We will be having a gravel grinder race in Fairbanks on August 1! Registration is open now for the Golden Heart Grinder!
The Arctic Bicycle Club, a race-focused club in Anchorage, is bringing its racing mojo to Fairbanks to put on this race. ABC holds many bike races every summer. They know how to put on an excellent race. And Fairbanks has some excellent gravel. So, this is an excellent pairing!
Participating in ABC races requires an ABC membership. But the ABC is generously offering free ABC membership to all Fairbanksans! (See details below.) They want to see a lot of locals come out and enjoy this race. (Another plus is that you are then covered if you want to head down to Anchorage for a race. Check out the ABC race schedule HERE.)
WHAT
Golden Heart Grinder gravel bike race. Two distances to choose from: 35 or 75 miles. See the Where section below for course descriptions. (You can also look it up on the ABC race page HERE.)
WHEN
Saturday, August 1. Registration closes July 31 at 11:59 pm. No onsite registration. Race starts at 10 am. Check-in 8:30 to 9:30 am.
WHERE
The race starts and ends at Moose Mountain Ski Area lodge.
Course description from ABC below:
This beautiful butterfly course sets out from Moose Mountain ski area, tackling Old Murphy Dome Road in a westerly direction, then winding through some stunning residential tracks before taking [New] Murphy Dome back to the start/finish.
Short coursers will finish here; longos, on the other hand, will climb back to Old Murph, bearing right this time to complete the testing eastern loop, up and down through town and country. Maintained and No Maintenance, smooth and rough, pavement and easement, road and trail, you'll conquer it all with gold in your heart and pain in your legs.
See the race route here.
HOW MUCH
Long course - $70
Short course - $35
WHO
You need to be a member of ABC to do this race. However, ABC is offering free membership to all Fairbanksans (a $25 value).
You do not have to be a member of the FCC to participate, but there are several benefits to being an FCC member, including local store discounts. Find out about all the benefits HERE.
HOW DO I GET MY ABC MEMBERSHIP?
- Go to the ABC sign up page HERE
- Select "Individual Membership"
- Plug in “Fairbanks2026” when you are prompted to put in a coupon code.
- Then go to the ABC race registration page HERE and scroll down to the Golden Heart Grinder, then sign up
(Essentially there are two RunSignup sites, one for membership and other for race registration - seems clunky at first but it all works seamlessly.)