When Joe Parkin approached Giro’s Dain Zaffke about a new race format a few years back, the initial reaction the two had was more than a chuckle, rather than any degree of seriousness but the seed had been planted…

Why not make a new race format? Part gravel grind and part enduro. Grinduro. You get the best of both worlds, competition and socializing on bicycles. A few segments would be timed: a fire road climb, a fire road descent, a road time trail and a singletrack descent. The event would prove to bring about a rather interesting dialog: what is the most diverse bicycle in your stable?

Hardtail mountain bike or cross bike…

This event had a formula for success: hype, a location (Quincy, California), an organization (Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship), frame builders (more to come on that) entertainment and camping.

I drove up to Santa Cruz the day prior to the event, camped before car-pooling it up to Quincy. We set up camp, did a shuttle run on our cross bikes (so good) and rested up for the early start the day of the race.

While it’s easy to get caught up in competition, I really wanted to take it easy and just go for a good time on the singletrack. It was going to be a long, hard day in the saddle but I dropped my camera in my backpack and took off with the start…

I could go on with more details but I think this gallery will do the talkin’. Enjoy!