Wet Gravel Grinder Gear
I love gravel grinders, I typically ride one per month April to October every year. This means there is a good chance you'll be riding/racing in the rain. With that has come lessons in what wet gravel can do to your skin (& gear).
Tomorrow I'm riding the Royal (Almanzo's 164-mile course) - the forecast is for rain all day and temps in the mid-40s. So it'll be another chance to dial in my cold & wet gravel kit. Things I learned from other long gravel rides in 40*F wet weather:
The pic below was the 2017 Almanzo (the Toad's on the drop-bar fatbike). https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c9776b9af2.jpg Photo credit - David Phillips / Spring Valley Tribune |
Wow, good list.
I like $5 merino wool or cashmere from Salvation Army when I know its gonna get used hard. I use a beaver tail fender on my bike. (Lets people draft behind me. LOL) Good luck tomorrow! |
I don't ride like you but I have found this useful: a small supply of cloth (or paper towels) to wipe my lenses. I know they'll get dirty again but wiping with a dirty glove over & over can be improved on by bringing a small supply of something else to use
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A few critical pieces of kit for wet gravel events:
Castelli Gabba long sleeve. Adjust base layers for the temperature. Fenders - at least a minimal rear fender to block your saddle region. Full fenders are amazing for keeping you clean and dry if you aren't riding in a group. Gloves with a cloth patch for clearing the glasses. Don't use knee/leg warmers. Three valid choices are winter cycling tights, running tights over the bibs, or embrocation. Lake boots (if it's cold enough to justify them). Tall wool socks. |
Originally Posted by chas58
(Post 20934305)
Wow, good list.
I like $5 merino wool or cashmere from Salvation Army when I know its gonna get used hard. I use a beaver tail fender on my bike. (Lets people draft behind me. LOL) Good luck tomorrow! FENDER! Yes, that is a big miss on my list! In the pic above, I had a PDW Mud Shovel, but Ray (in orange jacket & black helmet) said that it wasn't really helping with the spray off my 4" tires. :D On most of these rides, you take your pick: face full of sand slurry to get out of the wind; or all the wind but not inhaling who-knows-what off the next rider's tire. |
+1 on merino wool.
Toad, what sort of rain jacket do you favor? |
Originally Posted by Koyote
(Post 20934561)
+1 on merino wool.
Toad, what sort of rain jacket do you favor? |
Originally Posted by OneIsAllYouNeed
(Post 20934363)
Castelli Gabba long sleeve. Adjust base layers for the temperature.
The Gabba and Perfetto products are stellar, either short or long sleeve. The Perfetto Light jersey has an open nanoflex fabric in the rear to vent heat. The Gabba is a badass jersey for wet, nasty cold conditions. The rear hem on both drops way down to keep wheel spray off. |
Royal update: The rain was not a factor. A major storm front pushed through as I drove to the start line, but there wasn't a drop of rain during the 14 hours it took me to ride the 167-mile course. It never got much over 50F, never saw the sun, and the wind was very mean to us all day - headwinds for the first 80 miles, some tailwinds in the middle, but the last 15 miles was back into a stronger headwind. Winds started out of the East (odd) and by afternoon were coming from the Northeast. Weather reports for the region recorded wind speeds average 16 mph, with sustained speeds up to 24 mph and max gust at 32 mph. The course was up and down most of the river valleys in the area, so the low areas gave some breaks from the winds, but never enough!
We had 30 riders step up to the start line, out of 115+ registered. No race results were recorded (by design), but I'd estimate only 5 riders DNF. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d3e01266c7.png Here's the Toad (white helmet and suffering) at the top of Shady Lane Trail - a tough climb early in the day, only 200 ft climb, but starts with 15+%. It was like this all day, over 11,000 ft of climbing with short-step hills. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...939473a66b.png Thanks Michael for the photo. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...22692aaa0f.jpg Finish line pic of the Breeze Radar Pro |
Nice! Good job showoing up and completing the course!!! What is worse – DNF, or DNS? Lol
FYI, I put my fender as low as I can (mine is a little longer than yours) to minimize back spray to others – but Ray is probably right, either way. Besides – if I put it too low and it gets off center, knobby tires (even small knobs) do a good job at eating away into the plastic. |
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