Recap: Red Eagle Gravel Grinder (Geneva, OH)
My dad and I made the trip to Northeastern Ohio to check out the third annual Red Eagle Gravel Grinder. This is a charity ride benefitting the Steven G Cancer Foundation, whose mission is to build community and support for the AYA (adolescent and young adult) cancer community through wellness, storytelling, education, and research. The event offers three distances of 12, 22, and 43 miles—something for everyone! We chose the 43. In all there were about 250 riders who raised over $30,000 for this amazing cause!
The route start is at the Red Eagle Distillery near Geneva, OH. Being nearly a 3 hour drive from Columbus, we headed up the night before and stayed in Solon, OH. This left us with less than an hour to drive Sunday morning (the event is on a Sunday, which is a nice option that might appeal to some considering so many events are on Saturdays), which was easy to make before the 10am start.
The distillery is easy to get to and parking was plentiful, with volunteers directing us to our spot. It’s actually kind of the oddball alcohol production facility in the area, as there are quite a few wineries around, including one across the road! If you have a non-riding significant other make the trip with you, they could easily kill the day touring these. The setting is quite beautiful, surrounded by vineyards, fields, and orchards, and the distillery tasting room (they have beer as well) is in a cool old barn. Packet pickup was easy and a DJ kept the excitement levels up. They also had quite a nice raffle setup to raise more money for the charity. We met up with OGG regulars Frans and Amanda and ended up riding with them a good portion of the day.
The 43 and 22 mile routes took off together, with the 12 mile “family ride” leaving just after. For anyone just starting in gravel or not a fan of typical hilly Ohio gravel routes, this is a great event. The course has very little climbing (less than 2000 ft) and low max gradients. I only used my small ring once all day, and the “winners” (it’s not a race) averaged over 23mph! The gravel is also very non-technical, mostly just hardpack dirt with very little gravel over it. There is a small double-track section through a Boy Scout camp to spice things up, but even it was easy to navigate. The 43 mile route provided two rest stops, both very well stocked. They had the usual stuff, but also some unique things like whole dates, big bags of mixed fun size candy, and locally made pickles that were seriously some of the best I’ve ever had! In all it was a very pleasant course to ride, though there were some longer pavement stretches. I’d say overall the course is around 50% gravel, which seems the best they can do given the roads in the area. There also wasn’t much shade, and with relentless sun all day, it was surprisingly hot by the finish!
At the finish you get a free beer (or non-alcoholic beverage) of choice, along with a little cup of chili. There was additional food for purchase, a band, corn hole, and various areas to hang out and recap the ride with friends. It was a really well run event for a great cause, and it’s nice to see them offering a very non-competitive atmosphere that attracted a wide variety of bikes and riders. With the surrounding area being so full of things to do, it’s definitely worth a trip up to check out!
See below for photos and route.
