AlexDeSmallTo się zadziało. #ROUVY (apka pod trenażer do #indoorcycling) nie dość że dodała fragmenty głośnych wyścigów gravelowych, to jeszcze chwali się tym w mailingu. Jest Otter, jest Unbound. Ciekawy trend, zobaczymy jak mocno i szybko w to pójdą.
szpon the wizardIt is done. I have heard I got 9th place (open women).
Edit: it was actually 132,5km, it's not always easy to create a route with exact length, so there's sometimes deviation +/- 10%
This Saturday - Mazowiecki Gravel and probably the last race for me in this season. I have actually no idea why I'm paying for riding a bike, because there's exactly 0% chance I will get any meaningful place and it's not like I'm making new connections and friendships, haha.
But my daughter likes wearing my participation medals.
Cycle Review NewsUnbound: The Ultimate Launchpad to Your Pro Career
...#UnboundGravel #GravelCycling #PeteStetina #GravelRace #CyclingLife #Unbound200 #ProCycling #GravelEvolution #CyclingCareer #LifeTimeGrandPrix #U23Cycling #GravelRacing #CyclingVeterans #GravelFuture #CyclingBreakthroughs Source link Pete Stetina, a veteran gravel racer, reflected on the evolution of Unbound Gravel, a race that has grown from a grassroots event to a career-defining competition in the cycling world.…
https://cyclereview.co.uk/unbound-the-ultimate-launchpad-to-your-pro-career/
Second RunningsRace Report: Le Grand du Nord – 50 mile
Last weekend we headed to the far north to do our second gravel race of the season, the Le Grand du Nord 50 mile. My wife has participated in this event in the past, and I decided to give it a shot this year as it traverses some of the most beautiful landscape in the state.
We headed out at noon on Friday to make the 4.5+ hour drive to Grand Marais, MN. Thankfully, there was only one traffic snarl on the way up due to construction and single lanes around Hinckley. We had a spot reserved at the municipal campground right near downtown, and right on the shore of Lake Superior. We got our van settled for the evening and then walked over to packet pickup, and some dinner, at Voyageur Brewing.
Of course as often happens with big events like this (with a relatively small bike community) it’s common to run into people you know. That aspect became a theme for the weekend with us never being able to get too far in town without bumping into someone. Hilariously, after the race it took us an hour to walk the short walk back to town for food and beer because we kept stopping to chat with people. A few of whom weren’t even in town for the race but just visiting the area!
Social logistics aside the race itself is very straight forward. You leave town and head straight up. For 25 miles. That’s just the nature of the beast when you start and end in a lake-side town next to the Sawtooth Mountains. Granted a 1200 foot difference doesn’t sound like much to our mountain dwelling friends, but around here that’s a solid climb, especially considering how rolling everything is. We knew what we were in for and so we made sure to try hard to get a good night sleep in the van and have enough food to carry us through the long morning of climbing.
Saturday morning was nice and crisp with predicted high temps just above 50F°. There was some intermittent sun that made it occasionally feel warmer, but we dressed appropriately to ensure we’d be comfortable for the entire time. The fact that the temperature didn’t change much throughout the day was a huge bonus as it meant a lot less time of shifting clothing around to meet conditions.
The starting bell sounded and we all began the initial steep climb out of town to get to the first 6 miles of county road pavement. I’m a strong climber and so this race mostly plays to my strengths, but starting with 22 miles of “up” is never easy. There were a few rollers in the first half of the course which allowed my wife to get ahead of me (she bombs downhills) but we did eventually meet up at the mile 22 aid station to spend some more miles together.
Mile 22 is the trailhead for Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota. It’s also a great place for an aid station and I enjoyed some quality hummus and pickle wraps and a quick shot of Coke before heading back out to have a fun spin on The Grade. This is one of the better maintained forest service roads in the area and it connects a lot of trailheads and small lakes on this side of the Boundary Waters. My wife and I zipped along feeling pretty good throughout this section, my sore butt from Granny’s finally more tenderized. It was also nice to get some relatively flat road for a while without the continual up and down of most of the other roads.
Due to some construction on a bridge that is out, the course was a bit different this year. Sometimes that can really stink because Race Directors plan their courses to maximize challenge and beauty. When course changes happen it’s often to the detriment of one of these areas. The cool thing about this part of Minnesota is that it’s not really that hard to pick a few different roads and get basically the same type of beautiful lake-side forest roads. I haven’t done the previous course, but almost everyone I talked to agreed that this route was just as, if not more, beautiful than the original route.
After spending some time on The Grade and topping out the highest point on the course, we turned down Ball Club Road to head past Two Islands Lake and Devil’s Track Lake. It was around this time that my wife got a burst of energy and started to pull away. Since the rest of the course is net down hill I knew I was done riding with her for the day. I’m not a fast descender, and as I’ll share in a bit, there were other mechanical reasons I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with her on the way back. I was feeling good through so I just tucked my head down and kept plugging along.
Riding along Devil’s Track Lake gave us a brief moment of additional pavement before dumping up back onto the most beautiful gravel road along a moraine that you will find. Amazing pine forests with small lakes dotting the landscape as you roll along the gentle ridge line. This area was one of the biggest highlights of the ride for me, and I could see going back up that way just to ride around for fun.
From a race perspective I was doing pretty OK. I could have eaten just a little bit more towards the end as by this point I had mostly burnt through everything I slammed at the aid station. I thankfully had some liquid calories that were still tasting good so I worked my way through those as we returned to the final gravel road section of the race.
I played leapfrog with another rider for a bit throughout the rolling hills; me pushing strong up the roller and him reeling me back in on the down. The rollers were getting less and less though and we were starting to simply descend. We made one final turn down a big gravel hill and popped out back on County Road 7, a nicely paved 4.5 mile road back into town. It was here that the limitations of my chosen gear gave me a huge chuckle.
My bike (Otso Fenrir) is mostly geared towards climbing and rough terrain. From a pure math perspective (gear inches) I top out at ~22mph. At that point I’m out of gears and I’m just spinning. As I started up-shifting on the downhill and pedaling to enjoy the pavement descent I hit my top gear. That was it. I spent the final four miles gently spinning my legs in circles for something to do as the bike hovered at its max speed. The hill wasn’t steep enough to propel me much faster, and I didn’t have any gears left to give myself any ‘oomph’. So I just chilled and said hi to all the riders that zipped past me in the final section, laughing at my predicament.
Because the very last two blocks of the race are a VERY steep downhill (into a very busy road) the timing mat is up on the county road and once you cross it you’re required to ease down and do a neutral finish to the ceremonial line. I crossed the timing mat with a final time of 4:23:20, not a PR by any stretch, but a solid effort on a very hilly course. Plus, I was feeling mostly good at the end.
I met up with my wife (she finished in 4:17) and chatted with the other riders I had been leapfrogging with, laughing and smiling about the beauty of the day. Ending a race into a very small-town downtown is such a different thing than finishing in a campground or in the middle of the woods. They’re all great and fun ways to finish, but the small-town finish is something unique. There’s people around watching, and people going about their day. You’ve just spent the entire morning in some of the most isolated parts of the state, and then boom, you’re surrounded by cheering and activity and energy. It’s a fun way to wrap up a day.
We hung out for a while to watch some other friends finish and then the chill of our sweat got to be too much and we had to head back to the van to change and get warm. We relaxed for a short bit and then headed back to the brewery for a celebratory beer and food, and more visiting with friends.
Since we don’t get up to Grand Marais as often as we’d like we opt’d to stay another night after the race, so we were able to meet some family who have property up there and do dinner. It also meant that we got to be around for breakfast on Sunday morning and hit World’s Best Donuts before heading home. And yes, they’ve earned the name.
There was something about Le Grand du Nord that really struck me. The location, the people, the challenge. It all built upon things that have deep meaning for me, and it filled me up with joy. I can certainly see coming back to be a part of this event again in the coming years, and I know I’ll happily recommend it as a great place to experience the best that Minnesota gravel riding has to offer.
It's Thursday, I'm trying to eat more and more carbs, because there's a race on Saturday - 156km. I haven't ever went for that long.
I must say I have not recovered mentally from the last race... But this one is around my city and I kinda know what to expect (even if I don't remember how each part looks like in detail).
Last time at some point I couldn't fuel myself properly because I ate too much sweet stuff. There's a nice word for that in Polish - being 'oversweeten', so I'm getting something savory into my snack pouch (and extra powder to make more isotonic just in case).
I need to change tubeless valve in one wheel. Somehow Trezado valves don't work well for me. It should do for the race, but I want to change it to see if it makes a difference. Otherwise everything looks fine, I will make one pass through all the screws to see if they hold properly.
I don't aim to race, I want to finish it. I would like at some point, though, to try aim for the result, not just for fun, but not now.
Keep fingers crossed for me and my pal. If you want I can write more about my gear on the #blog
#cycling #biketooter #biketoot #gravel #bike #biking #gravelrace
Race Report: Granny’s Gravel Grinder – 50 mile
In an effort to expand my experiences beyond just trail running I’ve been doing a few more bike races in recent years. I’ve enjoyed my experiences at races like Freedhem and Heck of the North, and this year I’ve got two more on the docket. The first was this past weekend, the Granny’s Gravel Grinder.
I opt’d for the 50 mile version (actually 54 mile race) while my wife decided to tackled the 100 mile (actually 108 miles). I wasn’t feeling quite ready for my first century ride yet, having not done a ton of indoor biking over the winter. This turned out to be a good choice for a lot of reasons which I’ll share in this report.
First though, what is Granny’s? It’s a grassroots gravel race put on by Wark’s Cycling Services (run by Chase Wark). It’s held at his Grandmother’s farm about an hour north of the Twin Cities, and has an awesome chill vibe to the whole affair. You park in a field, the race doesn’t have chip timing, and the post-race party is hosted in the driveway and garage of his grandmother’s house, complete with tacos and root beer floats. This is just the kind of event that I love, and it really speaks to the community nature of these crazy groups of outdoor people.
Since the races didn’t start till 9am (10am for the 50) we had plenty of time in the morning and so didn’t bother to camp overnight. Having the option was nice, but with only a 47 minute drive we liked having our own bed better. When we arrived things were already starting to pick up so we began our prep for the day with my wife getting ready first since she had to launch first and would be gone all day.
Just before 9am they all lined up and headed out on the course. The route is completely unmarked and so you rely on your GPS and maps to tell you where to turn for the entire event. Because you’re just riding along country roads this makes a ton of sense and there are way too many turns to adequately ensure everything stays marked correctly all day long.
Once my wife headed out I got myself ready and before too long I was on the road myself. I started out wearing shorts, short sleeves, and a wind breaker because there was still a bit of a chill in the air. I knew the day would warm up soon enough so I wanted the option to shed the jacket when I was ready to be done with it. As it turned out I got so focused on riding that I didn’t lose it until the aid station around mile 31. For the majority of the first part of the ride it was just unzipped and flapping in the breeze.
I started out quicker than I probably should have, but I wanted to really set down a good time and it’s easy to let the adrenaline push you harder at the start. I hooked into a good pace and just tried to keep cranking as best I could. There are enough people in the event that I could always see someone ahead of me or behind me for 2/3 of the race. The gravel was in good shape, and the weather was perfect so all I had to do was pedal.
And pedal I did. In order to not get obsessed with time and pace I switched my bike computer to only showing me the map of the course and I just went by feel for 90% of the time. Not sure if this was a winning strategy, but it achieved what I wanted, which was to not know what distance I was at until the aid station. Since this race was 54 miles I also didn’t want to think in terms of 50 miles until I was at least 5 miles into the race. It’s too easy to get bogged down at the end when you realize that you’ve passed the big 50 mile number and still have quite a while to go.
The first couple of hours went by uneventfully, with some beautiful trail through a wildlife management area. I kept on top of my nutrition and tried to remember to drink as much as I could since the day was warming up. Somewhere around mile 25 I hit a gravel road that was looser and less packed and I started to really feel the fatigue setting in. I knew I only had a little ways to go to the aid station so it was a long stretch of just putting your head down and cranking as best you can.
During this stretch before the aid station I also realized that I had not done enough training of my butt for this adventure. My running training has been solid, and so my cardio was strong, and my legs had gotten enough bike workouts to feel mostly fine. But my sit-bones were a whole different story. As I got closer to where I would take a break I was really hurting on my backside.
The aid station arrived on time and I got off the bike to stretch and get some food. I visited with some folks and got to see my buddy Anthony who was rolling in just a little bit behind me. I also slammed some Coke, since during races is the only time I can tolerate caffeine. Soon though it was time to get riding again, and that’s when the pain really hit.
My first moments sitting after the aid station were excruciating as my butt got used to the bike seat again. I just kept telling myself that it would get better and it would subside soon enough. Just keep moving. However, I knew at this point that my best strategy was to plan to pedal the entire rest of the race (22-23 miles) without stopping because if I got off my bike again, I’m not sure I could tolerate getting back on.
Granny’s Gravel Grinder is a very flat race with only a few casual rolling hills throughout. That’s a good and a bad thing. It’s great because you’re not struggling up huge hills all day. But it also means that you don’t get any long sweeping descents where you can take breaks. That means I was pedaling almost every moment of the race from start to finish. There were so few spots to coast that the day quickly became a battle with my ability to just keep moving with a steady pedaling motion.
The final 15 miles were a grind. I got passed by the lead 100 mile groups and just had to keep my head down as I tried to keep myself going faster than 10mph. By this point in the race we were weaving along small country roads heading back to the farm, and every little turn was like a countdown to the finish. “Just 7 more turns,” I’d tell myself as I cranked along.
Photo Credit: Nolan WarkSoon enough I climbed the one big hill on the entire course and was back on the final short pavement stretch to the farm. To help keep riders from needing to interact with cars leaving the venue, the finish line requires pedaling across a big farm field and coming up to Granny’s house from behind. It was incredibly bumpy and totally reminded me of cyclocross. I was tempted to pick up my bike and run up the final short hill to the house for fun. However, I also decided that I wanted to be done and so doing anything other than pedaling hard to get to the finish line was out of the question.
I crossed the line in 4 hours and 20 minutes, and set a new 50 mile PR of 4:09:27.
I was very happy to be off the bike and ready for some refreshment. I grabbed some food and started hanging out with friends who were also there. I knew I had a bit of a wait in front of me before my wife finished, so I settled in. Then a little while later my wife texts me to see if I can come pick up a different rider who needed a ride, so I loaded up the van to go grab that rider and get them back to start/finish safely.
Once that task was complete it was truly time to relax and enjoy the beautiful afternoon. I continued chatting with folks and a couple hours later my wife crossed the finish line, triumphant in her first 100 mile gravel race. After a bit of recuperation we hit the road and started planning our recovery meal for the evening.
Granny’s was a great racing experience and the grassroots nature of the event really sings to me. I love events that provide a great space to hang out and cheer people on, and really encourages that community feel. The course that was put together was good, and most of the gravel was really solid. I guess last year’s event was very rainy, so I was happy I didn’t have to deal with that. And by Monday morning my body is mostly fine and recovered.
An event like this does give me time to think, and one area where my thoughts have taken me is that I feel like I enjoy long distance biking much better when I’m not “racing”. I pedaled hard for over four hours, and multiple times during the ride I thought to myself, “I wish I was touring this and could enjoy the scenery and take breaks.” But alas, that’s not what racing is about, and so I just kept pushing. I know at some point I want to get a 100 mile ride under my belt, but it might not be during a race context and instead just an adventure that I do at my own pace.
Because that’s what most of this endurance stuff is to me… a chance for adventure. Saturday was certainly an adventure, and I was grateful to get the opportunity to be a part of it. Granny’s Gravel Grinder is a great event and I’d recommend it for anyone looking for a nice grassroots, mostly flat, gravel race here in the upper Midwest.
Spotted: The Future of Gravel Racing – Ventum GS1 Prototype Unveiled!
...#VentumGS1 #GravelBike #GravelRace #BikeTech #CyclingGear #BikeInnovation #GravelCycling #BikeReview #CyclingLife #RaceReady #BikeDesign #GravelRig #CyclingCommunity #BikeUpdates #GravelRacing Source link The new Ventum GS1 gravel race bike has been unveiled at the Sea Otter Classic, showcasing subtle yet impactful updates aimed at enhancing versatility, speed, and race-ready performance. While it…
https://cyclereview.co.uk/spotted-the-future-of-gravel-racing-ventum-gs1-prototype-unveiled/
Kiddo brought plague from new daycare (maybe I should not have sold my wh40k Plague Marines, they would have protected me). I didn't went down with it, I had very mild fever in the evening, but I was coughing after it for two weeks.
And then I caught some mild cold(?). A bit of runny nose, energy and appetite loss and cough. Two or three days before I stopped coughing, but apparently it was not enough.
Overally, I feel ok, but I don't have enough stamina for harder indoor trainings. Like my quads are overworked or something. Maybe it was bad after all, just not in the usual way. I try to eat properly, get enough sleep etc, but maybe I need more time.
I have my first race in the end of April (100km on home turf) and I'm positive I will finish it, but maybe not as fast as I would like to.
Again, no one asked, but there's one more post about me competing on the #bike. This time I felt awful, everything felt wrong, but my back doesn't hurt anymore.
https://szpon.xyz/blog/mts-koszecinskie-szutry/
#cycling #gravel #gravelrace #biketooter #biketoot #biketooters