Waterloo G & G

Steve pushed Champagne Storm through the crowd and lined us up with the 15-17 mph group. There were over 300 gravel grinders in this field and we were right in the middle. A male/male tandem team was further in front, a blue KHS Tandem (Kathy and Doug) were a little behind us, and the other 4 teams were at the end. The start, as Steve puts it, was INSANITY! We got caught up with the fast paced group and were pushing 25+ mph on the flat. The jockeying for positions made me grip the handlebars a little too tight as I would find out at the end of the day. We were passing riders, which is all thanks to out new super aerodynamic double decker stoker bags courtesy of James Gross! As Steve was steering us in and around other riders while trying to maintain a good line we almost got sandwiched in between two fat bikes! We refused to get dropped on the small hills. Steve didn't brake (not exaggerating) going into the turns and it was at these moments I gripped the bar even tighter and feared for my life. Actually, at least 1/3 of the ride I feared for my life because of snow, ice, potholes, and fast turns (seriously... the bike was leaning!) all on gravel! I'm seriously thinking about purchasing blinders for myself! The first section was a mix of hard packed and wet dirt which allowed us to keep pace above 20 mph. The first big climb came at about 7 miles and this is where several riders broke off. Climbs always seem never ending. This time, there was ice on top of gravel. We got a little squirrely going up and had to back off the power in the slick sections. Steve had to very delicately navigate over to the “grippy” paths up the hills. Only guessing, but if the ice has a bit of brown in it, perhaps there’s more grip. We witnessed a few riders go down as their back wheel pulled away from them and a few other riders lose all traction and have to get off their bike. Approaching the top I thought....ummm, if there is ice on this side of the hill....that probably means there's ice on the other side! The descent was fast, maybe too fast as we graced over icy sections. We immediately climbed and descended two more steeper/longer climbs. The second hill we dropped the chain...dang-it! Our average dropped quite a bit in those two miles but we would slowly gain back over 1 mph by the end. The next section took us on Bush road which was dry to wet packed dirt. Steve hollered caution several times as we dodged potholes right and left. A few times I flew off my seat, but for the most part the thuds were busted, har har.

The blue KHS tandem was hot on wheel and we kept pushing the pace. At mile 14 mile we turned onto Cassidy Road and this would prove to be the most difficult and technical portion of the ride. In additional to portions of ice and snow there were sections of 2" of mud and deep tire tracks. We had to quickly weave in and out of big ruts, which made picking the "correct" line nerve racking. Doug and Kathy, the blue KHS tandem team, were still hot on our wheel. This road is where we stay ahead of competition. Steve was brave (or stupid?!?!?) on the turns and navigated them much faster than any of the single riders. He liked conserving momentum as much as possible. We again witnessed several riders crash hard along the muddy ruts. Doug and Kathy would gain some on us on the hills but we would pull away on the flats and turns. They couldn't believe how fast we were taking the turns and Doug said he would been punched leaning the tandem as much as we were! The last 7 miles the roads were dry or wet packed. The hills were small. Doug and Kathy passed us with 7 miles to go and we keep them in our sight until about 3 miles out. We were spent and didn't have much gas left to sprint. We finished in 2nd place about 90 seconds behind Doug and Kathy with an average of 18.1 (strava has 17.4). We are extremely happy and proud of our ride and accomplishments. This was the fastest we have ever rode on road or gravel for 30 miles, which is great for spending the last couple years training for ultra endurance only. We redefined our impossible and it's an awesome start to the season! We also made some new tandem friends! Highly recommend this race and we would grind here again.... hopefully ... cough cough with a team from WRCC!!!)