YearOfCycling – Cartwheels and Cake

RPI 2022: Year 2!

Last December Paul convinced us to return to Rebecca’s Private Idaho: Queen’s Stage Race. It was our first big gravel race in 2021, and we learned a ton. The hope was that we could apply some of what we learned to do better this year!

While we both fully recovered from COVID, thankfully, we had lost out on a LOT of training in July. That left us just 4 weeks to really train (which was not enough time). So we headed out to Idaho as better racers, but less fit than in 2021, to see what would happen.

UnboundXL gear choices

Just for fun, a review of what I took with me on my first ultra distance race including my repair kit, food, spare gear, and even what I wore. Here we go:

The seat bag:

I used a Topeak medium aero wedge pack (a size up from my usual small bag) with the following inside:

Spare eTap battery (I needed this some 200-odd miles in!)
Two mini bottles of Rock N Roll Gold lube (I had a hot waxed chain, which I was not at all sold on but would absolutely do again for a long race like this, however

Bits and bobs from the winter

After Rexy wrapped up I was more than happy to take some chill time off the bike. I caught up on some doctor appointments, rested, and barely looked at my bike for a couple weeks.

Right before Thanksgiving I got my COVID booster which left me feeling particularly terrible for a bit. On Thanksgiving, 24hrs after the shot, I went for my daily ~1mile walk. I was so tired I had to stop part way home to rest. It also caused all my left side lymph nodes to swell up massively for a couple weeks which was… disturbing and slightly … Continue reading

After Rexy (or playing in Moab!)

After a great race Paul, myself, and our crew was tired! But then the four of us had two wonderful days in Moab to play together which I’m summed up in a little photo retelling below:

The next morning we considered going to a national park, but we all decided a rest day was in order. First up was a stroll into town for breakfast! My mouth and throat were a bit irritated which made eating a little challenging but the food was delicious!

Later in the day we wanted to take a little stroll, and found ourselves at a

Rexy: Queen of the Desert (Let’s Race 🦖)

RACE DAY!!! On October 30th we work up around 4:30AM for the 6AM start. It was cold out – around freezing – and not expected to warm up for a while. I opted to dress fairly warm knowing that the first aid station would come about 40miles in at ~8:45AM and I could ditch layers there.

After some oatmeal, cold brew, and some Skratch hydration mix we were off to the start with Julia and Eric there to see us off (because they are the best of friends)!

A couple minutes before the start, trying to stay warm!

We milled … Continue reading

Rexy: Queen of the Desert (getting ready to roll)

A continuation from this post!

Thurs., Oct. 28th was our big day of prep, and also my birthday 🥳 It was a day full of tasty treats and lots of last minute touches. Both Paul and I went for a short ride to keep the legs loose while Julia went for a walk downtown. Paul realized that his bike was not shifting well, and thus started an almost 2hr back and forth trying to sort out the issue at two bike shops. (Very) long story short, no one could quite figure out the issue leaving Paul stuck with sluggish, … Continue reading