2021 Gravel Races / Gravel Rides

[dbnm]

With a few vaccines becoming available in the coming months, I am starting to look at some gravel events at the second half of 2021.

What events (races and rides) are you planning on attending?

[pottshead]

Originally Posted by dbnm

With a few vaccines becoming available in the coming months, I am starting to look at some gravel events at the second half of 2021.

What events (races and rides) are you planning on attending?

The vaccines are going to take a long time to fully roll out

[ibis]

If things take a turn for the better I'd like to attend the Moots Colorado Ranch Rally and the Belgian Waffle Ride (SD).

[weiwentg]

IMO, I don't know that I can count on enough people being vaccinated by, say, Q3 of 2021, that we can just go back to normal without masks. It will take time to manufacture and distribute, there will probably be shortages (and thinking purely from a philosophical perspective, we should be vaccinating first responders worldwide before we start on the general population anywhere, but I don't think we're going to do that), and you hav to figure the vaccine is up to 90% effective, so there's some chance that you could still get it.

Most likely I'm going to ride the Heywood Ride solo (what Almanzo evolved into). They had scheduled for May 2020, and obviously this got cancelled. The GPX files are on the web. There's a smaller and shorter ride in Northfield mid year, the Tour de Save. I'd consider signing up for that, because it's small enough that the start can be pretty distanced and you won't see many people out on the course. Heywood was most likely going to be a popular ride, and it might not be possible to safely do it next year if they don't put size limits on the field. I don't even know their plans.

For that matter, I don't honestly know if I'm going to be in the state by mid next year.

[dbnm]

Anyone else sign up for the Robidoux Quick & Dirty?

June 19 in Scotts Bluff, Nebraska

https://www.robidouxquickndirty.com/

[BryanE]

Barry Roubaix in Mich. has been reschedule from April to October. The first of many spring races.....

[AngryScientist]

i think a good indicator will be what happens with the Garmin Unbound Gravel event, currently scheduled for June 5. Roughly 6 months out, let's see!

[Spdntrxi]

I'm hoping BWR SD actually happens in May this time.

[mtb_frk]

Barry-Roubaix also but I’m skeptical at this point as well. I am a high risk person due to being diabetic and as much I want to do the race I’m betting I’ll be riding solo at home that day.

[Zee]

I solo’d Barry Roubaix in October and I got lost enough to purchase a Garmin the following week. I have now reviewed the course on a few different full length videos and confirmed the signs I didn’t see simply didn’t exist.

My wife and mother are high risk and I will not be riding with a large group for the near future.

[dbnm]

I am playing it, day by day. The registration fee was cheap enough that if I don't get it back, it won't really hurt.

Being in a gravel race with 3000 people is not my idea of fun right now. Especially if most of the population has not gotten a vaccine.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by dbnm

I am playing it, day by day. The registration fee was cheap enough that if I don't get it back, it won't really hurt.

Being in a gravel race with 3000 people is not my idea of fun right now. Especially if most of the population has not gotten a vaccine.

yeah most of these rides the $$$ goes for a good cause so I am good to donate it if I can afford it. I donated all my entry fees for this year. I am going to sign up to all my local rides for next year, just not going to sign up for anything that I have to travel for longer than a 2 hour car ride.

[peanutgallery]

Considering the clusterfluck the outgoing administration has made out of the pandemic, I would be willing to bet 2021 will be a mess. Vaccine rollout will have some hitches and take a loooong time

Unfortunately, expect more of the same

[pottshead]

I think even Grinduro CA in September is unlikely if we are being honest.

[Bentley]

I participated in a road event back in July. I won’t say it was perfectly managed, and only about 250 riders, but I do think that it’s possible to participate in a large event if you are careful. Just so you know we even had a minor issue with a rider down.

I don’t see the vaccine as being the complete solution. It’s unclear how long the “immunity” lasts and the virus is not going away. I think that riding “socially distant” and self support will be needed for the near term, maybe longer.

I’d like to see some events return, well managed and people behaving responsibly so we can get back to “normal”

Ray