Gravel Spotlight: Kasey Clark
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Cycling 285 Miles in 24hrs to Help Preserve 300-Year-Old Gravel Roads
Gravel cycling has at its core a community of passionate riders, a community that’s filled with endless stories of the people who form part of this intriguing and diverse group. Here at Mountain Road Ride, we promote this community by providing a platform to share some of the incredible stories from within this group and the many positive ways in which gravel impacts the broader communities. Today’s post and video spotlight one such member of the gravel family, a man who cycled 285 miles (458 km) in a single shot to help raise funds to preserve the rich gravel road network in Loudoun County, Virginia. Meet Kasey Clark.
Kasey Clark is an organic farmer for a large non-profit and also the founder of the VeloPigs Bike Club. The farm that Kasey operates is nestled in between the beautiful farmlands near Middleburg, in Northern Virginia. This location places Kasey perfectly within a vast network of historic gravel roads in Loudoun County, dating back almost 300 years which, if strung together, covers close to 250 miles. These roads hold so much: historic stone fences, war-era battlefield memorials, countless farms, an array of equestrian activities, endless natural beauty and, of course, a fantastic playground for anyone who considers themself a gravel cyclist. In fact, many of Mountain Road’s Gravel Ride of the Week adventures have taken place along these incredible roads. Be sure to check out these ride videos, to get a sense of why this place is so special to the gravel riders in this area.
This network of gravel roads is a true gem and definitely worth preserving in its current state to ensure that generations to come can experience the same unspoiled natural surroundings that we see today. It’s this very idea that motivated Kasey to complete an epic 285-mile ride, in a single-shot, to help raise funds to protect the Loudoun County gravel roads. He set off on his ambitious quest to cover almost all the gravel roads in Loudoun County on Oct 31st, 2020, and completed the remarkable feat of endurance 28 hours later, with actual riding time coming in just under 24 hours. Throughout the ride, Kasey received amazing support from friends, family, local bike-shops and other VeloPigs riders who helped him through the long day on the bike. Mountain Road sat down with Kasey to hear more about how the day played out and how he managed to complete this challenge while also raising awareness for the preservation project. You can find the full video interview here.
Kasey is however not alone in this goal to protect the Loudoun County gravel roads. Funds raised through his monumental ride went to America’s Routes, an organization run by a group of historians, preservationists and journalists working together to safeguard the historic roads of Loudoun County by getting them registered on the National Register of Historic Places. Be sure to visit their website to learn more about this project and to help support this great cause.
Here at Mountain Road, we would love to see the gravel roads of Loudoun County remain intact for many more years to come. We praise the amazing work that America’s Routes is doing in this regard and would also like to congratulate Kasey on completing such a great ride that helped support the cause. Gravel roads offer cyclists a safe haven for adventures when paved roads are becoming ever more highly populated and much less safe for two wheels. I’m sure that other gravel riders will agree that we would love to see this already booming part of cycling continue to grow for many more years and the only way that this can happen is if we have gravel roads to ride on. Efforts from riders like Kasey surely go a long way to ensure a bright future for the gravel cycling community.
-Wiehan
Tell us! How far would you be willing to cycle, to help support a project or charity that you’re passionate about?
