A Fresh View of Gravel Royale with Marshall Opel

Howdy friends, 

In just a few days we’ll be lining up for the Gravel Royale. According to our host Lyle Wilson at Nipika Mountain Resort, the name Nipika comes from the Ktunxa people who have lived in this majestic region for more than 10,000 years. It means something akin to soul or spirit. 

Maybe you’re feeling ready, eager even to race. You’ve trained, preparing your body and mind to sustain your efforts so you can leave it all out on the course. Plus, Chillville is waiting back at camp, isn’t it? If this is you, and the hay is in the barn so-to-speak, go for it! 

Or perhaps you’re feeling more like me and for whatever reason, you’re headed into the weekend not exactly race ready. If so, consider shifting your perspective from "racer" to "rider." The difference is subtle but over the years, riding the race has helped me squeeze more joy out of my experience on the bike. As with anything, take what you need here and leave the rest. 

How does one ride a race? First, let go of the outcome (results). It’s tempting to use metrics to compare ourselves to others or to some imagined standard of where we belong in the pack, what kind of power or speed we expect ourselves to maintain. Basically, we get caught up thinking our competition is external. The professionals do this, right? Not exactly. Look at Demi Vollering, one of the world's best cyclists, who after a valiant performance last week at the Tour de France Femmes (where she lost a 1,000 kilometer race by a mere four seconds) said it clearly: “it’s you against you.” 

I’m no Demi Vollering, but when I was an elite racer I didn’t realize that the person I was actually racing was inside my head. Then in 2019, a year after losing my father to cancer, I had a job where I got to participate in many of the top gravel events in the U.S. I became more open to simple joys (micro delights) and gratitude for the experience itself. Paradoxically, this freeform expression led to some of my best performances on the bike. 

Whether you consider yourself a racer or a rider, I invite you to take a few moments to remember and reflect on what it is that we're all about to go do. 

We get to bear witness to the miraculousness that is human powered movement across terrain. Sharing the space with our animal relatives, we’ll travel with beautiful efficiency through huge stands of evergreens, along clear snowmelt filled creeks, up and over high mountain passes. It’s a real marvel and we get to do it. 

For a few days, we’ll wake up to smells of delicious food and hot coffee prepared for us to enjoy together. After we nourish our bodies, we’ll swing a leg over our pedal ponies (bikes) that are specifically designed to handle the terrain we’ll cover each day. Along the way, we’ll be greeted by friendly, stoked humans offering an assortment of tasty, revitalizing supplies that will keep our engines running hot as the k’s tick by. 

At camp, after a hot shower, we’ll be able to kick back and relax and swap stories from our days in the saddle. It’s a dream, a fairy tale, utopia, and even if just for a few days, we get to live it. See you out there! 

-Marshall 


Marshall co-hosts immersive four day wellness retreats in the U.S. learn more here. 

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