Indecisive … maybe not
the right word but one I could apply to my cycling history … I am never sure
which bike I prefer riding or indeed what racing I prefer… so I don’t limit
myself to any particular discipline or machine.
At the end of 2011 I
was convinced that 2012 would be the year I stayed in the UK with no desire to
attend some far flung challenge that would test me physically and usually
financially … it wasn’t long however until I was called out on a passing
comment on my desire to go and compete in one of the ever growing number of
‘Gravel Grinder’ races in the US … once the words have passed your lips and you
have called it then you have to do it… that’s the law.
Gravel grinding is the
name adopted to represent the practice of covering large distances travelling
on the many gravel roads found within the US … events usually cover anywhere
between 100 miles to 320 miles and attracting road and mountain bike riders to
race head to head on a fairly level playing field.
With some internet
research, facilitated by the excellent XXC Mag news (http://xxcmag.com/news) and the Gravel
dedicated blog ‘Gravel Grinder
News’ (http://www.gravelgrindernews.com/),
I came across an event hailed as the ultimate gravel grinder… The Dirty Kanza
200 …. My race for 2012 had been found… sorry bank balance.
The first hurdle was
to get an entry, easy I thought as with time differences in play I could
leisurely apply online over a coffee whilst others were having to get up at 5am
to try and get in. I knew the race
last year sold out quickly so I was prepared to get my entry in… I even had
time that day to do some base miles in the morning. Getting home after my ride I logged on a few hours after
entries had opened .. ‘Sold Out’ !!!!!!!
The event had sold out
in 2 hours !!!! 400 places gone … I was quick to get added to the waiting list
and to contact the race organiser, Jim Cummins, to see how likely a ‘wait’
would be converted to an entry … luckily the organisational excellence of this
event allowed them to grant every rider that was on the waiting list an entry…
I was in.
Training began … in
fact before I had my entry it had already began … I stopped cyclo cross racing
at the end of December and on New years day I tagged my first road century of
the year … which was followed near every weekend with a ride of at least 80
miles every Saturday and more usually over 100 miles. As I trained I was always conscious of my average speeds and
trying to replicate a speed that would see me finish the DK200 in reasonable
time.
Training progressed
well … in March I was able to complete a near 200 mile ride on a mix of mainly
road with some offroad sections in just over 13 hours … the event as a total
unknown was difficult to train for so I just aimed to ride as many miles as
possible.
Researching the event
it was clear that equipment choice was also a key element to having a
successful race … not only did the bike have to be set up well for many hours
in the saddle but also the durability of the parts was a key issue tyres
especially as some racers in previous years had suffered up to 8 flats in this
race.. I guess the venue… the Flint hills … was an indicator of the challenge
posed to the bikes rubber.
As always I had a
pretty clear picture of the bike set up I wanted to race on… cyclo cross
geometry… disc brakes… clearance for bigger volume tyres… comfort and
durability being key… these desires could only be provided by a small number of
companies. Those companies were
approached in a hope that some may extend an offer of help and in most cases
they did… a bike was born.
The build centred
around a Salsa Vaya frameset, Salsa being one of few companies that have
embraced gravel grinding and actually invest time into developing product for
it as well as sponsoring events such as the DK200. The UK supplier of Salsa, Ison Distribution, kindly provided
not only the Vaya frameset but also the Halo tyres and wheels to be used
too. Other companies to offer
assistance included the saddle manufacturer Brooks who supplied a saddle which
even out of the box offered some reassuring levels of comfort to an area I had
no desire to abuse on the bike.
Once the bike
equipment was resolved then the nutritional side was addressed with help from
Bounce Balls and Eat Natural bars … the calorie requirements of century rides
every weekend was astronomical.
Close to the event I
managed to squeeze in a double century on the Vaya which was a reassuring ride
as everything felt just perfect and after 13 hours on the bike I had no
untoward aches and pains … everything was set to go.
The day of travel
started as usual with the usual gamble at the airport check in desk … will they
charge me excess or will I blag it ??? Excess ... Luckily only £40 which seemed fairly reasonable as the bike bag weighed
in a not so lightweight 28kg.
Arriving at the midway
point Chicago we filed through another security check and filled in forms
stating we hadn’t brought a selection of fruit and veg into the country eventually
reaching the luggage collection … easy, collect bag, re check in bag, go catch
next flight.
First bag comes
through no problem ... go wait for bike at oversize baggage … belt starts…
pushchair, pushchair, some kind of ornament.. cardboard box… pushchair… belt
stops. NO BIKE !!! … checked other areas of luggage hall and asked as many
people as possible all who were slightly less informed than that last. Eventually we gave up waiting for it
and went to check in our remaining bag and report it missing.
Arrive at Wichita…
final destination only to find bike still missing and only a day to find itL
We caught a ride to
the town of Emporia, home of the DK200, with a wife of one of the local racers,
we were immediately struck by how helpful everyone was… the word had got out my
bike was missing and for the next mornings social ride I had already been
loaned a bike, a little small but it mean’t I could turn some pedals and loosen
my legs.
At this point I had
got word back to Pat at ISON distribution in the UK that the Vaya was missing
and I guess he just sent a cry for help across all contacts at Salsa in the US
as sitting in my motel room the afternoon before the race I get a text to say
that Salsa have a bike for me ... a few hours later I am at the High Gear
Cyclery in Emporia meeting Bobby from Salsa and he is handing me a prototype
Salsa ti gravel bike owned by Ryan Horkey, another Salsa rider … thank you very much !!! a bike I had never ridden but I
was back in the game. After a
quick supermarket sweep to replace my missing shoes, hydration pack etc I was
fully kitted up and ready to race.
Race day …. The race
started at 6am so myself and a friend from Oregon, Tom Letsinger, rolled out the motel at 5.30am
and joined the procession of blinking led lights to downtown Emporia … the
entire main street had been closed for the event and the 400 riders due to
start had begun to amass organised by projected finishing time banners held by
women on roller skates.. Rock and Roll !!! After a pre race coffee I optimistically jumped up the front
and lined up with the 12 hour guys.. after all I was hear to race not ride
The first 3 miles were
neutralised … or as neutral as a pack of nervous riders could be as everyone
constantly jostled for the best position in the pack before a right hand turn
onto gravel would see this race get underway.
The pace was brisk …
well it was bordering on fast .. I had been warned that the start of the event
would be fast as people tried to get out the front out of the dust and form
some early groups … I wasn’t lied to as this is exactly how it played out and
like racing a road race I was always mindful of my position in the group and
stayed within the first 20 or so riders so as to be best placed for any
eventuality.
As it turns out that
eventuality was that everyone in this lead group of 20 or so was so pre
occupied with racing that navigation had taken a back seat …. The event route
is mostly way marked but this isn’t a given as things move so each rider gets a
route card to the next checkpoint of which there are 3 and as you arrive at the
checkpoint you get the route card to get you to the next one.
So we arrived as a
swiftly moving pack into a t junction then the realisation of the navigational
error set in …. We had ridden maybe 2 miles passed the turn off we needed … so
now we needed to ride 2 miles back to it …. What once was a fast pace then
became insane as the lead group then became the gruppeto with 380 or so riders
ahead of us.
Quickly that lead 20
riders had become maybe 10 or 12… the quality of the group was good with 2
previous winners and the winner of the annual Gravel worlds race and we were
cutting a path through the riders in front fighting our way back to the front …
with still 170 or so miles to race there was no consideration of the effort
that was being invested in this chase,
as every minute passed the temperature had started to rise.
50 miles into the race
we had finally regained the lead but the pace had just become too much and I
decided ... although my hand was being forced by those around me… that to
continue riding this quickly would soon see me exploding spectactularly so I
eased back and as I watched the front group ride away I found myself on my own.
Mentally this race is
very tough … the terrain is undulating you get very little reprise from the effort
of racing … the temperature this year was around 30 degrees celcius so for a
Brit it was very hot and it is very dry … what can be soul destroying is that
you can see the line of riders strung out over miles ahead of you and to look
back the same …. This also becomes very disconcerting later in the race when
you can’t see riders ahead or behind as the doubts of possible navigational
errors creep in.
The salvation from the
mental anguish this event can place a rider in is the checkpoints, of which there
are 3, where a rider can have a
support team with supplies .. in my case this would be my girlfriend Grace and Tom’s girlfriend Cassie operating out of a motorhome… these checkpoints were
a welcome break to take a moment off the bike get some cold fluids and try and
eat which in the heat was difficult.
As the race continued
I found myself less and less able to force any real effort through the pedals
as I was constantly battling to replenish the fluids my body was expelling
through every pore on my body and the effort of riding alone on these roads was
mentally tiring, it is never good to have a lot of time mid race to contemplate
the wisdom of riding these endurance races as invariably the question of sanity
arises.
Every now and then I
would ride past an unfortunate racer with a flat and customarily offer
assistance which unfortunately was mostly not required … fellow Salsa rider Tim
Ek I passed on 3 occasions with flats later learning he eventually had to
change both tyres due to sidewall cuts… other than these brief encounters the
occasional rider or group would catch up but I would find it difficult to
settle into a pace other than the one I was riding at so eventually I would be
out on my own again… even the iPod wasn’t helping as I never realised how very
similar every AC-DC track is.
Not long after the
second checkpoint with around 80 miles left to ride I was caught by another
rider ... I think I had seen him coming for maybe 10 miles and this time
instead of passing we seemed to be riding at a similar pace, Shane from
Boulder, Colorado.
Shane was also
appreciative of the company and we settled into a similar paced ride each
waiting if the other needed a quick stop or was slightly slower on any section
as to ride together was a great mental preserver.
My hopes that the
temperature would start to fall off in late afternoon never materialised and
coming into the final checkpoint with less than 40 miles remaining I was hotter
than ever … rolling out saw the first 7 miles of the final section ridden on
shaded disused rail path … a real treat after baking for so long we were
quickly however back onto gravel and into the sun to cruelly ride past not only
the shaded track we had been on several times but also a large lake to watch
people enjoying numerous watersports … at this point the idea of riding
straight into the motels pool on return to Emporia had started to seem quite
reasonable.
A final missed turn 12
miles from the end added another few bonus miles to the days travels and I was
thankful that only 2 navigational errors had been made the whole race as I had
read of huge errors being made by previous years racers and at that point it
would have been difficult to force myself to backtrack any huge distance.
The welcome sight of
paved road saw us enter the final few miles of the race as we passed through
the centre of the University campus then entered the finish straight … the
whole town it seemed had come out to party and cheer the finishing riders over
the line. As myself and Shane rolled over the line together we had time for a
final knowing handshake in recognition of the tough day on the bike we had just
endured and eventually overcome then I was greeted by Grace and local rider
Shawn Honea who quickly furnished me with a cold beer. The bike was returned to Salsa’s
finishing line stand and I got to sit on the pavement and reflect the days ride
…. First international rider to not only complete the DK200 but also any US
gravel grinder hopefully highlighting the challenge of these events and the worth
of travelling to race them… a true physical and mental challenge.
The event blew me away
on all fronts .. the organisation.. the local people.. the tough challenge of
just completing this race. The
drama of losing my bike never seemed to matter as the help I received overcame
any obstacle that arose from it.
Huge thank you to
especially the following people in no order;
Grace, my long suffering bike widow girlfriend, for letting me again take up our holidays with crazy races and still having the patience to support me well during the event.
Jim Cummins and the
Dirty Kanza crew for such a fantastic event
The kind people of
Emporia for making me feel so welcome.. especially Shawn, Rick, Amy and
Lynette.
Pat from Ison
Distributiion for the bike and parts.
The guys at Salsa in
the US for the replacement bike.
Brooks for the saddle
I never got to race on but in training proved excellent.
Eat Natural for all
the great bars I consumed preparing for this great event.
Bounce Balls for all
your product that helped me recover after every crazy training ride.
Matt Brown and the
rest of the guys at High Gear Cyclery, Emporia, Kansas for their help in
setting me up with what I need to race.
My friends Tom and
Cassie from Oregon, Tom raced well to a 2nd place singlespeed finish
and Cassie was the means to get Grace to every checkpoint and help to support
my race.
Finally and maybe most
importantly Rick Perry, this crazy fool convinced me to enter this event and
also entered himself … he worked hard to secure sponsors and logistics only to
have life and work conspire against him so he himself couldn’t make the trip.
All photographs for this race report kindly supplied by Eric Benjamin, The Adventure Monkey and John Foote ... Ultra race pics .
