Full Moon Monty Pictures and Report

We were blessed with some great weather last night for the 2014 edition of the Full Moon Monty Gravel Grinder.  The only problem was the cloud cover prevented the full moon from showing and lighting the way for us. 

Pictures from the night - 2014 Full Moon Monty Gravel Grinder Pictures.

It was good to see a tandem out last night.  The Little Blue Trace Trail is perfect for an enjoyable evening ride with double the horsepower which was especially useful with that headwind on the return trip.

We departed promptly at 6:15 pm on the nights adventure.  For some reason Christopher tried to take a few short cuts - notice Mark Krause.  (Yellow Dirty Dog jersey) riding to the trail entrance while Christopher cuts across.  Later in the evening one of his short cuts got him lost.

That is one bright tail light. 

The trail was in great shape for tonight's ride.

Barbie Miller enjoying the tailwind. We had a contest of who had the longest flowing hair.  She won...

JP was having trouble with his knee.  He injured it at a recent cyclocross race.  Even with one leg he put the hurting on us.

It is always nice to regroup at the far end shelter.  For the Festivus of Nights ride we plan to have some beverages on site for everyone to enjoy.

One of the several bridges that we had to cross.  

After the ride we enjoyed a nice meal at the Corner Cafe'.  That place has some great pies and ice cream.  Mark enjoyed his.

Gravel News Shorts - 11/06/14

Do not forget to charge you lights tonight.  Tomorrow evening is the very popular Full Moon Monty Gravel Grinder.  Join us on Face Book - Full Moon Monty Gravel Grinder.

We meet up at 6:00 pm outside the Nature's Pantry.  Access to the Little Blue Trace Trail is available from there.  The route heads North 12 miles to the Blue Mills trailhead.    The weather for tomorrow night is looking great especially for this time of year.  Look for temperatures around 59 degrees when we depart at 6:15 pm.  We suggest you dress for the low 50's/ high 40's.  It can get cold at night. 



Next weekend is the El Camino de Santa Fe.  Routes have been added - full and half El Camino routes are available. 

El Camino de Santa Fe

What:  El Camino de Santa FE
When: Saturday November 15th 9:30 AM
Where: Monkey Mountain Sports Complex.

Come join us on a 50 mile tour of Eastern Jackson County and Western Lafayette County. I can't claim that it will be the longest or hilliest or even the graveliest ride you will do this year. It will go past an airplane graveyard, over the scenic Greenton overlook, down the sketchy Devil's Backbone and return on a stretch of the Santa Fe Trail.

The ride departs from Monkey Mountain Sports Complex in Grain Valley, MO. 

Two routes to pick from.   The beginning and end last 7-8 miles of each course will be on asphalt.

El Camino Full: 52 miles
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/622545341
http://www.strava.com/routes/1129558

El Camino Half: 34 miles
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/619136563
http://www.strava.com/routes/1091802

Full Moon Monty Gravel Grinder

What: The 4th Annual Full Moon Monty
When: Friday Night, November 7, 2014 (Depart @ 6:15 PM)
Where: Little Blue Trace Trail
Who: For those who love gravel grinding at night.
What do I need to bring? Besides a working bicycle, you will need lights. Red flashing light on the back and an LED or HID light on the front required.

We kick off the 2014/15 Gravel Grinding season with a fun easy social gravel grinder.  This years Full Moon Monty Gravel Grinder moves to the popular Little Blue Trace Trail in Independence, MO.  This will be a very fun ride for all abilities.  Expected about 25 miles of mainly crushed gravel the trail is an out/back so you can turn around at anytime.  The route is flat and winds along the the Little Blue River.

It will be a full moon on November 6th which will held with visibility, but a light is still required.

We meet in the parking lot outside of Nature's Pantry, 19019 E 48th St, Independence, Missouri 64055 . Access to the trail is just yards away. As of now we are planning to meet up at 6:00 pm and roll promptly at 6:15 pm.  If you would like to get in more miles and start early a group will be riding South to cover the several miles to Lee's Summit Road and then meet up with the main group when we depart at 6:15 pm.

Trail Map:

Disclaimer for the Full Moon Monty Gravel Grinder :
You are 100% responsible for yourself! You are totally on your own.  There are no rider services.  There is no support. If you choose to participate, you agree to taking full responsibility for what happens to you out on the course.  Please have someone you can call to come get you in the case of emergency, fatigue, inclement weather or bike failure.

Gravel News Shorts - 02/21/2014

CIRREM is upon us.  This 100K gravel adventure up in SW Iowa is taking place tomorrow morning.  The region got a couple of inches of snow yesterday.  Temps in the high 30's to low 40's today will cause some melting.  Tomorrow could be interesting with frozen in the morning and melting in the afternoon.  Could it be a repeat of 2010?   

A good group of locals will be taking part. Local Cirrem Racers:

• Donald Daly
• Mark Easter
• Chris Locke
• Doug Long
• Barry Meitler
• John Porter
• George Williamson

Locally we have Mad Mike's Gravel Grinder out of Topeka, KS.  Mike has long and short course options. 

Check out Mike's page on FB for complete info:  Mad Mike's Gravel Grinder

March ride calendar will be posted soon.

The "Strada Grigio" Report

The 1st Annual Sweetlove Gravel Grinder or "Strada Grigio" was a great success.  Despite snow covered landscapes and some bitter cold temperatures for riding 25 hardy gravel grinder souls showed up at the Sweetlove Farms in Oskaloosa, KS for a little adventure.  Host Phil Holman-Hebert has some plans on making this event into big race.  The surrounding roads make for an ideal location and offer some of the most challenging climbs around.

We depart Sweetlove Farms and join the course.  We had two options today.  Short course of 31 miles and a Long course of 59 miles. There was also an option for a Medium course of 45 miles which was very popular.  All fun and challenging.

 The start was set at 10:00 a.m. to allow a little extra time to warm up.  Mother nature appears to have no clock because it was darn cold at the start.

The roads were in great condition.  Many thought that there would be mud but conditions were ideal for riding.  Some sections were even dusty.

It was great to see Dan Hughes out again.  Dan is a 4 time winner of the Dirty Kanza 200.  I know why after today.  It was hard for many just to load up their bikes this morning and venture out for our ride.  Dan shows up by actually riding from his Lawrence home.  After the ride I offered to drive him home.  He declined saying he needed the miles.  My money is on Dan to become a 5 time winner.

Just ignore the "Bridge Out" sign.  Phil informed us that part of the route went over a bridge that was closed.  As a Gravel Grinder you learn to ignore signs :-)

Phil rocking the short course.  Gerard follows closely using his past track skills to hide from the wind.  Later in the ride Gerard would suffer a flat tire. One of several on the day.  Maybe time to go tubeless?

As usual with hilly and windy rides several  small groups formed on the day.  Scott, Jeff and Rod led the way.

Finally someone took a picture of Guru.  Thank you Scott!.  It was good to ride with Lyle Riedy.  Always fun to talk about past events and just life in general.

By the end of the ride many had tired legs and felt like this poor critter.

Picture album (coming later today)

Sweetlove Gravel Grinder

What: Sweetlove Gravel Grinder
When:Saturday, February 15, 2014 - 10:00 am
Where:Oskaloosa, KS
Why: A fun new ride with friends and great training for your upcoming adventure. 

On Saturday, February 15, the first ever Sweetlove Gravel Grinder, hosted by Phil Holman-Hebert, begins from Sweetlove Farm, two and 1/2 miles west of Oskaloosa, Kansas. The route tours through the rolling hills of central Jefferson County, home to many miles of magnificent gravel roads. With snow on the ground and several very steep sections both up and down, this route has proven extremely challenging during recent reconnaissance. The predicted cold temperatures should add to the difficulty. Be prepared for icy conditions if this cold weather continues. The constantly rolling terrain of this course includes 6 significant uphills and 3 long downhills, about 2 miles of pavement, and almost no flat roads. This is an unsupported ride. Carry what you need and be self-sufficient.

For those of you need a little more to satisfy your sadistic tendencies, or who just want to get some extra miles in your legs, this longer route adds a loop of some of the most picturesque roads in the county, including the leg-burning Chester Hill on 27^th Street that was featured in the Lake Dabinawa Ride a few weeks ago. It also gives you the short, extremely sharp approach to the 27^th and Republic intersection from the other side as you head west on your way back up north to rejoin the short loop. There will be some decent stretches of almost flat road in this loop, mixed in with lots of windy, rolling roads too. It also features a couple of mildly technical, off-camber, and right turning decents that can be pretty fast on a good day. 

Perpendicular parking in the grassy (snowy?!) margins on either side of the long driveway should provide plenty of space for setting up. We do have a bathroom on site.  A heated, but unprivate space will be available for changing.

Join us on FaceBook: Sweetlove Gravel Grinder on 2/15/14

Sweetlove Gravel Grinder Long Route: Distance:58.57 miles 

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Sweetlove Gravel Grinder Short Route: Distance 32 miles

View this Course on MapMyRide

 

SweetloveFarm is located at 13248 102nd Street, Oskaloosa, Kansas, 66046

For information about Phil, his family, and the farm, visit us at www.sweetlovefarm.com.

Call Phil at 785-863-2432 with any questions.

Ride will start casually at 10:00am.

I’m sure you’ll let me know if I’m missing anything important.

Thanks,

Phil

 **Remember, you are responsible for yourself and you ride at your own risk.  You are totally on your own.  There are no rider services.  There is no support. If you choose to participate, you agree to taking full responsibility for what happens to you out on the course.Always follow all traffic laws and rules. Always choose safety first and be prepared.**