I learned of the Skull 120 gravel ride and decided to make the 10 hour drive to give it a whirl. I was impressed by the intriguing name, "Skull." Hmmm. What might "Skull" refer to? I found it hard to pass up a ride that begins with "Skull."
It did not disappoint -- if you like stupid hard, may I suggest this ride:
- 127 miles
- 10,000 ft of climbing
- cow paths
- jeep tracks
- fording streams
- technical, scary downhill
- gravel, a lot of different kinds of gravel, a lot of it big, ugly, loose, and generally horrible
- beautiful landscapes
- no cars
- temperature range, 40 degrees, from about 40F (6 AM) to 80F (3 PM)
- super nice community spirit
- an adorable Smokey the Bear, with starting pistol.
Fifty-five people started at 6:00 AM. Twenty-eight finished. Unfortunately, I made a navigation error at about mile 55, after the big downhill, and got off course for about 10 miles. My fault! So, I didn't finish officially, but I got back on track, and I did most of the ride.
So, I'll call it a long training ride. Ha. I was on a good day; still, I was out riding for 9.5 hours, which is a long time to be doing anything. I wore my heart rate monitor and this is what it said after the ride:
Zone 0 1 hr. 10 min. surviving scary downhills and lollygagging at the aid stations
Zone 1 4 hr. 5 min. grinding and not recovering on the downhills
Zone 2 1 hr. 54 min. going well
Zone 3 2 hr. 1 min. sustained uphills
Zone 4 36.5 min. surviving the steep bits
Zone 5 0.0
Poor Super Course. It was not the best bicycle for this ride. I rode with 33mm Specialized Triggers on the back (worried about rain and mud, and there's not much clearance back there) and 38 mm Specialized Triggers on the front.
Tire drama. Fortunately, my only flat occurred on the drive to the ride. Yes - my bicycle was quietly resting in the back of the car, saving its energy for the next day. In keeping with the latest dietary research for cyclists, I was enjoying a nutrient rich baby kale salad with beets and blueberries. Then, I was rudely interrupted with the sound of pisst-pissssssss. No. No way. It couldn't be. I know that sound but, Super Course, you were resting. What's up with that? My heart sank. My carefully installed back tire sprung a leak, in the car! Bad tire - you're not supposed to do that. However, on the sunny-side of life, it is definitely better to get a flat on the drive rather than on the ride. So, I took a break from driving, and put a tube in my back tire.
Tire pressure. Front tire: 40 psi; back tire: 55 psi. Hard as rocks. Not the greatest setup for cow paths, with an abundance of lose and immovable rocks, so narrow that often enough big round rocks could not be avoided. But one flat on this trip was enough. Meanwhile, at times, I seemed to be going 3 mph on gravel downhills because of my limited ability to control the bicycle on big, ugly, loose gravel. On several occasions I muttered to myself, "This is ridiculous, too hard - where is the pavement? Give me some pavement. Right. Now. Please." By some miracle, no flats, though my 50-year old Huret front derailleur was running a little bit rough. And, good news, no falls.
The guy that won was evidently riding on 45 mm tires. I imagine that riding those at 30 psi would have have been lovely, especially on the downhills. Incidentally, those 55 mm Antelope tires look really good - what kind of frame do you need for those? Ha - I guess you need to buy a new frame just to experience those tires.
No kidding: It is good to enjoy the bike you have, and who can complain about being able to ride in that beautiful landscape north of Burns.
Anyway, read this fantastic ride report, with beautiful photographs. I think I might try it again next year. At present, I seem to be able to remember only the good parts - like the views, the Ponderosa pine forests, the desert, the cannons, the sky, and the wonderful community spirit, where cyclists and ranchers got a chance to mingle if only for just a little bit.
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