Rasputitsa 2023

I’ll be riding my first Rasputitsa in a couple weeks and am curious who else is going.

Any good recon, tips, etc, from those of you who have completed the event in the past?

I’m doing the 70K distance but have barely been outside so far this year, so it could be…interesting.

Great! I’ll be there for the 100k. I’ve been sick off and on since November so I won’t exactly be setting the course on fire, but I’m still really looking forward to it. Last year’s was my first bike race in ~15 years or so, and it immediately felt like home. The vibe reminds me a lot of mountain bike races in the early 90’s where people are chatty and supportive, and it’s a real festive atmosphere the whole way through.

Couple quick thoughts: it’s likely to be a dry one, since it’s going to be pretty warm and sunny all week (holy crap, they’re calling for 60’s - 70’s, which should dry things out quickly). That said, there will definitely still be some wet patches here and there up high and in the shadows on the mountains. But likely nothing to worry too much about.

The course itself is really fun and rolly, with a fair amount of mellow Class IV road, but nothing too technical. The potential weather is the hardest part, but it’s looking to be mild-ish. It’s been a very dry spring so far, so we don’t have the usual heavy rain on top of snow melt that turns the mountains into a quagmire.

Best advice I can think of would be to focus on hydration and nutrition. It’s probably going to be cool considering the time of year (35-40ish), so you may not feel as thirsty and hungry as you actually are. Take full advantage of the rest stops. They’ve got good snacks, plus whiskey and maple syrup at the last one or two. My biggest regret of last year was under fueling. I felt great, set all-time power records for 20 minutes up through 2 hours, then (after a drinking a bottle and a half of Gatorade and eating maybe half a Clif bar over 3.5 hours and 50ish miles), ran out of gas with 4 or 5 miles to go.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the end is rough. There are some steep climbs, and the final half-mile? is a steep, sandy uphill to Burke lodge. So definitely save something for the end.

ETA: Added a bit more clarify.

I’m doing the 100. I’ve not had many days outside either.

I’m doing the 100k and haven’t ridden a ton of gravel either. I live reasonably close to the area and planning to ride part of the route next weekend. I’m excited because this will be my first gravel “race.” 38c pathfinders and 1x set-up with 42/11-34!

Im doing the 100k did the 70k last year. The start for the 70k can be a bit brutal with the dh then immediate climbing stretch. Start line is a bit of a free forall and you could be leap frogging alot of groups once it turns uphill if your trying to find people to work with. Final 7ish miles are brutal should definitely plan to stay on top of fueling really easy to fall behind with the usual temperatures. I like the liquid calories and gels since its always up or down never seems to be any flat stretchs.