Leadville 100 Training: Completing my First Gravel Event - the Gosh Darn 5!
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
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This past weekend, I participated in my first ever gravel/mtb event! I flew my bike back to Nashville for the Gosh Darn 5, which is a super cool gravel event (not race) where folks from all over met up at 5 Star Retreat in Nunnelly, TN to camp and hang out before riding a 16, 42, 60, or 100 mile unmarked course. I opted for the 42 mile course which was 80% gravel and had roughly 3600 feet of steep, punchy climbs and a healthy dose of creek crossings.
I was super nervous going into this ride because the longest outdoor trail ride I had done prior to this event was probably somewhere around three miles. Also, Matt wasn't able to make it out with me, so I knew I'd be totally on my own if something went wrong.
At the starting line, I was battling worry and nerves, and seriously considered backing out. But before I could do that, the ride started and I found myself sailing downhill into the first creek crossing. Luckily, not too long into the race I met up with a group of local guys who let me tag along with them and they really helped me get out of my own head. We spent the next several hours chatting about all kinds of stuff and, magically, I was distracted from all of those thoughts of inadequacy and worry. All of a sudden, I realized I had ridden 10 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles, 42 miles. I definitely would not have completed that ride if it hadn't been for them! My mental game is so much stronger now than it was prior to the Gosh Darn 5. I feel much more capable and confident, and I'm so ready to tackle bigger training sessions and longer, tougher mountain bike rides.
The weather is finally starting to feel like spring here in Salt Lake, so we're starting to plan some more fun outdoor rides. (Hopefully I won't have to use my wahoo kickr for a while!) We'll be heading down to Grand Junction, CO to ride with a buddy on April 9th. If you have any intermediate trail recommendations in that area, please let me know!
You did great! 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼
Great job!!!!
I was distracted by trying not to get lost LOL I should probably get a Wahoo or Garmin :) Nice to meet you.
Lol I can’t think of a better distraction than trying to not get lost! It was so great getting to meet you ☺️
Great job Vivian! Way to get past it and just keep riding. Sounds like you did it like you should have. So proud of you! Great motivation for the next event for sure. Tell Big Mike I said hi!
Thank you Russ! 😊 And thank you so much for putting the bike together for me! Couldn't have done any of this without you!
Congratulations on a pretty brutal ride. Anything that's close to 100' per mile is a grind but you hung tough!
Thank you!! I can’t wait for the next one!
I’ve done the Imodium thing for races too! 🤣
Lol! The recipe for race success is a 1:1 ratio of Imodium to Sport Legs 😂
🙃 𝐩𝓻Ỗ𝓂Ø𝓈Ｍ