Friday, February 25, 2011

Gravel Grinders

Apparently there's a bunch of low key bike races on gravel roads in the midwest called 'Gravel Grinders'. One is called the 'Heck of the North' which is a play on the 'Hell of the North' which is the nickname for the Paris-Roubaix cobblestone race in northern France.


There is even an emerging class of bicycle for this type of riding. Existing cross bikes and touring bikes would work perfectly, but these specialized rides tend to focus on drop bars, wide tires and steel frames, perfect for driving your rig over unpaved roads and soaking up the bumps. Many have disc brakes.


I guess this is middle America's answer to the strade bianchi.

5 comments:

Yokota Fritz said...

Them crazy Minnesotans...

-p said...

Is that your friend in the chipper over there?

Mark said...

Can you say M-M-M-Monster Cross? I love mine and have been riding this way for two years now. Even riding C-C-C-Commuter Cross, too!

I think the Gravel Grinder originated here on the east coast with D2R2, or the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee but the Gravel Grinder term is definitely midwestern vernacular.

-p said...

Mark - thanks for the feedback. Can you tell us what D2R2 is?

Mark said...

D2R2 is the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee.

Also check out this link for more information:
http://www.franklinlandtrust.org/FLT_old/randonnee.htm