravelleur's Raid event has been an annual event for a while now and when Grinder Nationals announced that they were going to have an event in the same area, but later in June, it sent out a red flag to the organizers. To their credit, instead of fighting with each other these events have now joined forces and Grinder Nationals will now happen in conjunction with Gravelleur's Raid on April 7th, 2018.

Here's the Press release:

PRESS RELEASE: Alright gravel peeps here we go.
The Gravelleur's Raid 100 mile gravel road race will now be your gravel Grinder Nationals event. It will be a fully supported gravel event.
It is owned and operated by the United States Endurance Cycling Federation. http://www.usecf.com/
We will be growing the event and making it one of the top gravel races in the United States.
More info to come.
The 50 mile non-competitive event will be called Gravelleur's Raid and become a bigger and better event also.

There ya go......

Commentary: There will be a lot of folks that want to piss and moan about how "gravel racing is being  ruined", or by expressing some similar comments. I have talked with one of the USECF head honches, Troy, worked alongside of him, and have interviewed him. He gets it. The USECF grew up out of a grassroots background. The USECF wants to keep the vibe that gravel racing has always had, but they want to also have an opportunity for its best racers to gain recognition and be rewraded with a jersey that shows that. As far as I know, that's all they want to do. 

Like I have said, I've spoken with Troy from the USECF. Have any of the other commenters dug into this and asked folks from the organization what's up? Or are we just shooting from the hip? Uh huh.......

I will pass along this: The USECF jumped at the chance to do a "Gravel Nationals" because they knew that the USAC Federation was going to try to do it. I doubt that USAC would be interested in doing things in a "grassroots way" judging by how they have operated throughout their history. So, there is that nugget to chew on as well.

Finally, I feel that the Grinder Nationals is not doing anything now, or will do anything in the future that say, an event like Dirty Kanza has not already done before. That's likely what the organizers are shooting for here. So, the DK200 draws well over 2000 racers and supporting folks to Emporia every June. If that is the Grinder Nats template, I don't see how that "ruins" gravel racing, or the scene. I guess if it rankles your feathers, you could always just not bother with it, ya know....... We do have a choice.

2018 Trek Roscoe 8- A 27.5+ rig (Image courtesy of Trek Bicycles)

Trek Resurrects The Roscoe Model, Gives it Plus Wheels:

Remember the old Fisher Roscoe? Well, Trek has dredged up another old Fisher Bikes model name and tacked it on to this new, 27.5+ wheeled hard tail. You can think of it as a smaller wheeled Stache.

There will be two models offered to start with. The Roscoe 7 will retail for right at a grand and the Roscoe 8 will basically be $1200.00 list. The Orange Roscoe 8 has an aluminum frame with internal rear derailleur and dropper post routing, an NX 1X 11 group, and comes with a dropper. It also has a 141mm, open drop out rear end that is like a Boost hub but with a quick release. The fork has 120mm travel, by the way, and the bike is surprisingly shown with Schwalbe tires.I imagine at some point Bontrager will have 27.5+ rubber for these bikes.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out going forward because the X Cal series, also redesigned for 2018, is in this same price point. Trek will certainly be eyeballing which line does better and I wouldn't be surprised to see one or the other go away in the future. But then again, this is Trek and they manufacture a boat load of models.

I like the Roscoe 8. It seems like a better spec than a Timberjack and you'll likely be able to actually find one to test ride. I am a little leery of the rear axle spacing, which seems out of step with the current "axle du jour" standards. But otherwise it seems like a decent entry to plus bikes from a good name brand company.

Okay, that's it for this week. Have a great weekend and stay cool!

Friday News And Views

This and three other designs coming soon....

Stickers:

I found out yesterday that my partner in Riding Gravel, Ben Welnak, has come up with four new stickers that should be available sometime soon. When I know more I will pass it along here.

There will be "Addicted To Gravel" stickers in this run, in case you were wondering. Stay tuned.....

News on next year's Grinder Nats has come out...

 Grinder Nats, Gravelleurs Raid Join Forces:

The Gravelleur's Raid event has been an annual event for a while now and when Grinder Nationals announced that they were going to have an event in the same area, but later in June, it sent out a red flag to the organizers. To their credit, instead of fighting with each other these events have now joined forces and Grinder Nationals will now happen in conjunction with Gravelleur's Raid on April 7th, 2018.

Here's the Press release:

PRESS RELEASE: Alright gravel peeps here we go.
The Gravelleur's Raid 100 mile gravel road race will now be your gravel Grinder Nationals event. It will be a fully supported gravel event.
It is owned and operated by the United States Endurance Cycling Federation. http://www.usecf.com/
We will be growing the event and making it one of the top gravel races in the United States.
More info to come.
The 50 mile non-competitive event will be called Gravelleur's Raid and become a bigger and better event also.

There ya go......

Commentary: There will be a lot of folks that want to piss and moan about how "gravel racing is being  ruined", or by expressing some similar comments. I have talked with one of the USECF head honches, Troy, worked alongside of him, and have interviewed him. He gets it. The USECF grew up out of a grassroots background. The USECF wants to keep the vibe that gravel racing has always had, but they want to also have an opportunity for its best racers to gain recognition and be rewraded with a jersey that shows that. As far as I know, that's all they want to do. 

Like I have said, I've spoken with Troy from the USECF. Have any of the other commenters dug into this and asked folks from the organization what's up? Or are we just shooting from the hip? Uh huh.......

I will pass along this: The USECF jumped at the chance to do a "Gravel Nationals" because they knew that the USAC Federation was going to try to do it. I doubt that USAC would be interested in doing things in a "grassroots way" judging by how they have operated throughout their history. So, there is that nugget to chew on as well.

Finally, I feel that the Grinder Nationals is not doing anything now, or will do anything in the future that say, an event like Dirty Kanza has not already done before. That's likely what the organizers are shooting for here. So, the DK200 draws well over 2000 racers and supporting folks to Emporia every June. If that is the Grinder Nats template, I don't see how that "ruins" gravel racing, or the scene. I guess if it rankles your feathers, you could always just not bother with it, ya know....... We do have a choice.

2018 Trek Roscoe 8- A 27.5+ rig (Image courtesy of Trek Bicycles)

Trek Resurrects The Roscoe Model, Gives it Plus Wheels:

Remember the old Fisher Roscoe? Well, Trek has dredged up another old Fisher Bikes model name and tacked it on to this new, 27.5+ wheeled hard tail. You can think of it as a smaller wheeled Stache.

There will be two models offered to start with. The Roscoe 7 will retail for right at a grand and the Roscoe 8 will basically be $1200.00 list. The Orange Roscoe 8 has an aluminum frame with internal rear derailleur and dropper post routing, an NX 1X 11 group, and comes with a dropper. It also has a 141mm, open drop out rear end that is like a Boost hub but with a quick release. The fork has 120mm travel, by the way, and the bike is surprisingly shown with Schwalbe tires.I imagine at some point Bontrager will have 27.5+ rubber for these bikes.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out going forward because the X Cal series, also redesigned for 2018, is in this same price point. Trek will certainly be eyeballing which line does better and I wouldn't be surprised to see one or the other go away in the future. But then again, this is Trek and they manufacture a boat load of models.

I like the Roscoe 8. It seems like a better spec than a Timberjack and you'll likely be able to actually find one to test ride. I am a little leery of the rear axle spacing, which seems out of step with the current "axle du jour" standards. But otherwise it seems like a decent entry to plus bikes from a good name brand company.

Okay, that's it for this week. Have a great weekend and stay cool!

Almanzo Report: Cherry Grove Checkpoint

Jacob waiting in the cold rain and wind for things to get started.

The Almanzo 100, probably one of the most classic of gravel road events, was held again this past weekend up in Spring Valley, Minnesota. The 11th running of this event was marked by some brutal conditions. My son, Jacob, and I were up to help with the RidingGravel.com Cherry Grove Checkpoint. This is the tale of the day as I saw it....

Our trip was arranged so that we could ride up and back again with my friend Marty in his Ford Flex. Marty picked us up at 7:00am and we hightailed it up North, raining and blowing all the way. Marty had an intrepid attitude going in to this event and he seemed to be well prepared for the day. He dumped us off in Cherry Grove at about 8:30 am and headed off to find his starting spot in the event.

We were left in the forlorn looking town made even more dreary by the cold, wind driven rain which was slashing down and drowning everything in a heat sucking, watery curse. Only the robins seemed pleased as they hopped about, joyfully chirping as they pulled doomed earthworms out of the water-logged ground. Whomever showed up for this Almanzo was in for a brutal day, that was for sure.

Jacob and I shivered and milled about as best we could, trying to stay warm and engaged with each other. Actually, with the sub-40 degree temperatures, the wet air, and the strong winds, I was already going in to the throes of hypothermia after only being there about an hour. My chest ached and I tried to do some exercises to get the blood pumping again. Fortunately, after a little over an hour, Ben and Matt showed up with all the supplies and we set about to getting the checkpoint operable.

Matt chats with Troy from the USECF Gravel Nationals

Ben scored the use of this fire pit from the local Spring Valley hardware store owner. It was much appreciated!

We set about to getting some shelter up first of all. It  was a pop up tent given to Ben to use by Surly Brewing. The work was welcomed by Jacob and I and it helped to warm me right up. I think had I had to stand out there much longer I might have been in trouble. The work went fast with many hands. We were joined in our efforts by Troy from the USECF Gravel Nationals (If you haven't heard of Gravel Nationals, I recommend listening to this podcast) Matt and Ben also helped a lot to get the checkpoint looking like something within a short period of time. Matt kicked right in to frying bacon and my son assisted him in that task. Meanwhile, Ben and I got a fire going in a borrowed fire pit that Ben had secured from the local hardware store owner in Spring Valley. Not long afterward, the man from Cherry Grove in charge of taking care of the community center stopped by and opened up the place which had heat and a clean, dry place to sit. Now we were ready for the first riders.

First rider through.

The first seven riders trickled through within an hour or so of each other and then it took a long time before we saw anyone else.

Suddenly a call went up that there was a rider spotted. He was all alone and looked a little unhappy, but who wouldn't be in those conditions? Anyway, it was quite a few minutes before we saw another pair, then quite a few minutes more before we saw another lone rider. Finally, we had about seven go through within about an hour or so of each other, then nothing for a long time.

Meanwhile we went in to the community center, which was a country school from the 1880's to 1954, and warmed up by the gas furnace. We "cooked" our wet clothes on top, just like we used to do back when I was a kid at many of my relative's country homes when we would get wet playing in the snow as kids.

(L-R) Sam Cohen, Troy from Gravel Nationals, and Ben Welnak gathered under the tarp behind the RadTour's Sprinter van.

We noted a Sprinter van which pulled up, set out a big, blue tarp, and had a dog cavorting about. It was Audrey Wiedemier and Sam Cohen who were helping support some folks, I believe, on the Almanzo. Anyway, Audrey has a touring business going where she takes folks on short, mixed gravel and pavement routes to farms where the idea is to get local produce and meats to eat. I probably have some of that wrong, but maybe someone could comment on this post and set me straight?

Anyway, Audrey and Sam had tea and were very gracious to anyone who ducked under their blue tarp for shelter. And we needed all the shelter we could get. It blew hard and rained a lot most of the day.

Riders that stopped by at the checkpoint were treated to a warm fire and lots of attention from the bystanders.

Jason O'Mahoney of Gravel Cyclist avails himself of the hospitality at the RidingGravel.com food table.

We were told by Pat Sorensen of Penn Cycles that "everybody is dropping out..." and while we didn't know exactly what that meant, we had only seen about 15 cyclists by 3:00pm! However; a slug of bikers were spotted, and then a slow trickle of wet, weary cyclists were coming by in ones and twos until probably around 5:30 or so. By that time we were seeing a few of the Royal 162 riders, of which there were only seven or so left of that started the event. One of them, the leader, Greg Gleason, went steaming by on his distinctive Salsa Cycles Cutthroat. He looked really strong.

I was told by Joel Raygor that Ben Mullin, who was in Trans Iowa v13 this year, had a "special gift" which he was carrying for me and that I should wait for him to reach Cherry Grove. By this point, Marty, who had abandoned in Preston, was there waiting with our ride back to Waterloo. It was a great thing that Marty was so amenable to the idea of waiting around a bit longer. Thanks Marty!! In fact, Marty ended up giving a local to us rider a hitch back to the starting line. So, it all worked out.

Me (L) and Ben Mullin, who hauled this sixer of beer for 100 plus miles in his hydration pack to give to me. Photo by Martin Bunge

Ben eventually rolled in with a few other riders and proceeded to dislodge six cans of craft beer which he had hauled around the Royal course to give to me along with a movie pass for my wife. What a guy! Don't try this at home kids, because hauling around all that extra weight in those conditions was a handicap Ben didn't need. That was super awesome of him to do and I won't soon forget about that.

Well, a few more riders came around after that, but according to the report we had from Joel Raygor, the last of the riders were to arrive very soon. I have no hard numbers on how many folks went by us. I lost track at 25-30, but I would be very surprised if more than 75 riders passed us at Cherry Grove. (NOTE: Initial Almanzo tabulations show 110. I find that hard to fathom myself.) It was a very difficult day, and many made a wiser decision for themselves and pulled out after shorter rides, or decided not to come at all. Ben Welnak, who was at the start, said maybe 300 folks were in Spring Valley to start the event Saturday. So, obviously this unseasonably cold, wet, windy weather has had a big effect upon the turnout and the finishing numbers.

Martin took us home and we arrived shortly before sunset. Probably about a ten hour day of exposure for myself and my son, but we had a blast and we hope that our "gravel family" had a good time despite the conditions. I look forward to seeing many of you again and more at the Dirty Kanza 200 in a couple of weeks from now. Hopefully the nasty weather will leave us alone!

Thank You: To Ben Welnak and Matt McCauley of RidingGravel.com, to Troy of the USECF Gravel Worlds, Penn Cycles, The Spring Valley Tourism Board, The Cherry Grove Community Center, Surly Brewing Company, and especially to all of the outstanding Almanzo riders. Thanks to all that came to hang out with us at the checkpoint. It was wonderful to have been with you all. #gravelfamily Finally- A big Thank You to Martin Bunge for the transportation and great conversation.

Almanzo Report: Cherry Grove Checkpoint

Jacob waiting in the cold rain and wind for things to get started.

The Almanzo 100, probably one of the most classic of gravel road events, was held again this past weekend up in Spring Valley, Minnesota. The 11th running of this event was marked by some brutal conditions. My son, Jacob, and I were up to help with the RidingGravel.com Cherry Grove Checkpoint. This is the tale of the day as I saw it....

Our trip was arranged so that we could ride up and back again with my friend Marty in his Ford Flex. Marty picked us up at 7:00am and we hightailed it up North, raining and blowing all the way. Marty had an intrepid attitude going in to this event and he seemed to be well prepared for the day. He dumped us off in Cherry Grove at about 8:30 am and headed off to find his starting spot in the event.

We were left in the forlorn looking town made even more dreary by the cold, wind driven rain which was slashing down and drowning everything in a heat sucking, watery curse. Only the robins seemed pleased as they hopped about, joyfully chirping as they pulled doomed earthworms out of the water-logged ground. Whomever showed up for this Almanzo was in for a brutal day, that was for sure.

Jacob and I shivered and milled about as best we could, trying to stay warm and engaged with each other. Actually, with the sub-40 degree temperatures, the wet air, and the strong winds, I was already going in to the throes of hypothermia after only being there about an hour. My chest ached and I tried to do some exercises to get the blood pumping again. Fortunately, after a little over an hour, Ben and Matt showed up with all the supplies and we set about to getting the checkpoint operable.

Matt chats with Troy from the USECF Gravel Nationals

Ben scored the use of this fire pit from the local Spring Valley hardware store owner. It was much appreciated!

We set about to getting some shelter up first of all. It  was a pop up tent given to Ben to use by Surly Brewing. The work was welcomed by Jacob and I and it helped to warm me right up. I think had I had to stand out there much longer I might have been in trouble. The work went fast with many hands. We were joined in our efforts by Troy from the USECF Gravel Nationals (If you haven't heard of Gravel Nationals, I recommend listening to this podcast) Matt and Ben also helped a lot to get the checkpoint looking like something within a short period of time. Matt kicked right in to frying bacon and my son assisted him in that task. Meanwhile, Ben and I got a fire going in a borrowed fire pit that Ben had secured from the local hardware store owner in Spring Valley. Not long afterward, the man from Cherry Grove in charge of taking care of the community center stopped by and opened up the place which had heat and a clean, dry place to sit. Now we were ready for the first riders.

First rider through.

The first seven riders trickled through within an hour or so of each other and then it took a long time before we saw anyone else.

Suddenly a call went up that there was a rider spotted. He was all alone and looked a little unhappy, but who wouldn't be in those conditions? Anyway, it was quite a few minutes before we saw another pair, then quite a few minutes more before we saw another lone rider. Finally, we had about seven go through within about an hour or so of each other, then nothing for a long time.

Meanwhile we went in to the community center, which was a country school from the 1880's to 1954, and warmed up by the gas furnace. We "cooked" our wet clothes on top, just like we used to do back when I was a kid at many of my relative's country homes when we would get wet playing in the snow as kids.

(L-R) Sam Cohen, Troy from Gravel Nationals, and Ben Welnak gathered under the tarp behind the RadTour's Sprinter van.

We noted a Sprinter van which pulled up, set out a big, blue tarp, and had a dog cavorting about. It was Audrey Wiedemier and Sam Cohen who were helping support some folks, I believe, on the Almanzo. Anyway, Audrey has a touring business going where she takes folks on short, mixed gravel and pavement routes to farms where the idea is to get local produce and meats to eat. I probably have some of that wrong, but maybe someone could comment on this post and set me straight?

Anyway, Audrey and Sam had tea and were very gracious to anyone who ducked under their blue tarp for shelter. And we needed all the shelter we could get. It blew hard and rained a lot most of the day.

Riders that stopped by at the checkpoint were treated to a warm fire and lots of attention from the bystanders.

Jason O'Mahoney of Gravel Cyclist avails himself of the hospitality at the RidingGravel.com food table.

We were told by Pat Sorensen of Penn Cycles that "everybody is dropping out..." and while we didn't know exactly what that meant, we had only seen about 15 cyclists by 3:00pm! However; a slug of bikers were spotted, and then a slow trickle of wet, weary cyclists were coming by in ones and twos until probably around 5:30 or so. By that time we were seeing a few of the Royal 162 riders, of which there were only seven or so left of that started the event. One of them, the leader, Greg Gleason, went steaming by on his distinctive Salsa Cycles Cutthroat. He looked really strong.

I was told by Joel Raygor that Ben Mullin, who was in Trans Iowa v13 this year, had a "special gift" which he was carrying for me and that I should wait for him to reach Cherry Grove. By this point, Marty, who had abandoned in Preston, was there waiting with our ride back to Waterloo. It was a great thing that Marty was so amenable to the idea of waiting around a bit longer. Thanks Marty!! In fact, Marty ended up giving a local to us rider a hitch back to the starting line. So, it all worked out.

Me (L) and Ben Mullin, who hauled this sixer of beer for 100 plus miles in his hydration pack to give to me. Photo by Martin Bunge

Ben eventually rolled in with a few other riders and proceeded to dislodge six cans of craft beer which he had hauled around the Royal course to give to me along with a movie pass for my wife. What a guy! Don't try this at home kids, because hauling around all that extra weight in those conditions was a handicap Ben didn't need. That was super awesome of him to do and I won't soon forget about that.

Well, a few more riders came around after that, but according to the report we had from Joel Raygor, the last of the riders were to arrive very soon. I have no hard numbers on how many folks went by us. I lost track at 25-30, but I would be very surprised if more than 75 riders passed us at Cherry Grove. (NOTE: Initial Almanzo tabulations show 110. I find that hard to fathom myself.) It was a very difficult day, and many made a wiser decision for themselves and pulled out after shorter rides, or decided not to come at all. Ben Welnak, who was at the start, said maybe 300 folks were in Spring Valley to start the event Saturday. So, obviously this unseasonably cold, wet, windy weather has had a big effect upon the turnout and the finishing numbers.

Martin took us home and we arrived shortly before sunset. Probably about a ten hour day of exposure for myself and my son, but we had a blast and we hope that our "gravel family" had a good time despite the conditions. I look forward to seeing many of you again and more at the Dirty Kanza 200 in a couple of weeks from now. Hopefully the nasty weather will leave us alone!

Thank You: To Ben Welnak and Matt McCauley of RidingGravel.com, to Troy of the USECF Gravel Worlds, Penn Cycles, The Spring Valley Tourism Board, The Cherry Grove Community Center, Surly Brewing Company, and especially to all of the outstanding Almanzo riders. Thanks to all that came to hang out with us at the checkpoint. It was wonderful to have been with you all. #gravelfamily Finally- A big Thank You to Martin Bunge for the transportation and great conversation.

It Depends On The "How You Do It"

"Grinder Nationals" poster.

Sanctioned.

Many folks hear that, or read that, and the hair goes straight up on the neck and the claws come out. If you are one of those folks, I urge you to calm down and come back to this later. There isn't anything here to get upset about, really.

So, if you are still with me, there is going to be a Gravel Nationals, and there are going to be "National Championship" jerseys, and the whole deal is being done by the USECF which is a sanctioning body. Now, I'll admit, when I got wind of this, I was very skeptical. Who are these guys? I had never heard of this organization before.

Well, as it turns out, the reason why I had never heard about the organization was because the USECF is all about adventure racing. So, how in the world does this organization get into gravel event production?

Great question. I actually spoke with one of the board members of the USECF for the "Riding Gravel Radio Ranch" ( Click that link for the podcast) and I got a chance to hear firsthand about that. I encourage you to check it out and listen for yourself.

I'll just say that I was impressed by the similarities between the adventure racing community and the gravel racing community. The way the events are nurtured, the spirit behind what they do. It all hearkens to how I feel about and have experienced the gravel races I have been at and have facilitated. Once I knew "the how" of what the do, and why they wanted to keep things that way, I was 100% more comfortable with the whole idea of the USECF putting on a "Gravel Nationals".

It Depends On The "How You Do It"

"Grinder Nationals" poster.

Sanctioned.

Many folks hear that, or read that, and the hair goes straight up on the neck and the claws come out. If you are one of those folks, I urge you to calm down and come back to this later. There isn't anything here to get upset about, really.

So, if you are still with me, there is going to be a Gravel Nationals, and there are going to be "National Championship" jerseys, and the whole deal is being done by the USECF which is a sanctioning body. Now, I'll admit, when I got wind of this, I was very skeptical. Who are these guys? I had never heard of this organization before.

Well, as it turns out, the reason why I had never heard about the organization was because the USECF is all about adventure racing. So, how in the world does this organization get into gravel event production?

Great question. I actually spoke with one of the board members of the USECF for the "Riding Gravel Radio Ranch" ( Click that link for the podcast) and I got a chance to hear firsthand about that. I encourage you to check it out and listen for yourself.

I'll just say that I was impressed by the similarities between the adventure racing community and the gravel racing community. The way the events are nurtured, the spirit behind what they do. It all hearkens to how I feel about and have experienced the gravel races I have been at and have facilitated. Once I knew "the how" of what the do, and why they wanted to keep things that way, I was 100% more comfortable with the whole idea of the USECF putting on a "Gravel Nationals".