Gravel Ride of the Week: Alpine Loop Gran Fondo 2021
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Some bike rides are simply grand adventures. Rides that take you deep into unknown mountains, through incredible natural beauty and push you past the mental limits that you set for yourself. The latest Gravel Ride of the Week is one of those rides! The 2021 Jeremiah Bishop Alpine Loop Gran Fondo delivered one unforgettable experience. On this epic ride, I set a personal record for the most elevation gain in one single day, raced up 4 KOM segments and even had to dig deep to complete this challenging ride after an unfortunate crash. All in all, this ride was one for the books and I’m confident that you’ll enjoy following along with this amazing ride. Let’s check it out!
The Jeremiah Bishop Alpine Loop
In June I had the opportunity to preview the Alpine Loop with Jeremiah Bishop himself. He was kind enough to take us on a pre-event tour of the route, which highlighted the main sections along this challenging course. Naturally, the cameras were rolling that day and you can find all the details from that ride here. However, after getting a taste of the course, I figured that I needed to put my money where my month is and sign up for the actual ride. After putting in some solid months of training, I lined up in Harrisonburg to take on this massive ride.
The route for this event was handcrafted by Jeremiah, stringing together some of his favorite roads near Harrisonburg and parts of West Virginia. The 110-mile (177km) ride consisting of more than 10,000ft (3000m) of elevation gain is not for the faint of heart and will provide a challenge, no matter the fitness level. Everyone willing to push themselves through such a challenging ride will have their own reasons and/or motivations for lining up. Through the event, funds and awareness are raised for Prostate Cancer Awareness Project. Thus, personal victories range from cancer survivors celebrating their health to simply having the bragging rights to say that a monumental ride got ticked off the list. My reason - get it done and share the experience with you!
Eager and excited we lined up, and with the ringing of the cowbell we set off. A police escort lead us through the streets of historic downtown Harrisonburg and around the courthouse square. As we headed out of town the scenery quickly changed from the urban surroundings to the beautiful country views, and with the mountains never out of sight, we were constantly reminded about the big climbs that still awaited.
The weather could not have been any more perfect this day and the scene was truly being set for an incredible day on the bike. Jeremiah put it perfectly when he said that “everyone [was] in for a banner day!” Since a picture is worth a thousand words and the magnitude of the day was so great, I’d rather have the pictures and video tell the story, than bumble along with my words. So, be sure to check out the video highlights and enjoy some scenes from this picture-perfect day in the photos below.
Ultimately, this ride went extremely well, and I most certainly surprised myself with what I was able to achieve. There was one mishap that made the day just a bit more challenging - a small crash. While passing underneath some walnut trees, I overlooked one that had fallen on the road and was hidden in a shaded section. I hit it with my front wheel and lost control of the bike, crashing to the side of the road. Fortunately, the wounds were all minor and no major damage was done to the bike, and I could soldier on to complete this ride.
Wrap-Up
I went to the Jeremiah Bishop Alpine Loop Gran Fondo looking for a challenge and with more than 7 hours of riding and about 10,500ft (3200m) of elevation gain, I can say that I met that goal. Rolling back into downtown Harrisonburg at the end of this ride felt so rewarding. After months of putting in the training, I can proudly tick the Alpine Loop off the list. This is an accomplishment that I'm very proud of indeed. Well done to all the other riders who also completed this ride. Big thanks to Jeremiah and Erin Bishop (and team) for putting together this incredible event!
