thehammerdog

Got info on a real gravel ride/race in NJ sept 30th Tenafly area.
40 miles of fun in NJ I cannot wait to give it a go.


The gravel beast

davlafont

Name? Site? Club? Curious...

thehammerdog

https://www.gravelcyclist.com/event/...ly-new-jersey/

Here is the link. As a NJ fella I am excited as the other option was one in PA but it is 2 hrs from my home.

davlafont

Sweet! I'm tentative but interested in the 45-mile GG. It may fill up before I can commit, but I'll try to make this happen.

thehammerdog

davlafont

I'm registered for the 45-mile fun group. I tried to bring a friend but he has another commitment. I've reached out to another, although he's not crazy about gravel (yet?). We'll see...

thehammerdog

Wattsup

Where's the one in PA? Is there a gravel grinder website calendar somewhere?

Greenhil

Wattsup

Thanks!

thehammerdog

https://www.unpavedpennsylvania.com/

I was debating this race but it is couple hours away and the NJ race is well in New Jersey thus I chose the NJ race

davlafont

JohnnyPedals

I'm curious how well this is going to go. There are an awful lot of trail users ( walkers , recreation cyclists and families with children) on the weekends in that area. I can't imagine that racing through there (Piermont, Nyack Beach, ETC) would be smart.
Does anyone know how the organizers will manage these potential issues?
JP

davlafont

Good question! I've asked it on the YouTube video. Let's see if they answer...

Wattsup

A better question might be what's the go/no-go number of registrations? There are only 11 entries for the races that give cash prizes.

thehammerdog

My gravel grinder
2 weeks to go and I am pumped to test the 26 inch 1994 Rockadille up against the newest of Gravel bikes.
Check out the video the sponsor just posted.
Hudson river is the body of water
Ready Set Go Adventures - Off Road Triathlon, XTERRA Triathlon

thehammerdog

My gravel grinder
2 weeks to go and I am pumped to test the 26 inch 1994 Rockadille up against the newest of Gravel bikes.
Check out the video the sponsor just posted.
Hudson river is the body of water
Ready Set Go Adventures - Off Road Triathlon, XTERRA Triathlon

thehammerdog

up to 25 as of today
Join come out and play

davlafont

53 total registrants in all categories as of today. Weather forecast shows partly cloudy, high of 66F. Fingers crossed...

Chris(NJ)

I'm doing unPAved. I think it's pretty much sold out aside from the 30mi option. Great riding out there. Skipping the NJ gravel ride. We really don't have good gravel routes here in jersey. You gotta go to PA, NY, VT, MA to score good gravel routes.

davlafont

I'm genuinely curious--not picking a fight--what do you consider to be good gravel? Up here in the Skylands we have serious MTB trails and courses, lots of rail trails (both developed and not), and plenty of back-woods county roads. What are we missing? Organized events? Dirt roads? Again, just curious...

davlafont

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/28313578

What a great ride!

I met @thehammerdog and we swapped stories. He took off with the race group but... he stopped racing at Mile 3.7 to play good Samaritan for a fallen rider. Plenty of folks pitched in to help evacuate the participant so after a few minutes of directing traffic, I mounted up and carried on.

Immediately following that crash scene--starting about Mile 4), the course got super interesting. A long uphill gravel climb (one rider called it "chunky") really put my skills to the test. I passed! Other single-track and rail-bed sections gave me a broad sample of what gravel can be about. Mix that in with plenty of miles of street riding and I was glad for the bike underneath me.

As an event, there were pros and cons.

Cons: the route marking was not good. The organizer knows and apologized in advance, so there's not much to dwell on there. In my humble opinion, it was irresponsible to offer cash prizes (and the natural reputation/bragging rights) for a race run through such a heavily populated public park. @JohnnyPedals foresaw this in post #13 and he was right. No one should have been blasting their way through the parks--or city streets--trying to win. I'm sure the organizer will receive many complaints from local authorities because we heard them on the paths.

Pros: Great route. I will go back with friends and cover some or all of it again in the future. Good BBQ at the finish (although there was no music?). Great attitude by almost everyone. The exception that I noted was someone going on and on and on (and on) about race results and who cheated how and why he would have scored differently/better, blah blah blah. My ear was worn out and he wasn't even talking to me.

Recommendation: Treat it more like a Gran Fondo with timed sections to provide competitive opportunities.

Conclusion: Good value for the money. I'd do it again.

thehammerdog

I agree with your assessment I was a DNF as a result. I was so excited but the marking was very poor and I got lost in some park all alone. After I waited on the injured cyclist for the police to arrive He was unconscious when we came upon him. The shop was cool the guy running was cool place has a nice vibe.
I hope to try it again next year with a better faster lighter bike. I was humbled by the 700c speed beauty's My 26 inch rockadille was out of her league.