In conjunction with the first @nofcksgivengravel ride in almost two years, I hatched a particularly stupid plan: to conjoin the NoFcks ride with the inaugural Sagebrush Safari Resurrected gravel race being put on by @quickndirtymtb the next day. Two back-to-back stupid hard rides. And so, the SageFck Challenge was born.
I staggered out to Corral Canyon questioning my life decisions to tackle the ~40 mile course with ~5k’ of climbing. Things went better than expected and I once again snagged the coveted #firstloser spot on the podium. The race started fast, with a group of four emerging at the top of the first climb. At this point @brandobike took matters into his own hands and, in a case-study of exercise-induced fear extinction, absolutely shredded the next 10 miles of rolling downhill. By the time the descent was over, much to my chagrin, he was several minutes up the road. I spent the rest of the race clawing back time on the uphills, only to give most of it back on the ensuing descents (thanks for quantifying my descending futility @strava).
The course had a little bit of everything: chunky/rocky climbs, fast rutted descents, sand pits, and a few technical rock gardens. Although the course was a novelty to me, I have done some adventure rides nearby and thought how cool it would be to race out here. We are lucky that when @slasher200 resurrected this event, he included a gravel race.
And lastly, a shout out for my equipment as I was once again floored by my @ridespinergy GXX wheelset and @ircbikeofficial Boken Doublecross tires. They let me tackle all the terrain with aplomb, ruts and rock strikes be damned. Now I just need to strengthen my thalamo-amygdalar circuits so I can hang with @brandobike on the descents. 🤓🤣
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#ridespinergy#spinergygxx#irctire#almsthre#quickndirtymtb#gravelgrinder#optoutside#clevelandnationalforest#corralcanyon#adventure#outsideisfree#gravel#gravelbike#gravelcycling#sagebrushsafari#fromwhereiride#optoutside#puregravel#descendfaster
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