I think that the trail system at Indian Creek Lake is almost done with trimming, there is still plenty of work to be done with reroutes and armoring but at least we will be able to ride without getting smacked in the legs with weeds. I know that Tim was working on his section today and Denny and James have their section ready to rock and roll plus Coach has his section done as well. I spent several hours out there today and got my section all trimmed, I also removed 2 trees from the corridor with my hand saw but still have one large tree that is leaning over the trail and it is way too low.
With the nice weather I was really wanting to ride sometime today but I have ridden 7 or 8 days in the last 8 days and I needed a little recovery. Of course I got a full body workout doing trail work today but that's okay with me. I had an armoring detail that I was going to work on tomorrow but there has been a change of plans in my personal schedule so it will have to wait for another day.
Whether it's on the road or trails, it's all fun on two wheels.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Trail In Need Of TLC
I went this afternoon and rode Indian Creek from the campground to the top and back, the trail hits both ends of the spectrum. I decided to ride so I could do a recon on my section, get some warmer weather riding in, and put a few more miles on my legs, it was not a cardio workout because so much of the trail is in such rough shape....in fact it was more of a bike handling session (which was good too). The campground loop was being mowed as I rolled out and was finished when I got back and I have to say it is awesome. Other areas to note are where Doug trimmed from 510 down to the creek crossing, I would classify that as a "race ready" section on any trail. Also where Doug has trimmed from lot 17 to bottom hollow road, some of the open sections have a little growth on them but nothing compared to some of the other sections of trail. I had trimmed my section earlier this year but you can't even tell it, it is a mess right now and those stinging nettles are back and I think they are pissed off and they let me know it.
Of course Doug has been putting in the hours on his section plus, and James and Denny have their section buff....it is PRIME right now!!! I ran into James and asked him if he wanted to race me on dirt. He kind of got that half smile on his face and just looked to the ground. Then with his "CAT I" like reflexes he popped me right in the mouth, and I hate to admit it but it sent me backwards onto the ground. He stood over me chuckling and said "That is pretty much the same result of us racing each other, it just saves me some time". What do you say to something like that???
Of course Doug has been putting in the hours on his section plus, and James and Denny have their section buff....it is PRIME right now!!! I ran into James and asked him if he wanted to race me on dirt. He kind of got that half smile on his face and just looked to the ground. Then with his "CAT I" like reflexes he popped me right in the mouth, and I hate to admit it but it sent me backwards onto the ground. He stood over me chuckling and said "That is pretty much the same result of us racing each other, it just saves me some time". What do you say to something like that???
Friday, June 25, 2010
What A Jerk!!!
I slipped back out tonight for another road ride, I was able to get in 35 miles and that sometimes "Jerk Off" friend of mine, the wind, gave me some punishment. I started out on the loop but after climbing to the top I stayed on Hwy A over to Hwy U and then made the turn South back to 190. It doesn't take much of a wind at all to get a heck of a workout on Hwy U, I rode in my drops most of the time and still felt like I was barely moving and by the time I got back to 190 to ride out the end of the 190 Alps my legs were pretty blown. As the wind was hitting me I could hear her whispering in my ear: "Where have you been?" "Trying to avoid me?". I started screaming absurd, almost lunatic comments: "I had detention" "I had to clean my room" "I wet my pants". Absurd comments.....well the first two weren't true, and that last comment can stay between you, me and the Internet!!!
Actually I have gotten in quite a few windy rides this spring and they have served me well but today was a bit of a struggle. I did ride hard yesterday but I thought I could carry a better avg than I did tonight, I dropped to a 19.0 on the last climb coming back into town. I know there are some positives in that ride somewhere, if nothing else it was better than not riding at all.
Actually I have gotten in quite a few windy rides this spring and they have served me well but today was a bit of a struggle. I did ride hard yesterday but I thought I could carry a better avg than I did tonight, I dropped to a 19.0 on the last climb coming back into town. I know there are some positives in that ride somewhere, if nothing else it was better than not riding at all.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Finding My Groove
Today was an ideal day to do a time trial except for the fact that I was exhausted from an early shift at work and hadn't properly fueled myself.....not that that is unusual. The temps were not real hot and the wind seemed fairly mild so I set out to ride the loop knowing in the past on days like this one that I could ride a 20.5+ avg. Heading out on old 190 proved to be a chore for me and I was already thinking that this might be another tough ride.....man, I have got to find my groove again. It felt like I was riding into a slight headwind but I don't believe I was. When I got out onto 190 and on the trip North on Hwy Y it felt like a headwind still but I kept looking at the tree tops and they were not moving at all....Marco.....I'll find it sooner or later. Once I got to the top I checked my avg and it was at 19.1 which was better than what it felt like I was riding, I continued over to Hwy A and headed South. I did have a very slight tailwind but I wasn't carrying a ton of speed, I was able to get the avg up to 19.8 once I hit 190 again. I rode solid through the bottoms and carried pretty good speed up the Grand Oaks hill but I was really starting to feel the burn at the top and started to fade when a good song came through my ear buds.....I kicked up my cadence and found my groove!!! I think we all know that feeling of suffering but you know you are doing things right and you are loving the pain you are in, I was finally in that mode cresting the hill and cranking back towards town. I only wish I had got into that rhythm earlier in the ride but it was still a really productive ride. I ended up with a 20.4 avg on the loop which for a solo effort is not too bad right now.....I'm feeling the effects of my ride right now and I'm loving it!!!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Still Recovering
I went out this morning to the campground loop to get a few laps in before the possible rain comes.....again. Monday night I really didn't have much in the tank to ride after Saturday's hard effort. I don't know how the long ride home on Sunday played in the scenario but I have to think it didn't help but we had to get home......right? I was hoping to get some night laps in last night since today is my only day off this week and night laps would fit into my schedule but Molly and the kids are going on vacation today so I figured I better spend some time with them before they left since I won't see them until Monday sometime. I hadn't ridden my single speed in a while so I decided to take Mary out and let her play in the dirt. I have never timed it but I think I can ride the campground loop faster on my single speed than I can on my geared bike. The first lap I went out pretty hard and kept the fast tempo through the whole lap and then on the second lap I backed off and flushed my legs. I could tell that I had power but it was not sustained. The third lap I let it all hang out (well maybe not "everything") and was ripping corners and flying up the gradual inclines, I was picking areas to work on break aways and then trying to stay on the gas. I was cranking right along but I soon realized that I was getting gassed much quicker than I had expected, then I remembered it had only been a few days since the race and I need to be smart about my riding. I don't think it was a bad idea to go ride but I was getting down on myself for feeling so weak. I took it easy on the fourth lap and started the fifth lap out pretty fast but quickly started to slow down, I decided to just ride and not push it too much. I was bombing down the grassy section that feeds in below the camp area and leads down to the water and as I made the right hand turn back onto single track I nearly went down as the back end washed out......I knew right then the tire was too low. Sure enough it was going flat, I hit it with air and it sounded liked the leak was coming from the around the valve stem. Instead of fixing it I decided to walk it out and that is when I noticed a big thorn in the front tire....and I'm running tubes in both tires, the front is still holding air but I am not about to pull that thorn out right now. I have to get this bike converted to tubeless, I guess all I need is the rim strips since I have everything else already. Priorities have kept me from getting this done yet but it is time to do it. I am considering getting a suspension fork on Mary to make trail riding more enjoyable.....plus then my eyeballs wouldn't be rattling around in my head on the rocky descents. There are times I literally can not see what is going on due to the vicious bounding that my body is taking and I just hope for the best. I did put a Thudbuster ST on her though and that has helped a ton even on smoother sections. I know the long travel is designed more for mountain bike but the short travel that I have on her really takes the edge off. I would usually have some serious back pain after riding her all rigid, she is starting to so her softer side but don't let her fool you....she can still be a real Ball Buster!!!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Lumberjack 100 Report
This was the third year in a row that Mark, Tim, and I made the trip up to Wellston, MI for the Lumberjack 100 mountain bike race. This year it was only Tim and I racing as Mark wasn't able to get an entry for the race, the registration filled up in just over 12 hours with a field limit of 300 racers. I had to make an emergency run to Parkville the Saturday before we left so that I could get the rear brake bled on my bike, it was kind of scary how little braking power I had. I went back on Wednesday to pick it up after work and with a 3 a.m. shift on Thursday and then leaving Thursday afternoon I had to hurry to get things prepped and packed. After picking up my bike I wanted to ride it around town for 2 reasons: 1. To make sure everything was working well 2. To give my legs a little stretch before the long drive the next day. I rode around town for a little bit and then as I was rolling toward the driveway I grabbed brake and the rear brake lever mashed to the grip and I just kept rolling. OH DEAR LORD, let the panic begin. I'm not sure how many emotions ran through my body at one time but it was overwhelming, I grabbed the brake lever with my fingers and pulled on it and it came out in my hand.......OH SWEET MOSES!!! I compared the two levers and quickly realized that the pin that held the rear lever in place was missing. I called Mark and he told me to bring it on over, on the drive to his house I was already getting my mind right to ride my single speed instead of my geared rig. Mark already had an old Avid brake system that he had saved (just for these kinds of events) in the driveway when I arrived and quickly determined what was missing and how to retrieve the part from the old brake system. Within minutes of tinkering he said "Try that", son of a gun it worked......I had pooped in my pants for nothing, well maybe not nothing because it was actually pretty scary.
Thursday about 5:00 p.m. we loaded up in Tim's van and headed on the road. Once we got North of Chicago a ways we found a town to pull over in and get a couple hours of sleep, it wasn't the best sleep but it was still sleep and it was good. We woke up as the town started to stir and grabbed a bite of breakfast and then back on the road. We only had another couple hours or so of driving left to reach Manistee, MI. Once we arrived there we found a small camping area and pulled in and slept some more until mid morning and then picked up a few things in town and then headed over to the Black Bear Inn. I don't think check in was until around 3 but we arrived shortly after Noon and was able to get into the room with no problem. We had the exact same room as last year, of course it was a 1 in 6 shot at the Black Bear Inn. We all took another nap and then geared up and headed over to the Big M ski lodge to pre ride and pick up our race packets. The start of the single track started a long gradual climb that was getting my heart rate and breathing up rather quickly but after we got to the top we were able to bomb down some screaming fast twisty single track. Mark and I rode together, we only rode 6.5 miles as I found myself pushing harder than I probably should, and Tim rode another section. After cleaning up we went and had dinner and then off to bed for an early rise to get to the race site, every year people start arriving earlier and earlier. I knew we had picked a great pit area because several pro riders were pitting together and they picked the site right next to us after we had already put up our tent.
The race started with a 2 mile roll out on pavement before diving into single track and there seemed to be a lot more riders trying to ride with the lead group this year. Last year I was on the tail end of the lead group when we hit the single track but this year I rode the pavement strong but didn't push too hard, I knew it was going to be a long day of riding regardless. The first 5 miles or so was a steady train of riders but we were able to work free for a bit and then we got clustered again. I found myself in 3rd or 4th position in a string of 15-20 riders and we rode like this for a few miles. We got to the aid station and a few riders dropped off to fuel up and I was now in 2nd position of this train. A short distance after the aid station was about a 3/4 mile climb in a sandy section and I was able to overtake the lead of the caravan and found myself pulling for roughly the next 8 miles. I was getting tired but didn't want to let a single rider pass as I knew they would all want to pass and besides I was controlling the pace......I kept it uncomfortable. We finally popped out onto a road section and I backed off to let someone else take over and it seemed that no body wanted to but finally a couple guys jumped up and I used the road section for recovery (the road was sucking the energy out of me most of the day...I was glad it wasn't very long). The cluster of riders scattered into the next section of single track and finally I was heading toward the end of the lap and ready for a pit, I was amazed when I crossed the line at 2:52. My pit stop only lasted 2-3 minutes and then I was off again.
If you couldn't tell from the picture....I was suffering and I think I looked like that most of the day. I would find myself feeling really strong and I would push hard during those times and as I would start to peter out I would back off and find a recovery zone to ride in but I made sure not to stay in it. Hydration was a big goal for me that day as I knew that cramping would be an issue for many riders. I didn't get nearly as much liquid as I would have liked on the first lap because I was trying to stay focused with so many riders right behind me. The second lap I drained my camelbak and only had a few ounces left in my bottle. I finished the second lap at 6 hr 2 min into the race, I was really pleased with my pace. This pit was 3-4 minutes, I seemed to have more trouble taking the pills I had set out but quickly was on my way. Only a couple miles in I just couldn't seem to drink enough water, I was so thirsty and just kept hydrating....even to the point I was feeling a bit water logged. I had not stopped at the aid station out on the course on either of the first two laps and I had no intention of stopping on the third lap but I realized that I would not make it to the end of the race without running out of water. When I arrived at the aid station I didn't rush too quickly but I had a plan and I executed it and left. It was a good thing I had stopped because I had already drank 3/4 of my camelbak and was only half way through the lap. I found my happy place with about 10 miles to go and was able to fire on all pistons the rest of the way in. I did struggle at the top of the last big climb, I could feel my hammy's start to tense and I knew to dismount or pay the consequences. After stepping off the bike and taking a couple steps to crest the hill my muscles were trying to knot up but I was able to fight it off. I eased up the rest of the gradual climb and then it was the wicked screaming fast downhill to the bottom and then about 3 miles of flowy single track to the finish. With about a mile to go I caught another rider and was on his tail in a flash, he heard me coming and just moved over and I stayed on the throttle. I was afraid he was catching me but it was my camelbak making noise behind me. Just to make sure I rode with a very high intensity to do a break away that I was certain he would not catch and I ended up making quite a gap and was able to sprint to the finish line. My goal of 10 hr 45 minutes was crushed with a time of 9 hr 19 min 06 secs. I don't think I could have been more pleased with the race that day, I feel like I rode at the next level and I hope that I can continue to do so.
What made the day even sweeter is that Tim is an official Lumberjack, Tim finished the race and he had been suffering.......seriously suffering. A finish is a finish Tim, and no one can take that away from you....GREAT JOB!!!
Thursday about 5:00 p.m. we loaded up in Tim's van and headed on the road. Once we got North of Chicago a ways we found a town to pull over in and get a couple hours of sleep, it wasn't the best sleep but it was still sleep and it was good. We woke up as the town started to stir and grabbed a bite of breakfast and then back on the road. We only had another couple hours or so of driving left to reach Manistee, MI. Once we arrived there we found a small camping area and pulled in and slept some more until mid morning and then picked up a few things in town and then headed over to the Black Bear Inn. I don't think check in was until around 3 but we arrived shortly after Noon and was able to get into the room with no problem. We had the exact same room as last year, of course it was a 1 in 6 shot at the Black Bear Inn. We all took another nap and then geared up and headed over to the Big M ski lodge to pre ride and pick up our race packets. The start of the single track started a long gradual climb that was getting my heart rate and breathing up rather quickly but after we got to the top we were able to bomb down some screaming fast twisty single track. Mark and I rode together, we only rode 6.5 miles as I found myself pushing harder than I probably should, and Tim rode another section. After cleaning up we went and had dinner and then off to bed for an early rise to get to the race site, every year people start arriving earlier and earlier. I knew we had picked a great pit area because several pro riders were pitting together and they picked the site right next to us after we had already put up our tent.
The race started with a 2 mile roll out on pavement before diving into single track and there seemed to be a lot more riders trying to ride with the lead group this year. Last year I was on the tail end of the lead group when we hit the single track but this year I rode the pavement strong but didn't push too hard, I knew it was going to be a long day of riding regardless. The first 5 miles or so was a steady train of riders but we were able to work free for a bit and then we got clustered again. I found myself in 3rd or 4th position in a string of 15-20 riders and we rode like this for a few miles. We got to the aid station and a few riders dropped off to fuel up and I was now in 2nd position of this train. A short distance after the aid station was about a 3/4 mile climb in a sandy section and I was able to overtake the lead of the caravan and found myself pulling for roughly the next 8 miles. I was getting tired but didn't want to let a single rider pass as I knew they would all want to pass and besides I was controlling the pace......I kept it uncomfortable. We finally popped out onto a road section and I backed off to let someone else take over and it seemed that no body wanted to but finally a couple guys jumped up and I used the road section for recovery (the road was sucking the energy out of me most of the day...I was glad it wasn't very long). The cluster of riders scattered into the next section of single track and finally I was heading toward the end of the lap and ready for a pit, I was amazed when I crossed the line at 2:52. My pit stop only lasted 2-3 minutes and then I was off again.
If you couldn't tell from the picture....I was suffering and I think I looked like that most of the day. I would find myself feeling really strong and I would push hard during those times and as I would start to peter out I would back off and find a recovery zone to ride in but I made sure not to stay in it. Hydration was a big goal for me that day as I knew that cramping would be an issue for many riders. I didn't get nearly as much liquid as I would have liked on the first lap because I was trying to stay focused with so many riders right behind me. The second lap I drained my camelbak and only had a few ounces left in my bottle. I finished the second lap at 6 hr 2 min into the race, I was really pleased with my pace. This pit was 3-4 minutes, I seemed to have more trouble taking the pills I had set out but quickly was on my way. Only a couple miles in I just couldn't seem to drink enough water, I was so thirsty and just kept hydrating....even to the point I was feeling a bit water logged. I had not stopped at the aid station out on the course on either of the first two laps and I had no intention of stopping on the third lap but I realized that I would not make it to the end of the race without running out of water. When I arrived at the aid station I didn't rush too quickly but I had a plan and I executed it and left. It was a good thing I had stopped because I had already drank 3/4 of my camelbak and was only half way through the lap. I found my happy place with about 10 miles to go and was able to fire on all pistons the rest of the way in. I did struggle at the top of the last big climb, I could feel my hammy's start to tense and I knew to dismount or pay the consequences. After stepping off the bike and taking a couple steps to crest the hill my muscles were trying to knot up but I was able to fight it off. I eased up the rest of the gradual climb and then it was the wicked screaming fast downhill to the bottom and then about 3 miles of flowy single track to the finish. With about a mile to go I caught another rider and was on his tail in a flash, he heard me coming and just moved over and I stayed on the throttle. I was afraid he was catching me but it was my camelbak making noise behind me. Just to make sure I rode with a very high intensity to do a break away that I was certain he would not catch and I ended up making quite a gap and was able to sprint to the finish line. My goal of 10 hr 45 minutes was crushed with a time of 9 hr 19 min 06 secs. I don't think I could have been more pleased with the race that day, I feel like I rode at the next level and I hope that I can continue to do so.
What made the day even sweeter is that Tim is an official Lumberjack, Tim finished the race and he had been suffering.......seriously suffering. A finish is a finish Tim, and no one can take that away from you....GREAT JOB!!!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
2010 Dirty Kanza Recap
The DK 200...WOW!!! Does a 205 mile gravel road race sound like hell? If you answered yes then you would be correct, especially when temps reached into the mid/upper 90's. First of all I would like to say that Jim Cummins, Joel Dyke, and all the Dirty Kanza sponsors did an outstanding job putting on this event. The event had a new host hotel this year, The Best Western, and it was about as good of a setup as you could have. Racers arrived to do race packet pick up and then had the option of an all you can eat pasta feed followed by the racers meeting later in the evening. Molly and I were fortunate to get a room there so all we had to do was walk across the parking lot to get everything accomplished. Looking around the room during the racers meeting it was a little intimidating to see the caliber of racers that were there but then I remembered that I was there mainly for training for Lumberjack and 24 hr of DINO. Coach asked me what my goal was for the race and I didn't really have one because to be really honest I wasn't sure if I could do it. I figured if I could complete the race then I would be happy to do it in 18 hrs.
The race started and finished at the Granada Theater in downtown Emporia, this would prove to be a great location for the festivities throughout the day. The race started at 6 a.m. with a police escort through town. I had a bit of a panic on the start, we started rolling and I looked down and my computer was not registering speed. I knew immediately that the magnet had been moved in transport but I was riding in the middle of a pack and didn't want to work my way to the edge and fix the problem and then have to play catch up. I was really frustrated because I wanted to know my mileage to help read the map and also so I knew how much farther to the checkpoint. As we turned onto the gravel I was quite a ways in the back but just rode a steady pace until I found a way to get around a few riders and then worked hard to get to the next group so I could draft and then worked my way through that group and bridged up to the next pack and tucked in to recover. I would ride somewhat hard for a while and then drift back to a recovery pace knowing that I had all day to sit in the saddle. Several riders were going out super hard and I kept telling myself "It's not a race".....not a race??? I kept telling myself "At that pace it's a race to see who bonks first". I was riding pretty good and feeling pretty good when Troy Krause came around me at about mile 45, he had dried blood all down his right arm but was riding strong. I rode close behind him for a short distance and he would ride with his arm just hanging straight down, it looked like it hurt pretty bad. Shortly after he and another rider went around we were riding a pretty fast section and all of a sudden my rear tire got cut and started spraying sealant on every revolution. I stopped quickly and spun the tire but it didn't totally seal, I found the hole and rubbed it and it sealed. It was a sidewall cut and I was pretty sure it wouldn't stay sealed but it was worth a shot, I hit it with CO2 and she blew open again so I pulled the rim strip and put in a tube. I decided to run higher pressure than I would have preferred because the roads have large rocks embedded in the ground and some are almost like small ledge drops and I did not want to pinch flat. The higher pressure would cause me to spin out while climbing out of the saddle but I could handle that over a pinch flat. The rest of the first leg I played catch up without blowing up, I rode strong but not at my max. I pulled into the first checkpoint and took about 10-15 minutes to refuel, put on my lovely Chamios Butt'r and rubbed some Biofreeze on my lower back.
I had fixed my computer during a pee break on the first leg and decided I would zero out at every checkpoint since the mileage from checkpoint to checkpoint was on the map. The maps were much better this year, much easier to read and you could of rode the whole course without a map....it was marked that good. The second leg had quite a bit of flat section which was nice but the temps started to climb and fatigue was starting to settle in on many riders. After one particular downhill the temp instantly jumped and it felt like a sauna, I was worried that the rest of the day was going to be like riding in this furnace but as I started climbing I looked around and realized we were climbing out of a small canyon and there was no way air could hit us. As I crested the top the air hit me and it felt awesome, it was still really warm but it was much better than what we had just experienced. The second checkpoint was at mile 103 and I had already decided that I was going to take some time there to really rest, I may have taken longer than I should have but it may have paid off later in the day as well. I was there for about 45 minutes and then headed out for the shortest leg of the race but I was told it had some interesting riding as well.
The third leg would prove to be my best riding of the day, on this 38 mile section I would pass at least 15 riders and did not get passed by anyone. Riders were really struggling and I think my prolonged break helped me push on. This section had "Lil Egypt Rd", I had heard of this but wasn't sure what to expect. Let me just say that I wouldn't drive on this without 4 wheel drive but I would ride a cross bike with 35mm tires on it????? I was wishing I had my full suspension bike on the downhill portions of this road, I was descending very slow so I didn't wipe out in the large sharp loose rock. I was able to climb every section of the road though, I passed several riders that were walking their bikes so I was able to make up some ground. As I got to the top of a short steep power climb I could see a rider just ahead lying on the ground in the road, I was a little scared he was really hurt. He looked up as I approached and I asked him if he was okay, he said he was but he was beat. Shortly after that I came across another rider that was laying over his handlebars but didn't take any help from me, I'm not sure he would make it to the next checkpoint. I rode into the checkpoint strong but the heat was intense too, I was getting gassed and was in need of some hydration and getting my core cooled. There was about 12-15 bikers in the local gas station trying to cool off in the air conditioning, I was trying to hydrate but it was difficult because my hand was shaking so badly that I could hardly get the water in my mouth. I would remain at this checkpoint for an hour before heading out on the last leg.
The last leg was 66 miles, not a distance that I liked staring in the face but I had no choice. The next little town was about 24 miles away and it was nothing but uphill and downhill the whole way. They were long climbs and the downhills were pretty loose gravel, I was stopping every other climb to rest as I was really feeling the pain now. I eventually stopped, laid my bike on the ground and just stood and ate a Hammer Bar, the doubt was starting to slip into my head then but I had to dig down and push on. I wasn't sure how far away Eskridge was and the hills were still coming on fierce, we were on an off road section that I had to walk some of the climbs. Finally after getting to the top we made a turn South and after slow pedal strokes up the hill I could see the water tower for Eskridge....finally. There was a gas station there and it closed at 8:00 p.m. I arrived at 7:50. I wasn't out of water but I stopped and got a little more and decided to rest along with a multitude of other bikers. There were several vehicles picking up riders as they were throwing in the towel for the day. I knew I wasn't going to stop now but I was going to rest a bit longer. One rider was going into the gas station and asked me if I needed anything, I told him a kick in the nuts would probably be best at the moment.
Another rider said there was a section coming up that he wanted to get through before it got dark, that got my attention so I jumped up, put on my helmet, and took off on my bike. He was right, I wouldn't want to ride it in the dark either....it was doable but not preferred. After I got to the main gravel again I decided to ride as fast as I could without blowing up so I could get as far as I could before having to turn on my headlights. I ended up being about 30 miles away before I turned on my headlights and the wind had shifted to the North to give us an awesome tailwind. I lost 2 spots to some riders that were riding very strong, I was feeling pretty good but couldn't hang with them. About mile 184 I cut the front tire and it went totally flat within seconds. I was able to change this flat pretty quickly, I think I was too tired to panic and try and rush. The worst part of this repair wasn't the fact that it was in the dark and I had to use the beam from my headlight, it was the fact that I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and I lost another couple spots to advancing racers as well. The glow of the Emporia lights was getting brighter and so was my spirits and finally I came to a sign that said "End Of Gravel". I was so excited until I realized that the sign meant it was now a dirt road and not going to paved road. I couldn't read my computer in the dark so I was not sure how much further to town but finally got to Hwy 99. It was a short ride to cross over I-35 and then the turn into the Emporia State Campus, I was getting really excited now since I knew that I was almost done. The ride through campus was longer than I had expected but soon I popped out onto Commercial St and it was only a few blocks to the finish line. I could hear music in the distance and people were cheering me the whole way down the street. I was out of the saddle from the time I entered the campus to the time I crossed the finish line. I was so excited to be done, I think I could have ridden farther but it was a relief to know that I didn't have to. Remember I would be happy to finish in 18 hrs, I finished in 16 hrs and 34 mins. After Jim wrote down my name and congratulated me on my finish I walked my bike out of the finish area and saw Coach walking toward me with a smile from ear to ear. He shook my hand and congratulated me and then Molly was running toward me because she had been up the street keeping watch for me to finish. She gave me a big hug and took my bike so I could take off my gear. After a short visit with Molly and Coach I laid down on the sidewalk and rested my back and body, it felt so good to just lay there. Coach went to see where I finished and I could not believe my ears when he came back and said that I finished 22nd out of 157 riders. I know that I finished in a higher place than I probably should have because there were several riders that were much better than I am but fell victim to crashes, heat, and exhaustion.....but that's part of racing.
I also have to say that Stoney Cranmer rode like a champ on a single speed, Stoney took second place in the single speed division. He was winning that class but his crew had the wrong van at the last checkpoint and he had to wait over an hour for the right equipment. I am sure that if he didn't have to wait for supplies that he would have won the single speed division, I think he would have beaten me as well. Well done Stoney!!! I also finished one minute before one of Stoney's teammates, he would have finished well ahead of me but he was being a true team player and riding with a slower team rider early in the day.
The race started and finished at the Granada Theater in downtown Emporia, this would prove to be a great location for the festivities throughout the day. The race started at 6 a.m. with a police escort through town. I had a bit of a panic on the start, we started rolling and I looked down and my computer was not registering speed. I knew immediately that the magnet had been moved in transport but I was riding in the middle of a pack and didn't want to work my way to the edge and fix the problem and then have to play catch up. I was really frustrated because I wanted to know my mileage to help read the map and also so I knew how much farther to the checkpoint. As we turned onto the gravel I was quite a ways in the back but just rode a steady pace until I found a way to get around a few riders and then worked hard to get to the next group so I could draft and then worked my way through that group and bridged up to the next pack and tucked in to recover. I would ride somewhat hard for a while and then drift back to a recovery pace knowing that I had all day to sit in the saddle. Several riders were going out super hard and I kept telling myself "It's not a race".....not a race??? I kept telling myself "At that pace it's a race to see who bonks first". I was riding pretty good and feeling pretty good when Troy Krause came around me at about mile 45, he had dried blood all down his right arm but was riding strong. I rode close behind him for a short distance and he would ride with his arm just hanging straight down, it looked like it hurt pretty bad. Shortly after he and another rider went around we were riding a pretty fast section and all of a sudden my rear tire got cut and started spraying sealant on every revolution. I stopped quickly and spun the tire but it didn't totally seal, I found the hole and rubbed it and it sealed. It was a sidewall cut and I was pretty sure it wouldn't stay sealed but it was worth a shot, I hit it with CO2 and she blew open again so I pulled the rim strip and put in a tube. I decided to run higher pressure than I would have preferred because the roads have large rocks embedded in the ground and some are almost like small ledge drops and I did not want to pinch flat. The higher pressure would cause me to spin out while climbing out of the saddle but I could handle that over a pinch flat. The rest of the first leg I played catch up without blowing up, I rode strong but not at my max. I pulled into the first checkpoint and took about 10-15 minutes to refuel, put on my lovely Chamios Butt'r and rubbed some Biofreeze on my lower back.
I had fixed my computer during a pee break on the first leg and decided I would zero out at every checkpoint since the mileage from checkpoint to checkpoint was on the map. The maps were much better this year, much easier to read and you could of rode the whole course without a map....it was marked that good. The second leg had quite a bit of flat section which was nice but the temps started to climb and fatigue was starting to settle in on many riders. After one particular downhill the temp instantly jumped and it felt like a sauna, I was worried that the rest of the day was going to be like riding in this furnace but as I started climbing I looked around and realized we were climbing out of a small canyon and there was no way air could hit us. As I crested the top the air hit me and it felt awesome, it was still really warm but it was much better than what we had just experienced. The second checkpoint was at mile 103 and I had already decided that I was going to take some time there to really rest, I may have taken longer than I should have but it may have paid off later in the day as well. I was there for about 45 minutes and then headed out for the shortest leg of the race but I was told it had some interesting riding as well.
The third leg would prove to be my best riding of the day, on this 38 mile section I would pass at least 15 riders and did not get passed by anyone. Riders were really struggling and I think my prolonged break helped me push on. This section had "Lil Egypt Rd", I had heard of this but wasn't sure what to expect. Let me just say that I wouldn't drive on this without 4 wheel drive but I would ride a cross bike with 35mm tires on it????? I was wishing I had my full suspension bike on the downhill portions of this road, I was descending very slow so I didn't wipe out in the large sharp loose rock. I was able to climb every section of the road though, I passed several riders that were walking their bikes so I was able to make up some ground. As I got to the top of a short steep power climb I could see a rider just ahead lying on the ground in the road, I was a little scared he was really hurt. He looked up as I approached and I asked him if he was okay, he said he was but he was beat. Shortly after that I came across another rider that was laying over his handlebars but didn't take any help from me, I'm not sure he would make it to the next checkpoint. I rode into the checkpoint strong but the heat was intense too, I was getting gassed and was in need of some hydration and getting my core cooled. There was about 12-15 bikers in the local gas station trying to cool off in the air conditioning, I was trying to hydrate but it was difficult because my hand was shaking so badly that I could hardly get the water in my mouth. I would remain at this checkpoint for an hour before heading out on the last leg.
The last leg was 66 miles, not a distance that I liked staring in the face but I had no choice. The next little town was about 24 miles away and it was nothing but uphill and downhill the whole way. They were long climbs and the downhills were pretty loose gravel, I was stopping every other climb to rest as I was really feeling the pain now. I eventually stopped, laid my bike on the ground and just stood and ate a Hammer Bar, the doubt was starting to slip into my head then but I had to dig down and push on. I wasn't sure how far away Eskridge was and the hills were still coming on fierce, we were on an off road section that I had to walk some of the climbs. Finally after getting to the top we made a turn South and after slow pedal strokes up the hill I could see the water tower for Eskridge....finally. There was a gas station there and it closed at 8:00 p.m. I arrived at 7:50. I wasn't out of water but I stopped and got a little more and decided to rest along with a multitude of other bikers. There were several vehicles picking up riders as they were throwing in the towel for the day. I knew I wasn't going to stop now but I was going to rest a bit longer. One rider was going into the gas station and asked me if I needed anything, I told him a kick in the nuts would probably be best at the moment.
Another rider said there was a section coming up that he wanted to get through before it got dark, that got my attention so I jumped up, put on my helmet, and took off on my bike. He was right, I wouldn't want to ride it in the dark either....it was doable but not preferred. After I got to the main gravel again I decided to ride as fast as I could without blowing up so I could get as far as I could before having to turn on my headlights. I ended up being about 30 miles away before I turned on my headlights and the wind had shifted to the North to give us an awesome tailwind. I lost 2 spots to some riders that were riding very strong, I was feeling pretty good but couldn't hang with them. About mile 184 I cut the front tire and it went totally flat within seconds. I was able to change this flat pretty quickly, I think I was too tired to panic and try and rush. The worst part of this repair wasn't the fact that it was in the dark and I had to use the beam from my headlight, it was the fact that I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and I lost another couple spots to advancing racers as well. The glow of the Emporia lights was getting brighter and so was my spirits and finally I came to a sign that said "End Of Gravel". I was so excited until I realized that the sign meant it was now a dirt road and not going to paved road. I couldn't read my computer in the dark so I was not sure how much further to town but finally got to Hwy 99. It was a short ride to cross over I-35 and then the turn into the Emporia State Campus, I was getting really excited now since I knew that I was almost done. The ride through campus was longer than I had expected but soon I popped out onto Commercial St and it was only a few blocks to the finish line. I could hear music in the distance and people were cheering me the whole way down the street. I was out of the saddle from the time I entered the campus to the time I crossed the finish line. I was so excited to be done, I think I could have ridden farther but it was a relief to know that I didn't have to. Remember I would be happy to finish in 18 hrs, I finished in 16 hrs and 34 mins. After Jim wrote down my name and congratulated me on my finish I walked my bike out of the finish area and saw Coach walking toward me with a smile from ear to ear. He shook my hand and congratulated me and then Molly was running toward me because she had been up the street keeping watch for me to finish. She gave me a big hug and took my bike so I could take off my gear. After a short visit with Molly and Coach I laid down on the sidewalk and rested my back and body, it felt so good to just lay there. Coach went to see where I finished and I could not believe my ears when he came back and said that I finished 22nd out of 157 riders. I know that I finished in a higher place than I probably should have because there were several riders that were much better than I am but fell victim to crashes, heat, and exhaustion.....but that's part of racing.I also have to say that Stoney Cranmer rode like a champ on a single speed, Stoney took second place in the single speed division. He was winning that class but his crew had the wrong van at the last checkpoint and he had to wait over an hour for the right equipment. I am sure that if he didn't have to wait for supplies that he would have won the single speed division, I think he would have beaten me as well. Well done Stoney!!! I also finished one minute before one of Stoney's teammates, he would have finished well ahead of me but he was being a true team player and riding with a slower team rider early in the day.
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