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  #1  
Old 11-30-2018, 11:51 PM
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cabbagelookin cabbagelookin is offline
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The Rift - 200km of Icelandic Gravel - July 2019

Just signed up for the inaugural year of Lauf's The Rift 200km gravel race in Iceland next year. Anyone else?

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  #2  
Old 01-06-2019, 08:45 PM
2000m2 2000m2 is offline
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Looks pretty cool!
I'm tempted to sign up for the 60km.
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  #3  
Old 01-09-2019, 04:45 PM
Moorecw Moorecw is offline
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Wife and I are signed up for the 200k and hotels booked.
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  #4  
Old 01-09-2019, 08:33 PM
Jad Jad is offline
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This looks awesome. The description had me at "dark lava fields." If only...

On cursory read up, I don't see any course detail. Any idea of elevation gain (for the 200k)?
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  #5  
Old 01-09-2019, 11:25 PM
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philhan89 philhan89 is offline
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sounds like a life changer. any of those icy/scandinavian country rides are so damn epic.
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  #6  
Old 01-10-2019, 11:24 AM
robin3mj robin3mj is offline
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I am heavily leaning towards doing this, but need to figure out the logistics of turning the week after into our summer vacation before I register.
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  #7  
Old 01-31-2019, 08:03 PM
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BlueFly BlueFly is offline
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This sounds very interesting. My wife and I have been talking bout going there. This just adds more adventure to the journey. Please hold......
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  #8  
Old 08-05-2019, 03:44 PM
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cabbagelookin cabbagelookin is offline
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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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  #9  
Old 08-05-2019, 08:07 PM
robin3mj robin3mj is offline
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So jealous.
We came very close to making Iceland our summer vacation and me doing this ride but agreed to stay domestic this summer and maybe try next year depending how the inaugural version went. (I have three very small kids so we pick our battles with int'l travel and are visiting relatives in Ireland at Xmas.)

By all accounts it was a success so it's high on my list.

Congrats!
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  #10  
Old 09-02-2019, 09:05 AM
GonaSovereign GonaSovereign is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cabbagelookin View Post
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."
AMAZING. Thanks for sharing. The pull is strong with this one. 2020 might happen.
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  #11  
Old 09-07-2019, 05:03 AM
Toddykins Toddykins is offline
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I had a couple friends who did it and enjoyed. The scenery is spectacular. It should be noted Iceland is really expensive once on the ground though.
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  #12  
Old 04-12-2020, 09:01 PM
2000m2 2000m2 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cabbagelookin View Post
Just signed up for the inaugural year of Lauf's The Rift 200km gravel race in Iceland next year. Anyone else?
]
Any reports on how this went last year? Likely not happening this year, but maybe 2021.
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  #13  
Old 04-16-2020, 02:31 PM
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sparky33 sparky33 is offline
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Originally Posted by 2000m2 View Post
Any reports on how this went last year? Likely not happening this year, but maybe 2021.
Having ridden gravel in Iceland, I would say it would be much better to spend a week gravel touring there and taking in the incredible sites than it would be to spent a very long day racing with your head down. Or maybe do both! The range of terrain is huge, and the condition of the gravel roads varies with the weather. It is rugged, amazing and totally worth the trip.
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  #14  
Old 04-16-2020, 02:59 PM
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cabbagelookin cabbagelookin is offline
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The Rift - 200km of Icelandic Gravel - July 2019

Incredible day on the bike last year. I agree there’s a huge amount to see (the Westfjords by bike would be incredible, I think - we drove through them) but The Rift is a really good event. The combination of support, scenery and camaraderie was really special. I’ll def do it again at some point.
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  #15  
Old 04-22-2020, 05:23 PM
2000m2 2000m2 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sparky33 View Post
Having ridden gravel in Iceland, I would say it would be much better to spend a week gravel touring there and taking in the incredible sites than it would be to spent a very long day racing with your head down. Or maybe do both! The range of terrain is huge, and the condition of the gravel roads varies with the weather. It is rugged, amazing and totally worth the trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cabbagelookin View Post
Incredible day on the bike last year. I agree there’s a huge amount to see (the Westfjords by bike would be incredible, I think - we drove through them) but The Rift is a really good event. The combination of support, scenery and camaraderie was really special. I’ll def do it again at some point.
I'm sure it is incredible all around. Iceland is definitely on our list. My wife travels (at least she did) to London 3 - 4 times/yr for work. We keep saying we should add Iceland on to one of her trips. Hope to get there sooner rather than later.
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