Atlas Mountain Race 2020 -- What You Brung?

The inaugural Atlas Mountain Race is just a week and a bit away and I've thrown my hat in the ring for the first time in a bikepacking ultra. The distance and terrain are no joke, about 715 miles with 76,000 feet of climbing, almost entirely on remote dirt and gravel roads with minimal services and resupply. 

I've done a fair bit of racing in the past years and quite a lot of bikepacking as well. But this will be the first time I'll try to bikepack with a race mentality. One of the biggest attractions for me is that these races are not about watts or who is the strongest -- I've done my fair share of those and know how far I can get. Here, those who do well are both physically and mentally strong, ride a smart race, know their limits, optimize their sleep and eating, remain healthy, and occasionally have some good luck thrown their way. 

One of the coolest aspects of dirt ultras is that a lot of strategy and planning goes on prior to the race, with a huge variance in what people bring in terms of bike and gear. Racing on an ultralight bike with minimal gear is definitely faster but leaves little margin for error, while loading up a steel monster with pannier bags may maximize comfort but will most certainly not be fast. The balance is somewhere in the middle, and every racer finds their own optimum. 

For me, a lot of thought went into what type of bike and gear to bring. Some difficult choices were made but given this will be my first bikepacking race, I've mostly erred on the side of caution rather than ambition. In general, I'm fairly comfortable being uncomfortable so we'll see how my gear decisions play out. What I'm certain of is that I'll learn a lot from this first foray into the small but ardent world of being a dot on a map.  

The Bike   

• Open Cycles One+ hardtail carbon frame (880grams -- light as f***)
• Lauf TR Boost fork w/60mm travel
• Enve M5 flat bar w/ Ergon GS3 grips & bar ends
• Vision Trimax carbon J-Bend aerobars mounted on a Fred Bar
• Enve zero offset carbon seatpost & Ergon SM Pro saddle
• Nox Composites Skyline 29er 32-hole carbon rims, custom laced to I9 Hydra rear and SON dynamo front hubs, XT 180mm(front) / 160mm(rear) rotors
• Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.25" tubeless tires, Stans sealant
• Shimano XTR Trail hydraulic disc brakes
• SRAM XX1 Eagle 10-50 drivetrain w/ Kogel ceramic pulley wheels
• SRAM XX1 DUB crankset w/ Kogel ceramic BB, Power2Max PM, 30T Absolute Black Oval ring
• Shimano XTR pedals

I pondered long and hard over which bike to bring. Gravel bikes are generally lighter and faster, and can increasingly fit wider MTB-style tires. Ultimately, the decision for me came down to gearing. What I've come to realize on almost every bikepacking trip is that pedaling a loaded bike is a lot of work. It is even harder to pedal uphill on steep and uneven grades, going on minimal sleep and exhausted legs. Most gravel bikes don't as yet offer the gear range that you can get on a mountain bike.

So I did a bunch of OCD-inspired research on the lightest (but still durable) MTB frame out there, and settled on the Open Cycle One+ hardtail. A lot of attention focuses on their gravel frames, but I found their hardtail to be more versatile -- after all I can always throw a drop bar on this frame. Most importantly, I can run a small single ring up front and went with a 30T Absolute Black oval ring. 

I generally rant about how most riders overgear their bikes because maybe bigger chainrings look cooler (?!), but being an economist obsessed with evidence, I decided to collect data and do my own testing. Turns out in the 30(oval)-10 combo, I can ride at 25mph spinning at about 95rpm. While bikepacking on dirt, I spend less than 5% of the time riding above 25mph (not including coasting), and over 50% of the time climbing in low gears. So performance and time gains, for me at least, are in trying to achieve a very low gearing rather than high gearing. I believe I've maximized that with a 10-50 cassette in the back. Yes, there will be plenty of hours spent in 30-50, believe you me.

The Lauf fork was another decision point. Yes, rigid forks are lighter but my hypothesis is that in a race like this comfort will trump marginal weight gains. In fact, I would hypothesize that suspension will be faster. Maybe I'm wrong but the weight differential is only 300 grams and I can live with that. 

SRAM drivetrain is an odd choice for me, but this was mostly determined by a bundled deal. I'm not at a stage of trust with SRAM to go for AXS and doubt I'll ever get there, but XX1 Eagle mechanical has been alright so far. Fingers crossed. I definitely do not trust SRAM brakes, so went with trusty Shimano Trail brakes, which have never failed me or anyone I know. 

The main highlight on the bike has to be the Kogel ceramic BB and pulley wheels. Man, the blue pulley wheels just look so cool and go well with the gold drivetrain. On performance, I've been skeptical of pressfit BBs as nearly all eventually end up creaking, but the Kogel stuff and their sticky grease have held up admirably so far. The longer maintenance cycles on the bearings is another big plus especially over long and dirty races.  

The Gear

Here's a rundown of all the gear I'm bringing. Its mostly a mashup of stuff I already owned.

On the Bike:

• Wahoo Roam (main navigation)
• Garmin Etrex 30x (backup navigation)
• Yelling and screaming (second backup navigation)
• Sinewave Beacon headlight & USB
• B & M Secula Plus dynamo rear light
• King Cage fork mounts
• X-Labs carbon fork cages w/ two 1-Litre SIS bottles
• King Cage Many Things cage (Voile straps) on downtube w/ 1-Litre nalgene (several layers of duct tape wrapped on nalgene)

On Me:

• Rapha Brevet wool jersey
• Assos Cento Evo bibshorts
• Rapha overshorts
• gloves & socks
• Rapha cycling cap
• POC Octal helmet & prescription Oakley sunglasses
• Specialized 2FO ClipLte MTB shoes

Front Harness: Revelate

• Nemo Siren 30 Degree UL sleeping quilt
• REI Flash UL sleeping pad
• Sea to Summit Aeros UL pillow
• Zpacks down socks/booties
• Outdoor Research Stargazer bivvy (alternative location is seatpost bag)
• Sea to Summit UltraSil dry sack

Front Pocket: Bedrock Bags

• Headlamp
• Charging cables (incl. Beacon to USB cable) & wall adapter
• Voltaic V50 powerbank w/passthrough (12,800 mhA)
• Extra lithium AAA & AA batteries (for headlamp, etrex, and Spot tracker)

Frame Bag: Rogue Panda Custom Roll-top Waterproof (originally customized for an orange bike!)

• Pump w/several layers of gorilla tape
• Poop digger titanium shovel (leave no trace)
• Collapsible 2-Liter water bladder
• Steripen Ultra UV water purifier & backup iodine tablets
• Osprey UL stuff pack (for extra food on long stretches, or bike breaks and need to hike)
• Hygiene gear: toothbrush, paste, tp, glasses, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, lighter
• Tubolito spare tubes (x2), plugs, patch kit, small bottle of stans
• First aid kit & chamois cream
• Emergency blanket
• 2 extra straps & extra ziplocs
• Craft windproof midweight gloves
• Pearl Izumi cycling mitts
• Outdoor Research waterproof overmitts
• Passport, travel insurance, brevet card, other docs
• Small face towel
• Food, gels, bars, etc

Seatpost Bag: Ortileb

• Pearl Izumi WxB rainpants
• Pear Izumi Summit AmFib Lite windproof pants
• REI Drypoint GTX Goretex rainjacket
• Rapha windproof full sleeve jersey
• Patagonia down sweater
• Arcteryx full sleeve merino top
• Fleece hat, buff, windproof skullcap, knee warmers
• Shower Pass waterproof merino socks
• Pearl Izumi PRO Barrier waterproof MTB shoe covers
• Backup powerbank & cables

Top Tube Bag Front: Bedrock Bags

• iphone
• Headphones
• Day wallet
• Chapstick and sunblock

Top Tube Bag Aft: Rogue Panda

• CrankBros M19 multitool
• Leatherman
• Toolkit & Spares: chainlinks, Wolftooth wrench, schrader adapter, extra valve core, extra bolts, extra cleat, electric tape, chain lube, extra shifter cable, variety of zip ties, extra deraileur hanger, extra resin brak pads (1 set), rag

Snack Bags: Revelate & Bedrock Bags

• Snacks (whatever I can find)

Let the party begin!

Hut to Hut Hanging Chamois – Mountain Biking Travails from Telluride to Moab

This isn’t just a clever title. More than two months on from this epic adventure with seven friends, and the first thing that comes to mind is the daily hanging chamois ritual. Each day of this seven day trip ended with eight chamois hanging in different parts of the cabin in various states of stink, some dripping on top of bunk beds (ahem -- Jason), while others accompanying us at the dinner table.

Chamois photo bomb

The daily end-of-ride routine

Immediately though, my thoughts shift to what an absolute stellar time we had riding our mountain bikes from Telluride to Moab this past August. This was truly an international gang – four Americans (Kenny, Jason, Adam, and I); two Brits living in the US (Tash and Laura); one Brit living in Britain (Helen); and one Aussie living in the US (Katie). The whole plan was concocted by our fearless leader, Laura, who rallied up Tash and I from DC, much of her MIT cycling team gang now living on the West Coast, and her sister from Britain. We all made our separate ways to Telluride and met up at a rented condo to assemble bikes and start our grand adventure. 

Downtown Telluride -- the whole town is maybe five blocks long

Bikes unboxed and ready to roll

Given the pedigree of the pack (MIT, LSE), there was no shortage of geekdom, with evening conversations ranging from space travel to deforestation and everything in between. This was of course till the lemon drops came out (purchased and consumed legally in CO except by those among us who couldn’t due to work restrictions). Then the conversations shifted to how long it would take a bear to tear down our cabin door or to other urgent concerns such as the mysterious and leaky gas stove.  

While the evenings were relaxing with laughs and good food for hungry cyclists especially with master chef Kenny at the helm, the real fun was the biking during the day. The San Juan hut-to-hut system is the real deal. Its legitimately good mountain biking on singletrack but each day also has easier dirt road and doubletrack options. The huts are filled to the gills with food and not just non-perishables – they have coolers filled with cheese, eggs, meat, and drinks that are restocked on a regular basis. Without the weight of sleeping bags or food and water for seven days, the riding is significantly more enjoyable. Most of us just carried one large handlebar or saddle bag and a camelback. Bikes ranged from hardtail to high end full suspension.

Typical hut exterior

And interior

Master Chef Kenny hard at work (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

Laura resting after a long day of riding. Tash is asleep on top bunk (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

The riding did not disappoint! Although I must admit the first day was tough. I recently discovered that I don’t deal that well with high altitude without proper acclimatization so I knew that starting out in Telluride (at 9,000 feet) and going up to Last Dollar Hut (11,000 feet) on the first day was going to be difficult. But the views were magnificent and the weather cooperated and we made it up to the hut with plenty of daylight still remaining.

Day 1 crew. Others were either ahead of behind

Views weren't bad

 

Stopping for pictures (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

MTB Camaraderie (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

The fun part of riding all day is that at the end you can pretty much eat anything you want and not feel guilty about calories. We took full advantage of all the food available and got creative with pasta, potato, and meat dishes – all great with the clear exception of Kenny’s Spam charcuterie platter one day which wasn’t a hit. Not surprising as spam tastes like, well, spam.

Day 1 musings (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

Planning out the next day's ride (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

Sunsets were spectacular (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

Given the international crowd it was fun to compare uncommon terms used in different countries. For example, what we call an outhouse in the US is called a longdrop in Britain. Quite literal, these Brits, as it is a fair bit down to the compost pile from where you sit. Note to self: never use an instadrop!

Day 2 brought rain and thunderstorms with plenty of lightening. Tash and I trailed off to put on rain gear and saw at least ten lightning strikes in the distance. Thankfully, weather in the mountains moves very quickly and soon the dark clouds were past us and sunshine returned. There wasn’t much singletrack along the way, however there were options available to ride after we reached the second hut.

Several of us went off without bags and had a blast. The trails in this part of Colorado are fast and flowy until they’re not and you quickly find yourself in the middle of rocks. The unfortunate truth about riding rock gardens is that you can clear them better if you ride with speed and power, but many newbies struggle with speed on technical terrain so it can be a double whammy. But fun was had by everyone. It was quite amusing to watch and wait while Laura dutifully pulled out and consulted her paper map at every trail intersection, highly suspicious of the GPS track loaded on my garmin. Needless to say the garmin was always right.

MTB selfies

Kenny showing off

There was also a bear encounter when an overenthusiastic cub ran across the trail in between Helen and the rest of us behind. Mamma bear couldn’t have been far so we decided to make loud noises to ward her off. Sadly our collective brain bank couldn’t come up with any songs that we all knew so we resorted to singing happy birthday loudly to the baby bear. Imagine coming across that scene in the woods!   

Day 3 was perhaps my favorite as Tash got to ride a lot of singletrack and enjoyed it quite a bit. There is a personal sense of accomplishment to see your partner become a better mountain biker. Or maybe its just serving my own interests as now we can go on more mountain biking vacations! Other interesting aspects of day 3 were Jason and Helen getting lost and almost freaking out but not quite, separating from Adam and Katie, re-finding them at a later intersection and eventually making it to the third hut where the rest of us had prepared a yummy meal for all.  

The train is on its way

Lunch stop on Day 3

Not a bad place to meditate

Just cruisin...

...along

Day 4 was in many ways the opposite of Day 3 in terms of Tash’s enjoyment of singletrack. The trails were really narrow with lots of brush or exposure on both sides, plus some of them were pretty wet and muddy. Plenty of cow poop was also inadvertently consumed by both bikes and riders, which eventually resulted in a bleach-athon at the hut in the evening. The good news was that this hut offered hot showers, which were much needed – deodorant doesn’t do much after four days of sweat and muck. Helen managed to convince the others to ride every available singletrack option that day, even riding back up the road to tackle something they missed. Spirited one for sure!

Helen fueling up at lunch

"Me no likey this trail -- hiss!"

Day 5 had some super fun singletrack. Katie and Tash decided to take the dirt road option and the rest of us went for the singletrack. It did not disappoint. First we descended down some mega steep and technical shoots with lots of loose rock and sand. Thanks to my dropper post I rode this fast and with confidence. Soon the trail opened up in the valley to magnificent views all around.

But moments later, disaster! Or at least a few of us thought so. Adam and Jason had tailed off a bit on a descent and we waited for them a bit further ahead. And we waited, and waited. Then we got really worried. So Kenny and I started walking back to check on them. Thankfully, it was just a mechanical with Adam’s chain really jammed up behind his cassette. No amount of pulling or tugging got it loose.  

We had a cassette tool with us but no wrench so leave it to the MIT engineering nerds to figure out a solution. First they found a rock which had a sufficient crack in it to fit the chain tool. Then they used allen keys to file open the gap a bit more so the tool could fit deeper and more secure. The idea was to use this engineered rock wedge as a wrench and rotate the wheel around it to loosen the cassette. I’d love to tell you that it worked but sadly it didn’t, the rock was too brittle. Finally, a non-engineer in the group (i.e. me) suggested trying to yank out the chain with more leverage. And guess what, it worked! But we had to loop the chain around the crank backwards and then give the crank a big kick and out came the chain. Science: 0 – Brawn: 1.

Adam's got some serious arm strength!

Jason at it again with his camera (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

We weren’t done with our mechanicals for the day, though. The last part of the day was an insanely steep dirt road descent which pitched down 25%+ in places. I was happily descending like a banshee till my front wheel started squirreling violently. Somehow I managed to slow the bike down just in time for a turn away from the abyss and stopped the bike several feet later. That was a close call. After some flat repair we all made it to the next hut without further incident, thankfully.

The other memorable part of the day was when I decided to give Adam MTB tips on riding with confidence thinking he was a newbie, only to discover later that he is a Cat 1 road racer! He then proceeded to lay the hammer down at every single hill that followed – doh!

Mountain Panorama

What contrast! (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

Laura dropping into the 25+ percentage grade (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

Katie and Tash having some fun

Multi-tasking: recuperation and next day planning

I wasn't the only one tired!

We were now close to Moab. Two more days to go. Day 6 was tough. We started down in the valley and had to go over an entire mountain range in order to descend down into Moab on day 7. The climb was entirely on a dirt road but man it was steep. 25%+ in places, only this time going up! It was great fun to watch the time-trial matchup between Adam and Katie as they rocketed up the slopes. Obviously two collegiate national champions going at it was fun to watch. We all met up at a lake at the top to take some well-deserved, though thoroughly freezing dips.

Looking down on the climb

Katie putting down some watts

The lake was SOO cold!

Laura making friends with a friendly ranger

The whole crew

 This was our last night sleeping in a hut and it was bittersweet. While we were all pretty tired, none of us wanted this trip to end. One memorable highlight from the evening was me losing Tash’s sock in the river much to her chagrin. She later claimed it wasn’t too bad, though the widowed sock still occasionally shows up in our bedroom strategically placed as a reminder that I owe her a new pair!

The final day was mostly downhill and promised to be exciting. We were going to ride the Porcupine Rim trail down into Moab. For those who don’t know this is quite a spectacular trail that drops you down amidst steep and bouldery slickrock. Some of the crew opted for the full experience while others rode for a bit and then traversed across to the dirt road. Some even managed to ride the slickrock trail which is a mountain biking rite of passage.

Porcupine rim trail (Photo Credit: Jason Sears)

Approaching Moab

Resting on a cliff

Feeling on top of the world

Finally, we rolled into Moab tired but extremely satisfied. After well deserved (and needed) showers and a celebratory dinner at a local restaurant, everyone disbanded to make their separate ways back home. Tash and I stayed an extra day to go visit Arches National Park, which ended up being a nice way to unwind and relax off the bike.

Delicate Arch

 This was such a fun trip! We’re already plotting to get the gang back together for next summer.

(Photo Credit: Jason Sears)