Inspiration 100 Registration 2013

INSPIRATION 100

SATURDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2013

GARFIELD, MN

It is time to plan your 2013 event calendar. The Inspiration 100 is a self-supported gravel race that will take you through the Leaf Mountain area around Inspiration Peak, in Otter Tail County, MN. It is an Almanzo approved event (Thanks, Chris!), and we will do our best to live up to that designation. Come for the race, stay for the brats.

Don't take our word for it, here are some racer write-ups from last year. Also, pictures, pictures, pictures.

Registration by Postcard:              

Inspiration 100
c/o Derek Chinn
115 Willimantic Drive NW
Alexandria, MN 56308

Required Information: Name, email address

When: We will take postcards from July 1 - July 31. The first 100 legible cards that we receive during the month of July will be in the race. If we get more, we will have a wait list. Only cards received during the month of July will be considered.

Cost: Free!

We hope to see you in September!

Inspiration 50 - This Saturday (05/04)!

Don't plan on this weather for Saturday

It is happening. The forecast is...interesting, and should make for a great ride. Snow, rain...whatever. The gravel isn't going anywhere, so plan on being ready to ride Saturday morning.

Due to the late spring thaw, I have not had a chance to do any course recon and probably won't do any before Saturday's ride. This means you need to really be on your toes. Stay to the right, don't go barreling into any blind corners, follow all applicable traffic laws, and proceed with caution. The minimum maintenance road section on the 50 mile course (Norwegian Road) is very sheltered and could still be snow-covered, so mentally be ready to hike a bike, just in case.

Go here for the all the relevant info, including maps. The Cliff's Notes version is below:

What: Inspiration 50 (with 25 mile option)

Where: Inspiration Peak parking lot

When: Saturday, May 4th, ready to ride at 9:00 A.M.

Ride Checklist: Bike, helmet, tail light, cue sheets, cue sheet holder, food and water for selected gravel route of either 25 or 50 miles, tools and equipment to keep bike rolling (e.g. tubes, wrench, pump...). 

Support: None. This is a self-guided group ride (not a race) on open public gravel roads. Bring directions, ride at your own pace. As always, you ride at your own risk.

Sponsor: Jake's Bikes

Cue Sheets (please download and print, or be at the mercy of your fellow riders)

25 Mile Route

50 Mile Route

THIS IS A COMPLETELY UNSUPPORTED RIDE.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF.

THE ORGANIZERS AND SPONSORS ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR THIS RIDE.

Inspiration 50 and the Absent Spring

The scene from my car on the morning of 04/19

It is less than two weeks before the Inspiration 50, and we just got yet another fresh blast of snow. The gravel roads, like our spirits, have been in tough shape for the last 10 days. Temperatures hover just above freezing, but are not warm enough to dry out the gravel, so the roads are mucky with no relief in sight. We remain in cycling purgatory, stuck between seasons and unable to go forward or back because of this persistent, climatological logjam. It should be significantly warmer by the end of the week, but I remain skeptical. Whatever shall we do?

Honestly, it just doesn't matter. It will be May, we will ride our bikes. Barring life threatening weather on the day of the event, we will proceed, regardless.

Suck it, Mother Nature.

See you on May 4th.

Go here for the all the relevant info, including maps. The Cliff's Notes version is below:

What: Inspiration 50 (with 25 mile option)

Where: Inspiration Peak parking lot

When: Saturday, May 4th, ready to ride at 9:00 A.M.

Ride Checklist: Bike, helmet, cue sheets, cue sheet holder, food and water for selected gravel route of either 25 or 50 miles, tools and equipment to keep bike rolling (e.g. tubes, wrench, pump...). 

Support: None. This is a self-guided group ride (not a race) on open public gravel roads. Ride at your own risk.

Sponsor: Jake's Bikes

Cue Sheets (please download and print, or be at the mercy of your fellow riders)

25 Mile Route

50 Mile Route

THIS IS A COMPLETELY UNSUPPORTED RIDE.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF.

THE ORGANIZERS AND SPONSORS ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR THIS RIDE.

Inspiration 50 - Three weeks!

This Saturday we will be only three weeks from the Inspiration 50 gravel ride (not a race!). Based on the current weather forecast of snow (snow!?!), we will need all of that time and more for the roads to be in tip-top shape. Please let me know if you are planning to attend (send me an email) so we can have an idea on numbers. Go here for the all the relevant info, including maps. The Cliff's Notes version is below:

What: Inspiration 50 (with 25 mile option)

Where: Inspiration Peak parking lot

When: Saturday, May 4th, ready to ride at 9:00 A.M.

Ride Checklist: Bike, helmet, cue sheets, cue sheet holder, food and water for selected gravel route of either 25 or 50 miles, tools and equipment to keep bike rolling (e.g. tubes, wrench, pump...). 

Support: None. This is a self-guided ride on open public gravel roads. Ride at your own risk.

Sponsor: Jake's Bikes

Cue Sheets (please download and print, or be at the mercy of your fellow riders)

25 Mile Route

50 Mile Route

THIS IS A COMPLETELY UNSUPPORTED RIDE.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF.

THE ORGANIZERS AND SPONSORS ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR THIS RIDE.

Inspiration 50 - Logistics, Maps, Cue Sheets

The calendar says it is spring, but the persistent snow cover and single digit temps this morning (seriously?) say otherwise. Nonetheless, time waits for no one, and in a little over a month we will be lining up at Inspiration Peak for the Inspiration 50. Whether or not there will still be snow on the ground is irrelevant. On May 4th, we ride!

This is a go at your own pace group gravel ride (not a race) through the Leaf Mountain area around Inspiration Peak. There is a 25 mile and a 50 mile route. Choose wisely, because you are on your own. 

This as an unsupported ride on open public roads, with no SAG support. You are responsible for yourself.

Ideally, this will be an early season opportunity for like-minded goofballs to get together and grind gravel. Come with a relaxed attitude and your happy social face, and we should all get along just fine.

Please download and print the cue sheets linked below for your chosen route. We will not have cue sheets at the start. 

There are no services (water/restroom) at the starting area, so please have everything ready to go when you arrive. We will roll out together at 9 AM on Saturday, May 4th, and you will finish whenever you complete your ride at your pace. If you want to hammer it, go nuts. If you want to enjoy the ride and stretch out your time on the bike, that sounds good, too. The ride is what you make of it. 

After the ride, we will adjourn to an Alexandria establishment for a beverage or two. Either Raapers or Zorbaz, depending on the weather. We are good either way.

Please let me know via email if you will be attending, so we have a rough idea of numbers at the start. 

What: Inspiration 50

Where: Inspiration Peak parking lot

When: Saturday, May 4th, ready to ride at 9:00 A.M.

Ride Checklist: Bike, helmet, cue sheets, cue sheet holder, food and water for selected gravel route of either 25 or 50 miles, tools and equipment to keep bike rolling (e.g. tubes, wrench, pump...). 

Sponsor: Jake's Bikes

Cue Sheets (please download and print, or be at the mercy of your fellow riders)

25 Mile Route

50 Mile Route

Inspiration Peak (25 mile route)

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

Inspiration Peak (50 Mile Route)

Create Maps or search from 80 million at MapMyRide

THIS IS A COMPLETELY UNSUPPORTED RIDE.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF.

THE ORGANIZERS AND SPONSORS ASSUME NO LIABILITY FOR THIS RIDE.

Less than two months...

...to the Inspiration 50.

2013 Inspiration Gravel Calendar

Hey everybody! I hope you have had a good and productive winter. We have been enjoying a very snowy and fat bike friendly season. As much fun as we have had playing in the snow, the (slightly) warmer temps and calendar are telling us it is time to break out the skinny tires and start grinding gravel. 

This is what Inspiration Gravel has on tap for 2013. 

• Inspiration 50 - May 4, 2013
• Inspiration 100 - September 7, 2013

The Inspiration 50 is a spring warm-up ride through the Leaf Mountain area around Inspiration Peak. It will be followed by socializing and, maybe, tomfoolery at a local watering hole. There will be no registration requirement, just send us an RSVP and show up. We learned our lesson after last fall's cancellation and will hold the event, rain or shine, barring a catastrophic weather event. More details to follow soon, but plan on being ready to ride at 9:00 AM at Inspiration Peak. You can get route details from last year's cancelled fall ride here. 

The Inspiration 100 is our self-supported 100 mile gravel race. It will start in Garfield, MN at 8:00 AM on September 7, 2013. Registration will be by postcard and will open on July 1, 2013. More details to follow soon. Read about last year's event, or just look at some pretty pictures (more pictures).

We hope you will be able to join us for one or both of our events this year. In the meantime, dust off that skinny tired bike and start riding! Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.