Jared Gab

What’s goin’ on party people, let’s gooo! 🤘🤘 In a blink, the 2026 @midsouthgravel race is over but I’ll be thinking about this one for some time. Isn’t it crazy how fast the race comes and goes, after how much it takes to get to the start line? After last year’s cancelation, the tandem throwdown between @coreysmith41 + I and @hannah.glatter + @jaredgab finally got to play out. It’s kind of funny how we and many others knew this race was “a thing” and I truly believe it’s because we all knew there was a good chance it would be an even match. Maybe both groups convinced ourselves there could be a path to winning handily, but I think we each knew it could also be a battle of different strengths. Turns out our strengths weren’t all that significantly different from one another. We were an even match, duking it out for 106 miles. A true race, with one another almost always in sight. It’s kind of magical to see all of your hard work play out for 5.5 hours, and I was incredibly proud of the work I put in and got out of it. On the tandem you can see that play out for your partner too, and I know how hard he worked. Uniquely, we got to see that play out for our competition as well. A bit annoying to see them all day + never break free as it meant there was no second to let up 😆 but a whole lot of respect was built out there too. Around mile 103, initiated by @jaredgab , we exchanged pleasantries about the day, race, effort it was requiring to get the win. And then back to heads down, to finish in a sprint. In a finish line built for everyone, our 2 tandems barreled into the straight, dodging 50 milers and each other. It was perfectly chaotic, and Jared and Hannah took the win. While I think we rode strong enough for that to have been us, I know this win meant a lot to them, and candidly if the race wasn’t canceled last year I know they deserved last year’s. So it was a bit poetic in the end, some immediate heartbreak + defeat for us, quickly followed by a realization that in today’s age of gravel, how epically fantastic to have a finish line moment like that. Two tandems avg 19.4mph in a race within a race finishing in the top 35 out of 1100. Til next time 🫡

Went speedy with my sweetie at @midsouthgravel : 19.4 mph! 🚀 It’s hard to imagine more perfectly matched teams than us and @coreysmith41 and @meeeshyd . All four of us worked SO hard to be our very best for this effort. Sure enough, a relentless (and very fun!) five and half hour throw-down came down to a one second difference in a sprint finish. 😵‍💫 Love and kudos to @austin_trace for the best sag support, keeping our total stop time to just 37 seconds! As always, thank you @unlearnpavement , @painpatina , Josh, and the whole Mid South crew for setting the stage for a beautiful day on bikes. 📷: @dhughes101

Last night we learned the limits of the @sonicdrivein app by putting 49 drinks in the cart and not being able to submit the order 😆. Thanks to the Eudora carhops for being the most calm and accommodating crew as we placed our order in person. Lessons learned for next time! Thank you @chamoisbuttr for the sweet treats and smooth bums!! 📸: @jaredgab

Disappointed in the lost opportunity to perform with the fitness we worked so hard to build. Dismayed at the destruction caused by wind and fire. Somewhat consoled by a good ride on what was supposed to be race morning. We shared those special roads as we shared our frustrations and heartache. Uplifted by hugs from many friends and the caring spirit of @midsouthgravel . Thankful to @unlearnpavement and @painpatina and the whole crew for their creative solutions to an impossible problem. We’ll always be back.

Sunny spins!

Festive 500 tandem edition 💛 💚

But whatever shall I wear?

Bits and pieces of Chug

Rode my bike to see a train. This is 40, I guess. #bigboy4014 Union Pacific's Big Boy No. 4014 Steam Locomotive

Just Chug things. We've hit my favorite time of the year for bike riding and today was exceptional. We finished up the ride with a stop in to watch some young Chuggers race Joules Cyclocross. Hope to see everyone at Octoginta next week. Then we'll get back to more Chug things.

Active Projects Build of the Week. It took three versions to earn the distinction. Right away, this bike became our go-to. We always want to ride the tandem before all our other options. We've ridden just over 1,550 miles on it and can't wait for the next spin together after work tonight. Check out how we turned the @salsacycles Powderkeg into a gravel race bike on @activeprojects . 2.4s are the new 42s Pictured: Just a couple miles from a planned stop and in the middle of climbing a hill, we wanted a picture of our bike with this cool rock during Mega @midsouthgravel . Love this machine.

300+ miles in the stoker seat. Mega @midsouthgravel on tandem was an intensive study in teamwork and communication. The roads and gravel community in Stillwater are very special, and I’m thankful to finally share them with my favorite person and the best pilot ever.