LIMESTONE 55.5 // Singlespeed Gravel Championships v.2026

LIMESTONE

SINGLESPEED GRAVEL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Pay Nothing. Give Everything. v.2026.10.03

Key Points

• Cost: Pay Nothing. Give Everything. We are keeping the costs low and the expectations high.
• Distance: For ‘26 we’re keeping the same racy 55.5 mile singlespeed-only distance but on a NEW ROUTE.
• New Option: Adding a NEW 33.3 mile FUN RIDE distance and gears are welcome! No podiums or fancy trophies, just fun.
• Registration: If you register and later decide not to participate, please edit your entry in BikeReg and move yourself to the category “I'm OUT - I can no longer participate.” Thanks in advance.

Schedule

• Date & Location: Saturday, October 3, 2025, Cumming, Iowa, at The Cumming Tap (117 N 44th St, Cumming, IA 50061)
• 9:00 AM: Check-in at The Cumming Tap and then gather yourself for the best singlespeed gravel race/ride of your life.
• 9:45 AM: Ease your way to the shiny brand new Cumming Main Street and then to the adjacent gravel Whatever Street for the start line and a few final minutes of self-doubt. Check your tires even though it's too late. Look for people who appear to know what they're doing and go to them.
• 10:00 AM: Give Everything.
• Post-Race: Sometime later…podiums and championship Wrangler flannel jerseys followed by pride and joy.

Rules

1. Presence: You must be present to win.
2. Aero Bars: Bolt-on aero bars are not allowed.
3. Bikes: Yep, singlespeed bikes only (gears are welcome on the FUN RIDE).
4. Support: No outside support unless available to all racers. Racers may support other racers. And probably should.
5. Responsibility: Each racer must have a pre-assigned friend/enemy to come pick them up in case of an issue. There is no transportation available from the race director. If you don’t show at the finish no one will come looking for you. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU.

Route

1. Routes: Routes (subject to change so don't “save to my routes” until you know they are final):
   1. 55.5 Mile Championship: it’s a secret
   2. 33.3 Mile Fun Ride: finalizing
2. Course: The course will not be marked. We will have a crack staff of volunteers at the key spots. Don’t trust the RWGPS ascent estimates because they are always low by a gazillion percent (roughly 25%). Plan on 4K feet of climb.
3. Convenience: There is a convenience store on the Championship route in St Charles, and we'll have a couple spots to breathe life back into yourself with liquids and calories.
4. Checkpoints: There are no formal checkpoints, so you do NOT need to stop anywhere on the course - this is a race with championships on the line! Make sure to cross the various chipless timing mats out there for accurate splits for the real-time closed circuit satellite feed to The Cumming Tap. Wave to the hidden cameras.
5. Road Conditions: Some beautiful B roads are on the route. They can be smooth, sketchy, muddy, or a combination of all 3. Be careful.
6. Difficulty: The route is hard and you’re dumb to do it. Do not attempt this race unless you have previously ridden a similar distance on singlespeed on hilly gravel and not died. Not kidding…it is hard.
7. Tires: Tires & gravel conditions…the gravel roads on the route are LIMESTONE with a firm base so you don’t need big ‘ol tires unless you like how they roll. No sandy/pebble roads. The B roads are dirt and fast when dry - just gotta be careful of washouts/ruts. There will likely be fresh gravel here and there to dash your hopes and sidewalls.
8. Timing: Chipless timing provided by Sundial Chrono.

Quitting

1. Contact: Call/text your pre-assigned friend/enemy to come get you because no one else will.
2. Notification: Call/text Chris Kyhl so he also knows you’re OUT @ 515-554-7024.
3. Spirit: No one who does this race is a quitter. Unless you quit. Consider chasing the DFL Championship Jersey instead.

Podiums

1. Championship: Big budget podiums with trophies to write home about. Fastest person in each category is the champ. That’s how bike races work.
2. DFL Champ: Finish DFL without cutting course or getting a ride or any other sort of cheating and win a Wrangler champ jersey just like the winners which clearly indicates you were DFL. Wear around town amongst your gravel singlespeeding circle and impress those losers. You clearly worked harder than anyone else and deserve a DFL Champ jersey more than the overall winner. Mainly because they won and you were DFL.
3. KOM: This was new in ‘25 and worked well. Probably do something similar in ‘26.

Limestone // Pay Nothing. Give Everything.

For more information, visit BikeReg.