Sponsors for Le Grand du Nord

We are so grateful for the amazing business partners that help bring our events to life. We work only with the best in the business and are proud of the relationships we have built over the years. North Shore, Minnesota, and USA made products that add greatness to the gravel cycling community. Please consider these partners when shopping for your provisions or planning your Le Grand weekend. Thank you!

1. Bearskin Lodge Bearskin lodge is donating a three night stay at their beautiful lodge! Bearskin Lodge is an all season getaway located on Minnesota's Gunflint Trail.  Sitting at the edge of the BWCAW, Bearskin is a great destination for skiing, paddling, hiking, biking and relaxing.  A family owned, family friendly resort, get outside and enjoy the outdoors with us at Bearskin Lodge.

2. Cascade Vacation Rentals Leaders in North Shore vacation rentals. CVR is your go-to for finding just the right lodging on the North Shore for Le Grand and other North Shore adventures.

3. Cedaero  Two Harbors based bike bag sewers and designers are the best in the business! Dan and his talented band of makers will be at Le Grand tent with plenty of freshly made bags.

4. Crushing Mechanics  Rich and Lynne are generous partners of Heck of the North Productions. From vehicle and storage support to basecamp hosting, they do it all. They also sell equipment for making gravel roads! Who could ask for more! Thanks Rich and Lynne! 

5. Embark Maple Syrup Our Wisconsin based maple syrup suppliers. They are new and really bringing it this year. They will be supplying our checkpoints with packets of their finest syrup. And yes, they may or may not be in fox suits, climbing trees or otherwise cheering you on in the one and only Embark way.

6. Epicurean Duluth based cutting board and kitchen tool company. A long time supporter of cycling and Heck of the North Productions. They are donating beautiful cutting boards and tote bags to our volunteer crews. 

7. Fika Coffee  Lutsen based coffee roasters are your go-to for coffee while traveling the North Shore. They will be supplying us with bags of their finest roasts. 

8. HED Cycling The leaders in bicycle wheels. Minnesota based HED has been a sponsor of our events from the beginning. This year, we will be once again giving away a pair of their amazing gravel wheelsets.  One of my favorite cycling companies and long time supporters of gravel cycling!

9. Lake Superior Dental Associates This amazing crew! They generously supply bikepacking approved toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste. We will have the healthiest bikepackers in the country again this year. Thanks for your gracious support!

10. Loll Designs Duluth based modern, outdoor furniture makers have been long time supporters of all things cycling in the region. We will be giving away one of their beautiful Lollygagger Lounge Chairs

11. North Shore Winery This amazing winery (and cider maker) will be supplying tasting sessions to our fastest riders on the podium. A must place to visit while on the North Shore!

12. Otso Cycles and Wolf Tooth Components Minnesota based bike, tool and component  builders. Wolf Tooth Components and Otso Cycles are dedicated supporters of gravel and trail riding in Minnesota and beyond. We thank them for their awesome tool and swag donations for our fastest riders.

13. Taiga Design + Builders Grand Marais based carpenters and designers. The best and most beautiful construction operation on the North Shore. Logistical supporters of the event. Thank you!

14. Visit Cook County Original partners of Le Grand du Nord. If only every event company could have a county based resource like Visit Cook County. Your go-to for Grand Marais and Cook County travel, event and logistical information. 

15. Voyageur Brewing Company THE party spot for Le Grand du Nord! Grab a spot on one of their decks and watch the finish line action all day! Enjoy one of their great craft beers and delicious menu items. We appreciate their support from day one. Be generous and kind to their hard working crew!

Some Thoughts on Our Heck of the North "Why"

Deep in Le Grand du Nord country. Photo Clint Austin

I do my best to pay attention to trends, gear and other nuances in the world of gravel riding. Cycling is a passion in this household and I do not use the word lightly. From our kitchen table headquarters, here are a few guiding principals for our upcoming season, and our events, in general. I want to share them with you so you have some idea where we fall in the spectrum of gravel cycling.

First, a little history. Not too many years ago, we got some (minor) push-back for making the decision to move from a “free” event design (The Heck of the North at that time) to one that would charge an entry fee. Long story short, The Heck has its roots deeply in the ground alongside other DIY gravel events like The Almanzo 100 and Ragnarok 105 (which predate our events by a few years.) I cut my gravel teeth at these races and was deeply inspired by them (Chapeau! to Chris Skogen and Jake and the Røk Crü.) At that time, these races were labeled as “free,” though I would argue they were never free for the organizers or even for those that participated in them. But yes, there was no formal fee other than the expenses of placing a stamp on a postcard entry, getting to the event and hopefully donating to the folks hosting.

As our Heck events continued to grow, we made a decision as a family that, to keep the races alive and thriving, we needed to consider them a business, not only a passion and hobby. That meant charging a fee to help offset our expenses with the event(s) as well as help cover my time producing them.

To summarize our Why: We believe that gravel cycling is rewarding enough: the physical and emotional payouts are greater than any cash prize. We believe that keeping Heck of the North Productions a family business is the best way to sustain our events for the future. We believe in constantly creating, always trying to keep the events as exciting as they were 15 years ago. We believe that all are welcome to ride and we work to bring new people into the sport. We believe in strong relationships with local businesses who bring great energy and product to our events. We believe that riding bicycles together, at least a few times a year, is a magical way to create connections and community. We believe the experience of riding gravel is transcendent.

You may ask why we do not pay cash prizes or have corporate sponsors in our event name. We think participating and hopefully finishing your gravel event is reward enough. It helps keep our events accessible to all and deemphasizes this latest craze of professionalization in the sport. We sincerely appreciate our business partnerships, and we value our family business autonomy, too. I think those who work with us get this.

Our goal at Heck of the North Productions on this backside of the pandemic is to ride as much as possible and share the beauty of cycling with others. Thank you for being part of the Heck experience.

Jeremy

Paris Roubaix

iPhone capture of Peacock TV coverage of the 120th edition of Paris Roubaix

Watching this year’s coverage of the men’s Paris Roubaix, and savoring the chance to watch replay of the Femme coverage, too…I’m resting at home with a cruddy virus. Oh how I would rather be on the bike today!

We adapted “Heck of the North” from this queen of the classics, Paris Roubaix, the “Hell of the North.” It is still one of my favorite things to watch on the TV. It is insane. We decided to swap out centuries old cobblestone for sectors of northwoods nastiness. We have unkept forest paths, frost-heaved forest roads and rock-strewn hunting trails. We try our best to keep the namesake proud.

You may notice that I do not spend a lot of time on the social media lately. Indeed, I seem to find better ways to spend my time. But just because we do not document every minute of prep for our upcoming events does not mean we are not passionate as ever about these gravel “Heck’s of the North” that are quickly approaching! I hope your training is going well. We have our fingers crossed that mother nature will melt some of the snow and keep the four horseman of the apocalypse at bay this year.

Please reach out if you have questions about any part of the upcoming gravel and bikepacking season. We are here to help! Until next time, be Graveleer!

Jeremy

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

photo Joshua Kowaleski

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