Jeremiah Bishop’s Alpine Gran Fondo

[Dirt]

A few of us made the trip down to Harrisonburg, VA for the Alpine Gran Fundo last weekend. It was totally worth the trip. It was a lovely, though seriously challenging ride that snaked through the mountains between Harrisonburg and Franklin, WV. There was a 35 mile loop that was comprised of some lovely, rolling hills and a few short climbs, a 75 mile loop with 2 big mountain climbs and a 93 mile loop with 4 big mountain climbs. We chose the 93 mile loop. Each of the major climbs was at least 6 miles in duration and had plenty of elevation gain…. over 11,000 ft. of climbing for the whole loop. What was more entertaining was that the 2 toughest climbs were on dirt roads, the steepest of which was a bit on the muddy side after Friday’s rain.

If you are interested in a Century ride that is very scenic and challenging, this is your baby! I rode with a 34×25 lowest gear (and cyclocross tires) and that was not low enough. I could have used a 27 or 28 tooth cog for sure.

Here’s the loop: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/402398

Here’s the web site: http://www.alpineloopgranfondo.com/

Here are a few photos:

2nd climb of the day. Short (about 6 miles) steep (about 21% gradient at most) and fun.

Riding through H-burg on the way west.

I think a lot of people felt this way toward the top of the last climb.

Harrisonburg is a great place to ride both mountain and road bikes. This Gran Fondo was planned perfectly and well executed. For those who brought family down that were not taking part in the ride, the Harrisonburg fair was the same weekend and there was lots to do and see. The downtown restaurants are great and there’s a cool, historic vibe to the town.

I’ll definitely be going back (with a few extra teeth on my cogs) next year… and the year after that.

Love,

Pete

Topic

[americancyclo]

@vvill 41637 wrote:

I imagine that gravel grinders would actually be better preparation than Kill Bill

Are any of the Gravel Grinders Dirt’s been leading 25c friendly? I don’t’ foresee a new bike before the end of 2013 and can’t fit bigger tires on my Roubaix. The furthest I’ve been offroad with the bike so far has been going up Donaldson Run from Military to 26th.

[vvill]

I guess it depends on your bike handling skills! A lot of the sections I remember would be ok on 25s but overall I wouldn’t feel comfortable on 25s, mostly on the descents with looser gravel. But I’m definitely unskilled at riding on unpaved surfaces. Dirt would be the best person to ask.

[DaveK]

@americancyclo 41652 wrote:

Are any of the Gravel Grinders Dirt’s been leading 25c friendly? I don’t’ foresee a new bike before the end of 2013 and can’t fit bigger tires on my Roubaix. The furthest I’ve been offroad with the bike so far has been going up Donaldson Run from Military to 26th.

We had a guy ride with us on 23c tubulars one weekend. He was faster than me on 35c cross tires so I’m definitely not going to say it was impossible. He had some serious riding skills to be descending on gravel on those tires. I think he’s been riding as long as I’ve been alive though.

[Tim Kelley]

@vvill 41637 wrote:

I do remember that Reddish section being the first time I ever heard Tim complain about not having low enough gearing! I was happy to have bought a 11-28 cassette specifically for this event

Friends don’t let friends ride Reddish on an 11-25. Unless they’re my friends…

[Author]

Replies