Updates!

2012 GB is done, 2013 is a long ways off

So relax and enjoy yourself, come see us again when the time is right.

2012 Registration is OPEN!

Info for the Sept 23rd, 2012 Gritty Brevet

The Gritty Brevet is one of them free, unsupported, ride at your own pace, rain or shine, gravel road ride events.

Neither sag nor taut wagon will patrol the course, if you have a flat you have to change it, you are responsible for you, etc.

The ride is self navigated, there are cue sheets to lead you on your way.  Bike choice is always a hot topic, you can ride whatever you wish, but the majority of riders will likely be on multi speed cyclocross bikes.  You could use a road bike with skinny tires, or a mountain bike with fat tires, yes.  Last year we have had tandems ride, many single speed finishers, and fixed gear finishers, too.

We will be starting right here at 30th Century Bicycle, and finishing here too, well, at Trumpet Blossom Cafe next door and yes we will have a beer deal to reward you your efforts, and to aid in the post ride storytelling and/or lying.

We will be rolling out at the civilized hour of 8 am.  It will be a neutral roll out until we hit the gravel. There are rumors of course changes, or a whole new course even, we have heard them, too, we will just have to wait and see. With the number of people that got lost last year we feel like we could do the same course just so everyone gets a chance to see it all. Stay tuned!

There will be no finish times kept or recorded this year. We will have a list of finishers. If you want on it you have to finish.

More updates to follow, please register now!

2011 Registration is CLOSED!

The big day is a week away, and registration is closed.  We just sent out an email to all registered riders, if you did not get it please email us and we can get you up to date.

Info for the Sept 25th, 2011 Gritty Brevet

The Gritty Brevet is one of them free, unsupported, ride at your own pace, rain or shine, gravel road ride events.

No sag wagon will patrol the course, if you have a flat you have to change it, you are responsible for you, etc.

The ride is self navigated, there are cue sheets to lead you on your way.  Bike choice is always a hot topic, you can ride whatever you wish, but the majority of riders will likely be on multi speed cyclocross bikes.  You could use a road bike with skinny tires, or a mountain bike with fat tires, yes.  Last year we had 2 tandems ride, many single speed finishers, and fixed gear finishers, too.

We will be starting here at 30th Century Bicycle this year, and finishing here too, well, at the Hideaway next door and yes we will have a beer deal to reward you your efforts, and to aid in the post ride storytelling and/or lying.

Last year everyone finished within 10 hours so we will be rolling out at the civilized hour of 8 am.  It will be a neutral roll out until we hit the gravel on the southeast side of town.  The 100 mile course goes out around Lone Tree, over through Riverside (about 45 miles in) where there will be a resupply option at a convenience store, past Frytown, up around Kent Park, through Tiffin ( about 85 miles in) where there is another resupply convenience store option, and then back to bring you into Iowa City on Dane Rd.  The course probably never takes you further than 30 miles from Iowa City and the second half is much hillier than the first!  The 75 mile option follows much of the same route but turns in from Frytown.

More updates to follow, please register now!

Last year’s stuff:

September 26th

The big day is here!  We are up and at it, a beautiful cold morning, high forecast for 65f and no rain today, but we got buckets of it yesterday, which should make for at least 3 interesting miles for our riders.

September 21

Sent out an email to all registered riders this morning with final details.  If you are registered and did not get it please let us know so we can get you the info you need.  If you are not registered but got it – Start Training Now!  grittybrevet@gmail.com

September 20

Registration is closed and the ride is this Sunday!  A couple of other questions we have heard:  Yes you can use a gps for navigation.  Yes, you should carry a cell phone and have a person lined up to call who can come pick you up if you have trouble out on the road.  There will be no sag support for this ride!  Thanks for playing, see you Sunday!

September 11, 2010

Just 2 weeks to the big day!  Registrations keep coming in, looks like we will have a nice group at the start.  If you are still thinking about making it register quick, we are going to stop taking riders next Sunday, September 19th!  We have gotten some questions about how the event will run so I will cover some topics of interest.  First, this ride will follow cue sheets, the course will not be marked and you will be responsible for self navigation.  The cues will look similar to this:

They will have mileage, road names and direction of turns.  You should have a cyclocomputer to follow the turns.  Yes, we have seen people do these rides just by looking at street signs, but a computer is the way to go. The photo shows a cue sheet in a nice map case on top of a handlebar bag, which is a nice setup, so you have the cues right in front of you all the time.  You could get just a map case also, or quart size ziploc bags and zipties work really well.  Or you can just stuff the cues in your pocket and pull them out when you need to, but we don’t recommend it.

We are going to post the cues for the ride here on the website the week before the event.  You can print them and put them in whatever format you like.  You can memorize them, you can tattoo them on your forearms, you can go out and preride the course so you have an “edge” if you like.  If you don’t have a printer please email us and let us know you need a set to pick up at the start!  grittybrevet@gmail.com

Other things to think about:  Bike and tire choice.  This event is mostly on gravel roads.  Most of them are pretty tame and you could roll them on a road bike with 25′s.  Some sections are not so nice!  We recommend a cyclocross bike with tires in the 700 x 32 – 40 range depending on your comfort level.  A mountain bike would also do just fine, of course.  The course will have 2 sections of B roads, one very early and another after the checkpoint.  The lovable B road is also known as a minimum maintenence road, they are not covered with gravel and if there is rain or has been they may/will be muddy.  Just so you know!

You might want to bring lights.  For your bike you should bring a pump, a couple of spare tubes, a patch kit, maybe even a tire boot!  A multi tool and chain tool, too!  For your body you should carry food with you and eat it!  You will have about 45 miles to the first convenience store so carry enough water to make it.  2 big waterbottles, maybe even 3 would be a good idea.

If you have any other questions about the ride please keep them coming!  grittybrevet@gmail.com

August 9th, 2010

We had a big meeting last night and hammered out some more details for you all.  First up, the start time will be 8am!  Second up, course changes are now complete, the course is set in gravel, so to speak.  It will get a pre-ride verification but it looks like 103 miles.  We are going to prepare a shorter option for folks not looking for quite that much challenge in their Sunday, it will come in at about 75 miles.  The courses will be the same until the checkpoint around mile 62, where you can opt for what we are affectionately calling The Burvee Swervee, and you can head back to town early.  You will still connect with the long route and finish the same way.  Also, no drop bags or support crew meet ups on the course!  You will ride right by C stores at mile 45 and mile 85, that is where you can resupply.  Our checkpoint is going to be bicycle (and beer) powered, we do not want to burden our volunteers with carrying your stuff, and there is no parking out there for support to meet up.

Last thing, we are on the lookout for schweet schwagg to give away to you all, Ira Ryan of Iowa gravel and Portland frame building fame has agreed to send us some goodies, more to follow.

July 25th, 2010

We are 2 months away from the big day, and all of us at Gritty Brevet HQ are wondering where the time went.  Today we sprang to action and sent one of our scouts out to have a look around, check the cue sheets, and try not to get lost.

the start line

It was a beautiful day for it, and the rider (let’s call him Sgt Pickle or something) left about 8 am from the Johnson County fairgrounds and made it back at around 3 pm, never having gotten lost.  The course clocked in at 103 miles, 85 on gravel.  There are a couple of changes in the works to avoid the mundane or the Canine, but mostly we are set.  There are currently 4 cue sheets.  The course is a good mix of terrain, there is flat, there are hills, there is nice gravel and yes, some not so nice sections, too.  But not many of those.

typical

The course goes right by a C Store at mile 47.  There will be one checkpoint, and it will be later than that.  We may be able to provide drop bags, but we may not as there is another resupply option at mile 85, less than a mile off the route.  We will let you know on drop bags when we make a final decision, here at the Updates! page.

Here are more photos from the ride, it was a beautiful day!