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<\/a>Clara Hatcher rides her gravel bike down back roads in the San Isabel National Forest near Leadville, Colorado.<\/p>\nI\u2019m currently signed up for the near 60-miler, and I\u2019m perfectly happy about it. But here\u2019s what\u2019s holding me up: What if I can actually take on almost 100 miles of riding?<\/p>\n
The miles don\u2019t scare me. That\u2019s the part I like \u2014 pedaling through endless, unyielding gravel and dirt roads. I find joy in knowing that I\u2019ve gone 20 miles with at least another 30 left. I can tackle the heat, the dust and the ache in my legs.<\/p>\n
What makes me nervous is the elevation gain. As someone who has been gravel biking and bikepacking religiously for nearly a decade, I know what 6,000 feet of elevation gain feels like: hell. Climbing is for some people, but I\u2019ve got to say, it might not always be for me. After 4,000 feet I feel like I\u2019m slogging my pedals through mud. I\u2019m chanting, \u201cCome on, just a little more\u201d every 100 feet.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never been good at climbing. That\u2019s what I\u2019m trying to change.<\/p>\n
Training for the Dirty Dino has proven fun so far. Early-season riding has thrown in a few hurdles. But an unseasonably warm spring has also offered me a head start. Apart from one week of traveling, I have been out on my bike at least two to three times per week since mid-March. One long ride, one short and punchy ride with a few thousand feet of elevation gain and a third just for kicks.<\/p>\n
The trick for me \u2014 aside from packing as much elevation gain into a ride as possible \u2014 is to just shut up and suffer through the climbing. And, to do it on gravel whenever possible. With that as the backbone to my training regimen, I\u2019ve actually come around to looking forward to long, arduous climbs.<\/p>\n
On one ride, a friend and I hopped on our bikes and attempted to ride up Millcreek Canyon. Salt Lakers know that the road is closed about 4.5 miles up, but we didn\u2019t realize that until we hit the gates. But the best part about riding Millcreek Canyon is that you can pack 1,000 feet of elevation gain into those 4.5 miles. So, when we got to the top, we took a victory ride down, turned right around and did it again.<\/p>\n
On a different ride, another friend and I rode 34 miles from Kamas, Utah, into the Uinta Mountains and up a gravel road. We hit snow near the top and coasted our way down. She, on her full suspension, sailed over the muddy, snowy patches. I slipped and slid down on 700x45c tires until I gratefully rolled onto hardpacked dirt roads.<\/p>\n
I could feel it by then, the strength that I\u2019ve slowly been building up.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Clara Hatcher rides her gravel bike near Moab, Utah. Photo courtesy Clara Hatcher<\/p>\n