In its second year, Glacial Drainage in Madison adds Equal Prize Purse

“In my opinion, it's a great area for cycling. They have so many gravel roads it is absolutely stunning.” -Chase Smith, Race Director and Co-Owner of the Bicycle Station on the route of the Glacial Drainage on March 8

By Abner Miralda

​The Glacial Drainage in Madison, Indiana organized by the Bicycle Station returns for its second edition this weekend on Saturday, March 8 and will feature two route distance options of 62 and 32 miles.

Named after thawing conditions following winter, the Glacial Drainage is a grassroots gravel race aimed at local racers. “I’m expecting around one-hundred to one-hundred-fifteen [participants],” said Chase Smith, organizer of the race and co-owner of the Bicycle Station. “That's kind of on-par with what we had last year and where our other gravel race (Karst Crusher) has stayed at the last few years.”

“I really like to keep it more grass roots; just kind of racing in the community a bit more.”

Being grassroots, however, does not mean low-quality production for racers. Both distance options start and end at the riverfront park adjacent to historic downtown Madison, has multiple aid stations along the course, will be chip timed, and will have class podium awards. 

“Our employee Trey [Shepard] 3D-printed the awards for the 60-mile race.” The trophies are a three-dimensional GPS track of the race parcours, featuring the elevation changes and turns of the course mounted on a base. “It’s super cool to have locally-made awards by someone that's actually racing as well,” Smith said. 

Additionally, the race will feature an equal prize cash purse for the top three male and female finishers of the 62-mile distance. 

“The area is extremely hilly,” said Smith, when asked about the terrain. The race tees off with Bee Camp Road, a gravel climb featured last year, that if it isn’t already, will be an infamous feature of the INKY racing lore. The steep grades of the climb cross multiple dry, chunky creekbeds and kicks up to 14% just before the crest. 

According to Smith, Bee Camp Road is the hardest hill of the day but is optimistic about the remainder of the course. “The hills after that point get easier, but it's very scenic as you go. The majority of the course is gravel, so in my opinion, it's a great area for cycling. They have so many gravel roads it is absolutely stunning.” 

As far as equipment, Smith was graceful about her recommendations, but discouraged pure road bikes. “Any bike you have is great as long as it can fit knobby tires. If you're trying to show up on your road bike you're not gonna have a good time, it’s not the race for that. But yeah, really any knobby gravel tire.” 

Then she joked about the burgeoning YouTube Channel the Bicycle Station runs with co-owner Jesse Smith and employee Trey Shepard. “If you ask them, their go-to answer would be 2.1 Thunderburts. So if you want to get specific, we can go 2.1 Thunderburts!”
The locals have embraced the event as well, with many participants living in the immediate area and the city government being supportive of the event. “The city is really easy to work with,” said Smith. “They had some flooding down there recently, and they were really quick to get the campground that we’re using for the race cleaned up for us. There’s been good support from Madison.”

For anyone attending the event, the race organization also recommends visiting the downtown commercial district. “There's a lot of shopping, several really good coffee shops, and a lot of local restaurants. Anywhere along that main road there's nonstop shops, restaurants, coffee shops.”

Online registration for the Glacial Drainage closes on Friday March 7th, and will have onsite registration available at the start of the race. 

You can find more information at: https://www.bikereg.com/glacial-drainage?orc=1

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