Nick Nygaard of Duluth takes home the honors of the fastest 100 miler. Photo Jeremy

A week ago we came together for the 15th (16th minus covid) Heck of the North gravel cycling classic.

Each year, as I set up the venue (ha…gravel pit) I wonder how this little circus of an event will feel or look. It’s usually quiet, no cars in the lot and only the sound of migrating warblers. There’s always a minute when I wonder if it will all come together.

Then our first wave of volunteers arrive bringing their customary great energy and enthusiasm. This year, a few lucky ones were given the coveted job of moving empty (and clean) porta-potties that had been dropped in the wrong spot. We had so much fun moving them that I think I will make this an annual pre-Heck task.

Within hours, the Heck begins. I am swept up in the collective energy of the race. It is a force of people who I have come to consider family, a fleeting community of folks who make this event something I love.

Standing at the finish line and greeting riders is a weird tradition but I would not have it any other way. I get a 5 second critique of their day. Sometimes glowing, occasionally grumbling but always 100% present in the moment. I want, most of all, for Heck riders to feel that they had an experience that added something, even for a fleeting moment, meaningful to their lives.

There has been a lot of talk about where the heart of gravel cycling is anymore. I know. I feel it. I see it. We’ll keep trying to make it happen again. I hope you felt it, too.

A bit of a pause to savor October. Then planning for the 2025 season. Ride the Good Line and be Graveleer on your journeys.