Yesterday was the 5th annual Farmhouse Classic gravel race, which was the second gravel ride I've ever done. The first was the practice ride of the course last week, and after two gravel rides I'm pretty much hooked. From the sound of tires cutting through the gravel to the peaceful tranquility of deserted gravel roads, it is a blast. The race went very well and I got 1st place in the singlespeed category and 4th overall. The weather was perfect, which combined with eating and drinking a lot made me feel really great throughout the ride. I probably should have ended up 5th overall because Brian West (a really fast guy) got lost and ended up riding an extra 8 miles, but I would have been just as happy with that result. I think Micah Gordon probably would have challenged me for the SS win if he would have had the course in a Garmin and a bigger gear, but I guess we'll never know. Here is me stopping at mile 90 or so since I wanted a picture on the record for the event. This was right after the hill I like to call the Alp d'Gravel (a nod to the Tour de France), which is a seemingly big hill that definitely hurts on a SS.
Next up is another couple weeks of hard riding followed by a rest period of a few days just to make sure I don't enter cross season fatigued. It looks like my next race will be the weekend of 8/24 unless plans change. There are gravel, road, and cyclocross options I'm looking at, and in all likelihood I'll probably start my cyclocross season that weekend near Des Moines, IA.
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