There are the "Right" things to say and then there are the "Wrong" things to say. Here is a list of examples.
#5) When you see a couple riding tandem and you engage them in conversation. The right thing to say is "Do you ride together often?". The wrong thing to say is "Do you shower tandem?".
#4) When someone asks you if your friend really just took their drivers test and why, the right thing to say is "They let their license expire by 2 YEARS, and they had to take the test over again. The wrong thing to say is "Well he grew up Amish!!!".
#3) When you see someone applying Chamois Buttr the right thing to say is...nothing. The wrong thing to say is "Do you need a hand?".
#2) When you are in a race and you work hard to bridge a gap and you tuck behind another riders wheel to recovery before passing and they ask if you want around, the right thing to say is "Not just yet I will let you know when I'm ready". The wrong thing to say is "No thanks, I'm just enjoying the view".
#1) When your riding to the top of a long climb behind someone that is in their granny granny gear the right thing to say is "Great job, keep it up" (with great enthusiasm). The wrong thing to say is "Are you still in that gear?".
Whether it's on the road or trails, it's all fun on two wheels.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Lumberjack Recap
Wow I almost forgot to post anything, been so busy not riding my bike and eating way to much! Like I had mentioned in an earlier post I was up at 4:30 on race morning, I already had all my bottles mixed and on ice just needed to get dressed an the rest of our gear into the van. We left the cabin about 5:15 for the race site and we got the best parking we could ask for, just across from where we could walk over the single track to our tent. We got everything set up pretty quickly and awaited the riders meeting. It was cool, about 56 degrees so I was really enjoying my jacket around that time.
This was a 3 lap race and I decided to use Perpetuem on only the first 2 laps, I tend not to not drink it later in a race. I also had decided to try and do the race with only bottles, I didn't want to carry the extra weight of a Camelbak on my back if I didn't need to. I had a Camelbak ready to go just in case in between laps. I had 2 bottles on my bike and then a 3rd bottle in my Mountain Feedbag on my handlebars.
As far as my bike I was riding my Haro Mary SS, I was riding her all rigid. I was running a 32 x 18 gear combination and I had a new set of Specialized Fast Trak tires as they are a low profile fast rolling tire. For the start we had to ride about 1.5 miles down the road for a rolling start. Many of us were freezing on the ride to the start line, my arms were a shade of purple and I had lots of goosebumps. I wasn't really looking forward to the start as I knew I would get dropped while spinning out. We took off and I was getting passed by a lot of geared riders, the lead pack had got out of sight rather quickly. I just did the best I could and knew it was a long day of riding to make up ground. Soon we were turning into the parking lot and the next turn would take us into the start of the single track.
As with any endurance race the early part of the first lap was congested, not much anybody could do but just try to be patient until things were able to speed up a bit. The slow going was tough on me riding a single speed, I need momentum to get me up some of the hills and it wasn't happening early on. After a couple miles I was able to get around a few riders and then pick up some speed. Soon I was behind 3 tandems in a row and their climbing was very slow. When we got to a short steep climb I did a cyclocross dismount and ran my bike through the weeds around them and took off again. A few miles later we hit a road section and I was surprised that I was able to pass so many riders since I was riding on a single speed. The rest of the lap was pretty good, my calves were getting tight but other than that I was feeling pretty good. I finished the first lap 9 minutes off of last years pace but I was okay with that, I didn't know what to expect riding one gear.
I was in the pit for less than a minute and back out on the course. I was making sure to stay on the fluids and trying to keep endurolytes in my system. A couple of the climbs seemed a lot longer on the second lap than they did on the first. The run up to the fire tower seemed a lot steeper and I was pretty sure it would seem even worse on the third lap. I came in from the second lap 1 minute faster than last years second lap so I was pretty pleased with that.
I was in the pit for 3 or 4 minutes this time, got new bottles and took some Endurolytes and Ibuprofin and had Molly put some Biofreeze on my lower back (oh and had to lube the chamois again). As the third lap progressed I could tell I was slowing down but I wasn't wiped out totally. I was walking some of the steep climbs and parts of the long sustained climbs. I would climb until I could feel the lactic acid building to a certain point and then I would walk a bit and then back on the bike. I decided to stop at the aid station on the last lap, it was about halfway through the lap. I still had a full bottle and I topped off my other two bottles, I also got and orange wedge which was really tasty. It wasn't until just as I was leaving that I realized the water they put in my bottles was a little skunky. Not a great tasting water but it was wet. I ended up going to my full fresh bottle and saving the other bottles until I had to drink them. The last 10 miles of the last lap was tough, I was really having to dig deep. Finally I knew I was getting near the finish line and I was going as fast as I think I could, this section of the course is fast and flowy. I passed two geared riders with about a mile to go and could see another rider ahead of me shortly after that. That rider was another single speeder and I went around him as fast as I could in case he tried to jump on my wheel. He didn't make a move but I stayed on the gas as much as I could to the finish, I looked back a couple times but didn't see him coming. I rolled across the finish line in 9 hr 40 min. This was 21 min slower than last year but I didn't care, I was very happy with that time.
As I went through the finish chute I saw Molly and I heard Emma but I didn't stop. I grabbed my finishers patch from a volunteer and just kept pedaling to our pit area. I felt bad for not stopping but I was looking for a chair to sink into. After about 45 minutes of resting and talking about the days adventures I went up to the food tent. I was hoping they had orange juice again this year and that was about all I really wanted but instead I found a huge burrito and a corn/black bean combo that was really good. We also went over to the timing kiosk and found out I was 28th out of 47 in the Single Speed class and I was 152nd out of 337 overall.
While I was still out racing Emma got to meet womens pro rider Danielle Musto, Emma got her autograph and also got her picture taken with her. As Mark and I was loading the van Danielle tracked Emma down and gave her a brand new set of Optic Nerve racing glasses, how awesome is that???
As much fun as the race was I was glad that it was over. I think we all slept very well that night, then it was a long day in the van on the way home. I had a great time and I was very pleased with my results.
This was a 3 lap race and I decided to use Perpetuem on only the first 2 laps, I tend not to not drink it later in a race. I also had decided to try and do the race with only bottles, I didn't want to carry the extra weight of a Camelbak on my back if I didn't need to. I had a Camelbak ready to go just in case in between laps. I had 2 bottles on my bike and then a 3rd bottle in my Mountain Feedbag on my handlebars.
As far as my bike I was riding my Haro Mary SS, I was riding her all rigid. I was running a 32 x 18 gear combination and I had a new set of Specialized Fast Trak tires as they are a low profile fast rolling tire. For the start we had to ride about 1.5 miles down the road for a rolling start. Many of us were freezing on the ride to the start line, my arms were a shade of purple and I had lots of goosebumps. I wasn't really looking forward to the start as I knew I would get dropped while spinning out. We took off and I was getting passed by a lot of geared riders, the lead pack had got out of sight rather quickly. I just did the best I could and knew it was a long day of riding to make up ground. Soon we were turning into the parking lot and the next turn would take us into the start of the single track.
As with any endurance race the early part of the first lap was congested, not much anybody could do but just try to be patient until things were able to speed up a bit. The slow going was tough on me riding a single speed, I need momentum to get me up some of the hills and it wasn't happening early on. After a couple miles I was able to get around a few riders and then pick up some speed. Soon I was behind 3 tandems in a row and their climbing was very slow. When we got to a short steep climb I did a cyclocross dismount and ran my bike through the weeds around them and took off again. A few miles later we hit a road section and I was surprised that I was able to pass so many riders since I was riding on a single speed. The rest of the lap was pretty good, my calves were getting tight but other than that I was feeling pretty good. I finished the first lap 9 minutes off of last years pace but I was okay with that, I didn't know what to expect riding one gear.
I was in the pit for less than a minute and back out on the course. I was making sure to stay on the fluids and trying to keep endurolytes in my system. A couple of the climbs seemed a lot longer on the second lap than they did on the first. The run up to the fire tower seemed a lot steeper and I was pretty sure it would seem even worse on the third lap. I came in from the second lap 1 minute faster than last years second lap so I was pretty pleased with that.
I was in the pit for 3 or 4 minutes this time, got new bottles and took some Endurolytes and Ibuprofin and had Molly put some Biofreeze on my lower back (oh and had to lube the chamois again). As the third lap progressed I could tell I was slowing down but I wasn't wiped out totally. I was walking some of the steep climbs and parts of the long sustained climbs. I would climb until I could feel the lactic acid building to a certain point and then I would walk a bit and then back on the bike. I decided to stop at the aid station on the last lap, it was about halfway through the lap. I still had a full bottle and I topped off my other two bottles, I also got and orange wedge which was really tasty. It wasn't until just as I was leaving that I realized the water they put in my bottles was a little skunky. Not a great tasting water but it was wet. I ended up going to my full fresh bottle and saving the other bottles until I had to drink them. The last 10 miles of the last lap was tough, I was really having to dig deep. Finally I knew I was getting near the finish line and I was going as fast as I think I could, this section of the course is fast and flowy. I passed two geared riders with about a mile to go and could see another rider ahead of me shortly after that. That rider was another single speeder and I went around him as fast as I could in case he tried to jump on my wheel. He didn't make a move but I stayed on the gas as much as I could to the finish, I looked back a couple times but didn't see him coming. I rolled across the finish line in 9 hr 40 min. This was 21 min slower than last year but I didn't care, I was very happy with that time.
As I went through the finish chute I saw Molly and I heard Emma but I didn't stop. I grabbed my finishers patch from a volunteer and just kept pedaling to our pit area. I felt bad for not stopping but I was looking for a chair to sink into. After about 45 minutes of resting and talking about the days adventures I went up to the food tent. I was hoping they had orange juice again this year and that was about all I really wanted but instead I found a huge burrito and a corn/black bean combo that was really good. We also went over to the timing kiosk and found out I was 28th out of 47 in the Single Speed class and I was 152nd out of 337 overall.
While I was still out racing Emma got to meet womens pro rider Danielle Musto, Emma got her autograph and also got her picture taken with her. As Mark and I was loading the van Danielle tracked Emma down and gave her a brand new set of Optic Nerve racing glasses, how awesome is that???
As much fun as the race was I was glad that it was over. I think we all slept very well that night, then it was a long day in the van on the way home. I had a great time and I was very pleased with my results.
Monday, June 20, 2011
2011 Lumberjack Prerace Activities
Well on Thursday June 16th around 5:00 p.m. or so Molly, Emma, and I headed over to Marks house and picked him so we could start our 659 mile drive to Manistee, MI. I started off with the driving and held the wheel until a little after 10:00 or so and then Mark took over. I decided I better try and get a little sleep so that I could drive again later. Molly was willing to drive but I knew she had worked all day and I really didn't want her to have to drive but we would let her if needed. Mark dove til 2:45 I think and then I took back over and drove until about 5:00 a.m. or so. When I took over driving the last time I stopped and got a cup of coffee and it kicked in quickly, not only keeping me awake but also making me have to stop and pee. As we got close to Ludington, MI the fog was getting very thick and it was tough to see very far in front of the vehicle. Mark took back over driving from Ludington and got us into Manistee. We decided to get something to eat and then we headed to the beach. It was cool that morning, around 55 degrees, and the fog was still pretty thick. The view off the pier over Lake Michigan was very limited but it was still pretty neat, I think Emma really enjoyed it.
From there we headed to the race site so Mark and I could pick our pit area, we had a great spot last year and wanted the same location. Most people don't pick their pit area until the come to preride the course and do their packet pick up but we decided to go ahead and claim our spot. We got the same exact spot as last year which was about 60 yds after the lap but still on the course as we would head out for another lap. The corridor widened there and it would be easier to access our pit while not obstructing the trail. Mark mentioned later that he knew we had a good spot because the pros pitted right next to us both years, they were looking for the same area too.
With still some time to kill before we could check into our cabin and get some mid day sleep Mark and I decided to walk part of the trail. We walked in the opening stretch which was a long gradual climb that seemed to go on forever. The mosquitoes were unbelievable this year so we made sure to spray ourselves really well. After we hiked out we decided to go to the cabin and see if we could check in, it was almost 11:00 a.m. by now. We were able to get in and we got some stuff settled and Mark and I laid down to get some sleep. I think we slept for 2-3 hrs off and on, I don't know about him but it wasn't the most restful sleep I have ever had but it was better than nothing.
About 4:00 p.m. we headed back over to the race site and picked up our race packets. The raffle this year was already underway, they had drawn race numbers and labeled the prizes so if you were a winner you could get your prize at that time. Mark won a hydration pack with about a million pockets in it, it is pretty cool.
We got our bikes down and prepped and worked our way into the single track. The early part of the race had a couple good climbs in it so I was trying to fly downhill into the climbs to carry momentum so my single speed wouldn't get bogged down. After a couple climbs I went ahead and walked a couple big climbs because I didn't want to burn my legs up on them during the preride. Early in the ride Mark noticed this tree was having "pecker problems" so I had to take a picture, it's hard to see the issues in the picture.
About the time I took the picture Marks phone rang and it was fellow Lumberjack Tim Riekena so Mark had to take it. We sure did miss Tim this year.
We only rode about 5.5 miles and then was back at the van, my legs wanted to ride some more but I knew the next day was going to be some work. We headed back to the cabin where Molly was just finishing up some lasagna and cheesy garlic bread...YUM!!! It didn't take much for me to pass out on the bed that evening and then I was back up at 4:30 to start getting ready for the race.
I'll do another post about the race later.
From there we headed to the race site so Mark and I could pick our pit area, we had a great spot last year and wanted the same location. Most people don't pick their pit area until the come to preride the course and do their packet pick up but we decided to go ahead and claim our spot. We got the same exact spot as last year which was about 60 yds after the lap but still on the course as we would head out for another lap. The corridor widened there and it would be easier to access our pit while not obstructing the trail. Mark mentioned later that he knew we had a good spot because the pros pitted right next to us both years, they were looking for the same area too.
With still some time to kill before we could check into our cabin and get some mid day sleep Mark and I decided to walk part of the trail. We walked in the opening stretch which was a long gradual climb that seemed to go on forever. The mosquitoes were unbelievable this year so we made sure to spray ourselves really well. After we hiked out we decided to go to the cabin and see if we could check in, it was almost 11:00 a.m. by now. We were able to get in and we got some stuff settled and Mark and I laid down to get some sleep. I think we slept for 2-3 hrs off and on, I don't know about him but it wasn't the most restful sleep I have ever had but it was better than nothing.
About 4:00 p.m. we headed back over to the race site and picked up our race packets. The raffle this year was already underway, they had drawn race numbers and labeled the prizes so if you were a winner you could get your prize at that time. Mark won a hydration pack with about a million pockets in it, it is pretty cool.
We got our bikes down and prepped and worked our way into the single track. The early part of the race had a couple good climbs in it so I was trying to fly downhill into the climbs to carry momentum so my single speed wouldn't get bogged down. After a couple climbs I went ahead and walked a couple big climbs because I didn't want to burn my legs up on them during the preride. Early in the ride Mark noticed this tree was having "pecker problems" so I had to take a picture, it's hard to see the issues in the picture.
About the time I took the picture Marks phone rang and it was fellow Lumberjack Tim Riekena so Mark had to take it. We sure did miss Tim this year.
We only rode about 5.5 miles and then was back at the van, my legs wanted to ride some more but I knew the next day was going to be some work. We headed back to the cabin where Molly was just finishing up some lasagna and cheesy garlic bread...YUM!!! It didn't take much for me to pass out on the bed that evening and then I was back up at 4:30 to start getting ready for the race.
I'll do another post about the race later.
Monday, June 6, 2011
2011 Dirty Kanza...
I had high hopes for the 2011 running of the Dirty Kanza 200, not about placing high just of riding strong and finishing. I had got a lot of training miles in, my base probably could not have been much better. The thing about Dirty Kanza is that it is such a brutal race, it takes a lot of mental and physical strength. My race day preparations were all in order, I had been eating pretty well and hydrating very well. My bike was set up and ready to roll and I had my nutrition plans all laid out. Molly and I arrived in Emporia around 2:30 on Friday afternoon, we got checked into the hotel and then went and got my race packet at registration. Then we came back to the room and I started prepping all my bottles and laying out my riding gear. My fellow Lumberjacks (Mark and Tim) were on their way too as they were doing the team relay event. We all met up at the pasta feed which was put on by the Emporia Farmers Market, it was a really good meal and very convenient. Then it was back to the room for final preparations and then time to get some sleep.
The race start was set for 6:00 a.m. and if anyone knows me very well at all then they know that I am a hurry up and wait kind of guy. I was up at 4:20 to let my body get woken up and so I could do some business. We made our way to the start venue around 5:20 a.m. and Mark and I rode up and down the street a little bit, I think for me it was more to calm my nerves than for anything else.
When people started forming on the start line there were huge gaps here and there so instead of just getting in line I rode my way up to the middle of the pack and took my place, Lyle rolled up next to me and we talked for a little bit.
Soon we were off and the pace thru town seemed to be faster than the year before, I didn't run off with the leaders I just maintained a steady pace and by the time I hit the gravel road (about 2 miles in) the leaders were probably a half mile ahead of me at this point. I didn't care about that because I know I cannot ride that pace without blowing up. The first leg was 58 miles and all of it was into a headwind or a head/crosswind. There wasn't a ton of climbing but some good climbs were littered throughout the course. I started out slowly, I did have to bridge up early to draft off a group of riders because I was stuck in the open with riders a ways behind me. When the group I was drafting sped up I just eased into an easy pace and waited for the next group to catch me and then I rode with them for a while. I did not want to be a hero as I knew it was a long race and we were not very far into the race.
About 22 miles in I was flying down a hill in a group when I noticed something fly up in the air, as it was doing flips I could tell it wasn't a rock but I wasn't sure what it was. I looked down and I found out what it was...it was my computer. Well I just kept going since I was in a group and who knows where it landed. The remainder of the first leg was pretty good, steady effort but nothing too hard. I finished that leg just under 4 hrs.
I came into my pit area and was there for 10 min max and then was back out on the road again. The second leg was 44 miles and I was feeling pretty good about it. It started out with a lot of flat sections and a tailwind, this lasted for about 20 miles or so. I was riding with Gerald Hart and another guy toward the end of that 20 miles and when we made the turn back to the West Gerald made the comment that we had 24 miles of wind so we better settle in. Only a couple miles down the road we came to a turn that was not marked but it seemed by the map that this is where we should turn. Gerald and I said that we should turn but another guy rolled up and said we were suppose to go straight. Gerald went on but I wanted to make sure and there were more riders rolling up. There ended up being about 10 of us there and half of us thought one way and the other half thought the other way, we could see several other riders had gone straight but I still didn't feel that was right. Soon we could see some riders coming back from that direction, it ended up being about 30 people and now there was around 40 of us standing at this intersection, we quickly realized that we did need to turn there and we all left as a group. About a mile in we found some more course markings so we knew that we were on course. We had 3 water crossings, the first one was a stinky muddy mess but the other two were not so bad. Soon we were climbing out of these low sections and back into the wind, I started to slow down. I just kept pushing on as best as I could. The last 8 miles or so was more of a tailwind or cross tailwind but I knew not to go too hard thru there as I was just getting to the halfway point of the race. As we rolled into town I looked at another guy and said "Man that was a tough 44 miles", he smiled and said "Thank you for saying that because I thought I was just being a wimp".
Rolling into the second checkpoint I was not feeling really good, my stomach was not feeling right and I was not wanting to eat anything. I sat down for a while and took of my jersey and soaked a towel in ice water and put it on my face and neck to keep cool. The longer I sat there I was hoping to feel better but just didn't, so I decided to try and go to the bathroom. That was a good choice because I felt much better after that. I got new bottles and filled my Camelbak and headed back out on the course. The third leg was 60 miles and it was getting hotter out now and I was a bit concerned. Not very far into this leg I realized that I should have just brought all water because I tried to drink my Perpetuem and Fizz but my stomach wasn't having it. Now I was going to have to rely on my 70 oz of water in my Camelbak to get me to the end or try to force my other options. I was feeling really good early on, I wasn't riding very hard but seemed to be carrying a good speed (couldn't really tell without my computer!!!). This good feeling stopped about 15 miles in, I knew I still had 45 miles to go and I was hurting. I found a shade tree and stopped for about a minute and then went on again but was not feeling good. Now my stomach was not wanting water in it either, I was a cotton mouth since I had already slowed my fluid intake but I couldn't stomach the fluids. I decided to look for a water source to cool myself off. The next creek I came to the water was a ways down the hill so I went on, the next one was bone dry. Then I came to a low water crossing where there was concrete in the low spot so water wouldn't wash out the road. I laid on the concrete because my back hurt but the concrete was so hot. Stephanie McCreary, from St. Louis, rolled up and said "Oh Water", I told her I was thinking about getting in and she said "What are you thinking about, let's get in". So we did and the water was so cold and refreshing, my core temp was able to lower and it felt nice. A couple other people saw us and joined us then she and I got back on the bikes and took off. After a few miles we noticed rain in the distance and that it was clouding up so that was a good sign. I rode on ahead and could see some lightning off in the distance and the clouds were getting darker and darker. It wasn't long until my stomach thought it was time to put me through the ringer, I stopped and was hanging over my handlebars and dry heaving like a champ. I couldn't get anything out but my stomach didn't care and it kept trying to empty itself. Stephanie rolled up next to me and checked on me, I was in a world of hurt. She asked if I needed to call my wife and I told her I think I should. I turned on my GPS so I could get the coordinates but I did not want to quit. I told Stephanie to go on and I would be fine. I talked myself out of calling Molly and straddled my bike again, Emily Brock (last years female winner) rolled up and checked on me. I started riding with her and the lightning was increasing and the clouds were getting darker and the wind was picking up. Then it started to rain hard and it was big drops, usually I take my glasses off in the rain but it was raining so hard I couldn't see with them off. Emily said she was trying to decide when we should take cover and then she saw a tree line up ahead and said "I don't know about you but I'm going in there". I was hot on her heels and Stephanie was already under the tree line and then 2 or 3 other guys rolled up too. The rain was pouring down in sheets and the wind was thrashing the trees like crazy, then lightning struck about 50 yds away...it was a little bit scary. I heard later that someone had reported that they saw a tornado, I don't know if that was true or not. Another guy I talked to said the group he was riding with took cover also and the wind snapped a tree in half near their location. He also said a guy got blown off of his bike.
When the wind and rain slowed up we all took off again and about a mile down the road we made a turn back to the East, it "was" a dirt road but now was a mud road. It was impossible to ride as the bike was picking up huge amounts of mud and the wheels would not turn. Really made the bike nice and light!!! We all picked up our bikes and started carrying them, then the road turned back to the North and it was a mud road as far as I could see. We all ended up getting into the tall grass on the side of the road and did a hike-a-bike for 3 miles, talk about suck!!! My stomach was still not happy with me, I would stop and dry heave here and there and after nearly 2 hrs I was at the end of the mud road. There were a few riders there and a farmer had his pick up truck there too. The last thing I wanted to do was to quit but I was in so much pain and I couldn't drink anything without wanting to throw up. Also I was concerned about any other mud sections on the rest of the course. The farmer gave 4 of us a ride to Burdick, KS. It was about 4 buildings and a couple houses. We all tried to give him some money but he wouldn't take it, he was such a nice guy and you could tell he enjoyed helping us out. There were about 10 other riders in Burdick when we got there, they had gotten rides from other farmers. Soon after I climbed out of the truck I started my dry heaving again, man was I getting tired of this. I got a hold of Molly and she came and got me. We gave another rider a ride to the third checkpoint since that is where his crew was and he couldn't get a hold of them. On the way to drop him off I was shaking in the van, my fingers were curling into my palms and my hands were curling in toward my body and I just couldn't stop shaking. I was a mess.
I am disappointed with my race but not upset, I am more disappointed that I don't know exactly what happened to me. I don't ever want that to happen again, I hope that this experience will make me stronger.
The race start was set for 6:00 a.m. and if anyone knows me very well at all then they know that I am a hurry up and wait kind of guy. I was up at 4:20 to let my body get woken up and so I could do some business. We made our way to the start venue around 5:20 a.m. and Mark and I rode up and down the street a little bit, I think for me it was more to calm my nerves than for anything else.
When people started forming on the start line there were huge gaps here and there so instead of just getting in line I rode my way up to the middle of the pack and took my place, Lyle rolled up next to me and we talked for a little bit.
Soon we were off and the pace thru town seemed to be faster than the year before, I didn't run off with the leaders I just maintained a steady pace and by the time I hit the gravel road (about 2 miles in) the leaders were probably a half mile ahead of me at this point. I didn't care about that because I know I cannot ride that pace without blowing up. The first leg was 58 miles and all of it was into a headwind or a head/crosswind. There wasn't a ton of climbing but some good climbs were littered throughout the course. I started out slowly, I did have to bridge up early to draft off a group of riders because I was stuck in the open with riders a ways behind me. When the group I was drafting sped up I just eased into an easy pace and waited for the next group to catch me and then I rode with them for a while. I did not want to be a hero as I knew it was a long race and we were not very far into the race.
About 22 miles in I was flying down a hill in a group when I noticed something fly up in the air, as it was doing flips I could tell it wasn't a rock but I wasn't sure what it was. I looked down and I found out what it was...it was my computer. Well I just kept going since I was in a group and who knows where it landed. The remainder of the first leg was pretty good, steady effort but nothing too hard. I finished that leg just under 4 hrs.
I came into my pit area and was there for 10 min max and then was back out on the road again. The second leg was 44 miles and I was feeling pretty good about it. It started out with a lot of flat sections and a tailwind, this lasted for about 20 miles or so. I was riding with Gerald Hart and another guy toward the end of that 20 miles and when we made the turn back to the West Gerald made the comment that we had 24 miles of wind so we better settle in. Only a couple miles down the road we came to a turn that was not marked but it seemed by the map that this is where we should turn. Gerald and I said that we should turn but another guy rolled up and said we were suppose to go straight. Gerald went on but I wanted to make sure and there were more riders rolling up. There ended up being about 10 of us there and half of us thought one way and the other half thought the other way, we could see several other riders had gone straight but I still didn't feel that was right. Soon we could see some riders coming back from that direction, it ended up being about 30 people and now there was around 40 of us standing at this intersection, we quickly realized that we did need to turn there and we all left as a group. About a mile in we found some more course markings so we knew that we were on course. We had 3 water crossings, the first one was a stinky muddy mess but the other two were not so bad. Soon we were climbing out of these low sections and back into the wind, I started to slow down. I just kept pushing on as best as I could. The last 8 miles or so was more of a tailwind or cross tailwind but I knew not to go too hard thru there as I was just getting to the halfway point of the race. As we rolled into town I looked at another guy and said "Man that was a tough 44 miles", he smiled and said "Thank you for saying that because I thought I was just being a wimp".
Rolling into the second checkpoint I was not feeling really good, my stomach was not feeling right and I was not wanting to eat anything. I sat down for a while and took of my jersey and soaked a towel in ice water and put it on my face and neck to keep cool. The longer I sat there I was hoping to feel better but just didn't, so I decided to try and go to the bathroom. That was a good choice because I felt much better after that. I got new bottles and filled my Camelbak and headed back out on the course. The third leg was 60 miles and it was getting hotter out now and I was a bit concerned. Not very far into this leg I realized that I should have just brought all water because I tried to drink my Perpetuem and Fizz but my stomach wasn't having it. Now I was going to have to rely on my 70 oz of water in my Camelbak to get me to the end or try to force my other options. I was feeling really good early on, I wasn't riding very hard but seemed to be carrying a good speed (couldn't really tell without my computer!!!). This good feeling stopped about 15 miles in, I knew I still had 45 miles to go and I was hurting. I found a shade tree and stopped for about a minute and then went on again but was not feeling good. Now my stomach was not wanting water in it either, I was a cotton mouth since I had already slowed my fluid intake but I couldn't stomach the fluids. I decided to look for a water source to cool myself off. The next creek I came to the water was a ways down the hill so I went on, the next one was bone dry. Then I came to a low water crossing where there was concrete in the low spot so water wouldn't wash out the road. I laid on the concrete because my back hurt but the concrete was so hot. Stephanie McCreary, from St. Louis, rolled up and said "Oh Water", I told her I was thinking about getting in and she said "What are you thinking about, let's get in". So we did and the water was so cold and refreshing, my core temp was able to lower and it felt nice. A couple other people saw us and joined us then she and I got back on the bikes and took off. After a few miles we noticed rain in the distance and that it was clouding up so that was a good sign. I rode on ahead and could see some lightning off in the distance and the clouds were getting darker and darker. It wasn't long until my stomach thought it was time to put me through the ringer, I stopped and was hanging over my handlebars and dry heaving like a champ. I couldn't get anything out but my stomach didn't care and it kept trying to empty itself. Stephanie rolled up next to me and checked on me, I was in a world of hurt. She asked if I needed to call my wife and I told her I think I should. I turned on my GPS so I could get the coordinates but I did not want to quit. I told Stephanie to go on and I would be fine. I talked myself out of calling Molly and straddled my bike again, Emily Brock (last years female winner) rolled up and checked on me. I started riding with her and the lightning was increasing and the clouds were getting darker and the wind was picking up. Then it started to rain hard and it was big drops, usually I take my glasses off in the rain but it was raining so hard I couldn't see with them off. Emily said she was trying to decide when we should take cover and then she saw a tree line up ahead and said "I don't know about you but I'm going in there". I was hot on her heels and Stephanie was already under the tree line and then 2 or 3 other guys rolled up too. The rain was pouring down in sheets and the wind was thrashing the trees like crazy, then lightning struck about 50 yds away...it was a little bit scary. I heard later that someone had reported that they saw a tornado, I don't know if that was true or not. Another guy I talked to said the group he was riding with took cover also and the wind snapped a tree in half near their location. He also said a guy got blown off of his bike.
When the wind and rain slowed up we all took off again and about a mile down the road we made a turn back to the East, it "was" a dirt road but now was a mud road. It was impossible to ride as the bike was picking up huge amounts of mud and the wheels would not turn. Really made the bike nice and light!!! We all picked up our bikes and started carrying them, then the road turned back to the North and it was a mud road as far as I could see. We all ended up getting into the tall grass on the side of the road and did a hike-a-bike for 3 miles, talk about suck!!! My stomach was still not happy with me, I would stop and dry heave here and there and after nearly 2 hrs I was at the end of the mud road. There were a few riders there and a farmer had his pick up truck there too. The last thing I wanted to do was to quit but I was in so much pain and I couldn't drink anything without wanting to throw up. Also I was concerned about any other mud sections on the rest of the course. The farmer gave 4 of us a ride to Burdick, KS. It was about 4 buildings and a couple houses. We all tried to give him some money but he wouldn't take it, he was such a nice guy and you could tell he enjoyed helping us out. There were about 10 other riders in Burdick when we got there, they had gotten rides from other farmers. Soon after I climbed out of the truck I started my dry heaving again, man was I getting tired of this. I got a hold of Molly and she came and got me. We gave another rider a ride to the third checkpoint since that is where his crew was and he couldn't get a hold of them. On the way to drop him off I was shaking in the van, my fingers were curling into my palms and my hands were curling in toward my body and I just couldn't stop shaking. I was a mess.
I am disappointed with my race but not upset, I am more disappointed that I don't know exactly what happened to me. I don't ever want that to happen again, I hope that this experience will make me stronger.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)