Dirty Sheets Gravel Race

About

Atlanta’s best-kept secret isn’t actually in Atlanta, but about half an hour’s drive south, where the white noise of the interstate gives way to the hush of open fields, the chitter of wildlife, and the faint scent of honeysuckle on the breeze.

This is Dirty Sheets. And for one glorious day, it’s the Dirty Sheets Gravel Grinder.

Hundreds of gravel bike tires will pulverize the gnarly roads as packs of wild cyclists jockey their way to victory on a loop well-known to gravel riders around the Southeast. A fraternal twin to Silk Sheets (a respected road route that predates the city around it), Dirty Sheets is the miscreant of the family, giving well-meaning riders a hard time and defying any attempt to give it a haircut. But look closer and its beauty is undeniable. For every angry gravel climb and treacherous muddy crossing, you’ll find miles of gorgeous fence-lined pastures, wide-open skies and picturesque hills. For those of us who are into angry climbs, treacherous crossings and rustic panoramas, Dirty Sheets is the Manic Panic dream girl our two wheels have been aching for.

The Dirty Sheets Gravel Grinder will offer three routes at 112 miles, 62 miles and 20 miles. (The astute among you may have cottoned that the Dirty Sheets loop itself is only 20 miles long, and to you we say please holster your pitchfork and hold all questions until the end.)

While our 20-mile ride is a non-competitive gravel jaunt, our Metric Century routes (62 and 112 miles) take that pleasant ride and twist it into a grueling challenge, all wrapped up in a 60/40 blend of gravel and road—with a nice amount of single-track mixed in. And on top of that, the 112-mile sweetens the pot with time segments and prizes. That’s right: for one low price, you’re getting all of Dirty Sheets, plus the best gravel and low-traffic roads that Douglas, Carroll, and Heard Counties have to offer. BUT THAT’S NOT ALL! We’ll throw in SAG (just enough), swag (tba), and the satisfaction of sheets well-dirtied. [Editor’s note: take this out, it’s disgusting.][Author’s note: no.]

Routes

With its rolling hills, still pastures, and peaceful, wooded scenery, Dirty Sheets feels lightyears away from the relentless concrete metropolis just 30 miles north. Love ya like a sister, Atlanta, but sometimes we need a serious day off from cars, cars, cars. Here, it’s barns, barns, barns. Trees, trees, trees. Maybe a tractor. Sometimes a chicken. It’s nice. The Dirty Sheets route isn’t as well-known as its road counterpart, Silk Sheets, and we think that speaks to its secludedness: on these gravel trails, you’re hidden from even those few passing motorists that happen through the quiet Chattahoochee River basin. No one knows you’re here but the horses, the wild turkeys, and today, the packs of like-minded cyclists that have come to experience this year’s Dirty Sheets Gravel Grinder by your side.

112 miles

It’s incredible how you can be surrounded with such bucolic perfection and still have the sense that your lungs are collapsing and you wish you were dead. A hundred and twelve miles may sound random as hell, but hello, it’s a Double Metric Century—200 kilometers! Go home and tell ‘em you and your friends did 200 kilos over the weekend and see who believes you. You’ll blow everyone’s minds. This course climbs a total of 7,500 feet. Expect timing, SAG support, creek crossings, just enough secluded roads to rest your bum, and several hours’ joyful contemplation of all the dimwitted decisions that led you here. 125 total riders from combined categories. (First come first serve regardless of which categories fills up first.)
View route on Ride with GPS.

62 miles

Our 62-mile route is a Metric Century. To most of the world, it’s 100 kilometers, but we’re in America. This is horse country. Horses don’t know how to measure in kilometers, so neither do we. Get a taste of the challenging climb (about 4,000 feet), the wading, the scrambling, the grit, and some of the spiciest gravel in the Southeast. Since it’s only half the size of the 112-mile route, you’ll have left yourself something to work up to for next year. We salute you and your innate sense of moderation. Siddhartha would be proud. Plus, your shoes’ll last longer. Expect the same timing, SAG support and life-affirming route as the 112-mile, just sliced in half. Metrically. 100 total riders.
View route on Ride with GPS.

20 miles

Want to get in on the action without the nigh-existential agony of a full-on Century or Double Century? We don’t blame you. Come out on Gravel Grinder day and have yourself a leisurely tootle around the main loop. You’ll be back in time for lunch, fresh-faced, barely winded, and with hardly any bugs in your teeth. 75 total riders.
View route on Ride with GPS.

Routes subject to change, based on weather, grumpy neighbors, and whatever nature and the wonders of this world throws at us. Final routes will be posted the week before and it will be labeled as “FINAL”. If it doesn’t say final, it ain’t final, just close.

Awards

There will be dirty awards for the Top 5 Male and Top 5 Female finishing riders of the 112-mile event only. What do we mean by dirty awards? Wouldn’t you like to know! (Actually, wouldn’t we like to know—we’ll be revealing the particulars a little closer to the event date, after we get them figured out ourselves.) For all races and rides, all verified finishers will be awarded a rider completion badge. The 62-mile ride will not be a race, but it will be a timed ride, and listed for on our website for all the glory a web listing provides.

Event put on by MTB Atlanta and the East Point Track Club with help from Ethic Creative Works & Independent Gravel.

Tech guide coming soon.

Event Sponsors