It's September again, and the anticipation for this year's GRAVEL GAMES on September 23rd and 24th, 2023, grows stronger every day. The Gravel Rides are also fully planned and scouted, and I can already give you a little preview. The tour program is really something special – I promise! And of course, all the tours can also be done outside of the festival. GPXThe data can easily be followed individually. Therefore, I will present one of the tours in more detail at the end.
What are GRAVEL GAMES?
If you haven't heard anything about the GRAVEL GAMES For those who may have heard about it, here's a quick summary of the most important facts. According to the organizers, the GRAVEL GAMES is the largest gravel event in Europe. Those interested can compete against other participants in several races, such as the RONDO GravelMinator or the ROSE German GravelMasters. The large expo area showcases the latest bikes, technological developments, and, of course, the finest cycling culture with stylish clothing and delicious food and drinks.
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In expert lectures and workshops you can further develop your own gravel knowledge, and anyone who wants to test all of this in practice can simply join our GravelRides through the region.
Free, guided tours led by local gravel insiders
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On both days, you can expect 10 free guided tours. Registration takes place directly at the radrevier.ruhr stand at the expo. Whether you're looking for a short test ride around the festival grounds, a quick tour into the surrounding area, or even an extended gravel ride lasting several hours – the choice is yours! The difficulty level is also varied, ranging from easy beginner tours to numerous advanced routes, including two trail tours that are quite challenging in places.
Saturday: first warm-up and relaxed rides
In addition to the color scheme familiar from skiing (blue = easy, red = intermediate, black = difficult), we also have three special themes this year. A "Test Tour" is specifically designed for testing ROSE bikes. Here, you can exclusively rent the latest models and chat with the ROSE experts. The "Travel Tour" is aimed primarily at visitors from outside the region who also want to experience the sights – so less gravel riding and more sightseeing. In contrast, the "Insider Tours" showcase some more unusual locations that may even offer surprises for some local gravel bikers (but may also lead along less exciting routes and are therefore less suitable for first-time visitors).
Sunday: extensive tours, also with bus shuttle and exhilarating trail fun
On the second day of the GRAVEL GAMES, with the support of Adami Busreisen, there will be two guided tours, allowing us to venture further from the festival grounds and showcase a few more highlights. After a short bus shuttle, including secure transport of the bikes on a trailer, we'll return to the festival grounds by bike. Furthermore, all other tours offer fantastic gravel riding around the festival area.
The guides: passionately riding gravel bikes
They make the gravel rides possible: our gravel guides! They're usually not trained tour guides, but their passion for gravel riding is all the stronger. The guides are out on the region's gravel tracks all year round and know them inside and out. Carsten from Trail.View combines a love of narrow paths with a passion for photography. mtb_road_anni She is particularly inspired by her Instagram channel to go gravel biking in the Ruhr area, while bikingtom As a classic cycling blogger and book author, he knows the region like the back of his hand. Rob from the Cycle Café It represents the unique sense of community within a cycling group and the exchange within the group. This also applies to the two cycling clubs. RC Buer/Westerholt 11982 eV (with Uwe, Henning, Thorsten and Ulli) and Cycling Club Herne eV (With Andreas) showcase their touring knowledge with fantastic gravel rides. Petra and Niclas love gravel riding in the Ruhr area, and we at radrevier.ruhr – Christoph, Pascal, and I – would also like to invite you to discover the region with us.
How can I register for the Gravel Rides?
Registration is only possible on-site at the radrevier.ruhr information booth. We also considered allowing online registration in advance. However, this would likely lead to many "no-shows," meaning registered spots that are not used. Since only 10 to 15 participants can join each guided ride, this would be very unfortunate.
Registration on Saturday for Sunday is possible. Generally, it's first come, first served. Once a tour reaches its maximum number of participants, we unfortunately have to refer you to the other tours. In addition to providing your name, each participant must also sign a liability waiver, as gravel riding in nature is, of course, at your own risk.
How do the gravel rides work?
All tours focus on a relaxed sense of community and a pleasant group experience. The pace is naturally adjusted to the slowest rider. Those who want to cycle at full speed should therefore register for the competitions or follow the routes on their own using the provided tracks.
Beginners in gravel biking should try to assess their own abilities as accurately as possible and therefore avoid booking the most challenging tours. If you're unsure, simply come to our stand and openly discuss your skills and experience on a gravel bike; we'll then find the right tour for you. Mutual consideration and maximum respect for other road users should of course be a matter of course.
My two tours: a "classic" from last year and something "unusual"
I'll also be guiding two tours again and I'm really looking forward to it. On Sunday, I'll be leading a slightly modified version of the challenging trail tour through the... Brauker Alpswhich I already presented to you in detail on the blog back then. It was very well received by the participants last year, but of course it also requires good riding technique and a bit of fitness.
I've rethought the tour for Saturday. Under the name "Urban GravelRide in Transition between New and Almost Forgotten Places," I want to take participants on a 47-kilometer ride along lesser-known routes to unusual locations.
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Mining romance at the start of the tour
The hike begins at the festival grounds at the Ewald colliery, and we quickly pass the two Malakoff towers of the Unser Fritz colliery, of which shaft I/IV, located south of the canal, is increasingly becoming a lost place. The large headframe of the Consol colliery also stands majestically by the wayside.
The Erzbahntrasse then leads to the secret highlight of the tour: the Alma Ring, a former race track that is now hidden away as a lost place in the middle of the forest.
A little tip: if you're standing here, take a look at one of the historical YouTube videos of the old races. The racetrack from back then is almost unrecognizable in the jungle of nature.
Cycle expressway vs. cycle adventure trail
A little further on, the route follows the forgotten track of an old railway line. One day, a cycle path is planned here, and a section is even slated to become a cycle superhighway, but for now, the path offers superb gravel riding enjoyment. Finally, we do experience a short stretch of cycle superhighway before climbing up the Rheinelbe spoil heap. A few relaxing parks follow, and unfortunately, some less relaxing streets as well (otherwise, the detour would simply be too long).
Grawenhof settlement and Nordsternpark
Passing through the Grawenhof housing estate, we encounter one of my favorite workers' settlements in the Ruhr area. We then cycle through the Nordsternpark to the Rhine-Herne Canal and quickly return to the festival grounds.
Gravel riding in the Ruhr area – that can't be anything special.
If I haven't convinced you yet that gravel riding in the Ruhr area is a really great thing and that a visit to the GRAVEL GAMES is practically a must, then only moving images will do the trick. And that's exactly what the well-known cycling YouTuber Marius Quast delivers, because he recently visited us at radrevier.ruhr and took a closer look at the region's trails, testing them out for you:
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So: off to the GRAVEL GAMES!
If your calves are now as excited as mine about the slag heaps in the Ruhr area and your passion for gravel biking in the Ruhr region is burning brightly, then we'll definitely see each other on September 23rd and 24th, 2023 at the Ewald coal mine during the GRAVEL GAMES 2023!
