The prospect of exploring gravel roads and trails in a new area and reconnecting with friends had us particularly excited for the 2020 Grinduro’s move to Mt. Shasta. The Northern California area looks set to become a new gravel destination, with the springtime Shasta Gravel Hugger also drawing offroad cyclists to the region.
However, just as we’ve seen with nearly every major event, including the 2020 DK scheduled for the same weekend, the 2020 Grinduro is now canceled. The COVID-19 pandemic that is surging in much of the USA has claimed yet another event.
Grinduro, because its timed segments made a mass start unnecessary, was one of the few that we had hopes of still running during this pandemic. Yet the promoters chose not to take on that risk nor change what so many have come to love about the event—the social riding.
We caught up with Grinduro’s Amanda Schaper before today’s official announcement to get the scoop on the event’s future and insight into how such a large event considered issues including health restrictions, social distancing guidelines and refunds. See our full interview below.
The 2020 Grinduro planned to bring the event from Quincy to Mount Shasta, but will be delayed until 2021.
Cyclocross Magazine: We’re sad to learn the news of yet another event cancelation with the 2020 Grinduro being postponed to 2021. While the event was a few months away and in a relatively remote area of California, the state’s COVID-19 cases are going back up quite rapidly. How much of a factor was that in your decision?
Amanda Schaper: First off, we’re of course sad that we won’t be partying in Mt. Shasta this year, but we’re also excited that the event has been postponed to next year, so put September 18 on your calendar! Everybody involved with the event can’t wait to reconnect with our Grinduro family, and waiting until 2021 will make the reunion that much sweeter.
To answer your question, the increase in COVID-19 cases was certainly a very big factor in our decision. When we got to the point of needing to decide on proceeding or postponing, we established four criteria to help guide our decision. Grinduro CA could only proceed if the following four criteria were met: 1) the event is deemed safe by local officials; 2) the local community supports the event; 3) Grinduro participants feel comfortable attending; and 4) we can deliver a quality event while implementing all required public safety protocol. The continuing spread of COVID-19 impacted each of those criteria.
In the end, after meeting with local officials, conducting surveys with both local residents and Grinduro participants, and analyzing how the event experience would be impacted with social distancing protocol, we determined it was not possible to meet any of our four criteria. Therefore, it was clear that postponing was the only choice.
Getting input from local officials, local residents, and Grinduro participants was so helpful. Our decision was going to impact a lot of people one way or the other, so we wanted to consider everybody’s thoughts to ensure we made the right decision for the Mt. Shasta and Grinduro communities. In our surveys, people overwhelmingly said they would only be comfortable with the event if there was a vaccine or if California COVID-19 cases decreased dramatically for a sustained period of time. Therefore, the shared concern about the continuing virus spread was the primary factor in our decision.
The 2015 Grinduro combined gravel, enduro racing, and a whole lot of suffering and scenery. We expect to see more of these types of events in the future. © Cyclocross Magazine
“In the end, after meeting with local officials, conducting surveys with both local residents and Grinduro participants, and analyzing how the event experience would be impacted with social distancing protocol, we determined it was not possible to meet any of our four criteria. Therefore, it was clear that postponing was the only choice.” -Schaper
CXM: California and its counties continue to release new guidance and restrictions to protect community health. While we’ve seen USA BMX host big State qualifying races in the state, how much confidence did you have in being allowed by county and state officials to hold the event come September?
AS: In May when we opened registration, we were very confident that we would be able to host the event in September. At this point, I am not confident at all! The COVID-19 situation is worsening rapidly, and right now we’re not seeing any indication that things will improve to a level at which we’d be comfortable holding the event.
There’s a difference though between events being allowed and them being morally right. In some cases, like what we experienced in Siskiyou County, local officials are technically allowing events, but then leaving it up to the organizers to figure out how to make them safe. Some types of events might be able to proceed with appropriate protocol in place, but that wasn’t the case with Grinduro. Even if the event was allowed, we didn’t believe that we could establish protocol that would keep both the local communities and riders safe. The size and social nature of our event just doesn’t mix with a pandemic.
I often referred back to the following statement from the USA Cycling COVID-19 Event Resources, Return to Riding and Racing document: “Organizers should take a close look at their event and determine – based on the safety, social, and financial risk – whether they have the ability to conduct it. Just because local government entities will allow it, does not mean the event will be successful.”
“There’s a difference though between events being allowed and them being morally right” -Schaper
CXM: Grinduro is unique in that the field spreads out quickly since speed counts only for timed segments. But that also makes it a social ride for many. Was that a factor in your decision?
AS: Absolutely. Grinduro’s party-to-race ratio means that the social aspects of the ride and event are just as important as the race, and to a lot of people, they’re even more important. We might have been able to have the event this year if we had wave starts instead of the mass rollout, restricted group riding, removed the social aid stations and group lunch, and eliminated things like the indoor pop-up shop, shared meals, big awards celebration with live music, group campfires, late-night DJ dance party, etc. But at that point, it’s not Grinduro. Grinduro is all about removing the distance between people, so when you implement the social distancing protocol, you lose everything that makes Grinduro so magical.
“But at that point, it’s not Grinduro. Grinduro is all about removing the distance between people, so when you implement the social distancing protocol, you lose everything that makes Grinduro so magical.” -Schaper
CXM: Exploring a new area and its gravel roads and trails is a lot of the appeal for some of us attending an event in a new location. If shelter in place is not reinstated, would the area’s roads and ski area welcome cyclists, at least from a single household, who want a preview of the next Grinduro?
AS: Once it’s less risky to travel, Mt. Shasta would love to welcome the gravel community for any of the area’s countless summertime and wintertime activities! In the survey we conducted with local Siskiyou County residents, many people mentioned that the visitors currently coming into town aren’t wearing masks or respecting social distancing guidelines, which is making the local community uncomfortable. To keep Mt. Shasta safe, I’d suggest waiting until the COVID-19 situation is more under control, but definitely plan a trip there when the time’s right! Whenever you do choose to travel, please do it in a way that protects the communities you’re visiting.
[Ed. note: Schaper mentioned event sponsor LOGE Camps has a promotion for Grinduro fans, see the bottom of this post for details.]
When you visit Mt. Shasta, make sure you check out the Gateway Trails for a sneak peek of the singletrack stage in the Grinduro CA course. These are some of the most popular XC trails in the Mt. Shasta area. They are professionally built by mountain bike trail builders, and maintained by the local IMBA group, the Mt. Shasta Mountain Bike Association, and the Mt. Shasta Trail Association. This singletrack combines smooth berms with mildly techy rock gardens, making for perfect riding on any gravel bike. Some of the proceeds from Grinduro CA would have gone towards maintaining this trail network.
The Mount Shasta Ski Park is open this summer for visitors, but Schaper encourages cyclists to visit only when COVID-19 is under control.
Interested in some park laps? The Mt. Shasta Ski Park, our planned venue for this year, is open for lift-access mountain biking with COVID-19 protocol in place.
CXM: By offering refunds and deferrals, will the event lose money in 2020? What percent of costs were sunk costs?
AS: When the pandemic hit, luckily we were very early in our event planning process. That allowed us to be really cautious with expenses, delaying the bulk of our spending until August. We wouldn’t sign a contract with a non-refundable deposit, and we worked with vendors to delay any payments until August 1. The sunk costs include what has been paid to the event’s staffing over the last eight months and to our registration service, which adds up to a fairly significant amount.
Grinduro California is now organized by the Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance (SORA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit that creates opportunities for all to access outdoor recreation while building meaningful and responsible connections to the trails, mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and landscapes of the Shasta-Siskiyou region of Northern California. SORA is responsible for all event costs, and event proceeds would have gone directly to SORA. With Grinduro being postponed, SORA is both losing the money already invested this year, and they’re losing a significant revenue stream. This of course limits their ability to serve the Mt. Shasta community through their important work.
To help recoup these costs and support SORA, we are organizing a fundraiser in which donors will be entered to win amazing prizes from Grinduro CA sponsors, including a mountain bike and a gravel bike from host sponsor Evil Bikes. Grinduro registrants will have the option of donating their 2020 registration fee in return for tickets into the drawing, and anybody who chooses this option will get exclusive early access to 2021 Grinduro CA registration. We’ll select the lucky winners of two new Evil bikes in a live digital happy hour on the original event date of September 12. The fundraiser will be open worldwide, which means readers have a chance to win the Evil bikes, so stay tuned to Grinduro channels for more details.
CXM: What advice do you have for other promoters who are debating whether to hold their event this fall? We’ve seen a few events still carry on in Oklahoma and Ohio.
AS: Deciding to cancel or postpone an event is not easy. All events are different, clear guidelines don’t really exist, and every county seems to have different protocols—trust me, I’ve compared notes with a lot of other promoters. Some counties have a clear approval process, while others leave the decision up to the event organizers. It’s a very emotional decision with real consequences attached, such as financial losses if you cancel or potential virus spread if you proceed. Without definitive approvals and guidelines from local officials, event organizers are left in a tricky spot.
Grinduro participants come for the ride and race, but stay for the party and the camping. © A. Yee / Cyclocross Magazine
We found it very helpful to create criteria and do the work needed to make an informed decision. Our guts were telling us to postpone, but there was always something telling us that maybe we could make it work. That internal conflict made it impossible to decide. That’s why we developed a process that allowed us to make a final decision based on real data and information, not just our personal feelings. Once we analyzed whether or not we could meet our four criteria, it was clear that postponement was the only option. At that point, while disappointed, we felt a sense of relief to know we were making the right call.
So that being said, my advice for other promoters is to establish criteria that your event needs to meet to proceed, and do the work to make an informed decision. It’s more effort, but it will ease your anxiety and give you total confidence when you decide whether or not to hold your event. It also makes it very easy to justify your decision should anybody question you.
CXM: You mentioned a survey of participants. What did you learn from the feedback? What surprised you?
AS: A little over one week ago, we sent a survey to all registered Grinduro and Grindurito participants, along with event sponsors, vendors, and volunteers, about 800 total people. We had a 39% response rate with 312 completed surveys submitted. In addition to asking questions that helped us determine how the local community would be impacted, such as how far people were traveling and where they planned to stay. We primarily wanted to know how our participants felt about attending events.
Here’s what we learned:
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- Is it still worth it to you to attend Grinduro if the nature/feel of the event changes due to COVID-19 safety protocol?
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- Yes: 64.5%
- No: 35.5%
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- Is it still worth it to you to attend Grinduro if the nature/feel of the event changes due to COVID-19 safety protocol?
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- How comfortable are you about Grinduro CA proceeding on September 12 given the current COVID-19 situation? Scale of 1 (not comfortable at all) to 5 (very comfortable).
- 1: 18.6% (not comfortable at all)
- 2: 23.1%
- 3: 26.9%
- 4: 16.3%
- 5: 15.1% (very comfortable)
- How comfortable are you about Grinduro CA proceeding on September 12 given the current COVID-19 situation? Scale of 1 (not comfortable at all) to 5 (very comfortable).
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- If Grinduro CA does proceed, would you still plan to attend?
- Yes: 50%
- No: 6.1%
- Unsure: 43.9%
- If Grinduro CA does proceed, would you still plan to attend?
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- Under what conditions would you choose NOT to attend Grinduro CA? Samples of open paragraph answers that represent the common responses:
- If the state of the US and COVID-19 have not improved from where they are today, I would not attend.
- If cases are consistent with what they are now, I won’t travel to attend. The case numbers would have to fall significantly.
- Having to wear masks, needing to keep distance. It’s just not fun anymore when those restrictions are in place.
- If the COVID situation is at a point where the influx of individuals to the area would negatively impact the local community and or participants.
- If it seems like a bad idea to be around groups of people, I wouldn’t attend, even if it’s technically legal then.
- If it’s so limited that the intended spirit of the event suffers, then I would rather wait until next year.
- Under what conditions would you choose NOT to attend Grinduro CA? Samples of open paragraph answers that represent the common responses:
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- Please share any additional thoughts, feedback, or concerns regarding Grinduro CA and COVID-19. Samples of open paragraph answers that represent the common responses:
- I love Grinduro! But I want everyone to be safe, happy and healthy.
- Grinduro is about the Gravel cyclist community. Coming together to meet, greet, share stories of the day, and get to know one another. If that is in any way impacted by COVID, it just won’t feel like the same, awesome event that Grinduro is!
- I want nothing more than to get back to events. However, I don’t want to be part of spreading the virus. We all know when it is safe to be in groups. When the virus is on the rise, it is not safe. We need to be seeing a steady decline in cases.
- I’m really torn on this – I would love to attend, but I want to make sure that I feel comfortable and all precautions are taken. It’s so hard to say at this point in time with the COVID-19 situation being so fluid.
- The party will not be that same, but the bigger concern is the safety of the Mount Shasta community and if there is a benefit to the risk of all participants traveling there.
- I appreciate that the organizers are reaching out to all parties involved with this event and fully trust that every effort is being made to make Grinduro safe for all. I fully support any decision you ultimately make and truly appreciate the level of effort you are making in this unique time. Keep up the good work.
- Please share any additional thoughts, feedback, or concerns regarding Grinduro CA and COVID-19. Samples of open paragraph answers that represent the common responses:
In the end, we weren’t surprised by the results. The general tone of the survey was that people are really eager to attend events again, but also very mindful of the negative impacts events might have. For that reason, postponing was preferred by most people. We really did not want to disappoint our riders by postponing, so it was actually a relief to know that the majority of participants shared our same concerns and hesitations.
More than anything, the survey just reinforced that the gravel cycling community is a really amazing group of people! Everybody was more concerned about how their actions attending could hurt others, and very few responses were pushing us to have the event even though it’s risky. The responses were all very thoughtful, supportive, and understanding.
CXM: Thank you for the time and for sharing those survey results. Hopefully, we’ll see you in 2021, or at a cyclocross race if we’re lucky.
AS: Thank you! We always appreciate your support. We hope to see you at the 2021 Grinduro CA in Mt. Shasta on September 18!
More info: grinduro.com
See the full press release and details on the LOGE Camp promotion below.
Grinduro California 2020 Postponed Until 2021
The event looks forward to welcoming the Grinduro community to Mt. Shasta on September 18, 2021.
SHASTA, CALIF. – Grinduro California has made the decision to postpone the 2020 event in Mt. Shasta due to the continuing spread of COVID-19. Registered riders will have the option to get a full refund, defer their registration to 2021, or donate their registration fee to Mt. Shasta’s host organization, the Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance (SORA). The Grinduro CA organizers are already planning next year’s event and looking forward to welcoming the Grinduro community to Mt. Shasta for some maxin’ and relaxin’ on September 18, 2021.
Prior to making this decision, the organizers announced that the event would only proceed if the following four criteria were met: 1) the event is deemed safe by local officials; 2) the local community supports the event; 3) Grinduro participants feel comfortable attending; and 4) the organizers can deliver a quality event while implementing all required public safety protocol. After meeting with local officials, conducting surveys with both local residents and Grinduro participants, and analyzing how the event experience would be impacted with social distancing protocol, the organizers determined it was not possible to meet any of their four identified criteria.
“This is, of course, disappointing news to share,” said Amanda Schaper, Grinduro California Event Director. “We were very hopeful that our September 2020 event would be possible, but it has become clear that the pandemic is not improving in a way that makes large public events safe or responsible.”
Prior to opening registration, Grinduro CA was aware that cancellation could be possible, so they offered a risk-free refund and deferral policy to participants. All registered riders will have the option to get a full refund, defer their registration to 2021, or donate their registration fee to Mt. Shasta’s host organization, the Siskiyou Outdoor Recreation Alliance (SORA), for the chance to win amazing prizes from Grinduro CA sponsors, including a mountain bike and a gravel bike from Evil Bikes. (This fundraiser will be open worldwide. Stay tuned to Grinduro channels for more details!) Riders who opt to donate their full registration fee will receive exclusive early registration access in 2021. The lucky winners of two brand new Evil bikes and other prizes will be announced through a live digital happy hour on the original event date of September 12.
“The entire Mt. Shasta community is disappointed that we have to wait another year before bringing the Grinduro family to our great town, but the locals appreciate us choosing to postpone,” said Justi Hansen, SORA Executive Director. “The survey we conducted with Siskiyou County residents really highlighted how excited everybody is to welcome Grinduro to Mt. Shasta. There is already a lot of support for this event, and with Grinduro making a responsible decision with the locals in mind, the support for next year will be even greater. 2021 will surely be worth the wait!”
SORA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that creates opportunities for all to access outdoor recreation while building meaningful and responsible connections to the trails, mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and landscapes of the Shasta-Siskiyou region of Northern California. Grinduro CA’s proceeds would have gone directly to SORA to support their meaningful work, and with the event’s cancellation, SORA is losing an important revenue stream. To learn more about SORA and donate to support their work, visit https://siskiyououtdooralliance.org/.
“Making the decision to postpone something we’ve poured so much into is of course heartbreaking, but potentially harming the Grinduro or Mt. Shasta communities would be even worse,” said Schaper. “Everybody involved with the event can’t wait to reconnect with our Grinduro family, and waiting until 2021 will make the reunion that much sweeter.”
Mark your calendars because next year’s Grinduro CA in Mt. Shasta is scheduled for September 18, 2021, giving riders plenty of time to get their party-to-race ratios dialed.
Note: Schaper emphasized that LOGE Camps, with a new location in Mt. Shasta, is inviting the extended Grinduro family to stay at any LOGE Camps location between now and the end of 2020 with a 10% savings on your visit. To get the discount, visit www.logecamps.com and click “Book Now” in the upper-righthand corner. Select your location, then click “Have a promo code?” in the right-hand column of the booking page. Enter promo code “Grinduro” to save 10%.
