unPAved Gravel Grinder – “Plenty” of Miles of Beautiful Gravel

I did a handful of gravel events in 2019 with #ProjectOneBike, and each event has a little something that made it unique. But it was unPAved Gravel Grinder that capped the year with a ride so beautiful through Central Pennsylvania, that you forgot about how much your legs hurt from climbing. For 2020, the event is still on, but due to COVID-19, it will be run a bit differently in accordance with local guidelines. You’ll still have a chance to ride some challenging tarmac and gravel, this time keeping social distancing in mind.

unPAved is now in its third year, with riders leaving the start line on October 11th, 2020. Organizers Dave Pryor and Mike Kuhn wanted to highlight the best riding in central PA where Kuhn trained as a member of the Bucknell University Cycling Team. Traditionally, the event had three courses to offer a little something (Propper – 54 miles), something (Plenty – 90 miles), or a whole lotta something (Full – 120 miles) to riders. There’s even a 30-mile FUNpaved for the kiddos.

My #TeamKICKASS teammate and I rode the Plenty in 2019, and had smiles on our faces the entire way. Starting at the Miller Center in Lewisburg, PA, all riders headed west along the Buffallo Valley Rail Trail. The Full 120-mile riders left early in the morning to provide plenty of time to complete the event. Eventually, we ventured off onto the roads of the Susquehanna River Valley.

The course was a perfect mix of country roads, gravel forest roads that criss-cross the Appalachian Mountains, and dirt access roads. The Plenty course, which featured four main climbs, was advertised at over 6,000ft of climbing. I went conservative for the event with a 42 absoluteBLACK oval ring paired to an 11-36 ring, which made climbing easier, though still a challenge when paired with the length of the course. The views from the top of the climbs made it very much worth it. One of the highlights of the course was finding the Salsa Chase the Chaise and finally getting my picture taken on it.

The rest of my bike setup was similar to the Lu Lacka Wyco Hundo. I added the Lauf Grit fork to the front of the Van Dessel Full Tilt Boogie, along with the White Industries/Astral Wanderlust wheelset. For tires, the Schwalbe G-One Allround for the dry conditions, and the Velo Angel Fly saddle.

The weather for this year’s event was beautiful, which helped add to the experience. Unlike the Lu Lacka Wyco Hundo, which we battled some crazy cold, wet, and snowy conditions early in the year, we must have built up enough karma weather points throughout the season to enjoy one last beautiful day before cyclocross season fully hit.

With any good event, aid stations and the after-party pulled it all together. The guys from Nittany Mountain Works were cooking up perogies and bacon with Bina Trahan, organizer of the Philly Bike Expo, pouring cups of hot cider next door. At the after-party, riders and their family enjoyed a meal and drinks while telling stories about the adventure they just returned from. A massive whoopie pie, a metal mug, and a buffalo stress toy made it all the more rewarding.

For 2020, the event format is changing a bit. For the racers, the full 120-mile event is still on tap. Instead of being a mass start though, it is changing to a time trial format to help keep riders spaced out. There will only be 100 male and 100 female riders in the field, which will be picked through a lottery. Aid stations will be open along the course to provide support, though masks and other social distancing measures will be taken, but unfortunately, the big DONEpaved party at the end will have to wait until next year. To read more about the various measures the event will be taking throughout the weekend, check out the BikeReg registration page.

For those that don’t make it in, or the full isn’t their thing, there is also another option that can be ridden any time between August 1st and October 11th. The unPAved Weekend Challenge allows riders to tackle a 24-mile sector of “The Propper Parts” and full 30-mile sector that is known as “The Difference” to experience some of the most challenging sections of the Full route. These sections will be timed with riders needing to submit their GPS rides to be eligible for prizes. There will be no aid stations, but locations will be marked to help you find the food and drinks you need to get through the ride. If you want help determining a good route, the organizers have many options to find just the right ride for you. How you get to and from the segments is up to you, and you can even make a weekend out of it with riding back to back days, but you’d be doing yourself a disservice by not enjoying the beautiful roads of the area. More information can be found on the BikeReg Registration page for the Weekend Challenge.

Registration is open now and runs through July 31st. Lottery winners will be announced the first weekend of August, giving you about two and a half months to prepare for the event. If you don’t get in, you can still ride the Weekend Challenge, and will have early access to register for the 2021 event.

https://www.unpavedpennsylvania.com