Many communities have signature events that draw visitors back year after year and Flagler County tourism officials are working to create a variety of events designed to entice travelers to the area.
Tapping into the growing sports events niche, Matt Dunn, executive director of the Flagler County Tourist Development Council, said his staff is preparing for "Gravelondo," a weekend of extreme cycling that mixes tracks of gravel, old brick road pavers, and asphalt, Jan. 12-14 in conjunction with the Florida CX State Championships, a Florida Bicycle Racing Association event sanctioned by USA Cycling.
The weekend’s activities are scheduled to begin Jan. 12 with a meet-and-greet mixer at the Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill staged by People For Bikes for participants and others in a casual atmosphere heralding the start of the state championships on Jan. 13 on the grounds of the Florida Agricultural Museum.
Dunn and tourism team member Craig Lenniger have been working with cycling professionals to design a challenging course along the museum’s trails on which the competition will take place.
“In creating this (partnership with the Florida Agricultural Museum) it’s going to provide us with more opportunities down the road to bring in more group related business,” Dunn said.
Runners looking to get in on the action will have an opportunity to try out the course with the help of Triumph Endurance Events, overseen by professional race director Carrie Meng, starting at 8 a.m. Jan. 13.
Competition in the cycling event is expected to be fierce and entrants of all ages and skill levels will have a chance to vie for a state title.
The Jan. 15 Gravel Gran Fondo or “gravelondo,” which will begin and end at the Florida Agricultural Museum, will incorporate the main roads at Princess Place Preserve, dirt roads in the northwestern part of the county and along historic Old Brick Road, one of the earliest travel routes in Flagler County, for a 65K (42-mile) ride, offering athletes a unique experience, different from asphalt rides, a hallmark of traditional cycling events.
“This is even more of a challenge than your typical gran fondo — it’s not just on flat, smooth-paved road, it’s also going to provide the challenge of the dirt, sand, gravel and, in our case, historic brick road,” said Dunn.
Cobblestone and gravel cycling has become popular with travel bloggers like the Gravel Cyclist, who visited the area in 2016 to film riders along the historic route and Dunn is working to keep Flagler County on the cutting edge of destination travel across the board by hosting similar multiday events, which has been a major goal of tourism officials.
“We have entered into the business of creating our own events,” said Dunn. “That was something that I set out to do once we got through a certain number of accomplishments. We’ve already hosted one, which was the Flagler Coastal Wildlife Experience with Paddle Florida (in November 2017). This (Florida CX State Championships) is an event that has existed in the past and (we’ve) added the gravel gran fondo to the event.”
Flagler's 2018 calendar also includes the first Coquina Cup, set for May and featuring lifeguard skills competitions, paddleboard races and open swimming races followed by the United States Lifesaving Association Southeastern Regional Championships in July.
“Not only are we looking at multiday opportunities but we’re looking at seasonality,” Dunn said. “May provides us with a good gap between the Daytona racing and the spring break rush we have before the summer rush, so that’s part of the strategy with the Coquina Cup event but it’s also the weekend before Memorial Day.”
Sports are not the only thing on Dunn’s mind as the tourism office looks to showcase the county's attributes to visitors with leisure and festival plans on the horizon he said.