"Gravel Grovel" and "Sub 9 Death March" News

Gravel Grovel

The 4th Gravel Grovel, and event held in southern Indiana in the Hoosier National Forest is already taking registrants and the date has been set as Friday, November 25th, 2011.

The Grovel is a metric hundy and is noted for its beautiful roads and tough hills. If the full 63 miler sounds too tough, there is a shorter "fun ride" that goes approximately 30 miles instead. Interested in burning off some turkey dinner? Check it out here.


The Sub 9 Death March is a unique, two man team event that is part orienteering, scavenger hunt, and gravel race all rolled up into one tasty ride. The idea is for each two man team to find at least five of nine historical cemeteries in the Hoosier National Forest. Ride mileage can be anywhere from 50-60 miles. The event will be held March 10th, 2012.


Want to find out more? Check out their site.

Thanks to Tania at Sub-9 Productions for tipping us off to these events.

Slender Fungus Cycling Association Announcement!

Okay, the guys down in Illinois have this little announcement to make. I have agreed to give them this digital space for their purposes for three fingers of single malt Scotch.....

The Slender Fungus Cycling Association presents the
"Gypsy Criterion"
October 16th, 2011
8:00 a.m. start time.

The race will commence at the Slender Fungus Cycling Association World Headquarters which is located at the Gum House on 16710 Lynch rd, Dekalb, IL. 60115
The ride will consist of 9 something mile loops and the rider will receive "tokens" for each loop completed.
The general idea is to complete enough loops to obtain the coveted "Hundo", and not the cheater "metric hundo". There will be music, provided by the Zenith System and refreshments. As usual the event is completely free of charge.

end of message.

Milltown Cycles fall Gravel Tour

Milltown Cycles will be hosting three different gravel road rides this October and into November. These will be self-supported, self-guided tours for fun.

Expect several challenging hills, and spectacular scenery as the woods in southern Minnesota turn color.

All rides will start on Sundays at Noon. The three rides will occur as follows...

• The Haymaker: October 9th, from Redwing, Minnesota, the first ride will be approximately 44 miles in length.
• The Rawland Route: This one takes place on October 23rd, and will begin in the town of Denison, Minnesota. Expect a course of about 45 miles. 
• The Henderson Holler: This will take place in November, on the 6th, and should be approximately 51 miles long.

Keep up on events leading up to these rides at Milltown Cycles blog, or contact them through the information in the right margin on said blog.

Battle Of The Bikes; Washington

Here at Gravel Grinder News we are all about "demented routes", so when I heard about this event, I figured this was something good for all gravel road aficionados to know about. Plus, it involves route finding, which I always find interesting. Here's the skinny, straight from thier flyer;

 
2011 Battle of the Bikes to Ellensburg

What and Who: Bike between Wenatchee and Ellensburg any way you want Will road riders, cyclo-cross riders, or mountain bikers get there first?

Why: To see which route is fastest. To unite different types of riders in one event. To ride with (and against) friends. To generate tall tales.

When and Where: Saturday, October 8. Meet at 8:30 a.m. at Lincoln Park in Wenatchee at the corner of Methow St and Crawford Ave. Ground rules discussed. Ride starts at 9:00 a.m.

Ride’s End: The Tav in Ellensburg (117 W 4th Ave, 509-925-3939). We will celebrate, eat, and tell stories. We’ll see how the different Buddy Races fared. We’ll honor the wackiest route, the most
elegant route, the wildest happenings.

The Route: That’s up to you – head over Blewett Pass, Mission Ridge, or Colockum Pass. The choice of.surface, bikes, and route is yours. Study maps and plot a route. Your route needn’t be just about speed, it can also be about a good story. At the end, we’ll honor the gnarliest route, or the most demented route, the most cunning antics, the path less traveled…

Ground Rules. This outing is not sponsored, has no organizing body, and has no infrastructure. You must create that infrastructure. For safety reasons, everyone must ride and stay together with at least one teammate (bigger teams are encouraged). Every team needs to be self-sufficient and carry all its food, water, repair items, first-aid supplies, and a cell phone (which will have intermittent coverage). Each team must snap a few pictures of their route -we expect to show picture at the end.

Buddy Races. Every team should recruit a rival team – friends who are of similar strength but on different types of bikes. Race against your friends rather than against the whole pack

Year 2 Variation. Riders who participated last year should pick a new route to ride. Mix it up, explore, see new country, race against your time from last year...

Cost. There’s no entry fee but a donation to www.WenatcheeOutdoors.org is recommended. Bring your own food, supplies, and money for food and drink at the end.

Getting Home. You’re on your own. Carpool with your team and buddies to get home. However, allow time to enjoy the celebration at the end of the ride. Mingle and enjoy the stories of others.

RSVP Required. Whether you’re a definite, probable, or possible participant, email ardappen@gmail.com. We need a way to notify you of last-minute updates and/or changes.

Disclaimers. This is an outing with no formal sponsor, no established route, no food or aid stations, and no safety infrastructure in place. Each team is responsible for their decisions, safety, and supplies

Some New Dates

Thanks to those of you that have responded so far with your 2012 (and some late 2011 dates!) dates for gravel grinders. Here are some of the latest to be updated/added.

• Gun City Gravelrie: October 23rd, 2011. Lees SAummit KS. See Guru's Gravel Grinders site.
• Triple D: (There is gravel under the snow!) January 15th, 2012, Dubuque, IA
• CIRREM: Saturday February 25th, 2012, Cumming, IA
• Colesburg 40, August 25th, 2011, Colesburg, IA

Thanks to those individuals that sent me messages and e-mails. Want to see your favorite event listed here/ Shoot me an e-mail.

Send Us Your Dates!

Although it is fall here in the Northern Hemisphere, and gravel road riding may be on the wane, we need to hear from you!

Dates for 2012 can be sent to this e-mail and will get posted on the front page here and also on Gravel Grinder News' calendar page.

Thanks in advance for any news on events you can share.