[hozn]

@josh 179396 wrote:

Can now confirm. I think it rained briefly on Friday during the day, but was generally pretty dry. I still wiped out. I was using fairly-worn 34c WTB Exposures (not the Compass tires I was thinking of using), but I think going slower probably would’ve been a better solution.

Yeah, I did *not* ride my road bike. And I did *not* ride Compass tires (primarily because I couldn’t get those damned tires to re-seat tubeless). I am very happy with both of those choices. The 700×38 G-One Allround tires were great, but I would not have wanted anything smaller on that course. People told me that ~30mm tires would be fine there. Maybe if you have ability to dodge all the potholes. And if there hadn’t been a fair bit of fresh gravel.

I hit a pothole hard when I was still in the big bunch on the initial gravel downhill and rotated my bars forward. So my hoods became pretty useless for the rest of the ride. On the upside I was more aero in the drops

I had my tires pumped up too high. I thought the roads were supposed to be pretty smooth, so I was running 32/38psi (F/R) on my G-Ones. About halfway through the race I stopped on a climb and dropped the pressure down to something that I suspect was closer to 25/30psi (F/R) and that was much better: much less skittish on the gravel descents, better traction on the loose gravel climbs, much more comfortable in general, and didn’t feel much slower on the little bit of pavement that remained.

I had a fantastic race. Subby is right that it is so frickin’ beautiful out there — one of the gravel races with the nicest views, I think. And the wildflowers — you could smell them on the way up to Spruce Knob; it was incredible.

I tried to hang with the main lead group (not the crazy-fast few that broke off quite early), but it didn’t work out. I then just figured I’d enjoy the ride. I ended up finishing 10th in open men, which was really surprising. But Subby beat me. … on his single speed. I almost caught him, though, so there’s that — I might have ridden a little harder if I’d realized I was in the top 10, but then would also have looked around less and forgotten to appreciate the flowers. So no regrets. I’d definitely consider doing this again. I won’t recommend anyone do it on small tires, though. There’s no upside IMO (there’s very little pavement) — and lots of downside.

Awesome race!

[hozn]

@Raymo853 179167 wrote:

Amazing how often I come back to this thread. My rear 32 Sector 32 is on its last miles. Going to try a S-Works Turbo 28 for the front this time.

I’ve been happy with the S-Works Turbo. They run a little small. I think on my fairly wide (21mm-internal) rims they measure right around 28mm. But easy to set up tubeless and, as one would hope, haven’t had any issues / flats in the 1000ish miles I’ve ridden them — which included some gravel on Poolesville road race. Can’t say if they feel faster than Schwalbe Pro One, but certainly don’t feel slower. This is a fast road tire.

[hozn]

Yeah, they pay out the nose. Not in the form of income taxes, though, or at least not in many/most of the cantons. Just *everything* else.

I am headed over for work in a couple weeks — bringing my travel bike!

[hozn]

Ha – I knew that Learn Klingon book would someday pay off!

Yeah, I am leaning toward the road bike for simplifying my weekend, but the grass doubletrack on slicks does sound sketchy. I will do my best to remember to be toward the front at that section if I do that!

[hozn]

If I had the day off, I’d ride up and do Murderer’s Row, then ride home. That should fill those hours.

Yeah, I’d imagine C&O conditions would be a little boggy with these thunderstorms dumping rain and forecast of rain on Thursday.

[hozn]

@josh 179101 wrote:

I assume you’ve seen this, but the organizers say

The Compass Barlow Pass tires I ordered came in yesterday, so I’m finally getting around to getting the wheels I bought off you ready to use. Thinking that’s the setup I’ll probably use for this.

Yeah, I do remember reading that at some point — I guess I’ll just take their word for it! I keep going back and forth; I need to fly out with my gravel bike / travel bike the next day, so I’d kinda like to pack it ahead of time. I’ll be coming off of a week off the bike (vacation), so I’m not really hoping to try to stay with the lead group — i.e. I’m not going to be upset if I lose time on the descents. The grass doubletrack sounds fun on a road bike!

Nice! — that was actually my alternative plan too: put my Barlow Pass on my travel bike — and then just break it down / pack it up after the race before driving home.

[hozn]

I’m doing it this year (finally!).

For logistical reasons I’m contemplating of doing it on my road bike (28mm tires) — terrible idea?

@reji 179098 wrote:

I have 50/34 and 11-32 and my RD is currently maxed at 37 teeth. Since I need a new RD and cassette, I’m looking for suggestions on what gearing to target for GRUSK and future gravelly adventures.

I assume that’s 37t of chain wrap (not max cog size)? — Is this Shimano? 11-speed?

I’d probably go with a Shimano 11sp MTB rear derailleur and get a Shiftmate 8 (http://www.jtekengineering.com/shiftmate/shiftmate-compatibility-charts-choices/). Then presumably you could run an 11-36t Shimano cassette. — Or, heck, an 11-40t or 11-42t cassette! That’s some really, really low gearing.

Edit: In practice you might be limited to 11-36t with the double up front; you’d need to check the chain wrap for those MTB derailleurs. While you can certainly support the big teeth, you might not find a derailleur that can wrap enough chain to support a wide range cassette and a double with that large a gap in front.

[hozn]

@Crickey7 178999 wrote:

In fact, I’d trashed the cups and bearings in the rear wheel and the front steerer totally seized. Took a little while to dial in the new rear wheel (I cannot, for example, run 35mm tires on that bike) and cleaned and repacked the steerer races. Good as newish.

Maybe switch to cartridge bearings?

Obviously repacking those doesn’t make much sense, but seals will likely make that irrelevant. I haven’t yet owned a bike/headset long enough to have to replace headset bearings (longest I have had a single headset was probably 20k miles). Nothing fancy – Cane Creek 40.

I know people claim cup & cone hubs are great, but who wants a hub they have to maintain?

[hozn]

I love your race reports, though reading this has made me reconsider wanting to do DK200.

(I think I will enter lottery for next year, though heat is my real Achilles heel, so it is probably going to be an extra tough ride for me.)

[hozn]

Yeah, that sounds perfectly reasonable to me. And they (GCN) certainly have no excuse for not knowing the rules.

I guess with only 3 checkpoints, I can understand why so many people are using hydration packs.

(I need to watch the video again, because I missed Sunyata — wearing Bikenetic kit, I assume?)

[hozn]

Awesome. Yeah, I was out there for Columbus Day weekend a couple years ago. My only real ride was Canaan Loop rd; it was fantastic!

[hozn]

@drevil 178924 wrote:

The third titanium frame I have broken. About 10 years old, from a frame builder that has gone completely off the radar (so no warranties)

Nooooo! I’m sorry to hear it, man!

[hozn]

@mstone 178877 wrote:

probably heavily dependent on seatpost diameter and tolerances–my shim was much more tightly attached to the hitch than the seatpost; when it moved, both pieces moved.

Yeah, that’s a good point. If the shim moves with the hitch, then this particular issue won’t be much of a concern. (Though I think probably still not a great idea to try to ride any trails w/ obstacles or bumps.)

[hozn]

@mstone 178875 wrote:

I never had the shim come off (I can’t really see how it could, unless yours was looser or something) but +1 for the rest. It would be a rough ride for the kid.

Plus, even with fenders, rough stuff coming off the bike goes right into the passenger. I loved when the kids were in the weehoo, but I was choosy about where we went.

Well, it’s not that the shim comes off. It’s that the hitch sleeve (i.e. that attaches to the Wehoo and slides down over the shim) could slide up and off the plastic shim. That is what’s happened to me (on several occasions — though usually only when trailer is empty; the only time it happened with a rider in it was when it was off-road). Hopefully that makes more sense.

[hozn]

I don’t think I’ve ridden that specific trail, but from the comments it sounds like it is more technical than it sounds. E.g. “First few miles of The Blackwater Canton were very much like a Standard Rail Trail, than the single track started”.

I would advise that taking a Weehoo trailer off-road is actually a terrible idea. Yeah, I know they show it in the photos, but in my experience it is a complete lie. Because of how the Weehoo attaches to the seatpost (sits on a shim), you really can’t go over any bumps without risking the attachment sliding up off of the shim — best-case causing extreme jolting (and requiring a stop to fix it) and worst-case is probably it destroying your seatpost and ending your ride. Also, your kids are sitting right on top of the wheel without any suspension; they can’t stand up for the rough stuff like the adult on the bike can. (Well, the adult on the bike can’t really stand up with a Weehoo in tow either, due to balance.) And, of course, riding over logs or other large obstacles is out of the question.

I tried taking my son off-road for a tiny stretch on relatively tame local trails. It was a disaster.

I’ve ridden around Davis a fair bit (Revenge of the Rattlesnake race for a few years and then some “road” riding on Canaan Loop Rd more recently) and the off-road trails there are in general extremely technical. And Canaan Loop Rd turns into a very technical jeep road too — but is so much fun. I definitely recommend riding there — on- or off-road — and hope that you’re able to make it work one way or another.

[Author]

Posts