Pedal Rio Medina Gravel Grinder

I absolutely love gravel grinders: long, grueling, death-march rides where shear bull strength and determination outweigh strategy. The longer the course the better. I classify myself as a diesel, with plenty of fat reserves to maintain energy for extended periods of time.

Over a year ago I traveled to Kansas to race in the Dirty Kanza 200 mile gravel grinder and this year I had fun with my team during the Castell Grinder. I was happy to hear that a good friend of mine was putting together a benefit Gravel Grinder ride for a boy scout troop less than an hour drive from my house! Well the flyer said "ride" but we all know when there is a start/finish line and someone says "Go!" - it is a RACE!

I made sure to trade shifts at work so I was able to experience this torture on a mix of dirt and pavement. Jeff and I arrived in Rio Medina less than an hour before start time and I nervously loaded up the course on my Garmin. I was trying to hide my limp from a stair climbing workout that trashed my calves a few days before. There were some fast people here! I mean seriously FAST! And I was the only girl doing the full 67 miles. Gulp. I ride over to Andy and make small talk where he informs me that his secret weapon is a frozen coconut water that he will consume halfway through the ride once it has melted. "This isn't my first rodeo", he tells me. I quickly reassess my hydration situation once I see he is also wearing a camel bak… I have three water bottles (two on my bike and one in my jersey pocket). There will be 2 water stops along the course but both require you to get off your bike which will cost time. I don't plan on stopping.

Ready, set , GO! Doug and Juan assume the pulling roles for the first few miles until we hit the first gravel section. I am uncomfortable but know (hope?) I will settle in. My calves are on fire. At mile four we come across the first cattle guard and I ride directly over a cactus. Thankfully my tires are stone so I don't go flat, but it was enough my mess with me mentally. I see JT come up beside me and hear the unmistakable sound of a flat.  Someone in the pack says "one down". Warren is riding next to me and we both know the monster hill is coming up. This is the hill that I predicted would split the pack. There it was, at mile 10. As soon as the hill came into sight a fluster of activity happened and the pace increased. I split my gut to try and keep up but did not make the selection as the strongest left us behind.  My eyes were crossed but I guess there were about 7 up the road at this point. I resolved to chase and just hope the lead group would attrition. My favorite riding buddies, Nathan and Doug, and myself found each other and started working to make it up to the leaders who remained in sight. We quickly saw one of the leaders standing roadside with a flat. 6 left. After a few miles we were joined by a group of three that had been chasing us (Jack, John, and David). We started a nice rotation but Jack must have done too much work bridging and he was gone. Then we lost John to a mechanical. David would stay with us.

Soon we saw Warren standing on the side of the road, with a flat. 5 left to catch! The lead group was loosing horsepower! And we could still see them! The first water stop came quick and we sailed past it. No time to loose. It was starting to hurt but we kept pushing. I started to take longer pulls and hoped it wouldn't cost me too much. We saw someone else on the side with a mechanical…WILL BLACK! It's on now! With new energy I kept motoring and didn't realize our group got smaller. Doug was gone. Maybe he stopped to help Will. Nathan, David and I got to the the last water stop and there was talk about stopping. We could not afford to stop - I saw someone from the lead group that had fallen off. It was Tim. We rode up beside him and he informed us there were just 3 left (Andy, Rob, and Jeff). I could see them! We had the 6 mile rolling climb left and then another 10-ish in a headwind. Once on the climb I noticed Andy was not doing well and had fallen off. At this time I did not know he had dropped his prized coconut water on the route. After passing him I noticed that I was alone. Then I saw Rob. He looked back and saw me coming, and I just settled in to a pace that I could sustain. Rob stayed with me and we finished the climb together. He told me only Jeff was up the road and I strained to see him- a tiny little spec up the road. He was too far for me to catch and unless he cracked, there was no way I could get to him. So now I focused on not getting caught because I knew somewhere behind me were stronger riders (Will, Warren, JT…) that would be chasing after they fixed their flats.

Jeff finished first, alone, off the front. Man he's riding strong. I came in a minute or two behind him with Rob. I was so ready for a nap but was so happy. We averaged over 20 miles per hour! The boy scouts were there grilling hamburgers and handing out cokes. Sanaa did the shorter grinder and was the first to finish that!