Welcome to our new segment - Race Reports, A Year in Review - written by our tallest apprentice, Linus Owens! Over the next few weeks, we will regularly post a new story, a look back to Linus’s races from the 2021 season. We will include photos where we have them.
We welcome community contribution! If you have a race report, ride story, or photos you would like to share with us, we would love to post here on our blog and share it with our mailing list.
A look back on a year returning to racing and the privilege
that comes with sharing in the passion of bikes
Dirty Kitten
Dirty Kitten Gravel Race would mark my first return to a race I did previously. In 2019, I came to Dirty Kitten bright-eyed and bushy tailed and left bruised, battered, and beaten. A lot of this came down to not eating properly, but also a major failure of equipment choice. For the 2019 edition, I wore a bladder backpack in hopes I could stay riding longer and not have to stop as much for water. However, all this did was cause worsening back pain throughout the day and I barely touched the bladder for simple and dumb reason that I never rode with one before. Big lesson from that day: don’t do anything for the first time in a race. Test things out, whether it’s a saddle, bag set up, different foods, or even new clothing. It’s worth taking the time to see how your own body reacts to things. Some people will have different preferences and maybe they look comfortable doing something you would find miserable in practice. I imploded in the last twenty miles and crawled across this finish line in 2019, so I returned this year with plans to keep myself above my old mistakes.
The team came out strong for Dirty Kitten. I joined the team, then known as Team BBC, at the beginning of 2021. This year, we have rebranded as Baltimore Bicycle Works Racing, or BBWR, when the bike shop took over as main sponsor. They are a great group with a strong focus on getting riders of all kinds on bikes, whether for racing or not. I love this city very much and do a lot of my training in the city, especially Druid Hill Park, so I’m proud that I get to race with Baltimore on my jersey and do my best to represent this wonderful city. If you would like to know more about the team, contact our team president Josh, at joshua.greenfeld@gmail.com.
For the first time, I would get the pleasure of sharing a race with teammates. It's a great twenty mile course, all private roads, all dirt, not a lick of pavement on the day. Some nice hardpack gravel, some gravel/dirt double track, a touch of chunky stuff, some loose fresh gravel now and then, and some sandy slippy bits here and there. Two hills on course, the first early one hits a pretty steep slope, but doesn't last too long. The second hill starts with a moderate long stretch, levels out to rolling, then you hit The Kitten Crusher where things get up to 25% gradient. It's a walker. They had twenty, forty, sixty, and eighty mile courses.
I came for the eighty mile race. Some strong riders were out there. Teams from all over the MD/VA/DC area rolled up deep. Most of my teammates had chosen the shorter races, but nonetheless, I would come to rely on their help late in the day. It started with a neutral roll out, but things were anxious out of the gate. We hit the first hill and some folks, me included, had to put a foot down just from the congestion of us all hitting the steep slope bundled together. A little bit of attitude showed up early with some try-hard jerk shouting at stopped riders to get out of his way, but this was just the start of a long day. Rule Number One at Dirty Kitten was “Don’t be a jerk,” and thankfully, everyone else was in high spirits and encouraging moods for the day.
Tipping over the first hill, we got spread out on the first fast descent. We hit the cow field (which thankfully wasn’t blocked by cows for us, others not so lucky) and I found myself staring across some hundred yard gap to the next riders up the road. I weighed my options: Do I settle into my pace now because I know I'll be on my own at some point today? Or do I dig deep to connect with the group of fast riders before I never see them for the rest of the day? Well, I grabbed my shovel and started digging. It took me several agonizing miles but I caught on. Things got a little stretched out in the wooded roads, but we stayed connected. As rough as the roads were, the fast folks were doing their best to make it harder. Mercifully, things calmed down once we hit some of the gentler terrain.
We hit the foot of the second climb and stuck mostly together on the first slopes, but once we hit the Crusher things really pulled apart. A couple managed to ride the whole way up, most walked including me. I came over the top and went right down the other side. Though, they had the party tent at the top blasting good music and shoving bacon in our faces every time we passed. As hard as the race was, it was harder to bypass the party and keep rolling. By the time I got back down to the main, gentle road, a group of about eight had reformed and we held together back to the start/finish line.
My main strategy that paid off this year was utilizing the pit area at the start/finish. Normally, I’d have to rely on whatever the aid stations would carry, which is fine, but this course would loop back through every twenty miles. I made the best use of it. I had a cooler with fresh bottles of water, snacks, gummy bears, and some Dr. Pepper that absolutely saved my day. On the first time returning, the fast group rode on, but I stopped to resupply. That first lap was absolutely flying, but not a pace I could maintain.
My memory of laps two and three blended together. Each time, I found a pair of riders and tagged on for a while until their pace made me uncomfortable. I kept my mind on my pace all day and chose my moments on the course where I could dig. I stayed as steady as I could on the flat and rolling sections. I rode up most of the Crusher each lap, but was quick to hop off and walk for the steepest bit. I kept moving on the whole course and only stopped for the pit area at the end of each lap.
We had an unplanned team meeting as I got to the pit area after my third lap. This was a wonderful happenstance. The teammates on the sixty mile race all ended up back at the finish at the same time. It was good to survey the damage, check in with everyone. As much time as you spend on your own for this kind of stuff, it's invaluable to share a few words and tips, to cheer each other on while you're knee deep in it, or to just look at each other and say “This sucks!”
With the final lap waiting for me, I dumped the ice water from my cooler over my head, and hopped back on my bike. The last lap, though my slowest of the day, flew by for me. I had the course memorized, and pulled it along like a thread. I find myself very fortunate to not only be physically able to this, but to have found something I can pour so much passion and energy into. I think about many things while I'm riding, but on that final lap, I just thought about the people in my life I'm lucky enough to know, love, and care about. I have the privilege of lots of love in my life, and it's all fuel for my fire.
Finishing strong has been the theme of my season, and this day went to plan. After grinding out the middle laps, I felt energized as the finish got closer, a wonderful mixture of exhaustion and accomplishment. Rounding the final bend, I lit the last match I had and sprinted out the final stretch, against absolutely no one of course, but it gave me a better reason to collapse like a fool on the ground afterward.
In 2019, I finished the 60 mile 73rd overall and 20th in the Men's Open. This time, I finished the 80 mile in 31st overall and 3rd in the Men's Open, in 5:28, making this the first podium of my racing career. That first lap I spent with the fast people paid dividends and gave me lots of time to spare for the rest of the day.
I cannot thank Josh, Anna, Chelsea, and Bassel enough for cheering me on and getting to share such an awesome day with them. Big shout out to Anna for winning her division. You are all gladiators and monsters. This is strange, arduous stuff we try to do, but just remember two things:
Pain heals
Glory lasts forever
Ride well,
Linus Owens
