This race is always hard, the baby head climb, the tight twisty sections and the short steep climbs mixed in with some steep rocky descents. It is a real locals race and has a great vibe.
An interesting gravel race near Magdalena, NM and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory VLA(Very Large Array). The race consisted of a 4K elevation gain over 39 miles. The course route was via GPS as there were no course markings. At the end of the race my head unit device showed 4300 feet of climbing over 40 miles. We signed up for this event last minute as we had never been to that part of the state previously. The ponderosa forest was beautiful. Mt Withington elevation is 10115 feet. The first climb of the route was about 1500 feet over 6.5 miles. There were two other big climbs and the rest rolling terrain.
Tough ride on a gravel bike. A mountain bike might have been a better choice? We rode the course early to be able to get home at a decent time.
This annual rece raises money for trail maintenance and trail building in the Galisteo Basin Preserve. The race uses a 9 mile loop with about 900 feet of climbing per lap. The goal is to complete as many laps as possible in the 6 hour time limit. This year I raced with my brother Todd. We were in the male team category because aur third team member was unable to race. Kim raced with our daughters Sam and JJ in an all womens team.
Sam did 2 laps and JJ 1 lap for a total of 5 laps. Total time 5:38:34.
Todd also did 3 laps for a total of 6 laps. Total time 5:15:45.
