Kathryn and I went to a gravel race in South Carolina last weekend — our first amid the pandemic — and it was just as weird and amazing as you can imagine!

But first a bit of a disclaimer: We both had Covid-19 earlier in the year so felt that our chances of being reinfected were extremely low as there have only been a handful of such cases & largely in those 65+. Plus the risks of the virus spreading in an outdoor setting are very low; in fact, scientists have said the only outdoor transmission cases they’ve documented were among people who also spent time indoors together. Not to mention, vaccinations are ramping up across the country & the race directors enforced a mask policy in any areas — even outside — where people were likely to be closer together.

Traveling was super last minute… I think we decided on Tuesday or Wednesday to go. Basically, I got a text from Kathryn that said “Hey, wanna go do this race in SC this weekend, Ted and Laura (King) just decided to do it?” Since I’ve pretty much been saying “yes” to every race opportunity for 2021, I was of course in.

I booked a hotel, packed a bag, and Friday afternoon we drove to Clinton, SC for the Gravel Battle of Sumter Forest put on by Southeast Gravel. Since having Covid & possible lingering side-effects, we both decided it was smarter to do the short-course (42 miles), but there was also a 74-mile option with a pro category.

All of SEG’s events have two course options at about those distances, and the race was extremely well run & well marked. This race also featured pretty stacked pro- men’s and women’s fields, with equal payouts for both races, so we were definitely excited to support that!

I think I can speak for both of us when I say that being around that many people for the first time in probably over a year was weird, to say the least. I’m not sure how many racers there were, but I’d guess at least in the hundreds, and that race-day energy was palpable.

We hear from a lot of women that they don’t want to “race” so don’t enter events, and while I totally respect their decision, I also think they’re really missing out. Gravel events are basically just a party with a bike ride to kick things off… You can ride them as hard or as easy as you want on whatever bike you want (for the most part lol). And then everyone gets to share a beer (or two or three!) and usually some good food at the end.

I’ve never been to a gravel race where I didn’t leave with new friends; the same can’t be said for the many triathlons I’ve raced. Races are also a great place to connect with people, especially if you’re in an area where there may not be many women gravel cyclists.

Laura King, Claire Colbert, and Kathryn Taylor

One funny side effect of the pandemic is that I feel like I’ve “met” a lot of people & made a lot of new friends, especially in the gravel scene, but we’ve never actually met in person. Laura King is one of those people for Girls Gone Gravel… If you’ve been part of the GGG community for a while, then you’ve probably seen Laura’s DIY Gravel Summer Series & the other webinars she’s done with us.

Happily, the Kings were in the middle of a snowbird van trip down south and both raced the long course of the Gravel Battle of Sumter Forest. Laura took second in the women’s race (after winning a 100-mile race the weekend before — talk about a post-pregnancy comeback tour!); Ted, unfortunately, had a major mechanical just a few miles to the finish.

Kaysee Armstrong of Liv Factory took the win

We also met the Moosas… the husband-wife duo behind MoosePacks bike bags. They worked with the Kings on some awesome custom handlebar bags for their event Rooted Vermont, and we’re hoping to work out a fun GGG collaboration with them as well! We also met Mr. Anthony Carter himself of the Scuderia Pinarello team, who came all the way down from Maryland & had some funny thoughts about his first-ever gravel race.

Kathryn, Claire, and Kate (the Moosas and Ted in the background)

One of the goals of Girls Gone Gravel has always been to get out to as many races as we can to do race coverage and highlight the stories of women at all levels in the sport, and while the pandemic obviously delayed all of that, finally being able to connect with women “out in the field” was amazing.

We talked to several Girls Gone Gravel podcast listeners and even saw some GGG swag in the wild (shoutout to Kate pictured to the right, who I rode with pretty much all day)! In the future, we’ll be doing more actual coverage & interviews; it still felt a little early to stick a microphone in people’s faces.

We know things could still be a bit hit or miss for a while, but what races are you planning on attending this year? And what, if any, extra safety precautions are you going to take?

We went to a gravel race -- The Gravel Battle of Sumter Forest in Clinton, SC