Hart Hills Gravel Race recap

Time for another recap. This time I made the journey from Allegan up the Lake Michigan coast to Hart.  Upon arrival I found a parking spot and wandered over to packet pickup. I got my bag and headed back to the car to gear up. It was a bit cooler than I anticipated, so I wore my heavier long sleeve jersey. Met up with Bill and Nick from Rockford bike shop and headed out for a short warmup.

I joined up with a group and headed out of town. We kept going and I was getting nervous about being late for start so I swung back to start area. I had about 10 minutes so I rolled around and then eventually headed to the start gate.

The 50 mile riders were lining up and started to crowd the line. I was towards the back of the group...because lets face it....I am not a speedster. While I was ready mentally for the cooler air and the 55 miles ahead of me, I was not ready for the adventure I was about to start. While I thought there was 10-20 people behind me....there was a grand total of 2. lol

Then it was time to race. The group started out of town and I was actually pushing ahead in the group a bit. The entire field was stretching already as the start was on pavement, which is expected in nearly every race. We made a turn onto gravel...and the fun really began. The gravel up there is a mixture of loose gravel and sand. By sand....I mean....sand. I had no idea what I was in for with this race....and it was starting to show its ugly face early on. 

Above is one of the worse sections of sand. It was pretty gnarly

Photo courtesy of StellaFly

The miles slowly crept past. There were a lot of people riding around me. I would pass a few and a few would pass me back. At mile 10....I was averaging under 10 miles an hour. I was planning on a 4 hour day....and now it was starting to look like a 5 or 6 hour day.

I met up with a woman that was riding my speed and she made the funny comment about averaging 9 miles an hour. A group of 6 or 7 of us made the turn onto Hart-Montague trail and the speed instantly went up. Flat pavement. What a welcome sight even after only 10 miles. We pushed ahead and started picking off people. Cruising 22 mph is awesome and I was finally able to find a rhythm. We crossed a road that had a little rise, I pedaled hard and ended up riding alone. Made another turn....back into some nasty gravel. Watched my average speed climb to 11.5.....but it was about to tank again.

After the 25 mile course turnoff I rode alone for a long time. There were a handful of people I could see, but nobody close enough to ride with. Slowly the miles went by. I walked....a lot. Not because of hills...but because I simply kept sinking in the sand. I would be riding at a solid pace and then the road would just disintegrate and I would sink. Add in that there was a gale force wind warning....and my day just kept getting longer. 

Eventually I hit 50 miles. Thankfully the gravel gave way to a pavement finish so I was only fighting headwinds and crosswinds the last few miles. I managed to find a rhythm in those last miles...and pulled my average speed up to a blistering pace of almost 10 miles per hour. Just awful. I crossed the line is 5:26. Brutal race....but I finished....and I wasn't last.

This race was a good mental training race. Physically good too, but more mental. I am grateful that it was a full loop and not multiple laps....because I would have bailed out for sure. This race was one of the most difficult I have ever done. Had the gravel been locked up, it would have been better. The race was simply what it was....and we cannot choose the weather or the terrain or the conditions. What we can choose...is to give in....give up....or keep going. I chose to keep moving forward. The thought did cross my mind that I would have been faster if I had stayed in bed. I am thankful I didn't, but it was a challenge to keep going. I made it. I finished. I wasn't last. I lived.