I was seriously considering this event, but I knew there was a high likelihood of issues for a first year event of this scale. For a price tag of $200 I wasn’t willing to put up with that. Between your experience and my lack of saddle time, looks like I made the right call.
The TC area is known for its spiderwebs of “trails” intermixed with the actual trails, so the race promoters really let you down by not having very clear markings. They should lay down a white chalk line at every intersection, connecting where you came from to where you need to go. It’s a natural, effective and temporary making. I’m guessing the promoters didn’t ride and mark the course themselves.
I was actually in TC that day at a watermark for my son’s birthday. I noted lots of riders on a fairly busy “highway” (non-restricted access) but I am not sure if that was part of the Waffle, Wafer or shorter MoMitt race. I would have been pissed having to ride on that when surely they could have limited it to crossing the road instead of riding down it with better route planning.
Wow. What a failure to have people telling you about the route issue with plenty of time to fix it and still failing to do that. That makes me feel that I should wait until I see them actually successfully execute before trying this race.
It seems it’s very much better to just ride this as an experience and not worry about your time / placement, since the promoters aren’t reliable.
Packing for gravel races in the upper midwest in spring/fall is the worst … at the BWR last weekend I think I had 4-5 bibs, 5-7 jerseys, all sorts of differing base-layers and 3 diifferent pairs of gloves – and that was all for a single 10 mile recon ride and then the race
Trying to get the kit right for a race that might occur anywhere between the 30s-60sF and might have a 20 degree temp swing during the actual race is virtually impossible. I ended up getting my setup right, but I was very, very cold at the start line.
Well I did buy some Specialized Element bibs at an LBS along with some Gore Thermal shoe booties, Element gloves, and a really good Gore windstopper/thinsulate under helment cap.
So my kit was
Element bibs (down to the ankle)
Element gloves
long sleeve wool base layer
long sleeve gore windstopper base layer
thermal jersey
Gore Phantom jacket (windstopper front)
Wool socks
chemical toe heaters in my shoes.
Starting temp was listed as 39F on my head unit, dropped to 27 as lowest recorded reading. Combine that with 20+MPH on the downhill and I was generating a windchill of 11F.
I pulled out at the 56 mile (first) checkpoint because I couldn’t fee my feet below the ankle and my fingers were numb making shifting and braking challenging. That was with 3 of 26 rated climbs complete.
So the cold was exceptionally bad. But the light an motion headlight was awesome as was riding at night on Minnesota gravel. It was an amazing experience, well except for the hypothermia part.
I’d say Gray Duck Grit shouldn’t be one’s first overnight race, nor should it be one’s first double. I’ll enter the lottery for Unbound 200, which should be easy in comparison, or at least a very different challenge and then take stock of where I am in terms of taking on Gray Duck next year. Even the 111 mile route was tough, but having driven most of it, I’d recommend it, provided one is dressed for the weather of the day.
I don’t see any head / face coverings listed there. Though I’m assuming you used something, a neck gator and/or balaclava helps a lot. Without anything you’re going to freeze.
Also, lots of heat leaks through your hands and feet, even with them well covered. Most shoes have ventilation that you don’t necessarily notice but will freeze you. Shoe covers or winter boots are a must in those temps. The metal cleats are also known to suck the heat right out through the sole. That’s why the 45Nrth boots use aerogel insoles to insulate that. Or you could run nylon flat pedals.
For the hands, nothing beats a pair of pogies (Bar Mitts is one example, but I like cloth instead of neoprene). They eliminate all heat losses from convection (air flow). I often fat bike with bare hands inside pogies, they are that warm (still carry gloves for stops and repairs).
Even with the right equipment, it’s a learning process to figure out the right combo to wear for each temp range and exertion combo. Layers and the ability to take stuff off (and store it) and put extra on really matters, as well as ability for sweat to vent and materials to dry.
Merino wool is the gold standard for cold weather riding because it’s very breathable, fast drying, and doesn’t stink. You pick the insulation level by picking the thickness (grams per square meter). It’s pricy but anything high performance is.
Yep had a smart wool neck gaiter and both the jacket and jersey had high collars, so it wasn’t a leak through the neck. Also had both the Gore thinsulate/windstopper cap with earflaps. My head wasn’t cold at all. I also had a 45Nrth stove pipe to swap into if the Gore wasn’t cutting it.
The only thing I could have done, but didn’t was taken out the emergency blanket and put it under my jacket as another wind blocking layer. By the time I figured it out, I was already past the point of no return as I also hadn’t eaten in about 90 minutes. Ends up clif bloks aren’t as pliable below freezing, nor are gels. I should have put some hot hands in my top tube bag to make them at least not nearly frozen.
You had all that on up top and were still cold? I would have been roasting in that…I wonder if you were actually overdressed, got damp from sweating and that is what made you cold.
I didn’t mention it but one thing Merino won’t do is block wind. You still need a synthetic to do that well.
I didn’t think about the nutrition freezing up. I tend to put all my nutrition on my body, not a bag, so it stays warm, but that is coincidence not something I thought to do.
If you have the local weather for it, practice the cold weather riding and take notes on what works for you at different temps, speeds and intensities. It’s very much a trial and error approach and I tend to have forgotten a bit at the start of each season. Just yesterday I over dressed but at least I had a plan for adjusting.
I don’t think I could ever do an overnight ride/race. I need my sleep. Respect to you for trying.
I was assuming it was the feet and hands. But getting too sweaty, shedding a layer and then freezing up is common. And it’s the hardest to avoid. That’s why quick drying fabric is key and so are vents to let you dry without freezing. And an extra layer for stops.
Winter riding is so much more technical just due to keeping yourself the right temperature and humidity. Things we take for granted during the warmer weather
Everyone says to wear layers, but all the layers in the world won’t work if you don’t use your layers…
Always start cold, then add layers if you need to, don’t sweat then try to shed layers, they are already wet.
I went duck hunt in Minnesota this Saturday AM and the wind had a strong bite to it. Getting set up for that makes me sweat like crazy, so after set up, I get back to dry land, shed all my sweaty clothes, stand around without a shirt on until I don’t have any sweat left on me, then relayer with dry clothes.
For your feet, when I go fat biking, I never wear the socks and footwear I am going to ride in to the trail head. When I arrive I take off my socks, let my feet dry, new socks on and my boots ride to the trail head in the bed of my truck so they are cold when I put them on.
It is better to lose body heat warming your layers than to start hot and sweaty in cold conditions. Moisture is the kiss of death in cold conditions.
Spend the winter perfecting a system and come back and give it another shot next year!
The worst for me is deciding what gloves to wear…I never get that one right. I have sometimes pack an extra pair in my jersey pockets because I know I’ll need 'em at some point.
Results for Gray Duck dropped this morning.
333 had five entrants and four starters. One rider finished.
222 had eleven entrants & starters. Four riders finished.
111 had 54 riders entered. 29 riders finished.
