Skull Gravel Bike Race: America's Gnarliest Gravel Grind

www.adventureharney.com
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Heralded as the 'Gnarliest Gravel Bike Race in America," the Skull emerged from the ashes of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge occupation as anti-theme to violent civil discourse. Redbull Magazine described this unique event as "a facilitated dialogue disguised as a bike race aimed at bridging the urban/rural divide."

Charles Christiansen (@notchas), Professional Cyclist & Rider for Zipp described the Skull as "the hardest / most epic / well-organized gravel race I have ever done."

Regardless of whether you make your way out to middle-of-nowhere Oregon in support of public lands, finding consensus across the political aisle, or in the pursuit of epic gravel cycling - the Skull will not disappoint or your money back... seriously. This is not your normal everyday bike race.

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Imagine the Dirty Kanza set to the plot of City Slickers… while being directed by Smokey the Bear: that’s about as apt of a description as you’re going to find for the Skull Gravel Bike Race.

Located in Burns, Oregon, the Skull is set almost perfectly between Bend and Boise. The Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation put Burns on the map a few years back but not for the best of reasons. The Skull is an attempt at turning a story of infamy into one of fame and bringing a community together around the celebration of their public lands. This is a non-profit race with registration fees going back to the community.

Eastern Oregon’s high desert is a gravel cyclist’s paradise. True to the heritage of these lands, cyclists pedal on century-old cattle drive routes still in use today. The signature 120-mile route goes up and over alpine summits and across a large variety of surface and soil types with more than 80% of the route on gravel or natural surface. Once you leave the town of Burns, you’re out in the wilds with just yourself, a handful of aid stations, other racers, and maybe a vehicle or two over the course of the entire day

It's difficult to describe just how remote & intimidating these landscapes are.

Nowhere else I've ever traveled - including my homestate of Alaska - has the perfect balance of decaying access & beautiful emptiness which defines the old ghostly homestead, timber & mining roads of Eastern Oregon.

Most other environments would see these paths fade as mother nature reclaims what is hers, however, these landscapes are so extreme it can take a century for a road to fade back into its natural state.

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Music contributed by the amazing musician and cyclists, Ben Weaver.