A Season of Lessons Pt 1

For the last 10 months, I have been racing professionally in CA, AZ, OK, CO, NE, KS, and AR. My TrailDonkey tells the story of long, dusty miles and many lessons learned. This is the first year I have raced full-time and it has been an enlightening experience. More than a tool for fitness, a bicycle is a teacher. The lessons are usually tough and sometimes take more than one confrontation with challenges. I entered the season wanting to dive deeper into the sport than ever. Over the season, I’ve grown as an athlete physically, mentally, and professionally. I’d like to share some of the things I’ve learned so far in 2023. I can’t wait to see what new lessons the next season will teach me.

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Everest (ing) by Donkey

Everesting is a ride wherein riders ride a single hill over and over until they’ve climbed the height of Mount Everest. That’s 29,032′ or 8848m.

I decided to do an Everest attempt after doing a last minute Instagram poll just throwing it out there to see if I should give it a go. 100% of you said yes. I wasn’t sure if I would do it up until this point and since this was the day before I was pretty ill-prepared.

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Cycling as Sustainable Tourism: The Grayson Gravel Traverse

Consumerism is undeniably woven into the fabric of modern society. However, its expansive reach may not be as innocuous as flashy advertisements would have us believe. Now, it might seem contradictory to start a blog discussing the pitfalls of consumerism while intending to funnel visitors to Rodeo’s website, hoping they’d invest in a bike. But this juxtaposition is what sets Rodeo apart. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that Rodeolab’s fan’s are here for the culture not just the bikes. As adventure cyclists, our brand of consumerism is geared towards not just healthier choices, but also more meaningful experiences. What I’m driving at is, while traditional consumerism, particularly the American variant, often leaves a trail of depletion, there exists an alternative that can enrich rather than exhaust.

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Edyn’s Adventures: Rebecca’s Private Idaho

Editor’s note: We’re thrilled to welcome Edyn Teitge, a young (14 years) endurance racer and gravel rider hailing from Colorado. Edyn is rolling on a purpose built Rodeo Labs TD4 for the remainder of the 2023 and the 2024 season, and we’re excited to see where he takes it, including a planned ride in the 2024 Tour Divide.

Photos courtesy @adventurescoutmedia @stellar_media. Now on to the story!

Rebecca’s Private Idaho or RPI is a multi-day gravel bike event in Southern Idaho. I decided to race the Queens Stage Race (QSR), which goes 186 miles through three timed stages and one rest day/social ride. The first day is one of the most beautiful and technical stages as it winds up the Harriman, a non-motorized double-track trail at the foot of the Boulder Mountains.

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UCI Gravel Worlds: Getting to the start is the hardest part

How I tried making it to the World Championships gravel racing.

So, my buddy Jan, who used to be a world champ on the track, asked me back in May to join a gravel race in Drenthe, The Netherlands. He said, “Hey, it’s a chance to qualify for the World Championships gravel.” He had already qualified a few months earlier at another event in Limburg. To be honest, I had no idea what I was getting into, but I thought, “Why not?” So, I coughed up 60 bucks and waited for more info. It came a bit later. The Gravel One Fifty is a 150-kilometer race, and let me tell you, it wasn’t a walk in the park. I scouted the course two weeks before the race and quickly realized that 45mm tires would’ve been a good idea.

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Gravel Worlds, and what Singlespeed has taught me

2023 has been a great year of bike racing at Rodeo Labs. We’ve scooped up quite a few podiums and victories between Donkeys and Flaanimals, and beyond race results it’s been great watching owners and community members line up and ride for reasons other than trying to win. As for myself, for a number of reasons this has been the year of ditching geared drivetrains and instead racing singlespeed. I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process.

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