How does two days riding through the Upper Hunter Valley, camping, and an epic country pub dinner with a bunch of mates sound? Graveleur’s Thunderbolts Adventure is set to run May 6-7 and packages a gravel event and an introduction to bikepacking into a killer couple of days on the bike.
Now in its seventh running, Graveleur’s Thunderbolts takes riders from Gloucester to Moonan Flat and back up and over Barrington Tops for a 230km journey with 4,800m of climbing split into two days. Whether you’re keen to pedal at your own pace or are looking to satisfy your thirst for competition, Thunderbolts Adventure has a bunch riding at your pace.
Who is Graveleur?
Headed up by Mike Israel, Graveleur puts on multi-day gravel events hoping to take folks on an adventure through the countryside, exploring back roads and introducing them to the joy of backpacking in the process.
“It’s an adventure, and for an adventure to be authentic, you need to be prepared to push, and maybe go a little bit hungry and a little bit thirsty. In the moment, you might feel like, ‘oh, this is so hard I feel like I’m going to die.’ But then later at the pub, you go, ‘wow, that was an epic day,’” he says.
“That’s what I’m trying to create for people, but in a safe environment, where if things go pear-shaped and the wheels fall off, we’ll be there to pick you up,” he continues.
Thunderbolts adventure has evolved from a mega long 1-day event that scared most of the field away, to a two-day romp exploring the backroads of rural NSW.
“Graveleur has always been about growing the riding community and getting more people out on bikes to enjoy the outdoors,” says Israel. “Our tagline is backroad explorers, and we just want to get out and explore the Australian countryside on dirt roads, support country towns and stay in country pubs.
What is the Thunderbolts Adventure?
This year’s Thunderbolts Adventure will offer two courses. The long, two-day event, will see riders cover 108km on the first day from Gloucester to Moonan Flat, and follow up with another 125km back to Gloucester — about 70% of that distance being gravel. For 2023, there’s also a one-day option which is a 70km loop starting and finishing at Moonan Flat on day one of the event, so that you’ll be able to camp with the group, participate in the country pub takeover and enjoy the ambience.
The shorter route is still a pretty decent ride. We still take them to the top of the range and back to the pub,” says Israel. “We’re always banging on about equity and diversity and making sure that everyone feels welcome. Having a shorter option makes it accessible for more people.”
Starting in Gloucester, folks will head out of town and hit the first bit of gravel after only 10km of riding.
“You’re rolling through this very nice sort of farmland which is lovely and green, and there’s a number of creek crossings which are really fun. But like all good rides, it’s sort of got these mountains that are looming before you, and you’re just riding towards them, closer and closer,’ says Israel.
At about 50km, you hit the start of the big climb. Over the next 20km, you average a 6% grade, rising 1000 vertical metres over the Barrington Tops. The start of the climb is paved, but the road swaps to hard-pack gravel about halfway up.
“There’s a number of stops along the way, Cobark Lookout, or the Honeysuckle Forest Track, but the highlight is when you reach the dingo gate. At about 75km, you get to this dingo gate which is to keep the dingos out of the national park, and the views are just incredible,” he says.
Cresting the top of the climb, Israel tells us it’s a 30min descent over the back of the range, which takes you more or less to your campsite for the day.
While the profile of the second day looks pretty similar, you aren’t backtracking along the same route.
You’ll work your way back over the range. According to Israel, it’s a big ascent, but not nearly as nasty as what you’d pedalled up and over the day prior. By about 30km on day two, the big uphill is behind you, and the remaining ~90km are net downhill — but don’t put your legs into sleep mode just yet.
“If you look at the elevation profile, there are these little bergs that pop up. They don’t look like much compared to the main climbs, but it’s quite a hilly, undulating day. Across the top (of the main climb) there, it’s pretty flat, and it’s literally champagne gravel. You’re riding across the top of the range, and it’s just beautiful with views of sweeping farmland and natural Australian bush,” he says.
You mentioned there was a race?
The main pack of the Thunderbolts Adventure is a purely-party-pace social ride. For those who want to add some speed to the equation, there is a racing category. Over the tenure of the event, this category has evolved from an ITT (in which nobody followed the rules) to a one-day scratch race, and now a two-day stage race.
“Last year, we had Mitch Docker from EF Education come along, and Jon Odams broke away from a chasing group of three and won by about 20-minutes,” says Israel. “It was a big hit, but we ran it on the Sunday, and the feedback was, ‘it was a shame that we missed out on the big invasion of the country pub, the meal and the social side.”
And so for this year, it’s a two-day stage race on the same course. It will start reverse grid, so the competitive riders will have to work their way up through the field, and everyone will be able to catch a glimpse of the elite riders as they fly past.
What do you need?
Thunderbolts is open to gravel, CX and mountain bikes, and Israel says when choosing tyres, this is not a time to worry about rolling resistance.
Spread over two days, the idea of the event is to be an introduction to bikepacking, and in that spirit, folks are encouraged to be as self-sufficient as possible. That said, they do provide a few aid stations along the way.
Through the day, there will be five stops: a major feed zone, a secondary water drop, and three marshall stops. For the event, they suggest carrying at least 3-litres of water.
“The idea of being self-supported, come as if there is no support is our heritage. But we carry people’s tents out to the campsite, there is a tent drop a sign in, and if they are clever, they might roll their sleeping back in the tent as well,” says Israel. “You don’t need to carry absolutely everything with you, and we can carry a few things out for you as long as you don’t go silly and bring a crazy big swag and a 60l backpack because we have limited space.”
Something you will need is an emergency beacon, whether that be a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) or something like a Garmin InReach or SPOT communicator. If you opt for the race, you’ll have to carry the latter, so your location can be tracked in real-time in case you do yourself a mischief and need some help.
What’s included with your entry?
When you book the event, you get your spot, and the organisers ensure you have a site at Moonan Flat Rodeo Ground.
“There are showers, toilets and hot water there, but I’m not going to sugarcoat it, it’s pretty rough. We get it mowed and all that sort of stuff, and it’s a nice place to stay,” says Israel.
If spending the night at the campground is a step too far, rooms are available at the Moonan Flat Pub, and the nearby Roma Orchard also has camper trailers available for hire — both at an additional cost.
All of your meals are also included, and Israel tells Flow they can cater to any dietary requirements.
“On Saturday night, we get the pub to cater for us. We usually get them to do some really nice wet dishes, be it bolognese or beef stroganoff or whatever, and there’s usually a tofu curry and lots of rice and pasta. For breakfast, we’ve got porridge, fruit, toast, coffee, and all that stuff you want before a big ride,” he says.
Graveleur gives back
Part of the Thunderbolts Adventure is fundraising for the Maska Cycling Club in Uganda.
“It was a great cultural fit because they are very much about equality, getting men and women on bikes. Particularly getting women onto bikes, because that’s a hard thing in Uganda,” says Israel.
The donation is an add-on to your entry, with the idea being for folks to give as much or as little as they can manage.
How do you enter?
Entries for the Thunderbolts adventure are open now! Head over to the Graveleur website for more info or to grab your spot.
Photos: Ready Aim Media / @ReadyAimMedia