I simply don’t get the appeal of this race. And let’s call it a ride. There are less than 20 ppl with a chance to winning it.
What is it that ppl like about this event?
There are less than 5 people who can win the TdF….should we call that a “ride”, too?
Uhhh, no it isn’t.
Why is that bad?
The Flint Hills are spectacular.
In your opinion, perhaps….there are shorter options as well.
I get that Unbound is not everyone’s cup of tea……but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great event or that you have to disparage the event.
Not trying to disparage. Just trying to learn something new. Because, maybe I’m the one missing a fantastic experience……If you told me The Rift was a 12h event, I would understand the appeal given the fantastic scenery.
The footage I’ve seen form Unbound seems like mostly flat farmland. Will try to check the Flint Hills that you mentioned.
The Flint Hills are the whole general area where Unbound takes place….the views and vistas in that area are fantastic. Some rivaled what I saw on The Rift…they were just of a different kind (prairie vs. volcanic)
I totally get people not wanting to do super-long events…but most of these events also have shorter options, too. I would recommend signing up for one of those and going to experience the event itself.
Even though I DNF’d in 2019, it was still one of the coolest races I have ever done.
IIRC last year had 12k feet of gain in 200 miles, would you consider that ‘flat’? sure it isn’t full of 10 mile climbs like you get in the Rockies, but I don’t think it’s ‘flat’
Yeah, that is it….there are no long, sustained climbs, but there are constant short, steep climbs that sap your strength. It is deceptively challenging from a profile perspective.
Rode from the Bazaar Cattle Pens through the Water crossing into Texaco Hill. Some pictures of the gravel and open range. It’s going to be a great race!
When you can soak in what is happening, unbound is amazing.
I really enjoyed my time, and I suffered A LOT.
I think I now feel the exact same way at this point 
This race is the reason I bought a bike almost 2 years ago. I saw a YouTube video and it just looked completely stupid and miserable and just why?!
Prepping for it has literally taken over my life.
But it’s finally almost here. I’mma do it. I’m gonna have fun, if it’s the last thing I do. And maybe I even survive it 
Does anyone know if they’re doing the dinner at the university again this year? I couldn’t find it on the website.
Is the course marked or do you have to rely on your GPS?
You are entirely self-reliant for Unbound…that is part of the challenge. So have the GPS loaded and bring a cue sheet in case your computer fails.
There are 0 markings on the route. You can either have your GPS, cue sheet, or follow other people…
thanks for the pics. this course is soo much different from what we have here in socal and really looking forward to it. except for the washboard in the top pic
So looking into the next 2 weeks… should I be concern about all the TSS that TR has scheduled for me?
I have been training at 500TSS per week and going down to 327 TSS this week and 129 TSS next week prior to Unbound. Is this appropriate? Tapers always make me doubt everything…
Even that scenery would get real old if you’re not into gravel/ultraendurance to begin with.
You could say that about any race. Let’s say you won a Cat 1 MTB race in your age group. Would you then compare your finishing time to those in the pro categories and dismiss your victory?
People who think this is a race (for them), go too hard at the beginning or in segments trying an effort outside of what is sustainable. I understand there’s an element of crowd madness at the beginning of every mass start event, but it’s clear that the best strategy is always to do your steady pace and work with people that are in the vicinity of your level.
In the end, the racing type of guys end up giving 30-60 mins relative to the steady Eddie’s.
OTOH, the top 20-25 guys that want to create a selection, THEY are racing.
Tapers are very individual…what works for some doesm’t seem to work for others. However, if you don’t have a lot of experience to draw on to make adjustments, trust the process. There is still a fair amount of intensity in tyat taper, which is what you need to keep things sharp. You could maybe add on some Z2 miles on the 28th if that would make you feel more comfortable. 2 hours of extra Z2 isn’t going to be detrimental to your race effort…as long as you keep it strictly in Z2.
In all these mass start endurance events, the definition of “A Race” is very subjective. There are few (like you say) racing for the ultimate win, some people are racing for winning their category (age, gender, etc), few are racing their past time, and most are racing themselves to prove that they can finish.
It is not up to us to judge each person’s race and certainly not to undervalue their effort or reason for the race.
I am personally doing this because I live in Kansas and this is arguably the ultimate Gravel event in the country (certainly in the state) because of its history and coverage. I am not by any means trying to win any category much less the race but I do want to “race” against my own efforts and physical state and prove that my training allowed me to perform to my best capability.
This happens in every race, even Cat 5 crits. There will always be people who can’t pace.
