We are excited to introduce our new team of friendly Hecksperts! There can be a lot to learn at any level of cycling; from never-ridden-gravel to Tour Divide training. Our team of Gravel Go-To’s is a perfect place to reach out and ask questions about anything cycling related. This is part of our initiative to welcome all to the wonderful world of off-pavement cycling. Thank you to our team and to you for sharing this information with our community!
The Wolf & The Fox Bikepacking Races 2021
Two of the finest bikepacking racers in the world!
We welcome you to our newly named and re-tooled bikepacking races, The Wolf and The Fox. If you are looking to take your cycling skills to the next level, or are curious about bikepacking style racing, or maybe just want to finally use all of your cool new camping gear OR…have cobbled together borrowed stuff…this is the event to do. Tour Divide next year? Test ride here. Never camped out with your bike before? We are here to help!
The Wolf is our 3 day/2 night event spanning 330 miles of North Shore wilds. This event will start and finish in Two Harbors on August 27. We will attempt to have a pre-event meeting on the evening August 26 if Covid GUIDELINES allow. The route will proceed from Two Harbors to Ely to Grand Marais back to Two Harbors.
The Fox is our new 2 day/ 1 night race covering 120 miles of the same amazing Northern Minnesota backcountry. This event will start and finish in finland, MN on SATURDAY august 28. The route will proceed from Finland to Grand Marais back to Finland.
We created The Fox as a shorter version of our historic Heck Epic/The Wolf. This event has race days that are about 60 miles in length (compared to The Wolf’s 100 plus miles per day.)
The rules will remain the same for both events.
Riders will need to carry what they need to sleep outside for the event (no motels, indoor lodging, pavilion use allowed.) All riders will sleep solo, no sharing of gear, tents, etc.
Each day will be a timed stage. The rider with the lowest combined times will be declared the event fastest rider.
Racers are expected to be prepared to handle all repairs, nutrition and self care during the day’s stage on their own. Depending on Covid 19 precautions/guidelines, we may be able to offer our usual midway aid station en route. We will update this as we know more.
Depending on Covid 19 guidelines, we will provide a mix of dinners and breakfast with some being handled independently, as well, by the rider.
One of the hallmark features of this event historically is the social nature of camping together after the day’s racing is done. We will do our best to build this safely into the event design.
On Saturday, August 28, all racers from The Wolf and The Fox will be hosted at Grand Marais’ beautiful bayfront campground. This will be a perfect time to see old friends and compare notes between the routes and
Please note the separate start/finish locations and dates for each event.
We have moved the dates from mid July to the end of August to try to gain some distance from Covid 19. We apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused by this change. Planning in the time of this pandemic is a practice in patience, mental gymnastics and pseudo-epidemiology. Thank you for your patience as we try to produce the best events in the country!
Please email me, Leah Gruhn, Larry Mishkar or Avesa Rockwell with questions about bikepacking. We are happy to help answer ANY question. Please see our Gravel Go-To page for contact information (this should be live today or tomorrow…stay tuned!)
Ride the Good Line!
Jeremy Kershaw jeremybkershaw@gmail.com
Winter's Planning and Travels
testing the rig for a go at the Winter Wolf route
We are actively planning the 2021 Heck of the North Productions season. Yes, a lot remains in the grey zone pending Covid 19 precautions. But I am again optimistic that we will bring events that are safe, challenging and always beautiful.
I am personally looking forward to some cool new editions to the season. First, we will be offering excellent advice from a mix of Heck veterans to those seeking answers to gravel riding questions. This will be our Gravel Go-To group. These folks will be happy to share knowledge they have learned over years of various types of gravel/bikepacking cycling. Look for this on the website in the next two weeks.
Welcoming and bringing new riders to our events will be our strongest theme this year. We will offer incentives to do so available during online registration. We ask that everyone consider welcoming at least one new person to cycling, and especially to a Heck event. It’s OK to go outside of your comfort zone on this one, too. Think of co-workers, neighbors, folks you may not think are interested in cycling or have never reached out to in this way before. I think it will be great for our sport and our communities as a whole.
We are also looking forward to bringing more group rides starting this early season. These will be a mix of rides focusing on skills, miles and getting to know other local riders.
In the works, too, are at least two group outings focusing on bikepacking skills. Pack-outs, gear, camping skills, distance riding, fishing and artwork while tripping are all topics we would consider addressing for these outings. We will post more on this by registration opening.
We are looking at opening registration on March 1, 2021. We have pushed this back to accomodate for the latest in Covid planning and permitting. We expect to offer our three events; Le Grand du Nord, The Wolf/The Fox bikepacking events, and The Heck of the North. Yes…we are changing the “Heck Epic” to “The Wolf” and introducing a shorter version called, “The Fox.” We will introduce these events in the next post this coming week. They will be formatted the same, just updating to a more fitting name!
And I am excited to have a go on the Winter Wolf Route this month. It will be a great test of Winter bikepacking skills. I will be sharing that experience this month upon my return. Consider riding it yourself and sharing your trip stories with us!
Thanks for your patience as we navigate a new season. We can hardly wait to bring a new season of gravel goodness to you.
Ride the Good Line!
Jeremy and the Heck Team
The Winter Wolf Route
Farrow is cooking which is also a lot like setting one’s bike on fire. It tasted good regardless.
This Winter, I thought I would share one of my favorite routes during the cold season.
Open here for the: Winter Wolf Route (Note that this route is on plowed roads, except for the two unmaintained sections. I highly recommend studded tires. The counties do an impressive job of plowing, but often icy spots remain.)
In particular, I wanted a course that would usually, almost certainly, necessitate a sleep— OUTSIDE.
TO BE CLEAR: This is NOT a Heck event. I am sharing a route and a challenge that might inspire you to get outside and test your gear and fortitude; a fun way to shake up this long, homebound year.
To spice things up, I am suggesting a very UNOFFICIAL challenge to those that may want to ride this course. And of course, you may use this route in any way you deem acceptable to you. Here are the guidelines I will be suggesting for myself and you for this challenge.
This is an unsupported (no team, friend, family, self-cached) challenge. Riders may only have support from public businesses on or near the route.
This challenge will take place any time between December 15, 2020 and March 15, 2021.
Please be safe regarding the spread of Covid 19. Wear a face mask when near others. We want to limit the spread to this region as much as possible. Please take this aspect seriously.
Riders taking this challenge agree to sleep outside. No motels, houses, cabins, etc. Use your bivy, tent, whatever. Camping is NOT allowed this Winter at USFS campgrounds, though, due to Covid and constraints on USFS personnel. Camping or bivvying is only allowed on public USFS land that is not an official campground. You are allowed to camp at the Grand Marais Municipal CG.
The route contains two sections that are not plowed by the counties. Expect to walk. But they may have snowmobile tracks/traffic. So maybe you will get lucky with riding. Be prepared to push your rig for miles on these two sections.
There is logging truck traffic on these roads. Please be careful. Wear Hi-vis clothing articles. Expect the trucks to not be able to slow down or see you. There may also be snowmobile traffic on the unplowed sections. Everyone has a right to these roads, but again, expect their speed to be a safety risk.
You may time your efforts and share them in the comments of this post. Obviously, conditions will vary dramatically from December 15 through March 15. So these posted times are very relative numbers.
There is only one bar/tavern (The Trestle Inn) on route. Be prepared to melt snow for water or filter from moving water creeks. There are no convenient stores. Pack food and gear accordingly.
My intent with this route is for you to get out and enjoy this region in a time of year that is really special. This ride will also test your cycling and camping skills in Winter. Personally, I am a bit tired of lugging gear around in races and not actually using it. So here’s your chance to go hard but also practice Winter outdoor skills including cold weather sleeping, water making and clothing,moisture management.
Feel free to contact me with stories or photos.
Ride the Good Line,
Jeremy Kershaw
Farrow on the way to Grand Marais.
Bikepacking Introduction from Shape Magazine
Avesa and I were honored to be asked by Shape Magazine to offer tips and suggestions for one’s first bikepacking experience. We were also in good company with Lucas Winzenburg of Bikepacking.com and Josh Ibbett. And our local bike bag builders Cedaero.
Thank you!
https://www.shape.com/fitness/trends/beginner-bikepacking-tips