Gravel Worlds 2018 - August 18 = approx 150 miles x roughly 10k climb

IMO, one of the best big race/ride values out there. $80 entry, hotel blocked off in Lincoln with early breakfast for riders, other budget hotels too, pre race expo at Cycle Works, swag galore, cheap flights to Omaha, online riders meeting/video, 3 day prior course downloads that actually worked, perfectly (imo) formatted cue sheets online, chip timed, friendly/available organizers and support/volunteer team if you had any questions or whatever, 150 mile route (and a 75), great people, great post race location and party, top riders to first timers.....10,000 feet of climb ..had common sense checkpoint stops at 60’ish and 120’ish the tops can make with 2-3 bottles with fantastic helpers that kept lines moving for hard core’s......and had numerous other additional oasis locations for everyone else (like me) that might need them. Still maintaining grass roots feel, while throwing a major event!! Well done again this yr Pirates!!!!! And Lauf!!! This 2018 was one heck of a well run event .... if ya can’t have fun at this one (except for the hills lol) ... I don’t know what it would take. For those like me who are pretty much racing/riding only against ourselves but do enjoy mixing it up or suffering with/against others doing the same, this event had it all IMO.



Great course this yr, and the weather stayed dry for the day!!! C U again next yr!!

(No, I am not affiliated with event organizers, I just dig this one)

GHC I signed up for this event today. Curious as to what tires you ran or other rides/ok maybe the majority of the riders rode for this event? Is there sharp flint like there is in Kansas aka Pony Express ride, haven't done DK yet

Thanks
Zman

I rode a setup with tubeless Clement/Donnelly MSO 700 x 36, which end up just under 38 on my rims.  These are my favorite tires for unknown roads, and what I typically ride.

The course typically has a lot of hills .... the temperature is typically hot .... and the wind typically picks up around midday this time of year ......... so pushing a heavy wide tire can increase the challenge on this one.  This year the course was hilly but the roads were fast/dry after the dew dried, 36-38's were plenty.  Some of the leaders were on 30 - 33's this year.   Most riders I saw were on 40's or less.....and saw a lot of Gravelkings.

The course is quintessential Midwestern gravel road material, with some roads having more sand than gravel, and others having more chunk than sand.....not sharp flint hill stuff.   Can almost always count on a few miles of really chunky stuff somewhere on the course, and some soft stuff as well .....as the race occurs at the time of year the counties are grading and repairing them.   If it had rained this year and the sandier roads been soft/wet ... probably would have seen more wider tires out there.  

My bottom line advise .... No reason to overthink tires on this one, ride what you usually ride gravel roads on.  Come physically/mentally prepared for a hilly/roller ride ... typically don't get perfect conditions two years in a row, and the weather was perfect this year.....concentrate on that over tires.

Hope this helps, plenty of others on this site that ride it .... maybe they will chime in on tires they like for it too.

(fwiw .... the day before the race, there is typically an expo, and a keg, at the local bike shop..... a good one.   So, if you get here and decide your tire choice is completely bonkers for whatever reason, the bike shop can fix you up if you don't have what you need with you.   I saw a number of participants getting things switched out during the expo this year.    Point being, if you are planning to get in a day early, relax because you have options.)

GHC wrote:I rode a setup with tubeless Clement/Donnelly MSO 700 x 36, which end up just under 38 on my rims.  These are my favorite tires for unknown roads, and what I typically ride.

The course typically has a lot of hills .... the temperature is typically hot .... and the wind typically picks up around midday this time of year ......... so pushing a heavy wide tire can increase the challenge on this one.  This year the course was hilly but the roads were fast/dry after the dew dried, 36-38's were plenty.  Some of the leaders were on 30 - 33's this year.   Most riders I saw were on 40's or less.....and saw a lot of Gravelkings.

The course is quintessential Midwestern gravel road material, with some roads having more sand than gravel, and others having more chunk than sand.   Can almost always count on a few miles of really chunky stuff somewhere on the course, and some soft stuff as well .....as the race occurs at the time of year the counties are grading and repairing them.   If it had rained this year and the sandier roads been soft/wet ... probably would have seen some wider tires out there.  

My bottom line advise .... No reason to overthink tires on this one, ride what you usually ride gravel roads on.  Come physically/mentally prepared for a hilly/roller ride ... typically don't get perfect conditions two years in a row.....concentrate on that over tires.

Hope this helps, plenty of others on this site that ride it .... maybe they will chime in on tires they like for it too.

(fwiw .... the day before the race, there is typically an expo, and a keg, at the local bike shop..... a good one.   So, if you get here and decide your tire choice is completely bonkers for whatever reason, the bike shop can fix you up if you don't have what you need with you.   I saw a number of participants getting things switched out during the expo this year.    Point being, if you are planning to get in a day early, relax because you have options.)

GHC thanks for that info. I try and get as much info and read as many ride reports as I can before I go into a ride and so far this will be my 1st gravel ride over 100 miles. I probably will be doing the Skull 120 before this though. I had another rider say about dialing in your nutrition which for me would be fluids. Were you able to do the ride with just 2 water bottles or did you use a Camelbak also. I have never used one but also have the option of the 3rd water bottle on my bike. I ride the Clement/Donnley's MSO now in 40mm as that is what came stock on my bike. I hope to have 3000 miles on my legs before the ride as that is a rule of thumb for me to get ready for a ride or being in good shape. Maybe will see you there next year. Guessing this bike would be kind of hard to miss.

Thanks
Zman
 

On the fluids question.     I was flipping back and forth between using three bottles or my camelbak.   Ultimately I went with the camelbak on this one.    Either would have worked fine this year, because it didn't get hot until late this year. 

Here is the deal on fluids for this race.   There are two checkpoints with water....typically 60'ish miles apart.   So carry whatever amount of fluid you think you need to ride 60 in the heat, and you won't have to make extra stops.   

If you misjudge, or don't want to carry that much ... there are  oasis locations on the course (local's/girlscouts/small town conv store) .... that are available, known before the race starts, and legal.   Drop bags, or any outside team/friend/family support are not.

So.....the bottom line on this race and fluids ..... if you don't carry enough, the penalty is lost time (because you will have to stop more often), not death.

GHC wrote:On the fluids question.     I was flipping back and forth between using three bottles or my camelbak.   Ultimately I went with the camelbak on this one.    Either would have worked fine this year, because it didn't get hot until late this year. 

Here is the deal on fluids for this race.   There are two checkpoints with water....typically 60'ish miles apart.   So carry whatever amount of fluid you think you need to ride 60 in the heat, and you won't have to make extra stops.   

If you misjudge, or don't want to carry that much ... there are  oasis locations on the course (local's/girlscouts/small town conv store) .... that are available, known before the race starts, and legal.   Drop bags, or any outside team/friend/family support are not.

So.....the bottom line on this race and fluids ..... if you don't carry enough, the penalty is lost time (because you will have to stop more often), not death.

Thanks for the fluids answering questions. I have a Camelbak here looks like I need to get use to wearing it. Last questions I think. Did you do the 150 miler? What kind of time did you ride in it and was it close to the time that you thought you were going to ride it in? I think from some of the ride reports I read that they change the course every year(not sure) Was lets say the last 10 miles still rolling like the rest of the ride? Did you do this ride on previous years or was last year your 1st year of riding it?

Thanks a lot
Zman 

https://gravel-worlds.com/the-courses

Last years course is still on the web site, you can download it  and/or you can find it on strava for detailed details about the last 10 miles or whatever.  It also shows the various oasis stops this past year to get an idea, and the rest of the website answers a lot of questions. 

The course might change, it might not.  They usually have a couple mapped out, one with more minimum maintenance roads and one without any, so they can have weather based flexibility up until they post the course.   The MMR's become hike a bikes quickly if it rains.  If its like it has been in the past, this years course will be posted 3 days prior to the race.

Yes, the course might and has changed from year to year ...... it has as much to do with who is hosting the start/finish line ..... and what ditch bridges are out for repair.   One thing you can count on regardless of the course, there will be roughly 10,000 feet +/- 1000 of hills .... they definitely want people to learn NE isn't necessarily flat lol......and to get that done, there are couple of stretches of gravel road they gotta put you on sooner or later lol.  

I ride the 150.   Pedal to finish, not for time.  Finished in the top 2/3'rds this year, slower than expected, and goal accomplished/fun had.

Sounds like you ride a lot, and sounds like you plan to have 3000 in by then, with plenty of 100's under your belt, a great bike and great tires, and with your interest in times, potentially racey ...... so given that, you will be ready, and you already know times all depend on race day weather conditions anyway.  I can guarantee you the Sr. class will be pretty racey (all the classes are for this one), you won't be disappointed.

Yes, the course might and has changed from year to year ...... it has as much to do with who is hosting the start/finish line ..... and what ditch bridges are out for repair.   One thing you can count on regardless of the course, there will be roughly 10,000 feet +/- 1000 of hills .... they definitely want people to learn NE isn't necessarily flat lol......and to get that done, there are couple of stretches of gravel road they gotta put you on sooner or later lol.  




Can you explain on what you meant when you said

and to get that done, there are a couple of stretches of gravel road they gotta put you on sooner or later. lol I hope you meant man killer hills or climbs instead of just gravel roads as I thought this ride was majority gravel roads only. 

Sounds like you ride a lot, and sounds like you plan to have 3000 in by then, with plenty of 100's under your belt, a great bike and great tires, and with your interest in times, potentially racey ...... so given that, you will be ready, and you already know times all depend on race day weather conditions anyway.  I can guarantee you the Sr. class will be pretty racey (all the classes are for this one), you won't be disappointed.[/QUOTE]

Truth be told no I haven't been riding very much. I have in the past doing 4x RAAM, a couple of 1200k rando rides and a 2x Furnace Creek 500/ I had a minor/maybe major medical injury the other year and I had so severe collarbone nerve pain that I did stress eating and gain 15 lbs. I still have it at times and hoping to make it thru the winter a little bit better this season as cold weather and stress seems to set it off. I haven't ridden a gravel ride over 75 miles yet but I did manage to pull off 8 gravel bike rides/races 8 months in a row so I do have a little bit of experience. I do plan on going out to do the Skull 120 in Oregon in June so I should have some of the bugs worked out and at least a longer gravel ride/race under my belt. At my end anyways I have found that gravel bike is harder and you have to be in much better shape. The only thing I have got going for me is the mental fortitude that I gained over doing some really long distance roadie rides.



Thanks again for all the valuable info you have given me.
Zman