The Chino Grinder is considered Arizona’s premier gravel bike event and for great reason. The event just celebrated its tenth year of gravel racing and almost 400 racers attended the 110 mile, 60 mile and 40 mile races. Our McDowell Mountain Cycles family has always supported the Chino Grinder and ,this year, we were out in full force.
For those that might not know, the Chino Grinder is a gravel bike race that starts in Chino Valley, outside Prescott, and heads north toward the eventual turn around point at Whitehorse Lake near Williams. The shorter races follow the same route, but turn around and head back to the start sooner. The route is HARD, plain and simply. There is over 8,000 feet of climbing in the long course and the shorter courses have their fair share. The roads range from nice gravel, to sand, to loose gravel to rocky. Flat tires and mechanical issues are something every rider has to be prepared for as the conditions make them pretty common.
The difficulties and challenges of the Chino Grinder are more than offset by the amazing race organizers, Minnie and Craig Swetel, and a ton of awesome volunteers. They and the super friendly atmosphere within the racers/riders makes the Chino Grinder a “must do” event. I’ve done it all ten years!
As I mentioned before, our MMC family was out in full force this year. We had lots of racers including myself, Tim and Evie Racette, Joe Brown, Todd Voris, Jeff Huntley, Nik Edmonds, Victor Yates and Mark Tichinel. We even managed to snag a couple podium finishes for the team. Equally, if not more importantly, Jamie Brown and Lee Carter were “super volunteers”. They worked countless hours on the race and we so appreciate them as well as all the volunteers. One volunteer that deserves a special “shout out” is Charles Schiffhaur. This youngster greeted every finisher with an enthusiastic smile and water at the finish line, all the while sporting his MMC hat. He simply made us all smile after a long hard day in the saddle.
Once again, thanks to Craig and Minnie Swetel, Jamie Brown, Lee Carter and all the other volunteers and to all the riders at this great event. If you haven’t already, put the Chino Grinder on next year’s “to do” list.
– Pedal Well, Harry