There
is no easy way to describe the motivation for wanting to ride a bike for 300
plus miles on gravel in Iowa, you either get it or you just plain don’t. One of
the great motivators for me to come to the U.S. to do these ultra events is
that I get to hang out with people who when told about an endurance race
involving large amounts of suffering don’t question “why would I want to do
that?” but instead ask “where do I sign?”
In
my eyes, Trans Iowa is the pinnacle of gravel racing simply because of the
quality of racers that it attracts. I have to admit though I was fascinated by
thoughts of exceeding a triple century worth of gravel and the physical and
mental challenges that it would put me through.
Months
of the usual preparation were invested in this event; travel, accommodation and
on the ground logistics are as big a challenge, if not bigger, than the race
itself. After all turning pedals is the easiest thing in the world, whereas
hoping that the guy loading the bags at Heathrow Airport remembers to put my
bike on the plane before his lunch break is just down to pure chance.
Although
I had no control over getting my bike to the U.S., thanks to Guitar Ted I was
to be adopted into the Fuller family from my arrival in Des Moines, Iowa until
my departure. Steve Fuller is a gent and an awesome host, his family made me
feel welcome and without them life would have been a ton more difficult.
Different
continent or not, the pre-race deal is pretty similar when traveling to a race:
unbox bike, dial it in as best as possible, eat as much food as your can and
rest as much as possible. This time was no exception with just the slight
addition of traveling to the start in Grinnell, Iowa the day before the race
for a pre-race meeting and meal.
I
was so happy to meet so many people that I felt, through hours of online chat,
I already knew, including the friends I had made from the Dirty Kanza the year
before. I was feeling really relaxed about this event, with no pressure to do
anything but turn the pedals for as long as I could and see what would happen.
Still,
no matter how relaxed you are, I think the anxiety of just wanting to start
gets to everyone. You have everything ready to a point where nothing can be
changed and you are ready to go but yet a night's sleep is still in between you
and the start. Luckily Guitar Ted. in an effort to reduce this period of limbo,
starts the event at 4:00 a.m. in the morning! It was barely worth my head
meeting pillow.
The
Start
With
325 miles of gravel in front of us, you would think the start would be pretty
steady; a lot of chatting and social riding for a hundred miles or so before
the task of racing took hold. That is what I would of liked. Instead we started
with a neutral roll out, drafting Guitar Ted's truck though the streets of
Grinnel before hitting gravel a few miles later and immediately taking off as
if it was a 100 mile race! Pace lining fresh gravel from the offset.
A
little over fifty mile in, not far from the first checkpoint my Salsa teamate
Tim Ek got a flat. I was quick to eject from the crazy front group and stop to
help. This race is LONG and I wasn’t gonna burn myself out in the first few
hours. While fixing Tim’s flat we were joined by DK200 race director Jim
Cummins and our first group of the race was formed.
The
Groups
The
trick to surviving the Trans Iowa for most (including me) is to get in to a
good group. This can be difficult as everyone has their own pace and race
agenda but for the sake of sanity it is a must for me.
The
trio of Tim, Jim and myself was great and we were riding at s strong pace. Tim
has finished Trans Iowa multiple times and Jim was ploughing through fresh
gravel like he was riding tarmac. We were making good progress and quickly
began picking up more riders. Some were passed, some joined and soon our small
group grew to 7 or 8 riders strong.
The
dynamic of the race mean’t that the group constantly changed as we filtered in
and out of convenience stores to resupply, but the constant was that Tim and I
had decided to see this thing through together, so when he flatted for the
third time I was with him again. With the same tire giving him so much trouble
it looked like his race might be done. After what must have been the 10th check
of the tire between us, Tim’s eagle eyes spotted a tiny piece of flint barely
pushing through the tread and must have been scratching a hole over hours in
the tube. Tim’s Trans Iowa was back on again!
The
Night
As
darkness fell and the temperatures dropped the group had consolidated into what
would be its final format; Myself, Tim, my Iowan host Steve Fuller, Jay Barre,
Ben Oney, Charles Parsons, Mike Johnson, Paul Carpenter and silent most of the
time but always there Chris Wells. An eclectic mix of novices and finishers
that came together through chance but were solid through the whole night.
The
temperature took a few racers by surprise and as I would find out later
resulted in the retirement of the other Brit in this crazy race, Vin Cox. He
was simply too cold to continue even after raiding recycling bins for
insulation. Tim managed to gather up some spare clothes from the group and when
the final convenience store was reached he went all out and bought himself a
Mountain Dew sweatshirt to see the rest of the cold night out through.
The
Finish
As
dawn started to break again we must of only had 25 miles left. The thought of
the finish line, the realization that it was going to happen and the lift in
spirits by the rising sun meant that peoples spirits soared and the pedals
seemed to turn a little easier. Every hill now was a little race between myself
and Jay Barre. While Tim eased back with some nagging knee pain, the miles went
by easy as Jay, Steve, Paul, Charles and myself continued to play. Then just as
we were playing on another one of what must have been hundreds of climbs this
race includes, BOOM! Tim comes past absolutely on the gas. He had lifted his
saddle a touch which had instantly cured his knee and he was set on getting the
race done as soon as possible.
As
we rolled up to the finish line barn we were handed a well earned beer and then
the previous 325 miles didn’t seem so bad. The good thoughts prevailed, burying
the bad moments– out of sight and mind.
In
their fury to finish and race each other Tim and Steve had hooked a wrong turn
as they finished a few minutes after to again more beer and congratulations,
both well deserved.
My
Trans Iowa experience could not have been a better one. Steve Fuller really
looked after me, the weather cooperated and was fantastically warm and dry
during the day and mercifully dry during the night. The people I rode with
inspired me to come back over and over again. The group I was part of was rock
solid and everyone of those guys contributed to me being able to finish. The
Salsa Warbird I rode for 325 miles in Iowa and countless training miles in the
UK, I could not of asked for a better bike for the task.
It's
difficult to truly appreciate the enormity of Trans Iowa. Even having ridden
the event I find it difficult to quantify the experience to anyone. I guess the
experience is one you have to try for yourself.
A
huge thanks to all those who helped in completing this phenomenal challenge.
From Guitar Ted (Mark Stevenson) organizing this thing, and his helpers
performing a great job manning the checkpoints, the Fuller family for looking
after me so well while I was in Iowa, Salsa Cycles for not only providing me
with a great bike (a Salsa Warbird) but also making me part of the Salsa family
and allowing me to ride with great racers like Tim Ek and every single rider I
met on course showing me that there others out like me willing to suffer to be
rewarded by achievement.
Photos by Imaginegnat
The complete version of this story and additional photos
will appear in the next issue of XXC Magazine due out early this summer.
