The Gravel Pursuit is on the short list of my favorite events and 2018 did not disappoint. Jay P’s continues to grow and numbers seemed very solid today. The growth of the 120 mile race has been especially dramatic. No race results have been posted yet, so I do not know the exact numbers or where I placed. In spite of the growth, the number of Upper Valley cyclists today was the smallest ever. I rode the 60 mile race, Chris Babb the 120 mile. I know that Chris survived, but I do not have any additional details yet. More on Chris to follow. Kellen’s buddy Ryon Lockhart was there along with his wife Deanna. Both have participated in numerous Gravel Pursuits.
Temperatures were cold at the start, around freezing. I wore every single piece of the new Sled Shed kit including the thermal jacket and I was happy to have it all. Because of the cool temperatures, I was able to ride the full distance on two bottles without a stop at an aid station. Surfaces were loose and sandy and speeds generally seemed a little lower than previous years. (Maybe it was just my speed that was slower). I ran the same tire set up that I have used all summer (Donnelly MSO 40 mm tubeless @ 38 psi) and it seemed like a good tire for the sand.
Salsa was there with their famous Chaise which has appeared at Dirty Kanza and elsewhere. https://salsacycles.com/chasethechaise/ They do not have today’s photos posted yet, but I am looking forward to seeing them. The Chaise was near the top of the Chick Creek descent. There were a couple of people queued up for photos on the first lap so I did not stop until the second lap.
It was a super fun day on the bike. I felt good. A sixty mile gravel race is a satisfying distance-fairly long, fairly difficult, but not a death march. The 60 and 120 mile courses overlap for the first 45 miles or so. By the end of the second hour, I began passing the 120 mile stragglers who had started one hour earlier. I do not envy these people. Some of them are undoubtedly still out on the course.
The amount of schwag we got today was huge-water bottle, T-shirt, Gu products, a picture frame for our Chase the Chaise photo, custom stickers, and more. Plus every single person in Jay’s events gets a raffle prize. Over the years, I have had some small prizes like hats but also some big prizes like Osprey Packs. Today, I got a very nice Princton Tec headlamp.
Jay’s friend Bean Weaver has written a poem for the event which was read at the start. http://gravelpursuit.com/ride-forward/
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