Moultrie Militia Gravel Raid
and Swamp Fox Gravel Fondo
Huger (outside Charleston) South
Carolina
Friday March 17- Saturday March
18, 2023
Joël 5th male, Jessica 2nd female
Click on video above to play
When history and bikes unite. The Moultrie Militia Gravel Raid (MMGR) and Swamp Fox Gravel Fondo presented by Lauf traverse the gravel roads in and around the Francis Marion National Forest including a circumnavigation of Lake Moultrie just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. The courses racers travel upon at this unique race follow in the footsteps and history of American heroes during the Revolutionary War.
The Swamp Fox, Francis Marion, used the swamps, creeks and forest areas within and around Francis Marion National Forest to ambush and hide from the British during the Revolutionary War. At one point after capture, Marion escaped into a swamp. After seven hours and 26 miles of searching the British gave up cursing, "As for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him." The story got around, and soon the locals—who loathed the British occupation—were cheering the Swamp Fox. Both elusive and crafty, Marion's use of irregular warfare against the British has led him to be considered one of the fathers of guerrilla and maneuver warfare. In addition to this race, Marion has been remembered in a Walt Disney TV show and the movie The Patriot.
Colonel Moultrie used tactics and skill to help hold off the British and successfully defended Charleston at a fort made of palmetto logs and sand walls.. He then refused to surrender when finally captured helping to increase morale of the people of South Carolina. Moultrie is also credited for creating what is now the present day flag of South Carolina; when he created it became a symbol of defiance of the British and the “first American flag...displayed in South Carolina.” The dark blue flag resembled the color of his men’s regimental coats and also featured a white crescent in the top left corner.
Almost 250 years later racers of
the MMGR are the race director states are “ready to take up arms” to cover
177.6 miles of riding #gravelfreedom. Read on to know more about the unique and
interesting features of the MMGR event.
Night start
11pm race start Friday night. This
means for many of the riders the entire event will take place in darkness. Not truly getting to see all the forest until
after daybreak is a bit odd but being able to see the glowing eyes of the
alligators in the water and the sunrise over Lake Moultrie is unique. This
start time also allows the MMGR finishers to ride the last few miles of their
race and finish together with riders of the Swamp Fox Gravel Fondo events
taking place on Saturday. Logistically
it does however mean racers need to figure out what to do about potentially
being awake for 24+ hours; sleep in Friday morning, nap during the day, or just
go without sleep. Overnight riding
required riders have at least 10-12 hours of lighting to ride by with enough lumen
(1000 or so recommended) to light the way and red rear lights were required so
riders could be seen from behind.
Due to the night start, most of the ride was in the dark, which obviously made it difficult to see the scenery along the ride. But here are some highlights of the “wow, look at that” or “that’s a really cool and unique thing to see”
Animals- alligators, snakes, toads, frogs, opossums, birds, and potentially what we think was an otter.
Nature- sunrise over the lake,
trees in the lake with these really neat big root-ball type of structures, the beautiful
national forest, sounds of the peeper frogs and splashes of alligators in the
water
Features- riding on the dyke
around the lake, the rural landscape and the history of the area, the Hell Hole
Trail which was a swampy single track (what us Nankmans like, it was fun)
Most interesting to note-riding
through a recently burned area (controlled or accidental?) of Francis Marion
National Forest; there were still areas smoldering and smoke coming from
certain spots
The course was a combination of
gravel roads, rural roads, double track, and a few areas of pavement through
small cities (where it did get a little busy with car traffic on the roads)
throughout and surrounding Francis Marion National Forest. Overall fairly flat,
only about 1000 feet of climbing over the 177 miles. It was a good combination
of everything, what a gravel race should be. The last few miles of the MMGR
course met up with the final miles of the other events. Nice to have company
near the end when motivation is needed; nice to have company over the last few
miles to give that extra push to the finish line.
The event started with temperatures in the low 60s F and no precipitation. But that changed soon enough. Around 1am the rain started; just a light drizzle at first but as time went on it turned into a deluge. Downpour conditions with strong winds. Time to stop and put on extra layers and rain gear. In addition, as the rain strengthened the temperatures dropped. By daybreak it was in the low 50s. Definitely chilly, especially when wet. By just after dawn the rain let up and allowed the last few hours of pedaling to have dry skies.
GPS Trackers
GPS tracking devices were required for this event. Safety first. It allowed the race directors to know where riders were. It was also be broadcast live on the internet, so friends and family could follow along. Pretty cool to see where everyone was and cheer on one’s favorite racer. Nankmans tracker of choice: SPOT
Unsupported
The ethos of the MMGR event was
unsupported. No aid stations, no outside help. Riders were responsible for
carrying their own gear, refueling food and hydration if/when needed, and expected
to take care of any mechanical issues on their own. In addition, if riders were
stranded out on course they needed to figure out how to get back on their own
accord, no race crew were coming to get them.
Gravel and adventure bike these days are set-up with numerous options for
saddle bags, frame bags, and fork bags. Riders wore hydration packs/back packs
and filled their pockets with gear. Most
bikes can accommodate numerous bottle cages for hydration needs. Along the
course a few churches and parks had outside spigots that were available to fill
bottles and along the way mid-course there were a few gas stations and convenience
stores to purchase food and beverages.
What else makes a spectacular event? Amazing racer swag. Event registration was at Commonhouse Aleworks in Charleston. With both indoor and outdoor seating this brewery has a chill and welcoming vibe. Prefect place to have a pre-race beverage or pick up some to consume post-event. However: MMGR racers beware: the brewery is about 45 minute drive from the race site. Take this into consideration if you are registering Friday afternoon prior to the Friday night race start. Post race festivities included a meal for all participants from local food truck Empanada Cuisines. So super tasty it hit the spot. And what friendly servers at the food truck, accommodating all those hungry riders. With entry, event participants also got a T-shirt, bag, and some sponsor goodies. MMGR finishers received a race logo themed customized hand-made top tube bag. For MMGR riders camping at the race start/finish for part of the weekend was included and the event was dog friendly.
So in summary all in all a great event; one that was worth the drive, one the Nankmans would recommend to others, and one we will return to. The course was challenging yet fun and interesting, the race director and crew friendly and welcoming, fellow racers supportive, and all the race amenities were top notch. Dogs were allowed, which for our travels is also a necessity. The Moultrie Militia Gravel Raid and/or Swap Fox Gravel Fondo will be on our race schedule in the future and come recommended to all.
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Words by Jess
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Video by Joël
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Photos by the Nankmans and the Swamp Fox Facebook
page