Rebecca’s Private Idaho 2024 Recap

At the beginning of September MyVeloFit spent a week in Ketchum, Idaho, sponsoring and attending Rebecca’s Private Idaho (RPI) gravel race. This was our 3rd year sponsoring the event making RPI one of our longest standing partnerships. RPI is a stage race making it one of the more unique gravel races in North America. At the same time, it’s one of the most beautiful races with incredible scenery riding on remote roads through the mountains in Sun Valley. Let’s get into the details of how we fared through the event!

The Bike Set Up

For RPI, I rode my Canyon Grizl equipped with SRAM Rival AXS and 45mm Schwalbe G-One Bites. Fit wise, I rode a wider handlebar than I normally choose and a slightly more upright position. I heard that some of the sections in Stage 1 and Stage 3 could get pretty intense. Therefore, choosing wider handlebars and a more upright position would allow me to move my weight a bit further back on the bike more easily with extra leverage so I could stay fast on the rougher terrain.

I chose my Canyon Grizl with some small tweaks for the race.

The gravel in certain sections was expected to be fairly intense so the tires were an easy choice as they are fast rolling with solid grip when I needed. They were a bit more tire than necessary at times, but I was grateful for them in the harsher sections. I only carried a small saddle bag with flat repair essentials and the “racing” Apidura top tube bag. I highly recommend spending the little extra for the “racing” Apidura top tube bag because of the magnetic closure. It makes it super easy in rougher sections to flip it open and flip it closed without much stress trying to work a zipper.

Stage 1: Harriman Trail | 57km

Stage 1 was going to be one of the most interesting of the 3 days. At first glance, a 57km ride may seem like an easier day, but the Harriman Trail would pack in almost 1000m of climbing with a mix of challenging double and single track.

Unfortunately, in the days leading up to the race, there were some wildfires nearby causing smoke to blow into the area raising the Air Quality Index (AQI) to around 300. RPI had to make a tough decision the morning of the stage to cancel due to extremely unsafe air quality.

AQI hitting 300 the day of stage 1

We were all quite disappointed in the stage being canceled, but also grateful for how well the event managed the situation. Sometimes things are out of our control, but our health and safety is a priority and riding in those conditions would’ve been dangerous.

Thick smoke hanging over Ketchum.

Stage 2: Dollarhide Uphill TT | 7.2km

One of the benefits of the event being at altitude, is the fast changing weather conditions. Fortunately, we had some favorable winds that blew the majority of the smoke out and we were able to race. Stage 2 was a different format where we had a 36.5km controlled ride out to the start, followed by the 7.2km mountain climb TT, and a 36.5km controlled ride back. The only timed section for the stage was the 7.2km TT.

The view right near the top of the TT with burnt trees from previous year’s wildfires

It was a gorgeous ride to the start of the TT with stunning views riding through the mountains. It certainly was no slouch though as it contained a pretty consistent, gradual climb to where the TT would be kicking off. It was my first TT in about 9 years, and my first mountain climb TT I had ever done. I can basically summarize the TT in one word, “ouch.” I’m not known for my climbing prowess and I felt it through each kilometer. Fortunately, the view at the top of the mountain eased the pain while cheering on our suffering peers putting in their final dig. The highlight of the day, aside from the riding, were the natural hot springs. At the bottom of the descent back down, there are natural hot springs where riders took some time to rest and recover to prepare for the big 3rd stage.

Stage 2 Result: 34min 10 sec

Expo/Rest Day

Saturday was the expo/rest day giving riders a chance to recover before a big day on Sunday. RPI hosted a morning shake out ride though bringing all of the riders together for a relaxed and social 30km ride before it was expo time.

Riders gathering for the shake out ride

While the day was a more casual one for most riders getting to browse the expo and have a light day, it was a busy one for us. We set up the MyVeloFit tent and spent the day talking to riders about their bike fits. We hosted a “how to set up your cleats” seminar with a great turnout and helped a bunch of riders, including the eventual winner of the women’s race, fix their cleat setups. Overall it was an awesome day of meeting so many riders and talking about our favorite thing, bike fits!

Jesse leading the “cleat setup” seminar

Stage 4: The Baked Potato | 165km

Sunday saw us taking on the queen stage, The Baked Potato, a 165km day with just under 1900m of climbing. This was a beast of a day with over 140kms of gravel roads including a 10 kilometer run of pretty intense double track, “El Diablito”. We lucked out again weather wise with a clear and beautiful sunny day. My personal goal for the day was to feel strong throughout the entire day, focus on nutrition, and have fun, which basically means “don’t blow up.”

The stage starts off with about 10kms of rolling paved roads before riding into the Trail Creek climb, a 7km climb up the mountain that really blew the race wide open. As I mentioned earlier, I’m not known as a climber, so this part of the day was all about setting a tempo and riding within myself. It’s a long day out there and it’s easy to get excited right at the beginning. I managed to find a group of fast riders at the top and we set a pretty solid pace. This was the most dangerous part of the day for me as I was riding harder than I knew I could maintain, but wanted to get as far into the day with a fast group as possible. I knew there was a risk of ending up spending a lot of the day by myself and needed to take the help while it was there.

One of the many beautiful views from the day

I ended up feeling super grateful for pushing through with the faster group as I ended up getting dropped at about the 65km mark, and spending 90km of the final 100km riding solo. While it would’ve been nice to have the benefits of some drafting, riding solo did make it easier to take in the scenery throughout the day and I am grateful for that. The views were absolutely stunning the entire day riding on remote roads through the beautiful Sun Valley mountains. With my main goal being “not to blow up”, I put a heavy emphasis on nutrition throughout the day sticking to eating every 30 minutes. I made my aid stop at the ~100km, and powered along the final 65km into the finish. While my legs were obviously exhausted riding into the finish, I accomplished my mission feeling like I didn’t “blow up” and could keep pushing myself right to the finish. Most importantly though, I had fun throughout the entire day.

Ringing the Be Good gong at the end!

Stage 4 Results: 6hr 48min 9sec

Final Thoughts

And that’s a wrap on the 2024 edition of RPI! We had an incredible week in Idaho both riding our bikes and getting to chat with so many incredible riders. The event raised an amazing $72,000 for the Be Good Foundation to help further their goal of enriching communities with bicycles. RPI is a truly special event on many levels with some of the most scenic riding, an inclusive space for all types of riders, Rebecca Rusch’s contagious energy, and superb event organization. If you haven’t had the chance to attend this event yet, registration is open for the 2025 edition. We highly recommend making the trip out to Idaho, you won’t regret it.