Course Selection

Last year I went to SBT GRVL with the All Bodies on Bikes team. I’d done Moab Rocks as my very first mountain bike stage race in the Spring and was taking on my first gravel race. I did the blue course which is a 100 miles long. Such a great day on the bike, but also a very long day. By the time I reached the aid stations, they’d been wound down to the minimum. While there was still plenty of hydration and nutrition as well as moral support and enthusiasm on offer, the animations had been packed up for the day.

Mount Butt’r is not actually an aid station, more just a celebration station hosted by the Chamois Butt’r team at the top of the very last climb of the day, also the most heinous climb of the day. Last year, they had packed up and were driving away as I neared the top of the climb. I get it, it’s a long, hot day out there for the crew working each of these stations.

So when I made plans to go back this year, I opted for the shorter 60 mile course. The shorter course would give me a better chance of catching some of the theatrics at the aid stations, and make for a more fun day on the bike with less slogging.

So much about racing is about the people

While we were there to mentor and support the 2023 team of All Bodies on Bikes riders at the event, a number of the 2022 people returned as well – either to ride or to support the team and share in the weekend experience. Always so great to meet new people that you’ve seen on Zoom each month for almost a year, and then finally meet in person. Equally great to see my team mates from last year. Added bonus was having Mike Durner, my coach, in Steamboat for the weekend. It was fun to have him meet our team and have time to just hang out and relax.

The whole weekend at SBT GRVL is so great. The expo is so much fun because you get to see people that you only ever see at races and always so many new people to connect with. Bike racing brings people together in magical ways.

It’s time to race

Racing seems to follow the same sequence of events for each race. I sign up months ahead with great ambition. Then I train diligently for months so that I can execute on race day. Execution, in the past, has always been around survival. For this race, I had a time goal: I wanted to finish in 6:30. Having actual race goals instead of just trying to finish was exciting for me.

Race weekend comes along and I’m so excited to be there, and get my bike ready and tie on my race plate. Race morning, though, is another story. Oh brother! There’s a pattern of poor sleep and then an early alarm that comes with regret and questioning your past decisions and your sanity. You’re supposed to eat breakfast but you’re too nervous/nauseous to get anything down, and it’s likely still night out so your body doesn’t want food, it wants sleep.

I know now to make a list of what not to forget to save myself from all sorts of angst or crisis if I forget something critical like shoes or helmet. I even put “open food” on my list so I can access my nutrition on the bike without having to fumble with packaging. Once I get to the start line, the nerves dissipate because here I am, doing what I came here for and goodness knows I’ve put the work in. So now it’s go time.

Let’s race bikes

The start is slow with almost 1,000 people lined up to do the red course. Once we get on the road I am quickly passed by a lot of people and then dropped like a lead weight as we get on the first climb which comes up way too quickly. Mike’s taught me to start from the middle of the chute, so that I get carried along with the pack for a while as I get passed. I used to start at the very back so I don’t hold anyone up, but have since learned that people can just ride around me when they want to pass.

By the time we hit the first turn onto the gravel I could still see other racers and they were mostly hitting the brakes hard as we hit the washboard sections. Between being used to riding rubbish gravel here in Squamish and having a bike with just a little bit of movement in the fork, I was able to descend these sections confidently and make up time.

We settled into a rhythm where the same people would pass me on the climbs and then I’d pass them again on the descents. It was a novel experience for me to be riding with other people instead of struggling to keep the second last person is sight from last place. This was way more fun than hanging on for dear life.

As it turn out, its not that I’m not competitive, I’ve just never been in a position to be competitive.

And somewhere on those hills, I realised that saying I don’t have a competitive bone in my body was not quite true. I started to strategise so I could minimise my losses on the climbs and increase my gains on the descents. As it turn out, its not that I’m not competitive, I’ve just never been in a position to be competitive. When all you’re doing is trying to stay ahead of the sweep there’s no room for competition. When you’re in the race as opposed to behind it, the competitive spirit will rise from it’s slumber.

Riding with other people means you get to talk to other people course. One guy had lost the sole of his shoe. Well he still had it, but it was in his jersey pocket instead of on his shoe. So he was walking a lot of the climbs and then riding the flats and descents when he could get by pedaling with one leg.

The different courses at the race all tend to overlap. I got to the the point where the black course (the longest course at 144 miles) rejoined the route just as the pro men’s field came flying through. It was such a thrill to watch them ride at such high intensity with so much speed and so close together, and then watch them disappear into the distance. All day long people riding other distances are all out there together. Everyone was supportive and encouraging as they passed. Every now and again you’d hear the rumbling of a big train coming and move over to watch a group riding one of the longer courses race by.

The best thing about the day was definitely being in the race rather than behind it. The second best thing was the familiarity. I remembered some of the sections and was delighted to find that they were less soul crushing this year than they were last year. But I also had 40 fewer miles in my legs as I reached each of these sections on the shorter course this year. I still had to get off and walk some of the steepest sections, but I’m sure it was less than I walked last year. Shawna who I rode most of the tail end of the race with, would stop to rest, and then start pedaling again. Her goal was not to walk at all and she didn’t – she just kept on turning the pedals.

When I reached Mount Butt’r this year, it was still early in the day and the lovely crew brought over iced towels. What a gift in the heat and the dust!! It was just the refreshment I needed to take on the fast descent through Cow Creek. Again, rubbish Squamish gravel worked to my advantage as did mountain biking being my first love. I was able to make up good time through this section and hitting the pavement for the last few miles to the finish line I still had my race goal in sight.

The wind laughed and laughed. It came from the side, then from the front and every now and again for a few minutes it would push me from behind. I heard a moto approach and looked back to see the women’s winner of the black course, Sofia Gomez Villafane coming in on the home stretch. Its difficult to grasp the speed of these pros until you see them fly by you. Even the headwind paused in awe as she passed.

I felt like a real racer chasing down that 6:30 time goal. My foot was bothering me and in my usual races I would stop and walk it out for a few minutes. But I was racing this time with a goal to reach, so I put the discomfort out of my mind and kept my eye on the clock. The end, and my goal was so close!

I turned the last two corners and saw the finish line. My time was 6:32:51. I’d missed my time goal by three minutes, and still felt like I’d won the race. It was such a great day on the bike, a great day of racing. Of the 10 days I’ve raced bikes, this was by far the most fun and felt the most like racing.

OK wait – the last day at Moab Rocks was right up there too, but that was riding with friends after the race went sideways. That was fun day but didn’t feel like a great day of racing. SBT GRVL was a great day of racing!

The only suitable way to end the race was to get into the Yampa River, so I did. It was nothing short of glorious. The shorter day meant that I got to spend the afternoon enjoying the post-race vibe. I was also not depleted from the race and got to enjoy the afternoon instead of being so tired that I just wanted to get back to the house to rest. It was a great afternoon followed by a great celebratory pizza dinner with my team.

This event is a special one. I’m hoping to be back again in 2024.