Full Moon Fever

More night time gravel grinding here! This time it is Texas style. The folks that put on the Red River Riot, Midnight Massacre, and Texas Chainring Massacre are now accepting registrations for the "Full Moon Fever" metric distance gravel grinder with some shorter options for riding also available.

See this link for the registration page and more details.

Moonshine Metric2: Gravel Metric Boogaloo

I finally got my grubby little mitts on the final details for this event. I'd been hearing about this from promoter Craig Irving for weeks as he has joined me on some gravel road group rides. Well, anyway, here is the blurb Craig gave me for this event  called the Moonshine Metric2: Gravel Metric Boogaloo:

Come join us on September 29th in Mount Vernon, IA for the second
running of the Moonshine Metric, a gravel ride run entirely at night.
You heard that right, night!  With real organic darkness and an all
natural full moon!  Are you excited?  So am I!

The Moonshine Metric is a self supported 65 mile gravel ride of
gentlemanly nature.  This is not a race and is intended to be
no-droppish unless you're really doggin' it out there. The
route is primarily gravel with about 10% B roads and another 10%
pavement.  Post ride festivities will ensue, consisting of a potluck
dinner and drinks around a bonfire (bring yer own on the drinks).
Price of admission is free, but if you're one of the cool kids you'll
bring a plate to share.

More details can be found at moonshinemetric.blogspot.com.

Gravel Grinder Gear: Is There Such A Thing As A "Gravel Road Bike"?

 - by Guitar Ted

Traditional CX bikes have been the norm in gravel events

Since 2005 when gravel events really started to take off, the "weapon" of choice for fast riders has been the cyclo-cross bike. The mixture of road bike with more generous tire clearances has allowed for a measure of great success for many riders throughout the last several years.

However; with the continued rise in popularity of off-pavement style racing, manufacturers have begun to take note of the genre' of gravel grinding and are making products geared towards riders looking to get new bicycles and equipment for such riding.

Companies like Clement Pneumatics, Campagnolo, Kona Bikes, and Salsa Cycles have specifically used the term "gravel" or "gravel grinding" in their marketing for certain products aimed at cyclo-cross and off-pavement type racing. It is a niche that has thousands of riders competing every weekend on back roads somewhere and these companies and others are now reaching out for this new market to tap into the growth there.

This begs a question: "Is there such a thing as a gravel specific bicycle?" Some will point to 29"ers, "monster-cross" bikes, and pure cyclo-cross rigs and say they are all you'll ever need. However; there are others looking to tweak these types of bikes and stir up a new recipe for a bicycle specifically aimed at gravel grinding.

Of course there is Salsa Cycles Vaya, which was heavily marketed as a gravel race rig in its debut, but even Salsa is expected, (as I write this), to introduce a new model that is more specifically a gravel road racer than even the Vaya is. Prototypes have been seen at some of the bigger gravel events already this year. Kona also has the "Rove" model coming for 2013, another bicycle with a heavy emphasis on gravel road riding.

Disc brakes will supplant cantis as brake of choice

Most of the bicycles out now are not very radical in their geometry, tubing choices, or spec, but there are some rumblings of change in the wind. Probably the best example of this is seen in a recent article on the web version of "Road Bike Action" where a custom Calfee carbon disc brake bike build they call the "Project Gravel Bike" is featured. (see here) This bike was used in the recently run "Crusher in the Tushar" event, which features a chunk of gravel road/dirt road, but is predominantly a paved road race.

The bicycle departs from the traditional cyclo-cross bike used in many gravel events with a lowered bottom bracket, disc brakes, and slightly longer chain stays. While only giving clearance for 35mm tires, (which in my humble opinion is cutting it too close and limits choices for gravel events), this bike seems to cut a line somewhere between traditional road, touring, and cyclo-cross ideas. It doesn't hurt that it has a claimed weight well south of 20lbs either, but one would expect that from a premier carbon fiber marque like Calfee.

Is there such a thing as a gravel road bike? In one sense, any bicycle you ride on gravel fits that description, but it would seem a "sharper tool" is being crafted by some for such riding. Whether or not it becomes a useful, desirable tool for most gravel grinders remains to be seen. Here at GGN, we'll be watching developments on this front closely. Stay tuned.....

Dirty Kanza 200 Announces 2013 Dates

The Dirty Kanza 200 has released important dates and news concerning its 2013 edition. First, the classic Flint Hills ride will occur next year on June 1st, 2013.

The promoters have scheduled online registration for January 12th, 2013 at 8:00am. Registration for a field limit of 800 riders will probably take only a day or two, if past performance is any indication! By the way, this is double the size of the 2012 field limit.

Also announced is a new event within the event called the Dirty Kanza Half Pint. This will be a 100 mile event for those looking for "an introduction to endurance gravel grinding", according to the latest communique'. The field limit for the Half Pint will be set at 200 riders.

The promoters will also be expanding the satellite events held in conjunction with Dirty Kanza and the promoters are saying the event dates are May 30th through June 2nd. Look for further clarification as to what will be going on exactly in the future.

For new updates see the Dirty Kanza 200 site.