One 31-year old’s mission to tackle her impossible ride
By Clara Hatcher — Hear me out: It’s okay to come in last place.
I rolled in at a slow, steady pace at the end of my first gravel race in northern Minnesota in November 2021. I didn’t train. I rode on vibes alone and had fun with my dad.
But last place is not my goal this time around. For my second-ever bike race, I’ll be going for the dead middle of my 30-years-and-older age group. It’s a satisfying goal, however humble. As a 31-year-old rider, I’ll be among some of the youngest in my category.
And this time, I’m actually training.
Utah Gravel Series’ Dirty Dino Gravel Race in Vernal, Utah, on June 13 is self-described as a “ride of prehistoric proportions.” I can only assume that haughty slogan is due to the unruly amount of elevation gain we riders will conquer. There are three options: T-Rex (98.3 miles and 9,293 feet of elevation gain), Stegosaurus (58.3 miles and 5,766 feet of elevation gain) and Micro-Raptor (26.9 miles and 2,095 feet of elevation gain).
I’m currently signed up for the near 60-miler, and I’m perfectly happy about it. But here’s what’s holding me up: What if I can actually take on almost 100 miles of riding?
The miles don’t scare me. That’s the part I like — pedaling through endless, unyielding gravel and dirt roads. I find joy in knowing that I’ve gone 20 miles with at least another 30 left. I can tackle the heat, the dust and the ache in my legs.
What makes me nervous is the elevation gain. As someone who has been gravel biking and bikepacking religiously for nearly a decade, I know what 6,000 feet of elevation gain feels like: hell. Climbing is for some people, but I’ve got to say, it might not always be for me. After 4,000 feet I feel like I’m slogging my pedals through mud. I’m chanting, “Come on, just a little more” every 100 feet.
I’ve never been good at climbing. That’s what I’m trying to change.
Training for the Dirty Dino has proven fun so far. Early-season riding has thrown in a few hurdles. But an unseasonably warm spring has also offered me a head start. Apart from one week of traveling, I have been out on my bike at least two to three times per week since mid-March. One long ride, one short and punchy ride with a few thousand feet of elevation gain and a third just for kicks.
The trick for me — aside from packing as much elevation gain into a ride as possible — is to just shut up and suffer through the climbing. And, to do it on gravel whenever possible. With that as the backbone to my training regimen, I’ve actually come around to looking forward to long, arduous climbs.
On one ride, a friend and I hopped on our bikes and attempted to ride up Millcreek Canyon. Salt Lakers know that the road is closed about 4.5 miles up, but we didn’t realize that until we hit the gates. But the best part about riding Millcreek Canyon is that you can pack 1,000 feet of elevation gain into those 4.5 miles. So, when we got to the top, we took a victory ride down, turned right around and did it again.
On a different ride, another friend and I rode 34 miles from Kamas, Utah, into the Uinta Mountains and up a gravel road. We hit snow near the top and coasted our way down. She, on her full suspension, sailed over the muddy, snowy patches. I slipped and slid down on 700x45c tires until I gratefully rolled onto hardpacked dirt roads.
I could feel it by then, the strength that I’ve slowly been building up.
On an end-of-April day ride near Moab’s Dome Plateau behind Arches National Park, 2,000 feet started to feel almost flat to my newly conditioned biker legs. That’s either due to the zippy climbs being brutally sandy, boulder-ridden ups and downs or because those 2,000 feet were spread out over the course of 30 miles. Still, there’s nothing like sand when it comes to training. It’s slow going, but it builds up stamina and an ability to say, “Screw you, sand, I’m still riding.”
So now, the question isn’t whether I can handle the miles. The question is whether I’m playing it safe.
I’ve ridden close to 90 miles in one day at most. That was the last day of a long bikepacking trip from Truckee, California, to Yosemite National Park in 2020. We rode nearly 90 miles of elevation loss with some short little gains from the top of Tioga Pass to the valley floor. It was blissful riding and completely euphoric — the culmination of five days of riding.
But I haven’t ridden that far since then. And I’ve certainly never tackled 9,000 feet of vertical gain. However, I have a plan and a test for myself.
I live in Cottonwood Heights near Salt Lake City. If I ride from my house to the base of Emigration Canyon, through East Canyon’s Big Mountain climb, down Jeremy Ranch Road, through Park City, up Guardsman Pass, down Big Cottonwood Canyon and back to Emigration Canyon’s parking lot, that’ll be 76 miles of riding with 8,200 feet of elevation gain.
If I can do that, I can ride 98 miles and 9,293 feet of climbing, right? Right.
My big test is yet to come. My girlfriends and I are planning it for the end of May. By the end of that ride, I’ll either switch to be a T-Rex rider or stick with my Stegosaurus sprint.
But no matter the outcome, my goal is to ride hard, fast and enjoy myself at the Dirty Dino. I’ll be fine crawling away a T-Rex and just as happy walking away a strapping Stegosaurus. Either way, an update is sure to come.
