Overland: Cascadia Super Gravel 2021
Overland: Cascadia Super Gravel 2021
Words and Photos: Adam Kachman
It’s been a while. For most people, and most things.
It’s been a while for me in many regards, as the past year of my life has looked nothing like the preceding 30.
For the better part of a year, cycling has taken a back seat. Instead of pinning on race numbers at the peak of the summer of 2020, I was strapping on a gas mask and picking up where my relatives left off during the Civil Rights Movement - marching through the streets, echoing the same demands, facing the same violent responses, and summoning the same courage to go back, day after day.
But I still found time to escape to the solace of hardpacked gravel roads that led me away from the city, to head into the depths of the forest where mountain biking served as a form of meditation in motion. If I had to guess, I'd say that many of us took to the woods and backroads to search for some calm through all this chaos.
Then came Cameron and Cascadia Super Gravel to remind us that, sure, the forest can be a place for solo meditative riding, but it can also be a place to get soaked to the bone and embody the phrase, “No glory without suffering” with a few friends.
While the world was in the throes of LITERALLY EVERYTHING, tucked away in Capitol State Forest was a collection of gravel roads and singletrack that would test the legs, lungs, and minds of everyone, from first time gravel riders to seasoned sinewy racers.
The race course is set amongst the historic lands of the Skykomish, Nisqually & Chehalis peoples who fished the Chehalis river, and called this space home before it was ultimately taken from them when the Point No Point and Medicine Creek Treaties were signed in 1854. CSG is an ambitious ride on a good day and a ridiculous ride on a day when it's 40 degrees and raining like it was when I woke up in my truck on race morning. With a cup of coffee in my hand, I walked a few meters into the woods and took a moment to let the history of the land I was standing upon sink in. I would recommend that anyone traveling anywhere take a moment to do this. You don’t have to make a big deal out of it, and it’s not some grandiose gesture. It’s simply an acknowledgment of what came before you… After my moment amongst the moss covered trees, I was back to present day where there were some hills to climb.
A day of incredible beauty and leg draining climbs proceeded as racer after racer set off into the single track where they would almost immediately begin the 1,000 ft climb BEFORE reaching the starting line. BEFORE REACHING THE STARTING LINE.
I’m not one for detailing a race experience in a race report… it’s been done countless times and quite frankly, I personally find them uninspiring. What I can say about this race is that you will be both humbled and energized by the forest around you as double digit climbs give way to descents that have you surfing your bike atop the gravel at speeds where bliss and fear are in equilibrium. You will find yourself in historically sacred lands and feel a reverence for the forest like generations did before you and like many will do after. You will feel small amongst the old growth giants, and triumphant as you crest the final climb.
In short, Cascadia Super Gravel is an impactful experience - physically, mentally, and historically. It was an incredible way to convene with the forest, learn about a place, and suffer like crazy.
Words and Photos: Adam Kachman
It’s been a while. For most people, and most things.
It’s been a while for me in many regards, as the past year of my life has looked nothing like the preceding 30.
For the better part of a year, cycling has taken a back seat. Instead of pinning on race numbers at the peak of the summer of 2020, I was strapping on a gas mask and picking up where my relatives left off during the Civil Rights Movement - marching through the streets, echoing the same demands, facing the same violent responses, and summoning the same courage to go back, day after day.
But I still found time to escape to the solace of hardpacked gravel roads that led me away from the city, to head into the depths of the forest where mountain biking served as a form of meditation in motion. If I had to guess, I'd say that many of us took to the woods and backroads to search for some calm through all this chaos.
Then came Cameron and Cascadia Super Gravel to remind us that, sure, the forest can be a place for solo meditative riding, but it can also be a place to get soaked to the bone and embody the phrase, “No glory without suffering” with a few friends.
While the world was in the throes of LITERALLY EVERYTHING, tucked away in Capitol State Forest was a collection of gravel roads and singletrack that would test the legs, lungs, and minds of everyone, from first time gravel riders to seasoned sinewy racers.
The race course is set amongst the historic lands of the Skykomish, Nisqually & Chehalis peoples who fished the Chehalis river, and called this space home before it was ultimately taken from them when the Point No Point and Medicine Creek Treaties were signed in 1854. CSG is an ambitious ride on a good day and a ridiculous ride on a day when it's 40 degrees and raining like it was when I woke up in my truck on race morning. With a cup of coffee in my hand, I walked a few meters into the woods and took a moment to let the history of the land I was standing upon sink in. I would recommend that anyone traveling anywhere take a moment to do this. You don’t have to make a big deal out of it, and it’s not some grandiose gesture. It’s simply an acknowledgment of what came before you… After my moment amongst the moss covered trees, I was back to present day where there were some hills to climb.
A day of incredible beauty and leg draining climbs proceeded as racer after racer set off into the single track where they would almost immediately begin the 1,000 ft climb BEFORE reaching the starting line. BEFORE REACHING THE STARTING LINE.
I’m not one for detailing a race experience in a race report… it’s been done countless times and quite frankly, I personally find them uninspiring. What I can say about this race is that you will be both humbled and energized by the forest around you as double digit climbs give way to descents that have you surfing your bike atop the gravel at speeds where bliss and fear are in equilibrium. You will find yourself in historically sacred lands and feel a reverence for the forest like generations did before you and like many will do after. You will feel small amongst the old growth giants, and triumphant as you crest the final climb.
In short, Cascadia Super Gravel is an impactful experience - physically, mentally, and historically. It was an incredible way to convene with the forest, learn about a place, and suffer like crazy.