Race 2 in the Vancouver Island Gravel Series.

This being only my third gravel race I am never sure what to expect. So far all 3 have been quite different in terms of course. On paper this looked to be easier than Forbidden as it had about the same total vertical but was close to 20KM longer.

The whole course is on gravel forestry roads. No pavement or single track, just various different grades of gravel, even the race start and parking were on gravel! That is very cool.

Off the start I rode pretty conservative. I was concerned with the extra distance. I found it tricky to keep things steady off the gun as the course starts climbing right away and groups are forming up. With lots of vertical in the second half of the race I didn’t want to leave it all in the opening 15K.

Something I found interesting is that there were a number of long descents on the course but nothing was really fast. Actually, if I stopped pedalling on the downs I would immediately start to slow down. These were active downhills. Every pedal stroke is earned at Unpaved.

On the pacing front I am pretty pleased with my effort. On the execution front I wasn’t nearly as good. While it wasn’t a hot day it was a summer day - we had a very late start to summer weather so racing so far this year has been pretty cold. I ran far too low on fluids. To make matters worse I had forgotten my electrolyte tablets so when I did get my bottles refilled it was clear water. I didn’t cramp so I don’t think I was low on salts but I believe I got myself into a hole with respect to fluids. That refill came at about 55K and I was through those 2 750ml bottles before I finished the race. I don’t think I could have used the course supplied aid any differently, the only other chance for refills was just 16K into the race. Packing more fluids will be something I have to investigate.

Overall, I am very pleased with my race at Unpaved. It was harder than I thought it was going to be but is a very honest course.