Heck Epic Gravel Adventure:
"TWO DAY, 200 MILE STAGED BIKEPACKING EVENT"
Day one is fantastic. Maybe a bit cold and a little damp but it clears up and everyone has a spectacular day.
Everyone is supposed to carry all the gear they need for the 2 day ride. That is, camping gear and clothes. We all carry some food and water but use local shops to provision as needed. Notice how everyone has the same gear but just a little different configuration. Most of these riders have 100's or 1000's of miles of gravel under their belts so we all know how to pack gear the way 'we' want it.
Sunny and nice. Temps are warming but not so hot as to overheat. Perfect. Double track or Jeep trail in the deep woods of northern Minnesota.
A mud hole creates some drama as riders try to ride through it only to dig in and crash. I ride through without issue.
We are making such good time that we agree to stop at a local business for a pizza. I'd report the business name but they were not good, friendly or worth naming so I'll call them the "Knott-a-gain"
This is always a welcome sign. When riding one hundred miles people stretch out to just one or two at a time and drivers may be careless on rural roads and hit someone. It makes us feel better.
My gear config. Nothing on the bars like a lot of people. I didn't want the weight over the front for handling and slow steering. I have a sleeping bag, tent, pillow, camp pad, and some extra clothes in the saddle bag. The frame has a tiny stove, pot and some 'emergency dinner', snacks, inner tube, pump, bike tool, head lamp, and other small personal items like a toothbrush.... I may use something close to this set up when I attempt the Alexander 380 in May.
Nearing the end of day one, and the first 100 miles, we see riders having a heavy snack at a grocery store and head over to join them. I lose my cycling gloves at this stop. I set them on my bike but they must have fallen off and I didn't see them and rode off without them.
Coming into town for the first night.
Camp is all set up and everyone is interested in 2 things, dinner and sleep.
The night was good for me but many people cheated on the gear they needed and took a soaking in the thunderstorms that passed over us. Many retreated to the lodge. I don't know if they sucked at camping or got stupid in packing as rain was forecast at 100% so nobody should have needed shelter outside of what they could carry.
Morning line up after breakfast. Rain starts by 10am and it pisses on us all day making a very difficult day for everyone. Ok, that tree (below) blew down last night.
Downed trees are common on these back roads, the storm wasn't that bad.
I flat but my buddies are cool and hang out while I replace the tube and we are back on our way.
You can tell from all the smudged photos that the rain never stops and I have no way to dry the lens. The roads are getting soft and we are only warm when riding. Stopping means bone soaked cold.
The half way stop and the ONLY place to stop the entire day. It's just so remote there are no gas stations or towns along the route. It's all forest roads.
Inside the rest stop we fill up on bananas and PB&J's. Everyone is shelled and their faces show it or more correctly show no emotions at all, wet gravel zombies. But this little fella is a huge help.
All the rain and storms make mud holes. They were fun, now they suck and you just pray you don't crash and go swimming.
We are always finding things in the woods like old hunting shacks or this hobo crib.
More rain and cold. This day is a grind, literally. It takes us over 12 hours to cover the 105 miles. That's many hours past even a slow ride. It was just a metric to quantify how hard the day was.
Even harder. We push something like 3 miles of ankle deep mud (some riding) but we are nearing the end so every mile is gold.
The end. The ride organizer greets us with a handshake and a congratulation on completing the first Heck EPIC! I am really looking forward to more 2 day bikepacking rides including the EPIC.
Last thing, we are feet away from the parking lot we started in 36 hours ago but I got dropped off and have 12 more miles to ride into town. I get several offers for a lift but what's 12 more? They are a bit surprised I'm still content to ride but I like long and a few miles of downhill road is a treat compared to the slog we just finished.
