7 // Fall
Well, Covid got me good. Quietly, I almost enjoyed the forced, guilt-free downtime. But, by the third week of brain fog, fatigue, congestion & a head-to-toe rash (gross), I was pretty damn close to calling it and booking a flight back to Australia. I would wake up from sleeping 10-12 hours, eat breakfast & feel ready to go to sleep as if I’d just had a long & busy day. I was frustrated, isolated & genuinely just so sad.
After three long weeks, I finally rode my bike without feeling like utter death, and I honestly felt so happy that I was back! The next round of the LifeTime Grand Prix was quickly approaching, and despite a few weeks in the fetal position, I was so excited for this next one. The Chequamegon MTB festival the fifth pit-stop on the Grand Prix circuit, that took us to America’s heartland, the mid-west. It was a very different race to the last few races in the Grand Prix. Sea level, more than half the distance of previous events & the race didn’t start at an ungodly hour. You could tell the whole field was pretty excited by that! The course was a point-to-point event that wound from Hayward to Cable between sweeping trails lined with autumn leaves. The race started up a steep, grassy climb, and given my previous weeks being horizontal my VO2 capacity was pretty dismal for such a fast start. My goal was to try my best to stay mentally in it, regardless of where I was positioned. I was happy to feel like I had a dig, raced who I was around & crossed the line happy. It was a really cool race, and the atmosphere was exactly why I love bike events. I had no mechanicals, no punctures, my body didn’t implode. I just felt so lucky that I got to the start line of this one.
I returned to Boulder feeling motivated to make the most of the closing races of the season and time here in the US. Some panic speed-finding sessions, a camping trip near Rollin’s pass, seeing Flume at the iconic Red Rocks amphitheater, my first s’mores thanks to Avery, rides up high amongst the changing leaves of fall and having this alleviating feeling of being more and more at home here in the US. I also received news of my selection into the Australian Gravel National team to compete in Italy later in the month! Life is good.
TRINIDAD
Trekky and I travelled to Trinidad, Colorado, about a 3.5-hour drive south of Boulder to check out some of the course for ‘The Rad’. Between the three Australians racing the series away from home, Tasman, Trekky & I have been through our battles! Trekky was adamant that our luck would change, and this round was our calling! Despite having the same vertical meters of elevation as Leadville and Crusher in the Tushar, it felt fast and was actually a fun racing course. In the couple of weeks in between Chequamegon and the Rad, I had put in some solid sessions to try and regain some speed after being sick. Annoyingly, I took a silly fall on a gravel descent in between intervals a few days out from the Rad. I must’ve ‘Superman’d’ off my bike and sprained BOTH my wrists!
The 112 mile race started somewhat controversially. It was a mass start of men and women, which, if you follow any of the prominent figures in gravel racing, you will know this is a topical conversation. 200+ riders funneled from a road onto a path, onto a gravel road with oncoming cars, before a crash that ruled out a handful of riders, including race favorite, Ruth Winder, and split the already strung-out bunch. The starts of these races are so critical, and once the gaps begin to open among the women being dragged along by men, the race is decided almost in the first hour of these 5+ hour events. If I had to recap my race, it would be that I felt like a heavy potato to start with poor grip strength through the technical start, came good in the second hour, genuinely contemplated never riding a bike again from hours 3-4 (likely because I approaching 2700m above the sea), before feeling utterly invincible in the last two hours. The last two hours, I finally found my racing grit, punch & clawed my way back a few places. Trekky’s manifestation worked for him, and I was stoked to see him find his first well-deserved podium for the series! I was happy to finish 16th in the Grand-Prix (21st overall), and snag some of the fastest times on the closing segments.
NEXT UP:
A few days after the Rad, I hopped on a plane to Italy. I had always intended to depart the US at some point during the series as my VISA in the US has a maximum of 180 days (from Sea Otter to Big sugar is 196 days), but those close to me know it was a quiet goal of mine to race the World Championships in Italy. I’m here with two of my closest friends, and I feel so lucky to have found friendships that believe in each others dreams as fiercely as their own. I’ve only ridden the first 40km of the course from the start to Pieve di Soligo where the circuits begin. It’s going to be fast and chaotic, with plenty of corners, varying terrain and a stacked field. Thanks to everyone that’s reached out and wished me luck, it means more than you know!
UPCOMING RACES:
7th October, UCI Gravel World Championships, Italy
21st October, Big Sugar Gravel, Bentonville, USA
28th October, back in Australia!
11th November, Dirty Warny. Yeah? Nah?
PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS:
JEEP UPDATE:
Jerry is officially sold & out of my life! I feel equally relieved and saddened to say goodbye. He cost me far more than budgeted, but after the few initial mishaps, he got me safely around 12 states and two countries. He opened up the doors to endless adventures with independence, as well as being a vessel for all my bikes and belongings as I’ve moved around the last 5 months. Thank you, but goodbye.
LOVE-LIFE UPDATE:
Just joking.. sorry Quachy
