The Brief

The annual Coal Miner’s Gravel Race moves to Frontenac this year, offering four different route distances from 25 to 100 milesDowntown Frontenac will be closed Sat. May 9th, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. around the library and Miner’s Park during the raceOrganizers ask residents to keep pets indoors and drivers to give cyclists three feet of space on rural routes

FRONTENAC, Kan. (KOAM) — Cyclists will take over downtown Frontenac this weekend, Saturday May 9th, as the city hosts the annual Coal Miner’s Gravel Race for the first time.

The race, which previously took place in Pittsburg for two years, moves to Frontenac to bring a small-town atmosphere to the cycling event. Race Director Renato Pinto wanted to showcase the community and its newly renovated library.

“I’m thankful for Seth for reaching out and kind of working that out with us, for us to host it in front of the library,” Pinto said. “We just want to make sure this kind of gets the exposure that they deserve, because it’s actually a really cool library. Now, with the museum here as well.”

The race will begin in front of the Frontenac Public Library and run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Four different routes start and finish in Frontenac, including a 25-mile beginner route and longer distances of 50, 62 and 100 miles. The longer routes feature mostly gravel roads and take riders past Big Brutus, which serves as an aid station.

Riders will head east from downtown Frontenac toward Scammon, then work their way through Franklin and Arcadia before returning to the starting point, depending on their chosen distance.

Frontenac Chief of Police, Cody Milligan warns that downtown Frontenac will be closed from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. around the library and Miner’s Park area.

“Downtown Frontenac will be closed from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. That’s around the library and Miner’s Park,” said Milligan. “So once the race starts, it’ll go east out of town. And then for people who know that route, please be aware of the bicyclists.”

Milligan emphasized safety precautions for drivers sharing the road with cyclists during the event.

“Give bicyclists three feet. Slow down. Be cautious, especially entering intersections,” Milligan said. “Bicyclists also need to follow the traffic laws. Use hand signals when turning.”

Pinto asks residents along the route to take additional precautions to ensure rider safety.

“If you have a dog, if you could keep them inside that day, for the most part, that would be great,” Pinto said. “That’s typically the issues that we run into when cycling out in the country, as pets that are out there and obviously they’ll see people cycling or walking or whatever it might be, and they kind of go up to them.”

The race fills a gap in the regional cycling scene, according to Pinto, who previously lived in Emporia and was familiar with the Unbound gravel race held there.

“We didn’t have anything like that in this region,” Pinto said. “I was interested in hosting something like that because we also hosted Thanksgiving 5K here in town and then the 4th of July 5K. And so we also wanted to incorporate cycling into it.”

Pinto developed the race concept three years ago with friends, working out logistics and settling on the first or second weekend of May as the annual date.

Participants should monitor social media and email for packet pickup information, race day details, parking and schedules throughout the week leading up to the event.

Sign-ups are open up until Saturday May 9th, an hour before the race starts. To sign up visit Coal Miner’s Gravel Race.

To see the routes: 100 mile, 60 Mile, 50 Mile, and 25 Mile. 

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