Ride Bikes & Eat Food
When it comes to creating epic gravel experiences, Heidi and Zander Ault know the perfect recipe.
Heidi Rentz Ault and Zander Ault at the Mendocino Gravel Camp. Photo courtesy of The Cyclist’s Menu
By Allison Pattillo
@allisonpattillo
What happens when a former pro mountain biker and a professional chef, who’s also an avid cyclist, become life and business partners? In the case of Heidi and Zander Ault, they went “teeth to the wind” into the gritty world of gravel riding. Since 2015 the two, who met in Missoula at the University of Montana, have co-created three businesses around the burgeoning sport: The Cyclist’s Menu, The Gravel House and The Spirit World 100.
After retiring as a pro (Heidi said she liked to drink wine too much to make it to the Olympics), Heidi began coaching and Zander operated a private chef business. When their clients started asking about guided trips, the two, who are both 37, put together a road riding camp. As the week unfolded, they found themselves following Unbound Gravel (formerly known as Dirty Kanza) on social media and realized what they really wanted to do was offer gravel camps. The sport was so new at the time of their first gravel camp in 2016, that no one had the equipment, not even them. The gear progressed, their camp experience was honed and now the Aults run their businesses from their home in Patagonia, AZ, which, at about an hour and 15 minutes from Tucson, has become a destination for gravel aficionados.
“We create trips that implement things we love and enjoy,” says Zander of their less-scheduled camp style. “It allows us to invite people into an incredibly personal space for five to seven days, to have their own experience.”
While they offer camps in must-ride locales around the world, Zander says that running the Arizona camps from The Gravel House has been a game changer. Clients stay in the only hotel in town, it’s just across the street from The Gravel House, which then becomes the hang out place. Relaxing with guests before and after rides and while enjoying innovative farm-direct cuisine is a legacy of the experience with The Cyclist’s Menu. The table becomes the place “where the day's stories unfold, tomorrow's unknowns are unveiled and the story of each meal is told,” according to Zander.
Some of the dreamy gravel riding in Patagonia, Arizona. Photo courtesy of The Cyclist’s Menu
“Our mantra is ride bikes, and eat food,” says Heidi of the programs she and Zander offer. “Those are the two scheduled things, with the rest of the time left for connection.”
When The Gravel House isn’t being used as a hub for camps, the Aults offer it for rent, and use it for private cycling trips as well.
What the two love about gravel is that it, more so than other types of cycling, truly breaks down barriers, and allows women to feel comfortable in a discipline historically dominated by men. Their camps cap out at about 12 people with six guides to accommodate riders of all abilities, from the casual cruiser, to those wanting to crank out 100+ mile days. Both Heidi and Zander have been in the industry for a long time in various capacities, from being pro, working retail, guiding trips and running shuttles for other cycling programs. Along the way, they’ve learned not just about cycling and the logistics of guiding, but also the human component of it.
“We’ve watched people be afraid to try new things,” says Heidi. “We’ve been at the forefront of bringing people through those challenges mentally, physically, emotionally.”
Their camps have a very relaxed atmosphere, with no room for the often uptight bent of road cycling and logging miles, speed and output.
The start of the inaugural The Spirit World 100 in 2019 in Patagonia, Arizon. Photo courtesy of The Cyclist’s Menu
“We see people who are transitioning from road to gravel, that aren’t sure of the shift in the sport,” says Zander. “They may initially be more concerned with how many miles and how fast, and then realize that doesn’t matter as much as enjoying the overall experience.”
Heidi always wanted to start her own event, and that dream came true in 2019 with the launch of The Spirit World 100 gravel venture. With no event in 2020 due to the pandemic, the 2021 The Spirit World 100, happening this November, sold out in a day. While the event took a few years to put together, they knew the route in the San Rafael Valley, which takes riders to the Mexico border and back, would make an unreal racecourse the very first time they rode it. It also happens to be the first event the town of Patagonia approved in 13 years. And now the community, which Heidi affectionately says is “a little bit stubborn in the best of ways” is seeing the benefits cyclists bring to town.
As for the event itself, it, like their other co-creations, is a genuine reflection of what Heidi and Zander love the most, riding bikes, creating community, throwing great parties and enjoying delicious food.
Allison is a freelance writer, cyclist, skier and trail athlete based in Colorado.
