Hello!

Welcome to the 2024 season of Heck of the North Productions events. Here are some thoughts we want to share.

We just opened the volunteer signup for Le Grand du Nord. We rely on our amazing volunteers to sustain our events. Thank you! Le Grand du Nord Volunteer

We know that gravel cycling has been evolving and that is a good thing. We know you have choices on where you ride, which events you do and how you spend your hard-earned money and time. We do our best to host events that we would want to be part of. Here are a few of our values about our gravel and bikepacking events:

Courses: The courses that we design have to be beautiful and challenging. When I ride them, I need to feel that they are routes that make a rider feel alive, inspired and connected to this special part of the world. Simply, I think we have some of the grandest gravel and bikepacking courses in the country.
Stewardship: We recognize that we are often visitors to the roads and country and towns where we host our events. We live on the North Shore, but we know that we borrow these things. We do our best to be good stewards of the resources. We value the relationships that we have built over the years with our partners and we know that we can always do more. We like that our riders are great gravel citizens at our events.
Accessibility: We learned after a few years of producing Heck events that gravel cycling was never really free. We believe in a fair price that helps sustain our business but keeps the price to ride reasonable. We invite kids to ride for free with an adult. We gladly assist those that want to ride but may not have the financial means.
Rewards: Yes, we love to see the fastest race to the finish and we recognize these amazing efforts (and that includes the Toughest/Slowest of the day, too.) But our races are for those who ride for the pure love of cycling, not to win a cash prize or stand on a podium. We believe the journey of the day is the biggest reward.
Graveleer: Riding gravel is tough. We expect participants to have put in training. But we welcome everyone who is up for the challenge. And we expect that our participants are equally welcoming to those new people at the event. We encourage those that have felt the beauty of this type of cycling to spread the word and bring someone new to the sport and maybe even to one of our events.

We are excited as ever to share our events with you this 2024 season. We encourage you to be Graveleer. We expect you to be fierce in your determination. And we hope that you walk away from the weekend with that spirit glowing inside of you until next time.

Ride the Good Line!

Jeremy

Graveleer: Noun: 1. A cyclist who prefers racing, touring and exploring gravel and dirt roads.

Graveleering: Verb: 1. To race, tour and explore by bicycle on gravel and dirt roads.

to be Graveleer: Adjective: To be welcoming, adventurous and strong during a (cycling or life) challenge

“Ride the Good Line:” To actively find and take the line in the gravel, trail or life that offers the best path forward.