goodnessgravel has once again made the pilgrimage to the Hunter Valley, and the small village of Gundy, for its final gravel fondo of the year.
With a 75km course with 1,640m of climbing or the big ‘un, the 135km loop with 2,700m of ascending, over 130 riders registered for this event on some of the best gravel in the state.
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Like a well-oiled machine
While Gundy awoke to a frosty morning — as is literally, there was a frost overnight — by the time the riders were headed for the starting corral, there was no need for warmers or jackets. It was a perfect day to be out riding with a max temp of 25C.
While goodnessgravel is not a race, nor is there even a running clock, as is human nature when there is a number plate on your bike, people do turn the screws and push.
“The first rider (Luke Dale) that came back from the 75km ride averaged 30 kph. We’ve been running this event for four years, and we know about when the first rider will come in. It’s expected at 10:41am, but he was back at 10:08!” says Levy. “He’d actually signed up for the 135km course, but had an upset stomach and decided to ride the short course and absolutely punish himself.”
None of the goodnessgravel events are races, and the beauty of these events is the groups sort of self-select, and you find your people out on the course.
“The next rider after him came in at 10:41, right on schedule, like a well oiled clock,” he laughs.
Levy tells us this edition of goodnessgravel was incident-free. While they had one person whose crank fell off — thankfully remedied by one of the roaming mechanics — there were no crashes, confrontations or last-minute spot fires that needed to be extinguished.
“There was an echidna on the road that slowed four of the fast guys down — they ended up riding together across the finish line. But that was about the extent of it,” says Levy.
Levy tells us an increasing portion of the field at the goodnessgravel events are women, making up about 20% of the pack in Gundy.
Champagne gravel
A little under 20km from Scone, Gundy is in the heart of the Upper Hunter, and the rolling landscapes in every direction are classic Australiana as far as the eye can see.
The route Levy has laid out takes in some lovely gravel roads, but according to Chris Visvis, who’s ridden the Gundy event a couple of times now, the course was even better than he remembered.
“The first five kilometres are on the road and then jump onto the gravel — it was super smooth. I remember last year there were quite a few more potholes, but in 75km I think I noticed one pot hole. It was so smooth, and the whole time, I was like, is this going to get bumpier,” he says.
The gravel roads were in prime condition for riders on both courses this year.
“Those roads are better than any road in Sydney at the moment,” Levy laughs. “It was all just buttery smooth, and people were pumped on the course.”
The Hunter Valley had a very wet winter so the scenery was lush and green, but also Gundy and the surrounding area are a mecca for all things equestrian.
“Being from Sydney, we don’t get to see horses all the time, and we rode past a few, I guess you’d call them horse training grounds. Seeing these well-groomed animals that are probably racehorses or show horses is pretty cool,” says Visvis. “There are some beautiful estates that are so lush and well kept with these massive pastures and fields.”
“There were a lot of foals around, which was always cute to see. I think this course is the most scenic, there are just vistas for kilometres, and it’s quite a beautiful countryside — and no one is around,” continues Levy.
Not a bad place to spend a day out on your bike if you ask us.
Number Plate 001 appears
One of the cool things about goodnessgravel is that you get a number for life — so every time you come back for another event, you get the same one — and it’s a fun game while you’re out on course to try and spot the lowest number possible.
For Gundy, 70% of the entries were repeat riders; there were five riders under number 100 — including 001, and 45 riders under 1,000. Of the returning riders, the ones with the greatest return rates were Nic Leach eight; Shannon Proffit and Ian Thomas, seven; Michael Sweekhorst, Tobias Ruby and Adam Lucas have ridden six — and now Lucas brings along his 15-year-old-son Jens.
There’s also 69-year-old Kevin Nicholas, who has done six events and also happens to be a member of the Awesome Foursome team pursuit squad that won Australia’s first gold medal at the 1984 LA Olympics.
With the course being so smooth and fast, Levy tells us 90% of this years entries were on gravel bikes — bucking the trend he was expecting see a surge in e-Bikes.
Aid stations of the ages
With two aid stations on the long course at 42km and 86km, they are stocked with everything you may need from water and drink mix, to sun cream and bathrooms. Run by local volunteers from the Timor RFS and the Scone Scouts, they had all the supplies you could need.
“One of the volunteers brought his dog out to the rest stop, so people are playing with this dog and listening to a local musician Hamish Guiana at RS1 and Jimbo Stokes at the finish, who played a five-hour set,” says Levy.
The atmosphere of the goodenssgravel events is part of what sets them apart. Everyone is there to have a good time, and nobody takes themselves too seriously. There’s great food at the aid stations, whether you’re after race nutrition or a cinnamon doughnut, and there’s even time to hang out for a bit and play with a local dog.
Visvis tells us that he ended up spending about half an hour at the Timor aid station fuelling up and chatting with the folks he ended up riding with.
“I didn’t come up with a crew this year. I knew a couple of people there, but I just met people on the course, which was really nice. It’s just a testament to the kinds of people that do this event – everyone is just really friendly and happy to chat,” he says.
Adding to the goodness
Gundy was the genesis of goodnessgravel, with the first one running after Covid to help folks get out of their bubble and experience some of the amazing places that they may not have otherwise visited.
“They want to get people out of the city and into these rural areas that have so much to offer. I think these events have delivered on that promise. Will has been doing that for four years in a row — time and time again — continuing to care so much about running an event that tries to get people out and exploring these amazing places,” says Visvis.
But Levy tells Flow that even local folks come to him every year gobsmacked at what is on their doorstep.
“A local sporting identity, Nicky Western, representing the Council in her role as Sports Participation Officer, who was highly involved in helping us get the initial event over the line, and this year was the first time she’s been able to ride,” says Levy.
She had never ridden that loop before and was like, ‘I live in the area, and I didn’t know how beautiful it was out there,” he says.
While this was the final goodnessgravel for 2024, Levy does have big news for 2025. Parkes, NSW, will be joining the goodnesscalendar alongside Orange, Glen Innes and Gundy. He tells Flow that it’s very exciting to be adding another NSW region to our calendar — stay tuned for more info on that.
The dates for the 2025 events have been announced! For more info head over to the goodnessgravel website.
Photos: Outer Image Collective
The post A Well Oiled Champagne Gravel Machine | goodnessgravel returns to Gundy for the fourth time appeared first on Flow Mountain Bike.
goodnessgravel has once again made the pilgrimage to the Hunter Valley, and the small village of Gundy, for its final gravel fondo of the year. With a 75km course with 1,640m of climbing or the big ‘un, the 135km loop with 2,700m of ascending, over 130 riders registered for this event on some of the
The post A Well Oiled Champagne Gravel Machine | goodnessgravel returns to Gundy for the fourth time appeared first on Flow Mountain Bike. Read More Flow Mountain Bike
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