Real West Gravel Grinder - March 16, 2025 - Pendleton OR

Session I Whipple Dam State Park

April 27 2025
Petersburg PA
Date Confirmed
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Distances: 40 miles
Difficulty: Gently rolling terrain with one or two short hills

This early season April race consists of 40 miles of gravel climbs, descents, and various terrain. You can expect a fun, fast, and challenging course that keeps you focused doesn't break your wallet, and gets you home in time for dinner. You will be part of a grassroots graveling culture that’s unique in its own right. Registration and Awards will be hosted out of pavilion 1 near the lake. Please use the nearby Laurel Run Road area for parking.

The 256-acre Whipple Dam State Park is a delightful and quiet place to visit. The lake is the perfect place to indulge in a refreshing dip, bird watch, or just relax. The beautiful day-use area is wonderful for a picnic or hike. Gravel roads are the only way in or out of the park.

The park offers a wide variety of environmental education and recreation programs. Through hands-on activities, guided walks, and evening programs, participants gain appreciation, understanding, and develop a sense of stewardship toward natural and cultural resources.

You will also ride through Alan Seeger Natural Area. This 390-acre area along Standing Stone Creek includes virgin white pine and hemlock. Towering above the trail as it winds through 20-foot-high rhododendrons is a hemlock forest bypassed by the loggers at the end of the 19th century. Here are magnificent trees, some over 4 feet DBH and reaching several hundred years old.  Other tree species in the area include white oak, red maple, white pine, pignut hickory, black gum, and black birch.  A mature mixed-oak forest with many large specimens is located on the mountain slope to the southeast. A nature trail leads into the heart of the remnant old-growth forest while winding along Standing Stone Creek, and continuing through a younger forest of oaks, white pine, and red maple.

100% of the net proceeds from your race entry are donated to local cycling initiatives. In the past donations have been made to:

Nittany Mountain Bike Association
Harvest Fields Community Trails
National Interscholastic Cycling Association
Girls Rock
YMCA
Friends of Rothrock

Session I Whipple Dam State Park

 
Start Located At: 3746 Laurel Run Rd, Petersburg, PA 16669
 
 
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Included

A fully marked course
Well-stocked support station
Cash awards to top 3 Ladies and Gentlemen Overall
Top three podium awards in all listed categories
Post-race event snacks and beer tickets for riders *When alcohol permit is obtained
Race swag 

Prize / Race Categories

Compete in all four races to earn the title of Series King and Queen.

We will crown the royal court for categories such as Gentlemen Open, Clydesdale, SingleSpeed, Gentlemen 40+, Gentlemen +50, and Youth Racers under 18 and equally represented Lady categories. Racers will be required to race the longest distances in four races to be eligible for ranking in the overall series.