Gravel Worlds Race Report

Sniper held up her end all day long

As I enter my 4th day of "bike hangover," I will try to put thoughts to "paper." This BDR really whooped my ass, but my recovery has not been ideal either (15 hour drive home plus 2 ten hour days at work). 

I raced this last year and got 3rd age group, despite a navigational error that cost me 60 minutes and gave me 17 bonus miles.  So this year I was back for redemption.  I also got John to join me with the allure of miles and miles of gravel seas through the countryside and farmlands surrounding Lincoln, Nebraska.

We arrived two days early so that we could check out the start and the finish.  Boy, it was hot!  100+ degrees and the gravel was dusty! The gravel here is small pea gravel/sand mixture.

Nice of them to stir it up for us.

There was also an air show happening the same weekend, so while we were pre-riding, the Blue Angels entertained us. It gave me goosebumps to see them in action!

My bike was a Trek CheckPoint with Bontrager 40mm GR1's.  Drivetrain was SRAM AXS with a 36T chainring and a 10-52 cassette.  I chose to not use a hydration pack and ran 2 28 ounce bottles.

Friday night we went to bed knowing that there was a 40% chance of rain.  Always the optimist, I figured it would be just enough to settle the dust and looseness of the gravel. Well, those thoughts changed when I was rudely awakened to thunder and rain beating against the hotel window.  In 3 hours, Lincoln was hit with 2 1/2 inches of rain!  Aye yai yai!

The organizers decided in the early morning hours to re-route the first B-road at mile 12'ish.  They sent out an email with a new GPX track. And for those that did not see it, they had volunteers at all the turns along the re-route.  I commend them for making this last minute decision.  It took NOTHING away from the difficulty of this event, but saved everyone's bike and probably a few souls.

It was still raining at the start and the temperature was a chilly 69 degrees.  I kept a plastic trash bag on just until go time.  John had a little mishap when half of his nutrition fell into the porta potty as he was making race weight.  He told me he actually thought of retrieving it ... if only for a second. 😆😆😆 

Start time was 6 am, so I ran a Bontrager Ion 200 RT.  It didn't throw much light, but I was counting on being close enough to others.  I did not want to lug around a larger light for 10+ hours when the sun would be up in 20 minutes.

The start on pavement was neutral until the gravel.  I was motoring along at a fast pace and then hit the gravel mush.  The water does not run off the roads here like back home, but rather the fine gravel/sand/dirt mixture soaked it up like a sponge. My speed was immediately cut in half as I entered the chocolate smoothie and I had to back off the wheels of those ahead of me.  Now it was all about surviving and keeping forward momentum as I slipped and slided my way through the next 3 1/2 hours of hellacious kilojoule-sapping mire. More than once I thought about just tucking tail and turning back, after seeing many people off their bikes looking at their drivetrains and playing with their chains.  

But Sniper, my steed, was plowing through this like a champ. I was having zero drive train issues.  My brakes were taking a beating, as the road grime was splashing up on the rotors and wearing down my brake pads, even though I hardly used them. I kept telling myself that it is going to get better and faster and that everyone is in the same boat. The rains eventually stopped and the sun came out.  The roads were still sludge, but I knew eventually they would dry out and the fast lines would reappear. I tried not to spend too many matches, but sometimes it was all I could do just to keep the bike moving forward on some of the climbs.  Many were walking.

The conditions didn't allow for groups to form and I spent 90% of the race riding alone.  The headwinds were not brutal, but still pretty harsh at 15mph. There was a decent amount of cloud cover and the winds were cool all day. I found a small group of 3 that I kinda hung with for a few miles until the first oasis (water stop) at mile 32.  Their pace was inconsistent so I was unable to get the full benefit of the draft, but every little bit helped.  And one of the guys had Pandora playing, so that was nice.

I had one of the volunteers fill a bottle for me, which took less than 20 seconds and I was on my way.  The group I had been with broke up and once again I was on my own.  When I went to get a swig of water from my bottle, it squirted out all over me.  The volunteer had cross-threaded the lid! Not wanting to stop and waste time, I was able to nurse the remaining water out of the bottle and not lose any more.

I hit the checkpoint at mile 54.  There was a short, 0.4 mile cross course I had to do, including riding through a barn, before I hit the aid station. Last year it took 3:25 to go 54 miles; this year, 4:30. I was over an hour behind last year's time.  Here I took a pee break while volunteers filled my bottles.  Fortunately there was not much grit/muck in my chamois, but I still took the time to re apply some Chamois Butt'r.  Stopped time at this CP was 4 minutes.

Leaving the CP, the gravel was indeed drying out and I was elated to see my average speed increase.  There were still some slow going miles, but for the most part, the slurry riding was over.  However, within a few miles I turned right and headed North, into a heinous headwind, for 5 miles.  

North of Lincoln, the area is called the Bohemian Alps, named after the Czech immigrants who settled here.  Full of rolling hills, one after another after another.  None are long, but all are steep.  This year's course, compared to last year's, had more of this.  The first half of the course was mainly a northerly or westerly direction. And with a headwind, they are brutal.  I was grateful for having banked so many singlespeed miles up in Michigan last month, as I felt I had the strength to hit these hills harder out of the saddle than seated.

Death by a thousand rollers

As I rolled through a little town called Brainard, I found a well spigot near a park.  Knowing two bottles would not last to the next CP (mile 110), I stopped and topped off mine.  There was a c-store at mile 88, but I did not want to waste time ... I was on a mission.

The course turned south and I had free speed for 6 miles.  The ground was also firm; seeing speeds of 20+ mph made me happy!  I hit the first B-road around mile 70 and I felt like I was on a single track ribbon of dark chocolate.  There was a 18 inch wide path of firm ground on this road, but to either side it was sticky mud.  As long as I held the line, I was fine.  It was groovy!

The course from here generally headed east with some southerly bits where I got to enjoy the tailwind.  I was even grateful for the crosswinds because the day was beginning to heat up by now, but the winds were still cool.  Miles 80 -100 were the hardest for me, as I was beginning to tire from the monotony.  But this is also where I engaged my mental game.   I smiled and gave words of encouragement as I passed those who had passed me earlier in the day.  Most were grateful; a few were rather irritated that an old lady was "chicking" them. I also began to smile outwards and say out loud what I was grateful for.  All these tactics made it easier on the legs and the mind.

I hit the second checkpoint (mile 108) in 8:37.  Here it was a rinse and repeat of the first CP, which also took a little over 4 minutes.  Only 42 to go; just get through the next 25, I told myself, as the remaining 17 are all downhill (and with a tailwind). I passed a few young bucks through the grassy field leaving the CP.  They apparently did not like this, as they caught back up to me in the next few miles.  I hopped onto their train, but after a few minutes, it was harder than I could manage, and I did not want an epic meltdown so close to the finish.  So I let them go.

I hit two more B-roads, both of which were the dark chocolate ribbons of fastness!  I thoroughly enjoyed these roads and were grateful they had a dry track.  But from what I heard, the front runners entered it while it was still wet and sticky.  See, some times it pays to be slow!

At about mile 130, I caught the boys, who were now on the struggle bus, having expended all their matches.  "Toodles, kiddos" I thought to myself.  I had no intention of slowing up and allowing them to hop aboard my train after they dropped me like a bad habit after that last CP.

The last 20 miles seemed to fly by; it might have something to do with the 200mg caffeine pill I took at the last CP as well as the 3 gels I had consumed, each having an additional 90mg of caffeine.  Vroom vroom!  My effort may not have been any harder, but it sure felt easier!

Once I hit the final small town around mile 142, I could smell the barn. The corn fields were whipping on by and the tailwind made for an easy 8 miles.  Now, my thoughts were, was it good enough for first?  I rolled under the finishing banner in 11:34.  Jason Strohbehn (the face of Gravel Worlds) was there to give me a fist bump.  Volunteers handed me an ice cold Coke and a wet towel.  I made my way over to the sidewalk, gently laid down Sniper, and then plopped my weary ass down.  I was spent!  I left it all out there and had no regrets!  What a challenging and rewarding day!  I am so grateful I have the ability to do these crazy events.  

While the course may not be as "fun" and have as much eye candy as what I ride back home, I love the vibes of Gravel Worlds and how no one is more important than another.  We are all equal here! The race organizers are wonderful people and have their shit dialed!  They work tirelessly for days to make sure our experience is a positive one.

Mother Nature sure through a curve ball, and I almost knocked it out of the park.  I ended up 2nd in the 50-59 category, 11th woman, and 75th overall.  

By the numbers:

                                    Normalized Power        Average Speed

First 52 miles                    147                                11.9

Middle 56 miles                134                                13.6

Final 42 miles                   132                                14.5

BTW, after getting home and tending to my bike, I have no parts to replace.  Thank you Gravel World organizers for making a good decision and saving close to a 1/2 million in bike repairs.