SBT GRVL 2023 Thread

Me, watching my inbox the rest of the afternoon…

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In for Black, guess I better start training!

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In for Red :red_circle:

We registered as a team, so I assume he’s a go for Blue.

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Yes, if one person for the team gets in, all get in.

Congrats!

Back to refreshing my inbox. :woozy_face:

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I’m I’m in for the black course. I suppose I shoulda looked at it first.

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In for Black…now remembering how I suffered like a dog the last 20 miles and wondering WTF I did this…LOL.

:crazy_face::crazy_face::crazy_face:

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Accepted for Black. I don’t own a gravel bike nor have I ever ridden gravel. Here we goooooo.

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Jumping into the deep end!!! You’ll love it…a great event!

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Coming from road or MTB? Or neither?:laughing:

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In for Blue! Was supposed to do Red this year but got concussed the week before so couldn’t ride. Looking forward to it!

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Ok, if never been to Steamboat and honestly don’t know the first thing about the course, lodgings, best bike type, tires, etc. Not a total newb to riding in Colorado at elevation. I raced Leadville last year and finished middle of the pack.

What are the top 3-5 things I should know about SBT GRVL?

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It’s a party! Lodging is $$$ that weekend and books quick. Start line has been ~Yampa & 10th - it has been worth every penny for us to stay two blocks off the start.

Not sure which course you’re doing but for the most part, the gravel itself is gucci gravel. Probably the least thought that you’ll ever put into tire choice.

I think the Cow Creek section is worth a preride up/down just to get familiar with it - especially if you plan to rip down that descent after a long day of riding. Had a teammate have a horrific crash there last year. And, as the name suggests, there are cows.

If you’re racing, the aid stations are more chaos party than urgent but the volunteers do a great job trying to proactively help you when you pull up to get you on your way. Just don’t pull up shaking a water bottle, screaming “water! WATER!” because they don’t do that.

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The lessons you learned and strategies you employed at Leadville will largely be the same for SBT…pacing and nutrition are key. The course is not technical at all….the gravel is fantastic.

A lot of the climbing comes at the end…check the profile to see what I mean. You’ll want to save your legs for that (again, it is about pacing).

I’m not a fan of the Honey Stinger drink mix, so either test it beforehand or prepare to carry your own mix and just use water at the stops.

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Both, so it’s basically the average of the two, right??

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Gravel tires on your MTB!

Coming down from Canada for this (Black course), and am at a bit of a loss for what else to plan in the area. We’re thinking two-ish weeks in Colorado/southern Wyoming, flying in/out of Denver. I’m open to anything that a bike set up for the race can do.

I’m contemplating hunting out some bikepacking routes, but not sure I want to fly all my gear down. So a better option may be something multi-day where we can stay indoors.

Any ideas from folks who know the area?

How much stress do you want to put on your legs?

Northern Colorado/Fort Collins route suggestions from Bike Sports - check out the “Solid” and “WTF” routes:

https://www.bikesportsco.com/routes

Another favorite NoCo route (from people in faaaar better shape than I am) is to park in Drake and ride through Glen Haven (or start in Glen Haven) - take the road up the switchbacks to crest over into a beautiful view of Estes Park on Devil’s Gulch. Then U-turn and stuff your face with a cinnamon roll at the little store in Glen Haven on your ride back down.

And Estes Park in general - you can bike into Rocky Mtn National park. August is still going to have lots of car traffic for summer vacationers but my faster half has done the Old Fall River Rd up / Trail Ridge down early on a summer weekday morning. But he did not have SBT Black on his calendar at that point :slight_smile:

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Here’s a list of gravel routes to consider.

There’s a bunch of rides you can do starting and finishing in Steamboat. Dunckley Pass and Trout Creek are a couple of good 70 milers. Lynx pass out and back is another good one (not sure it’s on the dirty roads).

A big one day ride is circle the Zirkels. You could also break it up into 2 days with an overnight at Hog Park reservoir, but would require overnight camping gear.

Tour of the flattops is another candidate for a multi day ride. The stretch along the Colorado river from Burns to Dotsero is beautiful.

I’ve ridden up Fall River road from the Estes side. I’d like to do an over and back from the west side.

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I’ve never ridden there. Black course. I’m debating my gearing. 40T ring and I can either run 10-50 or 10-44. I’m a fairly strong climber, but this will be a distance PR for me. Any thoughts?

I’m a decent climber and rode 48/35 up front and 10/33 in the back. Felt great on that gearing even during the steep kickers that came towards the end of the Black course so I’d imagine if you’re a good climber then anything close to a 1:1 ratio will be no problem