Reportage

A Weekend in the Sierra Mountains at Giro Cycling’s Grinduro!

When Joe Parkin approached Giro’s Dain Zaffke about a new race format a few years back, the initial reaction the two had was more than a chuckle, rather than any degree of seriousness but the seed had been planted…

Why not make a new race format? Part gravel grind and part enduro. Grinduro. You get the best of both worlds, competition and socializing on bicycles. A few segments would be timed: a fire road climb, a fire road descent, a road time trail and a singletrack descent. The event would prove to bring about a rather interesting dialog: what is the most diverse bicycle in your stable?

Sated steed...

Hardtail mountain bike or cross bike…

This event had a formula for success: hype, a location (Quincy, California), an organization (Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship), frame builders (more to come on that) entertainment and camping.

I drove up to Santa Cruz the day prior to the event, camped before car-pooling it up to Quincy. We set up camp, did a shuttle run on our cross bikes (so good) and rested up for the early start the day of the race.

Party train!

While it’s easy to get caught up in competition, I really wanted to take it easy and just go for a good time on the singletrack. It was going to be a long, hard day in the saddle but I dropped my camera in my backpack and took off with the start…

I could go on with more details but I think this gallery will do the talkin’. Enjoy!