Dirty Kanza 200

Seriously?
A 200 mile bike race on gravel roads seems pretty hard. Imagine riding Almanzo once, then turning around and riding it again. Well, the Dirty Kanza 200 in 2015 wasn't anything like that. No, the DK200 was more like a 100 mile mud-filled survival fest followed then by a 100 mile gravel race. Throw in a steady 15 mph wind and I had the ingredients for a 17 hour and 45 minute adventure race. A full 3 hours longer than I had hoped for. And to be honest, I had a good day!

Friday night in Strong City, before dinner at Ad Astra Cafe

Prep, food & bike
At the Friday night rider meeting, one of the speakers (Rebecca Rusch) referred to this event as an eating contest. I've heard these events described like that before. But after racing (and bonking) in so many of these ultras over the past few years, I have a new appreciation for the truth in it. You simply have to keep eating. The body can't carry around enough energy to ride for 17 hours. The challenge for me had always been my body's rejection of food. With my blood busy delivering oxygen to my legs I've got little left to help with digestion.

This year my primary fuel was going to be Hammer Perpetuem - in liquid form these calories are essentially already digested, so my stomach doesn't need to work as hard to ingest and feed my body and brain with energy. Secondary fuel, Mountain Dew. Tertiary, anything solid that I could stuff down my throat: PBJ, potato chips, bananas, GUs, energy bars, etc. The plan was to drink 2 bottles of Perpetuem between each water stop (10 bottles in all), accompanied by plenty of water from my CamelBack. The Mountain Dew was for consumption at the two pit stops plus a bottle or two stuffed in my shirt for an as needed rush of sugar and caffeine during the subsequent miles. And the solid stuff was for whenever I felt like I could keep it down.

Warbird Ti in front of our house in Cotton Wood Falls.

My bike was a Salsa Warbird Ti. Super sweet ride that carried me through the Kanza plus another 600 miles of gravel racing in 2014. The tires were 700x35 Kenda Happy Mediums and both were set up tubeless - at the start. I had a Revelate tangle-bag hanging from the cross bar with two tubes, small hand pump, munchies, lights, battery for my GPS, iPOD, etc. My small saddle bag carried tools and on my back was a CamelBack with 100 oz of water. I also had two water bottle cages, each carrying 20oz of Perpetuem (my fuel).

The fun begins
The good times started with the 4AM alarm in our rented house in Cottonwood Falls. After a few quick hits of coffee and egg sandwiches we were on the road and at the start line in Emporia by 5:30. (Note to self: sleep an extra 1/2 hour next year.) Getting to Emporia so early did have two advantages, there was a very short line for coffee and easy access to the restroom inside the theater. I took advantage of both and by 6AM I was ready for the start.

At the start

It would be impossible for me to recount the entire 200 miles of the race, but there are a few highlights that I can't forget.

5 blocks after the start, at about 6:02, the entire field was stopped by a train passing through Emporia. The great thing about it, everybody just laughed it off and chilled. Gotta love the vibe at a gravel race.

The train passed and the roll-out continued for a bit on the pavement out of town.  A quick right onto gravel and the race was on. The road at first was wet, maybe a little sticky, but not bad. That changed around mile 10. It changed in a big way. Suddenly we were ankle deep in mud, deep, un-rideable, clay-clingy mud. No choice, but to dismount and walk. Bikes had to be carried because rolling in the mud wasn't an option - the mud would stick to the tires, jam up in the stays and keep the wheels from turning.

The mud-trudge. You can't appreciate the horror. The mud in spots was easily ankle deep. But alas, only for 3 miles!
(not my picture, credit goes to: http://www.swiftwick.com/sw/cycling/kanza-does-not-care-the-dirty-kanza-200)

The walk did provide a teachable moment however. Apparently rattle snakes find comfort in the gap between the very-muddy middle of the road and the less-muddy sides. I saw two snakes curled up in the gaps, presumably huddled to keep warm and as dry as possible in these little pockets. I wasn't crazy about seeing a rattle-snake, but it did put a smile on my face. The scene had become kind of absurd.

The worst part about the mud-trudge was the uncertainty. Here we are, 10 miles into a 200 mile race and people are carrying their bikes for as far as the eye can see. How long would this last? Are we going to be walking for the next 190 miles? I had serious doubts about finishing already - and the race had just started.

Luckily the mud ended as abruptly as it began and after about 3 miles of walking we were all able to climb aboard again and pedal.

A lot of the ride was like this. Wet, but still fine.

Miles and miles
It is pointless to recap the ensuing 185 miles. Suffice it to say they were filled with moments both good and bad. The little "wash" crossings were more like small river crossings. I was able to clean another stretch of mud about 1 mile long - which saved me a lot of time and energy. I saw a dozen or more bikes with derailleurs torn from their frames (the mud had gotten the best of 'em). The hills were pretty tame and the steep & rocky ones were fun to climb.

One of many "washes" that we had to cross.

I flatted at around mile 25, tried a few times to just re-inflate, hoping that the Stans sealant in the tire would re-seal the leak. It didn't so I had to put a tube in. After that I only got off my bike for natural breaks and at the water stops. I pulled out of Cotton Wood Falls - the last water stop at around mile 155 - in the near dark. And pedaled strong for the final 45 miles.

Oh yeah, the Flint Hills... they go and go . . .

In fact, the last 45 miles were pretty sweet. I tried the headphones for a bit, but the ride just felt like it needed my attention and after about 2 songs I had to put 'em away and get back to the night.

The darkness, exhaustion and the end in sight all combined to put me into a meditative mood. I suffered a bit, but powered by a couple more Mountain Dews I found a nice rhythm. I pushed up the hills and rode cautiously down in the dark. On the flats I went pretty hard. I probably passed about 25 - 35 people over the last 40 miles. One dude passed me - more power to him, he was really moving. But I was definitely on the offensive. It was a stark contrast to last year when the last 20 miles felt like they would never end.

..and go . . .

Before too long I was on the pavement again, with only 2 miles to go before the finish chute in downtown Emporia. I rode 'em pretty hard - feeling good after 17 hours? - and finished with my hands held high in the air. It was a memorable day and I was lucky to be able to finish.

. . . and go.

Next year
Several weeks have now passed and I can say definitively, that no matter the conditions, the 2015 DK200 was fun. It was crazy at times, but looking back it was definitely a good time and a day that I will never forget.

Thanks to the event organizers, the city of Emporia and all the generous hosts in south-central Kansas.

See you next year.

2015 Almanzo 100

Ready or not
Driving down to the start of the Almanzo, about 15 miles outside of Spring Valley, it started to rain. Not hard but steady. But we lucked out and after a few minutes the rain stopped and didn't come back. So the track was actually pretty perfect - not sloppy wet or dusty dry.

Brent got hit before the race. But it could have been worse

As for the race, well, it wasn't great for me. I just haven't been riding. But I got in under 7 hours. And against my better judgement I'm going to go ahead with the Kanza next weekend. What's 200 miles between friends right? I mean how bad could it be?

So that's what you mean by gravel.

I nearly lied down in the cold water - felt good on my stressed out legs.

Kudos to the unofficial support. The hot dogs may have saved me.

Dirty Millennium in 2015
So for the year, without really noticing it, I'm up to 260 dirty miles. After Kanza we'll be at 460. Seems like a Dirty Millennium will again be within our sights. Here's the math:

• LML + 80
• Dickie + 80 = 160
• Almanzo + 100 = 260
• Kanza + 200 = 460
• Lutsen + 99 = 559
• Benjamin + 100 = 659
• Leming + 100 = 759
• Tatanka + 100 = 859
• Maah Daah Hey + 100 = 959

Seems like a no brainer really. Inspiration 100 or The 101 in Iowa. Dirty Millennium it is!

That's me at the start. Go Almanzo!

Dickie Scramble 2015 - Elgin, MN

Turns out the race was 82 miles, not 75

Somehow I got it in my head that the 2015 Dickie Scramble was only a 75 mile event. Which sounded great to me, I'm not in good shape and 75 miles seemed pretty doable. But at around mile 70 it became clear from looking at the map on my GPS that I was not going to be done after 75 miles. That was totally my bad, I just didn't look that closely at the map or at the cue sheets. So those last 7 miles were kind of tough on my brain, but probably good for my legs.

Familiar gravel scenes spotted with some muddy double-track.

 

I'm getting slower

Turns out I was demonstrably faster last year. Which kind of sucks because I thought I rode pretty well today. Maybe the elevation & wind was a bigger factor than I realized, but it just didn't seem that much different than last year - in fact I thought it was even windier in 2014.

I don't understand how I am going to survive the Kanza this year - I need to ride a lot in the next few weeks.

Highlight of the day was getting my picture taken with Dickie - not even close.

2015 season kickoff

Just a couple days away from race #1 of the 2015 season - the LML (Lakeville - Milltown - Lakeville). An 80 miler just south of town this event is all about spending some hours in the saddle for me. I struggle with training in the cold, but the Dirty Kanza is looming, so I gotta suck it up and ride for awhile. Weather looks decent for the weekend, maybe not warm, but good enough.

Here's to another Dirty Millennium in 2015!

the 101

We've been chasing this 1 mile since the 99er back in June. If we wanted to get to 1000 miles we had to find an extra mile somewhere or we'd likely have to go over - way over. So we penciled in the Filthy 50 and the Dirtbag (85) to get us to 1034. Going over 1000 wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, so we resigned ourselves to these few remaining events.

But then a conflict came up that was gonna keep me from riding the Filthy 50. Now I was in trouble. I'm tired and it's getting cold, the weather would be less predictable and I was looking at the real possibility of finishing the year that just a few miles short of the Millennium. After enduring the Kanza and the Maah Daah Hey this potential was very depressing. Riding 984 miles was never the goal.

On a whim I checked in with Gravel Grinder News again on Thursday morning and like magic a new 101 mile event appeared. Why hadn't we seen it before?! But there it was, in 2 days, the 101 in Perry, IA. Bring it.

The drill was familiar. Leave after work on Friday, drive 4 hours to a small town in the rural Midwest, drink a few beers, get up early & ride. So that's what we did.

The 101 was a great event. Flat, no wind, totally blue-bird sky and 101 miles.  Personally I didn't have a great day, but that hardly mattered. It was nice to be out. The hardest thing about the 101 was the route. Not hills or wind or cold, but the straights. Several stretches of 5 plus miles with no turns. Your future laid right out in front of you - and it wasn't pretty.

The pics look familiar by now, but just to prove we were there.

Directions at the start.

Hmmm, where have I seen this before?

When people say Iowa is hilly they must be talking about somewhere other than here.

The intrepid author. Looking a little weathered and not particularly fast.

Inspiration 100 & Chequamegon 40

I've been slow to update my blog. Truth be told, I had a bit of a lull after the Maah Daah Hey 100 - that race took some time to recover from. Not just physically, but mentally. I just didn't feel like getting back on my bike again for awhile.

But those days have passed. And a few weeks ago we rode the Inspiration 100 out near Alexandria, MN. It was another beautiful day if a little windy. I rode pretty easy and finished the 104 miles somewhere around 7 1/2 hours I think. As usual the first half was quicker than the second. I had some groups to ride with early and ended up riding the last 60 or so miles totally alone.

There is definitely a common thread tying these gravel races together - lonely & unending gravel roads.

I wish I would have been counting the number of lakes that we passed - it seemed more rare to be riding across a field than along a lakeshore.

Lake, big lake.

And of course there was Mary of the Woods (or something like that). Up close she looked like "folk art" - like she was carved in some dude's garage on the weekends. I'm sure there is a great story behind her, but I don't know it. Anyways, if you find yourself out in the country west of Alexandria, MN you should go look for her - why wouldn't ya?

And as for the Chequamegon - well it was a bit of a breakthough weekend for both of us. I never could understand why Brent and I weren't faster in this race in the past. It just didn't make sense that we saw 3 hours as our benchmark. We had each been under 3 hours before - a few times, but still our goals always seemed anchored around it. This year we both were looking to blow that out of the water and to set a new standard - and we did. The course was about 2 miles shorter than usual, but we still blew it out. Even cleaning Fire Tower hill seems different now - taken almost for granted.

I don't have as any pics of the Cheq, but there are plenty out there to be found.

So our official dirty race total for the year is now at 899 miles. We had to drop the Skull & Bones from our schedule because of it's classification as a "ride" instead of a race. Looks like our next two events are the Filthy 50 & DirtBag (80-ish miles).

Stay tuned. Banquet information and post-millennium coverage is yet to come.

MDH 100 – 2014

The Maah Daah Hey 100 was insane. 

The trail is absolutely amazing, totally exceeding all of my expectations. 100 miles of single-track winding through the badlands of North Dakota. Riding the entire trail in one day was nuts, so much harder than I anticipated. As per my GPS we covered about 105 miles with nearly 11K feet of ascending and 11K feet of descending trail. I wouldn’t characterize the trail as technical, but it is relentless. The ups and downs in the badlands were mostly steeps – not a lot of rollers or long gradual hills. The sections between the badlands on the grassy prairies were the easy stuff and provided the closest thing to an opportunity to recover. Of course these sections also provided a good chance to make some time so I found myself pushing even here.

Yet we managed to make it to the finish in a mere 15 hours. I can’t say that I’ll do the Maah Daah Hey in a day again, but I am glad to have done it and I’d love to come back for a multi-day trip to explore a bit more.

I’ve got lots of great pictures from the first 50 miles, but just didn’t have the energy to get off my bike to snap many shots from the second half. Se la vie.

Checking out the bike Friday night.

Getting lined up at the start in CCC campground south of Watford City.

Early morning views of the badlands - less than 5 miles into the start.

Looks easy!

More badlands...

Me in front of some cool stuff.

Would be a better picture w/o my shadow. Wooden 4x4 posts mark the entire trail.

I don't know who this guy is, but that is China Wall behind him.

Hard to believe a 100 mile trail is cut through this terrain, but there it is.

Checkpoint 1 - 25 miles in.

The volunteers and support were inspiring.

This kind of stuff was fun & fast.

Lots of trail..

We were treated to derivatives of views like this for about 15 hours.

Somewhere between miles 30 & 40.

Somewhere after the 1st checkpoint - very cool trail.

Devils pass.

50 mile marker. But it didn't seem like it was in the middle of the course.

That's the trail on the other side of the Little Missouri River, just about a mile or two before the 2nd checkpoint at mile 50. Had to wade through it - just above knee deep.

Checkpoint #2 - 50 miles in.

Coming into checkpoint #2.

My photographic coverage basically stopped after mile 50. The course got incredibly tough, the sun intensified the relatively mild temps and I just didn't have the energy to get off my bike to take pictures. Which is really too bad, because the trail continued to provide awesome sights, including a petrified forest just before checkpoint #3 and a few prairie dog towns somewhere around mile 85.

Add captionCheckpoint #3- following a brutal 25 mile stretch.

About to head out from checkpoint #3 for the last 25 miles.

Brent with the TR in Watford City.