C*R*U*S*H*E*R is here! Race check-in & share thoughts

[Trippertim]

Some back of the pack perspective

I did the race in 2016 for the first time and loved it (ok, a few weeks after the pain and suffering of race day I decided it was fun). Coming from east of the Mississippi at around 700’ of elevation, the altitude at Tushars was a major factor. We stayed at Eagle Point leading up to the race and the first day there, I was having a hard time walking the trails around the lodge. I still loved the race enough to come back again this year.

I think training has gone better and fitness is better, but we’ll see how it goes on race day. I have no hope of being remotely close to any of the podium racers, but for me gravel racing is about having one day / event to bury myself against the clock (I won’t rehash the now popular spirit of gravel racing conversations / posts ) and the excuse to do a lot of awesome training rides. One difference though for me on the training side, is that I’ve also added in some Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure this time to see if that helps at all with the altitude. I don’t think it really does that much for me for performance at sea level, but with what I read, it gives me hope that it will at least help some with the acclimation to altitude. We’ll see on the 14th.

As far as gear, I’ll be on the same bike as last time, which is a Litespeed T5G (I love Ti). I run a Cirrus Cycles body float kinekt seat post. I know it is heavy, but the comfort on the long days is enough that it is one of the few pieces of extra weight I’m willing to carry up 10,000’. The changes this year are I moved from the 33mm Gravel King SK’s to 38mm SK’s front and rear (still tubeless). The section between the first and second aid station was decently rough and the Col descent can be washboarded, and the Sarlacc Pitt can be pretty rough, so I want a little more volume. I used a 50/34 – 11-36 11spd gearing set up in ‘16 and was able to make it up Col d Crush with no walking last time, but I’m switching to an 11-40 MTB cassette this time (Ultegra GS der with Roadlink) so that I can keep a higher cadence going up this time (still won’t be remotely close to ‘spinning’). The other change for me this time is I wore a camelback and carried my own nutrition last time (custom Infinit mix), but this time I analyzed my times between aid stations and really like the EFS they have on course, so I’m going with just two frame cages and bottles and plan on picking up an extra bottle in the jersey pocket for the hot ride through the valley and the Sarlacc pit. Only thing I am slightly disappointed in, is that I'm pretty confident that last time there was a aid station in Circleville so a little farther removed from Aid 2 and from the big descent where I probably will have too much of a grip on the bars to be drinking too much and after the hot ride into the headwind through the valley and before the Sarlacc Pit, but that station is not on the map now, so it is what it is. I'll make sure to dump some water on me in Junction, make sure I have 3 full bottles and head off to #4.

One more thing of note, is several posts above mentioned the timing of their group waves. This year, the race is going to be a mass start all at 8:00. It will be more crowded at first, but I’ll start towards the back and let all the rockets get going ahead of me, and see if I can hang on to the back of a train for a while. But at least it will give me a few more minutes to make the cut off at Aid 2! Those of us at the back need every minute we can get

**Guess I should have checked the Crusher FB page before I hit post on that last part! Just posted in the last hour, that they are going to switch back and stick with the wave starts! Luckily the two years has moved me into a earlier wave (if they keep the same AG splits) so I at least get a couple more minutes than last time to hit the cut off

Good luck out there everybody!

[pdmtong]

I've really appreciated the nuance and insight in this thread. On top of that a refreshing read about really riding...in contrast to they myriad of OT and near OT the forum seems to have embraced.

while I will never do this race, there is still a lot to learn on the shoulders of others to inform the riding that I do.

[Wayne77]

Great perspective! I have several takeaways to think about based on this and all the other excellent contributions in this thread. I think you’re touching one one aspect of competitive gravel racing (and gravel riding in general): So much is about the tiniest equipment details...you can really obsess over the tiniest config choices and I get a kick out of it. Much more that I do for road races. The interesting thing is sometimes it’s a matter of thinking about all the minutia as a ‘sum of the whole’. Every choice has an upside and a down side...together they form a very individualized selection that makes sense. Oftentimes for that one person. There are also certain tiny details that are probably more placebo than real benefit...and that’s totally legit too; if it’s in your head something is gonna help, it probably will. If it’s in your head something is gonna hurt, it probably will.

I love talking to people at the start line about their equipment...there’s a certain prideful confidence people get when explaining choices. Sometimes you have these conversations mid-race!

Originally Posted by Trippertim

Some back of the pack perspective

I did the race in 2016 for the first time and loved it (ok, a few weeks after the pain and suffering of race day I decided it was fun). Coming from east of the Mississippi at around 700’ of elevation, the altitude at Tushars was a major factor. We stayed at Eagle Point leading up to the race and the first day there, I was having a hard time walking the trails around the lodge. I still loved the race enough to come back again this year.

I think training has gone better and fitness is better, but we’ll see how it goes on race day. I have no hope of being remotely close to any of the podium racers, but for me gravel racing is about having one day / event to bury myself against the clock (I won’t rehash the now popular spirit of gravel racing conversations / posts ) and the excuse to do a lot of awesome training rides. One difference though for me on the training side, is that I’ve also added in some Intermittent Hypoxic Exposure this time to see if that helps at all with the altitude. I don’t think it really does that much for me for performance at sea level, but with what I read, it gives me hope that it will at least help some with the acclimation to altitude. We’ll see on the 14th.

As far as gear, I’ll be on the same bike as last time, which is a Litespeed T5G (I love Ti). I run a Cirrus Cycles body float kinekt seat post. I know it is heavy, but the comfort on the long days is enough that it is one of the few pieces of extra weight I’m willing to carry up 10,000’. The changes this year are I moved from the 33mm Gravel King SK’s to 38mm SK’s front and rear (still tubeless). The section between the first and second aid station was decently rough and the Col descent can be washboarded, and the Sarlacc Pitt can be pretty rough, so I want a little more volume. I used a 50/34 – 11-36 11spd gearing set up in ‘16 and was able to make it up Col d Crush with no walking last time, but I’m switching to an 11-40 MTB cassette this time (Ultegra GS der with Roadlink) so that I can keep a higher cadence going up this time (still won’t be remotely close to ‘spinning’). The other change for me this time is I wore a camelback and carried my own nutrition last time (custom Infinit mix), but this time I analyzed my times between aid stations and really like the EFS they have on course, so I’m going with just two frame cages and bottles and plan on picking up an extra bottle in the jersey pocket for the hot ride through the valley and the Sarlacc pit. Only thing I am slightly disappointed in, is that I'm pretty confident that last time there was a aid station in Circleville so a little farther removed from Aid 2 and from the big descent where I probably will have too much of a grip on the bars to be drinking too much and after the hot ride into the headwind through the valley and before the Sarlacc Pit, but that station is not on the map now, so it is what it is. I'll make sure to dump some water on me in Junction, make sure I have 3 full bottles and head off to #4.

One more thing of note, is several posts above mentioned the timing of their group waves. This year, the race is going to be a mass start all at 8:00. It will be more crowded at first, but I’ll start towards the back and let all the rockets get going ahead of me, and see if I can hang on to the back of a train for a while. But at least it will give me a few more minutes to make the cut off at Aid 2! Those of us at the back need every minute we can get

**Guess I should have checked the Crusher FB page before I hit post on that last part! Just posted in the last hour, that they are going to switch back and stick with the wave starts! Luckily the two years has moved me into a earlier wave (if they keep the same AG splits) so I at least get a couple more minutes than last time to hit the cut off

Good luck out there everybody!

[Wayne77]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

I've really appreciated the nuance and insight in this thread. On top of that a refreshing read about really riding...in contrast to they myriad of OT and near OT the forum seems to have embraced.

while I will never do this race, there is still a lot to learn on the shoulders of others to inform the riding that I do.

Much of what I know about biking (still small compared to most) is based on what I’ve gained from this forum. I’ve also learned some great stuff from the OT stuff too :-)

[John H.]

What you say about gear is true- It can matter to the Nth degree.

Another thing that I know about gravel racing is that no matter what your gear is there will be a point in time during the race where you will think "I am on the wrong gear (or bike)".

[Wayne77]

Originally Posted by John H.

What you say about gear is true- It can matter to the Nth degree.

Another thing that I know about gravel racing is that no matter what your gear is there will be a point in time during the race where you will think "I am on the wrong gear (or bike)".

Amen to that.

"Welcome to the Crusher! The only race in the world that let’s you choose your weapon with only one guarantee… at some point you’ll be very, very wrong."

-Bruce ” The Hornet” Bilodeau

From the "Which bike?" section of the Crusher website

[Trippertim]

Originally Posted by Wayne77

Great perspective! I have several takeaways to think about based on this and all the other excellent contributions in this thread. I think you’re touching one one aspect of competitive gravel racing (and gravel riding in general): So much is about the tiniest equipment details...you can really obsess over the tiniest config choices and I get a kick out of it. Much more that I do for road races. The interesting thing is sometimes it’s a matter of thinking about all the minutia as a ‘sum of the whole’. Every choice has an upside and a down side...together they form a very individualized selection that makes sense. Oftentimes for that one person. There are also certain tiny details that are probably more placebo than real benefit...and that’s totally legit too; if it’s in your head something is gonna help, it probably will. If it’s in your head something is gonna hurt, it probably will.

I love talking to people at the start line about their equipment...there’s a certain prideful confidence people get when explaining choices. Sometimes you have these conversations mid-race!

Yep, I love to agonize over the smallest equipment choices, so events of this genre where the demands of the course change constantly and can vary year to year, really appeal to me. Love over analyzing stuff to the point of analysis paralysis

That said, while there have been times where I have optimized the stuff on my bike, and I knew at certain points of race courses that other bikes might be faster on that section, I "knew" in other sections they would be slower, so on the whole, the only time I thought I was "on the wrong bike" was when I decided to ride my 29er instead of my Litespeed T5G was at a race earlier this year and it turned out to not have rained as much as I had thought and there were only a few muddy spots.

[YesNdeed]

Ride reports, please!
I already know that one of you stood on the podium with a good friend and teammate of mine in the 45-49 category. Congrats, and great job!
Sounds like conditions were good this year. High five to all who endeavored upon one of the best rides of the year!

[Wayne77]

Originally Posted by YesNdeed

Ride reports, please!
I already know that one of you stood on the podium with a good friend and teammate of mine in the 45-49 category. Congrats, and great job!
Sounds like conditions were good this year. High five to all who endeavored upon one of the best rides of the year!

Yeah, the wet weather this year was a nice change! I was prepared for the typical 95-100 degree slog through Sarlac and up the KOM. Anyway, I’ll post some additional thoughts when I get back from a trip I’m leaving for tomorrow morning, but my race was a success in that I knocked off 8 minutes from my prior PR, but I was really hoping to crack 5.5 hours and didn’t manage to (5:47). I ended up 33rd place out of 100 or so in the 45-49 category...meh, but I’ll take it. It’s hard enough just to finish this race I guess. 10,000 feet of climbing in under 70 miles..some good gravel, some pretty rough. I do have some post race thoughts on equipment and tires I’ll post later. Who was your pal on the podium? Tell him congrats!

I’ll be back next year. I love this race.

[nobuseri]

Nice work, man. Props for finishing.

[YesNdeed]

Great job, Wayne! You put in a solid ride that you should be proud of. That is one of, if not the fastest group outside of the Pro/Open category. My friend said there was some light rain, so figured that meant a passing spritz. He’s Chris, he got 2nd with hair raising 4:51!

I will look forward to hearing your post ride thoughts on equipment and such. That is one aspect that makes this race such an interesting equation.

So, you doing Mt. Evans this Saturday?? If so, I’ll see you there!

Originally Posted by Wayne77

Yeah, the wet weather this year was a nice change! I was prepared for the typical 95-100 degree slog through Sarlac and up the KOM. Anyway, I’ll post some additional thoughts when I get back from a trip I’m leaving for tomorrow morning, but my race was a success in that I knocked off 8 minutes from my prior PR, but I was really hoping to crack 5.5 hours and didn’t manage to (5:47). I ended up 33rd place out of 100 or so in the 45-49 category...meh, but I’ll take it. It’s hard enough just to finish this race I guess. 10,000 feet of climbing in under 70 miles..some good gravel, some pretty rough. I do have some post race thoughts on equipment and tires I’ll post later. Who was your pal on the podium? Tell him congrats!

I’ll be back next year. I love this race.

[Trippertim]

Originally Posted by YesNdeed

Ride reports, please!
I already know that one of you stood on the podium with a good friend and teammate of mine in the 45-49 category. Congrats, and great job!
Sounds like conditions were good this year. High five to all who endeavored upon one of the best rides of the year!

Back of the pack(ish) report here. This was my 2nd time doing the Crusher and I really appreciated the cooler temps. It rained a light drizzle for a good part of the first few hours for me, but I got out from under it by the 2nd aid station and the descent down to Junction. The rain on race morning was not an issue, but the effects of the rain the last few afternoons were noticeable. I think the rough section along the top between Aid 1 and 2 was a little worse for me this time. With several hundred sets of tires running the road already and loosening up the mud, it seemed the choices of lines were reduced in a lot of spots to either riding over all the rough exposed rocks, or in the somewhat slick ruts between them. It was certainly not as bad as some of the peanut butter mud I have raced on in GA or the quagmires of Hilly Billy Roubaix in WV, but still had to pay attention.

The rain cleared up for me for the descent into junction and the road was in pretty good shape. Not much washboard and the corners were not too loose. Only really interesting part was the small herd of cows that decided to cross the road about 1/3 of the way down and the one cow that got spooked by us and decided to not cross, then jump back out of the scrub 50 ft down the road and then run ahead of me at full speed for a few hundred yards. It finally decided to just go straight off the road at full speed at the next turn. It was the only time in my riding life where I have been concerned about the wellbeing of a cow! I could not tell as I went around the corner how steep the drop off was that the cow had just barreled off of and was picturing in my mind the old buffalo stampede off a cliff! I looked at the curve on the way back up and the drop off was not too bad, and I didn’t see any buzzards circling, so I’m optimistic the cow is ok

Not having 100°F temps in the valley was nice, but the Sarlacc Pit is still just a soul sucking hellhole. With the other climbs (especially the Col d Crush and the finish), you expect it to hurt and to be crawling, but for some reason the Sarlacc Pit always seems like you are going slower than you should be. The climb back up the Col d Crush was as painful as always. It was pretty dry, so had to pay attention when you stood up to stretch the legs that you didn’t slip out, but not too bad and at least it wasn't too hot (but still warm enough that I had the kids at the KOM dump cold water on my head and back).

Shortly after Aid 5 after the Col, the afternoon monsoon season storms rolled in again. As advised by the race organizers, I had carried a light gore-tex vest and stopped to put it on when it started raining. Shortly after that, there was a brief period of hail, but I’ve been in worse and nothing you could do about it at that point and the thunder/lightning sounded to still be off in the distance, so just kept on going. The last gravel descent was in much better shape than 2 years ago. They had just laid a lot of fresh gravel in ’16 and I had to be really careful on 32mm tires. This time it was packed enough that the guy I was near and I were able to pass the chain of cars being caravanned through by the local Sheriff.

The final climb was as soul sucking as always, but there were enough finishers riding down giving encouragement, that it went faster than I thought. Finished ~50 min faster than ’16, but I think a lot was due to the better course conditions. Afterwards, I met the wife, grabbed a bite to eat and a beer and headed back down to our condo at Eagle Point. This is when the real storms and hail hit. I just made it to the condo by the time the hail really dumped down, but the wife was still walking and quite a few people were still headed up. I’m sure they got hammered pretty bad.

Overall, it was as the race organizer puts it, the best worst day or the worst best day. Lots of pain, but that is what we sign up and pay $ for. Scenery is amazing, course is hard, packet pickup was quick and efficient, aid stations and the volunteers were great, course markings were in all the necessary places and visible, and as they stated, the course was not “over marked” with caution signs, there were lots of people out even in the remote sections cheering you on (enjoyed several scout troops lined up giving high fives on climbs), and good law enforcement presence. Even the town is supper friendly. My wife went for a run around Beaver after the start and was pretty confident every single person she saw waved at her and/or told her good morning. I just can’t recommend this race enough. Definitely worth the trip from TN or anywhere else.

[sandyrs]

This thread is really selling me on this race. With my upcoming move to Colorado I won't be too far from it, so maybe I'll make the trip next year or the year after. It's nice to read about a gravel race that delivers on the hype. I'm coming from the region where the biggest gravel race is probably Rasputitsa, which claims to be the hardest gravel race in America but, last time I did it, was 38 miles and took under 3 hours even with snow still on the ground.

[Trippertim]

Originally Posted by sandyrs

This thread is really selling me on this race. With my upcoming move to Colorado I won't be too far from it, so maybe I'll make the trip next year or the year after. It's nice to read about a gravel race that delivers on the hype. I'm coming from the region where the biggest gravel race is probably Rasputitsa, which claims to be the hardest gravel race in America but, last time I did it, was 38 miles and took under 3 hours even with snow still on the ground.

There is nothing really technical about the riding at Tushar (just don't over cook a turn and go over the edge on the Col d'Crush descent) like the snow and slop could make Rasputitsa, but the climbing makes up for it and for someone that lives under 1000' elevation, the height really impacts the effort.

[sandyrs]

Originally Posted by Trippertim

There is nothing really technical about the riding at Tushar (just don't over cook a turn and go over the edge on the Col d'Crush descent) like the snow and slop could make Rasputitsa, but the climbing makes up for it and for someone that lives under 1000' elevation, the height really impacts the effort.

That makes sense. For me the tradeoff between the logistics of getting to an event and the length/price/effort/novelty of the event is always top of mind, and the Crusher sounds like a hard race in a really cool setting. Of course, I suppose one could say the same of Rasputitsa if they didn't live in New England and have the ability to drive to Vermont for a weekend (or even better, live there full time) so it's all about perspective

Congrats on your finish!