With all of the event schedules in flux, there is bound to be some overlap as we (hopefully) try to cram in a full season at the end of the year. For the 2020 gravel calendar, two big events are now happening on the same day – Dirty Kanza and Grinduro California. Both events have been scheduled for the weekend of September 12, meaning riders may have to choose between one or the other.
In all likelihood though, the two events attract different enough crowds that the overlap shouldn’t be a big deal. Grinduro’s promoters mentioned that the promoters of DK were nice enough to contact them and discuss the overlap, leaving both parties happy to support the other in a tough environment for hosting events at the moment.
For those who would rather opt for the best party to race ratio, Grinduro California will be headed to a new venue at Mt. Shasta for the race on September 12th. This year the Ski Park will serve as the village and event venue, which will allow for a raging after party thanks to the absence of any noise ordinances. Since the park is open for mountain biking in the summer, you’ll even have a chance to bring your MTB and rip some park laps with each Grinduro/Grindurito rider getting a lift ticket that’s valid from Friday-Sunday. Don’t want to bring a gravel bike and a mountain bike? You can use the lift ticket to head up to the mid-mountain grill, or do some sight seeing.
The main Grinduro ride will use the same formula of a handful of timed segments sprinkled through a 65 mile ride with 7,800′ of climbing. Only those timed segments will count towards the “race”. Everything else is just “maxin’ and relaxin’ with your friends as you take in the views. There will also a non-timed Grindurito fun ride which will be about half the distance of Grinduro for riders who don’t want to tackle the whole thing and don’t want to compete at all.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Grinduro without live music, great food and drink, and a festival atmosphere. Grinduro Canada was one of my favorite rides I was able to do last year, so I’d highly recommend it.
Registration for Grinduro Canada opens on Tuesday, May 12, at 7:00pm PDT. If you want to attend, don’t sleep on this – they expect it to sell out within minutes as in previous years. Worried about cancellation due to Covid-19 being an issue? Grinduro’s promoters state that they are “offering full refunds or registration deferrals in the event of cancellation due to COVID-19.” Like everyone, we’re really hoping things have changed by then, but if not, it sounds like you’re covered. Check the link below for more info.
