Tag: travel

2026 Granny’s Gravel Grinder

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.

N Nevo Rhino Pack

Nathan Hydration Bladder

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!

May 4, 2026
Cold Weather Game Changer

In Minnesota the transition months can be tough for the silent sport enthusiast. What is a transition month? I consider them to be April and November, although it could bleed into May or start early in October. This is the time period where the Nordic ski season is over or hasn’t yet begun, but the weather is pretty cold for riding. In the spring, the single track trails likely won’t be open on a consistent basis due to rain and freeze/thaw conditions. This doesn’t mean we stop biking, we just need to prepare.

I tend to have cold hands, especially when riding in cool weather. In the past I have tried many different glove and mitten combinations but I wasn’t satisfied with any of them. Thin gloves provide the dexterity but lack the warmth, thick gloves are clumsy, and mittens are better but make shifting challenging. I finally made the decision to try over the handlebar covers and boy am I glad that I did.

One quick note, this post contains 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.

I purchased two types of handle bar covers, one set for a road bike with drop bars and another for flat handlebars, and I’ll discuss them separately. First up is the drop bar covers. This pair is made of neoprene and slides on from the bar end. Installation only takes a few moments. One note on installation: my drop bars have no flare and these installed just fine, however, I could see that the fit might be different with drop bars that were flared. Unfortunately, I don’t have a bike with flared bars to try these on.

On the first ride with these I went for it and wore no gloves or liners and experienced something very unusual for a cold weather ride…sweaty hands! I must say, these were a game changer for me. I loved the ability to not wear gloves, allowing me to use electronics, eat and drink unencumbered, while still keeping my hands warm. In fact, one downside was that the sweat made the grip a little slippery inside the covers. I would recommend adding a pair of thin fingerless gloves to use in addition to the covers. The thin gloves will help absorb moisture without sacrificing anything else. My hands were warm, but what about the biking? There are a few things to consider here, since the shifters and brakes are covered, you need to pay a bit more attention and keep your hands inside, predominantly in the relaxed position. The covers don’t allow for getting down into an aggressive position on the drops. To me this isn’t really a problem, If I am going for a cold weather ride I’m less concerned about cranking out watts than getting time in the saddle. Although it only takes a second to get your hands inside, it could still be enough to throw you off your game, especially if needing to reach your brakes in a hurry, just be aware.

The next pair of covers are made for a flat bar bike. These slide on from the end and cinch down with velcro and shock cord. The style of these is more like a puffy winter coat with cuffs, but the result is the same: warm hands, but you might want a thin liner for moisture control. This style was just a bit more difficult to get your hands in and out of due to having less structure than the neoprene, but also felt more “cozy”. I don’t do any winter fat-biking, but I would imagine these would excel. My wife rides a flat-bar bike to work and she uses these on her commute whenever the temperature drops. They are easy enough to use in the morning but take off and put in a backpack if the temperature warms by the afternoon.

When the weather still calls for an underlayer, these mittens save the day for me. There are many different styles, brands and materials, but here are the two that I purchased on my own dime and will continue to use. Note that the branding on the drop bar mittens is different from what is pictured, but I double checked my purchase history and they are the same.

CXWXC Handlebar Mittens – for drop bars

ROCKBROS Handlebar Covers – for flat bars

Enjoy every mile!

May 4, 2026
Cross Country Ski Storage
As I write this it is late April in Minnesota, the grass is fully green, the dandelions are bright yellow and the lawn mower will be running by next week. Maybe I am a little late in getting to ski storage for the season, but that is the way it goes in the north country, after all, only a couple weeks ago there was still viable skiing in the northern parts of the state.

When it comes to ski storage, I am no chemist or expert in polymers, nor do I want to add to the ongoing debate as to whether or not applying storage wax is even needed. My philosophy is that applying storage wax will certainly do no harm, so why not protect my expensive skis? Admittedly, I have rock skis and B skis that have never seen storage wax.

Regardless of the storage wax question there are still steps that are worthy of taking when putting your skis away for the year. This is what I do…
1. Clean them: Especially classic skis, make sure that all kick wax is removed from the base, sidewalls and maybe even the bindings, your gloves and ski bag from that time you got carried away with the klister! Just be careful that you don’t clean off your markings for your kick wax zones, it might be a good idea to take some measurements of your zones so you can re-mark after the cleaning.
2. Apply storage wax: I typically use whatever blue wax I have on hand. Specific storage waxes are available, but I have never understood the need for a special wax that will just sit there, when I can be taking the next step to skiing next season. If your first ski’s of the year are usually warmer, you may want to use a red wax for your storage, etc.
3. Find a place to store them: I use shelf brackets with simple wood planks for “arms” that hold my skis. These are all stored in the basement where I happen to have the wax bench set up as well. The temperatures are never extreme, there is no sunlight and I get to see them whenever I do laundry! Avoid storing them in a hot attic or in direct sunlight.
4. Position and ski ties: Again, I don’t have evidence to back this up, but for long term storage it just makes sense to me that skis are stored horizontally, or if they are in a vertical ski rack, it should be one that supports the tail and another point in the middle of the ski. It just bothers me when I see skis leaned in a corner where the ski tips are being flexed. I also make sure that the ski ties are not snugged down on the skies, I don’t want my skis being held in a flexed position for a long period of time.
That’s pretty much it, the only other thing I like to do is organize my gear, maybe I’ll even find the glove that went missing on the first trip of the year! Keep making tracks and go get your bikes ready!
April 30, 2026