Gorge Roubaix returned for its third running at the end of March, 2015, as racers and gravel grinders alike amassed in The Dalles, Oregon a small, 15,000-person city nestled in the Columbia River Gorge at the end of the Oregon Trail, 85 miles due east of Portland and 36 miles north of Mt Hood.Gravel Grinders and Rocking RoubaixsGorge Roubaix features two big-ass races with plenty of climbing and copious dirt/gravel, as well as a new non-competitive gravel grinder event on Sunday. Day 1 ranges between 32 miles long with 2,500 feet of elevation gain for beginners and 62 miles and 5,400 feet for Elites, while Day 2 offers 50- and 75-mile courses with 3,400 and 6,120 feet of elevation, respectively.Gravel grinder may not be cycling’s most appealing ride type description, and Roubaix one of the sport’s biggest misnomers. That iconic race stretching from Compiegne (just north of Paris) to the northern French city of Roubaix is the root of the plethora of Roubaix events: basically any road course that incorporates sections of dirt, sand, gravel or cobbles has this word pasted onto its title. But the appeal of gravel grinders is undeniable, and riding and racing on gravel surfaces has become one of the biggest trends in the sport.Gravel and dirt roads reward riders with dramatically reduced car traffic and access to remote areas otherwise unreachable. Riding let alone racing along these routes has an element of the heroic. It’s just damned hard. Leave your weight weenie gear behind, make...
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