Smaug1

For my first gravel race:

https://hungrybeargravel.com/

The thing is I just want to ride a nice gravel course for my first time, I don’t need to race.

If I show up anyway, will they turn me away or will I just not get a chip for official timing and no sag support.

dsaul

Don't show up for a ride that you are not registered for. Wait until after the ride and someone will upload the course to Ride With GPS. Download the course and ride it another day.

mrv 

....how are you racing if you're not registered? ...and how is it racing if you're just following the course?

-- at a more philosophical level - EIGHT HOURS OF DRIVING TO GO RIDE YOUR BIKE ON A DIRT ROAD -
That, I do not get. (...welp, not any more anywayz...) ....okydohky, i think i hear them calling me back in the C&V section - got to keep my meds on schedule.

Smaug1

I emailed the ride organizer last night. He replied first thing this morning: "If you show up, we'll figure something out."

That doesn't fill me with confidence, but it would be fun to ride in the northwoods. It is BEAUTIFUL up there.

To hell with it, I just reserved a hotel. I'm taking a half day and driving up tonight.

Koyote

You want to join an organized ride (race) without properly registering and paying the fee?

Are you a sock puppet for LarrySellerz ?

Smaug1

Apparently, Larry and I share the same sense of adventure.

I don't go to casinos, but I do gamble in my own way, hehehe.

Koyote

Let me be clearer: even if the event is on public roads, it is lame to ride that route during the event. Very lame.

Smaug1

Even with the event organizer's blessing and after paying the fee? C'mon man.
I'm sure the county would be happy to let me use the public roads (which I already support through my taxes) after contributing to charity. And if the event is OK with it too? My conscience is clear, even if I don't have a number with electronic tracker.
I get you though.

On the other hand, it doesn't make sense for a muggle such as myself to register well ahead of time in northern Wisconsin who have to drive hours to get there? I'm not a serious racer. It's either this or don't go. Even though the weather is supposed to be "good", "good" for this part of the country at this time of year means I'll be starting in the low 40s °F range.

I did find another gravel ride 50% closer to home, but it's not as scenic. That's for next time. This is my virgin gravel ride!

I get you though. The racers would think I'm lame anyway, puttering along at probably a12 mph average.

mstateglfr 

Dont intentionally ride an event, during the event, if you arent registered and participating in the event.
Thats super weak.


And as already asked- this will be the first time you ride gravel? I see that you are in WI and am well aware of the reality that 90% of roads there that should be gravel have been paved because of Big Dairy, but even still- I am sure you can find some gravel that is closer to you. driving over 4 hours to just ride some gravel for the first time is nuts.
Make a route thats around and west of Harvard IL and drive an hour to ride some gravel if its your first time. Or find some close by unpaved limestone trails- the DuPage River trail in the N/NW Chicago suburbs, for example. There are some unpaved limestone trails SW of Madison too- they connect to make a loop, I think...at least they did that years ago.
Head out to NWIL into the Driftless Region with a ton of gravel and elevation.

Any of that seems better than driving over 4 hours to crash a bike race that you didnt sign up for in order to experience gravel for the first time.

Koyote

I was referring to riding the route without registering -- I had missed your post #4, above, about contacting the Race Director. If you pay the fee and they can get you in, then sure -- go ahead and do it. But in the future, it would be good form to simply register before the deadline. The RD is likely dealing with a hundred last minute details right now, and you're adding one more little task.

As for the rest of your reply: your anticipated 12 mph average speed isn't a problem unless the race crew have to wait around late while waiting for you to finish. The problem is that it sounds like this is a race, and it would be (according to you) your "virgin gravel ride." Why would you want to do a race for your first gravel ride? That seems ill-advised.

justin1138

Hopefully the organizer can squeeze you in. Showing up to an event unregistered and expecting to ride is poor form.

Assuming you get in... Most of these kind of rides (at least out here in the Pacific Northwest) have a wide variety of folks showing up. For many the goal is just to complete the ride, beat last years time, etc... Not necessarily looking for a podium. Don't worry about the guys and gals racing the race, you'll finish when you finish and hopefully have fun doing it.

unterhausen

I suspect slow people will be fine on a ride like that. The distance xc mountain bike races around here have a wide variety of people show up. I'm not sure the gravel rides in this area are actually races. The longer mtb races do have time cutoffs, but that's probably for the best so they don't have people lost in the woods communing with rattlesnakes in the dark.

SoSmellyAir

I do not recall LarrySellerz suggesting this, but I do recall beng1 doing so.

Koyote

I think Larry suggested it at some point, but I could be mixing up the various bf doofuses.

shelbyfv

Sounds as if the organizer is OK with OP showing up, paying his fee and riding. Kudos to OP for checking. I agree that "poaching" a ride is an a-hole move,

Smaug1

Update: It worked out great. I went there and found the race director in the building helping hand out tags. He asked one of his lieutenants to give me an unused number, as lots of people register then don't show up for whatever reason. The lady acted flustered, and the RD just told me: "Just go ride and have fun and we'll catch up later."

...so I did. I finished about mid-pack with a 12.3 mph average speed. It was the toughest ride I've ever done. It was at least 95% gravel, and their brand of gravel had about 3/4" stones and was mixed with sand. It was non-stop hills ranging from probably 40' to 100'. At the bottom of many hills the sand tended to collect, which sapped our speed so that we couldn't carry much into the next hill. In that area, ATVs (including side-by-sides) are legal, so we also had the challenge of watching out for them oncoming. (we were all over the road, trying to find the smoothest/safest track, which was in the oncoming lane much of the time)

The rest stop was halfway through the line, but they put it halfway down a pretty fast descent and a racing group almost ran over some people walking across the road.

The gravel was not really predictable enough to safely draft; there were ruts, potholes, areas of deep sand and big rocks in places too; need to see those coming, esp. at 25-30 mph down a hill. Most of the riders had at least 45 mm tires and that was definitely the wise choice. I passed a lot of them on the short paved portion, but they had a much better time for the whole rest of the race.

If I were to do this ride again, I would consider bringing my folding fat tire eBike and just take my time and have fun on the 30 mile route. That's too little riding just for the 6 hour drive up there, though. It didn't occur to me how close this venue is to Duluth, MN or I would've maybe tried to spend another day and do some sight-seeing on the southern shore of Lake Superior. Since there's a geomagnetic storm going on, I got to see the Aurora Borealis too!

After the ride, I stopped by the main tent in the finish line/celebration zone bought a jersey for $90 (ouch) and paid the fee.

I likely won't join any more that are billed as "races" as the racers tend to take the fun out of it for me; just way too serious for something like this that doesn't even pay well for winning.

Here's the data on my ride: https://www.strava.com/activities/11387948578

shelbyfv

Congrats! That's a lot of climbing on gravel.

Eric F 

It seems to me like you’re putting a bit too much emphasis on what “racers” are. In my experience with gravel races, yes, there are some folks who are there to compete at the pointy end of their group. However, most participants are there to enjoy the event, get to ride areas they might not get to ride any other time, and do as well as they can do with the fitness they have on that day. If you finished mid-pack in your first event, that seems pretty respectable. 12.3mph avg also sounds pretty reasonable for a course with mostly dirt. At a race I did earlier this year, my avg was 11.3mph, and I finished in the top 20% - hardest race I’ve done yet. I’ll never finish at the top of any category, but I enjoy doing races with the mindset of playing golf - it’s me against the course, and I’m going to just do the best I can do. After, we will drink beer together, and share tales of our experience.

All that said, if you aren’t excited about doing organized events, that’s fine. It’s totally okay to ride the way you enjoy riding, and some folks prefer to ride alone.

Eric F 

Some folks like road trips to places they would not otherwise chose to go. Gravel race/event courses are often a mix of pavement, dirt/gravel roads, and singletrack. Sometimes a course takes you through private lands that you would not be able to ride on any other day. Being able to share that experience with other like-minded folks is something that some people enjoy.

Sierra_rider

Congrats on finishing, although I'm a bit curious about how the "racers" are taking the fun out of it? The guys that are actually fast, should be starting near the front of their wave and have very little on-course interaction with the bulk of the casual competitors. Outside of that, it's just human nature to want to finish as well as you can. I'm a fairly competitive XC MTB racer that's slowly transitioning over to gravel, I don't do it for the money or the "kudos", I guess it's just for my own sense of accomplishment...I'm actually losing money by even showing up to a race. I do take it seriously, but I don't go out of my way to try to ruin someone else's fun, and I think almost everyone else is the same.

Smaug1

Eric F, Sierra Rider: They were taking the fun out of it with their: "Get out of my way, I'm RACING attitude." For example, yelling at people crossing the road at the rest stop. Was them having to scrub a bit of speed going down the one hill going to make all the difference between them placing 1 and 2? Nope.

To be fair, it was called a 'race', but probably 75% of participants were not actually racing, but just enjoying the ride.

Koyote

Counterpoint: you should stay out of other riders' paths whether they are racing or not. That's just common sense and politeness.

​​​​​​Maybe, depending on who's forced to brake in order to avoid colliding with you. Bear in mind that most races will have numerous categories (broken down by gender, age, even type of bike), and so in any given race there may be quite a few people battling it out for 1st vs 2nd place. And even outside of the podium finishers, most racers are trying to maximize their performances -- in other words, trying to minimize their ride times.

Also consider that racers (or anyone trying to ride fast) often travel in groups -- packs and pacelines -- to reap aerodynamic benefits. Anything that gets in the way might cause the group to break up, which raises the possibility of a rider not being able to catch back up -- which will dramatically affect the rest of his/her race.

We all ride for our own reasons, but you seem to be judging people who ride for reasons other than yours. And criticizing people for riding it like it’s a race – when it IS a race – is just plain ridiculous.

shelbyfv

Those perps may have been "racing" only in their dreams. So many other riders got to the rest stop ahead of them to clog the road? I agree there's no reason to walk in front of someone or stand around in the path.

Koyote

Races will often have different distances, and their routes intersect and/or overlap. Last weekend I rode a 100-mile gravel race...For about the last fifteen miles, we were passing riders who had been doing the shorter distances.

shelbyfv

Yep. I must have had a senior moment.