This is how my day went:
First off I will say that Jay P, the volunteers, Salsa Cycles and many others came together to put on an awesome and very well done event. The course was extremely well marked, the aid stations were well stocked and it was always reassuring to see the Moto rider periodically patrolling the course.
I decided to do the 120 for basically the same reason I did the Crusher. It had been far too long since I had entered any events I wasnt sure I could finish plus it sounded like a great adventure.
The day started out quite cold and dark. I had on leg and arm warmers, shoe covers, a vest, a long sleeve Sled Shed Jersey, a waterproof shell and cold weather gloves.. And it was just enough. The shell came off at mile ten and the vest and gloves ten miles later but the rest stuck around until mile 45.
Salsa was out with their Chase the Chaise campaign. Which consists of you the rider stopping for sit on their Chaise lounge so they can take a portrait of you striking whatever pose you see fit. I had thought of what I would do before hand but when I actually got there I just did whatever came to mind. (We'll see how those come out). One thing to note is that the Chaise came super early at Jay P's, about 30 miles in. Normally they have it in the last 15% of the long course of the other events they've done so originally the 60 milers weren't going to pass it. But then the guys at Salsa saw a view they just had to have haha.
The first aid station had bacon... I partook.
At some point the 120 course departs the 60 milers course and that's when my day started to get interesting. From here we took a two track up to about 8000' where I put my long sleeve Sled Shed jersey back on and we stayed up there for quite awhile. It's rocky, grassy and remote but the views are awesome. I kept randomly meeting up with the same 4 or 5 riders mostly when we had go through a gate. One of them offered me a smoke during one of these encounters, I declined of course but I have to say that's a first for me in bike racing haha!
Once descended back down I made it to the second aid station (in Montana) where I lubed my chain, drank coke and refilled my bottles. This was at mile 75 and while I was fine, I was also getting pretty tired. My only comfort was that although there were plenty of miles left, most of the vert was over.
From here we made our way up a rocky dirt road to a two track road to the top of Two Top Mountain. I was really proud to not have to put a foot down on this climb. It was rocky rooty and very steep in sections. The descent wasnt any easier. Steep, loose, and still rocky.
The most interesting part of the course came next. A 1 mile jaunt through a thick forest with plenty of log rolls and some I just had to climb over. This led us into a marshy grassy land. I rode some, walked some and my feet did get wet.. All while following flags haha.
From here the worst was over though I did curse the rocks and wash boards the rest of the way down the mountain.
The foothills at the base of the climb had the best gravel Ive ever seen, this was also where my winter gloves and vest went back on. This race was cold!
Getting to the finish from here was just a matter of eating, turning the pedals and following the signs. The race ended up being about 117 miles which I finished in a total time of 11hrs 17min. I finished somewhere near the back of the field but faster than I really expected and I was fit enough to still drive home afterwards.Win!
I rode the Trek Checkpoint with a 50/34 crankset and an 11-36 cassette and 43mm tires. I had no mechanicals. This set up was amazing and I will never under estimate its ability to tackle any course. I could praise this bike for days. That said, the 120 version of gravel pursuit is far more technical than the Angry Horse, Crusher, the cube or the 60 mile Gravel Pursuit. If I did this course again I would probably ride my 29 plus.
- Chris Babb
