A large group of riders turn for a gravel road in last year’s inaugural Le Grand Du Nord gravel cycling event. This year’s race will take place on Saturday, May 27, with a mass start in downtown Grand Marais. To learn more about the race go to the Visit Cook County website.
Mountain bike riders, if you aren’t on fat tires toiling through the snow, get out and start training now on back roads. The race season is right around the corner.
The gravel will start flying at Le Grand Du Nord’s second annual gravel cycling event on Saturday, May 27, 2017, at 8 a.m. in downtown Grand Marais. Registration opened in mid-January, and approximately 350 bikers are expected to participate.
Male and female cyclists will ride the 100-mile or 50-mile course and will use navigational cue cards to follow a remote and hilly route through the boreal forests on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Le Grand Du Nord is one of Cook County’s four established bicycle challenges, and the county boasts more than 2,000 miles of trail for visitors of all experience levels.
“We have attracted two new annual cycling events during the past few years,” says Linda Jurek, director of Visit Cook County. “Event organizers are drawn to our area’s natural beauty and festive small town atmosphere. We encourage anyone considering participating in the event to come up early and take advantage of the area’s great bike trails.” Cook County also hosts the Lutsen 99er Mountain Bike Race on Saturday, June 24, 2017, at Lutsen Mountains and the Norpine Fat Bike Classic on Jan. 6, 2018.
“Bike events are fun to watch and fun to participate in,” adds Jurek, saying a pre- and after-party will be held at Voyageur Brewing in Grand Marais on Friday and Saturday nights.
Le Grand Du Nord is the newest and most northern gravel cycling classic, organized by Heck of the North Productions, a company based in Duluth which began in 2009 as a small group ride. Jeremy Kershaw, founder and director says, “I have watched The Heck of the North transform the lives of people who have not necessarily identified as ‘athletes.’”
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