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Old 08-05-2019, 03:44 PM
cabbagelookin's Avatar
cabbagelookin cabbagelookin is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Posts: 527
This was incredible! If you guys are thinking about it for 2020, I can highly recommend. A pic of me riding on the moon, links about the race and my Instagram post copy below:



Review by GCN

Link to Galleries

"What a day. 123 miles on some of the most challenging terrain I’ve ridden. I totally get why they invented the @laufcycling fork - these roads are nasty! Extended sections of severely washboarded road; massively technical dirt and gravel descents (try not to fall in the holes!); deep wheel-sucking gravel; wet, peanut-buttery black sand; super-bumpy sections made of sharp lava-rocks - all the bases are covered!
Haven’t been feeling great about my riding this year so I was approaching this a little worried about whether I could finish. Lined up with @lukebutdonttouch for a 7am start. Did the usual yo-yo-ing about clothing but ended up wearing long sleeve jersey, 3/4 length bibs with my rain-proof gilet. All worked out, pretty much (with a change of gloves and a base layer in a drop bag at km 98). I *might* consider a hydration pack for long gravel events. Very gauche, I know.
After an 8k neutral road section, thing started going up and I rode my (slow) endurance pace. As we hit the highlands, we hit what Luke termed “heroic conditions” - 10mph+ headwinds (going uphill) and horizontal rain. This pretty much carried on for the first 50 miles with the added moisture of multiple river crossings.
Having said that, the landscapes were other-worldly and ever-changing - blasted moonscapes, verdant meadows, volcanic protrusions, glacial overhangs. Even the wind and rain in our faces couldn’t wipe the silly grins off.
About half-way, I adopted a “lets just get this done” mindset, bombing descents, making the most of some tailwinds, picking up wheels where I could. The last 25 miles were painful - back to strong headwinds, body complaining, drivetrain running dirty. I was pedaling squares and looking ugly while I did it, I’m sure. I just missed the 10h time I was (kind of, arbitrarily) aiming for but was just so glad to have finished. (And they gave us a heavy-metal finisher medal too!)
Probably one of the hardest rides I’ve done. You should def do it too."
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