Many people have been asking for a race…. So, here it is. The first Dirty South Race in the far South end of Illinois. Most people think Illinois is flat. Well, not so much down here in the Southern tip. There will be some flat sections of the course, but it will be littered with gravel and potholes. The course will be 100K + and will not disappoint. My Garmin claims last year’s route involved over 4,000’ of elevation gain. My legs didn’t argue. If you are looking for an awesome route, great challenge, killer scenery, beer, food and cool peeps to hang out with for a day, come check it out.
Event Details: The race will start and finish in Alto Pass Illinois at the village park. They have a large pavilion with a stone fireplace, heated restrooms, a little hiking trail and even a playground if you get bored. If the weather turns out terrible, the village hall is just across the street and we will have access to that if needed. A GPX file will be provided before the race. Cue sheets will be provided and turns will be marked. The course will be on open roads, so there may be vehicle traffic in areas. Road surfaces will be buttery smooth asphalt, chipseal, smooth gravel, chunky gravel and dirt. You are advised to use good judgement and make safe decisions during the race. The distance will be at least 100K. There will likely be pain and suffering.
Suggestions On Equipment: Most of us ride cross bikes with light knobbies or file treads on these rides. Many of us would ride a gravel bike if we had it, but we don’t, so a CX bike does just fine. Some people ride MTBs with light knobbies. If I had to suggest a bike to ride on this course, it would be a gravel/cyclocross bike. Tubeless is the way to go for me, it may not be for you. It all comes down to riding something you are comfortable on and you trust to get you through the day. There are a couple areas on the course that a cheering/heckling/hand-up group could assemble.Advocacy: A portion of the proceeds from this event will go towards the Mountain Bike Trails at Touch of Nature.
Points of Interest: For those not racing or for those that are curious, there are other interesting things about the area. The race will be held in the area of the Southern Illinois Wine Trail. There are several (more than ten) wineries scattered across Southern Illinois. There are also 5 or 6 breweries that have popped up in the past few years. The Shawnee National Forest spans from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River across the south end of Illinois. There are 400+ miles of trails in the Shawnee. Most all of this is hiker/equestrian trail that gets abused heavily by the equestrians. It makes for some very tough and challenging mountain biking that most beginners hate. We tell people that if you can ride in the Shawnee, you can ride anywhere. I totally believe that to be true. We have steep climbs, crazy technical sections and everything else you can want. The only things we don’t have here are: extreme elevations and long multi-mile climbs.
For more information on the Dirty South Race 100k see the following links:
RidingGravel.com would like to thank Shawn Moore and Tom Welge for the information and images used in this post. All material and images used in this post may not be reproduced without prior consent. RidingGravel.com would also like to remind you that this event and more like it can be found on our Events Calendar: http://ridinggravel.com/event
I have done many of the DS100K rides and never wanted more.
So, I have only yet done a handful of gravel races so my depth to “review” a race my not be extremely deep. That said, the Dirty South 100K was an absolutely fantastic race – as well organized and supported as any triathlon or road running race I have done to date. The course was so well marked with arrows painted on the road, signs and marshalers that I never once had to refer to my garmin for directions! The two Sag stops were extremely well stocked and supported as well. There were approximately 90 riders at the start and I believe most if not all finished. The course was very challenging and had it’s share of hills and a variety of surfaces. Not a lot of pavement (which I like). All things considered these folks put on one hell of a great event and I will definitely be back next year. I didn’t get to stick around after the race to mingle but I I certainly got to chat with a lot of fine folks along the course. A very well organized, challenging and fun race with some really beautiful views along the way. Nicely done!