Anthony and Thomas and I hoped for a three man Fell Swoop gravel team time trial but Thomas' recent illness sank that plan. Anthony and I planned to stick together until at least the three devils at mile 60 and then see how the chips fell.
The course profile of Gran Fondo Ephrata starts with a kick to the face. The first climb starts just a few minutes into the race and lasts about fifteen minutes. Anthony felt more eager than I and he went up the road with another forty or so riders. I knew what I could tolerate and what I couldn't. I held just over 300 watts for that first sector of the climb.
A short paved descent connects the first and second climbing sectors. A rider near me was motivated to chase on the descent and I reluctantly joined the rotation. We quickly caught Anthony and a few other riders.
The second sector of the climb is paved, lasted a bit over 20 minutes, and Anthony chose a lower effort that allowed me to hold his wheel to the top. We crested onto the rolling gravel flats within a large group. It felt like victory to me. Last year I crested with a solid group but was so spent I couldn't hold the wheels at the top.
A mile later I was surprised when Anthony let me know he would drop off this group. I let him know I had to hold these wheels and hoped he wasn't too disappointed in my choice.When we started the gravel descent it became evident there were only two riders who weren't touching their brakes. I didn't get a name but I could always identify the other descender by his yellow hydration back pack. Every technical or steep bit found yellow pack man and I rolling to or off the front.
But rolling to or off the front was not where I wanted to be. I wanted to hide in the middle. Because riding at the front on this sector wasn't very friendly.
Our group had grown to about 20 riders. Five of them were motivated to take turns pulling down the loose gravel of Baird Springs road. One of the five was pretty vocal about his wishes. I did occasionally join the five and take a few short pulls but that was not enough to prevent the ire nor verbal abuse from the most vocal of the five.
At another interesting moment I was riding third wheel. The rider in second slowed a bit and I overlapped to his left. I put my hand on his hip to let him know of my presence. When he finished his pull he barked 'Keep your hands on the bars!'. I was speechless. He barked again so I responded with a cheery 'You betcha' while looking straight ahead, taking my pull, and trying to hide my eye roll.
Fortunately the demeanor of the group improved when we reached the pavement. At least half of us were taking pulls and the train was moving along nicely. We also picked up a few stragglers.
At the mile 40 aid station our group split with about fifteen of us skipping the aid station and starting right into the false flat of Palisades road. It took a mile or two of coaxing but soon enough every rider was participating in a rotating paceline. Fifteen strong riders made for light work and we were at the base of the Three Devils before we knew it.
The Three Devils is a series of gravel climbs that come 60 miles into the 85 mile race. This is where pacelines and comaraderie often go out the window and it's every climber for themself.
A few riders expressed their exasperation about the first pitch of the Devils. I hadn't spoken much to my fellow riders up to this point and decided to break my silence with a joke. I shouted "We'll regroup at the top, right?" and received a hearty round of laughter. The laughter faded quickly as the climbing took it's toll. I dug deep and was about the fifth rider to crest.
By the second pitch the strongest climbers had reformed to a group of eight. Every rider, myself included, knew the importance of finishing these climbs in company. When the final climb was finished we still had a strong group of eight riders and went right back into rotation.
As we approached the final aid station at mile 64 I started the water stop strategy conversation. Except there was no conversation. Every other rider planned to skip the aid station. One rider pointed out I had an extra bottle in my back pocket. True. But I wasn't sure it was enough. Another rider said my third bottle would be plenty to get me to the finish. Maybe. A third rider said we were most of the way to the finish and the remainder of the race would be easy. Definitely Not.
At mile 67 we were back onto gravel and at mile 69 the wheels began to loosen. Three riders quietly dropped off the back. Implosion occured at mile 72.The two strongest riders rode off the front. Rachel was riding third wheel and I was fourth. I quickly shared with her that the two going up the road were too strong for me and that I would rather stick with her and Zak instead of trying to bring the two stronger riders back. We made just one more rotation before Zak took a strong downhill pull and Rachel lost connection.
Once the dust had settled I shared with Zak that he was stronger than me. I wouldn't be able to help much until we got to the pavement. He was OK with that. I did take one short pull but mostly I rode his wheel and kept my legs spinning.
During this sector we were sharing the course with the Medio riders. I recognized Mike G as we approached and yelled 'Hey Mike G' and flashed him a shaka as we rode past. Then I immediately put both hands back on the bars.
The final gravel climb is not too steep nor too long. But our legs were pretty spent by the time we arrived. To my surprise Zak said he was 'done'. I shared my prediction that he would reconnect once back to pavement. He did. For the final paved run into the finish Zak did the majority of the work. I was quick to let him know I appreciated his work and wouldn't fight him for finish position. We finished without drama in positions 32 and 33.
My finish time for the 2024 Gran Fondo was a personal best and five minutes faster than my previous PB. I was really happy with my performance. And I was truly wrecked. My legs hurt too much for a cool down ride. I was walking crooked. I left everything I had on the gravel roads in and around Ephrata Washington.
In the hours that followed I evaluated what I did well this year. In summary I think I simply avoided the big mistakes. I stayed within my own means on the first climb. I worked the hardest when it was in service of staying with other strong riders. I worked in the pacelines to show my commitment but never more than I could sustain to the finish. I came prepared with enough food and water to have freedom to choose my stops. And, when it mattered most, I kept my hands on the fucking handlebars.
