Gravel Ride of the Week: The Quick and the Dead Gravel Race
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Twelve months ago, with great excitement, I jumped on board the fast growing cycling movement, purchasing my first gravel bike, the 3T Exploro Pro. Having moved to the United States back in 2016, I'd been greatly disappointed when I wasn't able to track down any proper road races. Sure, there were the grand fondo style casual starts, but where were the mass starts I'd grown accustomed to in my home country? South Africa is home to the likes of the 94.7 Joburg Cycle Challenge (+/- 24k riders) and Cape Town Cycle Tour, formerly Cape Argus, (+/- 35k riders), not to mention local races on the calendar just about every weekend of the year. In the meantime, I've been getting my race fix through triathlon, even qualifying for and competing in the USAT National Championships in Cleveland last August. All set up for gravel at the end of 2019, with great anticipation, I compiled a list of gravel races for the 2020 season! But, as is the case with just about every area of our lives this year, athletics has surely taken a big hit. One by one, cycling races were knocked off the calendar, as cyclists grudgingly retreated to their pain caves all over the world.
Well, my friends, I'm happy to report that the long wait was over at last, as I registered for The Quick and the Dead, a gravel race in Addison, Pennsylvania. We packed our bags, drove 3.5 hours north and spent the day before the race cruising along the GAP between nearby Ohiopyle and Connellsville. We made our way out to Addison on the morning of the race, super pumped to see the competition lining up at the start! With all the proper safety precautions that were set in place, approximately 150 riders were ready to ride.
Ride of the Week
The course that race organizer Dan Manges created was one that would challenge the participants on multiple levels. This route had everything: hair-raising downhills, loose gravel, wide open farmlands, a state forest, fast-flowing backroads, scenic overlooks, crazy steep gradients and lots of elevation gain. Although the route was shorter than in previous years, it still covered around 52 miles (84km) and included a whopping 6500ft (2000m) of elevation gain. The main attraction on the day was the climb that took riders to the top of Mount Davis, the highest point in Pennsylvania, which sits at 3180 ft (970m) above sea level.
The route kicked off on a fast downhill that led riders into a section of the course that I call the “intense gravel loop.” This particular section wasn’t very long in distance, but the terrain would prove to be some of the most challenging of the entire race. There were super fast descents covered with incredibly dry and loose gravel. It was on these slippery loose gravel downhills that I quickly realized how much more I have to learn about gravel racing. I lost contact with the group each time the road tilted downward, which meant I was fighting like crazy to get back in the group on each flatter section. Cornering skills and especially descending skills were critical during this first section of the race. On one particular downhill, I must have lost 30-40 seconds and the front bunch disappeared up the road by the time I reached the bottom of the hill. My key take-away from this: Practice some downhills! I realized that from that point, all I needed to do was simply race my own race.
The lead group of 9 riders were all still together by the time they reached the end of the first intense gravel loop, but by the time I reached that same spot I was left in no-mans land - a place I would be in quite a bit during this race. At this point, the roads had flattened out and I knew that the drafting advantage of the front bunch meant that I would most likely not see them again for the rest of the day. Soon after, the flatter road disappeared and we were climbing once again as we made the slow ascent up the mountains heading towards Mt Davis. We hit some insane gradients (20-30%) along one stretch of road that took us to the top of some mountains, putting us alongside the power-producing windmills.
We finally reached the road that took us into the Mt. Davis State Forest, after which we got to enjoy a much needed downhill. Once out on the other side of the park, we could enjoy a short spin through Amish farmlands, before - get this - we had to climb all the way back to the top of Mt Davis. After passing the highest point in PA, and also the KOM & QOM sprint point for the race, the route passed by a picturesque overlook that provided views of High Point Lake and some of the country roads that we would cover later in the race.
Once we got out of the Mt. Davis State forest, the route took us along some interesting back roads, both gravel and paved, that would eventually lead us all the way back to the gravel loop that we did at the onset of the race. There were still some nasty hills along this section of the course that surely tested tired legs. The upside to all the elevation gains were the great descents that followed, including some fun and fast flowing sections as we made our way back towards Addison. Eventually, the route made its way back to the gravel loop that we covered at the onset of the race. This time around, we only followed half the loop, but in reverse direction. As such, all the crazy downhills where I got dropped earlier, then become challenging uphills!
My Garmin Edge 530, and its ClimbPro feature, threw a solid wrench into the works towards the end of this race. After reaching what was indicated as the last big climb of the day, I began to breath a sign of relief that it would be smooth sailing towards the finish line - oh boy, was my Garmin wrong! One more crazy paved climb awaited. You know that you are in a world of suffering when the GPS unit even auto-pauses on the steep uphill because you are going so slow! I pushed onwards and crossed the finish line some 40mins behind the winner. But hey, I got it done! I came to this race looking for a challenge and it surely lived up to the expectations. I had completed my first ever gravel race, and my first ever cycling race in the U.S. - yeah!
If you are ever this area and want to try out some of this course, then be sure to check out the detailed route in my Strava file below.
Wrap-Up
At the end of the day, it was a stunning ride and an epic experience. I am so thankful for the opportunity to take part. Huge “Thank You’s” are due to Dan Manges, and all the volunteers who made the race possible. And thank you as well to all my fierce competitors! At the end of the day, we got out there and gave it our best, with many lessons learned in the process, no doubt. If you rode in this year’s or a past Q & D race, tell us how it went for you! And for everyone else, share about a race that put you in your place.
- Wiehan
