April’s annual Greenwood Gravel Grind has ground to a stop.
Beth Stevens, executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber looked at the participation and revenue factors of the Gravel Grind and decided that it “wasn’t growing as we hoped it would.”
This year, the chamber will incorporate gravel riding into August’s annual Bikes, Blues & Bayous rather than host a separate cycling event in April.
“The routes will still be the same for Bikes, Blues & Bayous. The gravel portions will just be offshoots that loop back into the existing routes,” Stevens explained.
In its first year, 2019, the Gravel Grind drew 82 registrants.
The next year, 120 people registered, but only around 80 participated because of bad weather and the postponement of the event from April to September because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The number of participants increased to 151 in 2021 but dropped to 94 last year.
“I think the magic of it is picking the right weekend where it’s not competing with anything else,” Stevens said, explaining that the Gravel Grind last year was competing with other events that were returning for the first time since 2020.
The Greenwood Gravel Grind and Bikes, Blues & Bayous require the same amount of manpower to produce, but the Gravel Grind was pulling only about 10% of Bikes, Blues & Bayous’ typical 1,000 registrants. So, Stevens said, it made sense to incorporate the Gravel Grind into August’s cycling event.
This year’s Bikes, Blues & Bayous is scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 5, and registration will open March 4. The event will focus on Davis Phinney, a former Olympian who holds the record for American cyclists in wins with 328, including two stages of the Tour de France.
Phinney was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the early 2000s. Proceeds from this year’s jersey sales will benefit the Davis Phinney foundation, Stevens said.
Richard Beattie, who co-founded the Gravel Grind and also works with the chamber to organize Bikes, Blues & Bayous, will be creating a documentary on Phinney for this year’s event.
Country musician and Greenville native Steve Azar also will be featured at a community block party that will round out the weekend.
Stevens said the event is still in its planning stages — but, she added with a laugh, “we’re always in planning mode.” The chamber is focusing on confirming sponsors, preparing the website for this year’s event and smoothing out the details for the weekend.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
The original version of this article incorrectly reported Davis Phinney's accomplishments in the Tour de France.
