A professional downhiller riding in a gravel event, I’m just as shocked as you!
When the opportunity arose to ride the Beechworth Granite Classic, I was all in! I’d only heard great things about the event, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. After a massive block of downhill racing in the Southern Hemisphere, I wanted to just ride my bike while not having to scrutinise lines and sector times.
So on Friday morning, I set sail from Canberra to Beechworth — with a stop in Bright because, well, if you’re driving all that way, it would be silly not to stop in for some shredding.
It was my first time visiting the historic little town in the Victorian High Country. Rolling down the main drag, it’s like driving into a bygone era, with the facade of the old buildings harkening back to the days when Ned Kelly was still causing a ruckus up in them thar hills.
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The Spirt of Gravel makes me nervous
Setting up camp, I was nervous, not so much about the risk of a raid from Ned Kelly and his clan of bush rangers (the chances are low, but not zero) but more about The Spirit of Gravel. I didn’t know what to expect for the ride — what had I gotten myself into?
A creature of habit I fried up my favourite pre-race meal to calm the nerves — salmon, sweet potato and broccolini. Good food makes good fuel, and I try not to stray too far from what I know, regardless of the race.
The Beechworth Granite Classic is not your typical gravel event, and it’s definitely not a race — though you can ride it like one if you want to.
I woke up to the first frost of the year after a bloody cold night, and by the time I rolled into the event village, it was already buzzing. I was still apprehensive and nervous about the unknown — what had I gotten myself into? But the warmth of the community of riders at the Granite Classic immediately started to settle my anxiety.
It was a crazy party mix bag of people milling about in the start area — crazy fit old fellas on vintage XC bikes with cantilever brakes, mums getting out on their e-Bikes. I saw bikes with milk crates for baskets and everything in between. I was shocked by the variety of riders and bikes on display, and it was refreshing to be out there sharing the one thing we all have in common, a true love for being out riding! HOW GOOD!
Finger guns and good times, this guy gets it!
You can take the girl out of downhill
In true Sian fashion, my weapon of choice was the YT Izzo. With 130mm of travel, compared to my normal race bike, it’s basically a gravel bike, right? Though it did still have DH tyres on it — but I digress.
Making my way to the start, every time I turned around, I bumped into an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. They were shocked to see me here of all places. I was probably the last person they expected to show up.
As we made our way out of town, our group continued to grow. The banter was loud, and so were the laughs. Maybe they’re onto something with this whole gravel thing?
Spot the downhiller. The beauty of the Granite Classic is you can ride whatever bike you have, and there will be a course to suit how long you want to spend out pedalling. Even if that means a ‘gravel’ bike rolling on DH tyres.
On the first long descent, when we got off the pavement, I let the Izzo go for it, and I was in my element. With grippy tyres, wide bars and suspension, we were FLYING, and I was definitely happy to have the extra bit of squish. No getting shaken around, just having a blast.
The course dipped and weaved through picturesque Australiana around Beechworth, taking in undulating private farm lanes, bush tracks, fire roads and what the gravel folks were calling champagne gravel. I don’t know what that means, but it was spectacular nonetheless.
There were even a few fun little bits of singletrack, and I managed to find some random gaps and things to jib on — did I mention this is a gravel event?
A giant picnic rug, pretzels, doughnuts, sunshine, and groovy tunes, I think we’re closing in on the spirit of gravel.
Tunes, doughnuts, a GIANT picnic blanket and a playground for big kids
Have you ever seen a 10×8-metre picnic blanket? Well, they had one at the final aid station, and it was a sight to behold. We gotta a little carried away here, and the inner child of our entire group came out. We played on the seesaw, ate pretzels, rolled down the hill, the tunes were pumping, oooohhh and there were doughnuts from Beechworth Bakery.
Giggling the whole way pedalling back into town I nearly washed out and took a few in our group with me on a sandy corner — how embarrassing. Fortunately, I managed to keep the downhill tyres on the ground, but only just.
After you’ve just had a ball out galavanting around the hills around Beechworth, the party is only just getting started. Is this what all gravel events are like?
I relished being aboard something more capable on the descents, though on some of the nasty pinch climbs, I wished for curly bars and 45mm tyres. I felt like I’d done more talking than riding through the day and was having a ball meeting new people and catching up with old friends; but it was also nice to suffer a bit trying to keep up on the climbs.
The 45km course was one of the shorter options, but it was plenty to enjoy and see what the buzz about Beechworth was really about. The Granite Classic was a few hours of good old-fashioned fun on bikes with great people.
And that didn’t stop when I got back into town with the skidding contest, tyre ring toss, and some sort of beer running relay — the vibes were immaculate, and I definitely gained an understanding of this Spirit of Gravel that everyone is banging on about.
I’ll be back for next year’s Granite Classic and maybe on my YT Szepter… I’ll be a gravel god soon enough!
The Graint Classic is not your typical gravel event, but it sure is a good one. I’ll be back for sure. See you next year!
Photos: Nick Waygood / nickwaygoodcreative
The post A Downhiller & The Spirit Of Gravel | Sian A’Hern’s Beechworth Granite Classic Gravel Adventure appeared first on Flow Mountain Bike.
A professional downhiller riding in a gravel event, I’m just as shocked as you! When the opportunity arose to ride the Beechworth Granite Classic, I was all in! I’d only heard great things about the event, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. After a massive block of downhill racing in the Southern
The post A Downhiller & The Spirit Of Gravel | Sian A’Hern’s Beechworth Granite Classic Gravel Adventure appeared first on Flow Mountain Bike. Read More Flow Mountain Bike
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