67,585 miles of Iowa’s public roads are gravel, making up 60% of the state’s road system. And cyclists love them.
Caleb Wilson is one of those cyclists. And because he lives in Kalona, he knows and loves Kalona gravel. And Kalona gravel, he felt, was perfect for a cycling race.
“We are lucky. The roads are beautiful. It’s a really fun but challenging area,” he says from the perspective of having ridden gravel roads all over the state of Iowa.
Thanks to Wilson’s ambition to share the gravel roads of our area with others, on Saturday, May 11, 2024, Kalona will host the first Kalona Horseshoe cycling race, one of seven races in the Iowa Gravel Series. The event offers 50 km and 100 km distances, as well as a 10K run the night before. The bicycle races are open to both adult and junior (ages 6-17) divisions.
Chris McQueen, the series director, started the Iowa Gravel Series in 2021 with five races across the state in places such as Silver City, Waukon, and Albia. Adding in Kalona and Fairfield this year will push the number of races to seven.