Race Discussion: November Events

The leaves are down, it's late fall, and winter is coming, but that doesn't mean the gravel grinding is over. Here is the listing of November events coming your way...

First up is the Tobasco Ride: This ride is planned to be an out and back with an overnight camping opportunity. It will leave from Ames, Iowa and is a free event.

Next we have the Turkey Burner Gravel Grinder: This is another out and back with a camping opportunity on the North Rim of the Grand canyon from Hurricane, Utah.

Finally, we have the Gravel Grovel: Story, Indiana hosts the second running of this event, which was well received last year. This one requires a registration, so make sure you hit the link and get signed on if you want to be part of this.

Finally, we are considering a "Trans Iowa Tune Up Ride" in November. It'll be a metric century around Tama County, so keep your eyes peeled here for an announcement soon.

New Addition!: The Mullet's Revenge

Guru's Gravel Grinders down  Kansas/Missouri way is starting to heat up again with a winter's schedule of events coming. The first of which is "The Mullet's Revenge" on February 19th, 2011. You can click the image, which is the flyer for the event, or go to Guru's Gravel Grinders' site for more details.

Stay tuned for more updates from this site.

New Addition! Turkey Burner Gravel Grinder

One of the friends of Trans Iowa and gravel grinding in general, "Fixie Dave" Nice, is putting on an adventure on some back roads out of Hurricane (or "Hurkin", as the locals pronounce it), Utah on November 26th and 27th. The two day ride will include about 90 miles each way out and back. The destination for Day #1 is the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Sounds pretty crazy!

For more, check out the Facebook page here and keep tabs on the updates.

New Addition: Erie Canal 24

I just got wind of this endurance event aimed at a challenge to ride the entire 363 miles of the Erie Canal tow path in under 24 hours. This event doesn't have an exact date as of yet, but it is said that it will take place in 2011. Check into the website for further updates.

2011 Update: B.A.L.L.S. Ride Announces Dates

The B.A.L.L.S. Ride, a two day, mostly rail-trail, gravel road event with an overnight thrown in for good measure, has announced their dates for 2011. Look for more info here,  but the plan is to have the ride on the weekend of April 30th/May 1st. The event will be limited to 50 riders and details on how to register and more can be found at the link provided. This event is based in Wisconsin and features some 170 miles over the two days, all of which is described as "pancake flat".

New Addition!: TOBASCO IV

Here is another ride in Iowa that has a bit of "history" in that it has been going on for a while. Not necessarily an annual event, the TOBASCO, (Tour Of Boone And Story COunties), takes place whenever the organizers feel like doing it on any given year. This will be the fourth edition, and it will happen on November 20th. The different curve this year is that it is planned on being an overnight bikepacking deal. Plan on about 100-ish miles on day one, and then a "shorter amount" to end up with on the following day. See the Facebook page set up for this event here for further updates.

Race Report: Ronde Van Stony

Up in Michigan recently, (September 25th, to be exact),  there was another inaugural gravel road event held called "Ronde Van Stony". The event was a 33 mile gravel road, back road, and double track course that was raced by four groups: Invitational Elite, Expert, Sport, and Beginners. These groups were further split up into age groups.

The course was described as a "loop, mixed flat & hills, road" and featured a neutral roll out before the riders  were unleashed upon the route. The event was won by Tim Finkel, (in a time of 1:36:19), who gave the Ronde Van Stony his hearty approval by saying the following on his blog;

Blazing fast double track, challenging power grade climbs, dirt roads, three cleverly named cash prems, and free beer from Kuhnhenn brewery = instant fall classic!!!

The event, which was located northeast of Pontiac,Michigan, (course map here), was a rousing success in its first year.  Event director, Mike Franko, says that there may be a spring event added as well. Stay tuned to Gravel Grinder News and the Ronde Van Stony site for further updates.

Race Report: Inaugural American Gothic Gravel Invitational

Editor's Note: Once in a while we hear about a gravel event after the fact. This one is a case in point. The reasons for this will be part of an upcoming editorial on Gravel Grinder news, but for now, let's just stick to the point here! Following is the press release we received.....

Inaugural American Gothic Gravel Invitational presented by PowerBar® won by international cycling upstart

Marion, Iowa – October 9, 2010 - Mario Czarnomski of Poland won the inaugural American Gothic Gravel Invitational presented by PowerBar. From its start/finish line near Marion’s Linn-Mar High School, the 60-mile bike race took riders into the countryside utilizing only the gravel byways and B-roads of Linn County in the heart of Iowa’s Grant Wood country.

Unique in today’s environment of high entry fees, large prize purses and extensive promotion, the American Gothic Gravel Invitational was non-sanctioned and free of charge to all participants, with all supplies, prizes and giveaways (including Goodness Jam) provided by sponsors PowerBar and The Crucible Gym.

“There’s an overriding opinion that quality events need to be priced high,” said race organizer and PowerBar Team Elite athlete and Free Fitness Movement proponent , Peter Ylvisaker. “We opted to put on an event without all the hype, fees and nonsense, while still maintaining the highest level of competition. We brought together some of the area’s best athletes in an underground format, athlete’s who compete at very high levels both nationally and internationally, to race for bragging rights and nothing more.”

Race participants included former members of Team USA in their chosen sports, veterans of the Ironman Hawaii World Championships, finishers of the Double and Triple Ironman Championships, qualifiers for and racers in the Boston Marathon and RAAM (Race Across America), and finishers of hundreds of other local, national and international events.

“All I can say is ‘Awesome!’ And I thought Ironman Wisconsin was going to be my ‘A’ race of the season,” said second-place finisher, Barry Breffle of Marion, who recently re-qualified for the Ironman® World Championships. Third place went to Chris Lintecum, also of Marion.

The women’s division went to steeplechaser-turned-cyclist Tiffany Czarnomski, who hails from the cowboy state of Wyoming, sealing the double for the Czarnomski family (and you should see them polish off calzones!).

In the event of a tie, race leaders were to participate in a 1-mile run-off at the Linn-Mar track adjacent to the finish line. Czarnomski, however, with his strong push to the finish, left no doubt as to the identity of the day’s champion. With his victory in a time of 3:49:52, Czarnomski rode home (after a stop at the local garage to pick up his ailing Honda) with a prize package courtesy of PowerBar, The Crucible and Hamm’s Beer (from the land of sky blue waters), and the right to gloat for another year.

In an act of solidarity, Czarnomski accepted his awards and then turned around to share his Hamm’s with his fellow racers… then the contingent moved on to celebrate the day at Zoey’s pizzeria in downtown Marion, Iowa. Until next year…

Thanks to the event organizers for forwarding this report. Look for another installment of the "American Gothic Gravel Invitational" next year!

Update! Trans Iowa V7 Announces Registration

Trans Iowa has opened registration in a new fashion this year. Desiring to "reward" finishers of past Trans Iowa events, the organizers have decided to allow only past finishers to register for the upcoming T.I.V7 at this time. After November 1st, other registrants will be allowed the opportunity to register as well. For further details see the Trans Iowa site or Guitar Ted Productions.

Trans Iowa is a self supported, self navigated, "ultr-endurance" gravel grinder with a course of 320-ish miles which must be completed within a specified time limit. The next iteration of the event is set to take place on April 23-24th, 2011 out of Grinnell, Iowa. Stay tuned for further updates.