Mena and the Battle Boar take Arcadia Grit & Gravel


May was a busy month for me—I attended my younger brother’s college graduation in Utah, travelled back and forth to Ohio for work, and had trouble getting into a stable routine. Unfortunately, this all came at the detriment of the intended training plan I eagerly mentioned at the end of my last blog post. I didn’t bike as much as I had hoped, and I was going into Arcadia Grit & Gravel feeling a bit intimidated and unsure of what to expect. I wasn’t completely confident that I was prepared for “wicked-tough gravel roads” or “the longest 28-mile race you’ll ever gear up for”. In fact, I wasn’t sure I was ready for anything labelled a “mountain bike race” at all. Luckily (or, perhaps unfortunately, depending on the situation), when I commit to something I follow through, so I geared up! Erin decided not to race this time around (nursing a shoulder injury), so I prepared to go at it alone.

Giving Hildisvíni a bath and lube with Squirt Cycling Products

First things first: I gave my bike her first wash of the season with my Squirt Cycling Products soap and chain lube! With Hildisvíni all shiny and brand new, bolts tightened, and chain smooth, we packed up the dog and spent the night before the race at a local campground. I started race day with the breakfast of champions: a cinnamon roll. I also filled up one water bottle with Hammer Nutrition energy drink and prepped a small backpack with a water bladder. You know what they say: hydrate or diedrate! You’d think I would have learned my lesson at Dirty 30, when we almost missed our start because we were standing too far back behind people from a later wave, but I almost missed my start for the second time (whoops)! I kissed my pup Aster for good luck, had Erin start my Strava and put it in my backpack, and squeaked across the start line just behind the rest of the pack.

I steeled myself to struggle along at a snail’s pace through miles of rock gardens, but I found the gravel roads to be smooth as butt’r and in great condition. In fact, they were so nice that I questioned whether the race organizers had counted them as paved and worried that we were still in the first two miles of the course for an unreasonable amount of time! At this point, I was able to get into a gravel grinding groove and catch up to the next rider during the biggest hill of the course, kicking off my very first trail friendship! We spent the remainder of the ride close on each other’s tails, passing each other several times. I was most nervous for the singletrack section of the course because I wasn’t sure what to expect. As I turned into the forest track, through swaths of blooming white flowers called trillium, I worked up my confidence and began to relax. The trail was smooth and rolling, with gentle slopes and turns, and few obstacles to navigate. Erin was waiting at one of the road crossings to cheer me on, asking “want to keep going or have a snack?”, and I was feeling so good that I just replied, “keep going!” and pedaled on by.


I began to regret that decision by the third section of single track and wondered if I should stop and eat my untouched emotional support granola bar in my backpack. I didn’t want to take too long of a break and hadn’t practiced eating and biking singletrack at the same time, so I focused on drinking my electrolytes and staying excited about my progress in the race. I was already so proud of myself for starting the race by myself, catching up to some of the other riders, making a trail friend, and riding my first singletrack race. Soon enough, the trail merged into a dirt road, and it became clear that we were heading back into town. I pushed to keep up my momentum toward the finish line, realizing that I didn’t have to hold back too much energy anymore. Erin was stationed just before the finish line, cheering me on for the home stretch, and Rob spotted me just on the other side and stopped to take a picture. Shawn, my informal trail companion, had finished just a couple of minutes earlier, and we congratulated each other and got a photo to commemorate the shared experience. Don’t worry—I also got some tips for preparing my trail snacks and eating something small every thirty minutes. My emotional support granola bar stayed in my pack this time, but I may try some shot blocks next time (and I did practice eating an oat bite while riding earlier this week). I had planned for the race to take me 3-4 hours, but I scooted across the finish line at 2:59 with a smile!

Mena and trail friend Shawn

PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Meendering Photography

With this (monumental, if I do say so myself) finish under my belt, I relaxed with some snacks and a beer alongside Jenny and her friends. Aster also got to mingle and score some snacks, whether from the people who happily gave him dog treats, or the ground scores he found. Overall, the weekend was a huge success, pleasant surprise, and confidence booster. Being the MGRS Gravel Scholar has continued to go above and beyond as a positive experience, and I have already grown so much!

Mena finishing Arcadia Grit & Gravel under her goal of 3 hours!

PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Meendering Photography

Celebrating a great accomplishment with Aster, Jenny and Mena

PHOTO CREDIT: Rob Meendering Photography

Here are a couple of things I’ve learned from my first two races:

  • Sometimes you can push your comfort zone and have fun at the same time!

  • Ride nutrition actually matters, and it can be difficult (but not impossible) to pin down.

  • There are some benefits to being at the back of the pack! For example, the first riders have already taken all the spiderwebs to the face!

  • You can do just about anything on a gravel bike.

If you are looking for a fun and gorgeous race for next year, hop on the Arcadia Grit & Gravel train! My setup with the Bearclaw Thunderhawk, Velocity Aileron wheels, and Panaracer Gravel King tires was great for the course. There were many more mountain bikes than gravel bikes out there, but if you’ve been holding off on the race because you’ve only got a gravel bike, go ahead and take the plunge! It was the perfect challenge for me—just outside my comfort zone, not too technically difficult, and a real accomplishment to finish! I also enjoyed meeting the friendly people along the course and on the other side of the finish line.


The next race on my schedule is The Crusher on July 16. It’s supposed to be challenging, unstructured, and a wild ride! I’m excited to get some longer rides in during June and take on that big adventure in July! Fingers crossed for a green dot!

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