We have enjoyed racing the Freedhem 76 Gravel race a few times now. It’s a nice grassroots event that has a great turnout. I feel like the Freedhem has become one of the top gravel races in Minnesota. freedhem76.com
At a glance
| Location | Minnesota |
| Discipline | Gravel |
| Distance | 76 miles |
| Official site | freedhem76.com |
Results and Race Recaps
2024
Results
| Lynn (46 mile) | 27th |
| Reid (106 mile) | 28th |
| Kyle (106 mile) | 20th |
| Steve (106 mile) | 9th |
Bike setups
| Reid | Bike: Niner RLT 9 RDO · Wheels: HED Emporia GA Pros · Tires: 43mm Panaracer Gravel King SK · Drivetrain: Shimano GRX 810 |
| Kyle | Bike: Niner RLT 9 RDO · Wheels: HED Emporia GA Pros · Tires: 44mm Vittoria Mezcal Gravel Endurance · Drivetrain: Sram Force XPLR |
| Lynn | Bike: Drop Bar MTB — Niner AIR 9 RKT w/ Sram Force & GX Eagle · Wheels: Bontrager XXX rim w/ DT Swiss 240 Hub · Tires: Vittoria Barzo (front) / Mezcal (rear) · Drivetrain: Sram Force Controls/Crank, GX derailleur w/ XX1 Cassette |
| Steve | Bike: Bianchi Arcadex · Wheels: HED Emporia GA Pros · Tires: 45mm Challenge Strada Bianca Handmade Pro · Drivetrain: Campy Ekar |
The boys (Kyle and Reid) did their first 100 mile ride / race this year with the Freedhem 106. Reid, Kyle and I raced the 106 miler while Lynn raced the 46 miler. Big congrats to Kyle and Reid as this was their first 100 mile ride or race and it was on gravel! As a bonus, I got to race with and around the boys for the first 25ish miles until things started getting real spicy and the group started breaking down and blowing apart. Proud of these guys! Kyle and Reid are a couple of tough dudes and own their rides. They put themselves out there knowing it’s going to be hard, figure it out and get it done on their own. Each race or ride, they learn a bit more and I love hearing their stories from the race.
A bit of recap on my (Steve) ride… A group of 4 broke off about mile 30 with 8 or 9 of us chasing. At almost 40 miles in, that chase group was down to 4 of us until around mile 70 when I drifted off the back and solo’d my way into the mile 72 water station. Up until that point, I had been averaging 20.1 mph. When I pulled into the water station, the other 3 were still there filling bottles and packs. I happen to notice 2 other 100 milers rolling by while we were filling up and I rolled out soon after, figuring the other 3 would catch me and could try to jump back in with them again when they caught back up.
There were 6 racers out in front of me now, but 2 of the others caught me a few miles later and I didn’t have the legs to stay with them as I was starting to suffer from my poor hydration planning… I only grabbed one water bottle at the 72, but should have filled up a couple bottles and found myself with more fuel mix than I needed and not enough plain water. It all seemed to stack up on me quick.
Later down course, I made another mistake thinking there was a water stop at the entrance to the sand trap and was planning to fill up there. I had grabbed a hand up can of coke rolling through what I thought was neighborhood samaritans set up by the road a couple miles prior, still thinking there was a water stop a couple miles ahead at the sand trap.
As it turned out, what I thought was neighborhood samaritans, was the actual water stop I was looking for. With that said, I was out of water and the dehydration was deep now. After putting myself in a deep hydration hole, I suffered badly the last 15ish miles. I coasted some downhills trying to get cramps out and my average speed dropped to 18.3 by the finish.
At the end of the day, I still had a good ride. I had plenty of fuel, but was low on straight hydration. After the race, I drank 5 bottles of plain water within a couple hours of finishing and still woke up dehydrated in the morning.
Fuel / hydration
Steve
72 oz USWE pack with 3.5 pouches of SIS powder mix
2 bottles with 1 pouch each of SIS mix on the bike
1 bottle plain water on the bike
1 SIS gel about 20 minutes before the start
1 SIS gel about 20 minutes in
1 SIS gel about 10 miles from the finish
Would ditch one of the SIS bottles in exchange for another plain bottle of water next time. The SIS powder and gels that I had was plenty of fuel.
Strava
2023
Results
| Lynn (46 mile) | 26th |
| Reid (106 mile) | 13th |
| Kyle (46 mile) | 3rd |
| Steve (76 mile) | 17th |
Bike setups
| Reid | Bike: Niner RLT 9 RDO · Wheels: Stans Grail CB7 · Tires: 38mm Schwalbe G-One Bite · Drivetrain: Shimano GRX 810 |
| Kyle | Bike: Niner RLT 9 RDO · Wheels: Stans Grail CB7 · Tires: 36mm Donnelly X’PLR MSO · Drivetrain: Sram Force XPLR |
| Lynn | Bike: Salsa Warbird · Wheels: Bontrager Aeolus 37V RSL · Tires: Vittoria Barzo (front) / Mezcal (rear) · Drivetrain: Sram Force Wide 2x |
| Steve | Bike: Niner RLT 9 RDO · Wheels: HED Emporia GA Pro · Tires: 40mm Challenge Strada Bianca Handmade Pro · Drivetrain: Sram Force AXS 1x (38t chainring w/ 10–36t cassette) |
Kyle made the overall podium out of 122 finishers in the 46 miler, with Reid finishing 10 places behind him in 13th. In the same event, Lynn finished 26th and 85th overall. In the 76er, I finished 17th with 121 finishers. We also had a few Maklin friends out there with 2 other Steves doing the 46 and Greg doing the 106 mile course! We were glad to get back to this one after doing it a couple of years ago! This race was definitely growing.
Strava
2021
Results
| Steve (76) | 8th |
Bike setups
| Steve | Bike: Salsa Warbird · Wheels: Bontrager Aeolus 37V RSL · Tires: 45mm Donnelly EMP · Drivetrain: Shimano GRX 810 |
I had stopped for a rider that had crashed in front of me in the rocky atv trail and fell back off the front group. A couple riders came up behind me and we started working together to chase down riders in front of us. As we worked together, we eventually ended up with 7 or 8 of us I think and then I got spit out the back after a couple guys poured the heat on up a hill right after I took my pull. I learned a lesson about my timing there. That group ended up getting split apart after that and I was able to chase down a couple of them by the finish.