IRONBULL free gravel ride returns
Riders pass points of interest along the route including Eland Depot. Photo credit: Brad Stone
RINGLE – After organizing a series of free trail runs, bike, and paddle events in 2020, the Essential Gravel Bike Ride. is returning in 2021. Last year’s inaugural Essential Gravel saw 25% of riders enjoy either the Mountain-Bay or Wiouwash State Trails for the first time.
“With 2/3 of the 2020 registrants participating in their first ever gravel ride, we wanted to introduce more people to the sport in 2021,” said Andrea Larson, IRONBULL executive director.
The ride starts and finishes on the Mountain-Bay State Trail near Ringle. Riders have three, relatively flat looped course options: 10 miles, 20 miles or 44 miles in an effort to appeal to both the first-time gravel rider and the experienced gravel enthusiast (and cyclists of all abilities in between).
“This is a great route that takes you into rural Eastern Marathon County’s farmland and past four lakes,” said Shane Hitz, course designer and race director of the Red Granite Grinder gravel bike race. “It also uses a less used segment of the Wiouwash State Trail leading in to Eland immersing you into its unique history of its days of when the railroad came through there.”
Gravel races typically use a mix of low-traffic roads, forest roads and occasionally a bit of trails to showcase scenic views that a traditional road biker may not otherwise encounter. The Essential Gravel Bike Ride travels on the eastern side of Marathon County. The routes feature the Mountain-Bay State Trail, pass by several lakes and for the 44 mile riders, include the Wiouwash State Trail and pass a historic train depot.
Remaining true to gravel races, this ride will be completely self-supported and unmarked but the route’s GPS file, map, and cue sheet are available on the IRONBULL website for riders to download.
Riders may complete the routes as many times as they want between June 18 to June 27. Participants are encouraged to register for the free event to track community impact and are eligible for a variety of prizes.
For more race information on the IRONBULL Essential Gravel Bike Ride and other upcoming events go to the IRONBULL Facebook page or https://www.ironbull.org/essential-gravel-ride-details