Berkshire Backroad Gravel Grinder
by Matt Hersey • April 25, 2022
I guess it was a blessing that my Kona cross bike broke a few days before this event. I was forced to bring my mountain bike and performed really well. That always seems to be the question with these gravel events - how burly of a bike do I need? I even considered bringing my road bike with some big tires, but I'm glad I didn't do that. The B2G2 had 3500 feet of climbing over 40 miles, and I was glad to have to the low gears.
B2G2 - The B stands for Berkshires - western Massachusetts. G stands for gravel. I guess the 2 is in there because this is the second annual. It was a fun ride - not a race. Berkshire Velo promotes great fun events. They also do a road century every summer that climbs Mt. Greylock.
So the Kona Hei Hei was the bike for me on saturday. I rode it stock with the Maxxis Rekon tires inflated to 40 psi. It may have been slower on the road, but it was comfortable on the bumps and the climbs. I never ran out of gears. I felt good and the sun was shining. There was even free beers and burgers at the finish line.