Over the weekend I rode the Michaux GRVL ride. It was a blast! What a fantastic area to do a gravel ride in. Over 100 folks showed up to ride, some doing 100 miles and starting at 6:30am and others (like me) doing 45 miles with 3,800 feet of elevation and saying “yeah, that’s good.”
The ride was mostly gravel double track, with some single track thrown in on a very rocky descent. The new bike (I’ll write it up soon) handled everything exceptionally well. Climbs were easy enough with a 42T chainring and a 52T max rear cog, and while I struggled a bit in some areas I never had to get off and hike-a-bike. Regardless, I need to work on my fitness.
It was also a timed event. For the 45 mile route option that I chose I came in 29th place out of a field of 88 finishers. Pretty happy with that! Results posted here.
The event had two downsides. First, driving 3 hours to hit the start line sucked. Next year if I do it I will drive in the night before, camp out, ride, then drive home. Or perhaps drive in the AM, ride, then camp taking the time to relax post-ride. Too long of a day otherwise. Second, there was rain forecast in the afternoon. I finished my ride under overcast skies and had enough time for a beer and meal post-ride before I started to feel the drops coming down. I quickly packed up and hit the road to avoid the worst of the rain, with the bike sitting on the rear rack outside the car. Didn’t want to get caught in downpours and have more work to clean the bike later on.
I don’t know if I will do it again next year. I want to, but that drive is a long one.
Fantastic route.
Me riding to the finish line.
And some photos I snagged myself.
The roads looked like this all day long. Flow-y gravel double track.
I mostly stayed in this mood, even towards the end.