Newbie Gravel Grinding question!

Since I am the newbie gravel grinder here I have a few questions.

Brief background 1st

Started cycling in 1992 after a running injury and a botched surgery finished my running/racing career

Lots of ultra distance riding/racing

About 10 years ago I really had a nasty crash on my heavier than a rock Schwinn Highlander mt bike which is just a shade above a Wally World bike. The crash happened this way. I won a free ticket to bike on a ski lift course which they no longer do because of liability I am guessing. I started out on the easy course. Switched to single track and then went over to the expert course. I didn't do well  in the rock garden segment and then there it was. This tree that everyone was jumping. I can do this(not) I rode up the tree and after getting to the other side I didn't pull the front wheel up and did an endo over the bars with a face plant in the dirt/mud. Sad to say I was by myself(stupid) I had a concussion and barely made it out/off the top of the mt. When I finally drug myself to the bottom of the mt. they dug dirt out of the cuts in my face for 1/2 hr. I have really done no mt. bike since then except maybe some fire tower roads or mt. roads during leaf peeper season.



Now to my questions

1. I have tried to read ride reports on different gravel grinding rides and haven't find many. Is there a reason for this?
2. Since I don't have any experience on difficult single track/rock gardens or techinical mt biking how do I handle this especially if other cyclists are around me.
3. Is it brought up at the riders meeting where the techinical stuff is and or marked in the cue sheets?

I am getting my bike back from the LBS on Friday and have about 3 weeks to get use to it and learn as much as I can before my 1st gravel grinding ride The Farmer's Daughter.

Like most here I go into things 150% or not at all. I think I have posted in a couple of other threads about getting hit by a drunk back in Jan on my favorite training route and now after this is the 2nd hit in 10 years gravel grinding looks like a  great new cycling frontier for me to try.

Thanks so much for all the help everybody has given  me so far and in the future and hope to see you all out on a ride sometime

Zman

If you're looking for general gravel ride/race reports there are plenty at http://www.gravelcyclist.com.  As for the Farmer's Daughter, if they're using the same course as the first year, it's easy enough to bypass the off road sections and stick to the dirt roads. I think you'll miss one pit stop if you do that so figure hydration and food accordingly. There are also places on the course where you can shorten the ride and head back to Chatham if necessary for any reason. Just study the map before the ride and have your bailout plans figured out and keep in mind that if you are off course then you're on your own if something goes wrong. It's a great ride. Enjoy.

Jeb wrote:If you're looking for general gravel ride/race reports there are plenty at http://www.gravelcyclist.com.  As for the Farmer's Daughter, if they're using the same course as the first year, it's easy enough to bypass the off road sections and stick to the dirt roads. I think you'll miss one pit stop if you do that so figure hydration and food accordingly. There are also places on the course where you can shorten the ride and head back to Chatham if necessary for any reason. Just study the map before the ride and have your bailout plans figured out and keep in mind that if you are off course then you're on your own if something goes wrong. It's a great ride. Enjoy.

I really don't figure on missing any off road sections on the Farmer's Dughter. I just want to feel comfortable coming into this new sport and don't want to be a hindrance to any riders that are around me. I also don't figure on bailing anywhere on the ride but then you can never say never. I am glad to hear it's a great ride and thanks for the info.

Zman

Zman. You sound like you may be a strong rider, but laking technical skills. Since this ride is dubbed as a "non-competitive" event you can still count on fast groups forming at the front. The whole 'newness' of everything can be pretty exciting and your eyes become bigger than your stomach. Don't try to hang on up there, you'll most likely be trying to mix it up with Cat I-III racers. Just find your own pace or a small group that you feel comfortable in and go with the flow. Get off and walk the technical stuff if you have to. Ultimately 66 miles isn't really that much.

ridemagnetic wrote:Zman. You sound like you may be a strong rider, but laking technical skills. Since this ride is dubbed as a "non-competitive" event you can still count on fast groups forming at the front. The whole 'newness' of everything can be pretty exciting and your eyes become bigger than your stomach. Don't try to hang on up there, you'll most likely be trying to mix it up with Cat I-III racers. Just find your own pace or a small group that you feel comfortable in and go with the flow. Get off and walk the technical stuff if you have to. Ultimately 66 miles isn't really that much.

Thanks for the vote of confidence ridemagnetic. I have ridden 301 miles in 22 hrs. and some other ultra stuff that I won't bore you with. So far I haven't seen/read one post where people have compared roadie miles to gravel grinding miles. Both take guts and fortitude and I might have some of that. I guess I will just have to find out for myself. I probably will try and find some mid pack riders to ride with. On some of the ultra rides you sometimes spend miles riding alone. I am hoping this isn't the case here as I won't know the course but I will be ready for it if it happens. Oh yeah I am not the best of navigators. lol

Thanks again
Zman

I'm thinking this will be a walk in the park for you. If this all sticks you sound like the perfect candidate for something like the Alexzander 380 in MN, Trans Iowa, Oregon Outback. Have any desire to take a cat nap in the bush between 100+ mile days?  

ridemagnetic wrote:I'm thinking this will be a walk in the park for you. If this all sticks you sound like the perfect candidate for something like the Alexzander 380 in MN, Trans Iowa, Oregon Outback. Have any desire to take a cat nap in the bush between 100+ mile days?  

So have you done any of these rides or what or what do you know about them? Which of these would you recommend first and yes I know on any given day it depends on the weather?

Kanza 200 looks like a fun ride but tough getting into

Trans Iowa looks interesting and probably will do if like you say this sticks.

Alexzander 380 looks very interesting as I have never ridden in MN and would be one of the few States I have yet to ride in.

Oregon Outback looks great as I had done the Cascades 1200k out there and own 2 different Showers Pass rain jackets. When the forecast calls for scattered showers where ever I am riding it scatters rain all over me.

My cycling moto goes something like this. If it was easy it wouldn't be a memory. You just hope you don't have all your memories in the same ride. As Yogi Berra use to say 80% of the fun is researching and planning for the ride. The other 50% is the physical and actually mental part of the ride.

I just called my LBS and my Raleigh Tamland 1 should be done today as I didn't know how to install the front disk brake caliper and just a general going over the bike after I pulled it out of the box and did all the assembly I could.

Geesh now I have some new rides to research. lol 


Thanks
Zman

Good to have ambition and set goals, however I think you should have learned the art of being completely self-sufficient when off-road touring or even racing the day events. Things can and will go wrong. I have broken rear derailleurs, chains, pedals, and brakes in the middle of nowhere, and I'm only typing this to you now because I can fix those things with no assistance. 

As much as I love touring, I'm usually solo or maybe with one other on a route of my creation or following breadcrumbs set by someone like Oregon Bikepacking, or OMTM for the day trips. Personally, I don't delve into anything much more than 100mi for mass start gravel events. I treat those as a race and go for it. Grew up in MN where the postcard century races were popularized a decade ago. Ragnarök, Almanzo, Dirty Benjamin, Heck of the North. That being said, I have showed up at the races and just 'toured' them as well depending on my fitness. 

ridemagnetic wrote:Good to have ambition and set goals, however I think you should have learned the art of being completely self-sufficient when off-road touring or even racing the day events. Things can and will go wrong. I have broken rear derailleurs, chains, pedals, and brakes in the middle of nowhere, and I'm only typing this to you now because I can fix those things with no assistance. 

As much as I love touring, I'm usually solo or maybe with one other on a route of my creation or following breadcrumbs set by someone like Oregon Bikepacking, or OMTM for the day trips. Personally, I don't delve into anything much more than 100mi for mass start gravel events. I treat those as a race and go for it. Grew up in MN where the postcard century races were popularized a decade ago. Ragnarök, Almanzo, Dirty Benjamin, Heck of the North. That being said, I have showed up at the races and just 'toured' them as well depending on my fitness. 

Thanks for that info so looks like I need to learn working on my bike as well as training. Point well taken as if I showed up for a ultra cycling event with a good working bike I pretty much was in good shape.

Zman

You may also want to consider the Tour of the Battenkill on May 20. The open pro/am race is closed out, but you may want to enter the 75 mile Gran Fondo with mixed dirt and pavement. My wife grew up in Washington County NY, and we vacation and ride there every summer. The roads- both the dirt and gravel, as well as the paved roads- are great for cycling. Very little traffic and beautiful rolling farmland. Also, I know Dieter Drake - the race promoter. He is a super nice person, who has done much to promote cycling in Washington county. This is a perfect event for newbies to the gravel and back road riding scene. My wife and I will probably ride the 26 mile charity fund raiser. Less likely, I may do the Gran Fondo. Check it out: http://www.tourofthebattenkill.com

bobknh wrote:You may also want to consider the Tour of the Battenkill on May 20. The open pro/am race is closed out, but you may want to enter the 75 mile Gran Fondo with mixed dirt and pavement. My wife grew up in Washington County NY, and we vacation and ride there every summer. The roads- both the dirt and gravel, as well as the paved roads- are great for cycling. Very little traffic and beautiful rolling farmland. Also, I know Dieter Drake - the race promoter. He is a super nice person, who has done much to promote cycling in Washington county. This is a perfect event for newbies to the gravel and back road riding scene. My wife and I will probably ride the 26 mile charity fund raiser. Less likely, I may do the Gran Fondo. Check it out: http://www.tourofthebattenkill.com

So bobknh if you know this area I read the ride reports. This fond ride looks more like a road ride than a gravel grinder ride is that correct?

Zman

http://www.gravelcyclist.com/

Zman, here is a good site for all things gravel, ride reports, tech, reviews, videos, etc.

Just click on those 3 bars in the upper left corner. Get on the e mail list, good stuff. 

Zurichman wrote:
2. Since I don't have any experience on difficult single track/rock gardens or techinical mt biking how do I handle this especially if other cyclists are around me.
3. Is it brought up at the riders meeting where the techinical stuff is and or marked in the cue sheets?

It's going to depend on the event. Most organizers would prefer not to see participants go home in an ambulance. Gravel races tend not to be too technical, so most warnings I've run into were roads that had eroded out to deep ruts. The hazard was not marked on the cue sheet but was brought up at the riders' meeting with the expectation that you would write down your own notes. So always go the the riders' meeting.

What to do in a technical section? Nobody wants to dodge a crashed rider in a technical section, or worse, add to the pile of crashed riders, so when things seem too technical, get off, get out of the way, and walk. Be a nice guy and offer encouragement to other riders as they go by, which also lets other people know that you didn't crash and are walking around in a daze or had a mechanical. When you do remount, make sure you're not getting in the way of anyone. It's basically Rule #2: Try Not To Be An Ass.

drwelby wrote:

It's going to depend on the event. Most organizers would prefer not to see participants go home in an ambulance. Gravel races tend not to be too technical, so most warnings I've run into were roads that had eroded out to deep ruts. The hazard was not marked on the cue sheet but was brought up at the riders' meeting with the expectation that you would write down your own notes. So always go the the riders' meeting.

What to do in a technical section? Nobody wants to dodge a crashed rider in a technical section, or worse, add to the pile of crashed riders, so when things seem too technical, get off, get out of the way, and walk. Be a nice guy and offer encouragement to other riders as they go by, which also lets other people know that you didn't crash and are walking around in a daze or had a mechanical. When you do remount, make sure you're not getting in the way of anyone. It's basically Rule #2: Try Not To Be An Ass.

Thanks for the info. I have always gone to every riders meeting.

Zman

Zurichman, \n I have completed the first 2 Farmer's Daughters and can say without hesitation, and with 34 years of serious riding experience in my legs, it is the hardest event I've ever done. Brushing it off as "only 66 miles" does not do it justice. I recommend skipping the off road sections if you're not comfortable. Did so the first year with no difficulty. Last year rode 2 of them and regretted it. Wasted a lot of time and energy walking my cross bike through woods and slick deep mud. There are easy ride around options , I suggest bringing a map to consult if you're unfamiliar with the roads. Cell phone not always reliable on this ride. Also, you can easily skip the off road sections without having to miss a rest stop. Don't miss a rest stop!!! Convenience stores are pretty much non-existent on this route. Stop and rest and fuel up. You can burn 3000+ calories on this ride. I understand the route will be basically the same this year, except the start/end will not be at the fairgrounds this year ( last time I checked the new start/end hadn't been announced yet). Anyway, it's a great event,well organized and supported,great lunch stop too! Have fun,be safe,see you out there. \nP.S. Took me 6 hours riding time to complete. I think the fast guys do it in 3+. I would say in general a road century is equal to a gravel metric century.