Race Report: Mid South Gravel 2024

A broken bed, a British roommate, and the increasing speeds of gravel

Chris Mehlman

Mar 18, 2024

The Rundown:

Race: Mid South Gravel

Date: March 16, 2024

Location: Stillwater, OK

Distance: 100 miles

Time: 4:38:12 (Link to Strava for data nerds)

Result: 30th/~1200

Highlights:

Finally back racing!
Seeing old friends again
Passing a group of 50 milers that included a father and daughter on a tandem

Lowlights:

Numerical result
Breaking my bed (read on)

The Leadup

Going into Mid South Gravel, I was more nervous than I am for most races. Perhaps, it was because it was the first race of the season. More likely, however, was a combination of this and the uncertainty of coming off a concussion.

By the numbers, my fitness was good – better than ever before, in fact – but those are just that: numbers: There is no way to know if you’ll be “going well” until you get in a race. The dynamics of the pack, the surges, competition level, and numerous other variables play into the seemingly binary decision of whether you’ve had a “good” or “bad” race.

On Tuesday before the race, I knocked out a 3-hour interval session at 6 AM before driving 9 hours to from Colorado Springs Oklahoma City airport to pick up Joe Laverick, a British professional who live in Girona, Spain.

After getting to Stillwater on Wednesday and discovering our dorm-room-sized Airbnb (complete with an appropriate “it’s time to get cozy” sign), I met up with ex-World Tour pro Nicolas Roche and his two teammates: his brother Alexis Roche and French ex-road pro Julian Lino. I’m proud to say that, while I will never have the palmares of Nico, I can claim the “ability to be prepared for rides” as one aspect I am better at. I brought water. They had no water for a 3-hour ride and dried sealant in their tires. After Julian taught Nico how to use a hand pump and we found water to refill, we had a great time surfing the wind and introducing the latter two to American gravel with all its straight-lines and fast-receeding scenic excitement.

I rode with Joe on Thursday, hitting the same loop as the day before to the first key point (a water crossing at 12 miles in) and then to the final decisive moment (about 1.5 miles of twisty singletrack with 10 miles left in the race).

The emotions of the day before any race are always feelings I have struggled with. The stress of the throngs of cyclists and fast pros I see make it very easy to become overwhelmed and let my imposter syndrome kick in. One thing I have been working on with a sports psychologist, Dr. Sara Mitchell, is remembering that these are all just normal people I’m competing against. They’re no different than me, even with their flashy RedBull helmets and six-figure paychecks. I deserve to be there just as much as them, and by forgetting who they are, I can enter with a mindset that I’m on an equal footing.

I committed to the routine that I have known works for a while, but that I finally wrote down on recommendation from Dr. Mitchell. After a work meeting in the morning, I checked the pre-event boxes and got through what I needed to to be ready for the race, which added up in time quickly: final ride, wash bikes, charge batteries, prep bottles and hydration pack, quick photo shoot with Jace Stout, plan and count nutrition, prep and lay out kit, prep my pre-race breakfast, keep fueling, packet pickup, say hi to old friends, etc, etc. My goal is always to minimize the time and energy spent on these tasks, and while I have gotten efficient at them, they still take a while for any long race. They especially are stressful when you sit down on the bed you’ve been sleeping in for the last few days and the frame collapses underneath you. Cyclists often make fun of each other about “race weight,” and if there is one thing less confidence-inspiring than breaking your day the night before a race, I’ll need to keep searching. For a bed designed for 2 people not to hold a cyclist, there might need to be some rethinking of the build quality, Luckily, a few removed screws later, I had a mattress on the floor to sleep on. Never a dull moment in gravel, eh?

After some work and relaxation time on said new bed setup, it was time to set the alarm for 5 AM and head to bed at 8:30. There’s usually a lot running through my head before a big race, but I was able to get a decent night’s sleep.

The Race

I enjoyed the usual pre-race breakfast of cold microwaved Kodiak Cakes pancakes I made the night before (before you judge, they kit all the macro targets, are low in fiber, taste identical to normal pancakes, and can be cooked in a place with no stove and with just 5 minutes of prep). Game changer.

The day before, we had decided to pedal to the start 45 minutes early and warm up. After last year’s explosive first 20 miles, I wanted to be ready. As it turns out, gravel has gone up a notch in craziness yet again, and 200 people were already lined up, along with a pro team riding trainers on the start line. I don’t know if the goal was to warm up or to intimidate others, but I can say for sure it at least had the latter effect. Joe and I looked at each other with bemusement, pivoted, and decided to skip the warmup. There are no rules for the lineup, but generally, it’s first-come-first-serve with the caveat that some pros push their way in from the front in the last 5 minutes. In short, it’s chaos. Standing there lined up as it it was 5 minutes to go was odd considering I looked down at my Hammerhead and there were still 40 minutes. We took turns holding each other’s bikes to save our hard-earned spots while the others went to the restroom. The new #SpiritOfGravel is community assistance in bathroom breaks I guess.

Holding Joe’s bike on the sardine-can start line so he can pee. T-30 minutes. Photo: @velophoto.tx

I enjoyed the warmth of my new Pivot puffy jacket and zip-off pants as a ragtag brass band called “King Cabbage Brass” serenaded us. It really does not get more “US gravel" than this.

The neutral rollout was a mix of elbows, curbs, potholes, a roundabout, and sharp corners. My positioning was not great, but the start ended up being slightly less explosive than last year. Despite this, I immediately felt where I was lacking: punch.

After the infamous water crossing. Photo: Jace Stout

The accelerations pushed me to my limit not in terms of lungs, but in terms of legs. I could ride a good hard pace, but not go with the surges that characterize this course of never-ending short, rolling hills. Inevitably, this meant I moved up during the lulls in pace, but then lost those spots in surges. After missing a split due to these positioning struggles, I was in a group that chased back on, only to catch up to the leaders right in a mud pit, which shattered the group again. Eventually, I found my group: about 20-strong to start and still with lots of firepower. We chased back on just before the Gnarnia doubletrack section, but before I could move up, we were into the thick of this section and I missed yet another split.

I decided to avoid waiting in line and go through the hole. It was deeper than anticipated. This is where the group splintered… again. PS: spot my bike twin. Photo: @velotphoto.tx.

I spent the rest of the race in an ever-dwindling group in what can be described as “perfect” temperatures. I felt cool the entire time, but never cold. After a few hot days previously, I was thankful for this. During the middle section, the accelerations on climbs left me dangling often, but I was able to get back each time with a steady pace. Undoubtedly, this cost my legs, but it was all I could do on the day with so little explosiveness in me. This part of the course wove through some double-track sections with deep ruts, and more than a few crashes happened just ahead of me. Thankfully, I was able to avoid these. I also just missed out on sending my front wheel into a 2-foot deep and 3-foot wide hole. My body and my brand new ARX front wheel and probably my frame are thanking me for taking quick action. That would have been race over, a few broken bones, and maybe, a bike eaten alive by the hole.

Staying hydrated. Thankfully, the temperatures cooperated. Also, spot the number plate solution from So Pro Cycling… keeps it aero when needed and vertical crossing timing mats. #nerd. Photo: @velophoto.tx

With a few deep sandy sections scattered throughout the course, we were kept on our toes. In the last of these, with about 6 miles left to the singletrack, one racer attacked hard, and I immediately knew I had nothing to follow him. He and one other rider got away, but I kept a hard pace and rode back to the rest of the group in the sand. By the time we hit the singletrack with 10 miles to go, there were 5 of us, and I managed to get onto the trail in 2nd wheel. It was fun ripping through the twisty trails on my Pivot Vault, and it came as another reminder of how excited I am to get back on my new mountain bike when the snow melts at home! We came out as a group and soon caught back onto another few riders who had been dropped. By this point, the rest of my group had been dulled. With fewer surges, I was feeling great, and honestly wishing we had more left.

Previously, this race has struggled with sending the whole field (1200 100-milers and 800 50-milers) through open road intersections and stoplights in downtown Stillwater within the last 3 miles of the course. This year, they shut these down with full police details. I felt much safer, and our group was able to focus on our race rather than traffic. It came down to a sprint, and, rather as expected, I finished 2nd to last in the group of 5, which ended up being 30th overall. I was several minutes faster than last year on the same course, and my power was almost identical, but I finished 16 spots lower in 30th place (more to come on this).

The after-finish feelings in a race like this, no matter the result, are always good. There is a big party, lots of people, food, and friends. I love how someone in 30th can chat to the winner, Torbjorn Andre Roed (Toby), almost as an equal. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with old friends and new friends alike, and making the most out of the event, and not just the race

Reflections

Honestly, I can’t be “happy” with the result. 30th is not something to write home about for someone who wants to be at the top. However, a “bad” result does not always mean I had a “bad” race. This binary that I brought up in the beginning is problematic. I am very happy with my effort. I didn’t let my key weakness inhibit me completely. Rather, I found a way to work with it to let me achieve the best result possible. I know I have the general strength to be up there. There are just a few key things I need to solve.

What I did well:

I was calm in the face of the chaos, missed splits, crashes, and disappointing legs. I kept my head in the game.
I did what I could with what I had on the day. I was given the most steady of diesel legs and figured out a way to put those to use to get the best possible result.

What I need to improve:

My ability to go with surges. This has always been a weakness for me, but never as much as at Mid South this year. While I was initially annoyed with my positioning, I realized it came down to my inability to go with surges. I could not keep myself at the front when a surge occurred, meaning missed splits were bound to happen. Luckily, I know what to work on!

Reflections on the event:

Mid South is always a good party! Bobby, the promoter, hugs everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) who finishes. It’s not just a basic hug but a proper bear hug that, in the words of Joe Laverick “is better than what my parents give me.” The course balances fast gravel with some challenging sections and a decisive section of singletrack with 10 miles to go. They have a winning formula, and I hope they don’t change it. With the DFL party stretching late into the night, this early bird could not even make it through the full festivities. The event has become my traditional season opener, and I think it will remain that way for the foreseeable future. The only change I’d love to see would be the creation of separate starts. The mass start is getting extremely dangerous, and with racers lining up so early, it’s becoming more like an Apple Store grand opening than a bike race. Separating out pro starts from the rest of the field would allow those who enjoy the cutthroat racing that now characterizes gravel to have at it and those who want to enjoy a more peaceful ride to do so at their leisure.

Thank you’s

I have to extend a big thank you to Jon Harp from Mazda Orange Seal Off-Road Team for the feed at mile 50, as well as Jace Stout for the amazing photos! I also can’t go without thanking my roommate/travel buddy for the next few weeks, Joe Laverick, who had a great ride finishing 12th place. The Grim(sby) Smoothie Reaper is super fun to hang around!

What’s Next

This Tuesday, Joe and I are driving down to Sweetwater, TX for Rattlesnake Gravel Grind. It should be a super fun few days of rides and a race on Saturday (I love the fact that it’s a multi-day event and not just a standalone race). We’ll be staying in an RV provided by the race, so stay tuned for some crazy adventures! It’ll be my first time staying in an RV, and it seems like it’s an American rite of passage I can finally tick off.