On September 27th, there was the @vermontbikepackers Super 8 Grand Depart at 8am in front of the Capitol in Montpelier, VT. I was up for the North Lobe which totals 442 km of rough gravel with 8,400 m of steep vertical climbs. Having bought an apartment during the summer and now dealing with all the things a landlord has to deal with, this season didn’t give me a lot of time to prepare for cycling events. However, I had been testing my Vermont Super 8 bike setup with the Katahdin from Panorama Cycles since the beginning of the summer. 

I had the Vittoria Mezcal 650b x 2.1” MTB tires on a set of Hunt Adventure Sport with inserts. I tried this wheels setup on many rides, and riding parts of the rock garden in the Big Red event.

I also tried a prototype 3D printed handlebar extension that I designed for the Redshift Kitchen Sink handlebar system. This allowed me to be in a more aero and comfortable position for longer. The race route was mostly hilly so the aero extensions were not as beneficial as I wished, but it allowed me to rest my upper body and also attach my front light in a good position to see in the fog!

Although I was not fully mentally prepared due to some renovations I had to do at home and some changes happening in my career, I was mostly in adventure mode and not looking for any specific position in the race. I told myself I would not look at my ranking, through trackleaders, before 5 hours into the race. This way I would not be anxious about a position that would not represent the race anyways. I was prepared to cycle for a bit longer than a full day, to complete the North Lobe section. 

After a few branches in the derailleur and crank in the first 50km, I stopped to remove branches and deflated my tires for more grip. Letting go a few nearby riders, only to catch them up an hour later. Good weather was up for the whole weekend so the spirit and vibe was very good. I stopped at Subway for a quick Sub and refilled my drinks for the ride ahead. I looked at trackleaders and I was in third position. I thought first place was quite out of reach, but second place could be feasible.

One notable feature of the race in the first 12 hours was the climb of Burke Mountain with endless steepness and mountain bike level rocks with small creek crossings on the way up (and down). 

At dusk, I was going up power line trails and that is when the cheap lube I found at the Kingdom trails bike shop started to clog my chain with dust catching in the lube. This made my chain slip on the cassette in my largest cog, making it unusable when I needed it the most. So I basically had to walk instead of using the 50T. Next time I’ll make sure I have a small bottle of wax based lube in my bags at all times, and not forget my lube in the car as I pack the bike!

It was getting quite cold overnight, now regretting not bringing a 4L+ saddle bag to stock in an extra pair of socks to change my wet socks, an extra pair of warmer gloves and a my puffy down jacket I had to leave behind in my car since my luggage space on the bike was too limited. I still put on an extra high VIz jacket on top of my arm warmers and vest to spend a good part of the night on the bike. I told myself that doing a 30min power nap would be a good idea. I saw an open door in a US post office, sneaked in and slept on the floor for 30min, then jumped back on the bike. Around that time I saw a white owl that was keen enough to let me take a picture on its branch.

I ended up in second position, thinking I was still third, overnight and then got passed during my sleep as Tucker apparently misrouted for like 6miles. 

Next morning I caught up with the guy who was in first for a good part of the race. I think the single speed walking burned most of his energy. Now I had to catch back Tucker who was not far off in front, something like 30 minutes. The last 100km was not giving me any rest, with a solid hike a bike riverbed style hiking trail. Then in the last 20km into Montpellier to close the North Lobe, I had some MTB trails misroute and chain slip mishaps that got in my way of bridging this distance. The MTB trails were kind of fun, challenging, but not at the right place in the course when you just want to get it done! I must say a huge Chapeau to Tucker for keeping the mojo on a single speed! This was not an easy race at all! The level of difficulty of the terrain was 11 out of 10.

Takeaways

• The rough terrain calls for a suspension. Although I had a Redshift suspension stem, with elastomers selected for medium damping, I still experienced numb fingers for a good three days. I've heard riders in the South Lobe report even longer periods of numb fingers. I thought the wide 2.1” tires combined with the suspension stem would be enough, but I would recommend opting for more rather than less.
• The second takeaway is that I should always carry a minimum of wax based lube with me, at all times. A clogged drivetrain is such a hassle, stopping frequently to clean the chain just to get it working properly is frustrating.
• Third takeaway ;  I should bring a saddlebag of at least 4L when I want to pack a down jacket and other changes of warm clothes. Otherwise, I simply don’t have enough luggage space on the bike to carry any additional comfort.

It was savage! I cannot even imagine the South lobe which is even rougher. I finished in 2nd place in 1d 7h 13min on Saturday afternoon. After a beer and hot dogs in Montpellier, I recharged myself at the Little River campground to gain some strength for the road back home. I stopped in Burlington for a bagel breakfast sandwich at Willow’s on Sunday morning before getting back to Montreal. 

Congrats to @weaver_in_the_wild for on his single speed steed. 

Special thanks @panoramacycles as always for the support plus the fast and robust machine.