Gravel events generally fall into one of two camps – either testosterone-fuelled pedal-to-the-metal races or more relaxed, welcome-everyone celebrations of gravelling. But there is a third way and apparently, it’s painted purple! Grinduro have just announced the launch of their 2024 world series and we got the inside scoop of what will be involved, from head honcho James Deane.
Grinduro has been around since 2015 and has grown from an initial single event in California to a six-event world series. It kicks off in Germany next May and takes in Pennsylvania, France, California and Italy, before the grand finale in Japan.
We started off by asking James, who is responsible for managing the Grinduro world series, if he could try and sum up Grinduro in one sentence. “Imagine the perfect group ride with your best friends that ended with you all gate-crashing a music festival" was his eloquent summary.
Next, we asked him how Grinduro events differ from other gravel festivals? “Grinduro teeters on the very edge of gravel, with one foot firmly dipped in the pool of mountain biking. We’re not sadists but goofing around forest trails on inappropriate bikes is kinda fun. And I think that picks up on what makes Grinduro so different – we don’t take ourselves seriously and that laid back attitude attracts riders who perhaps wouldn’t normally consider a gravel festival. Sure, there’s a small group of folks that LOVE to race, but there’s a huge group at Grinduro that come to hang out, ride with their pals and have absolutely no care about racing.” James told us. He continued “Grinduro is inclusive, it’s welcoming to all, and you can make it what you want it to be. Grinduro events are known for their friendly and welcoming atmosphere. There is a strong sense of camaraderie among riders, and there are often opportunities to socialise and connect with other cyclists before, during, and after the event.”
We moved the conversation on to the future and asked James what’s new for 2024? “The big news for 2024 is the addition of a new location to the Grinduro series – the Vosges Mountains of eastern France, a real paradise for gravel riders.“ The route description on the Grinduro website says the riders should expect “huge forests, epic valleys, timed stages and killer viewpoints with, clear views all the way to the Alps. Where Grinduro goes down, on the eastern side, it's all rugged and wild with tons of canyons, while the western side is all about those chill rolling slopes.”
One of the interesting/unusual things with a Grinduro event is the sheer variety of bikes that you are likely to spot. There will be everything from singlespeed shopping bikes with a basket on the front, to cutting-edge über lightweight XC MTBs to every variety of dropbar gravel and adventure bike that you’ve ever seen. So, the $million that we posed to James was what bike should we bring? His answer was both inciteful and non-committal! “You'll want a bike that is comfortable, versatile and capable of handling a variety of terrain. We’ve seen everything from road bikes (painful) gravel bikes (perfect all-rounder) to fat bikes (I’m sure it was fun ‘til the big climb).”
With an event that combines “Gravel Road Race + Mountain Bike-Style Enduro” and “timed segments which are designed to reward the most well-rounded of rouleurs”, it sounds like it will appeal to a wide range of different people. We asked James if he could describe a typical Grinduro rider? “There is no typical Grinduro rider, the only thing that unifies them all is a positive outlook and a keen sense of maxing their weekend on the bike.”
There’s a possibly apocryphal story about James finding a slightly unusual bed for the night at a European Grinduro event a few years ago. So, we finished our conversation with our best question so far – we asked what James’ most useful advice was for surviving the Grinduro party? ”Only when you wake up in a local resident’s front garden at 8 am, the day after Grinduro have you reached peak Grinduro enlightenment....” is how he replied.
If you’d like to find out more about the Grinduro 2024 gravel series, head over to their website. Entries for the majority of the series open on the 1st December.