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Paul Reardon
Sponsored by
The Getup
Save the planet and your wallet! Shop our hand-curated, like-new selection of secondhand clothing and gear for the entire family – from newborn all the way up to adult, plus maternity, shoes, and toys! We buy and sell brands like Patagonia, Gap, Cat & Jack, American Eagle Outfitters, Nike, Lands’ End, and more. The Getup: Community Powered Sustainable Styles. Find great deals in-store or online!
Paul Reardon is hard to chase down. If he’s not traveling the world as a mechanic for various bike races, he’s back home in La Crosse, Wisconsin, busy building titanium bike frames… and building the local biking community.
This active, “pretty alright,” bike-filled lifestyle is what Paul has been up to personally and professionally for the last 30 years. He’s only been home for a combined three weeks since February 2024 – but when he is in the Driftless, he tries his best to get out for rides. “I enjoy riding gravel, road, and mountain, but mostly gravel is my happiness,” Paul says.
That’s part of the reason he decided to launch a brand new biking event in Hokah, Minnesota, this fall: The Old Fashioned Gravel Ride. There will be four routes to show off the picturesque terrain of Southeast Minnesota, with novice and seasoned riders welcome to register.
“The Driftless area, in my opinion, has some of the best gravel riding in the Midwest,” says Paul. “It’s a hidden gem. The Old Fashioned Gravel ride will bring people to this gorgeous area to visit, enjoy, and ride with some awesome people.”
The event, scheduled for Saturday, October 5, 2024, is touted as both a race and a ride. “We will have professional timing there. So everybody will get a time and, you know, a placement at the end,” Paul says, but it’s also for riders “that are just hanging out, going for a bike ride with some awesome people.”
Paul is, for the most part, gearing the focus of Old Fashioned Gravel toward the latter group. He’s spent his career working at races and finds himself in more of a “go at your own pace, wind in your hair, smile on your face” time in his life, he says.
For those unfamiliar with this category of riding, gravel bikes have bigger tires with a deeper tread, allowing riders to handle a more varied terrain than traditional road bikes. Gravel riding has taken off in recent years.
“People are realizing that with road biking you have to deal with a lot more traffic, or potentially people texting and driving. There’s quite a bit of solace just riding these beautiful country roads that we have right out our back door, where hopefully the worst thing you might encounter is a farm dog,” Paul says.
The Driftless has many of these country roads to choose from, making riding options endless. In fact, the terrain is so ideal, nearby La Crescent, Minnesota was selected as the location for the 2025 and 2026 USA Cycling Gravel National Championships for its diverse landscape and challenging climbs.
Just as nationals will draw attention to the region’s riding opportunities, Paul hopes the Old Fashioned Gravel ride will highlight the impressive local routes. The four options are tailored to riders and their objectives. For those seeking to push themselves and truly “race,” there is the challenging “99 Proof,” a 103-mile ride that climbs over 8,000 feet in elevation. There will also be 67, 40, and 18-mile routes with varying terrain for a range of interests and abilities. Registration for the event is capped at 300 riders total to keep it manageable, fun, and not too overwhelming, says Paul. It’s already attracted some attention, with both local and out-of-state riders having filled up 150 spots at the time of this article.
A portion of the proceeds from the Ride will go to Bluff Country Family Resources, a Hokah organization that does community outreach, including support for the LGBTQ community, helping domestic violence survivors, and more.
The event will be headquartered at a farm near Hokah, owned by Annie and Gabe Barendes. Nestled between the bluffs, riders will begin and end here, and celebrate their ride with a post-race party in the farm’s fantastic old barn.
“Amy and Gabe have worked their tails off to get this barn that hasn’t really been used in over ten years ready,” says Paul. “It’s going to be such a good spot for people to hang out afterwards and have a drink and some food and just look around and enjoy the beautiful area.”
Paul has teamed up with two local Hokah businesses – Free Range Exchange and The Butcher Shoppe – to cater the food, while La Crosse Distilling Company will provide beverages, including, of course, Old Fashioneds.
Paul has also leaned on some other important partners during planning, including his wife Liz, who helped with registration, graphics, and generally, keeping things organized, and his best friend, Mario Youakim, director of La Crosse’s Beer by Bike Brigade, who helped promote the event to the local biking community. Paul’s friend, Keachen Abing of La Crosse Adventure Films, has also shared fun ideas and shot videos to help get the word out.
It’s these types of collaborative friendships that keep Paul involved in the local biking community. Giving back to that community is something he tries to do whenever he can. He has previously taught mechanics classes in the winter and has helped with other area events. The friendships that biking has built in the community is one of the best parts of riding, says Paul.
“You have this one common bond, you enjoy riding bikes in nature,” he says. “The fun thing with these rides is you never know who you’re going to end up next to and what kind of interesting people you’ll get to know.”
He sees the Old Fashioned Gravel ride as a way to share the area with new folks, and also give back to the locals that have provided support and friendship through the years. “It’s really cool to try to give them something fun and exciting in our area. Something that our community can share with other people that come to visit the Driftless region,” Paul says.
As the event nears, Paul is hoping for folks to join in on the fun and “get a little closer to nature, get out of the city, and enjoy the beautiful views where we live.” With the help of his friends, he’s put a lot of work into creating a fun experience for riders, one he hopes will go smoothly – even if the road is (literally) bumpy.
