‘You never forget the first time you pee in your bibs’ - the unglamorous side of gravel racing in the pursuit of speed

You never forget the first time you pee in your bibs.

To quote Billy Madison, ​​"Everybody my age pees their pants, it's the coolest." As an adult, it’s not really something I thought I would have to do for my job. Yet, here we are.

If you follow the timeline of when riders started peeing in their pants in off-road racing, you’ll inadvertently parallel the saga of gravel racing, maybe even more specifically that of women’s gravel racing.

In 2019, Specialized turned my UCI cyclocross team into some version of a drop-bar, off-road endurance program. Soon after, I raced my first-ever gravel race: BWR San Diego. I showed up the day before on a bike (a Specialized Roubaix) I had never ridden before, and my jersey pockets full of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches with potato chips stuffed in there – you know, for electrolytes. I didn’t have a mechanic, no support crew, no nutrition plan, not even a head unit. I had absolutely no idea how to race for 140 miles, only athleticism, an unwavering competitiveness and the excitement of the unknown but that’s about it. Not to mention the toe spikes I never took off my shoes from Cyclocross Nationals the year before. In these modern times of gravel, 2025, that would never secure the win. But back then, it did.

That first gravel race changed my life. Contracts were signed, plans were made, and racing was on. I signed up for more endurance races that season, one of which was The Leadville 100. I distinctly remember battling for first place with Rose Grant and leapfrogging. We passed each other on the iconic Columbine climb as the other one was off peeing in the woods. It's a fond memory I will cherish as it’s become a luxury of the past.

We’ve all watched gravel grow from the grassroots, resurrected spirit of American bike racing into a strange yet exciting amalgamation of road, mountain biking and perhaps even some triathlon? The growth has been accelerated in the women’s field as we’ve seen the progression of separate women’s starts and, ultimately, separate races. The pro fields have only gotten faster, some in part due to technology, but a lot of it has been the athletes pushing the envelope.

We have taken advantage of the evolving rulebooks and are doing inventive, albeit often gross, things in the pursuit of speed. Take the high-carb hype for example. In some ways, the amount of sugar we consume is far grosser than the pee problem. Over the span of just four short years, I’ve gone from not knowing what a carb really was to fueling my entire Unbound race on gels and drink mix. Aero equipment is evolving to skinsuits designed to hold hydration bladders, tyres are getting wider, suspension is getting better and lighter, and aid stations seldom see a foot unclip.