Seabeck & Holly Grind

Hey everybody, I wanted to give you a quick update on the 2022 season.
At the moment the Bremerton ferry is running on one boat due to staffing issues. Given the hour long crossing, that means one boat every 2.5 hours or so. Those logistics wont make a fun Guerilla Grind, so we're not hosting any 2022 events at this time.
We are still getting out and riding all the time. There are so many great gravel roads to ride in our region. I still find new roads and new locations to visit. I hope you are too! If I come up with a better idea, or if WSF is able to restore 2 boat service to Bremerton I'll let you all know.
Your support and enthusiasm made hosting these rides a pleasure! I hope there are other opportunities for us to come together as a community and ride our bikes in the woods.

Well....that was a friggin blast!

It occurred to me that the route would make an excellent S24O, and I needed to check it out. I took the 625 (pm) fast ferry with the intention of riding to the area just above Holly and testing out some of the new gear I’ve acquired recently.

I was riding in the dark beginning at Leibers Ln, which is also where I discovered my LiM TAZ1200 is fubar (side rant: I’m really tired of going through warranty replacements for warranty replacements on critical equipment. These companies need to step up their game, or close up shop. I’m talking to you, Crank Bros and LiM!). Thankfully, I packed a helmet mounted flashlight (Fenix E35 v3) which gave me enough light to see Rachel Wills’ tracks from earlier in the day.

So I rode in the dark, and wondered how long my little light would really last. I reached my destination at this lovely plot of land that overlooks the canal, is dotted with trees, and covered in a carpet of soft moss—totally magical. It was a perfect place to test out my new Warbonnet Blackbird XLC hammock (which worked great, btw).

In the morning, I had coffee and oats while waiting for the earliest riders to make it out to me. I wondered about whether it would be prudent to stash my gear at the top before riding down to the shelter. It might’ve been prudent, but it was not going to be the plan. I brought the baggage—I carry the baggage.

On the way down the hill I blasted right past the turn so I set out a stick arrow for others to follow. I knew you probably couldn’t see it before you passed it, but it would hopefully alert you as you came back to it. How many people went all the way to the wrong shelter?

When I got to the North shelter, the tide was high and there was no one around. Eventually, Roger and Matt showed up. So I hung out with them and gave Roger a head start on the hill. He was having mechanical issues and was stuck in the 12t sprocket all day (yay Di2!). By comparison, I just replaced my chain and cassette and now had a low gear of 28:40 which made that wall actually rather easy, even with the additional weight. Near the top I even managed to stop Fabien Le Gallo from doing the loop backwards—probably preserving his win.

The rest of the day was super fun. Especially, the burgers and beer at Bremerton. It was great seeing all the riders roll in with big ass grins on their faces. We let a whole boat pass while we reveled in the spirit of camaraderie, fried food, and hops.

My time was 19:07, which I’m pretty sure is DFL (unless the coyotes are still working on someone). However, as a S24O, the experiment was a stellar success.

Thanks again for joining me on these adventures! Thanks for trusting me, and for showing up ready to take on all the challenges thrown your way. If you take the three routes from the three GGs you should be able to explore the Kitsap Peninsula on your own and find many other great places to ride. And, if you need someone to ride with you, that can be arranged too. This is especially true for traditionally underserved groups: I’m committed to equity when it comes to gender, orientation, and skin tone. If you fit in those groups, reach out to me and let me know how I’m doing. Better yet, clear off a day and join us, cause we do stuff just like this literally every weekend. As long as you have the basics, you’re welcome to join.

Three routes. Each route gets a trip to the beach.

You get to take a picture of yourself or your bike at the beach to get credit.

There’s a no-host aid station (aka: convenience store) with 18 miles to go for all distances. A can of Coke can put new life in your legs before the climb.

Registration for the last—and best—grind closes in a few days. Don’t miss the fun!

More prizes, more views, more cool roads!

https://www.bikereg.com/guerilla-grind-3

BikeReg - online cycling event registration BikeReg - online cycling event registration

Everybody LOVED the trip to the shelter on GG1. Did you know Manke has a second shelter down there? They do! AND, they gave us permission to use it as the GC control point.

Thanks Manke!!!

GG3 will be the prettiest, most scenic guerilla grind yet!

One of the great things about this route is it will show you two gravel routes to Seabeck. One of them is not on the map!

It took a few hours to clear the blowdown, hopefully there isn’t another windstorm to muck up the trail.

Oh, yes, the trail will feature prominently on Saturday.

What is a Guerilla Grind?

Guerilla Grinds are the rides we wish were every weekend. They're based on the roads and trails we love to ride and the places we love to go.

This one visits the shores of Hood Canal 3 times for a welcome reward for all of your hard work. Speaking of hard work, the Gravel Challenge will take you back to GG1, but with a twist. There's ANOTHER shelter, so of course were going to it.

Guerilla Grinds are a COVID compliant way for us to get together (distantly) and pretend life is normal. Out there in the forest there is no virus, and no place we'd rather be.

The first two GGs sold out, so don't wait to sign up.
https://www.bikereg.com/guerilla-grind-3

Guerilla Grind 3 Online Registration BikeReg - online cycling event registration

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Seabeck & Holly Grind updated their business hours.

Seabeck & Holly Grind updated their website address.