'Champagne Gravel' race & an unwanted intrusion 

I was thinking the same!! Fair play, Juliet! When I get a migraine, I have to curl up in a darkened room!

😂🤷‍♀️ it’s true

Thanks!

Yep, thats called a migraine aura.

That’s awesome ☺️ hope you had a great ride

Thanks! Didn’t want to go all that way and then bail

good tip

Damn, sorry to hear that. I’ve been advised to take some painkillers in my jersey pocket so I can nip it in the bud before it gets bad

Damn, that’s a shame. Happy Birthday tho!

thanks so much!!

Damn, sorry you get them too! Yeah I was on Raddlers. My whole set up was a little much for this course. Could have done with something narrower and faster rolling

I didn’t have the ideal prep but that wouldn’t really have been possible, without flying out much earlier in the week (which I couldn’t, as I have a family) and then missing out on some of the fun in California in the run up to the race. These days I’m less focused on results and more on the experience so no biggie. I had 44c WTB Raddlers. In the end my set up was not quite right for this race. I was going to summarise this at the end but I didn’t get around to it

@@JulietElliottsChannel Yea it's so easy to get tied into results rather than what really matters, it's why i think i do alot more bikepacking these day's to remote locations and wildcamping. I think there will come a time when can't ride and it won't be the events entered that i remember so much as the days in nature and the journey there, that and family and friends. What i don't understand these day's is why a few drinks with friends feel's so much more worse on the saddle the day after, and why do floors feel harder (aka use to sleep on roll mat's, couldnt leave home without my thermorest these days)! The joy's of hitting the 40s lol! Great vlog, safe riding. As for tyres, yea but you know it could have rained, could have been a wetter course, its one of those - its getting crazy now the choices really and as you know its always a trade off between safety, speed, comfort and reliability - that said i think it's also crazy how there is a "gravel" component for everything nowadays (its almost like manufactures think they have reinvented the wheel when in the reality alot of us have been running gravel setup's with drops for years before the word gravel was even spun by marketing)

@@JulietElliottsChannel PS - I meant to say do you ever ride with aero bars? Seen a few of your vlogs now and never see them on your bike say on your Rwanda trip etc. I find even with a perfect bike fit they are invaluable for switching position and easing long/multi day/weeks fatigue when terrain permits. Literally wouldnt ride without them now and mention as see you have your forearms on your bars at one point in this.

That’s exactly what triggers mine

no way, that's interesting. I heard from someone else they get one from chocolate. Aren't bodies/brains weird!

@@JulietElliottsChannel yes allergy stuff is strange. I am using trailwind no -flavour for the water and Torq yogurt gels. Much better than high5 for me which did give a headache and hot flush 🥵

Well I was SUPER anxious when the visuals started as I've had some awful ones in the past where I couldn't do a single thing. Usually if I take an Ibuprofen straight away I can stop it happening but I didn't have any! I was just lucky that it didn't develop into a full-blown episode this time.

Oh no! Never heard of that!

@JulietElliottsChannel tis true Jules the most horrid migraine after chocolate, I love chocolate but its a NO NO

Can’t have been, I had carbs in my drink and had been eating

I'm betting on sleep patterns being disrupted. That's what brings mine on. You did travel more than a few time zones.

Monterey, California

California