Was This The PERFECT Gravel Race Course For RACING?

[@bretprins4792]

VC, you're perfecting the art of making potencially boring ass Gopro footage in the middle of nowhere, enaging and super fun to watch through editing and a great writing. Love it

[@TheVCAdventures]

That is my art 😂

[@BeCreativePictures]

@@TheVCAdventures you're making the most motivational content i've ever seen.

[@djorzgul]

exactly my thoughts after 20min.... like, I am following and I am excited :)

[@editdroid99]

Rude.

[@arnoldmuller1703]

@@TheVCAdventures You are also very good at explaining what these races are about and how they work. It so much fun and interesting to watching your films!

[@JayRappa]

I would have had a meltdown seeing an intact chain outside of the deraileur. Great job creating such a unique video detailing what we all look for and enjoy in a race.

[@EverySingleSunday]

This has become my favorite channel. Got a little excited when I saw a new upload.

[@birdbro1990]

Me too

[@jreev335]

Same!!

[@wayneclement7201]

Amen

[@Filthy_Rich_556]

Same

[@Filthy_Rich_556]

That is the most bizarre mechanical I've seen.

[@adampburke1]

Mat Stephens as Joe Dirt(wife is Lauren, multi national champ) Emily Newsome as Joe Dirt sis (in the LifeTimeGrandPrix)

[@adampburke1]

Mat has won Unbound, Lauren has won the Elite women’s road and gravel national championship Emily has been off the front at Unbound, gotten third there and raced off the front of the ladies Belgian classics. We all live in Dallas- Fort Worth

[@TheVCAdventures]

Mat and I were bonded for life after chasing back on 4 times. Also, just want to say I mean no disrespect whatsoever, I’m not great with names and feel like nicknames are fun and it’s a way I can connect with strangers quickly.

[@adampburke1]

@@TheVCAdventures it’s funnier your way. I just wanted them to get recognized as the killer DFW talent around these parts ( Texan accent applied)

[@CharlesAllen-vy7td]

@@TheVCAdventures I don't think Mat would take offense at the Joe Dirt reference, probably thinks its funny too! And his wife Lauren won the women's race that day, she's the one in the stars and stripes jersey around the 12:15 mark. Great video! I need to get out to this race in 2025.

[@ericnguyen1251]

Joe dirt (Mat Stephens) was the winner of 2017 Dirty Kanza btw. youre in good company

[@ShawnMcAfee]

Man I was just watching this saying… “uh isn’t that Mat Stephen’s??”

[@SydM-fk3ke]

Loving the dude near the 5 min mark basically rocking a full size Jan Sport backpack. Spirit of Gravel Award 🏆

[@Outsideville]

Had his race notes kept safely in his Trapper Keeper.

[@christophermehlman5293]

Haha thanks for adding my "I need to pee" moment in lol. Funny thing was once we hit that techy descent and got a gap and railed it, I forgot about having to pee. Also I 100% concur with how great the event was!

[@emannpro11]

Lauren and Mat Stephens are awesome! Lauren staying up with that front group of men is so neat to watch. Makes me so excited for the future of women’s cycling. Mat working with you to eliminate gaps to the front group was fun to watch as well.

[@editdroid99]

the constant wind mills in the background felt so much like a 1990's video game. It was like California crusin' the whole race, but real. I loved it.

[@ianswart8052]

Don’t let dylan jawnson see your tyre choice

[@pepelkors]

ive got a suspicion that VC would be WAY faster on some conti race king 2.2s hes super strong, but it seems like no one else around him needs as much power as he does to stay in on the thicker loose stuff i also think vc focuses too much on power, not on speed

[@SpicyTrifongo]

@@pepelkors idk how big he is, but depending on your size focusing on power can be more practical than focusing on speed. He also said multiple times in the video eseentialy - "I am bulkier and stronger than I was a year ago, this has hurt my Watts/kg". I got the impression he knows it's slower but prefers his body this way. Probably easier to maintain from a lifestyle perspective too. Peak cycling physique is brutal.

It's so tiresome to see everyone context-lessly assert that all gravel rides now need to be on 2.2 mtb tires regardless of anything just because a youtuber made a specific tire selection for a very specific "gravel" (TT-on-dirt) race :/ No, 34s were not the correct tire for this. No, 2.2s would not have been the correct tire either.

[@Avioto]

Hehe tiresome

[@tylerhasabike5043]

😂

[@ten96cycling]

Dude. Your editing on thie video is FIRE. Super impressed man.

[@MMortens98]

recently discovered you VC, completely binged the channel and let out a big scream when I saw a new upload - love ya!

[@helgarivers6281]

Best riding channel on the youtube. And for some time now .

[@adamweb]

Unbound: ❌ Unchained: ✅

[@crazypaulinquebec]

You're a pro storyteller dude! Thanks for this one!!

[@toddgambol3230]

It was such a pleasure to meet and talk with you dude!!! I truly believe this is the best hosted and ran event for your money, live music all day/ weekend, open adult beverage bar truck, donation based, and 3 complimentary meals a day in a family friendly hospitable environment, and…and …. Cowboy hat 🤠 raffles, my Cowboy hats off to you Mr.King for an amazing gravel event!!!!

[@miloontheready7814]

Thank you for putting these videos out. At 55, I have learned so much from your races and the issues that you have during the races. It has given me the confidence to enter my first 25 mile trail race. I don't expect to win, but finishing would be a major accomplishment for me. Your not giving up on the longer races shows me that giving up is not an option. I would love to see some videos on your bike setups for different races.

[@dylanbrown9093]

I love that your videos stay positive about your experiences. Yeah mechanicals suck a big one, but you keep your head in the right spot. Love watching folks having good days on bikes.

[@joe.laverick]

A great description of one of the best races of the year. Pleasure playing bikes with you.

[@TechwithTonyUK]

Let's go baby!! Man I miss watching you every week!

[@editdroid99]

freaking LOVE the graphics on this video! Mega! totally Mega!

[@2tap53]

So happy to see a new video !! Thank you for all of this, your sincerity, your stories and theses beautiful images.

[@kennethdarlington]

Seems like a case agains non-standard jockey wheels on a derailers for gravel to me.

[@Harp4sho]

We love your video! First class editing and filming….your narration is phenomenal!! We are “Sneako’s parents”😅😂😂

[@roddas26]

"I'm having a pitty rave dude"😂 That was GOLD 🏆

[@bchains]

musical interludes on point brah

[@nathanksimpson]

Thanks for sharing. Good to see the tenacity. It's inspiring.

[@unknownerror7031]

First of all, you're an absolute legend! I've had a similar experience with the chain going off the pulleys. The cage around the pulleys was flexible enough to let the chain slip out of the frame. I also learnt you can simply undo one pulleys and place them back while threading the chain trough. It's sometimes better than splitting the chain. All the best to you ❤

[@justinl487]

My god that Chris Angel moment rocked my world. Thumbs Up as fast as humanly possible right there

[@isaactrujillo-gf5bk]

Best race! David king puts an event! It was great meeting you there.

[@meatmotorendurance]

I live in Texas. Done most of the other TX ones, I want to do the Rattlesnake for sure now that I've seen this video.

[@s3nsej118]

I don't even ride bicycles but I enjoy watching your videos 😄You make it great to watch

[@scottswenson5093]

Love the video!!! I can’t wait to ride this gravel race. Thank you!

[@hugobci]

Man! Great storytelling!! Visuals and text is spot on! Thankyou to put this to the world!!

[@dkw4par]

Looking forward to see you more on the gravel podiums Sir

[@andrewschirmer3849]

Loving the old school computer game graphics on the video's bro. Bummed for your mechanicals but a great ride nonetheless. Course looks rad! 👊🏼

Very good job describing what makes a good gravel race. Needed especially now that everyone is obsessing about a certain not to be named tire shredding TT-on-dirt gravel race ;)

[@RicardoRocha-lg1xo]

I watched the whole thing during an indoor trainer session... outdoors. In 80 degree weather. Thanks for making it bearable, VC!

[@richardhutchings1980]

Your mechanical is similar to the scene in Zoolander where they remove their underpants wothout taking their pants off 1st

[@andywoodruff6]

The Bob the Builder joke earn you a like from me!

[@erichaselby8760]

Great race recap, and I echo your sentiments about the event. It was great hanging with you and we will see you again next year. Jenn and I plan to stay the whole week again… I’ll bring the coffee. 😁

[@stevenwilliams7845]

I love you, bro. I love Steph but you are a rookie. I’ve been riding for 40 years yeah and you’re rookie and I love you, man. You’re a good writer.❤

[@serisingh]

These kinds of videos are my favorite. Love the format and narration is on point.

[@ChrisRudall]

VC!!! Love this vid! Cracking race. Well done chap

[@jeremyhammack5317]

Iam in abilene texas I did this ride it was amazing .Just got my first gravel bike .sold road bike iam beyond hooked . The tour de gap in coming July 27th its a road ride but holds my heart dearly riding past my father and mother graves. It's always a tribute to them .your video was amazing and your an outstanding cyclist . God bless

[@tessierrr]

love these race videos 😄the format is great 👍

[@DarynRod]

Going to have to try this one next year. Saw a lot of familiar faces in this video. Skyline Cadence 🤘

[@TheXcrayrun]

It's me!!!!😜

[@skchalk]

Ya cage plate came loose, and allowed chain to escape happened to me once on mtb. Good vid and race

[@Boglehill]

Very enjoyable content. Not just another boring GoPro ride.

[@IWreckn]

Love you VC found your channel 4 weeks ago absolutely been watching. Glad to see there’s an awesome race down the street from me. I’m gear up for it!

[@jhonnyrodriguez2944]

David King put on a blessed of a race. Close corse for the first miles and aid station almost every 10 miles.

[@marceliszpak6652]

I love your Videos. Greetings from Poland

[@pantaniyurka]

really good job man! thanks for sharing 👍

[@craigcarr2202]

You are my hero so cool a proper dude ❤ from England

[@Nathan-ev2vh]

Almost did this as my first race, will have to put it on the list for next year.

[@stevevarga8621]

Sounds to me like you need to be introduced to Loctite. A very commonly used adhesive for threaded fasteners. It keeps screws or bolts from loosening due to intense vibrations. One tiny little drop would have prevented this.

[@NicholasReedCycling]

So rad! I need to get out to this race. Looks like a ton of fun!

[@arnoldmuller1703]

Really cool stuff! On my freaggin sofa I was guessing that a screw of one of the deraileur wheels was broken. Of course you can't notice in the hustle ... Q: The little backpack you have is it a airbag? They are still rare here in Germany but become more popular.

[@craigsmith5134]

Man, you rock. Your content, your attitude, and your style are just all great. You put down some mega watts and I wish I could do the same. I wanna play bikes too 😄

[@mattmanning6788]

Don't ride bikes but I'm glued.

[@DarynRod]

I have the same SLF ospw. Thats what yours looks like and the top/small wheel pivot screw came loose on mine. I figured it out when I couldnt shift into the 11t. The chain was deflecting enough against the cage because the wheel wasnt straight /slacking that it physically wouldn't shift. Just had to tighten it up. I dropped a small bit of blue loctite on a single thread to be sure .

[@TheVCAdventures]

I have SLF on every bike, I love them. But just like you said, that top screw came loose and then snapped while staying threaded somehow. I will lock tight them all now after this.

[@onemorepereira]

Tyler, loved the recap, love the impossible route series, and generally all the content you put out there for us to consume! PS. Bro, don't take this the wrong way, but you need to slow down editing and pushing the upload button and spend just a jiff longer on proofing your edits. I cringe at the number of misspelled type you have now immortalized on YT 😂

[@hodl4life120]

I saw your big horn gravel video from last year, and signed up for it this year!

[@HarryTzianakisTheGodOfSpeed]

Great video Tyler . Those mechanicals were bananas 😆

[@JustinMcQuerry]

Excited for another round of ripping with you and the Rattlesnake Gravel crew again next year 💪🔥

[@julianghizdareanu7182]

You were definitely in good company with Joe Dirte(Mat Stephens) and his National Champ wife! Awesome video, you almost got a whaaa burger with french cries when your chain came off!

[@HenryReinosa-t2e]

Such a great video The boy band is back 😂

[@robertbennion4957]

I will confess that I spend a few minutes trying to workshop your building bridges joke. These videos don’t get nearly enough views. Great work

[@TheVCAdventures]

If I make it to the laugh factory I’ll credit you as a ghost writer for the jokes.

[@markreams3192]

My only question is, does your rear derailleur have a clutch? Road bikes typically don’t. It’s probably necessary to prevent derailleur damage when the the going gets rough.

[@Normally_aspirated]

Racing beneath massive windmills is now on my bucket list

[@syc227]

You got the Beans above the Franks!

[@FlyingGravelMan]

You can charge the gopro with a small powerbank in your top tube bag. 6000 MAh will do for around 5 hours ;)

[@TheVCAdventures]

I use a media mod for audio which blocks the charge port. I can’t charge is and use it easily.

[@eltribun]

the most impressive thing: you didn't quit after the SECOND chain issue....I had quitted yet the first time :D had called a chopper to pick me up .. before I had shredded the bike into small pieces

[@reynicanor9908]

VC… WTF! my head was spinning trying to figure what happened to your chain coming off with your rear derailleur cage in tact but after you explaining what happened then I get it😮 then the wire getting tangled holy smokes what else could go wrong 🤬 glad you finished and still made it entertaining…thanks for sharing 👍🏼

[@TheVCAdventures]

It took so long for my mind to come to terms with a fix, but then the fix being breaking the chain??? I felt like it was a glitch in the matrix and I was gonna fade into 1s and 0s 😂

[@Zyzzyx42]

I have a 50 mile local course that I've ridden. (its actually a trail running course). I've ridden all or parts of it on a CX bike with 38s, a steel gravel bike with Lauf fork and 55s, and a 120mm full suspension mt bike on 2.4" tires. At many points on the course each bike will be exactly the right choice, and exactly the wrong choice. So fun.

[@danjo1967]

joe dirt and sneako - were looking at you tyler, the flashy looking guy in bright pink and blue from CA... and your name to them was hollywood

[@jasonkimes8552]

Great video…..love the content.

[@eltonmuller2978]

"Bob the builder" you definitely was building them bridges 😂 out there VC🎉

[@flattrack33]

Looking forward to another VC movie!

[@ZenEndurance]

Yo, VC. Use your extra weight to your advantage. Let people outclimb you and then get super aero (aerobars would help a ton) on the descents and flats and you'll catch right back up. Works like a charm. Let them accordion in front of you and you fall off the back and catch back up over and over again. You'll get more draft affect than trying to be at or off the front and end up using less watts to go the same speed. And then at the end, pass them for the win.

[@roeland_st]

Sneako has a sick bike not gonna lie

[@mistuhjawknee5505]

welcome to tx buddy, hope you brought some giddyup

[@mitchellyouney9945]

The barbwire freak out got me😂 that's me all day

[@sigfreed11]

Have you heard about the upcoming indieVelo Grand Tour race later next month? It’s a 5 day stage race with 6 stages. GC, mountain, and sprint jerseys are all to fight for! It’s a team race, so you can find some friends and get team tactics going as well (or you can go solo). Would make incredible YT content!

[@justynalexiscariaga]

VC, Your videos are awesome! I've watched most of them, and there are so many times I just get up in the middle of your videos and go out and ride. Question for you though, what top tube bag are you running in this video?

[@octoalex]

Silly question. When you are racing and working hard at that, in your brain, are you thinking about the content or does that come later? I really love these videos.

[@TheVCAdventures]

This may sound like an excuse, but the facts are the facts. Content and story is pretty much all I’m thinking about in the moment. And I believe that this does hinder my results and performance, but results are not my job, telling the story is. There is only one race I ever did where I didn’t bring a camera and focused on was the race. It was the only time I ever got on the podium in a full on pro road race. It was one of the most hardest and grueling Norcal road races and I ended up getting third. I have no footage to show that cool story, but it did happen, lol.😂

[@mozzyforest]

I check everyday for uploads before doing my indoor work outs dude, and always get so stoked when i see "new video" yeee yee be cool if you could do your own course one day! Cheers!

[@TheVCAdventures]

The last 3 years of the channel I focused on trying to create feature films and get on a streaming platform. I’m very happy with what I created but it took me months to drop a single video. My plan this year is to go back to the older style of simple videos but uploaded more often. I still have plans for epic films this year but maybe only 2 instead of 4.

[@PK-qq1lz]

Dear Tyler, How are you? Hope you are fine. On sunday I was on a tour with my best friend. We climbed 5 alpine passes with 6850 m elevation gain and 280 k. Turned 50 this spring. I just wanted to know if I still can bring the juice. Made it. My wife said with a smile: typical male... That's what we are, right? We need adventures like that from time to time. I just wanna say, I love your vids and want to encourage you to keep going. Goods blessings ❤.

[@kawabus]

Fantastic effort. I suspect the oversized pulley wheel and modified cage on the rear mech for those issues. Edit: just saw your explanation

[@gregbrown3764]

A lowkey bit of content that would be interesting to see, is how you manage your bikes on the road in your RV.

[@LUISREYES-cf1op]

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!

[@trajtemberg]

Great commentary.

[@AndrewG99]

GOT DANG the music is bangin'

[@goodoboytw]

Impressive how fast top riders can go. Im doing the Lost and Found Sierra Gravel Grinder Northern Ca. 60 mile 100 mile is 6500ft of clime. Beautiful Ride but some very rough spots. This race is basically out my back door where our cabin is.. Entries are expensive though $230 includes drinks, food, 6 Aid stations Friday Saturday Band. Just curious what are other entrie fees at different races

[@melbournecyclingsegments7510]

It's like the dude at the carnival with those three rings. Simple magic

[@ff2e]

Your watts are nuts in this. I'm never going to be fast at bikes

[@hikesbikesbrews]

Great video, always enjoy them! more impossible rides coming...?

[@TheVCAdventures]

I have 2 big adventures planned, one got pushed back due to bike inventory but I’ve got 2 insane adventures locked and loaded.

[@andybroadhurst]

Making me start to change my stance on gravel bikes 😅

[@JRmntain]

Easy answer to the mechanical. SRAM reliability.

[@FantaconeBoxWorksCBG]

I was staring at my derailleur... how did you lose your chain? Asked before you explained.... As usual, great editing.