2024 Dust Bowl 100 Gravel Race Report
Gravel racing has really gained a lot of popularity in the recent years and there are so many new races popping up all over the place. The Dust Bowl 100 is one of those relatively new races that starts in Eminence Indiana, which is just Southwest of Indianapolis. The 2024 Dust Bowl 100 was the fourth edition, and this was my second crack at it.
Technically, 2024 Dust Bowl 100 was the 5th edition of the Dust Bowl, but the first edition was more of a trial run for the event. Also, on the Dust Bowl 100 website, there are four years of results posted.
2023 was my first time racing the event, but I was busy and didn’t get around to writing up the race report on it. This report will highlight some of the differences between the two editions.
Check out my stats from the race on Strava and while you are there give me a follow to see all of my rides.
FYI, the 2025 edition is set for July 26 and registration opens January 1, 2025, so mark your calendars. The 2024 edition sold out in about three days. 2025 will have more spots available though (more on this below).
The Dust Bowl 100 is “Indiana’s Premier Gravel Race”. Though this self-proclaimed title might be true, I will let you be the judge and we can revisit that claim at the end of this report.
Eminence is a small rural town located in Morgan County Indiana. There isn’t too much there in terms of restaurants so plan accordingly. There is a small gas station/convenience store that sells pizzas and has all kinds of snack foods, but that is about it.
Eminence makes for a perfect place to start the 2024 Dust Bowl 100, and their high school provides plenty of room to host larger events like the 2025 edition. Located about 35 miles from Indianapolis, participants flying in will only have to make a short drive to the start of the race. The Indianapolis airport (IND) is a pretty good-sized airport and usually has plenty of flights arriving there (I have flown out of there a few times when I was in grad school in Champaign, IL).
The 2023 and 2024 Dust Bowl 100 courses were pretty much the same route (I will touch on this later). This is essentially a flat course when compared to most gravel races (which I am perfectly fine with).
In terms of scenery, there are some cool spots along the route, but for the most part it is quite boring. Think typical mid-west with lots of corn and soybean fields all over the place. The neat part of this race are the cool covered bridges and old trellis bridges riders get to cross.
My main suggestion before doing this race is to brush up on your crit racing cornering. There were lot of 90 degree turns with loose gravel at the 2024 Dust Bowl 100. So, if you can master your cornering, you will reduce the amount of surging out of the corners, and you will save a lot of energy.
The 2023 edition had about 690 riders across all the categories with the 100-mile route having most of the participants (352 riders). The 2024 Dust Bowl 100 edition was increased to 800 riders, again with most riders doing the 100-mile route (378 riders). The 2025 edition is going to be increased to 1000 total participants.
The 2024 had an e-bike 44-mile route added. I assume there will be similar categories and rider break downs like the previous editions.
Registration has typically opened on January 1st of the event year. The 2024 event sold out by January 5th.
Registration costs in 2023 were $85 for the event, $35 for on-site camping for two nights, and A $8.66 service. For the 2024 Dust Bowl 100, the event fee was bumped up to $100, $25 for a single night of camping or $40 for two nights, and $9.16 service fee. Hopefully, the prices for 2025 will stay about the same.
The Course
As I previously mentioned, the 2024 Dust Bowl 100 course was essentially the same as in 2023. There might have been a few slight changes, but most of the course was the same. The course was finalized and officially posted on July 1st.
There are a few bridges that are closed to vehicle traffic and have barriers to prevent drivers from passing over them. Thus, I am sure the late finalization was probably in part because permission was needed to move the to allow the riders pass unimpeded.
101.3 – mile ~56% gravel with ~3400 ft of elevation gain
82.1 – mile ~60% gravel with ~2500 ft of elevation gain
45.2 – mile ~65% gravel with ~1400 ft of elevation gain
Schedule of Events for 2024 Dust Bowl 100
Friday (7/26)
- 12:00pm – 8:00pm: Vendor Expo
- 12:00pm – 8:00pm: Early Packet Pickup
- 1:00pm – T-Shirt Ride hosted by VC Adventures, aka the Vegan Cyclist
- 3:00pm – Zipp Pre-Ride
- 5:00pm – 7:30pm – Pasta Dinner
- 6:00pm – Kid’s Race
Saturday (7/27)
- 6:00am – Check In/Packet Pickup opens in Eminence.
- 7:50am – Riders’ Meeting (all distances) at the start/finish line (required)
- 7:55am – Drop Bags must be loaded into the SAG truck.
- 7:50am – Rider’s Meeting (required) – riders to gather between the start/finish line and the registration tent.
- 8:00am – 100 Mile START! *
- 8:15am – 80 Mile START! *
- 8:30am – 44 Mile START! *
- 11:00am – Post-race meal available (BBQ and Shaved Ice)
- 11:00am – SILCA Bike Wash Station and Eminence Showers open (bring $5 cash for showers, and free-will donations appreciated for the school group helping with the bike wash station)
- Podium presentations will take place at 12:00pm, 1:45pm, 3:30pm, and 5:00pm (each category’s podium time is dependent on when the 3rd place rider for that category finishes)
- 12:30pm – First round of Drop Bags returned to Eminence.
- 1:00pm – Live Music from Derek Chastain
- 2:00pm – Live Music from War Radio (goes until 5:00pm)
- 3:00pm – All remaining Drop Bags returned to Eminence.
- 6:00pm – Official Race Cut-Off Time
*Separate, neutral mass start for each distance (lead car will pull off at mile 2.5 at which point the race will commence)
Rules and Race Bible
2024 Dust Bowl 100 Technical Guide
Parking and Accommodations
Parking for the 2024 Dust Bowl 100 was not a problem. Though if you want a close-up spot at the school, you will probably need to get there early. Once the school parking lot fills up, there is plenty of overflow parking around town. This isn’t something I have had to worry about since I have camped there both times.
There are no hotels in the town of Eminence, so camping is your only option if you don’t want drive in the morning. Tent camping is available on the ball field, and RV/van camping is allowed in the parking lot behind the ball fields. There is no RV hook up. There are two restrooms with running water that are available to use for campers.
Course Thoughts
I’m not sure what other people think, but personally, I think the course should change every year. Changing the course yearly is standard with most gravel races so that isn’t a big ask. At a minimum, the course should have been run in reverse. In the post ride survey, the race promotor asked about if the course should be switched to reverse or if it should be left the same for the following year.
Only time will tell what the promotor decides to do for 2025. I think it was a bit lazy on the part of the promotor to stay with the same course. There isn’t anything iconic about the course and the route doesn’t have a long-standing history or tradition, so I think a fresh course was in store. The course could have been routed to hit the cool bridges and incorporating the off-road section while riding some new roads.
I would have liked to have known that the course was going to be the same before signing up. I probably wouldn’t have done the race two years in a row otherwise.
With that being said, it is still a fun course, it is a fun event, and a fun race. For a local rider making a 1–2-hour drive may not mind as much since it is a smaller commitment financially and timewise. But for someone driving 8 hours, I do not believe it is worth going to the event again to ride the same exact course.
The Bike and Equipment
Bike: 2022 Specialized Diverge 54 cm
Drivetrain: SRAM mullet – Force Crankset 170 mm w/ ASX power meter and Alugear 48t chainring, GX AXS 12s Derailleur w/ 10-52t cassette, Force AXS Shifters w/ eTap AXS Multiclics under bars, KMC X12 chain w/ Muc-Off Ludicrous oil.
Wheels: Reynolds Blacklabel G700 Pro w/ i9 Torch hubs.
Tires: Pathfinder Pro 42 Setup tubeless with Cush Core inserts. 35psi front 38 psi rear.
Handlebars: FSA AGX K-Wing 40 cm w/ Supacaz bar tape
Pedals: Shimano XTR SPD
Saddle: Specialized Power 143
GPS: Garmin Edge 840 Solar w/ K-Edge Specialized Future Mount
Bottle: Fidlock Bottles and Base Mounts
Bags: Orr Cycling Hydration Frame Bag, USWE Outlander Pro 2L Hydration Pack
Kit: Pearl Izumi Jersey, bibs and full finger gloves, Pearl Izumi Expedition Pro gravel shoes, Defeet Disruptor socks.
Helmet: Smith Ignite
Sunglasses: Smith Vert PivLock
Pre-Race Guests and Events
The 2024 Dust Bowl 100 had the celebrity event rider Tyler Pearce (formerly The Vegan Cyclist and now VC Adventure Time) join the event. The 2023 Dust Bowl 100 had Reggie Miller attend the event. Both riders showed up to race too, they weren’t there just to be honorary faces for the event. They weren’t there to lounge around or to just ride the course. Though, this is both good and bad. For those that are racing, you get to enjoy their company, people that aren’t as fast or are going to cruise won’t get a chance to ride with them in the race.
No worries if you don’t get to ride with them during the event though. There is plenty of time to chat before the race and at the post ride party. Also, if you show up the day before the event there is a ride hosted by the riders, then you can hang out with them at the Expo.
This year I arrived a day early and was able to attend the pre-race rides. There was a T-shirt ride hosted by Tyler, and afterwards there was a pre-race ride to test out some of the racecourse. Apparently, a T-shirt ride means us ride in a T-shirt (oops).
The T-shirt is supposed to calm the mood so when everyone goes out it is a fun relaxing chill ride. The Zipp ride was a fast-paced ride meant to experience the course at near race speeds. Both rides were well attended and great pre-race openers.
This year early packet pick-up was moved to event site. This year also featured an Expo with quite a few of the sponsors attending the event. Silca was probably the most stocked up with products, but SRAM/Zipp did have road bike with the new SRAM Red on it.
The 2024 Dust Bowl 100 packet pick-up was very smooth and with them doing it at the event site this year I didn’t have to worry about picking up my stuff and attaching my number the morning of the race.
The Race
It seems to be a recuring theme if you have read a few of my race reports already. It also seems to be a recuring theme for gravel cycling in general. Neutral rollouts are never neutral. I wasn’t really expecting it to be especially after attending the 2023 edition and the 2024 Dust Bowl 100 was no exception.
At the start of the race, riders line up (on an honor system) based on the expected pace and finishing time. I imagine that quite a few people lined up in a corral that was faster than they knew they could go, but really that isn’t that big of a deal. That fast people will sort themselves out quickly. It is also a first come, first serve style of lining up.
The issue is really when the race starts, in the neutral part of the course, people from behind start to press their way through to crowd the front. The front of the race is already jam packed with people (people that lined up early) and people want to move up and crowd the front even more. At this initial part of the race, the front people are going relatively slow, so it is easy for riders from the rear to move even though that isn’t space from them.
There were quite a few sketchy riders and at least one incident I saw. Not even 5 miles into the race in the neutral zone there was a crash. Riders moving up in the neutral zone definitely makes this part of the race dangerous.
Once the course hits the first gravel section just outside of town, all hell breaks loose. The gravel begins to fly, the dust begins cloud up and restrict the view, and everyone is off to the races. Right away the people at the front stretch the race out and everyone behind struggles to hold on. This year the gravel was freshly grated, and it seemed like a layer of rock was put down. Most of the gravel was probably ¼” to ½” diameter, but some of the chunks were bigger.
Unfortunately, the fresh gravel meant that the 2024 Dust Bowl 100 corners were slick, and that you or your bike was going to get pelted with rocks. To avoid the tricky corners and to avoid having to slow down, at a lot of the turns people were cutting the corners. Doing this was quite a bit faster, but also should be prohibited.
This method of cutting the corner disadvantages the people who stayed on the course, but cutting the corner tears up the grass of private property. This method was a quick way of gaining spots especially at the beginning. I think the promotor should advise people not to do this and if they are caught cutting comers they will be disqualified.
Enough whining about that.
Once the race it the first gravel section, I was probably about 50-60 riders back. I probably should have made more of an initial effort to start at a better position, but I felt comfortable with my finishing expectations. Of course, I want to be at the front of the pack holding on for dear life with the fastest riders, but I know that wouldn’t last very long.
Unfortunately, after a few of the turns, things really started to get strung out. There were a lot of riders that can use some crit racing practice to improve there turning skills. This was a big drain on speed which require a huge surge of power to stick with the group. I should have managed my positioning in the group a little better, especially when coming up to turns.
My goal for this 2024 Dust Bowl 100 was to finish in 5 hours, which would have been about 18 mins faster that my 2023 time. My pacing for the first half of the race was quite solid. I averaged 20 mph for the first half of the race, then my pace slowed a bit, and I was doing about 18 mph for the next 25 miles, then fished the race out at 17 mph average speed. My finishing time was 5:16.
Everything in the race really broke apart for me when we dropped down into the featured covered bridge crossing.
For me, this was the main crux of the race.
This section starts out with a fast slightly sketchy downhill with a slick 90-degree turn near the bottom. Then you drop downhill a little more to the covered bridge. After sneaking through the bridge, you begin a steep climb out of the gully.
The grade of the climb out max out at about 11.5%. This climb took me about two minutes to finish and was about 0.4 miles long. When I crested the hill, a large gap opened up from the group I was riding with. I chased hard picking up a few riders as I made my way back to my group.
The next four-mile stretch was relatively flat, but it looped around back toward the river. As I finally reach the group, we started ascending out of another gully, this time with a 17 % grade. This was another climb that was about 0.5 mile long with a false flat at the top.
This time my group got away.
I didn’t have enough in me to claw my way back to this group, but I tried my hardest. From here on out of the race, I was pretty much solo or with a group of 2-3 riders. This is a contributing factor to my slowing down for the second portion of the race. Another reason was that it was a fast race, and I was quite tired by the end.
The weather this year wasn’t hot at all. It was quite chilly in the morning which made for a great start. It wasn’t windy either. The new gravel loose gravel made the course a lot more challenging, and I think it made the course slower. Even with that I still managed to finish faster than the year before.
The race was slightly uneventful for the last portion of the race. I didn’t stop at any of the rest stops so I am unsure how well they were stocked. This year I carried more water than last year, but I could have filled up my hydration pack a little more. I was short on water at the end.
Since this course is pretty flat, so loading up with a lot of water isn’t a huge penalty.
In the final twenty miles of the race or so, I started getting passed by some 80-mile riders. So, if you are still feeling good at the end, you could possibly jump into the group of these faster riders, and they can take you to the finish.
The finish of the course has you weave through a tight opening in a fence then a small wooden bridge over a creek. Then you are at the back side of the ball fields of the school. A small loop around the field then you traverse an off-camber chicane onto the final path of the mowed open field.
About 50 feet past the chicane is one last 90-degree right has turn to the finish line. There are two paths to take, but both feel really slow because it feels like the grass just sucks away your power. Then you cross the finish line and start the post ride party.
If you are looking to win, or at least beat the group of riders you are finishing with, you need to commit before entering the “cyclocross” finishing section. After making the left had turn off the final road, a hard sprint to the fence will most likely set you up well. Once in the cyclocross section, passing will be quite difficult. If you have a strong kick, second wheel is also a good option, but you will have to make your move at the mowed path.
The cyclocross finish is an interesting twist to the finish, but I’m not sure if it is a good way to finish when the event grows. I did come in with a small group this year, but I didn’t try to pass any of the riders. At this point, I wasn’t sure if they were in my category, and I was worn out, so it wasn’t worth making a last dig.
Post Ride Event
The post ride event was well hosted. There was plenty of water to drink. Once the riders crossed the finished line, they were handed a cold towel for their neck and a 2024 Dust Bowl 100 water bottle. The party had a band playing music, and podiums were held as the third place rider crossed the finish line.
Final Thoughts
I was pleased with my effort even though I didn’t hit my planned finish time. Though this year I rode with an aero helmet, 1.5 liters more water, and about 4-5 psi less in my tires, my finish time was practically the same time as the year before. Last year, I wore a speed suit instead of jersey and bibs. So basically, both setups are a wash in terms of speed and aerodynamics.
The 2024 Dust Bowl 100 post ride party/gathering was good. The food was good, but I could have used a larger portion. I was quite hungry once I cooled down.
The post ride showers, and bike wash stations are a huge perk. About two hours after finishing, I was all packed up, fed, showered, and on my way back to Huntsville, AL. The drive home would have been quite uncomfortable without being able to shower. The 2024 Dust Bowl 100 lived up to its name. My bike was covered in a white dust, and I had a coating of dust from head-to-toe too.
Would I recommend this Race?
Yes, I would! It is great to have a race that doesn’t have a crazy amount of climbing. Just because it is a gravel race, it doesn’t mean you have to have a lot of climbing. Being a heavier rider, this style/type of race suits me better. I will most likely attend it again, but if the course stays the same for 2025, I will skip a year.
Photo Credits
SUPPORT JAYLO CYCLING
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