I started out as a runner, but began cycling at age 14. I started racing while I was at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. We competed a lot in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference race series, against U.S. university teams throughout the Northeast. So for my whole racing career I was a pure roadie.

Then I came to Argon 18, and suddenly I was introduced to the gravel world. I had never even tried mountain biking before, and let’s just say I didn’t trust that I would have the best handling skills for gravel. I chose the Grey Matter for Big Red because I was looking for solid handling, comfort, stability – but I also wanted to push my limits from a racing perspective. With the Grey Matter you get that comfort, the wide tire clearance, but you also get a race machine. And with the unforgiving terrain at Big Red, you don’t feel too guilty about beating it up.

Big Red is 140km of mixed surface: gravel roads, a few brief moments of paved road, rock gardens, some single-track sections that were quite damp and tricky from recent rain. Getting on and off the bike was a must through those more technical areas. So: road, gravel, mud, dirt, roots, rocks, climbing, scenic views, more climbing – it had it all.

The Grey Matter impressed me through all of those challenges. The 1x setup was perfect – simplicity and less risk of hassles with dirt getting clogged in the frame. There’s plenty of tire clearance - I went with 40c on front 38c on back. I did spend a bit too much time analysing rolling resistance, weight, and traction of different tires and tire combinations before the race, but at the end of the day I concluded that finding a setup that would allow me to ride as many of the technical sections as possible would benefit both my overall time and my feeling of accomplishment!

I’m more used to racing on carbon frames, so was wondering when I was going to notice that I was on an alloy frame. In the end, the comfort level is so high that you don’t notice it’s not carbon. The stiffness and power transfer is very comparable. I was worried about the weight penalty when I had to get off the bike and run up hills cyclocross-style, but it didn’t factor in at all. It still felt like a race bike. Since I haven’t raced much gravel maybe I don’t have a full comparison, but the comfort over the long haul really made the difference. That can really catch up to you later in a race. The bike feels optimised for that. And you can also work on it easily, which can be a bonus for emergencies on long gravel rides.

All that said, I was shattered at the end of the day – I felt like I was coming into the finish cross-eyed. The bike didn’t ease up, and I guess I didn’t either. Two hours after the race I remember feeling destroyed, but the truth is, that’s a nice feeling to look back on after a race! I think the bike helped give me the confidence to really push it. I felt more reassured on this bike than on others, I never felt scared of what the course could throw at me. I felt I could take it head-on.

I absolutely plan to do Big Red again next year. Coming from the road side of things, I’m so impressed with the atmosphere at gravel events. Everyone still wants to push their limits, but they’re there to support each other. At Big Red there were people who train 15 hours a week and people who ride one hour a week; people from Quebec, Ontario, the U.S. It really offers something for everyone, with a really welcoming environment. Everyone is just there to have fun at the end of the day – and push their limits. The Grey Matter let me do both of those things!