The Aggregate100 is this weekend, and grit.cx are sending our crack team the only two people who stuck up their hands to try out the UK’s first ever gravel enduro. There’s been frenzied planning* between Tom and James, who are keen to dial in the perfect kit selection for the race. It will be tricky to balance all day comfort, out and out speed on the timed sections and reliability… oh, and looking damn hot too. We all know that lookin’ good means riding’ good. Here’s Tom’s final choice. James will share his tomorrow.
*well, a couple of casual text messages, actually.
The clothes
I’ve gone for the Rapha Core shorts and jersey I tested recently. They are comfortable, and I don’t really do stealth when it comes to clothing. If the weather is less than awesome (highly unlikely in Yorkshire. It’s bound to be wall-to-wall sunshine), I’ll also carry the Gore ONE jacket for waterproofing duties.
My sock game will be 100% ON POINT, thanks to the Morvelo Fuck Cancer socks. All of the proceeds of each pair go to three great cancer charities #forjenn. Race day means a pair of box fresh ones, and pedalling a little harder for anyone who can’t any more.
Also, I’m a #hatsnotcaps kind of man, so will have a Morvelo DFL number on me bonce.
The bike
The Sonder Camino Ti has been my drop-barred friend for a couple of months now. I’ve ridden everything from pre-work tarmac spins to “I think I should really be on a mountain bike here” trails on it during the test period. It’s nearly time to wave goodbye to the Ti beauty, but I’ll give it a last hurrah. It remains exactly as stock. If I
I’ll be carrying a basic spares kit in a small saddlebag, mainly to keep the weight out of my pockets and to leave room for more snacks.
I might even get round to clearing the grass out of the cassette
Other stuff
Godda stay hydrated while racing. The Fabric cageless bottle has worked brilliantly so far. If it copes with 100km of offroad riding, it will get a final tick in the box.
My trusty Bontrager XXX mtb shoes have been going strong for a couple of years now. They are insanely stiff, but despite that, they’ve remained comfortable enough to ride 24hr races in. 100km will be a doddle.
As every enduro racer knows, it’s vital to capture a ‘sik’ edit of your race runs to upload to youtube when you get home. Both James and I will have GoPros so you can share the radness/LOLs.
Finally, I might not have done a gravel enduro before, but I have done mountain bike ones. Everyone knows that to be a good MTB enduro racer, you need goggles. I’ll therefore be wearing mine, at all times. All times. I don’t care that it looks like all the stages are uphill…
Right, I think that’s my run down. Stay tuned for James’s kit choices.