Grateful for our Event Sponsors!

Here at Heck of the North Productions, we pride ourselves on working with businesses that are North Shore, Minnesota, Upper Midwest and USA “local” and dedicated to cycling and all that it brings to life. We are also proud of the fact that we choose who we partner and work with. We are and always will be a family run business. You will not see a cooperate name in front of any of our events. Just not our style.

Some of our partners have been with us from the very beginning (HED Cycling) and others for a very long time (Loll Designs, Epicurean USA, Castle Danger Brewery, Voyageur Brewing Company, Cedaero/Spokengear.) Others, are new and excited to be associated with the gravel and bikepacking experiences we help to create. Please take a look and consider buying from these businesses that help bring great energy and product to our events. Please see our Sponsor Page for go-to links.

This year, we have two county partners that offer many resources for visitors coming up to the North Shore and our events. Lovin’ Lake County and Visit Cook County are the places to go to when looking for information about accommodations, events, maps or general questions. We rely on them for all of our events and greatly appreciate their support.

We want to welcome Velocity USA who have generously donated two beautiful sets of wheels to our Fox and Wolf bikepacking races. The Blunt 35 and Cliffhanger wheelsets are complete with their KT Dynamo hubs. Velocity just happens to be the first set of wheels (Dyads) that I laced up and are still going strong. Thanks for being part of our events.

The North Shore Winery in Lutsen, MN is another new sponsor. North Shore Winery makes red and white wines from grapes grown in California and Minnesota. The Sawtooth Mountain Cider House uses Minnesota grown apples to offer tempting hard ciders. When you are up for Le Grand du Nord (or any other time up North) stop by and taste what they have to offer.

For 36 years, Granite Gear has brought cutting-edge products to the outdoor industry. Their award-winning backpacks, adventure travel gear, extensive variety of storage sacks, lifestyle accessories, and canoe gear offer excellence in design and construction. Granite Gear’s desire is for all outdoor enthusiasts and travelers to experience the incredible durability and comfort of their products. Located in Northern Minnesota, just minutes from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Superior Hiking Trail, they have a rugged and beautiful testing ground for their products. Learn more at granitegear.com and follow along on Instagram. They will be donating Air Zippdittys and Stuffsacks and Compression Sacks for The Heck of the North this September.

We will be highlighting more partners in the weeks before the events. Thanks to all of our gravel and bikepacking loving friends.

So it Begins

I am receiving more questions lately about certain gear choices for the upcoming Heck Productions events. We are happy to field these and I think our Gravel Go-To’s are just the crew to help. Please email me or one of the GGT’s for assistance.

One of the most common questions is, “what tire do you recommend for Le Grand du Nord, The Fox, etc.?” In general, I recommend going as wide as your current gravel bike will accept. Generally speaking, the extra width will provide not only better comfort but also increased speed. This trend may contradict what most of us grew up with. I am basing my theories on my own experience and also the work that Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly and Rene Herse have done on investigating tire pressure, tire width and tread design. (We are not affiliated with either.) In general, if you want a great resource for thoughts about these topics plus many more (like what makes a bike feel “fast,” general endurance cycling history and research on all sorts of cycling gear) his site is a great place to start.

Regarding bikepacking specific questions, in 2018 I created this video about my basic Tour Divide set up. And yes, I did win numerous Academy Awards for this, thank you. Looking back, I would still use this for a starting place for a multi day bikepacking trip. Obviously, cooking supplies are omitted and would have to be considered for a touring trip. (Our Fox and Wolf events do not require stoves or cooking supplies though I keep threatening to introduce this somehow…) Another really great place to look for all things bikepacking is, Bikepacking.com. Again, no affiliation with them, just a really solid place to go to for reviews, gear, trip ideas and stories.

What about training for our events this season? Are you new to gravel cycling or maybe have a few under your belt but are considering something longer? Here are a few thoughts from my own experience:

  1. Start moving now. If you are able to get bike time, great. Paved miles are perfectly fine, too. Once the roads dry out, defintely focus as many miles on gravel as you can. But even I log a significant number of road miles each year, just because that is what I have time for most often.

  2. What’s the ideal “long” day before an event. I think having ridden at least 2/3 to 3/4 of the event distance will give you a good idea of how you will do on game day. If you can ride your event distance in training, even better.

  3. The older I get the more time I spend on both “easy” days and also shorter, more intense workouts. I run hills a lot. I do hill repeats on my bike. Maybe the science will someday back me on this, but I seem to have been able to subsist on this shorter/harder training concept over the last many years. Easy days are just that. Spin and take it EASY!

  4. I swim, bike, ski, run and walk during the Winter. I think the mix of activities generally keeps my body healthier. It also allows me to exercise through any weather condition.

  5. If you are new to long distance cycling, I think it’s still a good idea to begin slow and gradually build to your distance goal.

  6. Remember! Bike fit is VERY VERY important. Please have a trained or experienced cyclist take a look at you and your bike to determine if you are close to a good fit. All bodies are different…but there are general concepts that apply to most. Make sure you are not sitting too low, too high, too far back or too far forward!

Thank you for being part of our events this 2023 season.

Jeremy

Registration and Some Heck Thoughts

 

photo Jeremy Kershaw

 

Welcome Welcome Welcome all you Graveleers!

Registration for the 2023 Heck of the North Productions season starts Tuesday, January 3. Please note that we continue to fill our events faster each year. Thank you for your interest and participation in past Heck races. You are the reason we do what we do.

A few thoughts before the craziness begins:

  • We adjusted prices this year to levels we think are fair. Our goal is to bring the best event at a price that is reasonable for most. If there are any riders who are currently without the means and have never tried gravel racing before, please email me at jeremybkershaw@gmail.com. We will help get you to the start line.

  • Riders 18 and younger will ride for free with an adult that is riding with them on course. So cool to see young riders getting into this beautiful sport!

  • You may notice that we do not appear in many big-time magazines or on ESPN. Here’s the deal. We do our events the way we want to. We keep our prices low so that entry fees do not go to cash pay-outs for a few super fast riders or corporate sponsors. We do not cater to professional riders. Our focus is on creating beautiful courses, serving riders of all speeds, welcoming new cyclists to the world of gravel racing and producing events that leave you wanting more cycling in your life. There are many fine gravel events to choose from these days which is a really good thing.

Thank you for considering being part of the Heck experience this season. Please email me with questions.

Be Graveleer (what does Graveleer mean?!?) this year!

Ride the Good Line

Jeremy Kershaw

jeremybkershaw@gmail.com

The Fox and The Wolf, Bikepacking events for Summer 2023

photo Jeremy Kershaw

We are going all in this coming Summer 2023. Not only are we hosting our well received, shorter bikepacking event, The Fox but also our longest bikepacking race ever, The Wolf.

The concept of our bikepacking events are somewhat hybrid. We know the challenge and experiences achieved by racing during the day. But we also love the small community of participants we get to share each night. We think it is the best of both worlds; adventure race travel by day and time spent with other amazing people around the fire at night.

The Fox is a great introduction to the world of bikepack style racing. It’s two days, one night and each day is about 65 miles. We had a blast hosting it this Summer and we can’t wait to go again July 1-2, 2023.

The Wolf is something that has been cooking for over two years. Rising from the bones of our Heck Epic, The Wolf is a three day, three night trip traveling from Two Harbors to Ely to Grand Marais back to Two Harbors. Each day is about 100 miles of amazing North Shore wildness. The Wolf will run from July 21-23, 2023.

Both events are timed and all riders must carry the equipment they need for sleeping out under the stars. Breakfasts and simple aid station each day will be supplied by our team. Suppers will be on you in town.

We will be capping each event at 75 riders (for camping reasons.) Registration for ALL Heck of the North Production events will begin January 3 via this website and BikeReg.com. Stay tuned for details as we get logistics set for Summer.

Ride the Good Line,

Jeremy Kershaw

Logos by Andrea Halligan of Duluth

logo by Andrea Halligan of Duluth


Chloe and Bodee and their Fox Stories

Thank you to the good folks at BIKEPACKING.com for covering our stories from The Fox, our Summer bikepacking race. Thanks to Duluth DEVO Mountain Bike Program for fostering young athletes and the parents who support! And special thanks to Bodee and Chloe for taking the extra time to write up their stories! Great work all around!

https://bikepacking.com/news/2022-the-fox-stage-race/

Todd McFadden, Bodee McFadden and Chloe Leege finishing The Fox. Photo by Josh Kowaleski