Gravel Ride of the Week: Dirty Kitten Gravel Race 4.0 (Things got HOT!)
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What?! It’s already November? We know… Mountain Road Ride has been seriously missing in action for the last few months, but for good reason! If you’ve been following our social-media accounts, then you’ll know exactly what new and exciting ride is waiting for us in the coming months and years. As we’ve been adjusting to this life-changing news, the video and content production has unfortunately slowed down. I’m sure many of you can relate to how quickly life can pivot, which necessitates adapting to a new reality. Sounds a lot like what happens in gravel racing all the time, right? Speaking of gravel racing, let’s jump back to some of the warmer months of 2022 to look at the Dirty Kitten Gravel Race which took place in Rapidan, Virginia. If you live in the Northern hemisphere and have already started to hunker down indoors to escape the cooling temperatures, then this ride is sure to warm you right up. Let’s check it out!
I’m no stranger to Dirty Kitten gravel events. If you’ve been following Mountain Road’s blog and YouTube channel over the last few years, then you surely would have seen my previous efforts at the Dirty Kitten Gravel Race, the Dirty Kitten’s Gralley Cat and the Dirty Kitten Gravel Grinder events. All of these took place on the same gravel-rich property just outside of Culpepper, Virginia. This privately owned farmland, known as the Locust Hill preserve, contains a vast network of gravel roads and trails that perfectly lean themselves to some incredible gravel riding. Since the property is not accessible to the public under normal circumstances, it can only be ridden by bike when the Dirty Kitten crew puts on one of their super fun events.
If you haven’t seen it already be sure to go watch my video from the 2021 edition of the race to see how I nearly landed myself a win and ended up on the podium. That result meant that I was returning to the 2022 event with a point to prove. I was signed up for the 60-mile race, consisting of 3 laps around the course. My previous experience of riding and racing on this course (along with hours of scrubbing through video recordings) meant that I had a very clear picture of what awaited on the day. I thought I had the perfect race strategy figured out, but on this day, things would turn out much differently to what I was expecting.
While lining up at the start, I quickly became aware that this was not going to be an easy day of racing. Team after team rolled up, including the defending champ, along with the rest of his District Taco team. Aside from all the racing teams, another serious competitor was also out in full force on this day... more about that one a little later! At first, I was charged up and ready to race!
The pace at the start was no joke, and the loose gravel up and over the Cedar Mountain climb only made things more challenging. The teams weren't messing around either and the tactical game was in full swing. I knew that I just needed to sit in the bunch and follow other riders’ wheels. If you're this outnumbered, you let them do the work! The District Taco team clearly had plans to drive the pace hard during those first miles of this race.
Like an all-out road race, attack after attack went off the front and I found myself scrambling to stay on their wheels. The tempo simply never eased up as the teams continued to push each other through the wooded and grassy sections along this course. We carried this speed all the way through to the biggest challenge on this course... the famous, the leg-sapping, super steep Kitten Crusher climb!
This climb might look insignificant from a distance, but the Dirty Kitten is a cat that should not be handled without gloves! In total I've been up the Kitten Crusher climb 7 times in previous events, but on this day, things got a bit more challenging. As we caught up to the 80-mile racers, it became a complete free-for-all as riders scrambled to get up this climb, which pitches up to over 25% near the top. Up until this day, I've held the proud record of never walking up the Kitten Crusher, but unfortunately on my first round up I had no choice but to get off and push while I watched as the lead racers disappeared over the hill.
That climb took it out of me and my expectation to race for a win had to be reassessed. It also didn’t take long for the next major challenge of the day to appear. Remember that serious competitor that I mentioned earlier?! That competitor, was the temperature. As I ended off my first lap, the summer heat and humidity really began to settle in.
The temperature continued to soar throughout the day, reaching as high as 97F (36C). I was absolutely on my limit as the extreme heat left me totally drained. But here's the thing - I don't quit! If there is one lesson to be learned from my story, don't just give up. Whether in gravel racing or in life, you never know when the momentum might begin to shift.
As I continued to fight through the last two laps of this race, I really had to dig deep to find small victories that kept me in the mental game. I found these victories each time I went up the Kitten Crusher climb, successfully riding it all the way up during the last two laps of this event. I was nowhere near the front of the race by the time I reached the finish line, but my victory on this day came from simply finishing and persevering under such challenging conditions. This race had me eating some humble pie and I was reminded that anyone can have a bad day on the bike, for whatever reason. The biggest thing is just to keep going.
Normally I stick around after a race to record and enjoy the post-race festivities, but on this day, all I could do was get in the car as soon as possible to blast the AC to cool down. The conditions were simply brutal, and a large portion of the field did not complete their respective races, opting instead to play it safe in the extreme heat. Even one lap around this course was a major accomplishment on the day.
To everyone who stuck it out in this heat, especially the 80-mile racers, well freakin' done! Putting on a gravel race (even under normal conditions) is not an easy task, and a big well done goes out to Alex and Chris, along with their superstar group of volunteers for making it happen on this day. That win that I was aiming for, still escapes me. I guess I’ll just have to come back and give it another go next year. Until then, enjoy your ride!
- Wiehan
