Gravel Worlds

Gravel Worlds started as a pirate-flag gathering thrown by Lincoln's Pirate Cycling League and has grown into Nebraska's flagship gravel festival — without losing the founding promise that first place and last place get celebrated exactly the same. Don't let anyone tell you Nebraska is flat. The 150-mile flagship stacks more than 10,000 feet of climbing out of an endless procession of punchy rollers through the corn and soybean country of Lancaster, Otoe, and Cass counties — nearly all of it on fast, hard-packed county gravel, with a handful of minimum maintenance road sectors to keep you honest. Checkpoints and water oases arrive every 20-30 miles, stocked with everything from energy gels and drink mix to hot dogs off a local's grill. Pick your voyage: the 35 and 75 serve up the same rolling farmland in friendlier doses, while the 300-mile Long Voyage rolls out Friday evening for a self-supported all-nighter through Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri. Whichever you choose, the finish at the Sandhills Global Event Center will be loud when you get there.