2022 BWR UTAH RESULTS

We got all our people with us.

We are family.

Get up everybody and roll.

Together, as a family, we have the power to transform lives. We can achieve a lot together… And there is no better place than Utah to revel in the idea and glories of FAMILY.

Inspire. Mentor. Champion. Amplify. Create. Lead. Help each other. Have fun!

We can enhance the power of community by welcoming everyone into the family.

We are a growing, global tribe of bike-minded family members of different cultures, ethnicities, beliefs and backgrounds. 

And, we believe in the power of family and it’s easy to sing this psalm after a BWR in Utawesome, where the family effect was in full bloom.

Family is just about the only way of life in Utah. The same familial sensibilities that we all know can make the world a better place are evidenced by the importance of ‘family’ in Utah. There is a Family Prosperity Index that measures 50 social and monetary factors to rank each state, and Utah has constantly ranked #1 in the nation. And Cedar City offers not only a taste of the importance of ‘family,' but it also offers a spectacular canvas for our different kind of family to draw upon; a newer, two-wheeled family formed in the shared love of this thing they now call ‘Gravel.’ And this family has a genuine commitment to the values of diversity and equality, that we should be able to work together to find compassion and peace no matter how wide our tires are. This family understands that forcing the beliefs of one onto another, diminishes diversity and skews the scales of equality. By engaging in compromise and extending love to all of cycling’s children, who are our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, together we can create a peaceful, diverse tapestry of ideals and beliefs, expressed by spinning wheels and tales alike… in the gravel.

From my selfish purview, which is all I really have to offer on this reflection, I got to watch this new family get along in the most remarkable of ways, where political differences were checked at the start line, the costumes were more for expression than any commitment to some clique and preferred two-wheeled disciplines were about as important as a favorite breakfast cereal. What did matter for most was that we were all blissfully together in a magical environment, competing against real humans, and welcoming so many newbies to the family as first time Waffleurs! In short, the gravel family welcomed new members and did so with coolness, cooperation, and compassion as watchwords.

The Waffle race commenced exactly on time at 7:30 a.m., which was a testament to every rider agreeing to play by the rules, and those rules were pretty simple: Love your neighbor like family. Every single mother, father, sister, brother played along. So away we went, like a family to church.

Before we get to the race recaps from our stellar pro family members, Whitney Allison and Griffin Easter, I’d like to pause to further this idea of family…

Our Monuments of Cycling is a small family with a collection of partners like John Vargas and the Orange Seal crew, OmniGo Timing, Dave Towle, Jim Miller, Sam Ames and the Gear Grinder Grill, Paul Dunlap at the Wrench House, Steve Yeager and Almsthre, Adam Spahr, Amelia Durst, Jenna Bullbook, Rob Wessels, Jon Hornbeck, Jake Orness, Erick Gonzalez. Victor Sheldon, Andy Brightman, Kevin Smidt and the wonderful people at Cedar City, especially Brooke Twitchell and Officer Justin Ludlow. Our team is bolstered, literally, by Phil Tinstman’s family, each of whom worked day and night. No matter where you looked you saw Phil or Shelby, or their family, not to mention their extended family members. Collectively, they touched every part of the event production, including everyone’s trash, which they went out post-race to clean up, wrapper by wrapper. By the way, you can always put the wrappers in your jersey and give to someone at a Feed Zone.

Perhaps the most important family present was that of Todd Hess, our Volunteer Coordinator from Cedar City. Todd spent the last couple of months as our boots on the ground in Utah, not only enticing locals in the Cedar City area to join in the family fun of putting on a world class gravel race, but Todd was also out reconning the various course features, meeting with local land owners and construction crews to help pave the way for all the approvals we need from the various private landowners, institutions and agencies in order to put on this event to our level of satisfaction. Todd had his family - Linda, Ariana, Ainsley, Avery and Tayson – at the venue before bright and early and out on the course throughout the day, which ends up being a very long day, as we were still cleaning up the venue all night and again on Sunday morn. With Todd and his family, this event could not happen. So, next time you are at a Feed Zone or pass a volunteer at a corner, make sure to sing out loud to them, “We are Family!”

Todd and his family engaged with this fine group of individuals, below, who in turn brought their families out to work the Feed Zones, Expo and critical intersections for everyone’s safety.