Congratulations on your race! That’s pretty amazing! And riding with a partner I bet was pretty helpful.
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Great race report and GRATZ on an awesome finish. Sounds like mentally you had it dialed in.
Shame about the flats but it really seems the small difference in rubber between the S-Works and standard Pathfinder Pro’s makes a pretty big difference in terms of punctures.
Gratz again for an outstanding accomplishment!
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Thank you. The 42 pathfinder pros weren’t available for me. I thought about GK SS, as I rode the + version in the 200 last year without issue. They are just a heavy and unforgiving tire. It’s always a hard call to know what the right choice is.
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Except, that is not “how the event rolls.” They have rerouted this exact section (mile 10-14) TWICE in the last 4 years! In 2018 they made the reroute decision at the start line at 6am because there was a thunderstorn that morning. In 2022 they rerouted because it rained a lot the week before and it was mud. There was no river issue for this section. It was a bad decision in 2023 and they seem unwilling to admit it. The many people who suffered bike damage will be unlikely to come back and will tell others about their negative experience.
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Here’s a cool video I found on YT:
Initially, I was pretty sure I had lost complete interest in Unbound in the future, but this video changed my mind a bit. I’d be down for the challenge as long as I knew what I was in for.
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I managed to snag some high fives from those kids in that still. The locals are very cool.
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WHAT me going down a 
hole 
YES your are correct I did 
duhhhhh you are sooooo right I went down a major rabbit hole after further review I just wanted to make two points to participants and at the organization Life Time.
Participants should take personal responsibility for races they sign up for and do the research regarding the demands of the course. Those that are upset that the RD did not alter the race when he said at the pre race brief he would change the course if the mud was bad inorder to avoid a long and unpleasant hike a bike.
Life Time just rubbed me the wrong way after seeing all their Youtube Life Time Series videos which I enjoy and appreciate…Let me start with, any event with 4k particpants is enormous and will have a lot of moving pieces things will go wrong and they pulled it off and a lot of people if not the majority thought it was great event ergo they did a lot of things correct.
However, after watching the many Life Time videos of the various races in the series and listening to Kimo Seymour President of Life Time Events talk bout how Unbound is the largest bike race in the USA and argueably one of the largest in the world. I read Gold Standard. And they should also focus on the details ergo my website issues. In todays world that this a first look at your org or event etc and I just felt a multi billion dollar company as Life Time holding one that is traded on the NYSE LTH should pay attention to the details. When making claims that about being one of the largest events in the world.
If you look at two other big races in the Life Time Series* Big Sugar and Leadville IMHO their websites are more detailed then Unbound.
What I do like about Unbound they have a proposed training plan on the website which is part of the Gold Standard IMHO.
Then Kimo went on to say how great Unbound was because it was a mass start event and had Pros and Joes race together wereas in Europe Pros only race alone no Joes…That’s not entirely true… World Tour events and XC World Cup events don’t have Joes. However UCI sanctioned Hor’s Category MTB races** have Pros and Joes,
- The Chequamegon 40 is also in the Life Time Series…kool name it would be kool to rock the tshirt. Great ice breaker as well. But it does seem like a challenge I read somewhere, not the website that it was all single track…that seems hard and challenging.
**A UCI Hor’s Catogory Race is one that is designed to attract Pros because of points awarded to season standings and cash awards.
Forgive my rookie question but isn’t heavy and unforgivng in an event like Unbound that have punctures galore what you would want as you rode that tire without issue…I’m not gravel dude yet
So how did you do that chain swapping? Are you a pro or did you have friends and family support or is possible to hire a pit crew? Whatever option in those conditions it sounded like a good decision…
I suspect with the time penalty associated with chaining chains your race goals had more to with finishing and minimizing mechanicals due to mudd that were in your ability to control
The race provides no support (except water at 2 locations) and they require you to have your own support. You can bring your own crew or pay a 3rd party. The top pros have this pretty dialed with mechanics and a lots of parts on hand and others there swapping hydration and fuel. Not quite F1 pitstop, but trying to be. Time taken in aid stations is a really critical aspect of the race because you want to be with a group coming out (especially if you were with a good one coming in). If you are slow, you can be gapped and chasing. Part of the challenge is that the pits are so spread out that you can’t see what others are doing. Some of the pros use radios with folks stationed around the pits so they know to get a rider out when others are leaving.
Swapping a chain could be a good strategy if you are going to be solo coming out of the pit, but it wouldn’t be worth it if you risk losing a group. I didn’t see any of the pros swapping chains, a wipe and lube seems to be SOP for most riders out there (pros and amateurs). I had a chain and quicklink tool ready, but only in case of chain damage. If you aren’t racing for position, swapping a chain at each aid station seems like a good idea in those conditions. Shouldn’t take more than a minute or so. Some folks get off their bikes and take minutes or longer at the aid stations, so it’s not F1 mode for everyone.
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It’s a trade off. I erred on the side of faster and more comfortable over more durable. I think any tire can get destroyed out there if you’re unlucky or make a bad line choice.
I felt that we would be going slower and could make better line choices in the XL compared to racing the 200 where it’s more common to get forced into a bad line. I put 3 plugs in that tire and it’s still on my bike so fortunately it ended up working out.
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I had 3 feet and the did the swap after cleaning my drive train and installing a new cleat bolt. I didn’t NEED to swap out the chain, but it did give me piece of mind.
There was a guy in the 3 feet box that it felt like he was trying to get me to drop out there. He looked like someone who had dropped out themselves. He kinda pissed me off.
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What did he say to you? I always hear good things about the 3 feet support. I’ve done crew for hire and they are good but they’re helping so many people it’s a bit confusing. And honestly not that I need to to be formula 1 or anything but I almost need somebody there to give me a nudge to get moving. In the end, it’s on me to get myself moving along.
There was a guy at water oasis 2 telling me all the reasons he was dropping out. I don’t know if it was just convincing himself it was okay or what but I just thought “you don’t need to justify anything to me”
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It was definitely another rider, not 3 feet crew.
Just over one week out, I’m still in the doldrums knowing that I had the bike and the legs go full distance, but a stupid choice to not bring a light that would light up the road at least a little bit tanked it.
Next attempt at a gravel double in October (Grey Duck Grit) and since we start at 9 PM, I’m pretty sure lighting won’t be an issue.
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Sorry didn’t mean to make it sound like I thought it was 3 feet crew as I always hear good things about them.
I know when I got to crew for hire there were a lot of riders sitting under their tents in the shade. I assumed they were done for the day.
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Also check out the http://dirtydonutrace.com/
Yes there is a donut version but also a sprint version - VERY well run.
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Waaaiiiiiittttttt a minute here. A race where you get time deducted for eating donuts at aid stations? I may have found my calling. Keegan’s got nothing on me now!
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There’s literally zero single track in Cheq 40. Maybe a couple stretches of double track. Otherwise it’s all ski trails, fire roads and gravel roads.
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