2024 Border Wars Gravel Race Report
The 2024 Border Wars Gravel Race was quite a success I’d say. For the third annual event, it featured a new course, a new venue location, and longer route. This event is a hidden gem for gravel racing and has a huge potential to become a premier event.
Border Wars is a relatively small event, but it is growing. Now that is held in downtown Franklin, GA, USA, it has plenty of room for growth and can handle a lot more riders. The event is put on by Wayne Whiteside (and crew) of Independent Gravel and the proceeds of this event go to MTB Atlanta, Heard County Food Pantry, and East Point Track Club.
This year they are planning to donate about $2000 to MTB Atlanta and Heard County Food Pantry.
2024 Border Wars Gravel is a blend of paved and gravel riding starting in Georgia and crossing into Alabama for half of the race. The race is mostly off-road and traverses the rural roads of GA and AL. Scenic views in remote locations await your journey.
This year’s event was attended by people from 18 states and at least one person from Canada. The event also had in attendance the top five finisher from the 2023 edition and few pro and elite riders (Lauren De Crescenzo, Michael Garrison, and Mackenzie Myatt).
Registration for the 2024 Border Wars Gravel event opened November 12, 2023, with about 400 riders signing up. The even registration closed about a week before the event, and there were spots available at the time the event registration closed. The 2024 Border Wars event was $85 plus a $6.78 BikeReg Service Fee for a $91.78 total.
2024 Border Wars Gravel is an early season race, so it really benefits riders from the south with tame winters that tend to start training earlier or riders that peak early season. For me, following a similar schedule from last year, this is a C-level race. I am still early in my training, so it is perfect for getting a long ride in with high intensity.
The Course
For the 2024 Border Wars Gravel race there were three ways to enjoy the event. A week before the event, a bridge was taken out by raging water from a storm, which caused the race promotor to make some major changes to one of the routes. The 30-mile route was forced to become an out and back, and the other two were shortened by a few miles.
100-mile – 70% gravel – 8000 ft elevation gain
62-mile – 65% gravel – 5000 ft elevation gain
30-mile – 60% gravel – 2000 ft elevation gain
Schedule of Events 2024 Border Wars Gravel
February 23, 2024
Early Packet pickup – 4:00pm-7:00pm @ S&S Fire Pits
February 24, 2024
7:00am – registration and packet pickup
8:00am – 100-mile start
9:30am – 62-mile start
11:00am – 30-mile start
Rules and Race Bible
Parking and Accommodations
The main bulk of the Parking for the 2024 Border Wars Gravel was held at the Heard County High School. The school had over 600+ parking spots and room for RVs. There was some on street parking downtown and a small parking lot just south of the main square.
Riverside Park had Primitive camping and RV spaces (no electricity or water hook-ups).
There isn’t much in terms of hotels within Franklin, so depending on the direction you are coming from you will need to choose a close town with hotels.
Race
The 2024 Border Wars Gravel race had a slightly different start than last year. This year, each distance had its own start time. This was a was a great idea because it significantly reduced the number of riders at the start of the race.
This year I did the 100-mile men’s open category.
As we lined up, the organizer gave us some instructions, specifically that there was a neutral roll out because of a muddy section that caused a pinch point at the beginning of the race. And afterwards the first riders through were to wait for everyone to regroup.
NEVER TRUST THE NEUTRAL START!
I have done quite a few gravel races with neutral starts, and I have yet to start a race out neutrally. Unless there is a lead vehicle keeping riders from passing and controlling the initial race speed, never trust a neutral start!
Unfortunately, I fell for it again. The race started out in downtown Franklin, GA and we rolled out of the little town with a few intersections being controlled by the local police. About a mile into the race, we hit the first off-road sector that was essentially a single-track path with a muddy section at the end.
The 2024 Border Wars Gravel race instantly backed up as riders got off their bikes and were going single file to walk around the deepest section of the mud. I got caught behind quite a few people, then decided to ride through the last portion of it. But it was too late, the neutral roll out was blown up and the first group to pass through the mud was already up the road.
A bit frustrated and angry, I chased to see if I could catch the lead group. Initially, I had a few riders with me, but they were quickly dropped. Then I caught a few more, overhearing one person say “the lead group is gone” as I passed them.
Sure enough, after laying down some serious watts, I caught the front group.
Right as I contacted the front group, the grade turned upwards, and they started to pull away. I couldn’t hold on after my effort to catch them and they slowly pulled away. That would be the last time I saw the front group. The group appeared to have about 40 riders or so and I assume there were riders from various categories in the lead group.
I became the first chase group, and I did most of my riding the rest of the day solo.
Here and there, I would catch a rider and sometimes a rider would catch up to me. In the end I had about 3-4 riders that passed me and stayed away, and multiple riders that passed me that I ended up passing and staying away from near the end of the race.
The morning of the race started out a bit chilly at 38° F and was going to warm up to 60 ° F by mid-day. This made it a bit tough to dress for, but at least this year was rain free. There was a decent head wind coming out of the NNW that was going to make the AL section of the race a little more challenging.
The course featured a 23% grade section and quite a bit of climbing, but it also had quite a few fast technical descents.
As I’ve stated in other race reports, I’m not very fast up the climbs, but I’m a lot better at descending. Of the multiple downhill Strava segments, I had two top 10s, with many of the gnarly technical gravel descents not having segments created for them.
I am quite pleased with my race performance in the 2024 Border Wars Gravel, I finished 11th in my category, even with 7500 ft of climbing. My average speed was 16.2 mph, 245W normalized power, and a moving time of 5:58 (2024 Border Wars Strava activity).
The course was beautiful, and the weather was perfect. I loved riding through some of the little rural towns, isolated forested sections, and pasture areas. The course had some creek crossings, sketchy bridge crossings, but very minimal muddy sections. There were all types of gravel too, small compact gravel that was quite fast, and gravel with random chunks that could cause a pinch flat if hit wrong.
I would have to say the 2024 Border Wars Gravel course was really good. While out there it seemed like there was a lot of paved sections, but on paper there was only about 30 miles total. That is a pretty solid job with connecting all the different gravel sectors.
"Quite possibly the best route I have ever created."
It’s really tough to say which side is better, AL or GA. With all the twists and turning and really can’t remember when I crossed into AL or back into GA. Either way, if you are in the area and looking for some great gravel, you can’t go wrong with riding either side.
Advice to future self, stick to the front at the beginning of the race. Ride a little bit harder up the hill to stay on the front group. Lastly, take in the views as much as possible and enjoy yourself as much as possible.
SAG support
I didn’t mention aid stops or SAG because I didn’t use either. There were quite a few stops that had water and more, but I am not sure exactly what was provided. I had two bottles on my bike and a frame bag with a bladder. I was out of water by the end of the race and could have used a little bit more water, but I managed.
Post Ride Events
The post ride was well hosted. There were quite a few booths of vendors. There were prize giveaways, food, and beer. The raffle required you to be present, which probably increases your chances of winning if you stay. I didn’t stay too long afterwards.
There was plenty of food and drinks with quite a few varieties. There was a band providing some entertainment. Overall, it was quite pleasant.
Final Thoughts
Most likely, you will find me at this early season race again next year. With it being only three hours from where I live, it is one event I can’t really miss. For the price, you really get a lot, and proceeds go towards some good causes. Though any course with 8000 ft doesn’t suit my style of riding, I love this area of the country, and the riding is quite awesome.
If you are on the fence, I would highly recommend this event. This event provides multiple distances allowing you to choose your challenge. Join the gravel community and have a blast. See you next year.
Photo Credits: Race action shots and post and pre race shots by Andrew Hetherington. Start line and finish line shots of JayLo by Sara K.
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2 thoughts on “2024 Border Wars Gravel – An Unparalleled Fantastic Southeast Adventure”
That was the best write-up of a race I have read. That sounds like an amazing race. Everyone should try. Thanks for the informative review and blessings on all of your upcoming rides. Great photos of the event.
Kathy H.
Thank you for reading. I am glad you enjoyed my write up. Hopefully I will see you there next year.