Leila Husain’s Colorado Trail Race Kit + Women’s Sponsorship

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By Logan Watts

Founding Editor & Routes Director

2,138 Posts

In our latest bike check, we take a look at Leila Husain’s YT Izzo and see how it’s set up for the Colorado Trail Race, which kicked off yesterday. Find details about her trusty four-year-old bike, how she got pressured into her first bikepacking race a year ago, and how she approached the Colorado Trail. Plus, details on how women have helped shape the site and what that means for the future…

Our friend Leila Husain is relatively new to ultra-endurance cycling. In fact, her first bikepacking trip wasn’t until 2023, which happened to be one of the hardest races on the East Coast. Even more impressive, she won it. Yesterday, Leila began the biggest challenge of her cycling career, and her second bikepacking race ever: the 2024 Colorado Trail Race (CTR). This roughly 500-mile, singletrack-heavy, self-supported bikepacking race stretches from Denver to Durango, Colorado, and promises to test the resolve of any rider who dares to take it on. We were stoked when we learned that Leila wanted to continue her bikepacking pursuits and take on this monumental effort, so we helped her out as part of our forthcoming women’s sponsorship program. Read on for details about Leila’s background, bike, and the kit she’s bringing along for this endeavor.

Leila’s serendipitous entry into bikepacking in 2023 was spurred by a classic case of peer pressure. Just a day and a half before the Rockstar 280 race, she was convinced by a friend and route creator, Daniel Jesse, to abandon her supported race plans and instead attempt the route fully self-supported. Despite her inexperience—she’d never gone bikepacking before, and all her gear was borrowed—Husain dove in headfirst. Leila explains, “All my gear was loaned to me, and somehow we managed to strap a bunch of crap willy-nilly to my bike, and then I proceeded to the start of the route. It quickly became apparent that the freedom of two wheels I’d loved for so long exponentially grew the second I rolled out completely self-supported. From there on, I was hooked.”

What’s unreal to me is that Leila won that race, becoming the first woman to reach the iconic Mill Mountain Star in Roanoke in 3 days, 12 hours, and 9 minutes. That’s not just any course, either. The Rockstar Trail has more than 42,000 feet of elevation gain across an exhausting 276-mile mix of 65% singletrack, 20% gravel, and 15% pavement. It’s a monster.

Like many other folks who tackle these mind-bogglingly challenging races, the appeal for Leila isn’t necessarily rooted in competition but rather in the camaraderie, shared nervousness, and pure unadulterated stoke that surrounds a grand depart. “If I’m having fun, I’m winning in my book,” she says, embodying the spirit of the sport that attracts so many like-minded riders. “I get the opportunity to be surrounded by folk who are kinda wacky, kinda crazy, and kinda the absolute best people I’ve ever met,” she adds.

In the months leading up to the CTR, Leila did some monumental rides around our Pisgah National Forest. Seems like every time I talked to her she’d just stitched together some ridiculous combination of trails and gravel. It made me exhausted thinking about it. After that, she spent the last few weeks in Colorado, soaking in the local riding scene with friends in Durango, familiarizing herself with sections of the trail, acclimatizing, and most importantly, trying not to get hurt. She mentioned that she did a shakedown overnighter ride on the Colorado Trail from Molas Pass to Durango, too.

Leila’s trusty companion for this race will be four-year-old 2020 YT Izzo, which she affectionally calls “Izzy Bear.” This bike has seen some action, for sure. “The frame may or may not be cracked, so I’ll hang on to her until she goes to her final resting place in bike heaven,” Leila happily told me. “Izzy and I have shared a ton of life together, for a 130/130 bike, she pedals like a dream, climbs like a goat, and descends like a missile. She’s got a super long wheelbase but a steeper headtube for a downcountry bike.” Despite its age and a potentially catastrophic injury, Izzy seems ready for a maiden voyage on the Colorado Trail. At any rate, Leila got this bike long before bikepacking entered her lexicon, and so far it’s been on everything from hundred-mile races to downhill runs. She admitted that the next bike she buys will have some big shoes to fill.

For the record, Izzy is outfitted with mostly stock components. It has a mechanical SRAM X01 Eagle drivetrain with a 32T chainring, a 10-52T cassette, and a pair of SRAM G2 RSC brakes. It’s sitting on a 130mm Fox Fit4 fork and 130mm Fox Float Factory shock. “It should be noted that my rear shock is lovingly linked to a Rockshox grip shifter to lock it out,” Leila mentioned. She’s running a set of carbon Industry Nine Hydra wheels. Here’s Leila’s full pack list.

When I asked he what her go-to snack is, I was pleased to hear we share the same convenience store vices—a bag of Cape Cod salt and vinegar chips and a Coke. It doesn’t really get any better than that. As with many people who do these types of events, a big piece of the training puzzle is preparing your body for all the sugar and terrible junk food you’re going to force down your gullet to stay on top of the calories. 

Looking beyond the CTR, Leila has the Arizona Trail high up on the dream list of races. I’m excited to see a local Brevardian heading out on the CTR, and we hope to see more of Leila’s dot in the future. Godspeed, good times, and many salt and vinegar chips ahead, Leila!

Women’s Sponsorship

When I first started this website way back in 2012, I really had no idea where it would go. As bikepacking and off-road touring started to gain popularity, it seemed to have infinite branches, ranging from creative expression to erudite gear analysis in a community that varied from laid-back two-wheeled travelers to record-seeking endurance athletes. There was a lot to cover and we embraced it all. One of those branches was ultra-endurance racing, and when we began covering this side of things I recall being most inspired by the efforts and stories from women. I was drawn into following racing by the efforts of folks like Lael Wilcox, Jenny Graham, Eszter Horanyi, Alexandera Houchin, and Jenny Tough, not to mention the creative and community endeavors from people like Alex Hotchin, Lane Willson, Lee Craigie, Randi Jo Smith, and Neza Peterca. Since then, more and more women have gotten into bikepacking and there’s far more women present in bikepacking-related races, events, businesses, creative work, and community initiatives today than there ever has been. However, bikepacking is still largely a dude-centric thing, and we’ve pledged to do our best to change that.

We’ve been kicking around ideas for a women’s sponsorship program for a while, and are still working through it. When we decided to support Leila getting to the Colorado Trail Race, it was a similar story. I was awestruck by her performance at the Rockstar, which was her first bikepacking trip, and when she voiced that she wanted to do more, we were eager to help out as we could. We provided some gear, liaised with sponsors, helped with planning, and chipped in with some financial support, and we hope there’s value in providing a platform for her story. In my eyes, this was a trial run for something bigger. Stay tuned, and if you’d like to get involved or be notified once we get it ironed out—hopefully in the late fall/winter to support folks next spring/summer—please sign up below. And if you have ideas or suggestions, we invite you to leave us a note in the conversation below.

Further Reading

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Leila Husain was the First Woman to Finish Rockstar Trail 2023

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Bikepacking Bikes

Rigs of the 2024 Colorado Trail Race