This is my review of the 2022 Le Grand Du Nord 110 Mile gravel race in Grand Marais, MN. It was my first official gravel race and I was super excited to be out racing for the year. Emily and I loaded up the gear and bikes and took off the day before the event. Unlike a lot of our previous races in 2021, we were super stoked to only have an 8.5 hr. drive to the event. Our route led us from Madison, SD through the heart of Minnesota. We reached Duluth, a city I have always wanted to visit, and got our first glimpse of Lake Superior. If you haven't had the opportunity to see this natural wonder I highly recommend it. Our path continued along the NW coast of the lake passing Split Rock Lighthouse on the way, making note of its beauty and our need to visit on our return. We arrived in Grand Marais on time and with no issues. We decided to splurge a bit and booked an AirBnB just a block away from the race start and in the center of the action.
After getting unpacked and settled in, we went to get checked in. All went smoothly and before we knew it we were enjoying good company and food downtown. The day before race day I always like to eat a few more carbohydrates than I usually would, but definitely don't overdo it by gorging myself.
And thennnn...Race morning looked like this!
Oh well! The rain was NOT in my control. I had been watching the weather forecast the previous week and the rain had been bouncing back and forth between that Sunday and race day. Hopefully, I thought, it would at least let up before the start, or during the race.
Twas finally the time to start the 110-mile venture. There were around 238 registrants for the long ride, which started in three separate waves. I was the last and final wave. This is what the route looked like.
The rain had not let up. In fact, I think it had gotten worse. As we made our way up the steepish ascent through town and to the first gravel stretch, I knew it was going to be a wet day. Fortunately, I had chosen to wear a light rain jacket over my short-sleeved jersey. Under that, I had very light arm warmers on as well, due to the high only being in the low 50s. I chose to go with regular bib shorts and booties over my shoes. Cycling gloves and a light headband for my ears rounded out the specifics. I also was very excited to use my new 50 oz. Camelbak Chase bike vest. Ummm, total thumbs up! Thing rocks!
The race was pretty mellow until we hit the gravel section and a very steep climb up. I found myself in the 400 - 500 watt range rather quickly and warmed up. I was holding strong with the front group, and when we hit the flats it was game on. Follow the leader, hang on, passing on the left type of racing. I felt like I nailed my tire pressure but because of the rain and wet roads, I felt my rear tire slipping out every once in a while. 20 miles in there was no way I was seeing out of my sunglasses, and all I could do was hold the wheel in front. Once it finally mellowed down a bit, and around 12 remained in the front group, I slipped the glasses down to take a look around. I couldn't read my Garmin due to the mud and was just hoping those in front knew where we were going. I asked the guy next to me, "Where are we?" He replied, "Does it matter?" A little brash, but I got the point. I jokingly said, "Is this Canada?," knowing how close to the border we were. The joke fell as flat as the rain. We hit a nice paved section, and I leaned over my handlebars just behind the person in front of me to get some clean rain on my glasses. WHAM, I could see again.
We continued hard until the first checkpoint at mile 36. We were instructed to check-in, shouting our numbers to those at the checkpoint. It sounded something like this to them I would imagine... 2356292736592834629288462948362938. God bless them. I slowed down and made sure my number was recognized. This was all it took for them to get a gap and pull away. I was completely fine with this and settled into MY race mode. I passed about 2 or 3 people until the turnaround. My bike was sounding like a heap of junk at this point, but still performing like a champ. The noises it was making were definitely worrisome but I knew Berry Fast Bicycles had me tuned up right. Here I filled up my bottles, leaving my camelback with whatever I had left. Due to the low temps, I was not drinking as much as I normally would. The race organizers conveniently put a solid climb out of the turnaround, so I settled in and made my way. At this point, I knew I was sitting close to if not in the top 10, and was very excited.
Close to mile 70 the rain died out. At this point I had taken my glasses off and placed them behind my head. Feeling good that I was finally able to see my surroundings and enjoy the race a bit more. At one point I looked to my right, at a point of the route I had already ridden on the return portion, and saw what appeared to be a complete drop-off into the abyss. It was VERY foggy and hard to see very far in front of me. I thought to myself, holy hell thank goodness I didn't fly off that when I couldn't see a thing. As I stared at it, I realized that it was a lake, and the water was so still that the fog/sky was reflecting on it. It made it look like I was riding next to a cliff's edge. It was beautiful at that point.
I reached the same checkpoint I had passed earlier and grabbed a quick banana. Overall I was feeling fantastic and needed something solid and quick to tie me over. Great people at the aid station and if I had time, I would have stuck around a bit more to enjoy other snackys they had.
I trusted my Garmin 1030 to take me home. I was able to pass one more person before hitting the finish line solo in an overall 9th place. My first official gravel race and I came away in the top 10 in subpar conditions. I took that as a win in my book. Emily had already finished her 54 mile race, finishing 3rd overall female! She was there to greet me and take photos of my carnage. My bike brakes.. Toast. The gravel and water were like a sandblaster ruining them.
Within 10 minutes of finishing, I was already shivering and ready to get cleaned up. It is amazing how quickly the body cools down after you are done pedaling.
Finish Video
And just like that, it was over! Le Grand Du Nord 2022 110 miler was in the books. I'd like to thank my sponsors Berry Fast Bicycles, Taste & See, EXIT Realty Adam Foland and his team, Madison Family Dental, Sunshine Foods of Madison, and Stemper Autobody. They are all ROCKSTAR supporters! Stay tuned for my Pine Island Gravel Odessey 210-mile review! I will try to get that one done before a month's time has passed. :)
We are still raising money for the Semper Fi & America's Fund! Thank you all for your support!
Oh! And we did visit the lighthouse!
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