Don’t take our word for it: Jayson is one of the most recognized voices in cycling media and a seasoned international cycling tour leader for Trek.

SRAM partnered with local gravel guru James Hillis of Driftless Cycling Tours to design routes for each day of the camp: both days were about 30 miles, with the first featuring a more rolling and meandering course to test the electronic Apex AXS XPLR group, while a steeper and slightly longer track followed to ride bikes equipped with the new 12-speed dropbar Apex Eagle mechanical kit.

After visiting Galena regularly to ride, Hillis eventually called the small town home, and lives just a few miles from Main Street. With James’s extensive knowledge of regional history and what would appear to be a built-in atlas of the area’s farm roads, we were looking forward to our time with him, despite the weather forecast for the days ahead.

Three hours and a million miles from the bustle of Chicago, on the shores of the Mississippi, lies the hilly, gravelly cyclist's paradise of Galena. We drifted out of the city to discover the Midwest's best kept riding secret.