Up at O’dark thirty as we used to say in the Army but it wasn’t to go wait in some long line outside the local department store in the cold. No we were up early to make the two hour drive to Story Indiana for the first ever Gravel Grovel. A bike race that would cover some 60 miles, across hard-top and gravel roads with some single track, oh, and did I mention the monster hills! This was not the race for the faint of heart as some would soon discover.
The plan was to be up and on the road by 6 a.m. which we hit perfectly. Heading south on U.S. 52 it was interesting to see the steady line of cars headed towards Lafayette behind us, to the big deals waiting for those willing to get up early enough. The drive through Indianapolis was great as the traffic on I-65 that time of the morning was nothing compared to what I usually have to deal with. Once we hit SR 135 I was blown away by the amazing twists and turns this road takes. This is the perfect motorcycle road, I definitely have to get back down that way in the warmer months on the motorcycle and ride this amazing road! We pulled into Story right around 8 a.m., found the parking lot and began to check out the Story Inn.
Story was once a bustling settlement that was founded in 1851 with its boom time between 1880-1829 but then came the Great Depression which poor story never recovered from. Today the entire village of Story is a country inn/bed & breakfast, offering fine dinning, catering, and lodging. If you’re looking for a retreat from our modern distractions Story is the place to go, it is as if time forgot about this quaint place.
The race was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and shortly after we arrived bikers started showing up. I tracked down Mike Sharp, the organizer of this excellent event and we talked shortly about the course and he pointed out some locations that would be good for me to hit up and photograph the riders. I left Mike to the business of getting riders checked in and I started wondering around snapping shots of riders getting ready for what they would soon learn would be a challenging race.
More and more riders where beginning to arrive. Mike had told me that around 120 riders had registered which is an amazing number for a first time race like this.
As 10 a.m. drew near it was decided to delay by about 15 minutes as there were riders still arriving. The start line to the race was at the entrance to the parking lot and riders were already beginning to gather at the line. You could feel the excitement in the air, the riders were ready to start this race and see what it was made of, although for some it would turn out to be a test of themselves. Myself being a mountain biker it was my first time to cover an event that was a cross section of bikes, there were riders on various types of bikes where I am used to seeing nothing but mountain bikes.
Now it was time, bikers lined up at the start line and a quick pre-race talk was given. Then with no further delay the go was given and the race had begun.
After the riders had disappeared over the hill not far from the start line we headed for the car with course maps in hand and headed out for the first location to get some photos. Our first location was to be a bridge that was a SAG point as well. The challenge I faced was navigating the roads to the various locations. Being completely unfamiliar with the area I had a difficult time finding the bridge. The maps I had didn’t have names to the roads which made it difficult to navigate. I typically take time before an event to research the area and mark maps so I know how to get around but do to time constraints I hadn’t had time before to properly do this and it was costing me time. By the time we arrived at the bridge almost all of the riders had gone by so I headed for the next location which was a small church. I did a little better finding this location and was able to camp out there and get some great shots of the riders as they went by.
After spending some time at the old church I packed up and headed out for one more spot. This location was at a ‘T’ intersection and provided a nice location for me to get down low and catch the riders as they went by providing for a cool perspective. I also broke out the flash as the Sun was at such a location it was casting a shadow across the riders faces as they rode by. I set the flash up on the ground pointing up at the riders so it would light them properly. I used my wireless trigger to fire the flash, this setup provided some good lighting on them as they went by me.
Upon finishing up at this location I packed it in and headed back to Story. When we reached Story many of the riders had already returned, there were still some out on the course and from time-to-time another rider would wonder into the finish line. Kate and I decided to head down into the little bar that was located in the basement of the Story Inn to grab a bite to eat and enjoy a good beer. Another nice thing about Story Inn is that they have a pretty awesome beer collection. Of course they had New Belgium products and two of our favorites, Fat Tire and Mothership Wit, so Kate and I definitely enjoyed a couple of good cold ones.
They had a quick awards ceremony for the winners and with that the race was declared a success.
All around this was a great event. Mike is gathering feedback on what to improve upon for next year. For this being the first time for this event the turn out was amazing! Major kudos to Mike for organizing a race that was a hit from the start! Also a special thanks to Story Inn for supporting this event and being so welcoming to everyone that attended.
Oh yeah, if you haven’t already checked out the video at the top of this post. It’s something special I put together using the images from the day. More photos can be seen on the web site here, enjoy!
Ride-on my friends, Ride-on!
~ William