Human Frogger, Party Pace and Cinnamon Doughnuts | Jono rides the Beechworth Granite Classic

Now in its fourth running, the Beechworth Granite Classic is a party on gravel bikes. With courses from 15 to 115km available, it’s run by the legends at Bridge Road Brewing. At registration, they host a mini sneak peak of the Spoken Handmade Bikeshow, put on fully stocked aid stations complete with entertainment, and have a pumping event village with food, drinks, and games.

This is the second year I’ve packed up and headed for Beechworth, and before I even pulled on bibs for the day, it was already going better than last year.

Once again I had put my name down for the full 115km course and rolling into the starting corral with over 500 riders signed up to take on the same challenge as me.

Bridge Road puts on a bit of a do for registration.

The Granite Classic is not a race by any means. It attracts everyone from elite roadies and mountain bikers to people who just commute on their bikes every day and want to try something different. I’m not exactly sure where I fit into that hierarchy, but I set myself the goal of finishing in under five hours for the 115km, and that was it.

I recognised quite a few faces from last year, and just about everyone I spoke to mentioned it was their second or third year riding — maybe there is something to this whole gravel riding experience, hey?

The gram strikes back

Rolling out of Main Street, it was a balmy 5ºC, amplified by the speed of the initial tarmac descent out of town.

That infamous Beechworth gravel came in no time, and I unclipped my phone from the QuadLock on my bars to film some clips for the ‘Gram. When trying to re-attach it, I fumbled it.

It doesn’t take long to get out of town and the views open up to classic Beechworth and surrounds.

In slow motion, my phone hit the ground and began to cartwheel down the road, narrowly missing many a death blow from an unsuspecting rider’s tyres.

Worse, trying to retrieve it was like a real-life game of Frogger. Trying to find a gap with riders whizzing by

I finally got to it, and it was thankfully undamaged but dusty, so I was able to continue—and keep my Strava file. Phew!

A mighty crack and light at the end of the tunnel

The gravel was noticeably drier than last year, with many loose spots causing some drifty moments. Thankfully the event team was onto this and had all of them well sign-posted to approach with caution.

For the most part, the course is buttery smooth and fast-rolling gravel, but a rough section that also featured on last year’s course was back. It earned a bit of notoriety for claiming a number of the lead riders. I remembered this section, and was on the brakes hard.

There are quite a few surprises along the route, like drummers on both sides of the road. Here they’re cheering Jono on.

I saw the rain ruts running perpendicular to the road and heard a mighty crack after hitting the first one.

Is that the bright light they always talk about? Funny, only part of my life flashed before my eyes. I didn’t feel the impact, it must have happened quick. Wait a minute, that bright light is the sun, I’M ALIVE!

That mighty crack was not my head impacting the inside of my helmet but my bars slipping in the clamp. With my hoods now pointing straight down, I spent a few moments on the business end of a multi-tool putting them back into place. Recommended torque be dammed. There was definitely an extra quarter turn on all of the bolts for fear of having a repeat.

The team at Bridge Road change up the route a little every to make sure the course hits the best bits of gravel around.

From wide open spaces to thick gum forests the landscapes are varied and the stoke was high all day.

Finding Friends in the Gravel Pit

The group I had started with continued up the road, and I tapped out the next 30km solo, but the thing about events like the Granite Classic is that everyone comes out of the woodwork to ride them, and low and behold I bumped into friend of Flow, Paul van der Ploeg. We chatted at a comfortable pace and made our way to the Gravel Pit rest stop that hosted a DJ, peanut butter quesadillas, drink refills and fresh fruit.

Here, we also found another friend of Flow, Lewis Ciddor.

We formed a quartet with Paul and another rider. Lewis, who took third place in the 1,300km Tour Te Waipounamu bikepacking race back in February, looked over his shoulder and asked if I was ready for “Party Pace” before he began to turn the screws. It wasn’t long before our group of four became two as Lewis and I pushed on ahead up one of the largest climbs for the day.

“Hey Jono, are you ready for party pace?”

Ninety kilometres in, we were greeted by another rest stop, this time featuring DJ Andras and the hallowed cinnamon doughnuts from Beechworth Bakery.

As delicious as the Cinnamon doughnuts were, they didn’t quite give me what I needed to sustain Lewis’ sadistic pace. No amount of deep-fried delicacies was going to save me so I waved goodbye to Lewis as he rode off into the sunset on one of the final hills coming back into Beechworth.

The final rest stop on the hill is a beautiful one. Big boulders perch on the hilltop, where you can fill up your bottle and begin the final few kilometres to town.

The descent through this cow paddock was rough and required a bit of brain power to negotiate.

The rough descent rattled our teeth, particularly the final section to the farmhouse. This well-trodden cow paddock would have garnered at least a three-star rating if it featured in one of Cobbled Spring Classics. Thankfully, this bucking bronco ride was only 300m, but it was quite the rush on 38mm tyres.

The home stretch had a few entertaining obstacles to keep you on your toes.

Rolling into town, you’re greeted with an ice-cold beer as you cross the line, and the event village is pumping with activity. After a lie-down and a stretch on the grass, our crew watched the track-stand comp and skid comp hosted by Vandy for those riders still with energy to burn.

The dates for 2025 haven’t been announced just yet, but you can bet I’ll be back!

Sunshine, curly potatoes on a stick and beers — not a bad way to relax after a big morning out on the bike.

Of course, there were games and events for the folks who still had some energy left.

Photos: Andy Rogers – @fameandspear / Beechworth Granite Classic