Mena keeps it Watermooving for 111 miles

I can’t believe the MGRS season is coming to a close! The last race of the series is on October 1st in the UP, along with the 2022 awards and season finale. Unfortunately, I won’t make it to the event this year, but I do have one more story to tell before signing off as the 2022 gravel scholar!

Somewhere between my first 50-mile ride and completing The Crusher, Erin and I signed up for a local MGRS ultra-series race, The Watermoo. The Watermoo is a ~111-mile course consisting of mixed gravel and pavement. As the gravel scholar, I was required to complete four short courses to qualify for ranking in the series, but my improvement and positive experience inspired me to take my distance up a notch. The plan was to continue doing 50-milers, work up to 70, then 100, and we’d be able to take on the race with no problem. Unfortunately, our inspiration fell just short of follow-through, so I scooted up to the start of The Watermoo with only a 52-mile record under my belt.

Having completed a less-than-ideal training plan, we decided that ride nutrition was the next most important thing to keep us pedaling along the course. We packed a myriad of snacks--two sandwiches each, Shot Blocks, Gu pouches, Clif Bars, Hammer Nutrition hydration mix, and a lot of water. My favorite snack ended up being the applesauce pouches meant for children. Since The Crusher, I’ve been packing most of my snacks in a frame bag underneath my top tube so that I can easily grab them as I ride and stuff my trash back in. For me, staying hydrated and fueled seems largely a matter of convenience, so I like having my Camelback and easy-access snacks. With a solid (perhaps overkill) snack plan in place, we set off with the rest of the riders!

The first half of the race went smoothly as we cranked along with a couple of other groups at the back of the pack. Since I had regretted not taking more photos at The Divide, I stopped to snap some pictures of purple flowers and lily pads while Erin focused on keeping up with her snack plan. By the time we stopped at the halfway point to snap a selfie and meet a very friendly dog, I had already beat my longest ride record at 56.2 miles! If you are like me, not a huge port-a-potty fan, or need a clear landmark as an excuse to stop and stretch your legs, the gas station at mile 62 is a bit of a godsend. After a quick bathroom break and water refill, we were ready for a second wind to blow us through the finish line.

Unfortunately, the second wind wasn’t quite 50 miles long. I could feel myself starting to get tired around 70 miles as I watched the miles on “Ride with GPS” tick up just slightly closer to 100. We got to the 75-mile aid station just as they were beginning to pack up, grateful that they stayed out for the stragglers. We snagged the last two Gu packets (apologies to whoever was behind us) and got another photo. I can’t say I’m a Gu enthusiast, although I have choked down at least one Hammer Nutrition Gel over the course of the season—however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the vanilla bean flavor was almost like pudding! Perhaps it was the 75 miles and 8 hours behind me, but I might even say it was the best Gu I have tried.

Now, I’d be lying if I said the remainder of the race was anything but a crawl for me. The last 20-25 miles were rough—I can’t emphasize enough how slowly each mile went by. It turns out that riding more than twice your record in one go will result in a bit of premature fatigue, and my seat has never been too kind during long rides. With my sit bones destroyed and phone hanging on to 1%, we rounded the bend to the finish line in the rain—there wasn’t much to see, 11 hours after we had started the day, but some dedicated volunteers cheered from their shelter under a canopy. I was flooded with relief as we posed for our traditional Watermoo finish photo and collected some goodies, before hobbling into Jolly Pumpkin to meet some friends.

The Watermoo was both my first ultra-length race and my first race registered as nonbinary! Registering for a race may be as simple as subconsciously clicking a few buttons and whipping out a credit card for many people, but it requires some more thought and uncertainty for those who don’t identify with the provided options—for some, this may mean checking a box they would prefer not to; for others, putting in additional time and effort to hunt down a race director and send an email. Having a more suitable gender option right from the default form is like a breath of fresh air. With the increasing number of nonbinary athletes, it’s nice to see that burden lifted and the precedent set for local races to be more inclusive. Racers such as Abi Robins, Molly Cameron, KC Cross, and even our local Samuel Hansen have made waves for inclusion of nonbinary and transgender cyclists in events such as Unbound Gravel and Rebecca’s Private Idaho in the last couple of years, creating a close-knit community. As the gravel scholar this year, I wanted to do my part to represent and encourage nonbinary gravel cyclists in my little slice of Michigan. I think I fell a bit short of my goals in this area, but I would like to advocate for all MGRS events to include a nonbinary option at registration. Although it may seem like a small category, people may be surprised at how many nonbinary athletes will register as such when given the chance!

Now that I’ve somehow spent an entire day pedaling my bike over nearly 113 miles of gravel, it might be a good time to let you all know that I almost didn’t learn how to ride a bike. As a child, the excitement of getting a brand-new bike for my birthday quickly faded following an unfortunate incident involving a garbage can and the top bar of said bike. Having been easily and sufficiently traumatized, I refused to get back on the bike and try again. However, as many of you might know, there is no threat more motivating than that of a younger brother learning something before you, or more importantly, excelling in something that you [should have] learned first. When my fearless little brother scrambled atop my bike and began to pedal, I knew that I had to finish what I had started—and quickly, at that.

All of this to say… I’ve been incredibly lucky to be selected as the gravel scholar this year. Thanks to the generosity of Matt, Jenny, my wonderful sponsors, and the Michigan gravel cycling community, I’ve improved my skills, expanded my comfort zone, and experienced miles and miles of Michigan’s best gravel! I’ve gone so far above and beyond the goals I listed on my application. I am so much more confident and comfortable on my bike, taking on challenges that I never would have dreamed of in the past. Finally, I am blown away at how welcoming you all are, and I can’t wait to continue my gravel cycling adventure for years to come. If you’ve been following along this journey with bated breath, feeling slightly intimidated by the idea of entering a race or riding 30+ miles, I’d encourage you to apply for 2023! If you take one thing away from my time as the gravel scholar, it’s that you don’t have to be experienced, fast, or fit any type of mold to participate in this sport! I think this scholarship is for those who have been traditionally excluded from cycling, who are a little nervous to sign up for races, and who are eager for the chance to try out gravel with gear that is up to the challenge—I filled out the application with a mix of intimidation and intrigue, and I’d encourage anyone in my same boat to go ahead and take the plunge! I’m excited to see this scholarship continue to improve inclusion and accessibility for beginner gravel cyclists in Michigan!