Lucas Clarke Has Just One Speed
The Park Hill Gravel Cycling Champion Never Gives Up, Not One Inch
By Reid Neuriter
For the GPHN
Park Hill’s Lucas Clarke recently made history by winning two separate extra-grueling gravel bicycle races.
On June 2, Clarke, 40, won the single-speed category of the 200-mile Unbound Gravel race held in the Flint Hills around Emporia, Kansas. The race, described by Bicycling Magazine as the “most popular and infamous gravel cycling event in the country,” drew a record 3,775 participants. It was particularly difficult with rain turning the roads to chunky “peanut butter” mud and causing hundreds of riders to abandon the course.
Clarke’s winning time on a single-speed bicycle (only one gear) was just under 12 hours (11:59:39) with an average speed of 17.1 miles per hour. He took 8th overall in the amateur category, competing with racers on fully-geared bikes.
Clarke followed up his Unbound win with an Aug. 20 victory in the single-speed division of Colorado’s biggest gravel event — the Steamboat Gravel Race — over the 142-mile “Black Course.”
Clarke is originally from Oregon but went to CU for a degree in marketing and now lives on Grape Street with his wife, Lindsay, and children Piper, 13, Charlotte, 12, and Theo, 9. When not on his bike, Clarke is the VP of Marketing and Franchise development for Ninja Nation, which he describes as an indoor play space for kids to challenge themselves, move their bodies and have fun.
Clarke recently spoke to the Greater Park Hill News about his cycling achievements.
GPHN: Riding and racing on gravel roads seems all the rage these days. What is the attraction to riding a bike on gravel as opposed to the road?
LC: Being able to go “off road” and explore places that road bikes can’t take you. Also, to get away from car traffic and metropolitan areas. For gravel racing, it’s adding in some different skill sets with bike handling and rougher terrain. It also feels new and different than road riding and mountain biking.
GPHN: What are your historic cycling accomplishments? You have a World Champion jersey. How did you win that?
LC: I got an elite track medal in 2017 at the National Cycling Championships and that fueled my passion to try for the Masters World Championship in 2018. I got a new coach, switched up my training and won World Championship gold in the Points Race, Individual Pursuit and Team Pursuit. It was a great year on the track.
GPHN: The conditions at Unbound this year were reported to have been very challenging, with mud and caked dirt along parts of the course. What was that like?
LC: Unbound was a crazy race. Mud on the course provided some unique challenges, but racing always throws challenges at you. You have to figure out how to work through them. For me on the single speed I just needed to ride harder to push through the mud. I didn’t have gears that I could spin easier, and nothing would stick to my derailleur because I didn’t have one. I hammered it through the mud sections and gained a lot of time on my competitors. I also had a mechanical problem where my chain came off, but that wasn’t too bad. Overall, I had a very lucky day and good legs. Luck favored the prepared and I was ready to go hard all day.
GPHN: How did the Steamboat race differ from Unbound?
LC: Steamboat was a totally different race; super-fast start, we all started together instead of the staggered start we had at Unbound. I was almost dropped [from the group] at Steamboat because I couldn’t pedal my single 44/18 gear at 42 miles per hour. It was a chance to get onto a good group and ride with them as much as I could. [Steamboat] is also super nice, champagne gravel, which is a lot different than the Unbound’s rough, eat your tires-type gravel.
GPHN: These are distances (200 miles and 141 miles) that many cyclists could never dream of in riding in just one day. What kind of training does it to get ready for such a race?
LC: It is a long distance but a lot of the training isn’t long distance training. It is just training at a certain zone so your body can adapt to the intensity. I did a lot of 30-minute hard efforts with some sprints mixed in. Unbound is the only time I have ridden 200 miles [in one day] this year.
GPHN: What psychological challenges, if any, did you face over the course of race day? Did you ever think of giving up?
LC: A lot goes through your head for sure. I never thought about giving up but sometimes you have micro “give up moments” where you let a rider you are drafting off of go up the road a bit and you don’t bother chasing, things like that. I never want to have those happen so I always hyperventilate in races looking for every opportunity to gain an advantage and push the race more in my favor, never give up, not an inch.
GPHN: Why are you choosing to ride single-speed bikes in these races? Are there things you have to consider riding a single-speed different from a geared bike?
LC: I just love the fun and the challenge of the single-speed. Anyone can race gears. It takes a certain level of crazy and fun to race single-speed. I love the track and it keeps me connected to the track in a way because we only have one gear in track racing.
GPHN: How does your work allow you to balance the extensive training you require for being a competitive cyclist?
LC: I work pretty standard hours, and most of my training is done super early in the mornings, 4:45 a.m. to 8 a.m., or on weekends. I usually ride 10-12 hours/week and lift weights at Mighty Movement in Park Hill 3-4 hours per week. You can always find the hours if you are willing to get up early and get it done. I sacrifice some parties and some late nights but it’s always worth it.
GPHN: Any words of advice for someone considering doing either the Unbound or Steamboat races?
LC: Sign up for one of the shorter distances, structure your training plan to line up with the event, go out there and have fun. The gravel community is fantastic and they will welcome you with open arms.