Lachlan crashed out per his insta stories. Couldn’t shift.
You guys. That was real messy. Is this going to be known as “The Rain Year” now? My Garmin died at mile 70 and my cue sheet wasn’t weather proof. Called my knight in shining armor and then went straight to Casa Ramos. Satisfied with experiencing 70 miles of the bike version of the Oregon Trail 
The lead men’s group passed me around my mile 52-54. Caked in mud, the only thing I recognized was Stetina’s moustache.
Those guys are unreal fast - they appear almost out of nowhere and are gone just as fast. We were in the middle of a sketchy washout crossing a couple of minutes later and I got in the way of one of the chasers. Felt bad. I just didn’t have a way to get out any faster.
Saw the top 4 women blow by in/just after Madison. Sofia and LDC were on fire. Saw the IG clip of LDC almost getting taken out by a deer. What a wild day.
Also, when I was at the lifetime tent, it sounded like maybe someone was challenging the results of one of the men’s races? They said he and him… They we’re talking about looking at photos to get timing or to see who crossed first? But I couldn’t tell which race it was.
Eta: I think this may have had something to do with all the janky/missing timing. Not necessarily a podium place challenge, now that I have seen similar stuff on social.
Y’all should check out Chris Tolley’s IG stories (tolleyalways).
Highlights:
- Sagan
- Busted wheel
- Vegan Cyclist
You didn’t even see the real mud, maybe around 110? Half an hour of mandatory walking, followed by everyone dunking their bikes in a creek to get it off
. The other one was much longer.
Nice! 
I thought 2015 was the rain/mud year?
I feel like 2022 is deserving of some sort of designation. Maybe it’s The Oregon Trail year 
Hey, I washed my bike in a ditch just like the 200 riders
Great weekend. Sandy mud every where, car wash trip was worth it for bike, body, and clothes. Lots of carnage out there yesterday. Was amazed by all the bottles on the ground, never had an issue with my Blackburn carbon.
First year into gravel cycling, loved/scary riding in such large pace lines the first 20m or so. Was in the 100m SS division. Had issues with my eccentric bottom bracket getting loose, must be all my power
Ended up dropping chain x12 till check point at Madison 65m in. No issues after that, but the downpour started while at SAG stop. Able to get in under 8 hours.
Excited what 4months of training has done. New bike is in the works. Great job to everyone in the 200m.
Most impressive was the XL men, a few averaged over 17mph!!
What a good year to do XL, we were ahead of most of the rain and I never had to hike!
wow! No hiking? That’s awesome. Overcast the entire time?
Slightly bummed to not beat the sun but overall happy to finish - seconds before 16 hours. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions in this thread and last year’s
Congratulations to you all! Incredible achievement and a day you will always remember.
Incredible conditions until the last hour for me, then freezing downpour.
Awesome! Congrats on the finish. Glad only last hour was subpar. No matter the conditions it’s an incredible accomplishment. I had a friend attempt the XL last year and succumb to the heat like many others.
Any distance out there can be quite challenging.
I was watching a video of Tolleys a few years ago on YouTube and my wife leaned over; “So…you’re into hot male porn now!?”
It was Tolley…shirtless…trying for a KOM.
My day ended ended early, around mile 96, with a broken rear wheel. Disappointed, but not devastated. Was happy with how things were rolling along, considering my recent health issues.
But, so very happy for my wife who finished without the need for her headlight, albeit just missing the beat the sun objective she had set for herself. 
Our respective days, in summary:
