So let's talk equipment first. When I decided to come on this trip shortly after I got home from kanza I knew I couldn't do a cx bike. I needed more comfort and more gears and upright riding position. I decided to go with the Cannondale F-Si Hardtail for this event (as well as for crusher a few weeks ago).
This mtn bike is wicked light -approx 19 lbs outta the box. Some said I was crazy for using such a high end race bike for something like this. And for strapping loads of luggage to it. Carbon wheels and bars and seat post ?? Well I put it all to the test and It passed with flying colors ! I opted not to weigh my stuff beforehand as I didn't want to know ... But once Home I weighed the bike fully loaded with my gear. Bike + gear = 35 lbs.
Holy moly. No wonder my legs were torched !!
Alright so once bike decision was made I had to figure out a bag configuration to carry my gear. I ordered a Blackburn saddle bag which basicslly holds a cone shaped bag you can stuff full and roll up at the top. It held a lot.
*Only con to this bag is that even tightly belted in, it swung back and forth on the seat post which I really felt when i would stand to climb. But it was easy to pack and super secure.
Here's what i put in mine:
Puffy jacket
Light pants
Short sleeve and long sleeve wool shirts
Second bib shorts
Second socks
Head/neck muff
Beanie hat
Wind vest
Rain jacket
Running shorts
Changing skirt
And Smaller bag containing: two cords for phone and garmin charging, toothbrush and toothpaste, chamois cream, sunscreen, ibuprofen tiny bottle, earplugs, headlamp and eating spork.
I wore the same jersey all three days - I chose an orange Rapha jersey because it was a Bright, visible color (I worried about hunters but didn't need to) and it was primarily made of wool so it dried fast and semi- odor free. I carried my on-the-road food in the two back jersey pockets and intentionally kept them light. It was so nice having nothing on my back!
Then for my top tube bags I was able to borrow two - one from revelate designs and the other handmade.
In the cockpit bag (black) I put:
Phone
Wallet
Chapstick
Baby wipes
Light snacks
This bag was so handy to get to my phone to take pics or apply Chapstick or grab a snack.
In the orange bag at seat post I put all bike supplies:
Two tubes
Patch kit
Park tool multi tool with chain tool
Spare chain link
Chain lube
Mini first aid kit
*the one issue with this bag is that even slightly full, the sides puffed out and began to rub on my inner thigh and eventually got raw there on day one. I would probably skip any bag system between the legs in the future due to this or pack it only very minimally.
The final item was a revelate designs handlebar bag - shaped as a tube it was perfect to stuff my (borrowed lightweight north face) sleeping bag into and then the exterior flap was perfect for rolling up my (borrowed light weight 3/4 length) sleeping pad into.
I also clipped in my eating/coffee cup and strapped in my OOFOS flip flops and gloves to this bag. I was advised it is best to balance out weight over the entire bike and I tried my best to do so.
All of this :::
Fit on the bike like this:::
So - what could I have left home or done without or ... what would I have brought with me now knowing what I know?
I didn't wear the running shorts. Camp sites were chilly enough at night I went straight to pants. I only used changing skirt once and made due with bathrooms or trees for changing. Those could've stayed home. I wish I'd brought a clean pair of bibs for each day. Rinsing out a chamois and air drying just does not work for me. Putting on a 'clammy chamois' on day three and riding on what felt like sandpaper under my sits bones really hurt. A fresh pair of shorts would've been worth their weight in gold.
I also wish I'd just taken a bit of chamois Cream and put into a ziploc and same for sunscreen. Skip bringing the container no matter how small it is.
And I'd go with a full length sleeping pad versus the 3/4 -it left my heels on the ground which as it turns out, hurts more than I expected.
For water : I wanted to keep my back free of weight due to the issues I have with back and neck pain so I went with two bottle cages in the bike frame (*note we were told to expect either van support or campgrounds approx every 20-25 miles to refill). Knowing now what I know I would've prob brought a camelback and / or a third bottle and / or a filter or iodine tabs to drink stream water. More about this later.
In short tho - my bike was solid ... not one flat or mechanical issue and not one thing fell out of my bags. People suffered numerous flats and maladies like broken derielleurs and broken racks or cameras falling out of bags or phones launching out of packs. I was also REALLY glad to have that front leftie fork I could lock out or ride engaged. Used it a lot in the rugged downhill sections. (A LOT). With all that weight on the bike it's really nice to smooth out the bumps with suspension.
**********
Ok so. The ride. Steamboat ralleye was promoted as being an approx 200 mile ride over three days with 20,000 feet elevation gain. Some of our route maps:
Meals were provided by TheCyclistsMenu (amazing!!) farm to table locally grown and purchased gourmet healthy items - and lunch and water provided on the routes. (Ish. There were a few snafus here). Campsites were reserved for our entire group and maps and gps files were provided in advance. For a small fee, 50 of us got to line up for this adventure which departed from New Belgium brewery. We were allowed to pack a small bag for the final night in steamboat and those bags went into the support van.
I talked my friend I-Ling into joining me. We'd never done bike packing before and were more nervous than either of us have ever been for a bike or adventure race. She's camped before but neither of us had carried that kind of load on our bikes over these distances. We suffered 'nervous giggles' and trepidation Wednesday night and Thursday morning pretty bad. (What have we done?!).
Wednesday night was the meet and greet party at BRAVE NEW WHEEL. We rented a hotel room in Fort Collins and took hotel -provided cruisers out for a spin over to the party. Pretty awesome way to #ridemoredriveless.
I got to hop on the local radio show broadcast during the party too!
We grabbed dinner and called it a night. Thursday morning we met everyone at new Belgium to get the ride going. Some advised whiskey to quiet our nerves and I-Ling gave it a whirl. (She later said it did help). We also got to meet Bama and admire his get-up. He's pro at bike packing. Also he's got #2 dad on the back of his shirt (competition is too fierce for #1 he said). Oh ps he doesn't have kids. That made it 2x as funny. He also carried an inflatable guitar on his bike on day 3. So funny.
Whiskey down the hatch.
She was brave and tried it.
Off we went and rolled out of Fort Collins.
Somehow I knew I'd been needing some of this today.
Van assistant Zoe is from Omaha. So. that's rad. Here was our impromptu lunch stop on the road.
Day one had a TON of climbing. Here at Rustic, I stopped to regroup before beginning the really tough climb up Manhattan towards our campsite. This climb nearly broke me. (Admiration points went to the guys who stopped here for burgers and fries and THEN rode the climb!!).
Really tough climb Translation: I Walked the bike on some of the Steep stuff. Got rained on. Got hailed on. Ugh. And then. I made it to our campsite.
Chamois off. Washcloth wipe down. Warm clothes on. <restrooms all out of order and no water here ?! Huh?? > find a spigot. Rinse out hair. Ahh. Life is good. Let's give this camping bit a go.
And then she finished with a big Ol grin. And I was less worried she'd want to stop being friends...
And then my first real camping experience ensued -- you know, the kind that includes gourmet farm to table dinner, virtually unlimited beers provided by new Belgium and smores and campfire magic ! Plus tent setup 101.
Eating from a metal cup has never tasted so good!!
Luckily we solved all the world's problems. Before 9pm:
Not gonna lie ...the first night of sleep was rough. Was Grateful for my earplugs but wow, that ground was hard. Tossed and turned lots. Back hurt ... Shoulders and hips ... Friday morning came too soon.
Day 2: was billed as an easier day than day one in terms of miles and elevation. We were warned it was far more desolate and strongly encouraged to ride with the folks who had the route on GPS.
What they forgot to mention was there would be sections of technical rocky climbing and descending. And no water anywhere. (We learned later that the van- which was supposed to be in three spots- was taken out of commission to help a rider that crashed). And a creek crossing and up an embankment to stay on course (surely the map would mention this? Nope).
This is when megan fully kicked herself for not ensuring her garmin had loaded all three days GpS files. DO NOT Leave home before confirming your files uploaded !!*** Lesson: don't drop three files into garmin at once. Upload one at a time.
But first - the initial 35 miles were bliss. Miles of smiles :::
Ahhh that sweet gravel goodness..... No cars.
After this part I stopped taking pictures because ... Well ... I was tightly rationing my water and getting lost. I missed the creek crossing up the embankment turn and instead went off course and climbed up to 10k only to find a 'road closed' sign at the top. And then panicked. Lost. Nearly out of water. 5pm. No cell signal. No clue how far to even backtrack. Soooo panicked. Too early to assume the fetal position and start sucking my thumb? Kicking myself for doing this. And then thank goodness!!!!! ran into five or so riders from our group. Seriously --this was pure luck and I'm not sure how this story would've ended otherwise.
I Struggled through the final miles of climbing -much of which meant me pushing my bike uphill, walking ... and then miraculously we made it down the super rocky techie descent sections and deep sand sections ... To the highway and into town. After 6pm. Such a long day. I was cracked. Hard.
Most of our crew rolled in after dark. It was a very long -sketchy -testy day. Many of these folks were on cross bikes or city bikes - some with just one gear! But everyone's spirits remained high. Truly inspiring.
And then the sunset and dinner made all the pain go away. We camped in Walden city park.
The cyclistsmenu thinks of everything ... even mood lighting !! These guys are simply awesome.
We called it a night early because without a campfire, the mosquitos came to harvest our flesh and souls. Into the tent and we crashed hard. And then froze. Brrrrr. Note: pack one pair of socks just for sleeping.
And then - day 3. Shortest miles and least elevation gain. Whew. One big climb over buffalo pass.
We Rolled out with new friends ryan and Mitch and chatted on the flat stuff. Once we hit the bottom of buffalo pass (where there was supposed to be water at a campground and there was not) our group split up and we all chugged to the top. After rationing my limited water two days in a row, I was vowing never again to ride with just two bottles.
Still. I made it to the top.
The life-saving properties of a cold can of coke after a hard climb cannot be explained properly in words. Enjoyed it thoroughly at the summit.
Another one for emphasis :
A long downhill into steamboat and we were done ! A few of us showered quick -then walked down the road for a fast burger (ahem starving !!!!), rolled back to the brewery and then to Moots for the final group dinner (and shenanigans).
We did not mess around. Three burgers with fries and dan's malt went down the hatch FAST.
Heidi and Zander are just so dang awesome.
A few closing words from Bama and ride host Peter.
And because we could not STAND the thought of riding anywhere else - like the KOA campsite down the road- several of us opted to camp at moots for the final night. We slept sooooo well.
We survived three days of hard riding and three nights of camping. Solid experience. Rode hard and gained some fitness and also learned a lot.
Huge thanks to ride leaders peter and Logan and crew, van driver danny, TheCyclistsMenu, jake the mechanic/chef, Skratch labs, moots, new Belgium, and all the small pieces and parts that made this thing into a grand adventure.
Will i do this again? Give me about two weeks for selective memory to kick in ...and then my answer will probably be yes 😄⛺️🚲❤️
Here are the strava stats for each day:
