From the Field: Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder
From the Field: Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder
Words: Courtenay McFadden | Photos: Drew Coleman / Adam Lapierre
The Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder race is a gravel adventure stage race through the heart of the Cascades. Comprised of 5 days, 4 nights, and 350 miles through a variety of terrain, it's a test of will for any rider and this year Easton athlete, Courtenay McFadden took on the challenge aboard her Easton-laden Pivot Vault.
Gear Set Up
When setting up my bike for 5 days of gravel riding through Central Oregon, I thought about the terrain we would be pedaling through, the actual ground surface itself, and my comfort for multiple long days of pedaling.
Cockpit: For my cockpit set up I went with my tried and trusted EC90 SLX bars. I love the comfort and length of the bars and when paired with a 60mm stem, you get a tighter fit of the bike plus quick turning and response time.
Drivetrain: I run the 2x Shimano Di2 GRX group set with my EC90 SL cranks. I have a bit of an odd gear ratio (11/40 rear with a 46/30 up front), as I live in the PNW and our climbs are steep logging roads that I wanted to make sure I had enough gears to not feel like I would be blowing my knees out from having to grind my way up the climbs.
Since the race was 5 days with long stages and long climbs, I figured I would keep the same gear ratios to hopefully save a bit on the legs from day to day, which paid off because come day 4 I was VERY thankful for my gears!
Wheels: When it came to choosing wheels there was no doubt I would run my EC90 AX wheels, built specifically for gravel. They’re light and they spin up really well, especially on the climbs!
Tires: I went with a wider tire than what I train on, opting for a Teravail Cannonball 42 with side wall protection, instead of 38’s due to the large sandy sections of the race. With the wider sturdier tire I felt protected on Central Oregon’s lava rock, and between the tires and the wheels I was able to conquer the sandy roads (even if it was with a grimace).
The Race
Each day of the race brought something new. Some days I felt shockingly great, and some days the legs begged me to stop.
Day 1 (74 miles 6400 ft): we rode from Sisters to Mckenzie and this takes the cake as the hardest day for me. I think between going out too hard from the start, the heat, and the sun exposure just left me feeling awful. The one saving grace for me on this day was the fun sandy sections! We went on an old Wagon Road that felt like a sandy pump track, that then turned into this fun swoopy deep sandy downhill with some chunky lava rock thrown in just for fun! After that it was a lot of steep exposed climbing that left me cooked. The views this day were the best though!
Day 2 (59 miles 6000 ft): from Mckenzie to Oakridge, I felt like a whole new person. The day started out on pavement (ouch), so road racing tactics were key here (being in a group), once we got to the long climb I felt right at home, it was the perfect pitch, it was shaded, and I even passed people! On the following downhill I found some others to ride with and I was SO thankful. The final climb of the day took us to the top of one of Oakridge’s mountain bike trail systems and it was a downhill in thick gravel to the finish line!
Day 3 (53 miles, 5400 ft): this was a circle starting and finishing in the same place in Oakridge. This day was supposed to be the “easy” day with a shorter race course and less climbing, but anytime someone tells me we have a ten mile climb, I’m not sure you can call the day easy! The legs this day felt the previous day’s effort and the climb was so gradual that I started in my big ring! Anytime I’m in my big ring for a climb, can we call it a climb? I had to settle into my own pace for this one, but the theme for the week was “slow and steady wins the race” and sure enough one by one I was picking people off (mostly men) who had gone out too hard.
Day 4 (94 miles, 9800ft) - The Queen Stage from Oakridge to La Pine: OUCH! I think when you don’t empty your tank day after day you ACTUALLY can feel good on day 4, which is a good day to feel good for. After a flat pavement start, we got into a 26-mile climb. It took my legs a bit to wake up, but once we hit the gravel and started climbing, it felt like pixie dust was sprinkled on my legs and I was able to hit the climb with a nice pace. I hit the first aid station and caught up to a handful of women, collected some water and food and went on my way. From here, it was a long and very lonely day out there. I rode by myself for majority of the 7 hour day, and it was a lonely hot day out there, especially for the final flat 20 miles into La Pine.
Day 5 La Pine to Sisters (83 miles 6500 ft): another long day in the saddle, and by this day my legs, my bum, my feet and my hands had enough. I felt pretty awful when we started, but things woke up about an hour into the ride and I was SO happy to find a solid group of friends to ride with for majority of the day. Once we hit aid station 2 and the final long climb and STEEP climb started we went our separate ways. At this point of the day and race it was all people for themselves and I think we were all just so happy to be done. After 5 26 hours of pedaling, my bike I hit the finish line, ate many bags of chips, a couple of popsicles, and took a swim in the mountaintop lake before the final stroll back to Sisters.
Overall my experience at my first gravel stage race was…mostly positive! The only negative part was the heat! With the start of the heatwave rolling into the PNW it was toasty out there! The event was well run, the stages incredibly hard but also manageable with friends. This was hands down the hardest, both physically and mentally, event I’ve competed in and I’m so happy to walk away and say I completed the race and finished 6th in the women’s GC.
Words: Courtenay McFadden | Photos: Drew Coleman / Adam Lapierre
The Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder race is a gravel adventure stage race through the heart of the Cascades. Comprised of 5 days, 4 nights, and 350 miles through a variety of terrain, it's a test of will for any rider and this year Easton athlete, Courtenay McFadden took on the challenge aboard her Easton-laden Pivot Vault.
Gear Set Up
When setting up my bike for 5 days of gravel riding through Central Oregon, I thought about the terrain we would be pedaling through, the actual ground surface itself, and my comfort for multiple long days of pedaling.
Cockpit: For my cockpit set up I went with my tried and trusted EC90 SLX bars. I love the comfort and length of the bars and when paired with a 60mm stem, you get a tighter fit of the bike plus quick turning and response time.
Drivetrain: I run the 2x Shimano Di2 GRX group set with my EC90 SL cranks. I have a bit of an odd gear ratio (11/40 rear with a 46/30 up front), as I live in the PNW and our climbs are steep logging roads that I wanted to make sure I had enough gears to not feel like I would be blowing my knees out from having to grind my way up the climbs.
Since the race was 5 days with long stages and long climbs, I figured I would keep the same gear ratios to hopefully save a bit on the legs from day to day, which paid off because come day 4 I was VERY thankful for my gears!
Wheels: When it came to choosing wheels there was no doubt I would run my EC90 AX wheels, built specifically for gravel. They’re light and they spin up really well, especially on the climbs!
Tires: I went with a wider tire than what I train on, opting for a Teravail Cannonball 42 with side wall protection, instead of 38’s due to the large sandy sections of the race. With the wider sturdier tire I felt protected on Central Oregon’s lava rock, and between the tires and the wheels I was able to conquer the sandy roads (even if it was with a grimace).
The Race
Each day of the race brought something new. Some days I felt shockingly great, and some days the legs begged me to stop.
Day 1 (74 miles 6400 ft): we rode from Sisters to Mckenzie and this takes the cake as the hardest day for me. I think between going out too hard from the start, the heat, and the sun exposure just left me feeling awful. The one saving grace for me on this day was the fun sandy sections! We went on an old Wagon Road that felt like a sandy pump track, that then turned into this fun swoopy deep sandy downhill with some chunky lava rock thrown in just for fun! After that it was a lot of steep exposed climbing that left me cooked. The views this day were the best though!
Day 2 (59 miles 6000 ft): from Mckenzie to Oakridge, I felt like a whole new person. The day started out on pavement (ouch), so road racing tactics were key here (being in a group), once we got to the long climb I felt right at home, it was the perfect pitch, it was shaded, and I even passed people! On the following downhill I found some others to ride with and I was SO thankful. The final climb of the day took us to the top of one of Oakridge’s mountain bike trail systems and it was a downhill in thick gravel to the finish line!
Day 3 (53 miles, 5400 ft): this was a circle starting and finishing in the same place in Oakridge. This day was supposed to be the “easy” day with a shorter race course and less climbing, but anytime someone tells me we have a ten mile climb, I’m not sure you can call the day easy! The legs this day felt the previous day’s effort and the climb was so gradual that I started in my big ring! Anytime I’m in my big ring for a climb, can we call it a climb? I had to settle into my own pace for this one, but the theme for the week was “slow and steady wins the race” and sure enough one by one I was picking people off (mostly men) who had gone out too hard.
Day 4 (94 miles, 9800ft) - The Queen Stage from Oakridge to La Pine: OUCH! I think when you don’t empty your tank day after day you ACTUALLY can feel good on day 4, which is a good day to feel good for. After a flat pavement start, we got into a 26-mile climb. It took my legs a bit to wake up, but once we hit the gravel and started climbing, it felt like pixie dust was sprinkled on my legs and I was able to hit the climb with a nice pace. I hit the first aid station and caught up to a handful of women, collected some water and food and went on my way. From here, it was a long and very lonely day out there. I rode by myself for majority of the 7 hour day, and it was a lonely hot day out there, especially for the final flat 20 miles into La Pine.
Day 5 La Pine to Sisters (83 miles 6500 ft): another long day in the saddle, and by this day my legs, my bum, my feet and my hands had enough. I felt pretty awful when we started, but things woke up about an hour into the ride and I was SO happy to find a solid group of friends to ride with for majority of the day. Once we hit aid station 2 and the final long climb and STEEP climb started we went our separate ways. At this point of the day and race it was all people for themselves and I think we were all just so happy to be done. After 5 26 hours of pedaling, my bike I hit the finish line, ate many bags of chips, a couple of popsicles, and took a swim in the mountaintop lake before the final stroll back to Sisters.
Overall my experience at my first gravel stage race was…mostly positive! The only negative part was the heat! With the start of the heatwave rolling into the PNW it was toasty out there! The event was well run, the stages incredibly hard but also manageable with friends. This was hands down the hardest, both physically and mentally, event I’ve competed in and I’m so happy to walk away and say I completed the race and finished 6th in the women’s GC.