RJ and Three-Year-Old Oliver Take on the Rexy Gravel Race

Photos by RJ Sauer (@rjsauer) and Miles

I bumped into RJ Sauer and family a few months ago on north Vancouver Island, and we spent a beautiful evening together camped just outside of Port McNeill. I remember RJ sharing his plans to race some sort of event with his three-year-old son Oliver, though he didn’t have his sights set on anything particular at that time. Still, I could tell things were already in motion.

A few weeks ago, RJ let me know that he had landed on the Rexy gravel race, a challenging 90 or 200-mile event following desert roads through western Colorado and eastern Utah, from just outside of Fruita to Moab. There are aid stations and drop bag opportunities along the route, as there isn’t much in the way of resupply or water options. While it’s not self-supported by definition, it still looks like an incredible challenge. Oliver will be using a Burly trailer towed behind RJ’s bike, a combination that the two are quite familiar with (you might remember their story “Unlikely” in the sixth issue of The Bikepacking Journal. We sent a few questions over to RJ to learn more about this challenge and what their rig will look like, accompanied by some photos I’ve taken of the two in the last few years, plus some additional photos from RJ. Check it all out below.

Tell us about the Rexy gravel race. Is this familiar terrain for you?

To be honest, I knew nothing about the Rexy race until a conversation with Lindsay Beltchenko, the Marketing Manager at Salsa Cycles, on a recent call. I mentioned I was looking for an event, something I could ride before the end of the year before the onset of winter, and something I could do with my three-year-old son, Oliver. I felt a sort of “squeeze” as if time was running out on my hopes to do a race with him before he was both too big for me to pull and uninterested in being pulled behind the bike in our Burley trailer. That’s when Lindsay recommended the Rexy gravel race from Fruita to Moab. The conditions are pretty much the opposite of what I’m familiar with—dry, desert riding versus the lush rainforests of British Columbia. That isn’t exactly a bad thing. The terrain seems well-suited for pulling a trailer behind the bike because there’s no narrow singletrack and the elevation profile is less constantly “pitchy” than many of the races or events I have done solo. At a certain grade of elevation, the weight behind the bike gets exponentially more difficult and suddenly I’m standing on the pedals, zig-zagging across the road just to stay upright.

Why bring your three-year-old along for the ride? What’s the goal?

I would actually say I’m not “bringing Oliver along.” He’s a part of the team and our partnership in this was what inspired doing this race in the first place. It’s a road trip, really. I’ve watched Oliver grow up from the rearview mirror on the bike, tethered behind me in the trailer. Each ride or trip he has changed, grown, and now he is pedaling his own bike, so I knew the days were numbered with him towed along and that motivated me to celebrate this shift, this new chapter, with a special challenge that we could share and reflect back on. So the goal was to immerse ourselves in a course or a race and create another memory together. Originally, I thought I would do something a bit slower and longer, which is more our style (well, mine anyway), but with pandemic limitations and the clock ticking, I pivoted to a shorter race that’s now more about maintaining pace. This is actually a greater challenge, especially with a time limit, given the limitations of riding while pulling a trailer behind as speed is not our strong suit. Now we are racing ourselves, the trail and the clock.

How has preparation changed knowing it won’t be just you out there?

First and foremost, I had to consider safety. Not that I am usually reckless—and safety is always a factor—but I needed to be conscious of the impact on Oliver. I didn’t want to just haul him along as a prop. I really hope he will have some quality, type-two fun on our adventure and feel a part of the journey. The first thing I did, after consulting my wife Sarah, was have a call with the race organizer Morgan Murri. I wanted to ensure he felt good about what I was doing and that it was reasonable. The last thing I wanted was the race director to think this was some gimmick. Morgan was immediately supportive, especially since he had a three-year-old daughter, and could immediately relate to my motivation: parents bonding with their kids through bike adventures. His excitement and support were invigorating. Once the right people were supportive of the race, I could start to consider, “Wait, can I do this?” That question came up a little late in the process and I’m still not sure I can hit the time limit. I did a final test ride, two weeks out from the start, to determine if I could do it, and ended up crashing only two hours in. I broke a rib and bruised my rib cage. Nice. That’s pretty crap intel. So, now I’m going to suffer that much more. I guess the best preparation has been all of the rides I have done over the months and years leading up to now: countless local loops and climbs, multiple bikepacking trips, and even completing the Everest challenge in 24 hours pulling the trailer up and down a mountain. All of these experiences have led us here. At this point, I’m just looking forward to carving out some quiet space and time on the trail with Ollie. If we make the time limit, awesome. If we don’t, it’s never a failure. We’ll aim to finish. I always say getting to the start line is the hardest part.

Have you thought about any specific tactics for managing Oliver’s needs during an ultra-endurance race? How are these different from yours?

To date, Oliver has been shockingly chill in the trailer during long rides. He seems to settle in and enjoy the view and doesn’t complain too much in this scenario, although we have never really gone longer than 10 hours in one day with him inside, so this is unchartered territory. But so is every day with a toddler. The biggest issue is stoppage time. Given the pace I need to maintain and the time limit, we can’t spend a lot of time frolicking about, which will be tricky for both of us. Ollie’s needs aren’t too different from mine, although he may get bored inside the trailer, so I will definitely need to find ways to keep him motivated. The biggest difference may be bathroom breaks. I just hope I don’t have to change too many pairs of dirty underwear. I’m referring to Ollie, of course, although who knows. I didn’t see too many outhouses on the course. The other component that can be overlooked is pre and post race. I will be solo with Ollie so just managing his needs for a 6 a.m. start time might be my biggest challenge!

• 
• 

What kind of bike setup are you using for the race? What will Oliver ride in?

I will be riding my Salsa Cutthroat. For me, the Cutthroat is just an old faithful and balances speed with stability, which is pretty important when pulling a trailer behind. Ollie will be in a Burley D-Lite X trailer. It’s a pretty plush ride for both of us and the bike and trailer have stood up to some really rugged terrain together. I tinkered with the gearing a bit hoping to find a sweet spot. Obviously, pulling all that extra weight demands some low gears, but I also need some high gearing to make up ground on the flats. Once we get going we can hold a pretty decent clip but steep hills are a killer. I will definitely be pushing a few times, which won’t be pleasant on the broken rib.

A race like this must require an entirely different pack list. Can we get a breakdown of what gear you and Oliver are bringing?

Unlike my bikepacking trips with Oliver, I will be travelling much lighter for the Rexy given we are looking to complete it in one day and there are aid stations along the route where I can resupply water and some food. That being said, the aid stations essentially replace gas stations and other stores we might normally find on a route, but none of those exist along this desert course. For Ollie, inside the trailer, I want to ensure he is safe and comfortable, especially at night when the temperatures drop a bit. I will pack a light Big Agnes sleeping bag and lots of snacks. I will also make sure he has some fun toys, whatever he’s in the mood for on the day. A few extra-engaging tools like a headlamp and navigation device will make him an invaluable wingman and allow him to be a part of our journey. For me, I am keeping it simple. Enough water and food to get me from one aid station to the next, the right tools for any mechanicals or flats, the relevant and required devices such as the phone, chargers, Garmin navigation devices,, and the kLite, dynamo light given half of the riding time will be spent in the dark. And since it’s Halloween, I’ll have some snack bags at each aid station for him so he can yell “trick or treat!”

• 
• 

What do you think your biggest challenge will be during the race?

My biggest concern is the time. On long-distance, self-supported races, we’re always pushing to keep moving but it’s more common to stop. It feels more like a chess match than a drag race. There is less of that pressure of the ticking clock weighing down on me. Trying to complete 320 kilometers, with 11,000 feet of elevation over 24 hours means I need to hold an average speed of just under 14km/hour the whole time, without taking into consideration any technical or mechanical issues, stoppage time to fill water and grab food, and then there’s Ollie. How will he respond to that kind of timeline? How long will his poop and pee breaks take? How much will he sleep? These are all unknowns. We might have a good day or we may have our worst day. But either way, it will be our day.

How are you feeling before the race?

I’m having a lot of mixed emotions. I had hoped my final test ride a week back would provide me intel for the race as I wasn’t 100% sure yet that I could achieve the pace I needed over the distance, and allowing literal and figurative wiggle room with kids is important. Instead of providing insight, I walked away with a broken rib and a bruised ego from a seemingly harmless crash. Now I sort of feel in limbo. The last few weeks leading up to the event have been about managing pain and doubting my choices a little. I think it’s normal to have some anxiety a week out from any event. But the injury is just another unknown variable to contend with, which I think is important to talk about and share because none of it is smooth sailing. Even the stresses of work and trying to find the time to do an adventure like this, it can all weigh on me at times. I hope that once I’m in Fruita, a lot of the stress of planning and prepping will wash away and I can just enjoy this one-on-one time with Ollie.

You can check out the Rexy Race route below. Stay tuned for more coverage from RJ and Oliver’s ride.

Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.