Ride4IBD At Gravel Bulldogs Cycling Event
The Gravel Bulldogs Gravel Event: A tour of Los Angeles’s gravel cycling paradise and a taste of what Pedalers Fork has to offer.
Ride4IBD recently participated and partnered with the inaugural Gravel Bulldogs Cycling Event to bring IBD awareness, patient empowerment, and fundraising to the gravel roads of Los Angeles. The event took place at the iconic cycling inspired restaurant Pedalers Fork, located in Calabasas, California. This years event hosted 200 riders and offered up 55 miles of gravel and paved roads with 7k feet of leg crushing climbing in the hills above Malibu.
For this event, Ride4IBD was joined by John Hardisky our sponsored IBD patient cyclist. Helping John challenge his IBD, our founder Cory Greenberg rode the course with John, and both riders took on the Gravel Bulldogs to show what RIDE. INSPIRE.CHALLENGE. is all about.
We were also happy to have the Crohns and Colitis Foundation Los Angeles and Orange County Chapter also in attendance. In addition to bringing informational material and staff to meet the riders and help share some great IBD resources and programs with the local cycling community, our fundraising efforts for this years event supported the local Los Angeles and Orange County chapter.
Challenging IBD is what Ride4IBD is all about. This event was made possible with the support of CVS Health, who helped to sponsor Ride4IBD’s participation. The support from CVS Health went towards helping sponsor our IBD patient cyclist participation in the event, along with providing riders with a post ride ice cream treat. CVS Health also presented our beneficiary the Crohns and Colitis Foundation LA/OC Chapter with a $1,000 donation.
Along with CVS Health support, John and Cory were outfitted with the all new 2022 Specialized Crux Gravel Bike, courtesy of Specialized Bikes. In addition Cory and John sported the all new 2021 Zoca Gear RIDE4IBD kits (available for sale click here).
John, Gideon (Gravel Bulldogs Promoter) and Cory.
PC: @breegphotography
THE EVENT
To start off the day of gravel adventure, riders were greeted with a pastry and coffee breakfast provided 10Speed Coffee located at Pedalers Fork in Calabasas. From the central start location, riders left Pedalers Fork and set out to conquer the Bulldog. With 55 miles of iconic LA gravel roads on tap, riders had many opportunities to stop take a drink and soak up some of LA’s most scenic views. The event also offered up a KOM/QOM price for both the women and men, with $500 on offer to the fastest male and female rider to finish not one, but both Strava Climbing segments on course the fastest.
The 2021 Gravel Bulldog Route
Once on course, riders set out on the famous Mulholland Hwy. A quick ride along this LA landmark roadway would take the riders onto the first gravel section of the day. From here, the course quickly turned into a climb, eventually bringing riders to “The Hub”, which is a local stop for hikers and riders alike. “The Hub”, offers up some stunning views of the LA landscape.
Once crested it was a fast and wild descent down to the coast, were the famous Pacific Coast Highway awaited. A brief ride down PCH afforded the riders a glimpse of Malibu’s most iconic oceanside landmarks. After taking in the sites, the riders again turned vertical. However, before hitting the switchbacks and testing out the climbing legs, the days first aid station awaited our riders. It was just after the first stop of the day that riders met the first of two Strava KOM/QOM’s prizes awaiting them. It was here riders had their first chance to contest that $500 prize on offer to the fastest climbers from the women and mens field.
John and Cory on the first of two Strava segments.
Photo by: Kevin Arnold Photography
After completing the challenging KOM/QOM with upwards of 20 percent gradients, the riders descended into what was hands down the hardest section of the course. It was here that the riders met the infamous Bulldog trail, an up/down terrain that racks up some serious vertical meters. After adding another 2.5k feet of climbing along the Bulldog long loop, riders headed back towards Pedalers Fork.
However, the riders first had to navigate down some technical and tricky descents, like the Backbone trail, before making their way again to the days final paved section. After the wild and thrilling descents, riders quickly went from dirt to pavement, turning onto two of LA’s most iconic cycling roads, Piuma Road and later the famous “7 Minute Hill”. To finish off the ride, the riders rode back towards Calabasas, passing by our event sponsor CVS Health and one their local CVS Pharmacy locations just before ending the ride back at Pedalers Fork.
Cory and John stopping by event sponsor CVS out on course.
pc: breegphotographyTHE AFTER PARTY
Once completing the course, riders were treated with an amazing gourmet barbecue lunch prepared by Chef Ed of Pedalers Fork, live music by The Night Shift, and a host of vendors, along with the Crohns and Colitis Foundation LA/OC Chapter. As amazing food was enjoyed by all, the riders were able to meet John Hardisky (sponsored IBD patient cyclist), along with other IBD patients, and Deanna Hudgins from the Crohns and Colitis Foundation LA/OC Chapter. Deanna is an amazing patient advocate and Foundation representative. Along with Deanna talking about the Foundation with riders and guest, a host of IBD informational material was provided, helping share some of the amazing programs on offer from the Foundation (which you can see here ).
As the last of the riders on course finished up, and the live music by The Night Shift ended, our first in person event came to a close. A very proud moment, and one that we will reflect on for a while. But for us here at Ride4IBD, our mission keeps on, and we are excited to continue to keep challenging IBD. Ride4IBD is so proud to be apart of this years Gravel Bulldogs, we can’t wait for 2022. If you would like to find out more information about Gravel Bulldogs, check out their website here .
Chef Ed of Pedalers Fork cooking BBQ for the riders.
A special thank you to CVS Health, Pedalers Fork, Zoca Gear, Tanner Kietzman with, Specialized Bicycles and Bre G Photography, for their support at this years event.
If you or someone you know would like to RIDE.INSPIRE.CHALLENGE. in a Ride4IBD cycling kit , you can purchase our handmade Zoca Gear kit here.
See our full event gallery along with along with our latest CVS Health and Ride4IBD video below:
