It’s not too late to register for the Lassen Gravel Adventure Ride Sept. 9
The Susanville Area Bicycle Association, Lassen Land and Trails Trust and the Bizz Johnson Running Company present the Lassen Gravel Adventure Ride Saturday, Sept. 9.
Gravel rides are becoming more popular around the country, and riders can still register for three different rides through the day of the event, Saturday, Sept. 9. All registered riders will receive a commemorative finisher’s medal, a soft blend T-shirt, a logo sticker and a coupon for a free meal — included in registration.
According to a Facebook post from LLTT, “Lassen Gravel Adventure Ride has it all. We have all kinds of surfaces from primo smooth gravel to technical two-track roads and everything in between. There are challenging climbs, fast flats and smile-inducing downhills. This is not a race, but an adventure ride, so enjoy the spectacular scenery as you cruise through pine forests and beautiful mountain meadows. As you ride along the Susan River, you’ll pass through two incredible, historic train tunnels on the Bizz Johnson Trail. The long course will take you near the shores of two serene, high-altitude lakes. We have three different courses to fit into all levels of riding and several well-stocked rest stops. You might be thinking ‘Oh sure, another one of those 60 percent pavement, 40 percent gravel rides.’ Not our ride. The Lassen Gravel Adventure Ride is 97 percent gravel. This is one you don’t want to miss.”
The Full Squatch route.More experienced and ambitious riders will want to take on the Full Squatch Route that covers 93.72 miles and an ascent and descent of 4,139 feet.
The Half Squatch covers 64.36 miles, and an ascent and descent of 2,642 feet.
The Short Squatch covers 40.65 miles, and an ascent and descent of 2,198 feet.
The Half Squatch route.The start and finish line for all three rides are at the Historic Susanville Railroad Station. The Full Squatch riders hit the trail and 7 a.m. and ride to Silver Lake and back. The Half Squatch riders hit the trail at 8 a.m. and ride 64 miles. The Short Squatch riders hit the trail at 9 a.m. and ride 40 miles.
The three rides are not races, but the Full Squatch riders have an opportunity to be win King of the Mountain or Queen of the Mountain titles by being the fastest on three different segments of the ride.
The Short Squatch route.According to an email from SABA, there are currently 239 registered riders for the event. Either Quincy McCourt, Susanville’s mayor, or Thomas Herrera, Susanville’s mayor pro tem, will welcome the riders to Susanville. At the finish, riders will receive a free meal from ChaCha’s Tacos and a free beer from Lassen Ale Works.
Free camping for participants will be available Friday and Saturday nights thanks to Tim Nobles and Nobles Construction.
“We are super excited for this to be a fun yearly fundraiser for SABA and LLTT,” according to an email from SABA. “More importantly, it’s an opportunity for tourism. We have already met people from out of the area who have come to ‘pre-ride’ the course. There is a lot of buzz in the gravel bike community about our ride. A big gravel bike social media guy from Southern California is registered and planning to video the ride.”
For more information, visit lassengraveladventureride.com and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LassenGravelAdventureRide?mibextid=LQQJ4d.
The registration link is https://www.bikereg.com/lassen-gravel-adventure-ride#Register.
