Jul. 18—- Things have changed since Judge Ole Hartwick, attired in a proper suitcoat, pedaled his single-speed, Iver Johnson bicycle over the gravel roads of Yellow Medicine County at the turn of the century.
It’s all gotten a lot faster, as made clear by Rowan Hall and the 28 bicycle racers who followed him in the sixth annual Gopher 50 Gravel Bike Race on July 11. Hall, 21 of Lakeville, attired in sleek, modern bicycle garb sped over nearly 54 miles of gravel roads in two hours and 51 minutes to take first place in the 2026 race.
“Super fun, great course,” said Hall just moments after crossing the finish line.
Hot on his tail were Tim Karels, of Plymouth, and Jon DeGroot, of Prinsburg, the second- and third-place winners with times of 2:57 and 2:58, or just seconds behind the champion.
“Ten out of a 10,” said Karels of the course. Like Hall, he was unfamiliar with the Minnesota River Valley landscape in this part of the state until he put his bicycle to the gravel for this race.
“The course is beautiful, it’s great,” said Hall of what he found. His father, Ryan, was not far behind him. Hall said his father introduced him to gravel bicycling and racing.
“The heat” was definitely the hardest part of this year’s race, according to Rowan Hall. Temperatures climbed into the 80s shortly after the race’s 8 a.m. start.
Jed Danielson, a bicycling racer and enthusiast from Rick’s Cycling in Willmar, said he was prepared for what he termed the “punchy hills” of this race route that weaves in and out of the river valley.
“The route is one of my favorites,” said Danielson. “Nice balance. A really nice balance.”
The route takes the riders along the quiet, gravel roadways of the tri-county area of the Minnesota River Valley, including portions of Yellow Medicine, Chippewa and Renville counties.
Danielson said he also loves the atmosphere of the Gopher 50, which is hosted by the Bluenose Gopher Public House in downtown Granite Falls. It’s a friendly, casual atmosphere where the racers support one another, he explained.
Those comments explain why Luwaina Al-Otaibi and a fellow team of volunteers devote their time to making this race possible. It was started in 2020 with hopes it would introduce gravel bicyclists to the beauty of an area most are not familiar with, she explained.
The Bluenose Gopher Public House is a cooperative, and building community and promoting the area is part of its mission.
Al-Otaibi said they also want to promote the recreational opportunities to be found in the area, as well as the bicycling culture.
There’s also a lot of history behind it. Ole Hartwick (1857-1945) served as a Yellow Medicine County judge and gained national fame for his bicycle riding. He tallied more than 200,000 miles on Iver Johnson-built bicycles, and appeared in ads for the bicycle manufacturing company. He regularly made 80-mile round trips from Granite Falls to Canby on the western end of Yellow Medicine County to conduct his official duties.
It was the late Steve Hed, founder of Hed’s Cycling in Roseville, who originally suggested that Granite Falls host a gravel bicycle race. He was visiting relatives in Canby when he learned about Ole Hartwick and about an 1895 bicycle “century” run that saw racers cover well over 100 miles on gravel and mud roadways in this area.
Hed died unexpectedly before he could inaugurate the race, but he had planted the seed with former Granite Falls Mayor Dave Smiglewski. He helped get things started before his own untimely death.
Holding the race and keeping that legacy made all the hard work well worth it, said Al-Otaibi. She said the volunteers are already talking about plans for next year’s race.
One of these years, possibly next year, she said they may revive the spirit of that 1895 century run. One of the comments she said the volunteers hear often from the racers is that they wish they could double the length of the race to 100 miles. Future races could include options to compete for either 50 or 100 miles, said Al-Otaibi.
The race is achieving its goal of introducing people to the area. The roster of participants included bicyclists with hometowns from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Minneapolis, as well as out-of-state competitors from California and Idaho. There were also a number of local racers from Spicer to Dawson.
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