Race Info #

• Tech Guide
• Location: Claresholm, Alberta
• Course: ridewithgpslink

Race Report #

In 2024 I did my first gravel race. I crashed but managed to do the final 40km with a bent up handlebar, finishing in under 6 hours. So in 2025 I decided to come back and I’d be sure to do better, right?

¹

What ended up happening was not that. It’s actually kind of a shame because the weather this year was so much nicer than 2024 (when it was super-hot). A high of 22ish Celsius, no howling winds, rain the day before so it wasn’t too dusty, all super good attributes. I did the same thing I did the year before and stayed in a motel the night before (the Lazy J this time). I ran basically the same bike as last year except for the replacement handlebar/bar-tape and a different front tire (tubeless Renee Herse Steilacoom to match the rear). What wasn’t the same was my training for the year.

“Next year if I go back, I know how much of a climb I need to be ready for and I can train for that better. I can also probably not crash, which would have been nice.”

• Me in 2024

In 2024 I was more worried about the race and worked harder to build myself up in the summer. I did more of our longish club rides and even then I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to even finish the event. Since I did finish (even with the crash), I knew it was possible and didn’t pressure myself the same way this time. The numbers on my Strava account² showed it. I could have worked harder to get a better time instead of assuming I’d be faster if I kept the rubber side down.³

In the race by the time I finished the first third, getting to the ranch aid station, I was feeling pretty good. I’d been by myself a bit, and knew I needed to go easy on the big climb following it. While that one (the Wall, but the easy side) was a steep shitty climb, it would take much less time than the following one. In 2024 I had to walk up a large chunk of the long climb because I’d left too much of myself on the Wall. This time, my pacing strategy worked and I wasn’t dead when I reached the summit of the course. And there was even a new aid station a ways past the top, where I could refill my electrolyte solutions and gobble M&Ms! Bliss!

After that I rode cautiously down to the ranch. This is where I could kind of feel the issues with riding my Steilacoom tires, which are only a 38c width. The descent was kind of broken gravel and I wasn’t confident in not wiping out (see last year’s crash), so many people passed me going down. But I made it back to the Wall (walking up the steeper side) and over to the ranch aid station without any mishaps. And then I thought I had a good chance of shaving a chunk off my 2024 time.

I thought wrong. Part of it was just because I couldn’t latch on to anyone’s wheel so I was basically out in the wind for the entire final 40km, wasting energy I didn’t waste last year. Part of it was that this is where the lack of training caught up with me. I hadn’t done a real 6 hour ride at all in 2025 before this. My Garmin helpfully told me that I had 1% of my energy remaining when I still had 30% of the kilometres to complete. So yeah, the last third of the ride was gruelling and sucky and I was empty. I made it to the finish though, and under 6 hours (though something like 10 minutes slower than my crash year).

On getting back to Claresholm, I ate pulled pork and rehydrated. I chatted with a few people (including one person who’d read my report from last year on this website). I drove home. Now I’m a little conflicted about whether I’d do this race again. Maybe it’s time to try something else in 2026. I could do the Festivus of Gravel and then the Velocity Afterburner and stay closer to home. But those aren’t quite as pretty

Results #

• 128/200 Men (149/243 Overall) in the 122 km distance
• 5:55:55 (-1:55:43 behind winner)
• Zone 4 Results