Mountains, Storms, Adventure: SBT GRVL 2021
We love big bike events. And this year the team’s biggest event was SBT GRVL in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. With the team flying (and driving) in from around the country, expectations for the race (ride?) were high. But we’re excited to say that SBT GRVL did not disappoint. (Though we still wish they didn’t hate vowels…. and some consonants.)
As the manager / founder / only Slack participant on the Colorado squad, I had really enjoyed my outing at the inaugural SBT race / ride / whatever. It was scenic, challenging—but not too crazy!—and well-organized. I also really love Steamboat. While some Colorado mountain towns feel a bit less than authentic (not naming any names but possibly one that rhymes with Bail), Steamboat feels like an actual town in Colorado where people live. I thought it was a town where our squad could have a lovely weekend, do some exploring, and also enjoy the ride and not feel like they might die. Thus in late 2019 I started my PR campaign and sales pitch on Slack and beyond, and we got a solid squad planning to join for 2020.
Then this global pandemic happened. We were all disappointed yet understanding when the 2020 edition of the race was cancelled. It became my goal to keep the stoke alive for one more year. Luckily, I’ve never been one to shy away from excessive use of emojis and exclamation points!!!
For 2021, we had a variety of participants from the 67 mile red course, all the way to the 144 mile black course. It was helpful that during the pandemic a few more of our classic NYC members moved to Colorado and could easily make the drive. I encouraged all the sea level participants to go Blue (105 miles) at the most, because I wanted them to go to another team adventure I planned in the future.
We’ve collected a variety of reports from the team for your enjoyment, as well as some pictures that we think capture the essence of the event and its surroundings. It was, just like 2019, a very well organized and fun race. Would we do it again? Absolutely! …But maybe after we check out the Last Best Ride.
Barb’s Race / Weekend / Cruise Director Report
As the CO team captain, I was very sad when our original plans for a 2020 Steamboat Gravel team weekend were cancelled. So when this year came together, you can imagine my delight! One of my favorite towns, riding on some of my favorite roads, with some of my favorite humans! And since I knew the most about the race and the things we could do for fun, I got to be the Cruise Director. I absolutely loved the weekend with our pals. The race was just as much fun as it was two years ago when I toed the line for the inaugural race (outside of the addition of the Corkscrew climb, thanks Micah, you complete jerk), but what I’ll remember most is sitting out back at our rental house catching up with some of my best pals from my time in New York. I hope they all loved the weekend, because I am already hatching plans for a 2022 team gravel weekend!
Leah’s Race Week Report
SBT GRVL lined up perfectly with some free time between jobs, so I headed out to Colorado a week before the race to hang out with friends and acclimate to the higher altitude. Lucia, Lisa and I stayed at our TBD-CO teammates’ house just outside Denver for a few days (thanks again for hosting us, Danielle & Aaron!), then drove out to Steamboat to meet up with the rest of the team. Friday and Saturday were spent doing fun touristy things: stopping by the Moots factory (just the outside sadly), trying and failing to get a table at Salt & Lime, and spectating at the Steamboat Pro Rodeo.
By the time race morning came around, I was feeling pretty good—nervous, but excited. Barb and I lined up at staging and rode together to the first aid station at mile 25ish, then started the climb up to Steamboat Lake. At that point, Barb dropped me hard (she is a mountain goat; I am not), but Lucia and Lisa caught up with me. We rode the rest of the race together, taking turns on the front and occasionally pulling along a random rider or three. The course was beautiful: mountains on all sides, wide gravel roads and long, swoopy descents. As we reached the last five miles a storm started to roll in and the wind picked up, nearly blowing us sideways. We powered to the end and crossed the finish line just before the rain started to fall. Overall, despite the awful final climb where I questioned all my life choices, I had such a good time! I can’t wait to do it again next year, when someone is definitely going to peer pressure me into racing the 144 mile black course....
Lucia on Riding For Fun and Event Inclusivity
What a great week in Colorado! I was pretty nervous about this trip for a few reasons. It was my first time on a plane since the pandemic. How would my body handle all that riding at altitude? And 100+ miles on gravel sounded pretty rough. Ultimately, everything ended being just fine and I had the best time out west riding bikes among different scenery and hanging with pals.
As for SBT GRVL itself, I didn’t really prepare for event. I’m not sure if it was due to my pandemic brain thinking the event might be postponed again, or just procrastinating thinking about the trip. But, given Lisa and I planned to treat the event as more of a fun ride rather than a race, I wasn’t too worried about it. A few of us decided to attend the Moots preview ride on Friday and having not studied the course profile super carefully, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of any monster climbs. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the condition of the gravel roads for a majority of the route. In NY, we’re used to under-maintained groads that are littered with potholes and washboard sections. But the SBT groads were as smooth as you can get for the most part. There were some chunky sections for sure, but they were more just fun punchy little sectors, and nothing prolonged. I also didn’t realize we’d be riding in cattle ranch country. The bovine rolling hills reminded me a lot of upstate NY scenery except that there was definitely a Colorado twist with large mountains and mesas in the background.
Leah pretty much summed up how the day of the event went, so I won’t dwell on that. But one thing I really did want to mention was how inclusive the event felt overall. The SBT GRVL promoters really went out of their way to hold space for, and amplify voices of, folks who are still marginalized in the very white cis het dominated sport of bike racing and gravel racing, in particular. There were several rides and programs in the weekend’s event schedule devoted to showcase riders such as Marley Blonsky, founder of All Bodies on Bikes; Molly Cameron, founder of The Ride Group; and the team from Ride for Racial Justice, and their causes. I was also beyond excited to finally meet some of my favorite cycling advocates IRL - better than celebrities in my book. I attended a panel discussion led by riders from the Ride for Racial Justice team and not only were the speakers incredible, but it was the first time I had ever experienced being at a bike race and being surrounded by an entire community of fellow BIPOC folks. It was really meaningful to be in community with and hear stories of struggle, pain, and wins among folks who all share one thing in common: we don’t see enough folks who look like us in the sport of cycling in the US. It was really validating to see so many of Black and Brown folks all in one place, welcomed by the event, celebrated and given a platform, and seemingly without any expectation of ROI for the promoters. It was just good enough that we were there. Whatever outreach and collaboration the folks behind SBT GRVL did leading up to the event, it worked. Event promoters across the country, take note!
Danielle’s Double-Mechanical Joyride:
I haven’t raced—or even exercised consistently since I left New York six years ago (thanks, burnout!)—so when SBT registration opened, I signed up for the 64-mile Red Course figuring it was long enough to motivate me to get back in shape but not so long that I’d have to suffer through the day or risk DNFing. It turned out to be a great choice.
Leading up to the event, I got in a 56-mile training ride and then stupidly hurt my back messing with my road bike fit. Having to skip the majority of my workouts for two weeks before the event made me a bit nervous, but on the flip side, it also allowed me to line up super rested.
I had no goals for SBT except to finish and have fun with friends, but once the event started my competitive nature kicked in. I was feeling good, so I started trying to pick off the people in front of me one by one. I kept reminding myself not to go crazy, especially on climbs, because there was still a long way to go, but I couldn’t help but push myself a bit. For the first time in years, I felt like an athlete again.
After towing a couple of random guys around for a few miles, I spotted what I told myself was the front of my field. There is probably very little chance it actually was the lead group, but even entertaining the very slim possibility kept me motivated to keep grinding. Around mile 30, still feeling good, I hit a descent, shifted into my big chainring, and...completely lost the ability to keep pedaling. My drivetrain jammed.
Apparently, I have a terrible habit of cross-chaining, which I never noticed until I started riding this cross bike because when I do it on this bike, the chain doesn’t just drop, it ties itself in a knot around my crank arm (and yes, I had my bike serviced before SBT, including replacing the chain and cassette and adjusting the derailleur).
I’ll spare you the details, but the mechanical turned into a 15-20 minute ordeal that required the help of two good samaritans to fix (if you’re either of the people who helped me, please get in touch so I can properly thank you!). I went from feeling great to watching the hundreds of people I had passed during the first half of the race whiz by.
It was demoralizing, but I figured I might as well try to claw my way back, so I got back on my bike and once again tried to catch the people ahead of me one by one. Less than 30 minutes later—and starting to get back in a groove—I hit another descent, tried to shift into my big chainring, and...wrapped my chain right back around my crank arm.
I was able to fix the issue much more quickly—and by myself—this time, but I knew my “race” was over. For the second half of the course, I stayed in my small chainring, relaxed a bit, and soaked in the scenery. In the end, the mechanicals were probably for the best. I had been riding harder than I had any business riding. My back started screaming somewhere between miles 40 and 50, and then as soon as that sensation dissipated, my legs started to slowly die.
I finished the Red Course supremely annoyed and disappointed but also proud that I had gotten myself back into shape enough to be in a position to feel disappointment in just finishing.
The Full Gallery by Lisa
Barb is the team manager for TBD-Colorado. She loves cyclocross, gravel and mountain biking and doesn’t mind a road race every now and again. She also enjoys adventures with her Golden Retriever, the Colorado branch mascot.
