Marley's 2023 MidSouth Gravel 100 Recap
Marley Blonsky recaps her 2023 MidSouth Gravel 100 mile ride.
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My event season officially kicked off a couple weeks ago, with MidSouth Gravel in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Heading into the weekend I was feeling a bit wary about my capability to ride 100 miles - my knee is still not back to 100% and my lungs are still clearing themselves after a bout of bronchitis.
Celebrating my DFL win at the end of MidSouth
But there is something incredibly special about MidSouth Gravel and spoiler alert, I ended up riding all 100 miles AND taking home the coveted prize of DFL (Dead F*cking Last.) Here’s how it all went down…
I signed up for MidSouth 2023 before my knee surgery (in September 2022.) I figured the 100 mile distance would be a good goal to shoot for - knowing that I could always drop down to either the 50 mile or the 12 mile Inspiration Ride. I did in fact change my distance choice during check-in on Friday, only to be convinced by Event Director Bobby Wintle to for the 100.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Bobby Wintle in person, I strongly recommend taking a trip to District Bicycles in Stillwater, Oklahoma to do so.. Bobby is the heart and soul of the bike community in Stillwater, having built a friendly, supportive and adventurous community around him.
After a rousing Rider Meeting, Bobby had me dang near convinced I could do anything I could put my mind to - so I decided then and there that I’d ride the 100 miler. What could go wrong?
MidSouth is like a family reunion with your cousins that you actually like.
One of my goals for the event season this year is to really take care of my body and to be more intentional with my time during events. I learned the hard way last year that the days before the ride of socializing, spending time at the expo and leading shake down rides was a perfect recipe for emptying my tank before arriving at the start line. To that end, I’ll be doing less shake-down rides, instead hosting community All Bodies on Bikes rides adjacent to the big events. Keep an eye out for more.
I’m proud to say I’m off to a good start this year, limiting my time at the MidSouth Expo while still visiting all my sponsors and friends. I was also lucky enough to be invited to the Skratch Labs house for a delicious dinner on Friday night where I got to enjoy a delicious dinner with some of my cycling heroes, including Meg Fisher and Ellen Noble! This weekend was off to a great start!
Bike, Food and Hydration Preparation
I rode my Cannondale Topstone 4, the same gravel bike I’ve been on since Unbound Gravel in 2022. This year, I’ve swapped the stock drivetrain for a Shimano 1x11 GRX system, capable of handling steeper hills a bit better. Even with the improved climbing gears, I still walked a couple of hills, being extra careful with my knee.
My beautiful bike, taking a much needed rest.
I also worked with accomplished cycling coach and endurance racer Ernie Lechuga on a bike fit, making small modifications to my fit including lowering my handlebars and shifting my saddle position. MidSouth would be the first big test of the bike fit and in retrospect, it was a key factor in my success.
Prior to the race, I also added a few more ounces of sealant to both tires. I’ve been running the Panaracer 700 x 43 Gravel King SK tires for all of my gravel rides and knock-on wood, have had zero issues. I love these tires for just about any surface - chunky gravel, smooth tarmac and sloppy singletrack.
The other modification I made to my bike for this race was installing a side-loading bottle cage on the top tube. With my tiny frame (I ride an XS bike), there isn’t room for 2 full-sized water bottles within the triangle, so instead, I have one bottle in the triangle, and one on the top. Both of these bottles get filled with Skratch Hydration Fuel for electrolytes, while my plain water goes on my back in an Apidura hydration vest.
I have no idea how the math works out, but based on all my training rides, I know that I expend roughly the same amount of calories as feet climbed during a ride, with caloric burn slowing throughout the day. For example, on a typical 30 mile, 3000 ft training ride in Arkansas, I’ll burn between 2800 and 3200 calories, depending on how hard I’m pushing myself. On a 50 mile ride, 3500 foot ride I’ll hit about 5500 calories and last year during Unbound, my Wahoo predicted I burned nearly 8,000 calories.
I have no idea if this is accurate or not, but I know that it means I need to eat all day long. As I’ve increased my training miles, I’ve also dialed in my on-the-bike nutrition a bit more as well.
I like a mix of gels, bars, trail mix, and real food on the bike.
This year for MidSouth, I carried the following
Bag of magic trailmix (peanuts, peanut butter m&m’s, gummy bears, oreos)
4 packs Twisted Spoke CBD Energy Chews (use the code Marley for 10% off your purchase at Twisted Spoke)
3 packs Skratch Energy Chews
2 Skratch Rice Cakes
4 GU Energy Gels
1 Emergency Burrito (bean and cheese from the day before because I forgot to take it out…definitely still edible if it came down to it.)
I ate almost everything, except the burrito and one pack of Skratch Energy Chews. While on the course, I also ate the following delicacies:
2 packs Cheetos
3 Clementines
½ a non-alcoholic beer from Cloudburst Brewing
1 oreo
1 Samoa Girl Scout Cookie
3 pieces of bacon from the Chamois Butt’r Aid Station
1 Cup of Cold Brew Coffee from Aspen Coffee Roasters
½ peanut butter and jelly quesadilla
And I think that’s it.
I have my Wahoo Bolt set up to remind me to drink every 20 minutes and to eat every 100 calories. While it’s annoying to get those reminders, I find it’s actually helpful, as otherwise it’s easy to let yourself get hungry. Some of the best advice I ever heard was from Meg Fisher, who said “If you think you’re sad, you need to eat.”
The Actual Ride
You’d think I’d have a ton of details to share about the ride, covering 100 miles and over 14 hours. In truth though, there really isn’t a ton to share.
The important bits:
-My bike rode beautifully. Zero mechanical issues, zero fit issues.
-The course was absolutely magical. If you’ve never ridden in Oklahoma, I recommend making it happen as soon as you can. Rolling red dirt hills punctuated by frequent cow pastures might sound boring, but it’s not. I was genuinely surprised by the amount of oil and gas equipment out there - seemingly every field had an operational oil derrick.
-The rest stops were amazing and stayed open for me! Thank you to all the folks who waited out in the dark and cold - it was a huge mood booster to come around the corner and see lights when I expected to see nothing!
-The single track was probably my favorite part of the course. Challenging yet rideable for the most part, I took my time in this section. By the time I got there, it was pitch black and I had been riding with the Red Dirt Jeep Club as my escort for the previous 30 miles, enjoying the benefit of their insanely bright lights. I took the opportunity of being away from the jeeps to center myself, taking a few minutes with all my lights off to breathe in the chill night air, to look up at the stars, and to count my blessings. I knew that as soon as I got out of the single track, it was a quick shot to Stilwater, where hundreds of people would be waiting for me at the finish line.
The Finish Line
I didn’t realize I was in last place until Mount Butter, about mile 62. I knew I was going slowly, but until that point, hadn’t seen any of the tell-tale jeeps that follow the last rider. The last riders caught me at Mount Butter, and we proceeded to together for the next 15 miles. As the sun set behind us, we yo-yo’d back and forth until mile 77, when he threw in the towel and quit. Now, it was just me and the Red Dirt Jeep Club, slowly making our way back to Stillwater.
After the guy I was riding with quit, it sunk in that as long as I finished the ride, I would be DFL (Dead F*ing Last.) And honestly, there was never any question of me finishing the ride.
As each mile ticked by during the ride, I let my mind wander to everything that had led me to this moment. I talked to myself - reminding myself out loud everyone who supported me in making this wild life possible - my sponsors, family and friends, the race organizers, and my fans. I wouldn’t be here if not for everyone who has given me a hug, words of encouragement, or a smile when I was feeling down. With this mindset of gratitude, I rode through the OSU campus, continuing to pick up additions to our rolling parade.
A cop car with full lights and sirens jolted me out of my peaceful headspace, alerting the finish line that I was on my way. As I rolled down the finish line chute, I heard Bobby Wintle screaming my name, the crowd going crazy, and all I could do was smile and enjoy the first champagne shower of my life.
Read More
Check out the media coverage from MidSouth:
Unbound Gravel 2022 Recap part 1
This blog covers my training, prep and bike setup. Next up will be the ride experience and thoughts on completing it! This blog does contain affiliate links - when you make a purchase using my link, I receive a very small commission, allowing me to continue to do this work. Thank you for your support.
Well, I did it. I rode my first century. 100 miles. Technically 103 miles. And I honestly can’t wait to do it again.
Absolutely elated at crossing the finish line
I’m shocked that I’m saying those words - but the amount of fun I had riding Unbound Gravel 2022 should be illegal. Sure, I worked incredibly hard and thought about quitting once or twice, but overall, 10/10 day and can’t wait to sign up for my next one. Thankfully, the whole experience was documented by a film crew (more on that later), so we’ll all get to relive it together at some point down the road.
I’m sitting in a laundromat in Saratoga, Wyoming washing my incredibly disgusting (and brand new) All Bodies on Bikes kit as I write this. While I should’ve done it right away (along with washing my bike…which still sits on the back of my car caked in mud), this tiny little town in the middle of nowhere Wyoming is the first chance I’ve had.
But I’m getting ahead of myself…why in the hell did I sign up for a century? If you remember, last year I rode 50 miles at Unbound (link to post) and swore I wasn’t going to do the 100. The 50 is touted as a stepping stone ride for the 100 and to be honest, I kind of hate that messaging. 50 miles is itself an accomplishment and anyone who does it should be damn proud of themselves. Shoot, every ride should be celebrated - not just rides of stupid long distances.
Anyway, something got into me when I was signing up and I clicked the button for the 100. I think it might’ve been the same impulse that bought a plane ticket to Greece for a solo trip a few years ago - I thought I’d outgrown it, but clearly not….
But in all seriousness, I’ve been riding more than ever this year and figured “If not this year, when else?” I almost definitely told all my sponsors that Unbound Gravel 100 was on my list of events for the year…so I couldn’t exactly back out without a very good reason.
Training and Prep
I had grand plans to train. My ass got handed to me pretty hard last year and I didn’t want to show up unprepared this year, especially doing double the distance. Thankfully, Arkansas has tons of amazing gravel routes right out my front door and I got out on them…a little bit.
In the months leading to Unbound, my goal was basically to spend as much time in the saddle as possible, especially in the heat and humidity. I think I went on four outdoor training rides - none of which was longer than 30 miles. I also spent a lot of time on the trainer and I’m so grateful for those long boring miles. After hours riding indoors, the never-ending fields of Kansas were a treat! Turns out moving across the country, keeping a company running (and growing), and keeping two senior dogs alive and happy takes up a lot of time.
So even though I didn’t train as much as I wanted, my riding felt strong, and what I lacked in bike time, I made up for in both mental prep and nutrition prep. A couple of weeks ago I detailed my nutrition plan and I’m happy to report that IT WORKED!! I ate and drank consistently throughout the day. I never felt like I was running out of energy and even though I ran out of water with 10 miles to go to the support station, I still felt pretty dang good!
Here’s what I ended up taking with me on the bike:
2 Liters of Water (in an Apidura Hydration pack)
A ziplock bag of trail mix with peanuts, raisins, m&m’s (regular and peanut butter), Floyd’s of Leadville CBD gummies, and gummy bears
2 Peanut Butter & Jelly Rice Cakes (from the Skratch Labs Cookbook)
4 packs of GU Shot Blocks
22 oz Skratch SuperFue
The Bike
I rode my Cannondale Topstone 4 - an aluminum alloy bike with carbon fork and was overall super happy with it. I have it set up with a 1x11 drivetrain with Shimano GRX parts. For tires I went with the Panaracer GravelKing SK in 700x43 width.
Shimano and Cycling Tips did a fun little feature on my bike - and YouTuber Francis Cade gave some love too!!
Even with all the crazy mud, water crossings, and sharp gravel, I somehow escaped Unbound with zero mechanical issues (on my bike.) I had all sorts of troubles with my shoes/cleats, but more on that later. I don’t want to jinx myself but that bike ran like butter and was absolutely perfect for this ride.
I’m so grateful for Cannondale for sponsoring me, but even more so for giving me their entry-level gravel bike to ride. I never quite feel right riding a $10k bike - it’s not a realistic price point for most of my audience, so having a great experience on a $1500 retail bike feels much more approachable. Even better, the Topstone has a 333lb weight limit, which for a super lightweight bike is pretty dang awesome!
Other Equipment
There were a few other key pieces of equipment that were pretty instrumental in having a successful day.
The first was my hydration pack from Apidura. I have the 2 liter vest in a Large/XL which has pretty decent additional carry capacity in 2 zippered compartments and pockets on the straps. I carried plain water in the vest, along with some extra snacks, ibuprofen, my inhaler, and a small first aid kit.
On my bike I had 3 cargo storage options - The Revelate Feedbag, Apidura Top Tube bag, and a PRO Bike Gear seat bag. Both the Revelate bag and Apidura bag were full of snacks (easy to access, one handed feeding) while the PRO bag had my repair kit, spare tube and multi-tool.
Thankfully I didn’t need to use any of it, but I also carried a hand-pump, tire levers, Dynaplug repair kit, and sunscreen. (Full disclosure - I should’ve used the sunscreen, but ended up too caked in mud for it to be effective. Turns out, mud is a decent sunscreen and I didn’t get burnt!)
For technology, I used the WAHOO ELMNT ROAM bike computer which gave me all the info I needed on the route, speed, and climbing. Perhaps most crucially, I set up custom alerts to remind me to EAT, DRINK, and HAVE A GOOD TIME, each popping up every half hour. Being reminded to HAVE A GOOD TIME while in the middle of a sufferfest of mud definitely provided a good chuckle and kept my spirits up. Sometimes it’s good to be reminded that I chose to do this and this is fun! :)
For most of the day, I also had my cell phone on my handlebars, secured with the Peak Designs universal magnetic phone mount. I’ve seriously never trusted any phone holders until this one - I don’t know what kind of magic they’re using, but my phone has never come close to falling off - even on crazy descents, water crossings, and mud pits. It’s legit.
Ok…that was a lot. More coming soon, I promise. Still processing feelings.
I Did a Cyclocross Race and Came in Dead Last
Lap 1 - already suffering
Last weekend I lined up at my first cyclocross race start line in the Women’s Beginner category, full of nerves, fear and excitement. Aside from half a lap dressed in a Santa suite in Portland a few years ago at the Single Speed World Series, I’ve never attempted cyclocross. For years I’ve stood on the sidelines and cheered on my friends.
I’ve always wanted to get out there and try it. Everyone (literally everyone) who has ever raced cross will tell you “It’s so fun.” “You just race your own race and do your own thing.” “Nobody cares how slow or fast you’re going - they’re all too concerned about their own race.”
Despite this AND all the body positivity and inclusion in cycling work I do, I’ve always been too intimidated to actually get out there myself. I was afraid of the mass start. I was intimidated by the performative aspect of everyone watching and cheering, and the idea that everyone would truly see just how much slower I am than everyone else, and frankly simply feared that I was too fat, too slow, and too unskilled to race cyclocross.
I also didn’t have a bike that would work for cross racing. For those unfamiliar, cyclocross is basically a criterium style race where you take on a variety of terrain and obstacles - from grass to mud to singletrack. An ideal bike is one that you can dismount/remount quickly, pickup easily to run with, and has clearance for knobby tires.
Sure, my Surly Straggler would’ve worked, but I was using that as my do-it-all commuter, touring, city bike, so removing the fenders, racks and accessories was not an option (or at least one that I was willing to do.)
Fast forward to 2021 and I’ve now been blessed with a stable of bicycles which has allowed me to convert my Surly Straggler into a single speed cyclocross bike! (HUGE thanks to competitivecyclist.com - one of my sponsors!
So here’s how the race went, what I learned, and what I’ll do differently next time!
The Surly in all her glory
Race Prep & Practice
In the weeks leading up to the race, I attended a few practice sessions with a local WTFNB (women trans femme non-binary) club called Breakfast Cycling. At these practices, we ran through a number of drills that would come in handy during the race. These included mounting and dismounting my bike, learning how to turn tight corners, how to carry my bike efficiently up hills, and how to start a race.
These practices were so helpful. If you’re looking into starting cyclocross, I highly recommend finding a team or group that runs practices. I was able to learn in a safe environment, ask questions and make mistakes in a supportive environment without the race day pressures.
What I Packed
Turns out, I took a lot of stuff to the race. Most of the stuff I didn’t end up using, but was glad I had it just in case. I’m sure I’ll get this list dialed in as the season goes on, but here’s what I packed:
Change of Clothes (for after the race)
Towel (to sit on in my car)
Water Bottles + Nuun (electrolyte tabs)
Snacks
Camping Chair
Dog Bowl & Leashes
Spare Tubes (even though I’m set up tubeless)
Extra Shoes & Socks
The Actual Race
I carpooled to the race with a teammate and we arrived a few hours early to give ourselves time to register and pre-ride the course. I wish I would’ve had more time to pre-ride the course more, as each lap I got more comfortable with tricky sections which would’ve made the actual race easier.
In our local series, all the women’s categories (except single speed) race together. This means total beginners like myself are on the course at the same time as world tour pros like Heidi Franz. Each category starts 30 seconds apart, with the fastest women starting first, and us taking off a few minutes after them.
From the start, I was in the back of the pack (which truthfully, is where I like to be.) I get nervous when other riders are right on my wheels, so riding my own pace at the back was perfect. I definitely started out way too hard and found myself struggling to breathe and heartrate way too high. I unfortunately forgot my heartrate monitor, but I’m looking forward to wearing it for future races.
Around the middle of the first lap, I eventually found my groove and settled into a sustainable pace for the rest of the race. That definitely included stopping for handups (beer, a cookie and some pickles) but hey! Race your own race!
Cyclocross is a funny sport in that I still don’t really understand how/why/when I’m done. I know I got lapped twice by the leader and at the end of the race there was a sign that said “you are done.” So I stopped riding.
Learnings for Next Time
My next race is coming up on Sunday and I’ll again be in the Beginner Women’s field. The only changes I’ll make for this week are to remember my heart rate monitor, eat more food, and maybe put a bit more air in my tires.
All smiles at the finish line
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