2023 Whiskey Tango Fondo: Distilled Version скачать в хорошем качестве

2023 Whiskey Tango Fondo: Distilled Version

From BWR San Diego and Utah to SBT GRVL, I've been to and done more than a few gravel races, and the debut-year for Whiskey Tango Fondo had to have been one of the toughest of any races among them (Yes, that second-year of BWR San Diego with a road bike and 23mm clinchers included). There's a fun vibe to the social feed on IG, and the registration setup was low-fi western-rustic, with a bluegrass band playing, event sponsor Woodinville Whiskey Company handing out samples of their wares, and athletes getting a very cool registration gift bag, including Woodinville maple syrup (aged in their whiskey barrels) and a handmade leather tool roll stamped with the Whiskey Tango Fondo logo.... one of the nicest swag bag pieces I've been lucky to come across. But the race awaited. And afterward, there was one common theme: there was no way to train for this one. Heat (113F temps), hills (put together by Strava KOM destroyer Phil Gaimon's team), elevation (the race started at 4,072 feet and went straight up from there) and sand. Lots of unrideable, uphill sand, and technical (but rideable) one long sandy/rocky doubletrack bomb descent, along the undulating foothills of the Eastern Sierra Mountain range at the event's start. Still snowcapped, lots of meltwater came down from the passes after epic snowfall this past winter. There were a few crossings traversable by foot only making for some welcome splashes on the feet in the heat... only offset by the three tablespoons of sand resting within the shoes. We had 1,000ft in the first 35 minutes. With most riders blown by all the exhaustive climbing (and exhaustive, zero-recovery descending) in the first 19 miles, races were already coming undone. Arriving back to the valley floor, I loaded up with gels to push calories, and glancing down at my bottles to grab some cold fluid, was greeted empty cages; both bottles had quietly jettisoned at some point the rocky decent. I tend to just roll over anything, zero brakes, on my Litespeed Ultimate G2, and while it was perfect, the cages, which usually hold, couldn't handle the beating. Luckily I had my CamelBak Chase Bike Vest that was still half full. Riding broken service roads a mile south of the 1940s Japanese encampment Manzanar, I (hell, everyone) was happy to find the aid station for refills. Many of the 100-mile riders at that point (around mile 25) pivoted to the 50-miler mid-race. I soldiered on in pursuit of the 80-whatever miler (the distance went from 70 to 75 to 84 miles in two days time with ever-changing email updates), enjoying what is some of the most beautiful riding in the world; Iron man Jericho lookout, the famed Alabama Hills Movie Road, Mobius Arch. I didn't want to miss any of that riding just to head back to the finish line in Independence. Yet after exiting Alabama Hills, we were greeted with the day's OTHER big, long climb: up Whitney Portal. It was paved, but it didn't matter: averaging 7.6 percent (with a few 10+ percent kickers) I was blown, my back screaming,. It was just an uphill drag. I was joined by another rider who, in the heat, started getting light-headed and wisely grabbed a ride from someone at the top of the portal, back to the start line. There would be no plan to ride back to the start in Independence for me, either. Reaching the top, I joined some other dead bodies for the fast paved freefall back to Lone Pine (the reward for all that climbing), where the hotel pool awaited. Pretty content with that decision. 5:24 of riding, 6,204 of elevation gain, 47.07 miles, average speed 8.7 mph. That was enough of a day. (And far cry from a 13.3mph average for 2.5hrs with 2,500ft of climbing over 33 miles in taking sixth overall in cool/misty conditions at BWR Wanna race two weeks prior.) Evidence, no two gravel races (even in the same state) are alike. Hope this race goes on for a Year Two... but hope they take into account how diabolical the sand was in upending ppls days. If they can move the course around, keep all the gems (Alabama Hills, Tuttle Creek Rd.) and parse out the stuff that made a fun day less fun, WTF could be an ace. Addendum: Race organizers sent out an email (a note from Phil), congratulating all riders, and indeed saying they were grateful. "We know that the day as harder tahn expected and appreciate you not holding the weather and course conditions against us," he said. "We do have plans to make the routes more adaptable on short notice next year to accommodate for wind, runoff and sand, but we're happy to share that there will be a next year!" Good to hear. He did add the reason I was there: to explore an area I've long wanted to visit. "The Sierras are in an incredible part of California that are often passed through, but not explored enough." I'm glad they put it on... and look forward to seeing what next year's courses look like (and will be paying close attention to the elevation profile). I'll still need a few days to convince my still back, though.