Full Cycle Presents - The Shield and Valley Gravel Series

05/16/2026

The remaining tickets for the next event in the Shield and Valley Gravel Series, the Dirty Mayo presented by Full Cycle Ottawa are on sale now.

Located in the southern foothills of the Laurentians, Mayo was originally settled by Irish immigrants in the early 1800s, and was named after the rolling hills of County Mayo. In other words, be sure to pack your climbing legs for this one!

Get your tickets before they sell out!

People of the gravel persuasion! This riding season we've planned out 4 spectacular charity funding, good-time having, gravel grinding, all-terrain events!

05/08/2026

Check out the video recap of last Sunday’s Hopetown Hoedown! Want to secure your spot for the Dirty Mayo, the next event in Full Cycle’s Shield And Valley Gravel Series? Tickets are scheduled to go on sale next week at https://www.fullcycle.ca/pages/the-shield-valley-series

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aSUn0Wphg34&t=30s&ra=m

Perfect weather, an awesome route, great people, and somehow the hot dogs tasted even better after a long day on the bike. The Hopetown Hoedown brought toget...

05/04/2026

Yesterday’s Hopetown Hoedown was the living embodiment of what I hoped RideGravel.ca would become. A means to bring people together to experience the social non-competitive side of gravel cycling.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank the team Full Cycle Ottawa. Will, Phil and Abby were all instrumental in pulling this off. A special thanks goes to Grant Burke for helping to sign the route, facilitate the registration process, and for manning the BBQ station!

Secondly, a special thanks goes to Lanark County for allowing us to host the event at the Lanark Community Centre. We couldn’t have done it without your support!

Finally, thanks to everyone who took part in yesterday’s ride. Together your registration fees raised to total of ~$2k on behalf of the Friends for Life Bike Rally, and to help support future washroom renovations at the Lanark Community Centre!!

Please be sure to tag when posting any pictures from yesterday!

See you all in June for the next event in the Shield and Valley series, the Dirty Mayo!

05/03/2026

Finished signing the Hopetown Hoedown route. What better to end the day than a bit of Crown Land camping, beer and fire. See everyone at 9:30 tomorrow!

05/02/2026

Signing the route for tomorrow’s Hopetown Hoedown. Remember, riders should be looking for for WHITE arrows with the RED background.

05/01/2026

Hopetown Hoedown gravel ride is only a couple days away, and we just received event t-shirts, prints, and stickers. 👀🔥

All will be available at the event (cash only), and any leftovers will be available in-store and online after.

See you Sunday morning at 9:30am the Lanark Community Centre. 🎉
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Le Hopetown Hoedown arrive dans seulement quelques jours et nous venons de recevoir des t-shirts, affiches et autocollants de l’événement. 👀🔥

Tout sera disponible sur place (argent comptant seulement), et les articles restants seront disponibles en magasin et en ligne après l’événement.

On se voit dimanche matin a 09:30 au Centre communautaire de Lanark. 🎉

04/29/2026

REGISTRATION FOR THE HOPETOWN HOEDOWN IS NOW FULL!

Registration for the remaining event slots for Full Cycle Ottawa’s Shield and Valley Gravel Series will likely open up next week. Stay tuned and be sure to sign up early so you don’t miss out!

https://www.fullcycle.ca/pages/the-shield-valley-series

04/29/2026

Meanwhile, the full 81.5km version of the Hopetown Hoedown remains as-is, with the SAG Stop located on crown land via Ranger Camp Rd.

Full Route (81.5km) - 81.5 km, +657 m. Bike ride in Lanark Highlands, Ontario

04/29/2026

Please be sure to download the Hopetown Hoedown routes to your favourite GPS device before arrival. It would be noted that the shorter 63km version has been updated to include it's own SAG Stop at Vincent Hill Memorial Park south of Dalhousie Lake.

Shortened 63km version of the Hopedown Hoedown - 63.4 km, +489 m. Bike ride in Lanark Highlands, Ontario

04/27/2026

This past weekend, Grant Burke and I did a quick recon ride of the first event in Full Cycle’s Shield and Valley Gravel Series. The Hopetown Hoedown. Conditions are, in a word, SPECTACULAR.

Despite the heavy spring rains, mud was extremely minimal and there were only two or three small sections of minor flooding. For reference, I rode the route on 45mm slicks and everything was rideable.

Remember, there are two route options. At 81km and 1200m of elevation, the full route will put your early season climbing legs to the test. Not ready for the full Hopetown Hoedown? Then why not sample the 63km edition!