Grass roots bike events are special. It is rare that you will find big corporate sponsor tents, media coverage or big pay outs. What you will find are nice people, small crowds and home brew aid stations. Granny’s Gravel Grinder is no exception…well there are a couple exceptions, at Granny’s you also get post race tacos and a root beer float!
Granny’s Gravel Grinder is a race put on by Chase Wark of Wark’s Cycling Services and is quite literally hosted from his grandma’s house in central Minnesota. Chase also puts on the The Hotdish 100 race which takes place in Winona, MN. Together with the Day Across Minnesota (DAMN) and the Filthy 50, they make up the Northstar Gravel Series. At Granny’s you can choose from three distances: 100, 50 and 25 miles.
2026 marks the 4th year of the event and my third trip to Granny’s house, and to be clear I am no elite athlete, I enjoy endurance events because of the challenge, I’m not out there to win and my results show that! Two years ago I did the 50 mile event, which was my first long distance race ever. It rained all night and into the start of the race. It was a total mud-fest and a total blast, made even harder by my decision to ride my single speed. Last year I decided I needed more punishment and did the 100 mile, as it was part of my prep for the Lutsen 99er. The weather was perfect, but the race was very difficult for me. Those last 30 miles are brutal! Oh and by the way, when I say it is a 100 or 50 miles race they are actually 109 and 57 respectively. Even though I knew the race distances going into it, there was a real psychological impact when I got to mile 89. My head felt like I should be nearly done, but I knew it was really another 20 miles…Uff Da! This year I went back to the 50 mile. I think I was actually in better shape this year than last year, but I wanted to ride the same event that my younger son is participating in, and it allowed me to try and push a little harder instead of just surviving.
For the second year in a row the weather was perfect, starting the 50 mile race at 10 AM under sunny skies and 50 degrees with just a slight breeze. The start was sure to be fast and it didn’t disappoint. My gravel bike is a carbon frame from bikes direct that has pretty nice components on it including Shimano Ultegra groupset and hydraulic disc brakes. For tires I was running Maxxis Rambler 40mm, set up tubeless. My nutrition for this ride was a home-brew calorie and electrolyte mix that I carried in a 2-liter hydration pack. This is the hydration pack that I have used for a few years now, it is inexpensive, but it is light, and has been on thousands of miles with me. I’ve used this pack for 3 granny’s, one Lutsen 99er, two Chequamegon’s and much of the training. You can see from the picture it is still in great shape, although I did just wash it. The only thing I changed was swapping the bladder that came with it for a Nathan bladder and hose which are more supple and user friendly. There is plenty of room for a light jacket, spare tubes, snacks and more. The following are affiliate links. If you click and purchase I may receive a commission at no cost to you, but rest assured I would not endorse a product or brand that I don’t use myself.
My 15 year old and I planned to ride together with a goal of holding 16 mph. To this end we were doing quite well, keeping each other in check, taking turns when we lost a group and making sure we were having a good time. For the 50 miler, there is one aid station at about the 34 mile mark, which is set up at Jitters coffee shop in Ogilve, MN. Like always the aid station provided something for everyone; chips, drinks, pickles, fruit snacks, and much more. Our nutrition and hydration were on point, bodies feeling good and ready to go…until we left the aid station. As we pulled away and headed south, the wind hit like a ton of bricks. On top of legs that were maybe a little more tired than we realized, our pace slowed to about 14 mph. We would continue to battle the wind for the rest of the race, with our bodies going through the ebbs and flows of an endurance event. Although this is a gravel event, there are a few small sections of blacktop and I would be lying if I didn’t find a bit of relief when on the blacktop sections. It’s amazing what a difference it makes in speed and effort when going from loose gravel to blacktop! We continued to grind through the race and eventually one of us had to make a move. Before the race, my son and I decided we would race it together but the finish line is up for grabs. With about a half mile to go, I went for it, making the final turn through the pasture (yes the final stretch is through a field). I thought I was in the driver’s seat, when on the final corner, he shot past me and I had no answer. Fortunately in the picture below I was still in the lead!
It was a great day and a great finish, made better knowing that tacos and root beer floats waited for us. I should also mention that my older son, who was originally planning on doing the 100 mile race went down to the 25 mile since he is in the middle of track season and also nursing some calf tightness. He was planning on taking it chill and just following the crowd through the 25 mile course. His plans changed when he found himself in the lead, but kept taking wrong turns since there was nobody to follow. A mid-race Strava purchase set him on course and he won the 25 mile race despite the several wrong turns. I joked with him if he won a new bike, his response was; “no, a big cookie” and of course a hug from Granny! Which is the way it should be for events like this. Thanks again Chase, Granny, and the whole family!
silent sports 
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