Gunnison Gravel Biking – From The Ground Up
Written by Ryan Petry of From The Ground Up
About From The Ground Up
The mission behind the From The Ground Up project is to get more people on bicycles through documenting the journey of non-cyclists diving head first into the sport while taking on some of the toughest events this sport has to offer.
Alexey and I (co-founders of FTGU) have been riding bikes ever since we could walk, and professionally for over a decade. In this time we have discovered all of the incredible things that come with cycling. The list goes on, but to start there are endless mental and physical health benefits, an incredible community, and the ability to explore new places like never before. This is the reason we were so excited to partner with Gunnison Crested Butte Tourism when planning season 4 of our project.
The first 3 seasons of FTGU were targeted at completing the Leadville 100 mountain bike race; however, we always knew that we wanted to target different events in various disciplines of cycling as we continued to grow and evolve, which led us to the SBT GRVL 125 mile gravel race for this year’s event. Gravel cycling has exploded in the past handful of years due to its balance of accessibility and adventure. This explosion has brought new towns and cities emerging as great places to ride bikes.
Watch the video: Exploring Gunnison + Testing Limits
Gravel biking in Gunnison, Colorado
Gunnison: a top Colorado gravel biking destination
In preparation for SBT GRVL, Alexey and I knew our riders would need to spend time on gravel roads similar to those they would find in Steamboat, and it provided an opportunity to show off a new place both to our riders and to the viewers of our project. Gunnison has all of the ingredients to be a gravel cycling mecca, and this partnership allowed us to dream big and come up with an incredible three-day trip where our riders could experience as much as possible.
Up until this point, our riders had three months of preparation beginning with getting their new gravel bikes and understanding how all of the equipment works. Next they learned essential cycling skills such as braking, cornering, climbing, and descending at our FTGU Camp in Bentonville, AR, and since then they had been training hard preparing their legs and lungs for this trip. With the help of Gunnison locals Dave Wiens and Neil Beltchenko we created two big days of riding sampling some of the best gravel Gunnison has to offer that would expose our riders to a little bit of everything that they will face at SBT GRVL.
Gunnison gravel rides
It all started out with an easy spin led by Dave Wiens around the town and Van Tuyl Trail. It was the perfect way to shake out our travel legs, get acquainted with the town, and make sure our bikes were working properly. After a stop for ice cream at Spenny’s, it was back to the AirBnB to prepare for the two big riding days ahead.
The first day we had planned to tackle the Gunni Grinder 60 mile course. It was highly recommended by both Neil and Dave and we figured if come September people drive from all over to ride this route, it must be a good one! 60ish miles with over 5,000ft of climbing through varied terrain near Hartman Rocks southwest of town. This would be many of our riders longest ride to date, and they were both nervous and excited to see how they would fare. The course alternated climbing and descending through pristine gravel roads and exhilarating doubletrack that tested our riders technical skills. We finished by the roaring Gunnison River with Jermaine’s sandwiches, which in our opinion is just about the best way to finish a long bike ride. It was a day of ups and downs and pushing through mental and physical limits, our team enjoyed the success of the day while also trying to recover for the second big day on tap.
After foam rolling, a big pasta dinner, charging lots of camera batteries, and a good night’s sleep our crew was ready for day 2. The goal of the second day was to build on the confidence gained from the prior day and throw a bit of everything at our riders so that when they got to SBT GRVL, they were ready for anything. The day started at Western Colorado University‘s campus as we headed into the Signal Peak trail system just steps away. Our riders did an out and back on Duane’s World trail, which was the perfect trail to work on braking and cornering techniques in a challenging yet safe and exhilarating environment. The fact that our riders were able to get through on their gravel bikes proved just how beginner-friendly some of these Gunnison trails are. Once off the singletrack we headed north through town to Lost Canyon, where our riders would face the longest, toughest gravel road climb of their lives. This 10+ mile, 2,300ft climb is where each of their physical and mental limits were found and pushed beyond. In the end, we had a few riders turn around at the top to descend back to Gunnison, while Lou Martinez continued on the route into a more adventurous, technical section of road connecting back to Highway 50.
Mission accomplished
It’s pretty incredible to think about what each of these riders was able to accomplish in just three short months after first getting into cycling. We created ambitious routes with the sole purpose of exploring a wide variety of Gunnison’s gravel offering while ensuring they would all have an opportunity to “fail”, learn, and adjust their training ahead of race day. That night we celebrated at Garlic Mike’s overlooking the Gunnison River sharing stories of the weekend. The next morning we packed up, grabbed breakfast at the Backcountry Cafe, and hit the road with a new level of excitement for gravel cycling and appreciation for this awesome little city. We’ll be back!
