Racing in the Ottawa Gravel Cup was an opportunity to tackle a new challenge with no expectations other than to give my best effort and see where it took me. Without a gravel bike of my own, I borrowed my friend Bert’s bright green, carbon fibre Open U.P. with Sram Rival electronic shifting (A.KA. the Green Machine 🌵🤘). I was excited to ride it on unfamiliar terrain and see what I could do. 

The 70km course wound through rural North Frontenac, packing in about 1400m of climbing. As the race began and the field strung apart, I found a rhythm - pushing the climbs at a steady effort and hanging on through the rough, winding descents that felt so different from my usual road riding. I felt fit, strong and was straight up having a good time.

Around the 20km mark, I found myself in a group of 4 other riders, but my chain dropped in the middle of a punishing climb. I hopped off the bike, fixed the chain, ran the bike up the rest of the hill, then chased hard to catch up to the pack. My relief was short lived as about 10km later, the battery powering my shifters died. 

At that moment, 2 things were clear to me; that I was currently leading the women’s race, and that there was a lot of climbing ahead.

My mind moved quickly through the various stages of acceptance: 

Denial - This can’t be happening. I won’t make it up these hills stuck in one gear.

Grasping at straws- Maybe if I stop and take the battery out and put it back in, it’ll work again… or maybe someone will pass with a spare SRAM battery to lend me.

Acceptance - This is the bike I’ve got today. I’m gonna send it. 

In the 40km that followed, there were many climbs. Some were long and gradual where I could settle into a grind and crest without dismounting. Others were steep and aggressive, with loose gravel threatening to send me sliding backwards and slowing my cadence to a stop. When I couldn’t ride to the top of a climb, I hopped off and ran as fast as I could. 

I had an eye on the distance as it ticked down closer to the finish line. I pushed the pace when the road flattened and I felt generally strong.

Riding without gears is something that will stand out in my mind about this day. If i had been able to shift, I know I would have been faster and more efficient. That’s just not how it went for me.

In the end, though, not only did I pull out a first place finish in my first gravel race, I proved to myself that grit counts just as much as gears. Sometimes a little adversity makes the finish line (and the victory) that much sweeter.

-Frankie D