Alyssa's story: Salty Lizard Gravel Race

BaseCamp athlete Alyssa Biel shared her experience at the 2026 Salty Lizard Gravel Race in Utah.

I had done this race a few years back, when it was a bit less polished, a lot more western, and jumped at the opportunity to return this year to see the changes and get to take in the scenery again.

The courses currently all start with a short, ever-so-slight uphill to allow space for the riders to spread out before a slightly longer downhill that on a gravel bike has some potential to be nerve-wracking for some. I had watched a motorcycle support driver crash on this same downhill right in front of me a few years ago. I had navigated it safely on my gravel bike at that time, but had decided for a few different reasons to ride my hardtail 29er this year.

The rest of the course is your typical gravel road of the region, nice hard packed gravel with varying degrees of washboard, including plenty of loose, fine, sandier patches, the smaller of which are completely invisible until you're in them. The current course routing favors a faster, less technical day than the course I rode a few years ago. Despite the lower technicality, I still felt great being on my MTB. I was more stable than I would have been on my gravel bike when I hit those loose patches at speed and didn't furrow in while cruising through the longer, loose stretches.

It was April, not too far out of the winter training block, so I went in with my typical Larry Enticer mantra, "just gonna send it," and planning for a fun day on my bike outside. I planned to not use any aid stations until at least the third aid at around mile 54, depending on how my hydration bladder and electrolyte bottle were doing. Most of the day, after about mile 10, it was a solo ride for me. I caught up with and passed more riders than did the same to me, so I was feeling pretty strong. It was sunny but fairly brisk at the start, and I found myself with many miles of yearning for the shoe covers that were in the bike bag in my car, approximately 57 miles of wishing my feet would stop being popsicles, to be exact. When I had made it to the northern end of the course, not too far beyond aid station number 2, and the Bonneville Salt Flats came back into view, I couldn't help but think about how fun it would be to haul ass across them in a vehicle. I settled for pedaling as fast as I could next to them!

After a quick water refill at the 3rd aid station, I was feeling the home stretch pull. I made the strategic decision to briefly stop at the 4th aid station around mile 62 to reduce the weight of fluid in my own bladder that I would need to pedal on the steep uphill to the finish line. Coming up to the finish climb, I was extra motivated to stay on my bike pedaling to finish strong, despite it being so many miles into riding. I managed to make it across that uphill finish line with both feet firmly attached to my pedals in a successful 5:48:08. I would summarize my feelings during the event as accomplished, strong, and powerful.

Shout out to my amazing BaseCamp coach, Lorri Lown, for prodding me to do more events this year, and the generous photographer Kris Braun, who shoots the Utah Gravel Series events!!