The completely new and redesigned Grinduro California course takes you on an unforgettable tour of Mt. Shasta’s incredible dirt roads and singletrack. You’ll experience everything from rough remote gravel roads to smooth swoopy singletrack. All along the way, you’ll be struck with awe thanks to massive views. Guaranteed, there will be more grammable moments than you’ll know what to do with. Here’s a little preview of what to expect…
The heavy snowfall we have experienced has pushed the elevation of the course a bit lower than last year, and now it is between 3,500’-5,000’. As of early May there is no longer any snow on the course, but water abounds everywhere. The grass is green and the flowers are exploding!
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The course is a tale of two sides of Mt Shasta. On the southside we traverse the upper reaches of the Soda Creek drainage. We are in timber company lands here, and the roads are big and well made, made challenging by the constant changes in elevation. It will be muddy in there and this is where you will encounter Stage 1, the gravel descent. Much of this loop is on private property, and we’ve been given special permission to ride these roads on the event weekend only. Grinduro racers are some of the lucky few to ride bikes here - that really IS special!
The south side of the course is accessed and returned via paved roads from town, which are not necessarily in the best shape. Watch for giant potholes on south Old Stage Road especially.
We lunch on the lovely shores of Lake Siskiyou and then set off to the northside where three of the four timed stages will be tackled (the northside loop is also the Grindurito route). Stage 2 is a fast-rolling road time trial that trends slightly uphill. This gets us to the northside of Black Butte where we do our climbing stage, Stage 3, once again on timber company lands. This area is volcanic and much drier than where we have come from. At the top of this climb we will drop into the Gateway network of singletrack trails to finish our final stage, Stage 4, on the fast berms and rollers that are our local nectar.
Here are the stage details (Grindurito riders will race Stages 2-4):
The course comes in at 59.1 miles with 21 of those paved and 6,325’ of elevation gain. Do not be misled by the mileage, this is a tough course with relentless changes in elevation, and a multitude of surface types that will keep riders on their toes. And as for the most important of considerations, tire type and pressure! You’d be happy riding a 40C tire with some knobs at about 40 PSI. The Schwalbe G-One Overland is the ideal choice for Grinduro California, if you asked us! This is not a mountain bike course, and there will be no hike-a-bike this year, perhaps to some folk’s chagrin.
We can’t wait to welcome you to Mt. Shasta and share this amazing route with you. We hope you’ll love it as much as we do!
And... Online Registration has been extended through to May 15. So CLICK HERE to claim yourself a spot!
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