Announcing "The Buck-Fifty X-Gravelganza"

 A new long distance gravel grinder has just been announced that will take place near LeClaire, IA on August 4th. The route will feature gravel roads with some decent hills.

Riders will set out at 7:00am and will ride to three checkpoints where support can be accessed. There will be a time limit to the third checkpoint.

Entry is free and by postcard only. This is a self supported, "you are responsible for yourself" ride and will be a difficult challenge. For more details see the race flyer here with rules of the event, or see the Facebook page here, or the Healthy Habits site here.


 

Cyclo-Crosser Berden To Ride Gravel Metric

The Gravel Metric, the gravel grinder in north-central Illinois known for the highly entertaining promotional videos generated by its promoters, is now going to get graced by Belgian Pro cyclo-crosser, Ben Berden's presence in the event this year.

The Gravel Metric, a 62 mile event in and around Dekalb, Illinois, is set to take place this coming weekend, May 27th. The event is sponsored in part by Clement Pneumatics, and Ben Berden is being flown in special to get a taste of the gravel grinding scene, and to connect the fact that Clement does do nice cyclo-cross tires and road tires as well as the X'Plor series of tires which Gravel Grinder News has posted on here before.

Berden, who has claimed victories in major European cyclo-cross events, has over 20 years of experience in the discipline, but gravel grinding will be a new thing for him. He was quoted as saying:   "Most of my training at home is on farm roads, but we get so much rain in Belgium even the smallest roads are usually paved. I've never ridden 100 km of dirt roads, so I'm excited to give it a try. It will be a nice change from the long training rides and criteriums I normally do this time of year."

Berden is a tester for Clement and will be using X'Plor tires in the Gravel Metric to get a feel for how they will work in typical gravel road conditions.  The Gravel Metric is hosted by North Central Cyclery and Axleltree, a non-profit dedicated to creating a positive cycling community in the DeKalb area.

Note: The information for this report was provided for through a press release from Clement Pneumatics.

Gravel Grinder Gear: Kona "Rove" Prototype

At one time a lot of folks were opining the loss of Salsa Cycles La Cruz disc cross bike. it was a perfectly spec'ed gravel grinder with classic looks. Well, maybe the just announced Kona "Rove" will make you take notice if you are one of those that misses the steel, disc brake equipped La Cruz.

Kona "Rove" Proto: Image courtesy of Kona

The Rove will debut later this summer as a 2013 model. It is purposed to be an all-arounder- suitable for commuting, touring, and gravel road events.

Image courtesy of Kona

The Rove will feature mechanical disc brakes, and these will be provided by Hayes. They look pretty slick, with a high polish finish. The brakes will sport 140mm (!!) rotors front and rear. The rear rotor will be on the chainstay, which should work well if you use panniers with a rack.

The Rove's fork is a straight blade, uni-crown affair with a mid-blade eyelet for mounting a low-rider rack.  The fender mounts are there on the fork under the brake caliper mount. It may take a bit of creative stay bending to get full fenders on there!

The geometry is standard fare here, nothing unusual. 73 degree seat tube, 72 degree head tube, 435mm chain stays, and Kona claims the Rove will swallow 45mm tires without fenders- 42mm with fenders.

Image courtesy of Kona

Look for the bike to be supplied with 35mm Freedom Ryder tires, a SRAM Apex group with 46/36T crank, and 11-32T rear cassette.

Kona is setting the MSRP at $1699.00 USD.

Once again- the bike should become available in late summer. For more on Kona bikes see www.konaworld.com

Heck of The North Updates

Hey folks, the AGRS event, Heck Of The North, has announced that registration for this year's Saturday, September 29th running is opening up on May 1st and will last through to May 31st.

The "Heck" is a back roads/gravel "hundy" that is self supported, self navigated, and free to enter. Entrants will vie for the available 150 spots by sending in a post card which will go into a pile and entrants will be drawn from that pool. Need more info? Go here to the Facebook page, or here for the site proper.

GGGRRR 2012

Northwestern Illinois is home to some really pretty, challeging gravel roads and back roads. On June 23rd, a group of folks are going to challenge themselves on a 116 mile route in this territory.

If you'd like to join them, here are the details on the Galena Gravel Grinder Rustic Road Ride on their website here.

This isn't a race, but an organized group ride for self-sufficient riders that like a bit of hardship and adventure.

Pisgah Monster Cross

Say "Pisgah" to most off roaders and they think "Mountain Biking". But that may change with the Pisgah Monster Cross event, which is happening in September on the 15th.

The word from Pisgah Promotions' own Eric Wever is that this will include 13.000 feet of climbing, 40 miles of gravel/backroads, and 30 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway

For more info, including registration and such, go to their site here. (By the way, I vote this event as having one of the coolest logos/art work ever.)

Strada Fango Spring Classic 100K: Update

I just received an e-mail concerning the Strada Fango which happens next Sunday. Here is some information on the course, which has been chaged a bit since I last posted on the event:

"  Updated course is less singletrack, more gravel and logging roads. We also have the Cat 5 climb to Flambeau Mtn included in the course.

Mileage:
29 mi Gravel
15 mi ATV
3 mi Singletrack
4 mi Paved
7 mi Ski trail/doubletrack"

For up to the minute details, stay in tune to their Facebook site here.