{"id":156765,"date":"2025-06-04T06:18:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T06:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/156765\/"},"modified":"2025-06-04T06:18:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T06:18:14","slug":"i-came-to-unbound-just-for-the-shake-out-rides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/156765\/","title":{"rendered":"I came to Unbound just for the Shake-Out Rides"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unbound<\/a> has become the biggest gravel event in North America, if not the world. With more than 5,000 people racing five different distances<\/a>\u2014and thousands more coming to support or cheer on friends, family and teammates\u2014Emporia, Kansas, is now the ultimate gravel mecca.<\/p>\n

But Unbound is more than a race: it\u2019s a five-day celebration of all things gravel, kicking off the Wednesday before and culminating on the Sunday after race day.<\/p>\n

This year, I didn\u2019t race Unbound. I went just for the shakeout and pre-rides. Beginning last Tuesday, I participated in five days of group rides ranging from small pre-rides with two other people to massive shakeouts with 300-plus of my closest gravel friends. In total, I rode 201 miles (seems appropriate) in 12 hours and 36 minutes. I joined five organised shakeout rides and two group rides over the course of six days in Emporia. The only day I didn\u2019t ride was Saturday\u2014race day\u2014as I was working.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think everybody comes to Unbound now for the week,\u201d said Amanda Nauman<\/a>, two-time Unbound 200 champion and this year\u2019s Gravel Hall of Fame inductee. \u201cThat’s the best part about this [event]\u2014it\u2019s not just about the ride on Saturday. It\u2019s really about everything leading up to it and after it, which I think is beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the pros now arrive in Emporia over a week early to scout the course, I came to Kansas simply to ride with everyone else. On Tuesday, I joined Serena Bishop Gordon<\/a>, the second-place finisher in the Unbound XL, and Yuri Hauswald<\/a>, the 2015 Unbound 200 champion, on a casual 92-mile ride from Lawrence, Kansas, to Emporia. We visited Casey\u2019s convenience stores and scoped out the gravel roads as Bishop Gordon planned for her first race at Unbound.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Caroline Dezendorf)<\/p>\n

From there, the week took off. On Wednesday, I joined the ‘legends of gravel<\/a>‘ for the Gravel Hall of Fame shakeout ride. With more than 60 riders, we set out for a social 15-mile lap around Emporia<\/a>. I made new friends, caught up with old ones, and admired all the denim jackets worn by Hall of Fame<\/a> members.<\/p>\n

Thursday brought rain and a slow start. The first ride, hosted by Bishop Gordon, turned into a Q&A about nutrition<\/a>. We gathered inside the Gravel Hall of Fame, eating pastries and sipping espresso. Afterwards, I headed straight to Alexey Vermeulen<\/a>\u2019s shakeout ride. Truthfully, I was there to see his dog, Sir Willie<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEveryone\u2019s here to see the dog,\u201d Vermeulen joked.<\/p>\n

Sir Willie, who clearly led the ride, perched comfortably\u2014and dry\u2014in Vermeulen\u2019s backpack as he guided the 50-rider group through puddles nearly 10 meters long.<\/p>\n

It was incredible to see the variety of causes behind each shakeout ride. Vermeulen, a former WorldTour pro<\/a>, acknowledged that gravel racing lacks the development support seen in other disciplines. He used the ride to announce he\u2019s raising funds to support<\/a> the top five men and women in the U23 Life Time Grand Prix competition.<\/p>\n

\"Alexey<\/p>\n

Alexey Vermeulen and Sir Willie<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Caroline Dezendorf)<\/p>\n

As the weather improved and the sun returned, people began emerging from their rentals and hotel rooms. The next ride on my list was called \u201cMore Women, More Miles,\u201d and I was eager to see how many women would attend. Led by Ali Tetrick<\/a> and Girls Gone Gravel, more than 120 women of all ages and abilities showed up to ride together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s showing that women are really showing up [to ride] when we create space for them and for each other,\u201d Tetrick said.<\/p>\n

Across all five race distances, female participation at Unbound reached 25%, up from 21% in 2024.<\/p>\n

Honestly, this theme of togetherness and inclusivity carried through every ride I attended. From Drop Bars Not Hate, which benefited Bloom House Youth Services, to the Major Taylor Cycling Club\u2019s ride focused on community growth, every event felt like a celebration of bikes and people.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just need more kindness and joy in the world right now,\u201d Hauswald said. \u201cAnd this is one way I can tap into the community here versus competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell Williams, president of the Major Taylor Cycling Club, made sure everyone felt welcome on his ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the opportunity to ride with a young lady from Mexico,\u201d Williams said. \u201cShe was about ready to give it up, and I said, \u2018This is Major Taylor. Our rides are no drop.\u2019 I told her I\u2019d ride with her\u2014and I did. We had a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Serena<\/p>\n

Serena Bishop Gordon, Rach McBride<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Life Time)<\/p>\n

Looking back, the reason I love showing up to Unbound\u2014even if I\u2019m not racing\u2014is the community. The people I\u2019ve met through cycling continue to inspire me. These shakeout rides were a perfect reminder of why I love this sport: no competition, no pressure\u2014just joy and enthusiasm.<\/p>\n

If I had attended every shakeout ride, I could have joined 12 different groups and ridden more than 180 miles in just three days. I wish I could have done them all; the energy at each was contagious and brought a huge smile to my face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [the group rides are] a good reminder of where we came from and how to keep that in mind as we look toward the future,\u201d Nauman said.<\/p>\n

See you next year, Emporia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unbound has become the biggest gravel event in North America, if not the world. With more than 5,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156766,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-156765","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114623644106936137","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156765\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}