Badlands

It's not frowned upon in Spain. I myself was on the biccies. Although by the first night it was more of a bag of powder.

Sounds like fun.

I did wonder that watching him load biscuits into a gravel bike! Did you get any of those princes biscuits you get in Spain? Utter filth

If I was heading to Spain and could do part but not all of this route is there a section or area people would recommend? We’d be driving down possibly from Catalonia or flying direct

You can literally ride out of Granada and in 10min find nice gravel climbs. But if you wanted the sexiest bit, it's gotta be Gorafe desert.

Everything I packed turned to dust, not just the biscuits. But it was edible dust so I didn't mind.

bin the bike, go to granada and gorge on vermut/sherry and massive (free) tapas for a week. is what I did

and if you're going to try the local biccies, start with a half

Does Badlands have a rider limit and if so is it likely to 'sell out' on Sunday's registration release?

This will be my first race of this kind, hence the novice question...

300 riders... sorry, we are trying to grow some more riders in but it's not easy, not for 2021.

Badlands 2020 Film

https://youtu.be/-nJu0vEVAes

Thanks for the reply, stupidly I decided to wait when booking and waited too long :(

I'll be sure to not make the same mistake for 2022!

Who's that guy they interview at the end, the one who's evidently an expert in food and drink?

Egg spurt

I do love those low-key ultraracing first finisher arrivals.

It's funny that they seem to think he doesn't need to be named.

He doesn't need to be named. He is He who shall not be named. hehe hehe hehehe

Can’t find a 2021 thread so I’ll ask here. Utterly unprepared for this if I can get to the start line, both training and general planning.

Anybody found any good write ups of last year that would be useful to read?

Also I’m deciding between Pirelli Cinturato gravel H in 45mm vs panaracer GK SK plus in 50mm.

I’m hearing very good things about the Pirelli tyres right now and they appear to be a bit tougher. But the GK have extra volume. Anyone who has ridden it care to make a suggestion?

Fat bąstard ran the 50mm sk i think. He'll come along and tell you whats what.

Yep, I used 700x50 GK SK+ and they were great (once they finally had a tape job that held air).
I've also used 50mm Cinturato M and they also seem fine. My assumption is the GK are faster because they're very supple but that's totally guessing. Looking at them both I would also 'assume' that the Pirelli are more durable. Have a look at comparative weights and that should give you some idea of how much extra material they have. More material, more durable.

If I was going to do it again I'd likely take the hardtail with XC race tyres.

https://www.panaracerusa.com/products/gravelking-sk-knobby-plus-folding-gravel-tires

vs.

Cinturato™ Gravel Mixed 700x35c 430g 127tpi Nylon fabric Speed Grip Compound
Cinturato™ Gravel Mixed 700x40c 500g 127tpi Nylon fabric Speed Grip Compound
Cinturato™ Gravel Mixed 700x45c 570g 127tpi Nylon fabric Speed Grip Compound
Cinturato™ Gravel Mixed 45x650b 520g 127tpi Nylon fabric Speed Grip Compound
Cinturato™ Gravel Mixed 50x650b 550g 127tpi Nylon fabric

Thanks, I was looking for a definitive answer! Instead it turns out that getting a frame that fits 700 x 50mm tyres was pointless and I should have missed that step and the next 5 , going straight to a DH MTB.

Seriously though, the new frame is great and I did a load of road riding in Yorkshire last weekend. It was more than capable and handled really well on fast descents so I'm happy. I find most things ride the same though.

Having never ridden bigger than 35mm, I don't know whether the jump between 45 and 50mm will be noticeable/majorly beneficial. Any thoughts?

I rode it on 700x50 and I'm shit off-road, so it's certainly doable, but I don't think there's enough 'fast bits' to make a shit rider like me get any advantage from the slightly faster bike but there's definitely disadvantages.

45->50 mm won't make much difference. What will make a difference is the tread difference between the two options and the casing. Your best bet right now is to just buy one and then ride the fuck out of whatever you choose so you KNOW how it handles by the time you're on the start line. I'd barely done any riding on my setup because I didn't even think the race was going ahead - that was a bad idea.

Between the two, if your clearances allow, I'd run the 700x50 GK SK+ again.

Fitting a bigger tyre helps with comfort and traction. Often the gravel offerings in 45-50 are not great from a puncture prospecive. Ie the gravel king sk fares badly here https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews/panaracer-gravel-king-sk

Where as going to a mtb tyre like mezal you can get a TNT casing and a LOT better puncture protection, for basically no rolling resistance increase. But the mezcal 2.1 is 52mm. There is a massive void in decent tyres around the 50mm area.

Hi,

Can someone advise me and point me to the right direction of what insurance you got for Badlands for this or last year.
where? how? what?

Many thanks

What country you from?

I have residence and I'm living in UK so most likely looking for something in UK I think

Issue is with the travel advisories right now. Try dogtag, Eta, yellow card, insureandgo

Thanks a lot, I will check it out now!