The "Solstice 100" Gravel Grinder is a newer midwest gravel grinder that starts and ends in Malcolm NE. This ride will journey through the communities of Raymond, Valparaiso, Loma, Brainard, Dwight, Bee, Garland and Malcolm. You will experience all kinds of gravel roads from flat to hilly and super hilly. And just because we know you want adventure, we will even throw in a few MMR's. Cross your fingers it doesn’t rain. The field will be limited to 100 riders. Start time is 7:00 am.
And new this year, we will also be offering a shorter option, a 50+ mile gravel grinder, called the "Solar Fiddy" But, the field will be limited to 50 riders total for the Fiddy. It will follow alot of the same roads as the southern half of the Solstice 100 route. There will be one checkpoint at the halfway point, with limited SAG support. Start time is 7:15 am.
The Solstice is a self supportive ride, so plan on bringing enough water and supplies to get you in between checkpoints.... roughly 30-40 miles apart. We will have water and very minimal SAG support at the checkpoints and one basic tool: a tire pump. If you want, you can stop into the local convenience stores or bars and do your own thing. This is your ride, you do what you have to do to make it to the end. You can’t cheat though. There will be checkpoints you must go through to be a Solstice 100 Finisher and earn your finishers patch! And if you want to quit… well, this is your ride, so you will need to find a ride home.
We called this event the "Solstice" for a reason.....it’s two days after the longest day of the year, so it’s gonna be HOT! Hot AND you will be traveling 50-100 miles on your own, so prepare yourself. We will release the routes the week before the event, and will have an all gravel backup route planned in case of muddy roads. Both routes will be downloadable for cue cards and GPS files. But this is your responsibility to print these off yourself, as we WILL NOT be supplying them the day of the race.