Photos courtesy of FinisherPix.
Last weekend, the Litespeed team went to San Diego, California, to attend Belgian Waffle Ride California. We met a ton of riders interested in seeing Litespeed bikes up close and in person, and we even helped a few test ride their dream bike before ordering.
As an event partner, the Litespeed team also got the chance to race on Sunday. A few of us did the 33-mile Wanna route, while I (foolishly) decided to try out the full 106-mile Waffle route. In the end, we learned a lot, got to show a ton of people our Litespeed bikes in action, and most importantly, we had a lot of fun! Let’s recap some of the highlights of Litespeed’s weekend at BWR California
What is Belgian Waffle Ride California?
A Litespeed Spezia, Flint, Toscano, and Coll del Reis on display at the BWR expo.
Belgian Waffle Ride California (BWR CA) is one of the oldest, most prestigious, and most dynamic gravel races in the US. When BWR’s founder, Michael Marckx, launched BWR in 2011, the objective was to create a Belgian-style Spring Classic in San Diego County. Because San Diego lacked Belgian-style cobbled roads, he augmented the course with dirt sectors instead.
This is what gives BWR CA its incredibly unique character. BWR California calls itself “the Unroad Race.” It’s about mixing elements that don’t normally fit together. The flagship “Waffle” course is about 70% paved road and 30% “unroad”—dirt, gravel, sand, rocks, double-track, and singletrack. For many, the most interesting part of BWR California is choosing your equipment. The ratio of pavement to gravel means there is no ideal bike or tire setup for the entire course.
Choosing the Litespeed Toscano for BWR CA
Litespeed mechanic, Chris Rinker, and I both chose to ride our Toscano Gravel bikes at BWR CA. The Toscano was an easy choice. It’s Litespeed’s flagship gravel bike, built using our most advanced titanium tube forming techniques.
The Toscano uses our Superform SL6/4 tubeset, which features custom-made and size-specific Superform SL titanium tubes with variable wall thickness and 3D-shaping, paired with a hand-formed 6AL/4V titanium top tube to reduce weight and enhance lateral stiffness. The result is the lightest titanium gravel frame on the market and race-ready efficiency—perfect for BWR CA’s high speeds and long, brutal climbs.
Rinker’s Toscano is a size M/L with an ENVE rigid fork and cockpit, SRAM RED XPLR, HED Emporia GC3 Pro wheels, 45mm Panaracer GravelKing X1 tires, and our new Seafoam Ano Blast finish.
My Toscano is a size S with a Cane Creek Invert SL fork, ENVE one-piece cockpit, SRAM RED XPLR, Industry Nine Solix SL UL250c wheels, 50mm Continental Terra Hardpack tires, and our new Audrey Blue Ano Blast finish. My Toscano, ready-to-ride with pedals, bottle cages, and Garmin computer, weighs in at 21 pounds flat—impressively light for a titanium gravel bike with a suspension fork and 50mm tires!
BWR CA is Hard!
Pros at the start. Photo courtesy of Belgian Waffle Ride.
We had four representatives from the Litespeed booth race on Sunday, and three chose to do the 33-mile Wanna route. There’s a good reason for this. Setting up an expo booth in the early morning, standing all day in the sun, not eating or drinking enough (expos are busy!), and packing it all away in the evening just to do it again the next day is NOT the ideal way to prepare for a race. I had bullishly decided to do the full 106-mile Waffle course, and I knew I was in for a tough day, but I wasn’t ready for how tough BWR CA would actually be.
Wanna, Wafer, and Waffle riders all start together, so there was a big mix of riders in the start chute. Our team—consisting of me (Bruce), Rinker, Michael, and a local volunteer, Jack—rode from our hotel to the start, which was already jam-packed with riders by 8:00 AM. A big thanks goes out to Hank, who manned the booth solo while we all raced! The Pro men and women set off at 8:20 AM, then the amateurs left 10 minutes later at 8:30 AM.
At the gun, I decided to try my luck by moving as far up the field as possible in the opening paved sections. This meant doing multiple near-max efforts to try to catch groups I could see up the road.
For those into data, my normalized power in the first hour was 105% of my current FTP, and I set new 20-minute and 30-minute power PRs. Obviously, this is a VERY dumb way to race an endurance event. But since I was here for fun and not a result, I decided to send it. Maybe a miracle would happen and I’d find a perfect group that could tow me along for a solid finish in the top 100. Spoiler alert: that miracle didn’t happen.
Smiling for the camera but completely dead inside.
The next 4 hours were pure suffering. I was nauseous and exhausted, barely able to keep my gels down, and soft pedaling on the longer climbs. I came back around at mile 60, but by then, I was trapped alone in “no man’s land.”
In the last two hours, the wheels completely fell off, and I was crawling to the finish. Riders kept passing me, including one strong guy on an older Litespeed Watia. “Nice Litespeed!” he said, looking at my Toscano. Then he dropped me with ease—Watia-1, Toscano-0. (I’ll get him next time!) I rolled into the finish with a time of 7:25:54, a nice mid-pack result.
My (more intelligent) co-workers rode the shorter Wanna course at party pace, and they had an absolute ball. They cruised the paved sections and shredded the dirt, enjoying the BWR atmosphere, amazing San Diego scenery, and even a few free drinks along the way. While I had to lie down for a nap behind the Litespeed booth afterwards, they were all smiles and able to exchange stories with other finishers about their race and show off their dirt-crusted bikes.
What We Learned at BWR CA
“Unroad” Sectors Are A Lot Tougher Than Expected
We’re not San Diego locals, and the rough, rocky, and technical nature of many of the singletrack trails caught us a bit off guard. Some were gnarly enough that I’d consider it mountain bike terrain! If you make the trip out to BWR CA, pre-riding some of the more technical dirt sectors can make a huge difference for your race.
Also, be nice to people on the dirt. When things turned into technical single track, riders tended to bunch up, forcing you to slow down, stop, or even get off and walk. This frustrated a lot of people. Most of us aren’t pros! Our livelihoods don’t depend on race results. Yelling at people to get out of the way because they’re uncomfortable on the terrain is asking for bad karma. Relax a bit because the meaningful time gains occur on the road.
Your Bike Will Always Suck Somewhere
Because the course is so unique, every equipment choice is a compromise, and no matter what, your setup is going to suck somewhere! While my Litespeed Toscano felt super light and fast, I thought my 50mm tires and suspension fork were a bit “overkill” for the pavement. If I were to fine-tune my setup in the future, lighter and faster rolling gravel tires and a rigid fork would provide a nice boost on the long, brutal road climbs.
For the current (2025) version of the BWR CA course, I think a fast gravel tire around 45mm wide is probably the best overall compromise (Matt Beers and Sofia Gomez Villafane won on 45mm Specialized Pathfinders). Personally, though, I might want to push things even farther toward the road end of the spectrum with a fast 38-40mm tire. I come from a mountain bike and cyclocross background, and I am pretty comfortable getting loose and rowdy when riding off-road. The place I need more help is on the pavement!
Suspension Forks are the Next Big Trend in Gravel
People were super interested in the Cane Creek Invert gravel suspension forks we had displayed on my Litespeed Toscano and another Litespeed Flint. A Lot of people stopped by to give these forks a squish, and they were eager to hear how it rode after the race. (Read my thoughts on gravel suspension forks here.) More than a few mentioned that they were considering putting a fork on their own gravel bike.
It’s clear that gravel suspension is starting to become mainstream, and I saw more than a few suspension forks out on course. While my suspension fork didn’t help me on any of the pavement, there were times in rocky singletrack sectors that I was happy to have a little extra squish. If you want maximum comfort or you need a confidence boost when things get rough and rowdy, a suspension fork will make a serious difference.
See You at UNBOUND Gravel!
The next stop for the Litespeed team (and our sister brand OBED) is UNBOUND Gravel 2025 in Emporia, Kansas. Come find us at the expo to see the Toscano, Ultimate G2, and Flint in person, plus suspension forks and our new Ano Blast colorways. If you ride a Litespeed, our pro mechanics will tune it up for free! Interested riders can also swing a leg over their dream bike and chat with anyone from the Litespeed team about the joy of riding titanium gravel bikes!